Val's 26th Birthday

A post-birthday dinner @ Kitchen Greenbelt with Valerie and Joseph.

The birthday girl


Me and Joseph


White Collar @ Kitchen


Blowing her cake / apple pie! @ Chocolate Fire


Indulge to your heart's content @ Chocolate Fire


Chocolate Fire - visit their comfy lounge in Salcedo Village, Makati & enjoy a world of pure creativity.. all with chocolate!

Hong Kong 2011 - Day 3

Day 3

We were supposed to wake up at 6am on Day 3 to have an early breakfast and make use of our time at Disneyland. However, day 2 itinerary was extremely exhausting that laying on bed the whole day would be preferable than walk again around the amusement park. But! We are talking about Disneyland here. I can proudly say that I have not been to any Disneyland in my entire life and I do not have plans to miss this opportunity. Like what I said to a good friend, seeing Disneyland would like complete my childhood and I would not miss it for the world. lol.

- First stop, breakfast at Yoshinoya -

- For Hkd37 you'll have a big beef bowl -

To get to Disneyland from Causeway Bay, you need to get to Central station interchange at Tung Chung Line to get to Sunny Bay and interchange at Disney resort line. Yes, they have their own line going to the park which will take you 4-8 minutes of train.

- Waiting for the Disney train -

People say that it often rains in the area and it does! It rained a little just after we took the jungle ride. But I love the weather, it is coldish. Not a sweat even if we were walking all around the park. lol

- Welcome to Disneyland Hong Kong -

- Surfing Mickey -

- Sleeping Beauty's Castle -

Tinkerbell is their current attraction in the resort. A lot of people would want to take a picture with her. The girl is really pretty and very in character. If you say hi she'll say hi to you the way Tink does in her movies. =) So pretty and cute! My friend Patrick just loves her. I was actually mimicking her moves all through out the day and my friends were just laughing at me! =P

- Tinkerbell -

The space mountain experience was torturous but comical! lol This is my fave experience of Disneyland so far! Basically, it is an enclosed roller coaster ride! Enclosed because they had to hide the extreme loops so children would not be scared. Even I did not know that this is the ride I have always been avoiding. Thanks to my pal, Patrick Alega, he never mentioned anything about it, all he was saying was that it is just a ride that will take you to view the outer-space-like because it's so dark inside. How I wish I did not buy the pep talk! The only truth to what he said was the "dark" thing! lol

- Our Space mountain shot -

- The princesses of Disneyland -

- Lunch -

After our Disneyland adventure, we went to the Avenue of stars just along the Victoria harbor in Tsim Sha Shui. Now, to get to the Avenue of Stars from Sunny Bay, you need to take the Tung Chung line and interchange at Tsuen Wan line through Central station and get off at Tsim Sha Shui exit at L2 and walk towards the Victoria harbor. Easy!

- Avenue of Stars -

The weather is really not good. It was drizzling went we got there although it stopped just in time for the symphony of lights which started at 8:00PM. =)

- Jackie Chan's star -

The avenue is so long that I wanna give up looking for Jackie Chan's star. However, from afar I get to see people wandering around a specific spot. I hurriedly walked to the spot and there it is! I didn't get to see Jet Li or Chow Yun Fat's 'coz my feet hurts already. =P

- The Symphony of lights starts @ 8pm -

After symphony of lights it's now time for last minute shopping! We had to go separate ways on shopping because we all have different things to buy. I went to the available boutiques along the Causeway Bay. Val and Jaydee had to go to the mall to look for Penshoppe. Pat had to go to buy his Coach and we all agreed to meet at Chiu Hing Noodle house for dinner. I can't believe with the prices they got there from cosmetics to gadgets, shoes to clothing! Ahhhh! I wanna go back!

- SHOP! SHOP! SHOP! -

Day 3 Expenses

Breakfast @ Yoshinoya - Hkd37 - Php206.90
Disneyland Ticket - Hkd350 - Php 1957.20
Lunch @ Disneyland - Hkd57 - 318.74
Disneyland Shopping - Hkd480 - 2684.17
Dinner @ Chiu Hing Noodle House - Hkd27 - Php150.98
Shopping @ Causeway Bay - Hkd489 - Php2734.49

Total: Php8052.28

Hong Kong 2011 - Day 2

Day 2

We woke up early on our second day in Hong Kong for the Ocean Park Adventure.
What to eat for breakfast?

- Oh! I see a familiar thing there... lol -

What I love about their Mcdonald's - They have free wifi and it's fast! Also, they have grape jam! Their muffins are so rad too! lol.

- Jaydee and Val, Taking a pic while crossing the street -

As soon as we're done with breakfast we took an MTR from Causeway Bay and got off at Admiralty MTR station exit B. Upon exit we took the special city bus no. 629 for an express bus travel between Admiralty and Ocean Park.

- City bus station for Ocean Park bound -

- The one day pass at Ocean Park cost HKD250 -


- Welcome to Ocean Park Hong Kong!! -

- The water front fountain, Welcoming the visitors -

- Colorful hot air balloons -

- This way to the Cable Car ride.. =) -

- Val, all set for the ride -

We took the Ocean Park Tower ride. It's a ride that rotates and will let you see the whole park

We rode their Crazy Galleon twice and obviously we're the only one enjoying the ride!

- Lunch time -

- The longest escalator I have ever seen -

After the Ocean Park adventure we headed back to Causeway Bay, Jaydee and Patrick went to the mall to buy stuffs while Me and Val went out to look for a Starbucks. lol

- Starbucks @ Causeway Bay Plaza -

We went back to the hotel to freshen up and went out again to have dinner in Mong Kok. We took an MTR from Causeway Bay interchanged at Admiralty and took Tsuen Wan line to Mongkok.

We had dinner at the shopping mall - Lang Ham Place, the tallest landmark in Mong Kok.

- Pork fried with curry sauce @ curry factory in Lang Ham Place -

At Tung Choi street (ladies market) known for women's clothing, cosmetics, accessories and the like. Bonjour is one of the famous boutique store in the place.

- Night market @ Mong Kok -

We spent the entire night buying stuffs/pasalubong. We headed back to our hotel around 12mn. So tired from walking.. My feet were killing me from the endless walking at the Ocean Park and night market.. Agggghhh.. But it's all worth it!! =) Had to go to bed for the Disneyland experience on Day 3..

Day 2 Expenses:

HKD18 - McDonald's Big breakfast with hash brown - Php99.91
HKD250 - Ocean Park Pass - Php1388.69
HKD55 - Lunch @ Ocean Park - Php305.51
HKD45 - Dinner @ Lang Ham Place - Php249.96
HKD35 - Grande Chocolate Chip Cream Frappe @ Starbucks - Php194.42
HKD309 - Shopping at the Mong kok Market Place - Php1716.42

Total: Php3954.91

Hong Kong 2011 - Day 1

Day 1

We got a round trip ticket to Hong Kong for Php 4,070.69 on January 2011. I had to pay Php100 for check-in luggage week before departure and pay for the Php 1620 Travel tax. In short the round trip airfare cost: Php5790.69

Fast forward...

May 15 2011, I get to arrive at the airport first then came Jaydee and Val then Pat.

- Checking my Passport =) -

1640H flight from Manila to Hong Kong was delayed for 1.2 hour due to, as usual, air traffic congestion.

- Valerie and Jaydee -

The line at check-in counter was not that long. In fact we were 3rd on the line. However, all those passengers before us were group bookings!

Touch down Hong Kong an hour late from the original arrival (1840H). Although I already have HKD 2000 as my pocket money, I had to exchange additional Php 10,000 at HK airport just to make myself safe on another country that is almost 700 miles from home. =)

And as per experience, I would advise you to have your money exchanged in Manila rather than in Hong Kong. I only get to have HKD 1500 out of my Php10k. Whereas in Manila, I get to have HKD2k out of my Php11k at Czarina Exchange located at the Makati Stock Exchange Tower 1. In short, I was HKD500 "lugi".

- Our best-friend all through out the trip "The Octopus Card" -

At the HK airport first thing to buy is the Octopus Card. You will be needing it all throughout your stay. You will be amazed what this card can do for you. =)

We took a shuttle (S1) going to Tung Chung terminal and had to interchange lane at Central terminal to get to Causeway Bay.

- Valerie outside HK Airport Terminal 1 -

- Our first MTR ride -

Our hotel is a 5 minute walk from Causeway Bay Terminal which is good because we will be taking this ride all the time.

"The Wifi Boutique hotel". The name itself says everything. Each room comes with a complementary wifi access and it is fast! For someone who needs access on the internet, especially emails.. I find this ultimately amazing! Not bad for a Php5000 apportion for the entire stay at the hotel.

- Room 1603 -

As soon as we settled our luggage we went to Chiu Hing Noodle House for our super late dinner. The noodle house is just 3 minutes walk from our hotel. =)

I had the Special beef sirloin rice. It taste good! It's like eating "Beef Nilaga" without the soup. People here are friendly as well. They find time to be more patient when taking our orders.

- Special Beef Sirloin Rice at Chiu Hing Noodle House -

Day 1 Expenses:

Terminal Fee - Php750 (NAIA - Terminal 3)
Octopus Card - Hkd150 = Php825 - Hkd50 is for deposit. It will be refunded on your last day
Dinner - Hkd42 = Php231 at Chiu Hing Noodle House
7eleven - Hkd18 = Php99 (Bottled water, chocolate milk)

Total : Php1905