HOW TO FAIL YOUR HONG KONG - MACAU TRIP [P1]

A trip we've never planned at all.

Before I enumerate our semi failed trip to Hong Kong and Macau, let me share a quick backstory as to why we suddenly decided to travel. Basically I got a new job since March and I will be moving out of Thailand to be exact. I just had it finalized around first or second week of April so I was thinking of travelling (since its easier while I'm still here). And so, I/we decided to travel to Hong Kong and Macau over the weekend. I booked all the tickets, hotels and even planned the itinerary (which didn't worked out). 

Why did I put the title like that? Because it really failed. From the time we arrived at the airport up to going around the city. 

The trip is for me and my family, so there's 4 us. I am coming from Bangkok and they'll be coming from Manila and we'll just meet there. Since I booked the flight, I decided the departure time. My family took an AirAsia flight at 2.50pm. It was not a promotion flight so I paid around P8,000++ per person. Their flight was delayed so they arrived pretty late in Hong Kong. As for me, I took a Cathay Pacific (YES!) flight which costs THB 7,000++ round trip. Again this was not a promotion flight. I took a later flight and landed in Hong Kong at 9pm. For short, we weren't able to do anything that night. Our first plan was for my family to check-in first so they can at least see the Symphony of Lights at 8pm and I'll just meet them at the hotel and we'll all go to The Peak. But they've waited for me and we just went altogether and used up all the time. 

DAY 1 - Arrival and must haves

First things first, upon arriving the airport: I suggest you to purchase your Octopus Card as this will save you from a lots of hassle in purchasing tickets as this card is acceptable to their public transportation, the bus, ferry and the subway in particular. As I have read in their website, you can purchase the Octopus card into two options: Sold and On-loan. Sold is where you buy the card and keep it with you while on-loan is giving a deposit for use and refunding the money when you surrender the cards. We purchased the On-loan because we are on a tight budget but if you're visiting Hong Kong often, you can buy the Sold Octopus and keep it as your souvenir. The On-Loan card has a deposit of 50 HKD and initial top up amount of 100 HKD. You can find their counter at the airport right when you reach the arrival area. 

Next is that I booked for a 3G Data Sim card from Klook. They have various promotions and packages and it's very swift. It costs THB 250 which you can use for 8 days with unlimited data use. This promotion actually had an option for 4G as well with calls and text but we don't need it so I opted for the 3G instead. 

Back to the trip, I've booked our room in one of the hostels in the infamous Chungking Mansions. You have many options to reach the place. You can take the Airport train then change to another subway line and the other way is taking the bus. If you are on a tight budget, I suggest taking the bus instead however the travel time take quite some time. We took the A21 Cityflyer bus that will drop us directly in Nathan Road. If you have your Octopus card, just tap your card, that easy. The trip costs 33 HKD. 

  

After some wacky snaps (because we missed each other), we finally reached the place. Go down to stop 14, Middle Road which is right in front of Imperial Hotel to reach Chungking Mansions (5 mins away). I chose to stay there despite my fear of what it looked like and how people described it on their reviews not just because its cheap (it's part of it) but because of how good the location is. Our main travel purpose is to roam around, not to shop and stay in the room. A room to sleep for the night is what we really need. 

As every people described it, the place is packed with Indians and I don't know what were they offering. It's safe (?) though, just don't mind them when you don't need what they're offering. Chungking Mansions is actually divided to flats with 2 elevators separated to odd and even floors per flat. We stayed at New Yan Yan Guesthouse at 12th floor Flat E5. It was not bad, the room is clean. Malik (the owner I guess) and the watcher were very accommodating. He added my WeChat ID so we can contact him if we need to. The sheets were clean and I think it's pretty great for a 1 or 2 night stay. One thing that I don't like is the bathroom that's it. Water and towels are all provided. 

So after resting for few minutes and touching up, we dropped our bags and went out for a stroll (thinking maybe there were still some stuffs to do). Hong Kong is indeed alive in the night time. It was 11pm and the streets are still busy as if it was only 7pm. Of course, establishments are closed but the night is as young and energetic as the people around. We had a walk at the Harbor City and Clock tower where I am dying to take my photo. 

 

 

The night view was breathtaking of course. 

 

At the clock tower.. 

 

It was pretty hard for us to go around because we were all starving and tired. There's nowhere we can go to eat. We don't had any other choice but to drop by at a convenience store and buy some snack to survive for the night. 

DAY 2 - Where the fail started

The plan for the second day was to visit The Peak since we weren't able to visit during the night time. We didn't realized that Hong Kong is not like Manila and Bangkok were you have to wake up early and you can visit more places. What shocked me the most is this was the sight that greeted us in the morning at 7am...

  

There's really nothing. We ended up eating at McDonalds for breakfast. And it really is expensive. Living in Bangkok and Manila makes it really hard to adjust with all expenses in Hong Kong. 

 

After breakfast, we walked to the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier (use your Octopus Card) to the Central Pier via Star Ferry Pier (around 3-4 HKD) to go to the Victoria Peak. Since the pier is beside the clock tower, we took some naps again. 

  

  

Now this was our fail moment again. We went to the bus stop (pier 6 to be exact) right in front of the Central Pier to get to the bus 15 to reach Victoria Peak instead of taking the Peak tram (expensive). We reached the stop at around 9am and we saw the signs there as well as the time where the bus is arriving. What happened is that we relied on the time stated thinking the bus will arrive within that time frame. For example, 07 58 - 09 48. But it is actually arriving on that stop on 07 58 AND 09 48, not between those time. So yah, we wasted an hour waiting for the bus until we decided to not go anymore since we will be travelling to Macau at 1pm. If you will be travelling to The Peak by bus, make sure to check the time.  

Zoom this in

So after giving up going to The Peak, I just suggested to walk around the area and if we can buy something, then we'll just purchase whatever. We were just walking straight then we went inside this Worldwide Plaza. It's basically a Filipino-filled mall. We were surprised as we were not expecting something like it. The place makes you feel like you were in the Philippines.

  

Then comes Jollibee, an all-time Filipino favorite.... 



We then went back to Tsim Sha Tsui as the pier going to Macau that I purchased also from Klook is from there. From Chungking Mansions, cross the road and go straight, and on that lavish street with loads of branded shops, turn right and go further until you reach China Ferry Terminal. We took the TurboJet as we are coming from TST.

   

The ferry was clean with comfortable seats (at least for me) for an hour ride. There was a bit of rain when we traveled and good thing none of us have sea sickness. 

The rest of my story with our trip to Macau will be continued. Do drop us some messages :)