This is my most ill-prepared trip ever...
1) Never do cost comparison for flight
2) Last min pack bag
3) Last min change money
4) No proper planning for iternary
At least I've:
a) Done eRegistration with MFA
b) Bought HK+Macau SIM card
c) Downloaded all the Apps
d) Prepared little gifts for exchange
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Flight details:
| Flight Details | Booking Date: 10 Sep 2014 | |||||||||||||||||
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Last minute packing
Purchased the Hongkong + Macau SIM card for SGD$22 in Singapore. Too expensive.
Simple gifts
First aid kit
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22 Oct 2014
Ready for boarding
Taking off
Touched down
Hongkong International Airport
Octopus card for $150 with an initial value of HK$100.
Onboard bus A21 that goes to Tsim Sha Tsui for only $33 compared to Airport Express that will cost up to $90.
Tsing Ma Bridge
Rainbow Lodge HK: HK$180 for weekdays, HK$220 for weekends. Small 8-beds dorm, but comfortable enough with shared toilet with other rooms.
Grilled squid at Avenue of Stars. Expensive and doesn't taste fantastic.
梅艷芳- Mei Yan Fang (Anita Mui)
Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade
李小龍 - Bruce Lee
Chinese Junk
Star Ferry: HK$160
Star Ferry tour has different package that you can take to tour around the Victoria Harbour including the Symphony of Lights.
Goldfish market
Meow at petshops
Mongkok protest area
Raining
Shrimp wonton noodle at 章記香港仔魚蛋王 + vegetable + milk tea: $54
Rain affecting the night market's business
香港漫畫星光大道 Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars
Not enough place to hang stuffs, so MacGyver spirit! Use a rope, tie a bowline and round-turn-2-half-hitches.
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23 Oct 2014
Woke up about 8am, most people are still sleeping
Common area
On the way to Tung Chung Station for the Cable car to Ngong Ping
Macdonald's breakfast: Coffee, hashbrown and macaroni with egg for $28.80
昂坪360纜車 Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car ticket $150 for standard return trip
The long queue took me 50minutes to board the cable car. The queue area was out of sight from the ticketing booth. If I were to see such a long queue, I might have decided not to even purchase the ticket.
On the way via the cable car
Tian Tan Buddha
Tea house
Tian Tan Buddha - climb the stairs and have a rewarding view of the area from the top.
Po Ling Monastery
Bus #21 to Tai O. It's important to take note of the fixed bus timings to and from Tai O to plan the journey. You wouldn't want to miss the bus, especially the last bus.
Tai O panorama
Tai O showroom
Dried seafood
Seafood
stilt houses
Dried shark
Meow
Market
大澳肥妹燒烤小食 combo for $195. Totally awesome set to feast on.
cuttlefish
Cable car back...
Mongkok
Police on standby
Roasted Goose rice at HongFa: $49
Admiralty - where there are more protesters
More crowd
Lan Kwai Fong
Mid-level
Gorkha beer: $72
PLAY Club: $280 for cover charge and addition $50 for bag storage
Google map is useful even to find midnight buses
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24 Oct 2014
Breakfast at 啊四快餐
Boarding the ferry: 1hr ride to Macau
Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal
澳門漁人碼頭 Macau Fisherman's Wharf
Roasted duck noodle $29
觀音像及佛教文化中心 Kun Iam Ecumenical Center. Take note that is closed on Fridays.
12 Zodiac signs on the ceiling
Dragon show — at 永利酒店 Wynn Macau
St. Dominic's Church
Ruins of St. Paul's
Macau Tower
HKD$3021 (S$497.47) for Bungee and skywalk (excluding another HKD$799 for photos and videos). Black t-shirt for Bungee Jump and an orange t-shirt for the Skywalk.
Jump-off 233m !
It is actually better to do the jump during daytime so that the photos will turn out better
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GoPro
Skywalk
Night bungy
Grand Lisboa
The Venetian Macao
The Venice style shopping arcade is actually on level 3
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25 Oct 2014
Market place rubbish
Golden Bauhinia Square
Daily flag rising by Hongkong Police at 8am
Breakfast at 翠華 for $34
Repulse Bay is just a bus ride away
Tin Hau and Kwun Yum Statues
姻緣石
Kayakers recovering from the small beach
Cemetery
St. John's Cathedral
Butchery at Central
Silk-stocking milk tea 絲襪奶茶 at Lan Fong Yuen 蘭芳園
Tai Po Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre 大埔墟街市及熟食中心
There are fish stalls, meat stalls, vegetable stalls, dry food stalls and cooked food stalls
Fish monger
Live chicken
Tai Po Waterfront Park 大埔海濱公園
大埔回歸紀念塔 - This park is quite a distance from Tai Po Market Station, taking a bus might be a better option than walking.
View from the top
Bird nest in coconut for $68 at 同記糖水。甜品專門店 TUNG KEE DESSERT
Filming in progress
Promoter for ESCAPE Hongkong at Sai Yeung Choi St S
Buskers
Road block at Mongkok
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26 Oct 2014
Dimsum breakfast at Super Star Seafood Restaurant for $207.90
Tuen Mun Station - went there in search for the abandoned Siu Lam Hospital 小欖醫院, but couldn't find it.
The MTR Light Rail at Tuen Mun District in the Northwestern New Territories. The stations have no ticketing gates and payment is based on honour system.
Inside the LTR
Siu Hong Station. The LTR network can be quite complex, but luckily, there's Google Maps that made navigation simple
屏山洪聖宮
Walled City: 上璋圍 Sheung Cheung Wai
社壇
Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda 聚星樓
全港首創B仔涼粉
4 mixed fruits sago dessert $34, Watermelon, Mango, Dragon fruit & Honey Melon.
Marine life stickers
Yuen Long Station
Abandoned
中國木結構建築藝術館 at Nan Lian Garden
What a waste: 圓滿閣 Pavilion of Absolute Perfection under maintenance
石館及盆景園
志蓮淨苑 Chi Lin Nunnery
Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple
Take note it closes relatively early at about 5.30pm?
Char siew noodle set $35
Yan On building
Cafe Hikari $200 for noodle, chicken wings, drink and instax
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27 Oct 2014
Breakfast
Note: After the checked-in area, there is no stores to buy anything you want. You will need to buy everything you need/want before check-in
Jetstar in-flight meal for SGD$14.00
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Key takeaways
- Check the queue line before purchase ticket
- Bus may be cheap, but beware of long detour, number of stops, jams and travel time
- No standing in minibus, check vacancy before boarding
- Make use of land, water body to navigate. good to have magnetic compass
- Metro interchange may not be linked
- Total cost of Octopus card usage: HKD$350
Even with heavy usage, my total Data usage was 873MB; so technically, having unlimited data is "overkill".
More pictures: Hong Kong and Macau (22 - 27 Oct 2014)
