honeymoon getaway : episode 2 part 2 (Ngong Ping 360 & Avenue of Stars)

arrived back at HK but this time at the Kowloon Ferry Terminal...we arrived around 11 am i think then went on to search for our hotel...after walking around here and there, still haven't found the hotel, we decided to take the MTR and bought the Octopus card...our hotel was near the Yau Ma Tei MTR station...it was super near...after a few steps from the exit of the Yau Ma Tei station, we arrived at CASA Hotel which was our hotel for the 3 nites we were at Hong Kong...checked in at the hotel and entered the room....as we entered the room, we were a bit shocked by how small the room was...that was by far the smallest hotel room that we have ever stayed in our entire life...the room was super small and the bathroom was ultra small...hahahhaa~...a little frustrated & regretted that we booked the hotel...but location wise, it was super strategic...

after leaving our bags at our room, we then headed out to go to Ngong Ping 360...from the Yau Ma Tei station, we headed to the Lai King station via the Tsuen Wan Line...from there, we interchange to the Tung Chung Line to head to the last station which is Tung Chung station...from there, it was about 5 minutes walk to the Ngong Ping 360 cable car station....Tung Chung and Ngong Ping is located at the Lantau Island of Hong Kong...bought the tickets which was HK$352 for 2 person which was about RM140...there were 2 types of cabin, 1st was the normal and the other was the crystal cabin which the floor was made of glass which was a bit expensive....however, we took the normal cabin....the ticket also includes the 2 multimedia shows at the Ngong Ping which was Walking with the Buddha and The Monkey Tales...the cable car journey took about 25 minutes to reach the other end...upon approaching, we could already see a giant buddha statue at the top of the mountain of the Ngong Ping...when we arrived, we went to get our photo captured when we boarded the cable car...but ofcourse it was not free... :P

when we exited the souvenir shop, we then entered the Ngong Ping Village...i must say that it was beautiful...it was really nice the set up & landscape of the village...as we walked a bit further, we then saw something that we couldn't believe our eyes...there was a HALAL restaurant...hahahaha....thank God...we can eat!...the name of the restaurant was Ebeneezer's Kebab and Pizza...i ordered nasi beriyani while my wife had nasi with daging and the both of us had hot tea coz it's super cold up there...the meal that we had felt so nice & delicious...this could be due to we haven't had a proper meal for more than a day!...hahahaa~...

after we had our lunch, we then continued to explore and walked around the Ngong Ping Village while waiting for the Walking with the Buddha show....after about 15 minutes, we then entered the show theather...in there, it was the show of a brief tale of the Buddha...from a prince, he became the Buddha...the show was about 20 minutes...after the show ended, we then went around a bit further up towards the road going to the giant Buddha at the top of the mountain....but we didn't proceed as we were lazy...after spending almost 2 hours there, we then decided to head back down....

as we arrived at the cable car station at the foothill, we then headed to the Avenue of Stars...from the Tung Chung station, we headed towards Hong Kong station but we dropped off at Nam Cheong station....from there, interchanged to the West Rail Line towards Hung Hom and drop off at East Tsim Sha Tsui...from there, we walked to the Avenue of Stars...no worries as there were sign boards....travelling in Hong Kong was a breeze...the MTR was super efficient and super convenient...u can go to almost anywhere in HK via their MTR...that's how reliable their MTR was...after walking about 10 minutes, we then arrived at the Avenue of Stars....at there, the crowd hasn't start to build up yet...hence we took the oppurtunity to snap as much photos as possible before the Symphony of Light begins...we took pics with Bruce Lee statue, palm print and signature of famous HK super stars and a few more statues...at 8 pm, the Symphony of Lights then began...by that time it was already crowded at the Avenue of Stars...there were laser lights from several buildings at HK...the show was quite nice with rhythms of laser lights with colourful lights colors from several buildings....after about 5 minutes, the show then ended....

from the East Tsim Sha Tsui station, we then headed to the Tsim Sha Tsui station as they are linked together and then took the MTR from there to the Mongkok station to head to the Ladies Market to do some window shopping but instead ended up shopping...hahaha...and it ended up i did more shopping than my wife...hahaha~...got myself a long coat and a short coat, and a long neck shirt...the price there was quite cheap and the apparels sold there were quite nice...which was why i grabbed those... :P we also grabbed several t-shirts as souvenirs to give to our family members as well as some key chains...due to exhaustion and tiredness, we had to call it off for the day and went back to the hotel to rejuvenate for the next day's activities...

next post coming up will be our visit to the Ocean Park and Victoria's Peak...dun go away...

honeymoon getaway : episode 2 part 1 (Macau)

hey guys...been really bz this week with piles of work in office...had to even continue doing at home...phewww~....what a week...nevertheless, as promised, will be sharing my honeymoon trip to Macau & Hong Kong...due to the length of my vacation plus the various places we've visited, i'll be splitting my honeymoon trip to several posts, otherwise it will be a very, very, very long post.... :P

friday past 2 week, woke up at about 3 am...yeah, u heard me, 3 am...it's becoz our flight was at 6.25 am in the morning, so need to be at the airport early....got out of the house at about 4.15 am...it was so early that there were almost no cars on the road...but as we arrived at LCCT, it was totally different....the amount of people there was like any other hours...they were full of other people...probably their flight is early in the morning as well...we went into the boarding area and at about 6 am, we boarded the plane and the plane took off as scheduled...lucky thing...

arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at about 10.30 am....we then headed straight to the Sky Pier where we can straight away board the ferry from there to Macau without even checking out from the airport, no need to go thru the customs and don't even need to claim our luggage as the Ferry company, which was TurboJet arranged everything for us...they will be collecting our baggage into the ferry and to macau...was really impressed with how good their transportation & service was....HKIA also was very big, very convenient and the system was very good...2 thumbs up HK government...

we took the 12.15 pm ferry from HKIA and arrived at macau around 1 pm as the journey took about 45 minutes...as we exitted the Macau Ferry Terminal, instantly we felt the cold breeze of climate in Macau...it was damn cold...it was around 13 degree celcius at that time i think...plus the wind...brrrrr....we then took a cab from the terminal to the hotel...the moment we entered the cab, our 1st language barrier challenge started....my mandarin was a total crap...has been rusty years ago...i tried to pronounce M-E-T-R-O-P-A-R-K hotel but the guy still doesn't understand...good thing he has a hotel directory where the name of the hotel was also written in mandarin writting...thank God...in about 10 minutes i think, we were already at the hotel...it's that near, really...

the hotel that we were staying was Metropark Macau...the hotel wasn't bad at all...the room was quite big with a king size bed and was cozy...was satisfied with the hotel that we booked thru agoda...after putting our bags in the room, we then straight went out to head for the Ruins of St. Paul...1st time tried to get a cab to there but the driver did not understand where we wanted to go....showed the brochure of Ruins of St. Paul but he say can't go there...probably he got the wrong idea that maybe he thought we wanted to go to Paris or Italy or something.... :P we then went back into the hotel to ask how can we get there...luckily the concierge guy knows a little english and gave us a map of Macau and showed us how to go there...again, thank God...he said that it'll take 30 minutes to get there by walking...so me & my wife decided to walk there....we walked till the Golden Lotus Square and when we checked the map back, we were actually heading the wrong direction...so, for the 2nd time, we tried to get a cab and showed to the driver the map where we wanted to go...luckily there was mandarin writing in the map and he understood....thank God we had the map...eventually the map became the most useful tool for us in Macau...then about 15~20 minutes, we were at the Senado Square...from there, we must walk to the Ruins of St. Paul...it was an ocean of people there at the Senado Square up till the Ruins of St. Paul...on the way to the Ruins of St. Paul, there were also a few interesting buildings there...also bought some souvenirs on the way to the Ruins of St. Paul...after that, went to the Ruins of St. Paul and walked around there...took several snaps of pictures, went into the preserved area where there are skulls and also drawings, pictures and statues...then off we went to the Mount Fortress next to the Ruins of St. Paul...it was a little bit tiring as it was on top of the hill...my wife had a hard time climbing the stairs as she was already exhausted...alas, we made it to the top...the view on top foreseeing Macau was just beautiful...we can even see the other part of Macau from there...after walking around up there, we then sat for a while on the bench to catch our breath...after about 10 minutes, we went down back and stopped for a drink at Starbucks...

after that, we headed straight to The Venetian Macau...we took a cab since we did not know how the bus transportation works....as per before, showed the Venetian in the map to the taxi driver...the Venetian is located at the other island of Macau, so it was a bit more further and the fare was much more expensive...but, no choice since it's the only mode of transportation that we can rely on....the journey took around 20~25 minutes...then we arrived at The Venetian Macau...at first we thought it was located in another building which at the other side....so we walked there foolishly only to find that the building was still under construction and that the place where the taxi dropped us was The Venetian Macau....hahahaha... :P so we headed back there and got to know that the Venetian is actually inside the hotel there...not sure what was the hotel name but there were a lot of people there going in and coming out of that hotel....we should have tried to go in there first earlier...what a waste of energy...when we entered the hotel, there was a huge casino place there...that was the nearest that i got to see a real live casino...we then headed to the floor above following the sign shopping area...when we arrived on top, we were mesmerized by the architecture, scenery & landscape of the Venetian...it was like we were in Venice...in there, it felt like we were outside coz they made the ceiling look like the sky...it was just so beautiful...can't really describe it with words...if u guys are going to Macau, then this is a must visit place....at there, we walked around there, bought some souvenirs and the best part was took a gondola ride...yep, there is a man made river in there...hehehehe....the queue was quite long...we had to wait about 30 minutes for our turn....but i must say it was a really memorable experience...especially for couples....the gondola ride was from one end to the other...the gondola navigator even sang several songs during the ride....the guy really had a superb voice...seriously...the ride was about 15~20 minutes...the ride cost us around RM40++ per person but the ride was really worth it...a very interesting experience...for those who have watched the famous korean drama series Boys Over Flowers, this is where they shoot for the scene at Macau....even in the souvenir shop, there was a picture of them....hehehehe~...

after the gondola ride, we went back to the souvenir shop to purchase our picture taken before the gondola ride and a few other little souvenirs that had our picture...after that we walked around for a little while and then decided to head back to the hotel to call off for the day as tomorrow we need to head back to Hong Kong...the next day morning, we checked out and headed back to the Macau Ferry Terminal to board the ferry back to Hong Kong...

next post will be the 1st day at HK (Ngong Ping 360 and Avenue of Stars)....stay tuned...