Hong Kong : The City Tour

November 19, 2013


Our first day in Hong Kong was already a blast of beautiful scenes, finest architecture, happy people we met on the trip, and the bright lights that decorated the city at night . It was just one day and I felt like I had seen a lot of wonders that Hong Kong can offer to its millions of tourists from different sides of the world . And now, I couldn't wait to discover what else to experience on our second day in the city .


I still can remember how comfy and soft our bed was at Bridal Tea House and that very warm space we got despite the cold weather outside the hotel . Those were just so perfect in order for me to get a very nice sleep on our first night in Hong Kong . Maecel and I were both tired on our first day and we seemed to have a long day and night due to the back-to-back visits we did to Ladies night market in Mong Kok and the Tram Peak . I guess those activities had taken a lot of energy from me . That's for sure !  Otherwise , I wouldn't be asleep for long hours . I was knocked down when I got back to the hotel . The moment I had my body laid on bed , my eyes shut off voluntarily and the next thing I knew , my alarm on my phone kept on snoozing . Oh wow, it was already morning !  It was 7AM when I woke up.


As the tour would begin at 8:30 AM , I needed to hurry up, fix myself and get ready for the trip ! I couldn't be late . It's going to be our Macau day so I knew we would have another long day ahead . But before anything else ,  it's time to energize with enough food !

With the wonderful people I met in the tour

Our hotel accommodation came with a complimentary breakfast , similar to what all other hotels do offer . Before the invigorating tour activities began , we better had our bellies filled with carbs and sweets or else we'd end up starving during the trip. It was a buffet type of breakfast so we had a variety of choices on the table : from coffee to tea , from sweets to healthy wheat products to porridge and fruits . With all those kinds of food served , I had my eyes on ham and wheat bread so I had them on my plate , and , of course , my all - time sweetheart every morning , a coffee .


We were in the middle of chit-chat and getting along with other people in the group when the tour guide came at the hotel lobby to pick us up. Everyone was not ready to go yet .  Maecel and I and the rest of our friends were not done with breakfast , and that didn't matter to the guides .  The tour must proceed on time .


First part of the tour was the compulsory city - tour . First destination would be Victoria Harbour , but before we got there ,  let's see some more places in Hong Kong :

Victoria Harbor

One of the tourist spots in Hong Kong is the Victoria Harbor . This is a bit similar to Bay Walk in Roxas Boulevard in Manila but they have a lot of differences ; one of which is the fresh air . When we got to the harbor , we did not have to cover our nose , unlike in baywalk where one must not like to breathe with an air that comes from dirty ocean . Another visible difference is the water . It's all clean . No garbage . No clutters .  Also, there are no street kids in the alleys . No vendors alongside the benches and the sea walls . The whole environment is clean , and that is very impressive .

It was such a nice place so we must have our own picture taken with the ocean at the background :)

Other photos :

Souvenir Shops 

Next would be a visit to different souvenir shops in Hong Kong , including the jewelry factory called TSL . Picture taking was not allowed inside the shops :) Anyways , Ate Cathy from Royal Express Travel and Tours reminded us that the items in souvenir shops would be expensive as compared to those that could be bought from Mong Kok , and she was absolutely right . 

That's all for the city tour . It was not as fun as our first day but I knew our next destination would rock my world . Next stop would be Macau .


At the end of the city tour , most of us in the group would go straight to Disneyland while Maecel and I were bound for Macau . Before we parted with the rest , we opted to have photos with the rest . We couldn't be sure if we would see them all the next day . Some might fly back on the third day while others had scheduled trip different from ours . It was so nice meeting them and the best souvenir would be a nice photo with them :)

The highlight of  second day tour was Macau , and I got excited even more because sooner that day , I would have my feet set in the City of Dreams !


UP NEXT : Macau Tour

You may click here to go back to Hong Kong main entry 



Ma . Cristina
Mandaluyong City , Metro Manila

Hong Kong: Peak Tram and Mong Kok

November 18, 2013


While we were at the airport waiting for the other group in the tour, Anita, one of the tour organizers from Holiday World ,  offered us an add-on tour which includes visit to Victoria's peak and Ladies Night Market for 280 HK dollars per head. This was not part of the tour package we were booked for  but the idea of seeing the city by night was so enticing . Hence , Maecel and I both agreed to add the night tour on our itinerary . We both would like to experience the tower where people get the best perfect view of the city .


The staff of Holiday World were strict as far as pick-up or assembly time is concerned . When they say 4:30pm , they would show up 10 minutes before the pick-up time and at exactly 4:30 , we must go . That's one of the things I like about Chinese people . They are very disciplined and every second of their time matters a lot . Sometimes I ponder if they have such thing as "idle time" or what we call in Filipino the "petiks mode" . Everybody works on time and everything is finished by the specified time . No wonder their economy has been at the peak of success .


Anyway , ten minutes before the scheduled pick-up, our tour guide  Sonny met us at the hotel. He's very nice and he speaks English a lot better than other Chinese people that we talked to from the time we arrived in Hong Kong. He was driving a van when he went to the hotel. He said he would bring me and Maecel to the main assembly area where we're going to meet other people who would join us in the tour .  It sounds like there were a lot of people going to the tram peak , and that sounds cool !

Sonny and Maecel

This is our pick up van.

Maecel and Tour guide Cathy

From Bridal Tea House, Sonny brought us to another hotel in Hong Kong where a bus was waiting for us. It's a huge bus so we must be a huge crowd. I was expecting around 30 people joining us in the tour.


There were about seven (7) people seated inside the bus when we got in; then few more minutes, some old people came in, then three (3) more people followed, and then an Indian couple. Shortly after , a Chinese lady got in. She remained standing beside the driver's seat. She  must have been our tour guide, I supposed. And I was right. She grabbed a microphone and introduced herself as Cathy. She gave some briefing about do's and don'ts and some meet-up instructions and what we should expect when we reached the tram and the tower. She speaks good English so she's easy to understand. When she asked us to get ready as we were about to leave, I looked behind my seats. The bus was not even half-full. Then I smiled at myself. Sometimes big things don't mean big numbers.


The Peak Tram

One of the advantages of engaging the service of a tour organizer is an executive pass in the peak tram. When we reached the LowerTerminus area, there were hundreds of people waiting in queue, and we were lucky because we didn't have to wait outside for a long period of time just to purchase tickets and get inside the station. I guess the tourism ministry has given a separate priority lane to tourists who wish to ride the train and reach Victoria's peak. That's awesome! I think everyone in the group felt special with that kind of treatment we received. I was delighted.


Another advantage is, we didn't need to get our tickets or passes. Cathy, our tour guide, got one for us and gave it while we were waiting for the train.

When I saw the car approaching, I tried to manage to get to the first line because I wanted to get the best seat inside the train. I remember when Cathy gave us a short orientation about the Tram Peak, she said the best spot inside the train is toward the right side because that's where we could get the best view of Hong Kong - most of the tallest buildings and the ocean, and I shouldn't miss that :)

And true enough! Here's one of the best scenes I ever witnessed while on board the train  :)

Just like me, other people got so frenzy seeing the beauty of Hong Kong . They must have been so excited to reach the peak and get 360 degrees view of the city .

The Peak Tower

When we reached the peak , we were on our own . Cathy gave us plenty of time to explore the place . There are so many things to do in the peak , aside from the usual shopping . There are restaurants to dine , some gaming avenues , and other attractions inside and out of the building . Some people in the group proceeded to shopping areas . Others did go anywhere inside the peak for sight seeing . Some had dinner. Maecel and I looked around to see if we could find those items that our good friends in the office would like us to buy such as shirts and polo. There were so many things to look at but we spent most of our time taking photos :) together with the wonderful people we met in the trip.

Sky Terrace at Night

What amazed me to the fullest was the extravagantly lighted buildings which make Hong Kong so adorable  and vibrant by night! I do love bright lights.

Ladies Night Market @ Mong Kok

After spending almost three (3) hours at the peak , it's time for real shopping by people on a tight budget , like me! Next stop was a visit in Mong Kok, the cheaper shopping capital in Hong Kong . Cathy said we could buy gadgets , clothes and all kinds of accessories at the cheapest possible rate if we could haggle for lower prices , something that I'm not really good at.

The Ladies Night Market is one of the well-known shopping areas in Mong Kok . I guess it's the cheaper prices of the products that attract most shoppers . I've never been good at haggling over prices but when I purchased a nice pink bag for my niece , I asked for a discount and I got it so easy .

Another good thing in the market is an access to restaurants that serve Chinese , Thai , Vietnamese and other Asian food . It was almost late at night , and Maecel and I were both hungry . I wanted to try real Chinese food but when we got to a couple of restaurants , I could not decide which food to eat because everything on the menu was written in Chinese characters , and I don't understand them . I can't read Chinese . The menu had pictures of the food on it but they were so small and I could hardly see them . Maecel suggested Vietnamese restaurant and that was the best choice we did . We had the best dinner in the city :) We ordered beef something , oh my , I could not recall what it's called :) but it was very delicious!

We were given only an hour to go around the market, buy stuffs and have dinner. It was not plenty of time so we said we would come back to shop.



It was our first day and first night in Hong Kong and we had so much fun . Every second had not been wasted and we felt like we had seen a lot already , and what's more to say ? It was just day 1 !  We couldn't wait to see how the remaining three (3) days would turn out to be but I had guessed  hilarious days coming !!!


You may click here to go back to Hong Kong Tour Main Page


Ma Cristina
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila