Ibyang
Ibyang

Travel

Remembering Hongkong

20 October 2007 0 Comments Category: Milestones, Travel


I finally found the time to scan four of our souvenir photos from our Hongkong honeymoon.

The photo above was taken by our travel agent’s photographer when we had a stopover at Baywalk on our way to Disneyland. A similar photo was also pasted on a small plate where it says Hongkong, another souvenir item we had to pay for. This photo reminds me of our first day in Hongkong (although this was taken on our second day hehehe), walking along the Avenue of the Stars, watching the Symphony of Lights, sightseeing at The Peak and enjoyed walking around Central District (Honkong’s financial hub).

Now here’s two of my favorite photos from our HK trip:

San pa ba kundi sa Disneyland???? I love Disneyland and I love theme parks!

Our second day in was spent mostly at Disneyland where Chris and I became kids for a day. Ang saya-saya namin dito. I wanted to live there!!! hehehe. Imagine living in a fairytale everyday? Who wouldn’t want that! Because I loved it here so much, I told Chris that the next time we visit HK, I’d want to stay in Disneyland Resort even for one night only.

Our third day was spent mostly at Shenzhen, China for the Window(s) of the World Tour. We have a souvenir photo but I forgot to scan (boohoo me!). This was also the day we went out night shopping at Mongkok HK.

Now, here’s our souvenir photo for our last day:

This was taken before getting on the cable car in Ocean Park. Tatawa-tawa pa ako dyan yun pala eh maiiyak naman pala ako sa cable car ride. I have fear of heights but in order to make the most of my trips, I try to get it over it if I need to get on something. The cable car ride was only 8 minutes but it felt like forever. I was so glad the moment it was over.

I love Hongkong. I haven’t been around the world much but this is one city I love because it’s like infusing Manila and Sydney together. Manila is very alive and vibrant then Sydney is disciplined and rich. I even mentioned to Chris that how I wish Sydney would be this vibrant, this alive so Sydney won’t be so boring. Compared to Manila, Sydney can be very boring.

I want to go back, but next time, I don’t want to join the tours anymore. Chris would specifically want to go in the deep deep ends of Hongkong streets, sabi nya gusto nya suyurin ang bawat kalsada ng HK. On the other hand, we still want to do some touristy stuff like going to Lantau Island to see the world’s tallest bronzed Budda and hang out by the beach at Repulse Bay. Oh and one more thing we weren’t able to do—hang out at bars at night! I’d love to experience HK’s nightlife.

As to when we’d go there again, that I wouldn’t know. All I know is one day, we’ll go back there (hopefully we’ll have a kid in tow para mas enjoy ang Disneyland hehe).

For more photos, please click below:

HK Day 1 – HK Day 2 – HK Day 3 – HK Day 4

Personal Note:

I’ve started writing this entry since August this year (would you believe that!) but its only now that I made the effort to finish the entry in time for our 8th wedding monthsary today. So happy monthsary to us!!!

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Manly Beach!!!!

This was a first time for me!!!!! Finally, I was able to go to Manly Beach after almost two years of being here in Australia.

After only 4 hours of sleep (Hilda and I slept at 1:30am) I woke up at 5:30am just so I could meet up with my Tita Bess and cousins Rachel and Patrick in the City.

I wasn’t prepared to go to the beach on Saturday morning. Friday morning inside the train going to work, my tita told me that we were going to Manly beach. I said “What? I didn’t bring clothes with me.” Yeah, I planned to go home in work clothes again the following morning coz I was just going home anyway. So Friday after work, I stopped by a shop and bought a cheap shirt. I also borrowed a pair of sunnies from Hilda and then Rachel just brought my Havaianas with her.

At 6am, I was out and about. Arrived in the city at 7am. The city looked like a ghost town on a Saturday morning.

At 8am, we were off to Manly Beach via the ferry. Weee!!!! I was such a very excited child getting on a ferry, arriving at Manly, seeing new things—i love it! Ang saya-saya ko, grabe!

Oh I love Manly!!!! If I ever become rich I’d buy a house and live there. For the first time since I’ve lived here, meron na akong “dream place to live in Sydney.”

Manly reminds me of The O.C. (you know the US TV series?) Ganung-ganun sya. It has a beach, it has shops around the beach and at the same time it’s a residential area so it’s a conducive place for settling down and having a family.

From 8:30-10am, we hung out by the beach area, playing with water and sand while enjoying the fresh air. It was cloudy at first but at around 9am, the sun finally shone.

After that we hung out at the shops and the markets. There was a Quicksilver shop that I really liked because of their interiors: they have walk-in closets where you can try your clothes on, a waiting area with cool sofas and lounge chairs and an aquarium.

We ate lunch at Ivanhoe where you can find the best $10 steak in Manly.
After lunch, we went back to the city and had dessert at Max Brenner at David Jones. We were a bit tired already by this time but before going home, we still window shopped at Myer because it is very seldom that we go to the city.

When I got home, I had this massive headache due to stress and not much sleep but nevertheless, I was so happy I was able to go somewhere I haven’t been to today, plus I was able to spend time with my relatives. Happy 🙂
For more photos, please click here: Manly Beach Photos
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Busy As A Bee

It’s been days since I have really written about something, pardon me but I’m really busy. There’s just a lot of things going on at work and a couple of errands I need to do at home that haven’t had time to work on my blog entries.

Last Sunday, I finally found the discipline to sit down and download our videos from our holidays in the Phils and the honeymoon. It took four hours to get it all done. I picked two of my favorite videos from the lot so if you have time, please feel free to view them here (please click below):

HK Disneyland Fireworks

HK Ocean Park Cable Car Experience

I may not be able to contribute to the blogosphere for now but I’m certainly doing blog hops and leaving comments on your sites.

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A Lesson on Hotel Hunting

19 July 2007 2 Comments Category: Tips, Travel

When asking a hotel attendant if their standard rooms have windows, you might also want to ask if it opens.

I have a participant in training that’s particularly claustrophobic and would like to have windows in the room and preferably, windows that open.

So I called hotel number 1 and asked, “Does your standard rooms have windows?”

And she answered, “Yes we do have windows inside the rooms but it doesn’t open”.

So obviously, their windows are just for decoration????

And then came the offer, “but we do have rooms with balcony that you have to pay an extra $45.00”

Wow! Okay sa marketing diba?

Anyway, I called hotel number 2, and the hotel attendant almost laughed (I swear he was about to) when I asked, “But does your windows open?”

Fortunately, yes!

Today, I learned a lesson on hotel hunting and my trainee will now have a place to stay.

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Travelling Tips

18 July 2007 3 Comments Category: Tips, Travel


Although travelling can be the most exhilarating thing in the world, it is never that easy. There are so many things to consider when travelling. I’ve had my share of travel booboos so I’ve come up with some travelling to-dos that Chris and I try to practice whenever we travel.

Research and study. Get to know the place you will go to before heading off. Go to bookstores and scan travel books. Surf online to know about the culture, sights, food, weather and what else to expect of the place. Learn the country’s basic language if you can. This activity will also determine if you will need to join a group tour or not.

Buy a Guide Map. It would be better if you buy a map at least two weeks before (or even way ahead of) travel for you to be able to study it and plan your itinerary. You can also download maps online if you don’t want to spend money on maps.
Map of Singapore from Lonely Planet

Make a travel checklist. Make a list of your To-dos Before Leaving and Things to Bring so that packing your stuff won’t be so tedious. Your list will also help you avoid last minute shopping before you’re off to your dream destination.

Make a list of things you need and want to buy. It’s very tempting to be impulsive when travelling so I make sure that I have a list to focus on. My needs list is usually pasalubong for family and friends while my wants lists are stuff that I plan to buy should I have extra money left.

Learn the art of packing your things. You can’t just put everything inside your bag and say “that’s it”. You need to know how to pack things that are breakable and fragile. You need to know that putting clothes inside your shoes will prevent it from creases. You need to know that there are ways to fold clothes that will save space inside your luggage.

Travel light. If you plan to do a lot of shopping in your place of destination, all the more that you have to travel light. I usually bring just the essentials when I travel. I don’t bring too much clothes, shoes, makeup and accessories. I only bring clothes I know I wouldn’t have time to shop for like bathing suits and evening dresses and a couple of shirts. If there’s still some room inside my luggage, I put rolls of tissue to fill in the gaps, so my luggage would still look stuffed.
Send a package ahead. This is usually applicable to people going back to their mother country. This is more convenient than negotiating with check-in officers in airports, more cost-effective because airports will make you pay a ridiculous amount when you have excess luggage and more stress-free because you don’t have to drag yourself around the airport with a heavy luggage.

Bring a tripod. It will save you time asking strangers to take photos of you. The first time we brought a tripod, we had more fun capturing photos. It meant more poses, more photo opportunities and less camera shakes.

Bring a pen and paper at all times. This has always been a must for me because I tend to forget things. My bag usually contains a small planner, Post it notepads, an ordinary pen and a sign pen. While waiting for flights or sitting down for a meal, I make it a point to write down everything that transpired for the last couple of hours. Post it notes are for important reminders or notes to stick on our guide map.
Buy universal adaptors for your electronic devices. I recommend the 5 Outlet World Power Suppressor (see photo). This will likely work in most parts of the world (Europe, Australia, Asia, America). The number of adaptors you buy will depend on how many electronic devices you have with you while you travel. For us, we make sure we have at least three adaptors. At night we usually plug in two devices (digicam and videocam), the third adaptor is our spare just in case we misplaced one. We don’t want to waste time buying adaptors while travelling.

Invest on extra digicam and/or videocam batteries. This will save you a lot of panic attacks when you see your cameras shouting “lowbat!” especially when most of your travelling is spent outdoors.

Confirm flight schedule at least two days before flying. There might be changes in the flight itinerary and they also need to know that you will really get on that flight you paid for. If on the day of travel some emergency happens, call your travel agent or the airline office ASAP so you can rebook your ticket. In some airlines, a no-show would mean no refund.

Know your luggage weight limit. The usual check-in luggage weight limit is 20 kilos per person, in some airlines its 30 kilos—it really depends on the airline and destination. Your hand carry luggage should not exceed 7 kilos. For extra kilos, there is a fee that you have to pay and it’s usually in US dollars.

Put your valuables in one bag and always have that bag with you wherever you go. Valuables would mean passport, tickets, cash, camera, medicine, important documents, etc.

Be mindful of your things. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories of travellers losing their bags and valuables so when I travel, I try to stay focus and mindful of the things going on around me. If Chris and I travel together, we usually watch each other’s back and we always count the number of bags we have. While inside the airport, we try to concentrate on the all the processes we go thru (check-in & check-out of luggage, customs, connecting flights, announcements, forms we need to fill in, etc).

Keep receipts or tickets of purchases you made. This is very useful if you need to know where your money went during travel, and this will be your reference when you receive your credit card statement. Receipts and tickets can also be used as souvenirs.

Explore, explore, explore. Unless you’re in the jungle or mountains, don’t be afraid to get lost in the crowd. Most tourist spots are user-friendly with directions and arrows pointing you where to go. Don’t be shy to ask for directions from strangers. With the right perspective, getting lost in a foreign land can be fun and exciting.

When in Rome, do what the Romans do. Short of saying, follow rules and regulations of the country you’re staying at the moment of travel. Saying “Sa Pilipinas hindi naman ganito eh” would get you into more trouble. This phrase also encourages you to immerse yourself in the country’s culture, when you do what they do, you learn more.

Buy something that will remind you of your travel. For little things, I normally buy refrigerator magnets or photo frames with the place’s name on it as a souvenir. For big things, I always buy a piece of jewellery so that when I wear that certain necklace or bracelet, I would be reminded of my stay in that place.

I’m sure there’s still a lot more tips out there so if you can think of any, please feel free to add them up here. Should I have any more tips, I’ll surely post them later.

Happy travelling!

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