my complicated life

our flight was at 8:00 AM via the Philippine Airlines, though the plane took off at around 8:30 AM already. 'twas my first time to take the philipine carrier so i was kinda excited and at the same time curious as to what it has to offer. 'twas also a first for me to pass through the terminal 1 of NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) airport, the terminal solely used for the philippine airline planes. the terminal itself is small and less complicated but with ample seats for those waiting for their flight shedule. the service of the PAL stewards were quite OK, still beautiful but older compared to stewards of other airlines. hehe, bad! the passenger seats of the plane were comfortable enough. the food was typical pinoy breakfast. i had longganisa and fried rice for breakfast, hehe. gutom eh! btw, their utensils were sturdier than Cathay. haha! finally! a plus despite its late departure against schedule. ;)

we arrived at HK airport around 10:30 AM. nanay and tatay were just so amazed just being at the airport. hehe. we exchanged just enough $US to $HK because the rate inside the irport is a dollar (USD) to $7.51 (HKD) only. we bought four HK$ 150-worth of Octopus cards on our way out (the seller suggested that the HK$150-card is more sulit if we are to use it for MTRs, buses, ferry...), grabbed maps and brochures for travellers (a must!), and did some picture-taking na rin! hehe. btw, they have promo for Airport Express. that is, you get 40% off the price if you buy in groups of 2,3, or 4. for example, AE would cost HK$ 250 only, good for 4 people. quite a deal, right? we plan to take the AE on our way home instead. hehe. =)

doubledecker buses to the city were at level 3, exit B. we took the Citybus A21 that will take us to Tsing Shah Tsui (TST) area where Mirador Mansion is located. the fare is HK$33 from the airport to TST. since we were forewarned that all transportation means takes exact fares, we used our Octopus Cards instead. hanep! as what a PExer attested (and we have verified ourselves!), you just have to place the card into the sensor, and viola! no need to even take it out of your wallet. galeng noh?! (o ako lang ang obsolete?) =)

tatay at HK airport's big luggage (landmark going to exit B)

Tsing Ma Bridge - said to be as long as San Francisco, USA's bridge

being confident that we were not lost (thanks to our bestfriend, the map! hehe), we alighted the bus adjacent the Holiday Inn Hotel (btw, the city is a right-hand drive so there's a different direction of traffic. the incoming vehicles takes the left side of the road while the outgoing vehicles takes the right side, getsch mo??!!!). anyway, nope were on a tight budget so we're not checking in that hotel! haha! we went to the building beside it, the Mirador Mansions. it was where most low-priced lodging rooms known as hostels were. i booked a hostel in Mirador a month ago online. i was charged 10% of the total cost as downpayment plus 2% service charge. i didn't encounter any problem with the website at all (http://bootsnall.com). i was billed correctly naman in my credit card although it gave me sleepless nights. after a couple of days, my worries made me make an overseas call from UAE to double check. haha. takot!

on the 13th floor was the Traveller's Friendship Hotel (ang corny ng name noh?! hehe) that Ms. Li (a chinese) manages. she showed us the 1 twin bedroom and 1 double bedroom that i booked. hmm... i was not happy about it. =( since i am very particular with cleanliness and safe feeling na walang surot dun, i was kinda dismayed with what i saw. ayan, ang napapala ng kuripot, hehe. anyway, seemed like the angels were on our side that day, Ms Li offered a family room (with 2 double beds, a private bath with hot & cold water, an A/C unit, a television, a big mirror and drawer cabinet, bedside cabinet, fresh linens everyday) which was newly renovated and furnished!!! as in, it smelled NEW in capital letters!!! even the bed, the comfort room, etc. all haven't been used!!! my sister and i made the facial pa-effect to look that we're hesitant to give in to her offer (although deep inside, we love the room already! hehe), so as to haggle some more. i guess, we're good actresses! haha! we were supposed to pay a total of HK$ 1242 for the two "ugly" rooms that i booked, but then, she charged us HK$1200 instead, for a much, much better room!!! kaya grab na namin agad yung offer nya before she changes her mind! we then took Room # 62 of the C4 unit in the 7th floor. inside that unit, there were still 5 rooms new rooms. the unit also has a common refrigerator, sink, microwave, and dining room outside. though we don't expect to use any of it because we will usually eat outside.

a photo of the room we stayed at - linis di ba??!

we rested for awhile before taking off. since it's a Wednesday (a day were museums have free entrance), we headed off first to Space Museum where we toured for awesome science-related space inventions and where me and my sister had the space walk! hehe. we also passed by the Cultural Center and the Clock Tower afterwards. magkakalapit kasi sila. it's really convenient to plan your itinerary beforehand based on the proximity of the places to visit. it saves energy. hehe.

nanay & tatay infront the peninsula hotel, which is just across the Cultural Center

after some snap shots here and there, we proceeded to the Avenue of the Stars. it's a long stretch of sidewalk along the harbor. the walkway offers a refreshing sea breeze and some entertaining statues and nameplate of HK stars (just like in Hollywood!). the folowing were some shots taken along the avenue:

all i know, is that, this statue symbolizes the movie industry in HK

hand printing of a new star! hehe

jacky chan's hand prints -
can be found near the souvenir store, about halfway the stretch of the avenue from the southside

we have walked the whole stretch of the avenue until we reached the promenade and then crossed back to the commercial area of TST. we had our dinner in one of the steaming resto along humphrey's avenue. grabe, we're starving talaga! we got back to our place in Mirador early evening. tatay opted to stay behind while the three of us (the girls), had to do our favorite activity of them all! shopping!!!!!! hahaha! we strolled along the Nathan Road amidst all the shops and fast-walking chinese people. we got to Temple Street and haggle the night away!! haha!