Hong Kong Day 2: The Peak and Disneyland

We woke up late on our second day in Hong Kong. Though a little behind of our schedule, we were not worried about it. We went straight to The Peak. This place is also called Victoria Peak and is the highest mountain as well as one of the major tourist attractions of Hong Kong Island. 

To get there, we rode the MTR to Central station and walked a few meters to The Peak Tram Lower Terminus. All three of us were first timers in Hong Kong. We almost got lost but there were signs along the road to lead us. It was quite a cloudy and windy day when we started our journey towards the Lower Terminus. 

Arriving at the Terminus, we then decided to buy combo tickets which included The Peak Tram return journey, entrance for The Sky Terrace 428 and entrance for Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. I felt dizzy while riding the Peak Tram uphill but my sister was so happy. However, I still agree that it is one way to truly experience Hong Kong's natural wonders as well as enjoy the spectacular perspective of the city below. 

After disembarking from the tram, we had to pass by stalls of souvenirs. Tourists would never forget to bring home something to remind them of the trip. We headed straight away to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum where we met wax figures of famous people. See my sister peaking through William Shakespeare's work.

My mother berating Hitler for his devious ways.

Like a boss on the throne.

Scared from Jackie Chan's flying kicks!

Look there! Was that a bird? Or a plane? 

Posing with a lot of wax figures made us hungry. After having lunch at KFC, we headed towards Sky Terrace 428. It is the highest 360 degree viewing terrace in town and is standing 428 meters above sea level. I think it is more stunning to visit at night but then we had other plans. Nevertheless, we enjoyed walking around the place. A prerecorded tape and headset is given for everyone to borrow and hear about Hong Kong's architecture, cuisine, culture and history while taking in the sights.

We would have wanted to stay long and explore more of The Peak but we had planned Disneyland for the day too. From the Central Station, we rode the MTR to Sunny Bay and transferred to the pink line towards Disneyland Resort. Seeing the train for Disneyland made us excited. The windows were shaped as Mickey Mouse's head. 

Weee! My first visit to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort!

Gorgeous plants and a huge castle.

There were a lot of people and a lot of things to do. The rides had long queues. A decent photo cannot be achieved because of the huge, happy and excited crowd.

When it was almost time for the parade, the streets were closed off and all were asked to stand at the sides. I had to fight through to stand at the front and get some good views. The feeling of seeing story book and fairy tale characters was so exhilirating. Disneyland is my happy place.

Disneyland staff would volunteer to take your photos on your phone and their own camera. You can decide to visit their counters to have the photos printed. A nice marketing and revenue strategy.

Aside from the rides, there are also booths were Disney Characters are. The long line and long wait was worth it. We met the lovely Minnie Mouse. The characters were given time to rest. When it was time for Minnie to rest, Mickey fetched her from her booth. So sweet!

And Pluto!

Toy Story Land is where me and my sister had the ride of our lives. 

We tried RC Racer which is a U shaped Coaster. We were both excited as first timers. The queue was about 45 minutes and while waiting we can hear the shouts of those who are currently on the ride. When it was our turn, it whipped us back and forth. An extremely thrilling and dizzying ride it was! When the coaster would go down and lunge forward, I cannot see my feet. Now that I'm writing about it, it still makes me feel cold and thrilled. We were seated at the farthest back and so we learned a lesson, sit at the middle from  hereon. :P

There were a lot of rides and activities to choose from. We also tried the Grizzly Gulch Coaster and Jungle River Cruise. One day is not enough at Disneyland. After all the rides, we had dinner in one of the restaurants and waited for the wonderful fireworks.

A lot of people were ahead of us and were ready to view the fireworks. It wrapped up our magical Disneyland experience.

I really want to come back to Disneyland and experience more. This ends our day 2 in Hong Kong. What a busy day! We arrived at our hotel at around 12mn. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog! :)

Dining at Tunk-ka Cafe

I have always loved dining with a view.  A few weeks ago, we had a special dinner in honor of one of our colleagues who would be venturing into another path. I suggested we could have our evening meal at Tunk-Ka Restaurant.

This place is situated on top of Rang Hill in Phuket and offers an extremely nice view of the town. A year ago, me and my friends went to this joint to eat but since we arrived very late in the evening, we only saw the lights of the town.

This time around, we arrived just after 6 in the evening. After making sure where  our reserved table was, we headed to the restaurant’s platform to see the stunning view. We witnessed how the sun began to fade and building lights began to dominate.

photo courtesy of Wei Wei

The soft lights served as a guide back to the main restaurant area. Such a romantic view.

Other colleagues started to come. One was Dr Rushapol, who brought a bouquet of flowers.

I forgot to take photos of the food. All  I remember was that all of us were hungry and dug into the dishes right after they were served. The team had tom yum soup, chicken in pandan leaves, and shrimps in special sauce.

photo courtesy of Wei Wei

Everyone was full and happy to bond with each other outside of the office. Times like these are special, its not most of the time that we can get together outside of work. Though we're all sad that a teammate is leaving, we're excited for her journey and adventures ahead.

Thank you and 'til next blog!

Hopped to Hong Kong - Day 1

Nawh, don't take the title literally. This blog is about our family trip to Hong Kong last July 2015. My sister and I planned for the trip 3 months earlier. We shared expenses for our hotel, tours and food as well as for our mother's flights. My father has not filed for a passport so he failed to come with us.

I had to travel from Phuket to Bangkok by plane for an hour and then wait for my Bangkok to Hong Kong flight.

I was on board China Airlines and though I have traveled a lot, this was my first time to ride a big plane with a total of 3 rows and with personal screen in front of my seat. The attendants gave us  a blanket for comfort. I slept through most of the flight and when I woke up, we have already arrived in Hong Kong.

It was my very first time to set foot at Hong Kong International Airport. I just followed the crowd through the hallways leading towards the airport train. Then, towards the immigration and arrival halls.

Since my sister and mother's flight would arrive about 15 minutes later than mine, I waited for them at Arrival Hall A. Let me first take a selfie :)

It didn't take long for me to wait for them. We then headed to buy an octopus card and ate breakfast at McDonald's.

We then looked for the N21 bus heading to Nathan Road. It was confusing and we didn't know where to alight. We ended up looking for our hotel and literally being lost in Hong Kong.

Finally we found Kingsland Apartments and headed to where our hotel - Miu-Ceon Wing On Hotel was. My jaw dropped when I saw the room. I thought that what I read about Hong Kong's hotel rooms were just a hearsay. Saw it for myself! Just one step and I will be at the shower room. We can't even open our bags properly. I had to open mine under the bed. We didn't let this stop us from having fun and exploring Hong Kong. We only need the hotel for a night's rest and shower, anyway.

After freshening up, first on our itinerary was going to Ngong Ping for a cable car ride towards the village. I purchased the tickets for this before we've arrived so we breezed through the long queue.

We tried the crystal cabin on the way up to the village. This cable car has a glass bottom to see the scenery below.

The view at our back.

The view of where we were headed to. Thick, scary fog ahead!

We had to pass through a gift shop after alighting the cable car and had to find its exit to get into the village. But first things first, obligatory images from this spot.

Signage for directions were everywhere, one will never get lost.

Here are our snapshots during our Ngong Ping Village Tour..

At the top of the stairs, not quite visible due to the fog is the Tian Tan Buddha. It's also known as the Big Buddha made of bronze and completed last 1993. It symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and faith. It is a major center of Buddhism in Hong Kong. we didn't feel trekking at the moment, so we just settled on having photos taken at the foot of the stairs.

Afterwards, we headed to City gate outlet to have our dinner. It's located at the Cable Car Terminus and impossible to miss.

We would've wanted to go to Avenue of the Stars that day but since we we're all tired from the travel and flights, we chose to go home and sleep.

This was our first day in Hong Kong. See you all soon for our second day! Thank you and 'til my next blog!

Dining at Chickaboom

It's been a long time that me and my colleagues went out to eat together. Despite our busy work and personal lives, we found time last Friday, 13 May. It was our first time at Chicka Boom, a restaurant serving delicious chicken dishes in Phuket Town. After work, we headed out to the place.

The place's lighting was creative and the atmosphere was unique. As there were 8 of us, we settled on their long table. But for groups of 4, there is an option to sit in a Korean inspired setting.

To order, we need to check on their list on how we want our chicken served. I chose 3 pieces of boneless fried chicken to be in  butter sweet sauce, one serving of rice and coleslaw.

While waiting for our orders, we talked and took photos.

The waiter asked each of us to pay ahead for each of the orders. Afterwards, our meals were served. I got what I wanted! :)

It's nice to discover a new place to eat with friends in tow. Everyone was excited to taste their own orders. Thanks to Mel who suggested about the place. I'd love to come back soon and try chicken with another kind of sauce. 

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!