travel galore :)

got back from my 6 days 5 nights stay in HK and Macau. went with mom side relatives and the four girls in our family (me included).

left manila at 8am. it was our first time to use online tickets (e-tickets) so we had to pay our travel tax at a booth in the airport. but it was cool to actually just have a printout at hand and be able to fly to another country. :) met up with a-ie and family at NAIA2 and waited for our flight to be called.

when we got to the HK airport, it took us a couple of minutes to find the ferry terminal transfer (thanks to the signs in the airport). we booked our tickets and waited. and since we were technically in HK already, we just HAD to look for food. and being in HK, it was an easy task. hands down to the food in HK. :)

finally, we got on board the ferry terminal. took about an hour before we reached macau. and when we got to macau, the excitement started. :) we were in our own little live version of CSI. hahaha :) a group of (drunk?) men who came from the mainland came down the vessel (they were seated at the upper floor) and started to shout. one of them was saying that his money was lost. and that it was the crew's fault (we had to leave our baggage at the back of the ferry; we couldn't bring stroller-baggages to our seats). and since almost EVERYONE in the lower floor was ASLEEP, no one could say who was at the back of the ferry during the one-hour journey. the guy asked a crew member to call the police since he insisted that this "case" be investigated. he kept on blaming the crew members and saying that they were incompetent and that he shouldn't have trusted them. negative side was that we, being the people in the lower floor, had to stay for the "investigation." they didn't want ANYONE to leave the ferry until the police came. Our bags were inspected one by one by a rather nice policeman; he kept saying bu haw yi xe (i'm sorry for the trouble) which was nice of him. :) anyway, an hour was wasted there on the ferry. :) hahaha :) guess the guy was lying cuz the police who was questioning him mentioned that the guy stated three different prices (on the amount he lost) for the past few minutes. :)

went to find a-ku and family at the venetian, which so happens to be LARGE, HUGE, and GIGANTIC. seriously. the hotel-resort must be the biggest hotel-resort i have seen (except one hotel-resort in korea which is equally huge). but it was breath-taking. they even had indoor and outdoor gondolas (just like mini-Venice). :)

cool thing was that there was guy who saw us when we were outside the Macau ferry terminal. he approached us, gave us his calling card, and introduced himself to be someone who gave group tours. after discussing with a-ku and asking the venetian if they gave tours (which were excruciatingly expensive!), we decided on contacting the guy. :) we went on a Macau day tour the next day. it was fun actually, esp. with the kids running around :) the guy was pretty nice too, making conversation with us along the way. and to my surprise, he thought we were MALAYSIANS. hahahaha :) how cool is that! :D

We went to a lot of sight-seeing spots; two of them being the MACAU TOWER and a temple located in the mountains. i remember the Macau Tower and the Kwan Yi Ma statue from the Amazing Race :) macau tower was the place where the participants were asked to bungee jump (300+ feet from the ground). we even saw an American guy "sky-walking" - going around the Macau tower in the ring located outside the tower (which was equally VERY high up). my uncle and i wanted to try out the sky walk but we lacked time. :) hehe :) maybe next time ;)

after macau, we went to HK Kowloon side. my first time to be in HK after around 8 years or so. a LOT has changed. hahaha :) we bought OCTOPUS cards and rode the MTR to get ourselves to places :) went to visit my grandma (who was also at HK then) and my cousin (whom i haven't seen in ages). too bad i didn't get to see the lights show sir jay told us about last year (i think). it was a play of lights from both the HK and Kowloon side buildings. the MTR in Hong Kong was really nice... made me wonder when our country would be like that (and if it ever will). such a sad reality when you think of the Philippines not being able to achieve what other countries have achieved. and then you start to wonder what may have caused the lack of funds to do these projects.

guess my FAVORITE day in HK was when we went to DISNEYLAND. yaaaay! hahahaha :) i think i was more excited than the kids :) hahahahaha :) but i loved the amusement park there. why? 'cause they had no scary rides! :D for me, space mountain=scary. hahahaha :) so i was satisfied with winnie the pooh and the carousel :) not to mention buzz lightyear and STICH :) waaaaah! STITCH. hahahaha :) loved the 3D show they did of donald duck too! :D

it was really nice and fun.. getting the chance to travel with relatives. the experiences and memories will always be there :) hope there WILL be a next time :D