touch down, hong kong

we took the 8am flight to hong kong via philippine airlines, and i gotta say, i was pleasantly surprised. the flight boarded and left on time, and landed 10 minutes early. quite an uneventful trip, which is how i prefer my flights.

we left our big suitcases at the airport's left baggage facility. HKD 120/bag/day. a tad steep, but it sure is convenient.

then we went to casa g&c discovery bay (our friends' place) to drop off our stuff and play with their little one before setting off for tung chung.

one of the main reasons for the tung chung outing was to check out the canon s95 for susie. my man left the mall quite happy--he got the camera for HKD 3,280 (PHP 19,047.00) from fortress, and it included a bunch of freebies to boot: 8gb sd card, extra battery,a mini tripod, camera case, and even an sd card reader. a damned good deal.

i walked around the mall for a bit, trying to find something to buy, but nothing called out to me.

so now we're back at casa g&c. :) i think i'll go and join susie for a nap. i feel exhausted all of a sudden.

plane rides galore

independence day weekend had me shuttling from airport to airport, catching one flight after another. very jetsetter, as other people had remarked. i could only wish.

we had inadvertently scheduled the long-overdue day trip to bacolod a day before our spontaneous hong kong trip with susie's family. it made for one busy but fun-filled week(end).

about a month ago, susie and i decided to finally grant our friend a's wish to fly to bacolod for a day just to taste their succulent chicken inasal. a had originally wanted to do a spur-of-the-moment thing, but exorbitant plane fares didn't give us the luxury of spontaneity, so we made do with a scheduled, but still bahala na-ish trip.

somewhere along the way, susie's family, on a whim, booked a trip to hong kong, and invited us to join them. i, being beaten by the daily grind, did not have the strength to say no. so what if i only had a few vacation days left? i'll worry about that later. and the trip just happened to coincide with mika's concert in hong kong, which i had been wanting to see. so saying no was definitely not an option.

the result of this weekend? bloated stomachs, satisfied, giddy grins, tired, aching feet, a spankin' new phone, and one broken maleta. the maleta part still hasn't sunk in, but i think it's a small price to pay for such a great week(end). i keep enclosing "end" in parentheses because the getaway stretched until thursday.

photos and stories to come VERY soon.

CX offers hk disney packages

for those who're looking to go to HK disneyland this summer with their family, you should check out cathay pacific's buy 2, get 1 free! vacation packages.

all packages include:

• roundtrip airfare, MNL-HKG-MNL via cathay pacific
  
• hotel accommodation
• hk disneyland park admission ticket
• return hotel transfers

booking period is from now until 7 july 2010, travel period from 1 march to 15 july 2010.

promo information
cathay pacific and hong kong disneyland's buy 2 get 1 free vacation package
phone numbers:
manila - (632) 757 0888
cebu - (6332) 231 3747
davao - (6382) 222 8901

snore: island pacific hotel hong kong

starting this month, "snore" is going to be my title for accommodation reviews here on i gotta go! :)

hong kong is filled with many, many, many hotels, but my challenge in finding one has always been the budget. hong kong shopping and food may not cost much, but affordable accommodations in my favorite city have always been hard to come by. the budget hostels are not very desirable compared with singapore and thailand.

while hunting for a hotel for this year's hong kong birthday trip, i checked out agoda, asia travel, and booking.com. just my luck that my birthday falls on the week of the chinese new year celebrations, which meant hotel rates were jacked up.

i was intrigued when i found island pacific hotel on agoda. it offered a rate of USD 93 per night, much, much lower than the rates for the other hotels i've been eyeing. i flexed my google muscles, and searched for reviews of the hotel, and they were very encouraging. read on to find out how my experience was in this western district hotel on hong kong island.

booking
like i've mentioned in a previous post, i booked our rooms for island pacific hotel on booking.com, because the site offered easy cancellation terms and low rates.

of course, during my online search, i also checked out the official website of island pacific hotel, to get as much information as i can. i like it that they disclosed the size of the room on the website. hong kong hotel rooms are notorious for their "cuteness," and it helped that i knew that we were going to be billeted in a 20-square-meter room.

location
island pacific hotel is in the western district, occupying connaught road west, centre street, and des voeux road west. it's just a 35-minute bus ride from the airport: from the airport bus terminus, we got on bus a10, which cost us HKD 48 each, and got off at the fourth stop, on connaught road, in front of connaught garden. from there, it was just a short walk to the hotel.

the sheung wan MTR is quite a long walk away, but the good thing is, the tram to kennedy town stops in eastern street along des voeux road west, which is just a two-minute walk away from the hotel.

des voeux road west is also known as dried seafood street, where you can take home dried fish, dried mushroom, and even sharksfin (if you fancy that). a 7-11 is close by, as well as a cafe de coral, my favorite breakfast place when i'm in hong kong. dimsum and noodle restaurants are a dime a dozen on this street as well, but most don't speak english very well.

check-in
we entered island pacific hotel through centre street, and were warmly welcomed by the island pacific staff. the lower lobby has a set of narrow escalators that lead to the main lobby.

check-in was hassle-free, but the front desk could really use more people. i just presented the printout of our reservation via booking.com. even though our preferences were already stated in the reservation form, i had to repeat this to the hotel rep to make sure that we get double beds and one room with an extra bed. it was a nice surprise to have one of our rooms ready at 12noon, even though the official check-in time wasn't until 2pm.

i wasn't pleased, though, that nobody assisted us with our bags when we went up to the room.

room and amenities
i already knew the room was going to be small, but that didn't keep me from being surprised when we entered room 1104. i got a little bit worried that it wasn't going to be enough for the four people who'll be sharing it, but they managed to fit themselves in.

room size aside, everything else exceeded my expectations. the room was decent--clean and neat, with a view of victoria harbour, and it provided us everything we could need during the trip. i was actually pretty impressed at how they were able to fit everything in such a small room.

superior rooms at the island pacific hotel are furnished with either two twin beds or one double bed (take note, double, and not queen. this is hong kong!), individually-controlled air conditioning, a mini bar, tea- and coffee-making facilities, a desk, telephone, iron and ironing board, an olevia flat-screen TV, JVC audio system, and in-room safe. the bathroom includes basic toiletries, a telephone, bathtub, shower with hot and cold water, and a bath towel, hand towel, and face towel for each guest.

all the amenities were in perfect working order. we were particularly impressed with the air conditioning unit. since the weather in hong kong was at 8 degrees then, i chose to heat the room rather than cool it, and it worked perfectly. susie told me that even in the marco polo, the heater wouldn't work as well. plus points for island pacific hotel on this one!

the hotel also has an outdoor swimming pool and a gym, available for the use of the guests. but who wants to swim in chilly, 8-degree weather? :p

service
service was superb. no complaints on my part (save for them not helping us with our luggage :p). the staff was always very warm and friendly, and well-trained. i called the concierge a number of times to inquire about airport express rates, and to ask about their shuttle service schedule, and i would always be greeted warmly before having my query answered.

the elevators were small, but they were FAST. i never noticed elevator speeds before, but this one took us to the eleventh floor in less than 10 seconds.

a favorite offering of island pacific hotel is the complimentary shuttle service to central. on mornings when we'd be in a hurry, we would take the shuttle to IFC, which was just a mere 5 to 7-minute ride. we were fine with following the shuttle schedule, but the staff never made us wait longer than 5 minutes for the ride. the shuttle service starts at 730am and ends at 7pm, and leaves every 30 minutes.

on one occasion, my sisters' room had to be made up for the day (their room was an utter disaster--there were clothes flung everywhere!), the cleaning staff accidentally picked up my sister's personal bath towel together with the hotel's (it was white, too, with faint gray stripes, so it was easy to mistake it for a hotel towel).

when we got back to our rooms, my sister told me that her towel was missing, and i told her to call up the concierge. it didn't take long before the hotel sent someone up to clarify the problem. my sister described what her towel looked like, and the staff searched for it in the laundry room. they then went back up to her room, showed her the towel, and told her that they will have it washed and sent to her the next day. my sister came back home with a nice-smelling towel. :p i think the situation was handled very well.

value
our rooms cost a total of HKD 2,452 each for a three-night stay, which would come out to about HKD 800++ per night. the extra bed, however, cost HKD 300/night, which was quite steep, considering it really was just a mattress. room rates don't include breakfast (it's quite rare for hong kong hotels to include breakfast anyway).

for the quality of the rooms and the high service standards, i would say we got our money's worth. the shuttle service was also a great plus. it made shuttling around pretty easy when we got tired of taking the tram.

conclusion
would i go back to this hotel? definitely. i do think, though, that island pacific hotel is better suited for those who've been to hong kong before, and would like to explore a different side of hong kong island. first-timers would find the slow tram ride a hassle, since it will take longer for them to get to the more touristy spots.

for my style of traveling, though, this hotel is just perfect: in a quiet, less touristy neighborhood, surprising gems found in every corner, authentic chinese restos every few steps. the amenities were more than adequate, and the staff was a champ. they'll be seeing more of me in the years to come.

see more photos of island pacific hotel hong kong.

hotel information
island pacific hotel hong kong
address: 152 connaught road west, western district, hong kong
phone number: +852 2131 1188
email address: info@islandpacifichotel.com.hk
rates vary. consult online booking engines, or call the hotel

fly: hong kong express airlines

i'm going to start reviewing most segments of my trips so that i can provide more info to you guys. for this trip, i'm going to start with a review of hong kong express airlines.

i didn't quite know what to expect of this airline when we booked it via doljunts travel. all i was told was, it's not a budget airline (because they serve meals), and it takes off from NAIA terminal 1. but now that i've flown hong kong express, i can tell you a little more about it.

manila to hong kong
we arrived at NAIA at 545am, and was amazed at the long lines at the hong kong express counter (and most other counters, akshully). it took a while before we were attended to, but once at the counter, everything went smoothly. but maybe that's because none of us went over the baggage limit.

at 630am, we were given our boarding passes, and headed to immigration, but not before forking over P750 each for the terminal fee (i still don't get what this fee is for!). immigration and pre-boarding checks took a while. we cleared all of these in 30 minutes, just in time for boarding.

however, hong kong express didn't let us board until 730am, and i remember thinking that we were going to be late. after all, that's just 30 minutes to departure time, and boarding, with people taking so long putting their stuff in the overhead bins, takes a while!

amazingly, though, boarding was pretty swift, and we were taxiing down the runway at 8am. bonus points for hong kong express!

the flight attendants were nice enough, but service during the flight was nothing special. we were provided newspapers, blankets, and earphones. the food was below average. we were given a "chicken sandwich," which tasted like sour chicken adobo. my nephew franciz couldn't eat it at all, even though he told us he was really starving.

nuh-uh.

in-flight entertainment was also a dud. the only thing they showed were chinese videos, so we couldn't understand a thing. good thing it was just a two-hour flight. as for the plane, hong kong express uses boeing 737-800, which has a narrow aisle, but pretty good legroom when seated. lavatories for economy class are all the way to the back of the plane.

albeit those nega points, our flight landed earlier than the estimated arrival time. in my opinion, that more than makes up for the other boo-boos. for me, what really matters is i get to my destination on time. service and the other extras are just, well, extras.

hong kong express lands in a new wing of hong kong international airport, but they provide a bus to shuttle us to a gate in terminal 1, which leads straight to the immigration booths. this is very convenient compared to the other airlines i've taken to hong kong before, where you get to walk a long hall before reaching immigration. for me, this is one very great advantage to taking hong kong express (although arrival gates can change over time).

hong kong to manila
the flight from hong kong to manila departs at 930pm, which gives you a lot of time to do some last-minute shopping and sightseeing before you leave. however, we were a bit worried that we might have to lug our suitcases around with us in the city while waiting for our flight.

thankfully, hong kong express is one of the airlines that accepts in-town check-in at major airport express terminals (hong kong and kowloon stations). that means we could check-in any time within the day as long as we use the airport express to get to the airport. this really came in handy, and we enjoyed walking around the city without having to worry about pulling our suitcases around, or even rushing to make it a few hours before the flight to check-in, since we already had our boarding passes.

our boarding gate was also in the new wing, and it had slipped our minds that there was a shuttle bus to that other wing. shuttling to the new wing of the hong kong international airport came easy, though. as soon as you were at the gate, there was a bus waiting, and the trip took about five minutes tops.

boarding, once again, was late, but we left the airport on time as well. service this time around, however, was sloppy and a tad rude. the food was so-so (but better than the last, because my nephew was able to swallow a few bites), but again, the flight arrived earlier than expected.

conclusion
service and food leave much to be desired, but the convenience of exiting right at the immigration booths at HKIA (could be temporary, of course) and the impressive on-time record might just make me a fan of hong kong express. it also doesn't hurt that the flight home leaves at 930pm, which lets you see more of hong kong, without letting you miss a day of work.

price-wise, i was lucky enough to get a Php 10,000 per person rate for the period right after chinese new year. but if it were any other season, i wouldn't get this flight for that price. but if i do decide to fly hong kong express again, i'd check with a travel agent first.

airline information
hong kong express
route: hong kong-manila, hong kong to other points of asia
reservation hotline: +852 3151 1888
email address: call.center@hkairlines.com

i'm back from hong kong

the recent hong kong trip was a great departure from my previous trips to my favorite city. that doesn't mean, though, that i didn't have fun. :)

i spent my hong kong birthday trip with susie, my two sisters, my cousin girlie, and her son franciz. it was our first time to travel together, and what ensued was a hilarious four days in chilly temperatures.

it was my cousin's first time, and i got to see how hong kong is from the eyes of someone who's never been there before. she had the time of her life buying bargain after bargain, which got me into a shopping mood as well.

the walking extravaganza came as a shock to them, though. susie and i have prepared ourselves for four days of marathon walking, but my sisters and my cousin weren't able to arm their feet with the right walking footwear to keep them on their toes during the trip.

i was actually surprised that i didn't get tired as easily as before. i now have a newfound appreciation for my daily walks from the MRT to the office. thanks to my daily treks along julia vargas, i was able to keep up with the cantonese walking speed.

our hotel, the island pacific hotel, was a great choice. service was superb, but the location is not meant for first-timers. since there was no mtr station nearby, we always had to take the tram home, and for most of my group, keeping track of the stops wasn't easy. as a result, i would always have to be with them on the way back to the hotel. next time we travel, i'm going to book a hotel in tsim sha tsui, since they seemed to have a blast going to store after store in granville and the other little streets of TST.

we were all a bit taken aback that hong kong shops now charge for plastic bags. most shops, like bonjour and sasa, charge HKD 0.50 per bag, which is P3.00 each. after a while, that can amount to a lot of moolah, so make sure you bring your own shopping bag.

i didn't get to see everything i wanted to see, but it was great sharing my 28th with these people. there was some disastrous moments, but we all went home laughing about them. maybe next time things can go much more smoothly. haha!

helpful hong kong sites

my brain is already on vacation mode, and all i can think about is hong kong, hong kong, hong kong!

even though we already have a rough itinerary, i'm still trying to scour the net for some last-minute recommendations on places to check out, and so far, these sites have been particularly helpful:

smart travel asia - hong kong shopping till you drop
i believe this is the first time that i felt excited about shopping in hong kong. i've always just enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights, but this time, i think i'm going to splurge. but i'm not going to spend money just anywhere; i may be splurging, but it should be worth it.

so i googled for shopping areas in hong kong, and found smart travel asia's extensive guide on shopping in hong kong. the article tackles every shopping district in hong kong, tells you what to expect, gives you the names of shops to check out, and even cites the URLs of the said shops so you can check out the products.

i spent a long time on this article because there was just so much information, and it also gives you an idea of where to go based on your preferences. through this page, i found out about homeless, a home accessories store that sells cute and functional home accents. i also got to really see just how many shopping malls there are in hong kong. the place is just overwhelming, but thanks to smart travel asia, i now know where to go.

eat drink hongkong
as the site says, this blog gives you the low down on where to eat and drink in vibrant hong kong. the blog gives reviews of several restaurants, complete with pictures and the address of the restaurant. entries are categorized according to area, cuisine, and name of restaurant.

i'm already thinking of going to adagio on wing lok street just to sample the mixed mushrooms with butter and cream and broccoli with bacon and cheese. OM NOM NOM.

discover hong kong
this is the first site i check out whenever i plan on going to hong kong. unlike other government tourism websites i've checked out, discover hong kong is pretty informative and organized. you can really see from the site that there's a desire to help, and not just to get you to go to tourism-approved restaurants and shops.

of course, this site works best when you're a first-timer who wants to see the most popular sights of hong kong, but i've found quite a few gems here for my previous hong kong trips. ayeen and i got to take a jewelry appreciation class here for free, as well as ride a duk ling, or a chinese junk, for free.

one of the best pages of this tourism website is the cultural kaleidoscope, where tourists and visitors can choose from a few activities that they'd like to try out, such as a tai chi class, an architecture walk (pretty tiring!), a feng shui class, or guided tours at a few select museums. just don't forget to read the guidelines, because, while some activities are free of charge, others, like the duk ling ride, are now paid activities.

as helpful as these sites, are, though, don't tie yourself down to the things that you see online. one of the things i like about hong kong is that there's something new to discover every single time. so make sure to keep your eyes open when you're walking around in this vibrant city--a unique and quaint little store might just be around the corner.

booking my hong kong birthday trip

another year has passed, and soon, i'll be turning 28. what better way to spend another birthday than with another trip to hong kong? :)

the trip has actually been planned since last year. i promised my mother and my sisters a trip to hong kong: my mother will be using her PAL miles for our airfare, while i would shoulder the hotel costs.

i kept reminding her since november to start booking our trip, or to at least check her miles so that we can start booking our flights. well, it seems my mother also has a procrastinating side that i didn't know about. she failed to inquire, and by the end of january, the seats for mabuhay miles users have all been taken for flights on february 18 to 21.

after hearing that, i started panicking and scoured the net for cheap airfares. no go, february 18 to 21 is the first weekend of the chinese lunar new year, and it seems everybody wants to be in hong kong for the festivities. fares ranged from php 12,000 to php 14,000 per person. my hong kong birthday trip was about to be flushed down the drain.

travel agencies save the day

as a last resort, i googled a list of travel agencies in manila, and listed down their names and phone numbers on a piece of paper. on my free time, i sat by the phone and called each of them up, asking for hong kong packages for february 18 to 21, and even february 25-28. most the packages they gave me were for hotels that i didn't particularly like, and the prices started at USD 398 per person, which includes airfare and hotel accommodations for 4 days and 3 nights.

sounds like a good deal, right? the catch is, these packages also include a compulsory city tour, which i've been on once and sworn to never take again. i also don't want susie, my sisters, and my cousin to go through that ordeal. sure, they take you to a couple of sights, but at the end of the trip, they shuttle you from one shop to another, somehow forcing you to buy something from the place. it's the perfect way to waste a day in hong kong.

so i decided to just ask travel agents for flights to hong kong. after all, i can find a good hotel deal online anyway. most of them, however, offered pretty expensive airfare, some even reaching USD 300 just for the airfare alone.

i lucked out with doljunts travel. mari, the agent who handled my booking, was able to get me a flight for february 18 to 21 on hong kong express, which leaves at 8am on the 18th, and flies back to manila at 930pm on the 21st. the fare cost USD 183 per person (USD 152 for children), which already included the hong kong tax that was charged by most agencies. philippine travel tax of Php 1,620 wasn't included yet, though.

it was the cheapest deal i could find, and my mom, who had been calling up agencies as well, agreed that doljunts was the cheapest we found. so finally, we booked the tickets (though my mom decided not to go with us anymore), and now susie, my sisters, my cousin, my nephew, and i are off to hong kong in a few days!

booking a hong kong hotel

after securing our tickets, it was time to book a hotel. susie and i fell in love with the western district last year when we stayed at the bridal tea house hotel. this time, though, i would be with a bunch of people who aren't open to staying in hostel-like places, so i had to scour online for decent hotels with affordable rates.

i checked agoda for some hotel deals and found that they had good rates for island pacific hotel hong kong along connaught road west. i checked out hotel reviews from tripadvisor, and found that people were generally satisfied with island pacific. the general consensus was that it's a clean hotel with great service. it's also a little out of the way, but the tram made going to central pretty easy. besides, the hotel has a shuttle that can take you to central, too.

before booking on agoda, though, a friend recommended that i check out booking.com. the site is like most online booking engines, except my friend has experienced cancelling a reservation and was not charged at all for the transaction. booking.com asks for credit card information for verification purposes only, and everything has to be paid for at the hotel when you check out. i felt that it was a good option, even though i wasn't planning to cancel. it's still a good feature just in case something comes up and you do need to cancel.

so i went to booking.com, found that their rates for island pacific are actually better than what i found on agoda, and booked them as well. upon confirmation of your reservation, the site gives you a link where you can modify or even cancel your booking. it lets you see the information you've provided and modify that as well. they also have an area for remarks or notes that you'd like to communicate to the hotel, so that they can meet your preferences. check out the dashboard of their self-service tool:

it was my first time to reserve with a booking engine, as i make it a point to always book direct with properties that i stay in, but my experience with booking.com so far is making me reconsider that approach. booking.com seems to offer better deals than booking direct, and also gives me the freedom to modify my bookings. it also has other features, which allows you to add your booking to your google calendar, check for driving directions, and even gives you a link to a tomtom download.

so there you go. two more tips to booking your trips when your travel google-fu has failed you. most budget travelers would scoff at the idea of consulting a travel agent, but it looks like they're also a good option to consider. at the end of the day, we all want to get the best deal, and travel agents sometimes have access to great ones. just don't forget to compare their offers with what you've found.

travel agency information

doljunts travel

address: suite 1032 cityland mega plaza tower, ADB avenue cor. garnet road, ortigas center, pasig

look for: mari diaz

phone number: 6872808, 6872984

mobile number: 09207893648

email address: doljunts_travel@yahoo.com

booking engine information

booking.com

read more about it here: about booking.com

hotel information

island pacific hotel hong kong

address: 152 connaught road west, hong kong

phone number: +852 2131 1188

bridal tea house hotel: cozy hong kong rooms with complete comforts

it's not easy to find cheap and clean accommodation in hong kong, but it looks like i struck gold in bridal tea house hotel!

accessibility and location
located in western district, on a more quiet and residential part of hong kong island, bridal tea house hotel is beyond the reach of the MTR. the sheung wan station is quite a long way off. this had me worried for a bit, because i've always explored hong kong by MTR. however, hong kong offers so much more in terms of transportation, and this trip, i got to explore the tram and bus routes that shuttle from central to our quiet area on water street.

a 7-11, mannings, and a lot of dimsum places are also nearby, making it really convenient to get a quick bite in the middle of the night.

from the hong kong international airport, we were told to take bus A10 and get off at chiu kwong street, the fifth stop on the route. unfortunately, buses in HK don't pull over at every stop, so counting the bus stops won't really help. we wouldn't have known that we missed a stop if we hadn't seen the street sign that said "water street." the walk from the 6th stop wasn't too far, thankfully.

check-in
once you're walking on the street, bridal tea house hotel is hard to miss. the signs are huge, and it's not like one of the hostels that occupy a few floors in a building. the entire building at the corner of queen's road west and water street was occupied by the hotel. the entrance was hard to find, though, and we probably spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out where the door was.

one of the bell boys saw us dashing back and forth outside, and decided to help us out. the reception desk was located in the bridal tea house dining area, and the look of the place was formal yet quaint. check-in was a breeze, we only needed to show a print-out of our email, and everything was taken care of. aside from the hotel rate of HKD 550 per night, a HKD 500 deposit is also required, just in case you break or lose anything in the hotel.

we got our room right away, even though we arrived two hours before the scheduled check-in time (2pm). don't expect anyone to show you to your room, though. the hotel is a big fan of self-service, and the receptionist just pointed us to the elevator, and we figured the rest of the way out.

the room
i didn't really know what to expect from the room. i've seen pictures online, but those are hardly reliable. i couldn't help but smile though when i opened the door to room 502. it was definitely tiny, but it was filled with cute little details that made the whole look feel cozy. the curtains gave it a more homey feel, and the added features, such as the slippers, towels, hair dryer, free bottled water, kettle, and television, made the lack of space seem like a minor issue.

the bathroom, however, was another story. it was really cramped, even for tiny people like us. the sliding door opened to the little wash basin with a medicine cabinet that contained complimentary toiletries. to its left was the toilet, to the right, the miniscule shower area. it was so small that i would hit my arm against the walls when i showered.

everything in the room was in perfect working order, though, from the hot water heater, to the air conditioner. the TV only had a few channels, but i was too tired to even turn it on. the entire room also had about a total of 5 outlets where you can charge your cameras, phones, and laptops. a corner of the room had some space where you could hang your clothes. everything you need is packed in such a compact space.

facilities and services
aside from the fancy tea house that offers brunch and other delicious meals, bridal tea house hotel also provides a communal microwave, which they call the snack buffet. a telephone is also found in every room, and from what i recall, local calls are free. turndown service is also available, just don't forget to put the "please make up room" tag on your door before you leave.

broadband internet access is also available, but i didn't get to test it out on this trip, since susie and i both decided not to bring any laptops. luggage storage is also offered for free, and we availed of this on our last day, when we had to join the architecture walk and attend top gear live! before joining g&c in their discovery bay casa.

conclusion
it's hard to ignore the lack of bathroom space in their rooms, but that's quite common in most hong kong accommodations, and i say better to pay HKD 550 for such simple digs than pay so much more for a so-called 3-star hotel with the same amenities.

on the whole, i was impressed by the long list of amenities that i got for such a low price. i didn't have to worry about toiletries and towels, and water and tea bags were also provided. the bed was also very comfortable, though a bit short for my standards.

the location was definitely a winner. susie and i really looked forward to "going home" every night. we would take the tram from central, then get off at the water street stop. the small incline on water street leading to our hong kong hotel was very comforting, always telling us that we're close to home.

so if you're looking for simple and affordable hong kong accommodation, bridal tea house hotel is a good place to check out. there may not be a lot of space for your stuff, but you can be assured of comfort and accessibility.

travel information:
bridal tea house hotel, western district, hong kong
address: no. 385-387 queen's road west, sai ying pun, HK
phone number: 852-3188-6699
fax number: 852-3188-6660
email address: enquiries@hkchhotel.com
website: http://www.hkchhotel.com/eng.html
room rate: HKD 550 per night

more photos of bridal tea house hotel in hong kong.

leaving for hong kong

after spending a very "normal" birthday, i wake up the next day all excited about my hong kong trip. i got up at around 5am, plenty of time to get to NAIA terminal 3 at 6, just two hours before our flight.

unlike the last time, the whole check-in procedure went well this time, since we already knew where the travel tax counters were. and because we were there at such an early hour, we didn't have to wait long. we checked in, paid the terminal fee, then went through immigration.

more restaurants can now be found in the pre-departure area, and i almost bought myself a jamaican beef pattie until i saw that one beef original cost P60. so i just settled for miso soup at the japanese stall, which went for just P35.

flight left a few minutes late, and i found more interesting cebu pacific merchandise, most especially the little coin purses. i wanted to get the HKG one, but they only had the orange CEB. maybe next time. i wasn't even interested in joining the contest this time--didn't like the prize.

we encountered some turbulence during the flight, just as i was on the toilet peeing. it's no fun when you hear the pilot declare that the fasten seatbelt sign is on and that no one should attempt to go to the lavatories, while you try to keep yourself from falling off the best seat in the house.

but we got to hong kong safe and sound, with me getting more and more excited as i take a whiff of the sweet hong kong international airport air. immigration lines were long, but i felt like jumping already. at baggage claim, i was amused to find that they neatly lined up our luggage, all orderly-like.

we located an atm, got our HKDs, and tried to figure out where the buses were. i suddenly found myself in a bad mood, which meant that i was hungry. so we stopped by cafe de coral, where i ate noodles with mushroom, and all was well again with the world. it took us a while to figure out where the buses to the city were, but we figured it out.

hong kong excitement

it's less than a week before i leave for hong kong, probably my favoritest city in the world. it's my second time to spend my birthday season there, and i'm hoping that i get to see new places this time.

but i want this hong kong trip to be more relaxing than the last. that, however, hasn't stopped me from trying to figure out every last detail on how to get from one point to the next. this is my first time staying in the western district, and i want to know how to get around before i get there.

that's where the loveliness of the internet comes in. a simple google search of "western district, hong kong" has yielded a very useful map of hong kong central and the western district. i've been zooming in and out of the map, scrolling left and right, looking for the places i want to go to.

i was also really happy when i found out that we get a chance to use the hong kong tram, since our part of western district is too far west that the MTR doesn't even reach there. the hong kong tram is a much cheaper alternative, costing just HKD 2 per ride, no matter where you get off. you can check out the hong kong tram route map to see where it can take you. speed, of course, is a problem, but since i'm not in a hurry, then it's a nice, leisurely, and cheap way to see hong kong. :)

counting down the days before i gotta go! to hong kong! :D

i found a decent hong kong budget hotel!

hong kong is one of my favoritest places in the world (granted, i haven't even been out of asia). the hold it has on me is kind of hard to explain, but something about this city makes me want to keep going back.

budget and time constraints kept me from going back this year, but after i found this lovely hong kong budget hotel, i will probably be flying off to chek lap kok soon!

while i was already able to stay at a decent budget hostel last time i was there, the boutique-budget guesthouses that i've been to in singapore, bangkok, and siem reap had me looking for a little more luxury and some style in my hong kong accommodation sans the astronomical price. hong kong's transportation and sights are truly a tourist's paradise; however, its hotels and accommodation options are not.

for one thing, hong kong hotels are VERY expensive, and the rates don't even include breakfast (thank goodness for cafe de coral!). space is also not a luxury that you will likely get in most hong kong accommodation. with the limited space in this city, you'd be lucky to have enough space to swing your foot from the bed to the floor.

i am completely resigned to the space problem, but the budget problem is always something i know i can do something about, and i couldn't help but feel elated when i finally found the bridal tea house hotel.

this is the single room in the bridal tea house hotel. it looks small, yes, but like i said, i'm not after space here, i'm after the cleanliness, style, and attention to detail.

believe me, after scouring through numerous photos of hong kong hostels with ratty sheets and dirty floors, this room definitely looks like a room in a luxury hotel!

i love the nice curtains, the simple white sheets, and the rose on the towel provided.

here are more photos of their rooms:

another single room


the double room

and aside from that, all bridal tea house hotel branches are well-located. next time i'm in hong kong, i'll probably stay in the one in western district, which is close to the tram on des voeux road on hong kong island.

i still have to verify if their "single" room is indeed the one with two single beds.

i believe that all rooms have private bathrooms, and as you can see, towels are provides, and they also have daily room cleaning service. rooms are also furnished with a hair dryer, refrigerator, and closet (how they fit that in the room is yet to be seen). broadband internet connection is also available (i hope it's free), and all guests are entitled to free local calls.

the bridal tea house also has its own restaurant aside from the rooftop bbq restaurant. i really think this is a pretty sweet deal, and i hope that when i do book a room there when i visit hong kong, i won't be disappointed.

travel information:
the bridal tea house hotel
kowloon island branches: sham shui po, tai kok tsui, yau ma tei, to kwa wan, hung hom,
hong kong island branches: western district, apleichau, aberdeen
rates: single rooms for HKD 380 per night, double rooms for HKD 480 per night
email address: enquiries@hkchhotel.com
phone number: (852) 2780 6113
website: http://www.hkchhotel.com/eng.html#

stay in hong kong for a song

Ever since I found out that this year’s Chinese New Year falls on my birthday, I immediately made plans to go someplace where the Lunar New Year is celebrated with a bang. I settled on Hong Kong: airfare’s affordable, people speak English, and it’s only two hours away. I decided to drag a friend along to make the trip more enjoyable.

Our only problem was finding a place to stay. Hong Kong has become such a tourist’s paradise that hotel prices are pretty exorbitant. Thankfully, affordable accommodations are available for people who’d rather spend their moolah on visiting tourist spots than in expensive and lavish rooms.

A friend suggested checking out the different hostels online. So I did. After checking out ratings in various hostel sites, I learned that Wang Fat Hostel ranked pretty high in most criteria. So I contacted them and asked about reservations.

Booking a room was a breeze. I only had to provide them our details, the type of room we were getting (we got a room with two single beds and private bathroom), and the credit card number for the 10% deposit that is required to secure a room. The general manager replied to my email a few minutes later, confirming my reservation. I was told to print out a copy of the email so I can present it when we get to the hostel.

Fast forward to our trip. We left the airport via the Airport Express, got off at the Hong Kong station, then changed to the MTR Island Line. We got off at Causeway Bay, and followed the directions to Exit E. When we finally got to the street, we were surprised to find a bustling area, surrounded by clothes stores left and right. It wasn’t long before we found Paterson Building, where Wang Fat is housed.

The general manager greeted us warmly. I whipped out the printed copy of the email, and in a few minutes, we were being ushered into our tiny room on the sixth floor. The room was big enough to fit the two of us and our luggage. No other space for anything else, really. We were so happy to find that it was clean. The walls were wallpapered (there weren’t even any unpeeled portions!), no cobwebs and dust were in sight. The floor was squeaky clean, not sticky. The beds were covered with clean, home-style bedsheets, and they came complete with pillows and comforters.

After being mesmerized by the room’s pristine condition, we were able to take a closer look at everything else. We had a dresser, with drawers to put our things in. By the door of the room were a lot of hooks to hang our clothes and towels on. A tiny but serviceable TV was placed atop a tv stand-slash-closet (which we didn’t use).

Finally, it was time to face our fears: the bathroom. It was tiny (the entire bathroom would get wet when we took a shower), but it was clean, and that's what mattered. The toilet flush was working well, the water heats up, there was a mirror, and again, lots of hooks to hang your things on (I say most accommodation places do not understand this as well as Wang Fat does). I did have one night when the water suddenly turned cold, and I had to shower with freezing water, but that only happened once in our five-day stay.

Aside from giving us a clean bed every night, Wang Fat Hostel has a receptionist that’s pretty knowledgeable in the Causeway Bay area. Ask him anything, from tourist spots to money changers, and he’ll point you in the right direction. He speaks great English, which makes things a lot easier.

Being the Internet nut (Internut?) that I am, I was so delighted to make use of the hostel’s free Wi-Fi connection. Their signal strength reaches “excellent” heights, even. I find it ironic that this service is free in a “mere” hostel,while you're charged for the same service in most hotels. All guests are also entitled to free local calls, and some rooms, such as ours, even have phones installed in them.

This hostel earns another star from me for the daily room make-up service. They cleaned the room well, made the beds, and changed the towels, without touching our things. They left it just the way we did.

So next time we invade Hong Kong, we’re definitely staying in Wang Fat again. The location’s accessible, area is safe, the rooms are clean, and the service topnotch.

Wang Fat Hostel details:
Room Prices (per night):
Single room with private bath: HK $270
Single room with shared bath: HK $220
Twin sharing with private bath: HK $260
Twin sharing with shared bath: HK $202
Triple sharing with private bath: HK $350
Triple sharing with shared bath: HK $300
Dormitory: HK $98

Contact Information:
Address: Apartment no. A2, 3/F block A, Paterson Building, 47 Paterson St., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
Website: http://www.wangfathostel.com.hk or http://www.hostel.hk
Email: info@hostel.hk
Phone: (852) 23926868
Skype: hkhostel

lessons learned from the hong kong trip

there's always something to be learned from every trip. but the hong kong trip slapped a few lessons in my face. here are some of them:

1. never expect. no matter how well you've studied the place, chances are, things will never be as you expect it to be. unless you've been there every month, it's best to keep your expectations to a minimum. after all, surprises are fun, aren't they?

2. schedules are guidelines; they are not etched in stone. i learned this the hard way during this trip. i wanted to see a lot of places, but sometimes, you just have to give some activities up. while it's great to have a schedule so that you won't waste a day, don't be disappointed when things don't go your way.

3. take time to relax. ayeen and i almost killed ourselves the first two days, trying to see everything we were supposed to see. on the fourth day, we caved. if we had kept on following our schedule to the letter, i think we would have killed each other. we abandoned our plans on the fourth day, and decided to take things easy. taking time to just sit and watch the people go by is also a good way to see a city.

4. it's all in the mind. had quite a huge setback on this trip. of course, i felt broken for a while, but it's just not like me to dwell on the bad things. after a few hours of moping, i stood up, went to the closet, dressed myself up in my best garb, and told ayeen, "get up, we're going to watch the lights show! and we're eating good food and drinking!" after that, everything went splendidly well.

5. don't feel bad when you get lost. eventually, it's all going to be something you'll laugh about when you look back on the trip.

6. don't be afraid to go a little crazy. we did this lots during the trip. it made everything tons better.

7. don't scrimp on food. it's always been a motto of mine to go all out when it comes to food. it served me during this trip.

8. you still gotta love home. no matter how long i stay away from it, nothing beats going back home. though for this trip, i didn't exactly miss it, being back and seeing that everything is so familiar makes me appreciate it more.

(photo: me on the tram to happy valley)

hong kong behind the scenes

my friend ayeen and i went on a nine-day hong kong trip last february 12. while we have a lot of photos to document the trip, there were still a lot of moments that we weren't able to capture. such as:

almost missed the buddha. we enjoyed walking around happy valley so much that we arrived late in tung chung. when we finally got our tickets for the ngong ping skyrail, we were told that the place will close at 6. we were so scared that we wouldn't be able to see the buddha and catch the last cable car ride back to tung chung. thankfully, the map provided was misleading. what seemed to be a 30-minute walk on the map was only a 10-minute walk in reality.

sleeping even when slippery. those seats on the mtr are too clean for comfort. since our trip was from tung chung station until the very last station at central, we tried getting some shuteye during the train ride. unfortunately, we couldn't keep still. we kept sliding across the seat, which basically ruined our chances of ever having a chance to rest onboard.

mean ol' taxi driver. these cab drivers take their traffic laws seriously. ayeen and i were walking on leighton road, and we saw a chinese restaurant across the street. even though the crossing sign blared red, we crossed the street anyway, since there were no cars. just our luck, that a cab turned on our street and caught us violating the law. he sped up when he saw us, prompting us to scream and run for our lives. it would also be funnier if i tell you that leighton road is a very narrow street. yeah, yeah, i know we deserved that one.

finger-dipped water. this could be the only time that i will say, "thank god for bottled water!" when we had lunch at stanley restaurant, we experienced the hospitality of the waitress. she served us two glasses of water... with her fingers dipped in our panulak.

getting lost in stanley. being up in stanley got me a bit turned around, which saw us waiting for the bus on the wrong side of the street. thank god for helpful locals, we were able to find the correct bus stop. geeeez!

mistaken for a local. happened quite a few times. a lot of them would speak to me in cantonese, and when i'd go, "sorry...?" they'd get so frustrated. walking along causeway bay in the morning, people from the different free publications would hand me all-chinese newspapers. to avoid further hassle, i'd take it, and even pretend to read while waiting for the crossing light to turn green. this cracked ayeen up immensely.

yes, i can understand that. ken, our friendly tsim sha tsui trinket stand guy patiently explained to us the chinese zodiac partners of each sign of the zodiac. he consulted his chinese zodiac book the entire time. we asked for various zodiac amulets, that he got a bit confused already. he made a mistake with one of my amulets, and i told him, "wait, wait! you got it all wrong. see, here *pointing to the chinese character for pig in his book* it says the pig goes well with... *pointing to the chinese character for tiger in his book* tiger. you gave me a dragon!" he looks at me and says, "oh, you can read chinese?!" and i reply with a proud "yes!" his expression turned to frustration, as if to say, "geez, you can understand it all along! why am i even explaining all this?!"

the language barrier. i don't know why, but ayeen and i put ourselves in plenty of "compromising" situations on this trip. even when we knew they wouldn't understand us well, we'd still go into one of those small chinese restaurants. after pointing out our orders, i decided i wanted hot soy milk. so i called the waitress and requested for "soy." a minute later, she places a glass of hot water in front of me. i was dumbfounded. then the realization crept in. the chinese word for water is shui, which sounds like soy. i had mistakenly ordered water.

so that's why it's cold! during our second night in our hostel, i look up and stare at the window for about two minutes. ayeen notices the look of confusion on my face. "what?!" she asks. after about five seconds, i reply, "may salamin ba yung bintana?" ayeen looks at the window, gets up, and reaches out to the window. "WALA!" she screams, then opens the curtains. "TANG INA! BUKAS YUNG BINTANA THIS WHOLE TIME!" we scream.

brrrrrrr. i don't know what it is, but luck just wasn't on my side this trip. at around 2am, after updating a blog on our second night, i walk to the bathroom. i turn on the shower to let the water heat up. it worked perfectly, and i was able to shampoo and get all lathered up. when it was time to rinse, though, the water had turned icy. i peek out the door to check if the heater light is still on. yup, still is. i wait for a few minutes, tinkered with the valves. no luck. i hate being in that state of soapiness. everything's so slippery. so i gulp, and prepared myself for the iciest rinsing i've gotten since my fever last month. i was trembling throughout the entire rinsing process. when i woke up the next morning, ayeen went, "baket balot na balot ka? di naman ganun kalamig ah." i nearly threw a boot at her. :p

not paying attention. our hostel was located in a building along fashion walk. it being a residential building, it had one of those security codes that you had to punch in so you can enter. apparently, our hostel receptionist told us about this when we checked in. he even wrote it down on our card, but we missed his instructions due to our excitement. this resulted in three nights of being nearly locked out. we waited for the doorman to wake up from his sleepy reverie so we could finally rest our tired feet.

the mtr luggage challenge. we started shopping early on in our trip, which meant our luggage expanded exponentially. we were wise enough to bring extra bags to put our shopping stuff in, but we didn't have enough foresight to think about lugging all of it around on the train when we moved to kowloon. we faced this challenge a few hours before we checked out. ayeen had bought brand new luggage for her impending singapore trip, which meant she had two trolleys to pull, and i had a tiny backpack, a duffel, and my lovely trolley. thank goodness for escalators, we were able to pull it off, but not without quite a few laughs. getting through those mtr turnstiles were quite a trip! our biggest hurdle was tsim sha tsui station exit a. quite a long flight of stairs, but we were able to surmount it.

ipis in hong kong. contrary to charlie's (ger's wife, who's lived in hong kong for about two years now) belief that there are no cockroaches in hong kong (because she hasn't seen one ever), i encountered an adventurous little roach on board the hkkf ferry to lamma. it did not make me very happy.

stepping on doggie doo. after our trip to lamma, ayeen and i walked back to the star ferry pier. it was a holiday, and lots of people were walking their dogs. when my right foot was an inch away from the pavement, ayeen let out a warning, "nooooo!" but it was too late. i felt the mushy blob as my foot landed on the ground. two tourists behind me couldn't help but scream "ewwww!" to my face. my shoe's bottom earned a pretty good scrubbing in the hotel, thanks to the complimentary toothbrushes provided.

(photos: ayeen and myself in various states of insanity. that's what traveling can do, i guess.)