TRAVELLING TO OCEAN PARK (Hong Kong)

Oh yeah! Our first day in Hong Kong. I really love the feeling to be in a cold and at the same time sunny place and of course, excited for our first destination, Ocean Park Hong Kong. 

Thank God, my hubby was a great bargain hunter for our accommodation. Our place was just beside the MTR, Tsim Sha Tsui Station at Kowloon. The Central Station was actually one (1) station away from Tsim Sha Tsui, but then, we decided not to take the train to the Central, Hong Kong Island  because we wanted to see the view and experience the ferry ride. We walked for only 10 minutes from our place up to the Star Ferry Pier and from there, we took the ferry to the Central.  The fare was only HKG $2.0 for each which was very affordable, I guess.

Mike's buying our ferry tickets.

Star Ferry Fare.

Direction from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR to Star Ferry Pier. View Larger 

It was foggy and still very cold (for me). The ferry ride did not feel too long for me as I was enjoying the view. We arrived at the the Central and we took the overpass to the MTR. It's a good thing to have stayed in other country (ies) because  every step that I made, I always feel the comparison. I just love the feeling.

On our way to the MTR - the Central Station. We were at the overpass. Mike was taking a picture of the largest Apple Store that we've seen.

Our next stop was Admiralty station where we needed to take the bus to Ocean Park. At the Cetral Station, since we did not have the Octopus Card, we had to line up to purchase the MTR's single journey ticket (I guess, It's still better to buy an Octopus Card. We did it later on!) It's a good thing that there were machines for single journey only so the queue was not that long. How to use the machine was simple,  you just needed to press your destination on the screen map and to insert your coins and bills. Please note, some machines may not have the bills slot, so be prepared with your coins.

Single Journey Ticket Issuing Machine

Screen Map where you need to press your destination. Ooppps! Sorry, this machine is not functioning. :)

Coin Slot.

Thinking on how to save in Hong Kong? We purchased our Ocean Park tickets at the Tourist Services, Admiralty Station. We saved HKG $30 for each, from HKG$320 / person for tickets sold at the bus station to $290 / person at Admiralty Station. We also purchased the bus round trip ticket to and from Ocean Park for HKG$21.20 / person. 

Tape receipt of our tickets purchased at the Tourist Services, Admiralty Station

Can you see the difference? Tickets were sold at Ocean Park Bus Station.

And we were off to the mountain! .. Ocean Park Hong Kong.

To find out what we did at Ocean Park Hong Kong, simply follow my blog. :)

HONG KONG TRIP - Immigration

I really love the cold weather! The nearest place to my home town - HONG KONG! I'm starting to count my best days for 2014. It kicked off with our Hong Kong trip. It's our honeymoon, Michael's post birthday  and my pre-birthday celebration. Wooohhooo!

Hong Kong is just a two-hour-flight from Iloilo and we are so lucky that Iloilo has a direct flight. I did not bother much about immigration questions as I did when I went to Singapore but I will share some tips with you.

Here are some things to remember:

1) Always bring your passport.
2) Return ticket to Philippines
3) Baggage - What to pack?
4) Show Money (just in case) - Should not exceed $10,000 of any currency. So, it's better to bring US$ for your convenience.

We did not encounter any questions from the Immigration Officer (IO) here in Iloilo but it was in Hong Kong that the IO asked me if how many days will I stay in Hong Kong.

We'll that was easy and I was granted until Jan 31, 2014 stay in Hong Kong.

SAVE TO INVEST

Save to Invest in order to earn more. Nowadays, people are getting wiser with their money. It's either they save it or invest it. These two words are somehow similar, you will still get your money in the end, but saving is just keeping your money and you can have it anytime while investing is also saving your money through the purchase of assets, and letting it grow overtime. Though the latter will take sometime to dispose, but we are talking about the PROFITS from these assets.Here's the geez, save for a while, little by little, until you will have some amount to invest.

One very good portfolio to invest on is the real estate in the Philippines. Investment in property somehow will have a high chance of long term appreciation. Definitely, you will be very happy with your property gain. Long term appreciation is good but another easy money investment is the rental which you earn from your investments in a house or  condominium unit.

This does not mean that we should just invest in a property anywhere. I believe that a property's rate of appreciation depends with the kind of developer and the quality of project you have. These are the considerations that we should keep in mind.  :)

Oohhh. I will be posting soon about the developer that I love in Iloilo Philippines. I am sure you will like it.
:)

VISA EXTENSION - MALAYSIA EXIT (Singapore) - Whats and Hows Answered

I have been blogging here and there, only to realize that some points are missing in my post,

VISA EXTENSION - MALAYSIA EXIT (Singapore).

That was, on 10.10.10, more than two (2) years ago. Let me figure out what exactly we did during my Malaysia exit in order to extend my Singapore Visa. My apologies because my memory is fully loaded to recall but here are some of the important details behind my successful U-turn.

We left Singapore around 12 noon and took the bus at Kranji Station. It was easy for me to pass the Immigration Officers in leaving Singapore and entering Malaysia. We had lunch and went shopping because that was really my friend's birthday.

We were at Malaysia Immigration at around 4 o'clock and that was my sort-of-dooms day. Guess what? The officer did not allow me to exit Malaysia. He said it was illegal because I only arrived and left Malaysia at the same day. I should have stayed there longer. He was telling me that I should fly to Kuala Lumpur and go back to Philippines. Even I reasoned out that my stuffs were in Singapore and my scheduled return to Philippines was on the 13th of October. He still insisted until my friend came to rescue me. That was a long conversion. I was trembling and was about to cry. Ouuucch!  Since, I was new in Singapore and Malaysia, understanding Singlish or their English was hard for me. I'm sorry to have said this. But it was until I heard my friend say, "How much will it cost us?" Everything became clear. He asked me to pay him $50, put it inside my passport and went at the end of the line again.

What a relief. Whuew! It was not yet the last, I still have to face another officer in Singapore. It is true that you take all the risk with you when you have to extend your visa thru Malaysia exit. I took the risk, my prayers and faith with me.

OMG! I wanted to cry. I was so scared when we arrived Singapore Immigration in Woodlands. The magic trick was, choose your Immigration Officer and face your fear. Really, we chose our officer. They said that Malay men are nice and attracted to girls. Though he was a Malay but we were in Singapore, so we thought we were safe. While we were lining up, one person before us was at the officer's counter for a long time. I was scared and wanted to transfer but it might be obvious. Face my fear. He only asked about what I did in Malaysia and if I wanted to extend my stay in Singapore. My answer was firm, "...NO, I'm going back to Philippines on the 13th."

That saved my day. 


Dear Readers,
This is for your reference only. All things are subjective. I could not assure you that this will be effective to you.

A Different Love Letter (A-Must-Read)

I've been reading my Facebook wall until I found a link. That made me curious and clicked it. The link directed me to the website of Philippine Daily Inquirer. While reading the article, my tears were just flowing.

To my fellow OFW, take time to read this, Love letter to Filipinos By David H. Harwell. 

We are appreciated.. We are loved.. :)


Link: http://opinion.inquirer.net/47047/love-letter-to-filipinos