Monday 17 March 2014

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. :)

Wednesday 22 January 2014

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.