[in Hong Kong] I’m back from 4D3N holiday from Hong Kong (23 Oct – 25 Oct). This has been a memorable trip, but I shall skip the details :p
Been to Hong Kong several times, either alone or with friends; however it was a totally different trip this time. I went with Boyfriend and his parents. Planned my itinerary a week before the trip, skipped those theme parks and planned trips to more temples. Walked a lot though, so worry that the folks cannot take it, that’s why I made more stops at eateries as well…wahahaha… Yes, it’s all about shopping and eating in HK! I’ve even planned to go to several eating places everyday, but didn’t get to visit all as time & stomach space were limited. And, boyfriend overslept one day so missed the Dim Sum restaurant I wanted to try. Sigh…shall try that in the next trip. And also because he overslept, missed the lunch date with the important folks too…sigh…speechless!
Day 1 Summary
Landed in the HK airport at about 10+ in the morning, bought the Octopus Card, Discover Hong Kong Tourist SIM Card (5-days pass for HK$69 – 1.5GB of mobile data usage). It is quite sufficient for the 4 days stay, I only need data to post pictures…ha ha ha… There’s also the 8-days pass (HK$96 – 5GB mobile data) or the Limited Edition 5-days pass (HK$118 – 1.5GB mobile data). You can also log on at more than 12,000 WiFi hotspots around the city. There are other prepaid sim cards (suitable for data usage) readily available at the airport too; used to buy the followings:
– one2free Mobile Broadband Prepaid SIM Card
– 3 HK (HK$98 3G Int’l Roaming Rechargeable SIM Card – with extra $52 voice stored-value and totally $55 worth FREE multimedia usage upon card activation).
Took bus A21 from the airport to the Cityview Hotel. The hotel is conveniently located, within 5mins walking distance from Yau Ma Tei MTR Station (Exit A2), near A21 bus stop (to/fro airport), near bus stops with bus number 1, 1A, 2, 6 (to/fro Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry and any stops along Nathan Road). Most important of all, it’s near to our favorite eating place – 通达食店 😀 Interior nothing fanciful but food is nice.
Checked in to the hotel and rest a while before we went for a walk in the area. Spent 4 hours walking along Nathan Road. First stop was the Allied Plaza (聯合廣場) at Prince Edward (went there with him previously and he left the place with 3 tshirts, 3 shirts, 1 pants and I got none :S). We then walked to Mongkok where there are quite a few malls and the Ladies Street. He he he…eat and eat along the way :p Love the Etude House…so cute.
Think the folks were too tired, so we took a bus to Tsim Sha Tsui. Walked awhile and went to the Avenue of Stars to catch the light show at 8pm.
Went for dinner at a 茶餐廳 (tea restaurant) near hotel, forgot the name though :p The roast platter was so-so, not as nice as the one we had in the previous trip. Like the 菜脯蛋 (Turnip Egg)… Walked back to hotel after that.
TIRED!
About my booking:
Oh, maybe I should share about my flight booking experience. Initially, I was thinking of booking flight and accommodation separately. While sourcing around, I saw that there’s a discount if I booked both flight+hotel from ZUJI at the same time. So, we ended paying $560 per pax for 4D3N, flying by United Airlines. Glad I booked everything together, really convenient. They’ve just revamped their website, NICE!
I quite like the timing for United Airlines to HK. Departing from SIN at 6am and departing from HK at 9pm; but boyfriend think that’s way too early…hahahaha… If we to reach airport 2 hours before departure time (4am), we have to wake up at 3am but we usually sleep at 1am…wahahaha… United Airlines transit in Hong Kong, flying to US, maybe that’s why there were several cautious checks. Well, that’s not really an issue. Flight back was an quite unpleasant one. Boarded the plane, was trying to tell his parents how the seats were arranged and where they should sit. I think my explanation was not clear enough, they got confused and kept asking where they were suppose to sit. We somehow blocked the aisle a little. Instead of asking us if we needed help, the Air Steward was asking us to quickly sit down and don’t jam the aisle. WELL! If I don’t know where to sit, how to quickly sit down???!?!!! MOOD SPOILER! Luckily we were on our way back to Singapore.
If there’s any next time flying with UA again, I must remember to tell the counter staff how the seats should be arranged. Then again, quite unlikely to have next time, boyfriend was equally pissed. We are not really very frequent travelers or high spenders, but we definitely encounter better service than that.
Couldn’t remember when was the last time I got Travel Insurance for trips. My friends were quite surprised that I don’t, well, I am surprise that everyone does. Wahahaha…his mom also asked how come we didn’t get any. A friend recommended Citibank’s Safe Travel, underwritten by ACE Insurance. There’s wide array of options to choose from – with attractive savings on Couple Plan or Family Plan, etc.
They are currently having a promotion too. You get to enjoy an exclusive of 35% off on single trip plans from 3rd October – 30th November 2013 (hopefully not too late for you); and if you are purchasing Annual Plan, you’ll get 15% off + complimentary travel luggage. I believe other banks are having promotions too. Being lazy, not sure what to compare, I just went with friend’s recommendations 😀
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