A taste of EUROPE in ASIA - Part 1

My family had our second OOC - Out of the country vacation last Dec 2010.  The first time we went out was in HK and so we decided to see a glimpse of this LITTLE EUROPE in Asia.... a country known as MACAU in China. I love the weather this time as it was "colder" the second time around  for HK - last time it was soooo Hot... moving forward, i would like to share a bit of my experience in this place... however i honestly have a very short term memory so bare with me if I can't give the exact details of the said trip .

First things first ... thank you to Cebu Pacific for consistently having this promo which allows us to travel in and out of the country... travelling around is a bit pricey especially for a budget traveller like moi... I really make it a point to wait for seat sale.. so better log on to www.cebupacificair.com and sign up for your email and mobile alerts and be the first to book in their promos.

TIP: if you made an additional booking via a rep (phone call) and decided not to avail of the additional booking make sure you call them that the person you booked is not going with you because what happened to me was.. I decided to add a booking for my 1 yr old daughter so when i called the rep advised me that i will only be given 24 hours to settle the 417 something pesos for my daughter's fee and it will be forfeited if I fail to pay it within the allotted time... to cut the long story short, I was not able to pay it on time... thinking all is set the three of us ( moi, hubby, and my eldest - left my younger daughter at home) went to the airport to check in - oh did i ever mention that we arrived soooo late at terminal 3 and we almost lost the chance to be on that flight...
what happened was, the staff from Ceb Pac can't check us in because we still have pending payment to be made - she was referring to my baby's confirmed ticket so I was asked to go and settle what i have to settle...since we are running out of time I told the cashier that i will just pay the P417 so we can go and check ourselves in... BUT it was not that easy... even if my 1 yr old daughter is not coming with us, I should pay the terminal fee and the phil travel tax for her and I don't think it's fair.. because in the first place, the rep from the phone told me that if i didn't pay it on time it will be forfeited, so i assumed that it was a no booking after all...
I was again directed to the customer service and told them the story over again and they refunded it after telling them that the flight to Macau is now boarding and that was not my fault after all since obviously  it was not a confirmed fbooking ( no payment made)...so there you go...

I was able to book for a round trip fare of : P5000 / pax
Philippine Travel Tax : P1620 / adult (P1020 /kid)
Terminal Fee:  P750 / head

Since we arrived late at Terminal 3, we didn't get the chance to eat dinner so we ate at the plane...

a bottle of mineral water, ham and cheese sandwich, and a cup o' noodles cost me P300 grrr. anyway, we arrived in Macau after 2 hours - approximately 9:30pm and the weather was around 14-16 degrees... too cold for me brrrrrr! 

Macau Airport was not that big compared to HK so we didn't get lost after all :) and i noticed that it was the only flight that arrived that night so it wasn't that crowded...we looked for the Forex booth and exchanged our USDs to MOPs... in PHPs that is around 5.66 MOP to 1 PHP.

TIP: Upon arriving - look for the information and ask where the taxis are so as have the concierge write the name of your hotel in Chinese then give this piece of sheet (lol) to the cab driver :) it'll be easier that way since the people there barely speak English :)

then we headed straight to where the taxis are...you can easily find it as it was sooo organized there, there is only one loading area for all the CABS.  We gave the piece if paper to the driver and we were safely dropped in our first hotel - MACAU REGENCY HOTEL - unfortunately , the driver failed to press the meter so he charges us 40MOP from the airport to Regency.  I didn't question him at all since I have read from some blogs and sites that it would really cost approx 40.

Just arrived in REGENCY

At the lobby with her own luggage

Checkin - in

TIP: www.agoda.com  is one perfect place to book for hotels as the rates here are incredibly low low low compared to booking straightly from the hotel's official websites. Instead of being charged with 1900 MOP (P10754) I only paid 530 MOP (P3000) per night of stay in Regency and that comes with a free buffet breakfast for 2 -

Enjoying our buffet breakfast , it was Althea who took this picture

oooops sorry I forgot to take a picture of our room but it was a typical twin room with  hot and cold shower and bath tub - not bad for the price I paid .  Also, you can use the computer at the lobby so you can check your mails - but please be considerate to the other users so they placed a note there that at least 10 minutes per person per use :) the internet's a little slow so you won't be able to do much after all.

The first itinerary was to go to HK since it is just an hour away from Macau via ferry.  There is a free shuttle from Hotel to Macau Ferry Terminal but the first trip is at 9AM.  So waited for the shuttle so we do not have to take a cab (that's a 40 MOP savings :)  One f the things I like about Macau is that most of the hotels offer free shuttle service so make sure to ask so you do not have to spend a single penny for your transpo around the city :)

@ the shuttle going to Macau Ferry Terminal

going to the Terminal 

waiting for the ferry to go on board

mi vida and mi amor 

There are different ferry options that you can choose from...but the prices are relatively the same, it just depends whether you'll travel on weekdays or weekends so as higher rates at night.... Here are your different options:

 First Ferry http://www.nwff.com.hk/eng/fare_table/local-macau/

Turbo Jet https://service.turbojetbooking.com/webbooking2/

Cotai Jet http://cotaijet.com.mo/en/destinations/index.aspx

in our case I paid (140 MOP each = P792 each) for a one way- trip to Hong Kong.  If you plan to go back to Macau the same day, please check the last trip as some of these ferries are only 10.30 PM while others are operating 24 hours.

inside the Ferry with daddy

Ferry ride to HK

You do not have to settle for a business class / first class ride since the economy seats are also comfortable.  You may not be given the first class service but who cares? It's just 55 mins :) and who cares if I'm not the first to go off board hehe :)

TIP: make sure you fill out the immigration form being given by the staff if you are a tourist and prepare your Passport as well...to avoid any delay in the immigration...

few more steps and I'd be able to see the busy streets of HK

few more...before you finally stepped out of the terminal, you'll pass by the immigration  so get your documents ready. 

Now you know you're in HK...towering buildings around :)

My baby on her winter clothes (less the boots :( 

If I only knew... we should have worn boots :) not for fashion but it was the appropriate one

my bestie the entire trip! super thanks! super comfy!

From Macau Ferry Terminal, it will stop in Kowloon then you'll have to find your way to the nearest MTR.  As you stroll around, you'll find some of these shops which obviously I can only afford to take some pictures as the tags they are with are not within my budget hehe

I do not have to splurge on these ... who would if you can buy the original at a discounted cost

Once you arrived in Kowloon, you have to find the nearest MTR so you can go to Disneyland.  Credits to my  ever resourceful and super madiskarteng hubby I am sure I won't be part of the lost command with him :)

The nearest MTR from the Terminal is the TST Station...

exchanging bills...

waiting for dad

ready for a train ride

TIP:  if you do not have loose bills  (HK Dollar), make sure to have it changed so you can buy your octopus card / ticket via their ATM type ticket dispensers (not sure what they're called . There are also different fare fees for child and adult okay -

Going to Disneyland from TST station would cost an adult approximately 12.50 HK$ single ride ticket , kids for 6 HK$ and will take approximately 31 minutes.  You need to change trains twice...
From TST interchange to LAI KING STATION then SUNNY BAY and last stop would be DISNEYLAND RESORT station. You wouldn't miss the train going to Disney once you see the train with  all Mickey / all Disney on it... cutie!

@Sunny Bay station - Disney train behind 

Chip n' Dale at the back :)

window train

now isn't this cool?

Entrance to Disneyland would cost 350 HK$ adults and 250 HK$ for kids ...

mickey everywhere :)

happy me :) 2nd time 

We arrived a bit late but it's okay coz we somehow know what to do next...first things first...it would really be help if you'll have a copy of the Park Map which you can grab at the City Hall

There's the Map and the Schedule of shows 

last time we were in HK Disneyland, we were not able to ride the Train... so here we go :

it's really cold ... i swear !

Riding the train will give you a glimpse of the entire park.. also, should you wish to drop in one of these :

Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Main Street USA - you may do so :)

It's true that Disneyland's rides are for kids ... but I really enjoyed every single moment of it.. especially if you're with your loved ones :) Make sure you ride all of them... unfortunately we were not able to make it for the Meet and Greet of  the different characters but this time we were able to see the parade.. since it's Christmas time... the theme was " Let It Snow " - I am so proud to see a lot of Pinoy performing :) 

Let it Snow Christmas Parade 

Hi Minnie :)

Snow White

Cinderella

Ariel

Alice

My little girls was so happy to see the princess whom she really adores ... too bad we didn't get the chance to take a picture with them... (" next time na lang mom " :( 

At least she's so happy to see the Princess waving at her and saying hi ... 

Now, let's talk about dining - the food are a bit expensive inside and the choices are not that many...not to mention the rice they serve --- not sure what it's called coz it's Ryan who always orders for us... it's a bit oily...a meal costs us HK$ 100-150 - - depending on your choices but they taste good.  

TIP:  make sure you have enough water coz like the food, the water's pricey as well... and don't miss the mickey-shaped- ice cream :) I just love it.

sorry guys..my brain can't stock a lot of info...but if you have question.. feel free to message me...

OF course miss not the fireworks... and the "snow" during December... 

let it snow...

"wow mommy there's snow"

Disneyland is totally a great experience! two thumbs up :)

Tip:  for those going back to Macau  (like us) make sure you have enough MOP which you can exchange in City Hall.. you may exchange your HK$ to MOP or USD to MOP... 

Going back to Macau - you would need to take the last Train Station : Sheung Wan  - - where the Terminal going to Macau is located... so there would be 4 stops and interchange this time...

Disney Resort to Lai King

Lai King to Sunny Bay

Sunny Bay to Central

and Central to Sheung Wan

Then the ticket booths are located on the upper floors (not sure if 2nd or 3rd) of the building - - it costs HK$150/ head for the ferry ride...

The three of us were sound asleep and when we woke up, voila  - -  back to Macau.

Again, cab going back to Regency costs us MOP40.

Tomorrow's another day --- City Tour :)

A taste of EUROPE in ASIA - Part 2 - will be posted sooon (hopefully)