Hong Kong & Macau Day Three & Four

Today's itinerary is #Macau.We had breakfast at this mall opposite our hotel - #Windsor. Most of the restaurants werent open yet by the time we got there but this dimsum place on the 5th (?) floor was already opened. Thank goodness. Food was alright. We spent 200++HKD there. 

After lunch we went over to the ferry terminal. We got there around before mid day but the earliest ferry we could board was almost 2pm. So we heard this guy shouting, selling tickets to the same #Turbojet ferry we were trying to get tickets for and the next ferry timing was right about then! So we got tickets from him. The guy said we can come back anytime before the time stated on the return ticket which was 9pm ish. We compared the prices stated on the tickets he got us and the original #Turbojet tickets and there was a difference alright but it wasn't what you would expect when people tout sell tickets to you. It was definitely worth the not having to wait for 2 more hours before we could board the ferry. Ferry ride was smooth. Seats were allocated - not free seating that I expected. Seats were comfy and spacious. Journey was smooth sailing, not nauseating at all. We reached Macau after around an hours ride. Slept for most of it so I didn't pay attention to the time at all. 

After we cleared immigration, Jan and Amy were approached by their homies offering us day tour for 100HKD each. I went over to the tourist information counter which is right near the exit of the building and took some maps and found out that there are buses that could take us to the places we wanted to go. 

So we opted for the buses in the end. We took bus to nearby #SenadoSquare and it cost 3.20HKD each. You pay with exact change which you slot into the fare box. No tickets issued. Turns out, Macau is very small! The bus ride took no time at all. One thing is, the names are all in Portuguese (?) so it took some time to get used to match the road names. Just peel your eyes to look for road signs or see what's stated on the bus led display - though i think it doesn't really match the map, either that or I'm really really bad at all this scout business. We managed to get off nearby the Square. Had to ask for direction and after a short walk we were there. It was crowded - probably because it was Sunday. We took some pictures at the square and walked over to the Ruins of St. Pauls. There were small alleys leading to the ruins. And in those alleys it's crowded till you gotta walk inches by inches and rub your bodies against strangers. But.. it's a short walk also. There were signages everywhere. That's what good about Macau. It's small and filled with directions - till you gotta take the bus then you're on your own then. 

Many people at #StPaulsRuins but there were some nice spots left on the staircases if you were the kind who would sit down, enjoy the scenery and observe silly tourists like us. We were whooping out the monopod again. Got some stares and a group of Chinese uncles with DSLRs who came up and asked about the stick, how do you keep it (shorten?) and how do you take pictures with it - showed them my #shutterball, it's visible on almost all the pictures. Me holding this tiny green ball, that's the remote hahah. We're so well equipped. If only I had this earlier for Korea. Oh well... April, cherry blossoms, here I come! So we spent quite some time taking pictures from all angles. Saw a lot of stalls selling dried meat. Few selling egg tarts - think I just saw 1 or 2 of those. And loads selling meat bun and dried peanut cookies? There are samples everywhere. Some are even freshly baked. We just swooped in and grab from this big plate they display the samples from - warm and fresh. Too dry for my liking. We had to squeeze our way through the crowd to get back to the square. Turns out the bus stop was really nearby. We went the wrong way so it felt further away than it actually was. 

Ticket to the Venetian costs 6ish HKD. Exact cash again. You can relax for the whole ride till you cross this long bridge to #Taipa district. That's where the #Venetian is. So once you cross over, few more stops and you will see the Venetian. There are 1 or 2 bus stop for you to alight from, it's right across the Venetian, not exactly nearby but you just have to cross over, there's a long overhead bridge that direct you to Venetian. Picture taken some distance from the bus stop, near the overhead bridge. My orange sweater is from Artbox Korea. #loveit. Can't wait to go back to get more. 

It was kinda crowded in Venetian. There was a small stage where singers would perform. Saw few of my indo homies using the monopod too. I swear they mouthed #tongsis when they saw me holding it. Hahahah The place is beautiful. Kinda like MBS but more crowded and better settings, not just shops on both lanes, it has a square too. 

Lots of people were busy taking pictures. We happen to be by this lamp pillar and start taking pictures, I dont know why but this lady decided to come nearby and lean against the pillar I have my arms around that I can feel her body squashing my hand. Oh hello, there are many other lamps around. Why do you need to use the one I'm hogging? You is kidding me right? #somepeoplearejust ...

We had lunch at the food court and the food there were so expensive. Around 100HKD per person. I know it's around the same amount of what we've paid so far for our meals but it's in a foodcourt so I expected it to be much less. HKD and Macau Dollar is 1 to 1. If they need to break your cash, they will give you change in Macau Dollar. 

After the meal and photoshoot, we went back out to take our free shuttle to the ferry terminal. The awesome thing about this bus is there is free wifi hahaha.. Forgot to post something on my Instagram. I wanted to stamp in on the location to fill my maps. #obsessed It was only a short ride to the ferry terminal. Maybe 15 minutes. I didn't even notice it. The bus driver counted the passangers so everyone would have a seat. 

So we reached the ferry terminal. Have no clue what the sign says because of the different vessels and gates and I asked this ticket guy, he said our ship is at 9pm so we can't board this one. We reached around 6pm ish. That freaking ticket seller didn't tell us! we thought it as an open return ticket. Good thing is we could line up as standby passengers meaning if the current ferry has spots left, people queuing up there could get a seat and leave earlier than their ticket timing. When we got there, the queue was already very long, maybe there were around 30 people in front of us. But... we managed to board that ferry! Best thing is, we were given priority seats near the exits hahaha.. #awesomeness

The immigration line back into Hongkong was so unbelievably crowded. Our line's immigration officer was really doing a very thorough job checking everybody's documents. I think for every 5 people next to our line who pass through, he only cleared one from our line #comeondude. I think we waited around 30-40mins to reach our turn even though there were probably less than 15 people in front of us.

We went to ladies market after we got back to Hongkong. Did a quick walk, didn't buy anything there. They didn't have my phone casing too. So disappointed. 

For our last day, we checked in for our flight at Hong Kong station and walked around IFC. After a while, all shopping centers feel the same to me. We bought some junk food from the supermarket and while Jan met up with her friend Amy and I went around getting macarons from these two cafes. First time having a cheese flavoured macaron - I'm still sold. Hahah 

We took the airport express to Airport. Oh yeah! There's a free shuttle bus from Park Lane hotel to Hong Kong station and viceversa. But beware.. the traffic in front of park lane is bad. There are also cars parked by the road side and because of that it becomes a one lane road only. I had to ran out and flag the bus once I saw it. We had to wait 20 more minutes if we had missed it. No help with the luggages so please  bring what you yourself  can carry and none of that "oh my luggage is so heavy i can't carry it" princess syndrome. Super convenient. This is how we reached the hotel when we arrived. Airport express to Hongkong station, get the 3 days MTR pass (300HKD each - not cheap but includes 2 way airport express so it was alright I guess) and took the free shuttle to our hotel. 

I don't know what we did at the airport but we ended up in this restaurant, ordered and turned out the timing was very near to our boarding time. So we had to change our orders to take away - waiters weren't happy at all but i guess we might not be the first customers to do that to them and rushed to the immigration. We had the food in the plane. I think the people behind us were like #wth when they saw us passing food back and fro. I watched Dallas Buyers Club in the plane and was busy doing the photo collages for this trip. Good trip HK, luckily it wasnt hot. See you next time. 

Hong Kong & Macau - Day Two

Hong Kong & Macau - Day Two!

We had breakfast at Excelsior Hotel nearby our hotel. They also had egg tarts from Lord Stow's Bakery. Apparently that's one of the famous egg tarts bakeries, in Macau? I've seen someone recommended it before online. The verdict was, very sweet. I have a sweet tooth but this is a little too sweet for me. I had another one the next day for breakfast and it didn't taste as sweet. Maybe I was hungry then. I ordered hot chocolate and macademia banana muffin which tasted... horrrible. Amy and Jan ordered croissants. Probably it was the hot chocolate and muffin combo that didn't prepare me enough for the egg tart. Didn't see many stalls selling #eggtarts in #Macau so if you see this, just get it and try. Each is around 10HKD. Prices range between 7-10HKD for the different brands. I've only tried this.  

Picture taken opposite the Excelsior Hotel, I think it's the World Trace Centre mall. They have uniqlo in side. We wanted to go in since Jan wants to get a jacket but they were still closed then. It's safe to go after 1130. I think we were there around 1100 and none were open but some of the shops were already getting ready to open up. We used the #monopod in this picture too. 

After lunch we went our separate ways. I had to attend a friend's wedding at Four Seasons Hotel while them both went ahead to The Peak and Disneyland. We later met up for Ngong Ping 360. Picture taken inside the cable car. We had our own private car! It's because we went late, around 1630 I think. They said the last cable car ride was at 1830. So we took the car up to where the Buddha is and rushed up to take pictures. It wasn't crowded when we got there but the queue for the cable car to go down was insane! So we rushed up, took some pictures and came down to queue for the cable car. If we have missed it Jan said we needed to take bus to go down. I don't wanna know that is like.It's so high up in the mountains. What if we had missed the bus. #die. We saw some people on the pathway below the cable car. No idea how they got there but probably if there was a path I would have tried it if we went there early.  

I think this was the Monastery below the giant buddha. We didn't have time to walk over. 

Finally the #giantbuddha. This guy asked where we got the monopod and I told him the night market. Lucky him. If he had asked me yesterday I wouldn't be able to tell him. Wonder if he went to get it that night because when I told him it's at the Temple Street Night Market he looked pretty clueless where that was. Well, good luck to him. We queued for the cable car for maybe half an hour before it was our turn. It was already 1830 when we almost reached our turn but the queue was still very long. Maybe they stopped the queue up front when it's time but still let people who are already in the queue board the cable car. The sun was already setting when we were halfway down the hill. 

We had dinner back at Causeway Bay near the hotel. Initially we wanted to try this Wing Kee Noodles @ Sugar Street where you can custom request your noodles - I saw the menu but not sure how exactly it works, but the queue was very long and it was already so late so we ended up next door at this porridge cafe. Food was not too bad. The portion is very generous I felt like no matter how many scoops I've taken the porridge level still remains the same. Don't order anything with fish. I had to keep spitting out the tiny bones #whatachore. 

Hong Kong & Macau - Day One

Hong Kong & Macau - Day One

So it was still cold in #Hongkong then. I wore a long sleeve and a lined sweater on the outside. Its my airplane outfit and its just nice for Hongkong weather.

My sister in law got me this #monopod or #tongsis as the Indonesians call it. She bought it from an Indo Instagram seller, delivery took AGES. It's basically just this long single pod which you extend and mount your phone on the further end. It's so #damnamazing but also equally embarrassing to use. We got loads of stares while using it and some people even took pictures of us. Won't be surprised if we end up on 9gag one day hahah. More on that later on. 

Picture in Changi T3 before we depart. Finally I got to watch 12 years of slave on the plane. Wasn't as draggy as I thought it would be. Quite a nice movie. Picture taken using the monopod too. #awesomeness. Finally all 3 heads are not cramped together. 

We had lunch nearby the hotel - we stayed at Park Lane Causeway Bay at Gloucester Street. The chinese cafe Delicious Kitchen was just a few streets round the corner. Food was not too bad. I'm not a foodie so usually I'm not enthusiastic about food unless it's really super fantastic then I would rave about it. Ordered shredded chicken noodle soup for me and the rest had chicken chop or pork chop vegetable rice and also fried wonton with sweet and sour sauce. 

 After lunch we headed to Tsim Tsa Tsui to check out Harbour City, 1881 Heritage and Avenue of Stars. There are plenty of shopping malls once you exit TST MTR. We didnt stop for any of them due to time constraints. Walked towards Harbour City shopping stretch. Many brand boutiques in that area. The malls are like Paragon style. Maybe the stuff is cheaper because Jan says they dont impose GST. 

Our not-too-bad jump shot after multiple attempts. Gotta practice more! 

Ok, you see me holding something in the Bruce Lee picture - THAT'S the almighty monopod. I was under a lot of pressure at that moment because it was very crowded and everyone was taking turns to take picture with the statue. We quickly rushed in and I just extended the stick and snapped a couple of pictures without really checking. Most of our pics do not have that stick in it, I made sure of it. This Chinese tourist asked me where to buy this stick and I said I got it overseas.

We headed up the overhead bridge and somewhere opposite there we found Pizza Express at this K11 Mall. Many pizza selections and wine too. We had rosè. Twas Amys birthday  That was probably the most expensive meal we had in Hong Kong. We spent almost 500HKD. Typically the meals we had were around 200-300HKD. Maybe it was because of the wine which went for around 60HKD each. Still reasonable compared to Singapore. Food was alright. We ordered this pepperoni thin pizza and the other pizza is with gorgonzola and spinach. We shared 2 pizza amongst 3 of us and I was supper stuffed. Later on I saw this Caucasian couple having one pizza each. #whaaat! 

After dinner we rushed back to Avenue of Stars to catch the light show. One tip - never plant yourself at the overhead bridge thinking you have the VIP spot to watch the show. 60% of the view is blocked by Intercon Hotel. We quickly rushed down and walked towards the hotel to get a better view. There is nothing fantastic about the light show. This is my second time viewing it. It was foggy both time. Few blasts of laser lights here and there.

There are a number of buildings with dancing lights participating. Probably lasted around 10-15 minutes. Not sure if its because of the fog or it is just really not that fantastic. 

After the show we headed to Temple Street Night Market. It was Friday Night then but it wasnt THAT crowded. Did not buy anything but Jan bought monopods - yes, we found the same one in the night market! So Jan managed to get them for 70HKD at the night market which was a real good bargain i think. 

Seoul - Day Five & Six

Seoul - Day Five!

Felt colder again today. We wore matching coats today. It's the one we bought at garusogil. It's so incredibly warm though it does't look like it. It has a hood at the back that I love. Not cheap but not exactly very expensive too for something of this quality. Usually i would stay away from anything without buttons or zip at the front but for this coat it doesn't really matter. #majorlove.

Lunch is at this barbecue restaurant near our hotel.It's only open 1130 if I'm not mistaken. We had to walk around first and visit this Aland shop I like! Bought a sweater from there. I haven't bought anything major so far so on the last day surprisingly I bought a lot of stuff - sweaters especially! Hahah.. I'm definitely in the winter mood even up till now. 

Got this grey top from Dongdaemun - it's one set with the white collar you see. Love these fake 1 piece that looks like 2 pieces. Anyway, back to food. We ordered 2 portion of their bbq meat sets. All the other dishes by the side are their side dishes which you can ask for top ups. The staff will grill the meat for us. I think I ate loads that day. Couldn't stop shoving the lettuce + meat + kimchi + whateverelse into my mouth. I usually don't like meat stuff but these are good. We ordered two kinds of meat and one of them is nicer than the other. I forgot which one was that. Not a cheap meal but very satisfying.

We had tea at this cafe - Cafe Benne, Myeongdong area too. It's next to Uniqlo. I bought a skinny jeans from there. It's surprisingly cheaper than Singapore. But since then I found out that Singapore lowered their prices too so it is around the same pricing now. We ordered hot chocolate I think and this waffle with a sinful scoop of chocolate ice cream. Good tea break. 

I did my nails last night. All using Etude House polish and stickers! Not sure why but when I'm there I always end up painting my nails and also get to be so diligent in applying face masks before I sleep and also apply serums. Maybe it's because I'm doing all these plus the good weather my skin feels better when I'm there. #lovit!

We spent the rest of the day walking around in Myeongdong till night time. This is a pomegranate juice. They have this stall by the road side that squeezes pomegranate juice non stop. And it's authentic pure pomegranate. The last time we went in summer they have lemon juice stall but it's mixed with soda which I don't like. This is pure pomegranate. I like feel good food. You always see face creams with pomegranate essence in them. I don't mind eating this if it give me good skin hahahh

Seoul - Last Day!

Last day in Seoul and we had to leave early. Those of you who have never been to Incheon airport before, please go early. So many make ups to see and buy - they are cheaper there compared to Changi airport. And some stuff like Benefit is even cheaper than US Sephora prices. I went to the US and Korea after and compared the prices and I was like ermahgerd... #youiskiddingmeright and I stocked up on lots of my Benefit tint. #awesomebuy. For this visit I got this Clarins cellulite cream. It's only 50-55SGD per bottle. I think retail in Changi is around 70SGD at least. 

We were waiting for the bus here. Cold wind blowing from every direction but it's fine. I'm back to wearing my North Face coat today. If you visit cold countries often you should get one too. I think it's a good investment. 

We went around in the airport and I ended up getting this mini MCM backpack. There was some promo going on and we got an additional 15% off I think. Worth it. Not sure why but people are so obsessed with MCM stuff over there. That's the end of the trip. I think we reached around midnight. Can't wait for April! :)

Seoul - Day Four

Seoul - Day Four!

We had brunch at one of the cafes in Myeongdong. Sandwiches, toasts, hot chocolate. Not cheap but it's quite good. Good thing about Seoul is that there is Wifi almost everywhere. But when you move around you get disconnected often. The signal isn't strong too. But it's really better than nothing. 

Today we visited #Insadong. Surprisingly there are many maple trees in Seoul. We kept finding gigantic maple leaves on the street of Insadong. So what this street has plenty of is souvenirs. There are unique stuff here. A lot of handmade stuff and things you don't really see elsewhere. We spent most of our day here. There are also quite a number of restaurants, cafes and tea houses. 

We went during lunch time again, so it wasn't really that crowded. Saw a group of Indonesian tourists. Wanted to ask them to take pictures for us but we were too shy so we missed the chance hahah. Solo shots will have to do! That is at the entrance of Insadong. You can go in through this train exit and exit through another at the end of the street, though this one needs a little more walking. 

We stopped for tea at one of teahouses. They sell loads of different tea at level one which come in very nice box sets. Level two is the cafe. We had this tea set that comes with a matcha sponge cake and tea with biscuits. Cake was light and good. They have quite an extensive tea list for you to choose from. I think I picked some wedding tea that tasted fruity and floral. I got this gray sweater at Doota. It was on clearance and it was cheap! No trying though. A little big but I think it will look very good on a slim girl who knows how to match clothes very well - obviously not yours truly. One thing I love about the sweaters there, most of the have this wooly lining inside and it's warm!  

There are a few stalls selling this ice cream. You queue up, make payment and get this yellow crunchy stick and at the end of the queue the guy will pump the softserve vanilla ice cream through the stick. It's quite yummy. Just like McDonalds vanilla ice cream with a harder and crunchier cone. Would be great when it's not that cold.

Next stop we went to Hong Dae University. There is this flea market I wanted to go to. It's only open on Saturdays during specific timing and I think it's closed in winter. Lots of handmade stuff of course. I love flea market settings so I'm always up for a visit to anything like this. Not that many stalls , probably if you walk around in a slow steady paste without stopping by too long each stalls, you can finish viewing the market in 20 minutes. We stopped by this food stall just next to the market. Ordered some sushi and rice cakes. I don't really like their rice cakes. The portion is a lot and there are so much bland rice tasting part I guess. If it's smaller I think i will like it better - more bite size. The sushi wise, I only like one of them but I don't know what the filling is called. They come in many different fillings. You can pick any food on display here and they will fry most of them first before giving it to you. It's a nice experience. Very authentically Korean I would say. Have always wanted to try that soup they dip the sticks in and I did. Nothing fantastic of course hahah..