So, we made it back from Hong Kong last night! It was definitely a memorable trip! It was Lola Yna's first trip out of the country, and I think she had a BLAST! :)
We were able to do almost everything on our itinerary, which is pretty impressive. Eyen and I actually slept until after noon this morning because we were so wore out from everything we did the past 4 days. We were non-stop, and we all loved it! haha
A little bit of knowledge about Hong Kong before I share our photos. Hong Kong was controlled by the British and the Japanese after the Opium Wars. It is technically part of China, but it has a different political system, and it actually has a different currency as well. Hong Kong is also one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with a population of over 7 million. In order to go to Mainland China, you would need a separate Visa, and you would have to pay the fees.
Before we left for Hong Kong, we spent the day in a place called Angeles City, which is where the Clark International Airport is. (The airport we left from.) I honestly don't have anything nice to say about this place, so I won't say anything at all. :)
Us on the bus on our way to Clark.
Our really cheap hotel room that was actually very modern and actually nice!
Lola Yna about to go shopping in the Duty Free at Clark. hehe.
About to board the plane!
Lola and Eyen before Lola's first plane ride!
Boarding now!
Smile!
Us being silly. :P
Lola enjoying the view!
Just having some fun on the plane. This is our tarsier face. hahaha
Landed in Hong Kong!!
Yayyyyy! :D
Luckily, the airport has signs in English. haha
All of their taxis look the same! They have different colors for different routes. Red, blue, and green!
They drive on the opposite side of the road. O.o
Eyen walking in to our hotel like a boss.
We stayed at the Panda Hotel. They had cute Panda decor everywhere!
We were starting to get confused with the money! American dollars, Philippine Pesos, and Hong Kong dollars.
Possessed looking Pandas...
Some of the buildings.
They machines even look different than ours. lol
Eyen and I stopped at this place in a mall and got some legit Chinese soimai! They had to find someone to translate. haha
What would you like to order? O.o It was basically an eenie meenie miney moe game!
This is what Lola ordered... She didn't like it. lol Don't ask me what's in it because I'm not really sure..
This is what Eyen and I ordered. It was good. All 3 of us could literally have shared 1 bowl because it was so big.
Lola with her soup.
Eating our food. hehe
Oh my.... haha
Walking around one of the malls.
Us on the train! The train is their main source of transportation.
Waiting for the train.
Exploring Hong Kong. We are on our way to the Jade Market!
Lola Yna looking for the Jade she wants!
There are hundreds of little booths set up like this selling authentic Jade. It was really neat to experience, and we were all able to find some Jade that we liked! We also learned a lot about it! The more green the Jade is (if it is real Jade and not injected), the more expensive it is. And when I say expensive, I mean like over $20,000 HK dollars. That's equivalent to over $2,700 USD.
Some neat buildings.
After the Jade Market, we headed up to see the Big Buddha. We took this cable car to get there because it's really high up in the mountains!
Eyen in the car. She is afraid of heights and it was really windy that day, so I'm surprised she gave a thumbs up! lol
A view from inside the car!
Us.
grrrrrr!
Hahahahaha.
The big Buddha from afar!!! It was so HUGE!!!!
The street walking towards to Buddha. It was really neat. I think we would have enjoyed it more had it not rained while we were there.
A random cow that was just roaming around. O.o
A cool flag display.
A stray dog. It was actually a pretty dog. lol
Eyen and Lola in front of an entrance.
Myself and Lola with the flag display.
Lola Yna in front of the steps that lead to the big Buddha. She wasn't able to go all the way to the top because it's too far. You can't see the Buddha because it was so foggy after the rain. :(
Once you get to the top, there are all these other statues surrounding it, giving him offerings.
Lola waiting for us at the bottom.
So many steps!!
This is the big Buddha up close. It is literally HUGE. I wish you could see it better, but it was so foggy.
A cool lantern and another pic of Buddha.
The offerings on one side.
The offerings on the other.
We look like a mess because it was raining. lol
Our view on the way down. It looks like we could be in a Stephen King movie. haha
We had a snack on the way back to the cable car. Fish ball and corn.
People make wishes and put them here under the tree. It was neat.
We weren't able to see the martial arts show, but this is the stage!
The mist.
For dinner we ate at what some people say the best dim sum in Hong Kong! It is called Tim Ho Wan.
We had all different kinds of dim sum! The top left is like a shrimp egg roll. The top right is their specialty, and it is a BBQ Pork bun. It was SOOO GOOD! The middle left is a beef and seafood soimai. The middle right is a seafood dumpling. The bottom left is a meatball with seasoning. The bottom right is Lola's veggies. The food here was really good! The only bad thing was no one really spoke English, so it took us a while to order.
Lola Yna at the night market on Temple Street!
It was a really cool place! There are several places set up where you can buy things for cheap.
Myself at the market.
Some photos of the signs at night. It was always lit up!
The night market on the left, and a view of our hotel at night on the right. (See the pandas??) :)
The next day, we ate brunch at a famous dim sum place called Maxim's Palace. This was early, like 10 a.m., and we had to wait to be seated.
Beautiful chandeliers.
Some soimai and dumplings.
Sesame seed bread.
A ham, fish, and chicken dumpling.
Us outside of the restaurant.
Us inside.
Lola and Eyen.
Getting our eat on!
Smiles!
Can't read it, so you just pay for it. haha
WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!
Us on the train to Disney! Notice the windows are in the shape of Mickey!
Disneyland Resort.
Mine and Lola's faces are priceless. HAHA
Lola with an Indian statue.
WELCOME!
The road to Disney.
Mickey Mouse surfing with a whale.
Monsters University! :D
Some of the shops.
Sleeping Beauty's Castle. :)
Holding the world! lol
Rawr!
In Tomorrowland!
To infinity... AND BEYOND!
Eating my Mickey Mouse ice cream.
Just chillin.
The inside of the Space Mountain ride.
AHAHA look at Eyen's face! I covered my face because it was like a fireball coming towards my head!
Lola and Eyen waiting for the Golden Mickeys! The Golden Mickeys is a show that is performed by some of the Disney Cast. There were several categories like heroism, adventure, friendship, and love. It was really cool to watch!!
The opening of the Golden Mickeys!
The cast performing their song.
The crew! Miniie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. :)
Since I took so many photos, I decided to only choose one from each movie/song they performed!
Woody, Jessie, and friends performing "You've Gotta Friend in Me"
Quasimodo performing "Out There"
Tarzan and Jane performing "Son of Man" I just really thought they'd perform "You'll be in my Heart"! lol
Mulan performing "I'll Make a Man out of You"
Lilo and Stitch performing "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride"
My favorite part! :D Ariel and Sebastian performing "Under the Sea"
Real bubbles during The Little Mermaid performance! :]
Beauty and the Beast performing "Beauty and the Beast"
After Beast turned into the Prince. :)
The crew at the end of the Golden Mickeys. It was an awesome show! It was Eyen's favorite.
Us going on a boat ride inside of the castle.
hehe.
I was into the ride. haha
The beginning.
It was a really neat thing to see. It celebrated the spirit of children in different places.
A cute Hippo.
Lilo and Stitch.
Ariel
This was my favorite part! I 3D experience with Donald Duck. It had special effects, and the 3D was amazing!
Mystic Point, Toy Story Land, and Grizzly Gulch!
These 3 places are important here because you can't find them in other Disneyland theme parks. Mystic Point and Grizzly Gulch are only in the Hong Kong Disneyland! Toy Story Land is only in Asia Disneyland. (Japan and Hong Kong)
Toy Story Land!
Woody!
They say to yell "Andy's coming!" at the characters, and they will stop what they're doing (like in the movie), but they stopped doing it because of safety regulations. BOO!
Live Jessie!
I like the toys they use to set it up. lol
My Potato Head.
The parachute drop.
Us in Toy Story Land!
Rex is so cute. :]
Lola with Woody!
The beautiful Mystic Point.
Me inside of the Garden of Wonders.
This popcorn was SO GOOD! It was caramel and honey mustard. YUM!
We floated on over to Tarzan's treehouse!
It was a neat thing to look up. We were able to climb up into the tree!
The Tarzan with really big eyes. Our view from the top.
After we visited Tarzan, we watched a play about the Lion King. It was a play about the legend of Simba and how he became king. Lola loved it!
The elephant.
The giraffe.
Timon and Pumba.
The King, SIMBA! They make up the circle of life. :)
Dancing during the show.
It was fun to watch.
We had to sit in the back, but that's ok. It was a neat show.
The circle of life!
Lola with the elephant. hehe
Lola with the castle!
Lola and Eyen. <3
Selfie with the castle!
Donald is Lola's favorite character!
It was a great time! It was all of our first times going to Disneyland! It brought back so many memories from my child hood. I was a huge Disney fan growing up. I remember watching Brittany Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake on the Mickey Mouse Club at night! A Goofy Movie was one of my favorite movies. I remember Aladdin was my favorite game on Sega... *sigh* I'm OLD! :'(
We went on a cool bus ride that night. They have these double decker buses everywhere!
City lights!
The streets are such a bustling place at night! They have all kinds of markets you can go to!
Us on the bus!
The black and yellow sign is where we at dinner. Cafe de Coral.
It was so good! A mixed meat tray with soup and fries.
Not complete without the rice!
On our way to the Ladies Market!
NIKE!
Beautiful Lola looking at Jade.
A sneaker shop inside one of the malls.
Us at the Ladies Market that night!
Look at Lola's face! She is too funny! I wish everyone in the world could meet her. She would change their lives!
Like a boss!
The day before we left Hong Kong we decided to take a trip to Macau (ma-cow). Macau is kind of like Hong Kong. It is part of China, but they have a different currency, and you still have to go through immigration and customs. Macau was previously settled by the Portuguese, and it is apparent through the architecture of the buildings, and the extravagance of the city. Macau is considered the "Las Vegas" of Asia. (Macau actually makes MORE revenue than Vegas.) It is where you go to gamble and party. Gambling and Tourism is the cities main source of income. Macau actually has the 2nd highest life expectancy in the world! And it is also the MOST DENSELY populated region in the WORLD.
Us on our way to Macau.
Boarding the ferry! It is only about a 1 hour ferry ride.
Excited!
Lola Yna with Macau in the background!
Some not-so-Portuguese looking architecture! lol
Mmmmm jerky! Macau is known to have good jerky!
Some of the city.
Eyen and Lola at lunch
That is a painting of Macau's Senado Square.
The restaurant we ate at. Authentic Portuguese food.
We were all so hungry. Eyen and I got excited when we saw them bringing us bread! We looked down and saw this. We looked at each other and immediately started laughing! hahaha. One piece of bread to split between the 3 of us! lol
Baked spaghetti! Some of the best I have ever had. (Beside Filipino spaghetti, of course. hehe)
A seafood chowder.
This is chicken covered in red sauce and cheese with french fries. Very good!
Some cool ships!
Us in Senado Square! I can't smile right when the sun is shining. haha
Eyen and Lola with the fountain!
Some Portuguese architecture.
Santa Casa da Miscricordia. (House of Holy Mercy)
Very pretty building.
Eyen and Lola in front of St. Dominic's Church.
The square.
Most of the writing on the buildings were in Portuguese. My Portuguese lessons came in handy! :) Dr. Armstrong would be proud! hehe
A photo of the street.
Some of the buildings.
I liked the feel of this city. People were friendly here for the most part, and the place is beautiful! I'm glad we got to experience it!
The Macau Square mall.
This is the Macau Tower. You can bungee jump from this builiding! It is the 2nd biggest bungee jump in the world! (Behind the Vegas Stratosphere jump.. Seeing the similarities now?)
A view of the city.
Hotel Galaxy.
The 4 buildings on the left make up the "City of Dreams" It includes the Hard Rock Hotel, Hyatt, the City of Dreams building, and the Crown. To the right is the Venetian!
A cool disco ball I wanted to take home. hehe
Lola and Eyen inside the City of Dreams.
Where all the fun happens! haha. Lola has never gambled before..
But she was getting into it! She loved pulling the lever down. hehe.
She didn't win big, but it's the experience that matters!
A really cool dragon that changed colors! Lola is the year of the dragon.
In front of the Venetian.
This was our main purpose of our trip to Macau. So Lola could see the inside of the Venetian.
Lola inside! Lola and Eyen posing with the statue.
Us in front of the scenery.
The beautiful paintings inside.
It looks almost identical to the one in Vegas!
So pretty.
The dragon gondola.
Us going on a gondola ride!
Lola was excited!
The beautiful river!
It was a lot of fun!
We had the best guide! She was actually Italian! She was from Verona, Italy. (Where Romeo and Juliet took place.) She had the voice of an angel! She sang so well, it reminded Lola of her mother, and she got a little emotional. It was a great time though! Very heart warming.
Happy!
The trip wouldn't be complete without authentic egg tart! Lord Stow's is a very famous place to find amazing egg tart!
Too excited. haha.
The best egg tart I have ever had. I had never tried it until that day. haha.
Eyen and Lola with the beautiful view.
Us inside the Venetian before we left.
Lola with the awesome ceiling.
I loved the egg tart so much, I took some to go. haha. Like a boss!
Lola saying bye to Macau!
We definitely had a good time!
Lola on the hunt for some new shoes! Eyen gave her the option of either getting new shoes or going to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. Well, needless to say, she is definitely Eyen's Lola and chose the shoes. ;)
Lola Yna with her new shoes that Eyen bought her!
A really cool toy store we saw.
My lychee flavored popsicle.
Lol and some vanilla ice cream
Our street food snack!
For lunch we ate at a restaurant near our hotel. We all had seafood chowder and shrimp dory! It was delicious!
Well, we all had a good time on our trip to Hong Kong! We made the best of it. It was hard for us to understand people and for people to understand us, but we made it work. We wanted Lola to experience this, and Eyen made it happen! She really is a selfless person and deserves more credit than she is given. Eyen and Lola have both taught me so much on this trip here in the Philippines! They have made me appreciate family so much more.
So, even though we had fun in Hong Kong, do I ever want to go back? NO. I really don't. I wouldn't mind going to Mainland China for a few days, but 4 days is enough for me. I honestly couldn't wait to get back to Manila! I even wore my Jose Rizal Team Manila shirt on the last day! haha.
Our next and final trip (FINAL?! WAHHHH! It went by so fast!) is to Boracay! It is a paradise here in the Philippines! It will be Lola, Kuya, and my first trip there! Eyen has been there, but she was younger. Should be a lot of fun! I hope you guys enjoyed the post and until next time..! Boa noite! (Good night in Portuguese hehe)
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