Hong Kong Getaway Part 1

Prepping for the Trip

My sister and I started planning for our trip to Hong Kong three months ago for our birthday. We normally plan for a trip longer than three months every time we travel to allow ample time to save up for our pocket money and research online for rave reviews regarding top spots to go and suggested hotel accommodations for tourists. We just thought about heading to Hong Kong last January and from then we started researching for travel agencies that offers HK tours only because we already booked our flight.

It wasn't easy really because it is such a risk to entrust your good money on travel agencies you just recently stumbled upon online. Most of the travel agencies we came across online wants upfront bank deposit/payment and rarely accepts Paypal payments except for this travel agency called SPF Travel & Tours which we found 100% legit.

Payment via Paypal is an excellent mode of payment because it takes 28 days (Paypal policy) before the payment clears thus gives the client enough time for disputes in any case there'll be. It may be a hassle on the travel agency's part because it takes almost a month before they get paid, however, on the other hand, I thought, it is still a win-win situation because both parties feel safe.

We waited in vain before the payment cleared so we decided to contact the travel agency after 28 days just to make sure that they already received the payment. We got the travel voucher as soon as the payment went through sent via email. You can check out SPF Travel and Tours website for travel packages to various countries including HK.

We availed their 4 Days/3 Nights Free and Easy package which includes the following:

• 4days / 3nights Hotel Accommodation
• Daily Hotel Breakfast (6:30-10:00 AM)
• Roundtrip Transfer (Airport-Hotel Airport)
• Compulsory Half Day City Tour

At the Holiday Inn Manila Galleria, We booked 
a 2 Twin Executive Non Smoking Room

23 April 2015
Pre-Departure

Holiday Inn Manila Galleria

We came from the North so we needed to at least come down to the South couple of days before our flight so we could get some rest. We took the 7AM trip to Manila via Victory Liner for 450php each. A seven hour trip is exhausting plus the hot temperature down South will surely wear you down. I grew up in Manila so I am sort of accustomed to the scorching hot temperature there but If you stayed up north for almost four years now a 25 degree Celsius and up temperature is already a killer. My sister arranged all the hotel accommodations while I took care of the flight and all tour arrangements with the travel agency.

We stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn Manila Galleria in Ortigas and availed our employee room benefit. We haven't stayed at the Holiday Inn Galleria before but we already stayed at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria years ago and we enjoyed our stay there so we decided to come back and stay at the Holiday Inn for a change. We were assigned an upper floor room that overlooks the Ortigas business district and we were happy with our stay as well because it was an executive room with a living area which is big enough for two persons. IHG properties never fails to amuse us amenities wise compared to other hotels we stayed at during our travels abroad. We missed the metropolis so much and all the hustle and bustle there is. We even went to Megamall to grab some Subway sandwiches for dinner.

24 April 2015
Tune Hotel Aseana, Paranaque

We switched from Holiday Inn Manila Galleria to Tune Hotel for our flight the next day 25^th of April due to its proximity to the airport (NAIA T3). Tune Hotel is just 3KM away from the airport as per my sissy's research which is an advantage because our flight is at 7:25AM.

In my assessment, Tune Hotel is perhaps a 1-2 star hotel good for overnight stays or layovers because there's nothing fancy about this hotel. Their rooms are too cramped up in my opinion, it's air-conditioned though with a ceiling fan, hot & cold shower, flat screen wall mounted tv with several cable channels & an in room safe, unlimited free wifi access. The wifi username is your room number whilst the password is the last name of the person who booked the room. Not much amenities except for one 1-2 pieces of soap, a tube of shampoo & conditioner in one, no toothpaste nor toothbrush, 3 towels and that's it. They don't even have any tea pots, coffee cups nor complimentary coffee or tea, no fridge neither and you need to head downstairs if you need hot water (the staff at the front desk could get you hot water from their pantry). The good thing was, at least the hotel has a lift which made hovering from your room to heading downstairs easier. 

at the Tune Hotel Aseana, Double Room: a/c controls, 

takeaway menu, in room safe, toilet & bath, fire escape plan, 

room key card

The most painful part was they don't have any in room phone in case there's something you need to request from the front desk. Their wifi by the way is only limited to 3 gadgets and the good thing was we only have 3 gadgets; a couple of mobile phones and a laptop. My wifi access did not work outright that we even needed to go back downstairs to advise the fron tdesk their wifi is only working on one gadget. The good thing was we're only sleeping over for our early morning flight because we can't endure the no tea pot/hot water for tea or coffee. Geez. Unfortunately, we're staying over again once we land back to Manila from HK. At least we now have an idea to collect the toiletries from the hotel we'll be staying at in HK once we fly back home and stay at Tune Hotel once again.

We're not picky travellers really but you always expect basic amenities every time you stay at any hotels worldwide such as basic toiletries for the correct number of occupants in the room. I mean do you expect two persons to share  one set of toiletries? A shampoo & body wash dispenser would be better.

arrival/departure card

Departure

25 April 2015

Manila – Hong Kong via Cebu Pacific

All our bags are packed and we're totally ready to go! Today is also payday so we're happy to bring in more cash to HK 'cuz we already changed the rest of our PHPs to HKDs whilst staying at the Holiday Inn Galleria. We bought some HK dollars via Sanrees Money Changers at Robinsons Galleria by the way because they offer reasonable exchange rates there. Going back, we left Tune hotel around four past in the morning via a colorum/private car arranged by the guard at the hotel. The driver was nice so I asked how much they charge from the hotel to the airport so he said they only charge 250php which I think is just really the minimum rate for cabs near the airport nowadays. It was a breeze because there was no traffic since it was still early so we got to the airport in less than 10 minutes. We gave the cabbie driver 300php which already includes the tip because he did not ask for any additional and instead just helped us unload our luggage unlike the driver who drove us from Holiday Inn Galleria to Tune Hotel who seemed pretty nice at first but as soon as we alighted from the cab, he asked for 'additional' money on top of the already arranged non-metered fare. Imagine our cabbie fare from Holiday Inn was less than 250php and we gave him 270php even asked if we could round it up to 300php?? Wow. Alligators in the metropolis. People who travel out of the country save up for their trip. These unscrupulous cabbie drivers are friggin' leechers.

Cebu Pacific bound to HK, yes we sat right
next to the entrance/exit door lol.

Anyways, we lined up at the check in counter around 5AM and took some time to check because of the quite long queue already considering it's still pretty early. What might've consumed our time partly was we did not pay our travel tax first prior to check in so it was a hassle that we needed to go to the travel tax counter first before we could get our boarding pass of course. We only paid the travel tax at 1,020php roughly I think and they no longer charged for terminal fee which is good. I've heard about this in the past and I think they have already pushed through eradicating the terminal fee. They should have done this a long time ago anyways because other countries DO NOT charge for using their airport terminals as it is a basic service that every country should offer at no cost.

So there, we checked in our luggage and passed through Immigration. The stupidest thing we did was we forgot to withdraw funds from an atm machine prior to passing through the immigration counter. When we finally thought about it the IO no longer allows my sister to go out of the boarding gates premise which we forgot once you already reaced the boarding gates to our dismay. After all the bickering we just decided to withdraw money from an atm machine once reached HK. We were so problematic prior to boarding the plane because we just have enough money for 1-2 days in HKD because the rest our money were stuck in our atm cards.

the perks of sitting right next to the window

7:25AM past our plane departs bound to HK. Whilst my sister was busy taking aerial shots as our plane takes off I felt dozing off due to tiredness prepping up for our early morning flight. I think I slept for the most part and woke up few minutes before we landed at the HK International Airport.

Related Posts:

Hong Kong Getaway Part2

Hong Kong Getaway Part3

Hong Kong Getaway Part4

Hong Kong Getaway Part5

Read More

Siem Reap Bound

 Departure: Manila to Siem Reap, Cambodia

My sister and i decided to fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia for our birthday getaway this year since it's been one of the most famous destinations in asia lately. so, we thought yeah why not Cambodia aside from it's a perfect destination for budget travelers like us, siem reap will acquaint us with khmer culture apart from what we learned from school many years ago. 

It wasn't something we planned ahead of time. we usually plan for a trip a year ahead especially for out of the country trips to allow us time to save up and research further about our destination. it's very vital for travelers to learn about the culture (although not it's entirety because history can be very complex depending on the country) of the place they are about to head off to help them understand about their past and present. 

we filed our vacation leaves as early as January this year, booked our flight and hotel accommodation last February and spent the entire month of March researching/reading further about Siem Reap, their culture, weather, currency circulating in their market, cost of food, transportation and the most important part of all--where to buy souvenir items! 

• Budget for the trip: $170 myself, my sister $165 (2day/2nights)

let the fun begin..

27 April (our birthday!)

as much as we hate traveling on our birthday (due to this superstition that it's crucial traveling on your birthday), we didn't have any choice because the cheapest airfares got sold out pretty fast which was our fault since it took us a while to think if we're going to book our flight as early as february or further wait for better deals. that, eventually, did not happen as the days went by the cheap airfares turned goner. as i mentioned planning ahead is always good. 

NAIA Terminal 3

reached NAIA Terminal 3 around three past pm to allow us time to line up at the check in counter, familiarize ourselves with the terminal since the last time we went out of the country (bound to Singapore) it was at Terminal 1 and T3 is way bigger and better compared to the old Terminal. check in counter opened around 5past PM as far as i can recall. check in was a breeze. 

**Cebu Pacific is the only airline here in the Philippines with direct flights to Siem Reap. Our flight schedule 7:30PM via CebuPac 5J 257**

• initial security check - this is as you enter the airport's premise. they scan your bags. make sure all electronic gadgets inside your bag.

check in counter: 

• got our passports checked and flight details to make sure you are the passport holder yourself.

• gave us tags for our carry on backpacks; weigh our bags (7kgs limit)

• advised to pay travel tax for a hefty P1,620 (you can do this prior to check in btw) 

• show travel tax receipt back again to check in counter but no need to fall in line.

• they hand you your boarding pass and your good to go.

The check in counter for Siem Reap is located in front of the Travel Tax counter. not many passengers lined up for Siem Reap unlike Hong kong and Singapore there's a long line most of the time.  We didn't check in any luggage as we planned to go on as backpackers since we've read that CebuPacific have issues in terms of passengers losing their checked in luggages. Sorry but i have to say this, it's our precautionary measure. 

Moving on, once you have your boarding pass handy go straight to the area close to the escalator (where the lady guard stands) and present your boarding pass. you will be assisted by cebupac employees and guards where to go so don't worry. 

• the first counter is where you pay the Terminal fee P550 and they attach it to your boarding pass. 

• Immigration -  This is the second counter . they check you passport and ask for the purpose of travel. It has been a common scenario that they ask for first time travelers abroad to sit in the corner for a short interview. This is to further prevent local passengers to go on TNT (illegal aliens) mode overseas and make sure they have enough money for their travel. this is where some pinoys get offloaded as well sad to say. 

it was a breeze with me and my sister's case since it's not our first time traveling abroad. 

Final Security Check

there's no need to take your shoes off anymore. i wore polymer made earrings so no hassles and did not wear belt neither. make sure you drink all your bottled whatever with you prior to final security check and place all your electronic gadgets with you in your backpack/carry on bag prior to passing the xRay machine or same as the initial security check pretty much.

welcome to the boarding area! 

NAIA's T3 is clean and fairly new so it's very cozy to snap pictures and just chill whilst waiting for your flight just make sure you go to the correct boarding gate as per your boarding pass.

You can grab a coffee, eat pasta or even buy a cookie at the nearby pastry shop. relax. oh an evian bottled water cost P90 there. say what??

Lastly, wait for the announcement once they open the boarding gates. you leave the stub attached to your boarding pass to the gatekeepers and there yah geow. 

Pass the tarmac and be mindful of your seat number once you board the plane. We decided to pre-select our airplane seats upon booking though it cost a little extra about P200 or so. We normally do this so we get to sit side by side teehee! I hate take off. it makes me have butterflies in my stomach geez. the pressure whenever the plane ascends is feels weird every time. Don't forget to fill out the Arrival/Departure card for your convenience prior to landing so all you have to do is hand it over to the IO once at the Siem Reap Airport. the Departure card will be stapled to your passport so fill out BOTH before landing. 

Our chicken adobo meal was served roughly an hour and a half after take off which was just on time before we landed in Cambodia (two hours later i think) and it was tasteful. Two hour and forty five minute plane ride seemed forever and alas our plane landed at around 10:30PM. 

Touchdown Siem Reap...

The Siem Reap International Airport could have been desolate hadn't for our co-passengers who just all recently boarded off. 

Siem Reap IO

The Immigration officers were barely english speaking but with the help of hand gestures we got our passports stamped finally. they pointed here and there. ah, language barrier. I outright looked for our shuttle driver and there he was holding this white piece of paper with my sister's name on it in bold letters. we chose the Ankoriana Hotel for the entire duration of our stay in Siem Reap. We enjoyed the ride because it wasn't a shuttle van which we were expecting but a tuk-tuk. Our first tuk-tuk ride in Cambodia, how lovely. We marveled at Siem Reap's beauty at night on our way to our hotel and inhale the dry yet cool wind breeze. Generally, the weather was oven hot though in Cambodia which is very typical in most Southeast Asian countries, the air was very thin.  Check out my next post, our first day in Siem Reap and my take on the Ankoriana Boutique Hotel. 

Related Posts:

Manila-Siem Reap Bound

Siem Reap Day1

Siem Reap Day2

Angkoriana Boutique Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia: A Review

Read More

wander lust

what's cooking?

well, i decided to ask my doctor if am able to undergo RAI (radioactive iodine) to finally put an end to my hyperthyroidism. my endoc admitted that i am kind of hard to treat because i have been enduring medications for almost a year now and my thyroid hasn't gone back to normal yet. 

i hate going back to my endoc everytime due to endless bloodtests, medications here and there haiz. it is exhausting to be a thyroid patient. i finally decided to undergo RAI to put an end to my ethereal bloodtest since the phlebotomists are also having a hard time drawing blood from me 'cuz i think i have turned into a vampire and i don't have blood anymore regardless of how i drink too much fluid! 

photo not mine, got it from google images

anyways nuff of that all i wanna do is to be normal again and not worry about my health getting in the way. i get tired too much because i am hyperthyroid thus everytime i do long walks especially uphill i am running out of breath. it wasn't like that before and i want my healthy life back especially now that my twinnie and i is cooking up a trip to cambodia this coming summer for our birthday. 

speaking of our cambodia getaway which is not in a couple of months from now, we originally thought of getting a travel package through a travel agency (so they make our itinerary for the trip).  the only problem was, their travel packages does not include airfare which is the bloody part. so, we just decided to make our own itinerary, booked our own flight and arranged tours with the hotel direct instead of going through travel agencies because it's really hard not having any control of your trip as travel agencies do it in such a way that everything must go on as planned. 

well see how it works. i'll definitely blog about it to help my fellow wander lusters who are organizing their trip themselves to siem reap. my sister and i are planning to go on as backpackers to save ourselves from the troubles of losing any baggage. 

as of right now were busy scouring the web reading blog after blog to aid us in our trip this april. as much as we hate boarding a plane to cambodia on the actual day of our b-day but i guess we don't have much of a choice as airplane seats to siem reap are getting sold out really fast. my oh my.

Read More