Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Disneyland (HK trip pt. 2)

 Day 1 was spent at Disneyland. We only have 3 days in HK so we have to make the most out of every second. Took us 20mins to go to Disneyland through MTR.

The train that would take you to the happiest place on earth! =]








First thing to do as you enter the park? Take a pic with the Mickey Mouse ornamental grass design. You 
 just have to. haha!


where fairytales do come true...
 We got there before 2pm and got a glimpse of the Parade of the Stars before it ended. They had a repeat later in the afternoon so we still got to see everyone.

Gotta love Woody! =]

 Due to so much people in that day (Friday) we only got to try a few selected rides. Waiting time could reach up to 2hrs for some of the attraction so we passed on those we think not really worth the time. Before we went to our first stop, we got first a FastPass at AstroBlasters to save time. We walked further more as our feet lead us to "It's a small world". We there was not much waiting to do here but then we realized the real line starts inside the building. Though it was manageable for the snaky long line is constantly moving, I was just pissed of with those Chinese (not being racist here) who kept on skipping lines as we move. I lost track of the time we spent moving/pushing ourselves with the line so as not to be left behind. Thank goodness it was worth the wait! It's a long ride inside there where you can sit back and relax while adoring the great display of mannequins swaying with the music. "It's a small world" is played in the background that changes dialect representing different countries as the boat moves along.


 Philippines! =]



 Went for a quick snack before going to our next stop. We tried out the chicken wings and fries at Starliner Diner near Astroblasters. It was priced high just what you expect to have but you got no choice when you're too tired from walking under the scorching heat of the sun, plus the enormous number of people filling up all restaurants. It was one heck of a day! But anyway the food was great. I love the chicken wings, it was soft and tasty, you gotta try it to get what I mean. =]

After being recharged for a bit, we went to Astroblaster with a FastPass in hand. We just waited for a while and immediately got in one of the carts. And away we go to the galaxy to fight Emperor Zurg! =]



 After that we went through a lot of walk (and sweat) again. Urgh. We chanced upon the repeat of the Flights of the Fantasy Parade, so let me just post some pictures of it. =]


oh yes! The heat was definitely in the "Ouch" level that time.






 And we decided to line up at the Rafts and Trazan's treehouse for it got only a short line. It was a simpel raft ride going to Tarzan's house where you can climb up the treehouse to see the displays/characters and then go back down to ride the raft going back, nothing fancy. It was already late afternoon and we just decided to end up our tiring adventure at Disneyland. We already got no energy to wait up for the grand fireworks display. We can see the likes back in Manila anyway.



 Even the park sweepers are looking nice with their uniforms. cool!

Before we exit our way, Kuya went to buy a Minnie Mouse doll for his gf so while waiting I went in line to this Animation Academy just near the entrance. The instructor was speaking Chinese(?) so never understood a word. I just depended on the screen flashing his work as he draw and teach us. I missed drawing a lot so this was a treat for me. =]

Alone at the back with my drawing. We've got no eraser and so I got the left cheek wrong.  *Tadah!*
 
 The line to take a photo with Mickey and Minnie was quite long so I just took a stalkerish photo of them. Just for the sake of it. haha.


That day was scorching hot. We just landed at HK that day and I guess we got a bit tired beforehand so it added up. The park was huge and spacious but there's just too much people around the park that it seemed  too cramped up with people. Not a really nice day to visit. I just enjoyed seeing new things, maybe if I was a bit younger then I would appreciate this more even if it was too hot in there. Anyway, I'm still happy to step foot on one of the happiest place on earth. I just wanna hug every character I see! Well, if only I could get up to them without having to queue up every time. urgh.

One important tip:
Don't forget to make use of the FastPass! It will save you time. Just insert your park ticket in one of the FP machines in selected attractions and you'll get this ticket indicating the duration where you can go back and skip the line.


Just enjoy the company you have and everything would be fun and worthwhile sans the heat. =]


Panda Hotel (Remembering HongKong Pt. 1)

Hooray! Finally I'm starting my HK trip post series which was already overdue for the longest time ever. We went to HongKong last Aug. 3 to 5 so due to my short term memory, I bet this would be more of the photos than info. sorry! =/

So maybe I'll just call this, "HongKong in my memories" or how about "Remembering HongKong". pwede? haha!

Remembering HongKong Pt. 1

 We started looking for a hotel just 2 months before our flight. Some good hotels were already unavailable in Agoda while some doesn't have a choice for extra bed. So we just opted to book one in AsiaTravel. They had an ongoing promo. Hotel + Disneyland package with airport transfer. And we landed at the Panda Hotel.

Firstly, Panda hotel is far from the city central so if you want to be near the places-to-go, this might not be the one you'd opt to choose.

Panda hotel is located at Tsuen Wan, New Territories. One thing you might like is that it's near Tsuen Wan and Tai Wo Hau station. For the duration of our stay, we used the Tai Wo Hau station which is a 10 min. walk using the footbridge connected to the hotel. The hotel lobby is located at the 3rd floor which is spacious enough to accommodate even those bus loads of tourists that we saw the 2nd night. Front desk staff and the rest were accommodating and helpful most especially the one stationed at the Concierge area. All inquries we made was answered in a detailed manner. Good job! =]

The room we had was a standard room with one extra bed that they improvised using the room's sofa. The main bed was big enough for 3 so you may choose to forget the extra bed to get more space. Bathroom was fully-equipped with the essentials (towel, soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, shower cap, toothbrush and comb) so you won't need to buy if you forgot yours. Their bathtub was big with hot and cold water, ofcourse. Just one thing I didn't like was their toilet flush which you have to pump more than once to fully flush it, which is also apparent in the hotels we stayed in the past.


The view from the footbridge. You won't get lost on your way back with that huge panda painting on their wall! =]



View from our room. That's their pool right there.



Creepy but cute pandas! Lol.


The exchange rate in their hotel. From the forums I read, they mostly point to Mirador Mansion at TST to get your dollars/peso changed.


But then if you happen to be in this area, just some steps away from the hotel you will see this small money changer with good rates. If my memory serves me right, it was between 7.40 - 7.60 HKD for1$.

We landed at Terminal 1 and we had to take the airport train to the main terminal. Took us less than an hour to finish everything. Very fast and efficient airport. It only took us long waiting for our shuttle transfer. Airport to Disneyland Hotel was only a 20-min ride so that's also a good choice if you want to be near the airport. Going to Panda Hotel took us approx. 40 mins from the airport. Not bad. We were told we can check in around 2pm because they're still cleaning our room so we decided to go to Disneyland first to not waste time.

C.P.A.






aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^___________^

3 letters officially added to my name. C.P.A. from now on. So blessed! =]

Thank you Lord God!
Thank you St. Jude and St. Claire and to all the saints. =]
Thank you to all those who believed in me.

Feeling topnotcher e? lol. And I'm so proud of my fellow Thomasian CPAs!
93.09%
5 of them got in the Top 10 ( 2 ranked Top 1!)

To God be the glory! =]

*and so I'll be back to blogging soon! yay! =]