Hong Kong Trip November 14-18, 2016

According to an article from Smart Parenting site: 

Family Vacations Serve as 'Happiness Anchors' for Kids Until They Grow Up

And I definitely agree. As I've said before, family vacations need not to be grand -- they just have to be enjoying. It can be a as simple as going to a nearby resort and spend the day swimming and eating. Food can be cooked from home and just bring it to the resort so you can avoid spending money. 

Ours, as much as possible, we plan everything before the actual date of travel so we can avoid decisions made in haste. But there are some things you can not control, just like our second day in HK. Our planned itinerary for that day was to visit Ngong Ping 360 and ride the cable car and in the afternoon we would go to The Peak Tram (we're in for some heights that day haha!). But because we didn't research properly, we didn't know that Ngong Ping was closed for maintenance that time. I checked their website just today and the place is still closed until May if I'm not mistaken. And so we ended up visiting the outlet store which is just outside the Tung Chung MTR. By the way, if you want to know more about MTR, which is a necessity if you are commuting in HK, you can check their website here. As for me, I've downloaded a free MTR map in Apple store so we can easily check the train stations because we knew we will be using it a lot. And it really helped. Back to our outlet store experience, well, we did just a little shopping and then after that ate at a pizza store and off we went to The Peak Tram. Really, if we just did our research, we could have saved time and money and discover other places. I was actually sad that day because riding the cable car was one of the things I was looking forward to in HK.


Here are some of our pics on second day at HK:

OOTD haha!

Can't help admiring the MTR of Hong Kong. Its very systematized, convenient and efficient. The next train arrives shortly after the other train leaves. The train is also spacious unlike the MRT here in EDSA. Oh God, how I despise riding our trains here. But in HK, I think that MTR is the easiest way to get around Hong Kong because it pretty much connects to the whole Hong Kong. Its also very fast so travel time is not a problem. The train station hallway is also divided into two so there is lane for people going out and a lane for people going inside the station. Very disciplined of them to follow that. I hope we can imitate that in the Philippines. The MTR map is also displayed almost everywhere in English and Chinese which is every helpful for tourists. Be prepared to walk a lot though, because some stations have very long hallways and for some tourist spots like The Peak Tram, the place is relatively far from the nearest train station (Central). 

We also had our dinner at the Peak because we were so hungry and it was already late night. We went back to our hotel at about 11 pm so exhausted. Tip 1: bring a jacket if at The Peak because its too cold and windy at the top.Tip 2: If you will be riding the MTR going to the Peak, be sure to wear comfortable shoes because as I've mentioned the walk from Central station to The Peak is quite far. Honestly, we could have done so much more on our second day, but then, its ok now because we also enjoyed that day and it was still a good bonding time for the whole family. Ok, ok, I am not denying it, I enjoyed the shopping :)

Stay postive. Pass it on.

Hong Kong Family Trip: November 14-18, 2016

Last year, I was able to cross out one of the things in my bucket list and that is to visit the happiest place on earth - Disneyland! I am a mother and 35 years old already but Disneyland is still a dream for me to fulfill. Well, I guess its true that when you really want something to happen, the universe will conspire to make it happen for you!

This travel was not a planned one since my sister just saw a promo airfare at Cebu Pacific a month before the actual travel. She instantly booked our flight to Hong Kong amounting to Php 4,100+ each which was a good deal. And because of that, our budget was limited because we also didn't have enough time to save for this trip. So, we did a lot of research where can we stay in HK with our budget and where should we be going so we can make the most of our Hong Kong vacation.

Firstly, our flight was around 7 AM Manila time so we had to wake up early. We, adults, hate this but the kids never seemed to be out of energy even with only 4hours of sleep and they're just too excited. We woke up at 2:30am and hit the road at 3:30 AM. At 4:30 AM we dropped our car to Park N Fly (very convenient, I will give my review on another post) and by 5 AM we were already in the airport. Not ideal, don't be like us hehehe because we barely had time for checking in and for exchanging money. 

Hong Kong airport(HKIA) is one of the busiest airports in the world. They have many dining options and kiosks for customer service and airport personnel speak good English. You can also buy your Octopus card inside the airport which you can use pretty much everywhere in HK.

Tip 1: If you have kids and senior citizen traveling with you, tell the cashier that you will be purchasing cards for children and senior citizen because they have a discounted fare so a different card will be given to them.

HK airport has an Omega clock! I think all the buses from the airport are double-decker.

After purchasing our Octopus card, we headed to the bus station that would take us to Jordan road where we will be staying. We opted to take the bus because the bus fare is very cheap compared to the airport express(train from the airport). We stayed in a small hotel for four days. I recommend this hotel if you do have limited budget. But the hotel is actually very small but very near Jordan train station which is very convenient if you are traveling around HK.

Tip 2: Choose a hotel near train stations so you won't have to walk long going back and forth to the hotel and train. Also train subways in HK are already a long walk so its highly recommended to make sure your hotel is really near the train station.

The hotel that we booked for 3nights, City Econo Guesthouse Hong Kong, have very small rooms but location wise, its very convenient. There's 7-11, restaurants, and night market just across the hotel. And as I've mentioned, its very near Jordan station. I recommend that you book the quadruple room because it has just enough space for 3 persons. Just the right amount of comfort to move around the room. If you book a room smaller you might be disappointed with the space. What I really like about the hotel aside from its location, are the owners. They are a couple and they are very kind and accommodating. They speak very good English too. They also gave us advice on how we can go to different places in HK and what are the nice places to see. They also provided 2 big bottled water for your first day only. Hot water is available in the thermos in case you want to eat cup noodles. Towels and slippers are also provided and they change it every day. The room is also cleaned everyday. I must say the bathroom is really small but for HK what can you expect with space? If you are really on a budget and will use the room only for sleeping and keeping your belongings, I do recommend this hotel's quadruple room. Otherwise, its not that comfortable staying inside this hotel as it is really small and not too much amenities (I mean, you can't even watch the TV because they only have local channels). Another thing I like about the hotel is that they do have fast internet even inside the room and the air conditioner is working properly.

Quadruple room in the middle pic has 3 beds. The other two pics are in the hotel's receiving area.

On the first day, we just rested and slept the whole afternoon as we are all so sleepy and tired from the morning flight. We already ate at the airport so we all agreed to stay inside the hotel. When we woke up we decided to go to Tsim Sha Tsui to watch the Symphony of Lights. Tip again: Its quite a long walk from TST station to Victoria Harbour. While watching, we just bought some sandwich and drinks. Nice bonding moment! I love simple bonding moments like this :)


After that, we bought some food in one of the stores in TST subway where there are lots of different stores in their subway (loved it!). Before going back to our hotel, we ate at a nearby restaurant just across the street of the hotel where we stayed.

Tip 3: It was really a challenge to speak with the locals but to make sure you are ordering the right thing, just point what you want in the menu. You can also ask them, "Pork or chicken?" because there are some keywords they do understand. I'm proud to say we were able to order good food. :)

Pics grabbed from my sister's FB.

There you go our first day at HK! We didn't bring any SLR so pictures are not so good. At the end of our first day in HK, I already knew that this place is a great for family bonding. Next days of our HK trip will be posted on succeeding posts.

Stay positive and pass it on.

Cebu Pacific Roundtrip Airfare: Php 4,100+ per person

https://www.cebupacificair.com/

City Econo Guesthouse Hong Kong

Booked through Booking.com: https://www.booking.com/hotel/hk/city-econo-guest-house.tl.html
Quadruple Room: Php 4,500++

"Hangin' in there."

That phrase somehow sums up my whole 2016. A month has already been since 2016 ended. A lot of things have already happened but I can't seem to wrap up things that occurred in 2016. And so I realized, maybe 2016 is not supposed to be wrapped up at all. Maybe 2016 is just the beginning of something that should be continued in 2017 and the years to come.

For many a people, 2016 has been a year of challenges and changes. I agree with this. I'd been in many difficult situations last year I can barely remember beautiful memories except the obvious ones like our travels in Coron and Hong Kong. I would disagree though with people who perceived 2016 as a bad year.

For me, 2016 was a year of new discoveries and new beginnings. The year that was gave me new opportunities and new potentialities I never thought I had. Let's see how did my 2016 go:

1. I learned how to drive. I am far from being an expert but at least I know I can drive decently around Bulacan. I'm not yet ready for EDSA though. I drove around Bulacan and NLEX with my dad and sisters, my son and nephews. And for me, its quite an achievement.

2. I lost weight. Oki I admit, not a 20 lb weight loss but still I celebrate this small achievement because I also was able to bring down my glucose which was my ultimate goal last year. Again, I need to continue what I am doing to be able to bring down 20 more pounds and eventually normalize my sugar.

3. I am working out! Yes, something new and first for me. I never worked out my whole life. Its my first time to enroll in a gym and consistently work out. Its also a first for me to try boxing and Muay Thai. But you know, sometimes we fail in achieving our goals and I am just one of those people because I failed to make it a habit and to do it continuously. But hey, once you failed doesn't mean you can't do it again, right? So for the nth time, my "balik-alindog program" will continue in 2017.

4. I rekindled my love for travel. Last year, we traveled to Coron and Hong Kong. And to be honest, I hate traveling to far places for days since I've had a child. Why? Because I hate packing too many things and carrying all of it all around the airport, the bus, the van, the hotel check ins, etc. Then I have to repacked it again for the going home travel. Worse part if I miss anything that is essentially needed for a trip, that is such a hassle. I think moms can relate to my whining hehehe. But last year, since Swoosh (my unico hijo) is already 5 years old, packing for a trip was a little relaxed. Unlike before, where we had to pack diapers, milk, and at least 4 ensembles for a day, this time we don't have to do that because Swoosh has already grown up and what's even better is... he can help carry some of his own stuff. So in 2017, hopefully *fingers crossed*, if budget permits, we can travel to some other places we've never been too.

5. We started homeschooling our son, Swoosh. Its one of the many firsts I did last year and also one of the most challenging and rewarding. Swoosh can now read faster, write clearer and do math easier. It was a big challenge for me and my husband but also very rewarding to see our child learn and do new things like being enrolled in basketball and Taekwondo. Its also my first time teaching a whole book to someone hahaha! I've always thought I can't be a teacher but then you'll never know what you can do unless you become a mom hahaha!

6. Lastly, I am 35 last year! I don't know what to say about that hahaha! No other comments.

So, as I have mentioned, 2016 for me was a year of preparation onto an even more productive years ahead. The difficulties it brought that I really don't want to talk about have given more strength and courage to face the challenges of the new years to come.

And so I say, 2017... I am ready!

Pass on the positivity!

P.S. I was born in the year of the rooster, I declare 2017 is my year!