My Disneyland Dream

As early as 7 years old, I had this dream that I want to come and play at Disneyland.  During that time, it was just in the USA and going there was pretty impossible.  Thus I just enjoyed looking at them on TV.

When Disneyland was launched in Hongkong last 2005, I thought that it would be more realistic. However, I am not a kid anymore, I will not enjoy it in as much as in my dreams in the past, so not sure if I still want to come.

 




When the opportunity came here in MY, it gave me and my husband more chances to visit other nearby countries and then we both thought that Hongkong would be a good place to visit.  Why Hongkong? read here!

We purchased our HK Disneyland tickets way earlier than our planned trip, to save us the hassle of queuing.

Anyhow, now, on with the journey.  Actually HK Disneyland is very accessible by train.  From our place (Tsim Sha Tui) it was just a 30 minute travel to Disneyland.

When we were at the connecting stations, my husband noticed one familiar face.  

It was our dear friend, Jed with his girlfriend and friend.  It was very seldom that we meet in the Philippines, then after we settled here in MY, of all places, we saw him in HK.  

A very nice coincidence! <8>

During our trip to HK, my husband told me that I am lucky because I will have good shots.  Yes, I admit that I am not as talented photographer as my husband.  We were also worried that we will not have a good shot together.

 

When we saw Jed, I immediately told him

"Jed, hulog ka ng langit, may magpipicture na sa amin!!!"
 "Jed you are heaven sent, finally you can take our picture"

If you are not aware, Jed is a Senior Photographer from Imagine Nation.

See his portfolio here --> Jed Calara


Lucky us right!  You can take a look at his picture here --> "Hello Disney!"


On with Disney.. Before you finally enter the park, you will see this Mickey Mouse Fountain! Where it's like Mickey is surfing!

When we entered the park, I think we spent at least 30 minutes taking pictures in front of the garden and the train!

It was like, once in a lifetime experience that all we wanted to do was to keep the memory by taking a lot of shots.

Of course a lot of kids were there and you can even see some little girls wearing Disney Princess costumes.  Visit My Little Princess for more information.

But I told Sweets, if ever we are going back together with our daughter, I will buy her own "Snow White" gown from SM and will give her nail polish right there in Disney and will also buy a fancy crown! :D  It will have the same effect, the feeling of a princess but with a lesser cost.

The first thing that we did in Disneyland was to look for Mickey and Minnie to be able to strike a pose with them.  Since Disneyland was on their Christmas Theme this time of the year, Mickey and Minnie were wearing their Christmas dresses! Awesomeness!! ^_^

If you ask me, Disneyland is really for kids, with all of the mascots and rides. But for me, being a kid is something that is not seen from the outside but is felt from the inside.  I may look old (well way older than the kids there) but I enjoy kid's stuff and therefore I enjoyed Disneyland a lot!

To feel it's magic, visit the their Park Map and explore as early as now!
When I learned that we will go to Disneyland on Nov17th, I got excited when I found out that it marked the start of their "Christmas Theme" and therefore, the park was totally Christmassy and I LOOOOVE everything about it.

These musicians were all Filipino folks! We are very proud of you!!
Full video --> Here

Once you are in HK Disneyland, make sure not to miss their Parades and Shows.

This is how we did it:

1. Festival of the Lion King 
2. The Golden Mickeys
3. Flights and Fantasy Parade

4. Santa Mickey's Toy-Riffic Street Party

5. Christmas Illumination
6. "Disney in the Stars" Fireworks










I so love Christmas and I am very glad to experience this one with Sweets!

Are we coming back here? Most probably yes! In the most 
wondrous moment of our lives!

Yay!


























Xoxo

M is also for Macau

photo from Bloomberg Business

Macau is one of the two special administrative regions of the "People's Republic of China, the other being Hongkong.  Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hongkong to the east.  The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, but also includes manufacturing (Wikipedia)

We were in HK already so might as well visit Macau for one day to have a view of their historical places.

You can visit Macau from HK by riding a one hour ferry ride.  We rode the TurboJet back and forth for HKD 680.00, we took the following schedules:

Depart from HK        - 10:30am
Depart from Macau   - 9:30pm

We wanted to make the most of our visit and thus we stayed there a bit late. 
We chose TurboJet as this is the most trusted one (based from Sweets' research).

Since you already know how to go to Macau, you can plan to go there in an earlier time, the ferry leaves every thirty minutes starting 7am and gets full easily.  My suggestion is for you to go to the terminal the night before your planned trip and purchase 7am ticket ride.  For me,  the earlier the better and you can make the most of your trip.

After your one hour ferry ride, you will arrive in their terminal and you still have go pass Immigration.

The day that we arrived there, it was the second day of the "Grand Prix" so lucky us, we were able to have a peek of the fast cars.  We even had the chance to take some souvenir items with us!

There was one stall with this person signing autograph, I wondered whether he was a celebrity because people were all around him.  I asked Sweets to take a picture of us but then he said "Kilala mo ba yun? (Do you know him?), then I said "No".  "Okie nevermind" I said, it will also be hard for me to explain to my friends who that person was. :D

We were suppose to meet with our two other friends in Macau, however, since they took the next hour ferry trip, it was too late.  Therefore, Sweets and I just roamed around Macau.

Essentially, Macau is a small place and for as long as you have a map and you did your own research then you will find your way along the streets.

Kudos to Sweets! He did all the research about Macau.  Unfortunately, since there was a Grand Prix, all of the roads were re-routed and we were a mess! Hihihihi! This made our trip even more exciting.

Macau Fisherman Wharf

The Macau Fisherman's Wharf is the first theme park in Macau.  The construction took five years.

The complex includes over 150 stores and restaurants in buildings built in the style of different world seaports. 
(Wikepedia)

Photo from China Travel.com

The one at my back is not a giant bottle of perfume.  This is the famous Hotel Lisboa.  

From the looks of it, I was immediately blown away because of its unique architectural design.  

It is a city within a city that is full of excitement and fun.  It was set up last 1970 and the hotel is one of the most famous hotels in Macau.

During the day, this is a golden jewel, at night, it even looked much inviting because of its lighting! 

On with our travel destination, first stop was at the Senado Square.

The Senado Square, or Senate Square, is paved area in the centre of the former Portuguese colony of Macau, China enclosed by the buildings of the Leal Senado, the General Post Office, and St Dominic Church.  (Wikipedia)

If you walk along the streets of Senado Square, you will see a lot of people! I mean a lot!  Then just walk around and you will see some other historical places there.

For one, you will see the Ruins of St Paul's.

The Ruins of St. Paul's refers to the ruins of a 16th century complex in Macau including of what was originally St. Paul's College and the Cathedral of St. Paul, a 17th century Portuguese Cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle. Today, the ruins are one of Macau's most famous landmarks. In 2005, they were officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage SiteHistoric Centre of Macau. (Wikipedia)

When you go all the way up the stairs, you will be directed to the "Crypt" where you can see the ruins itself and other antique paintings and saints.

Just before we leave the premise, very near that area is the "Museum de Macau".

The Museum of Macau is on the hill of the Fortaleza do Monte, a 16th century fort in Macau.The museum presents the history of the city and territory of the former Portuguese colony of Macau, now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Planning for the museum started in April 1995, its construction began in September 1996. The museum was inaugurated on 18 April 1998. The museum building is located within the interior of the Fortaleza do Monte. Its total size is about 2,800 m², with around 2,100 m² of exhibition space. (Wikipedia)

 When we were at the museum (it was until 3F), I was happy to see how they set up their museum.  It was very kid friendly - where in kids will be interested to know the story in each of the items presented there.  I enjoyed it because I am a kid at heart! :D



 


After this, we headed to Macau Tower!  We were supposed to go up the tower, however, we thought that the view should be the same up there and thus we decided not to proceed!

Nonetheless, I will never miss the opportunity to take some photo opps!

Just across the street, we saw a lot of lights and tent and thought "what is happening there?"

Then when we went there! Wow! My initial thought was "We were very lucky" because the area was for the "Macau's 12th Food Festival".

A favorite event among local residents and visitors, the Macau Food Festival brings delicious Asian, European, Mainland China and local delicacies, and exciting entertainment and fun for everyone.  With the theme of global delicacies in Macau, the Macau Food Festival was like an amusement park where visitors can taste worldwide cuisines in just one place.  There were also game booths, live performances and beer competition during the festival. (Macau.com)


When we got there, we immediately exchanged our money to chits.  This is what we need to use in order to buy food! There were a lot of people and it was pretty organized.

We had a simple snack to satisfy our cravings!

- Chicken hotdog wrapped in bacon.
- Grilled Octopus
- Milk Tea!


The after this, we went back to the market area to buy more souvenir. Then we headed straight back to the terminal to wait for our ferry ride!

Another thing where Macau is famous is their casinos! There were a lot of them and they were very colorful at night.  We had no time to visit and thus we just looked at the buildings from our bus.

Macau is a simple and nice place, they were previously under the Portuguese Colony and thus you will notice that most of the words they use is in Portuguese as well as the streets and infrastructure!

Xoxo

My Merry Christmas to You!

 



Similar to what I have posted in my FB last night, Yey to December! :D
We have all been waiting for this last month of the year as it is the most festive for all of us (especially in the Philippines).

 ~~~~~~~~

This picture was taken in Disneyland where I purposely bring along with me this Santa Hat! It's the time of the year where I can wear this hat freely and no one will say that I am out of theme! Truly, no one asked why I was wearing it!  

~~~~~~~~~

 While we were in HK and Macau aside from thinking where I want to go, I also thought of what I want to give to my family and friends.  Well, I am not that rich to buy "pasalubong" for all of them and thus I believe doing a video to be dedicated to all of my Family and Friends will be worth it!

I have my husband's full support in this initiative and thus he did most of the videos.  I must say it came out very good (well the model is ehem! good looking so no wonder!).

Anyways, on with the video!
 

 

Location was from Hongkong, The Peak, Macau and Disneyland.
I hope that I was able to make you smile and extend my message of greeting you a "Very Merry Christmas to you".

Talk to you soon!

Xoxo
 

Madam Tussauds - Hongkong

Marie Tussaud (born Marie Grosholtz), was instructed in the art of wax portraiture by her adopted uncle Dr Philippe Curtius. On his death she inherited his exhibition of wax figures in Paris. In 1802, after surviving the French Revolution where she made death masks of executed nobles, she brought her exhibition to England and spent the next 33 years touring the British Isles before finally establishing a permanent exhibition in London in 1835.

If you want to learn more about the history of Madam Tussauds - Watch this! 

We have already researched about this place and I got excited about what was in store for us at Madam Tussauds.   Even before you enter there, a wax figure of Bruce Lee was already there.  For those who opt not to enter Madam Tussauds, they can have a picture with him instead.

Even before you enter MT (Madam Tussauds) you will see in a not so far area, Jackie Chan's wax figure.  You cannot have your shot with Jackie unless you will use their camera (then you will be given a stub to pick up your photo for HKD100). Well for me it's worth it as long as we have a shot with Jackie.

He was a bit oily and young looking but at first glance you will think that we bumped into him in China! :)

Moving on with MT, the first batch of wax figures were all Hollywood celebrities.  At first glance (even on the second and third glance), they really look like the real deal.  From the tip of their hairs to eye color up to their teeth and tattoo, it looked very real. 

It was a good thing to have this exhibit, at least we are able to take a snapshot together with our favorite celebrities without having the fuss of banging with other fans!

Next part of MT was for royalties and state leaders.

Thank you for the I-Technology!

Sweets' intelligence was inspired by this person.

There were also a lot of celebrities and pop stars but I do not intend to post all of them.  You might be wondering how these beautiful wax figures were made, please see video below.

Then here is my picture with her!

Finally, this was one of our most enjoyable shot!
Sweet's being able to block Yau Ming's shot!

We stayed there for around less than one hour as I would like to make the most of our visit there.  There were a lot of Madam Tussauds (in other countries), but according to MT's staff, the one in Hongkong was the cheapest one! :)

Xoxo

A Morning in Hongkong

Initially, as what I have mentioned in my other post, my husband and I created our own itinerary. However, with much research, my husband read about the "Big Bus Tours" and decided to take this one instead of following our own itinerary and having to commute all by ourselves.

Big Bus Tours is like a Hop On-Hop Off bus that gives the opportunity to tour the important tourists spots both in Hongkong and Kowloon Islands.  They give the flexibility to stay longer in any tourist spot because their tours have break points where tourists can drop off and spend longer time in one spot.

The bus arrives every other 30 - 45 minutes and thus you can just wait for the next bus to arrive to continue with your tour.  They also have the night tour.

There are "Green", "Red", "Blue" and "Night" Tours.  This gives you the option to choose which tour you would like to focus on.  We chose to have the "Green Tour" first because it is in Hongkong Island and at the same time its route will direct us to the places that we want to visit first.

To start the tour in Hongkong Island, we had a 10 minute ferry ride (since we are coming from Kowloon) from Kowloon to Hongkong. 

Before this ferry ride, we stopped at the famous "Clock Tower".

Going back to the ferry ride - since our first day in HK was a Friday, almost all of the people that were with us in the Ferry were all going to work in Hongkong Island. 

Hongkong Island is the southern part of HK's business district, this is where all of their multi national companies and offices are situated. From the tour, we were able to see their large offices and buildings which included Bank of China, Standard Chartered Bank, AIA, Lippo Center, Legislative Council, Revenue Tower.

You will also notice that there were a lot of apartment buildings in Hongkong.  I think they wanted to utilize the land space that they have and thus the buildings were so tall and slim.

Following the "Green bus" route, one of the best stops that we had was at the "Stanley Market". Stanley Market is a street in Stanley.

This was initially part of my itinerary. :)


The street is a typical example of a traditional old open-air market in Hong Kong and has since become a major tourist attraction, well known for its bargains. Many of the stalls or shops in Stanley Market sell Hong Kong souvenirs as well as clothing - particularly silk garments and traditional Chinese dress - toys, ornaments, luggage, souvenirs, paintings, and Chinese arts and crafts. (Wikipedia)

This is where I got my cream fur coat.

We also passed by Stanley Village and Stanley Beach road.
Another area that we passed by was the Repulse Bay.  We saw people having their barbecue and it smelled so nice.  The best thing about it was that the barbecue area was for free. ^_^

Along the way, we passed by Ocean Park.  We never went there because our schedule in HK was full packed and to enjoy Ocean Park at its fullest, we have to stay there at least one day. :D

After this one, we had the Sampan Tour point at the Aberdeen Harbour.


 
After the ride, our next stop was at "The Peak Tram".  

This is the transportation going to "The Peak" and "Madam Tussauds".
-click the link to be directed to another story.

More to come, talk to you soon!

Xoxo

Why Hongkong?

Several reasons why we chose HK.

1. Disneyland (yes there is this kid in me, just hiding)
2. Cold weather (no need to apply for any VISA)
3. We can also visit Macau (one hour ferry ride from HK)
4. Shopping

----------------
My husband and I planned for this for almost one year.  
It's our fifth anniversary (bf-gf) so it needs to be special.

Another thing, we want to make sure that we have enough money to spend while we were there.  My mantra in life is that "Save first, then spend".  I am not a strong believer of using my credit card. :D

Anyways, HK is very near the Philippines, thus, there are a lot of Overseas Filipino worker there.  Across the street, you will hear people speaking in "tagalog" and sometimes I talk to them or just smile at them. It's always good to be with kababayan if you are in a foreign land. :D

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A lot has happened in HK and I will share it to you all one by one.

Talk to you later!
Xoxo

HK Preparation: My own Gloves!

 




If you are my office buddy then you should know that I "love" turtle neck. 

Just so you know, my love story with turtle neck started last 2005 when I watched Mr and Mrs Smith (Angelina and Brad).


Anyways, I have this favorite turtle neck and I do not want to put it to waste and thus I created something out of it.

Since I know that we are going to Hongkong and they say that HK at this time of the year is quite cold, I figured that the best thing to do for this turtle neck is to create a DIY gloves. :D

Why not right!!? Besides, it would be a lot of fun to do!

Things needed:
1. Old knitted blouse
2. Scissors
3. Needle and Thread
4. Newspaper / magazine

Steps:

1. Measure your hands in a magazine or newspaper, put some allowance in it.
Remember that you have to sew its side.
 

 2. Use the cut hands as pattern and draw it into your knitted cloth.
You have to make 4 pieces of this hand pattern

3. Cut accordingly and pair them, you will have two pairs.

4. Sew it, then turn it back and you will have your very own gloves!

Happy me with my happy gloves!
Love it!

Xoxo