#OccupySnoop HK Trip.
12:44 AMFinally found some time for this post - my very first (non-school related) overseas trip with my friends.
Started 2015 with an amazing trip with the snoopz to Hong Kong. We only started discussing this in late 2014, and I'm really glad it happened.
So why did we pick Hong Kong as our destination?
It's undoubtedly a very popular choice for a trip with friends because of the lower cost compared to the other countries. However, other than that, there were places where we wanted to go in HK, and it's a country where we can still communicate with the locals (kinda lol). One of us is also rather familiar with the country, thus, we decided on HK. :-)
Other than HK, we went to Shenzhen and Macau for a day each during the trip. The girls planned to shop a lot at Shenzhen initially, but it didn't happen (which I shall elaborate later). For Macau, we just had to head there for the Portuguese egg tarts and the infrastructure.
It was a 7 day free and easy trip. Of course, before all the enjoyment, we had to sit down together to discuss about our accommodation and the itinerary. It was definitely not easy at all, as there were so many factors to take into consideration. However, despite that, I'm really happy that our planning process went relatively well, and we executed about 90% of what we planned.
Also, the 6 of us were on a tight budget for the trip, so we really tried to cut down the cost on certain areas, like our flight and accommodation. We were lucky for the flight, as we managed to get cheap tickets despite booking rather late with Cathay. For our accommodation, we decided to stay at an apartment instead of hotel. The cost was really much lower as compared to staying at a hotel. We also tried to go to the more affordable places for our meals. However, it's also because of this that we got to experience a small part of the lives of the locals. Authentic taste of the local food while enjoying reasonable prices. This is definitely something we wouldn't have experienced if we dined at the restaurants.
As for travelling around HK, we got lost for quite a few times, and although it was tiring, we still had a fun time getting lost and walking around like tourists. However, their MTR (similar to our MRT) helped us to get to many places with ease. We bought the Octopus Card (like our Ezlink cards) and it was so convenient to use for our modes of transport. We tried almost all of their local transport as well, the MTR, the Star Ferry, the smaller public bus, the Ding Ding bus, the normal double decker bus, and the taxi. I've always wanted to try the different modes of transport in the different countries I'm glad that we did. :-)
Travelling around Shenzhen was still okay, however, in Macau, it was really so frustrating to get to places. Ended up cabbing and took some buses which were so confusing.
Shall add in some pictures taken during the trip first if not this is getting so wordy lol.
So, on the 4th of Jan, my very sweet dad and sister sent me to the airport! Really so touched by daddy because I was thinking of just cabbing there by myself as it's just an unearthly timing (5am lolz). Really love my family to the bits for helping me in one way or another for the trip. :-)
The mandatory shot before leaving the country. Was half awake then (I guess the rest too lol) but I was still quite excited heheheh.
Heheh got the seat near to the window again and this was my last view of Singapore before the plane took off.
My plane buddy.
Really love being in the sky.
Finally reunited with the Korean at HK airport.
The typical street shot.
As for Day 1, it was rather late after we settled down and all, so we just walked around and explored the different areas near our apartment.
Walked around the night markets (Ladies Market, Sneaker Street) too, but we didn't get much things because the shopowners were rather intimidating. But it was still a great time just walking around with them.
Our first proper shot in HK!
Went to a cafe called 'Full Cup Cafe' for supper, Had a simple celebration for TH's (belated) birthday and Jin's (advanced [then]) birthday celebration. We were really tired at that time after walking around for the whole day, and it was rather relaxing for us to chill there with the food and drinks.
Day 2 -Shenzhen.
My first time in China, and it was a rather eye-opening trip. Although Shenzhen is probably only a small part of China, it felt like I saw almost everything I heard about China from people previously which I shall not elaborate.
As for our shopping plans, it was pretty much ruined. It was a very uncomfortable experience there as there were many touters there, even in the malls. Decided to leave after walking around for awhile, empty-handed. We went to this other mall randomly that was near one of the train station.
Headed back to HK after for hotpot! Shopped around in the vicinity after dinner & called it a day.
First stop on Day 3 was Yau Ma Tei Police station.
Headed off to Central via the Star Ferry! Loved the ride there so much.
The wind was insanely cooling with the awesome view.
Went on the mid-level escalator and got off halfway lol. Just a random shot taken on the streets.
Got my egg tarts here too. I totally get the craze for it after trying it. Haven't had an egg tart with such a good crust?! Wished that I could get more then but it's only good when it's fresh.
After which, we headed off to Victoria's Peak! It's one of the places that I've always wanted to go and I was really excited then.
Passed by all the Raffles Place alike areas on the way there.
We didn't have trouble getting to the tram area and up to the Peak. We just couldn't find the free area to see the view though after reaching and ended up causing trouble here and there, and even walked to some super ulu and dark area lol. Thankfully we managed to find it eventually!
It was so worth all the trouble getting here. The picture does not do justice to the night view of HK at all though lol.
A shot at the Peak with many other photobombers at the side.
A very kind fellow tourist helped us to capture this shot.
Day 3 ended with the spectacular night view of HK. :-)
DAY FOUR *inserts 100 heart emojis*!!!
My very first Disneyland trip. Being the Disney fan (esp Mickey omg), I was like (super) excited for this day lol (& the snoopz were just judging so badly sobs). I loved the train to Disneyland because everything inside was so cute like the handles?! I just wanted to bring it home.... just kidding LOL. But everything felt so magical inside already lol.
Needed to take pictures everywhere on the magical land.
The balloons were so pretty sobs. Too old for that though so..
Got headbands with the cat.
Sigh everything is just so beautiful.
We were rather lucky at Disneyland because we went on an off-peak day! Queued for the rides for about 5 minutes on average, and we even had time to take some rides more than once. I also became a shopaholic at the stores there lol.. I really wanted to buy the whole store down. :-( The keychains were just so cute but it costs like SGD 13 each and I put them back in the end. Got some other things which I'm glad I did even now, although I seriously spent a bomb there. Kept buying things with the "I won't be back" mindset and it made me more decisive during my purchases lol.
Went for a walk with Mickey too... hahaha kidding lol. The staff took some candid shots of Mickey and I lol. It was quite awkward with Mickey though cause he welcomed me with a hug initially but I just walked away lol.
Yay finally took a picture with Mickey heheh. Took one with Minnie too but I didn't really like the picture so..
The whole Disneyland trip ended off with fireworks! I was really so captivated by the whole fireworks show. Undoubtedly the best fireworks show I've seen thus far.
& again, the pictures do not do justice to the beauty of the fireworks at all. :-(
Night view of Disneyland at the USA Main Street.
Goodbye Disneyland, I'll look forward to experiencing more magical moments on the other Disneylands.
Day 5, we headed down to Stanley! It's not a popular tourist spot (for now), which I was really happy about because we finally got to get away from the crowd for a day.
Went to the museum there which turned out to be a really interesting visit.
I was really wow-ed by the beauty of Stanley though. It was so breathtaking.
Just sat by the pier for awhile, taking pictures. I was really (still am lol) in love with the place. Perfect weather with such a beautiful view, and there weren't many people there. I can't describe how I felt exactly when I was there, but I just had a feeling I never had before. I really forgot about all the troubles and unhappiness momentarily, because I only had the mind and time to appreciate whatever's right before my eyes. I wanted to capture the moment in my mind, not just through pictures.
Headed back to the town area to shop (yes, again lol) after that and ended Day 5.
Day 6, Macau. Had to take a ferry there for about an hour. Finally experienced how it feels to suffer from sea sickness as well. Thankfully it didn't last for long.
The Venetian area.
Although I was anticipating the Macau trip, I must say I was a little disappointed. Maybe because I had high expectations of it. Everything was nice visually, but I didn't really like being in the environment. It was filled with tourists and the whole place was just very crowded.
The highlight of Macau was the Portuguese egg tarts. We cabbed down just to go to the original store. It was worth the trip down though.
KFC's can't even be compared to this at all lol.
A really cozy cafe there.
Walked around the area and went into this church.
Bus-ed to the Ruins of St Paul after the stop for the egg tarts.
Always saw this on Google images or uploads by others, and now I finally saw it with my own eyes.
Just fooling around as usual lol.
Walked around the vicinity to see if there's others areas to explore. We wanted to head to the Macau Tower after that, but we kinda lost our way, and gave up in the end and headed back to HK.
Day 7, Ngong Ping for the crystal cabin cable car!
The transparent ground. It was rather scary lol but the normal cabin would have been so boring.
Got up and managed to capture this beautiful view.
The gigantic Tian Tan Buddha. We almost died climbing up there after 7 days of unhealthiness lol.
Went to the Citygate outlet mall after that and had dinner there. Walked around with the girls but we left empty-handed. Made our way back to the apartment to rest for awhile before heading to the airport for our flight back to SG.
So, this is a summary of what we did during the 7 days spent in HK!
I must say, this trip was a very insightful trip for me. I finally got to see many things with my own eyes, and it felt surreal at times. Got exposed to the different cultures that I only heard of previously as well. I was (kinda) suffering from a culture shock when I was in Shenzhen despite reading and hearing things about them already. Also, all the expectations vs reality moments lol. There were some things that did not live up to my expectations, but the others which did overshadowed them. It's also my first time staying at an apartment overseas, which was quite a different experience as well. We managed to see the local's lifestyles in the different areas throughout the trip.
Really thankful for this opportunity, to be able to experience everything I did during the trip, and also travelling with the snoopz. We haven't been close for that long, but it really feels like we've known each other for 10 years or more already lol. The company is really important during an overseas trip. & despite sticking with each other 24/7 for the 7 days, we didn't even had any conflict or disagreements about anything. I love it how we're so easy-going about everything and it really made this trip a huge success. Thanks to the 5 of you, for this beautiful memory that I'll keep in my heart for a very long time. Thankful for my family for being so supportive, & most importantly, thankful to God for looking after us throughout the trip.
My next destination? I'm not sure myself too, but I hope it'll be soon. As for now, I shall go back to my plain Jane lifestyle lol and just look forward till the next adventure. :-)
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