30 April 2012

Seat Sale for Labor Day 2012: Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines



     Tomorrow, May 1, is Labor Day, and, there's going to be seat sales for both Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines.  Yay!  Totoro-line wave!

UPDATES: 
Cebu Pacific's promo has a 90% off on the base price of their domestic and regcional flights.  It means, the fuel surcharge remains the same.  So, a roundtrip ticket to Incheon will still yield an almost Php 7,000.00 price.  Promo period is from May 1 to May 2; travel period is from September 1 to December 15.
As for Air Philippines, their P1 fare refers to the base fare as well and it covers flights from Cebu and Clark, and Php 288 base fare for their Manila outbound flights.   Promo period is from May 1 to 3; Travel period is from May 16 to July 31.

     Cebu Pacific posted this teaser:



     On the other hand, Air Philippines tweeted this:


     So, it's possibly an 80% off from Cebu Pacific perhaps for flights until December or even beyond, and Php 1.00 base fare for Air Philippines' domestic flights.  Most likely, both seat sales shall commence at 12 midnight.

     Good luck and happy travel planning!


Macau Adventures: Day 3 - Ferry to Macau




Screen cap of Google Map's street view of China Hong Kong City Building



     Yes, my friends and I decided to have an Amazing Race across China and its special administrative regions (SARs).  We visited, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau in our 4d3n tour last February.  It's a very crazy idea. I don't encourage anyone to do the same, especially for first-time travelers.

     Throwing caution to the wind, we spent a night in Macau just to be able to say that we've been there.  Well, I've been there before, but most of my companions were first time visitors of HK, China and Macau.  

     So, from our hotel, we took a shuttle going to TST.  The stop was very near the China Ferry Terminal.  It's very easy to find.  Just go inside China Hong Kong City,where the huge Esprit outlet store is located at the ground floor.  Refer to the photo I screencapped from Google Maps.  Entrance is beside Esprit, just go up to the short escalators until you reach the third floor, I think, where the booking offices are located.  From there, you can take your pick of ferry service depending on the time you want to depart. Most services leave even every 30 minutes, except for Cotai Jet which departs late in the afternoon if I remember correctly.  This ferry station also services passengers to Mainland China such as Zhuhai. [Update April 2014:  The Esprit outlet store relocated inside the China Hong Kong City Mall]

This is the floor where the ticketing offices are located. 


Departure Area at the China Ferry Terminal Station


     After buying tickets and while waiting for our ferry to depart, we ate lunch at Cafe de Coral, a fast food chain in Hong Kong which offers cheap meals, of course by Hong Kong standards.  The food there is quite tasty and they change their menus depending on the time.  After 2 p.m., no more lunch sets, for example.  Be sure to state clearly your choice of set meal and which beverage you want since not all cashiers understand English well.  You can point to the menu on the wall, then say if you want milk tea, or if you want cola (additional price).  You'll be given a printed receipt plus an order slip which you'll have to hand over to a staff at  a separate counter where roasted ducks are hung.  Wait for your order and hope that the cashier and helper got your orders right.


Well, what do you know?  Look at how dirty my cup was.  
Probably, the tea spilled.  It was just surprising that the staff were unconcerned 
about the messy cup and did not even bother to replace it.   


This was my lunch.  It was an oven-baked pork chop with pineapples and sauce poured over the rice.
Yummy, but there was too much sauce. 



     We picked First Ferry/Turbo Jet as our service provider.  It was the same company we used when I went to Macau in 2009 with my family.  It leaves every 30 minutes from 7am to 10:30 pm everyday. Makes you wonder how many gamblers, tourists, businessmen and locals shuffle to and from Macau each day.  Hmm.

     Anyway, I think we paid around HKD 150+ per person since it was a weekend.  But the ferry was not packed and it was a pleasant ride so we were able to take a nap.  About an hour later, we reached Macau! Yay!

      Once in Macau, and after passing through the immigration, we took the underpass going to the other side of the street to catch a free shuttle bus to our hotel, the Venetian.



The Venetian Hotel's Mascot was at the Ferry Terminal to welcome Macau's visitors!  
So cute!




The Free Shuttle to Venetian.

28 April 2012

Shenzhen Adventures: Day 2 - Lunch, Windows of the World and Splendid China


Windows of the World



    After passing through the HK Immigration, our guide waved at us and waited for us to get through the Shenzhen border.  Our first stop: lunch at a restaurant.  It's part of the tour so it's free.  
















     While the tour to Shenzhen is free and comes with a group visa plus free lunch, you won't see much,  just a photo ops outside the Windows of the World and the factories, e.g., jade factory, silk factory, etc.  If you want to get inside the Windows of the World and the Splendid China, you have to pay extra.  We paid RMB 300 each for Splendid China which includes tickets to 2 cultural shows and a ride around the park.


Windows of the World




Splendid China






     

Still shots from the first show.





Snapshots from my videos of the Dragon and Phoenix Dance Show








     Having watched the Dragon and Phoenix Dance in 2010, I was slightly disappointed with the performance I watched this February.  It was not as solid a performance as the first time I watched it.  It was still a feast on the eyes, but not as spectacular as I remember it.  I have videos of then and now to compare the performances.

     By the way, it was freaking cold! Way colder due to the open spaces.  Good thing we had some 30 minutes to spare before the Dragon and Phoenix Show to eat some hot meals, like noodles and hot milk tea with tapioca.  Yum!


     I highly recommend, too, those grilled mutton on sticks.  For 3 sticks at RMB 10, you'll get your money's worth!  It's so darn tasty, tender and goes well with a sort of hard naan-like bread sold separately.  You may opt to have it without the spices, like I did if you're not into spicy foods.


14 April 2012

Hong Kong Adventures 2012 Day 2: At the Lohu Border




     Our second day in HK was a little warmer at 17-18C.  Great!  I still had to wear tights since I was wearing a mini skirt which I bought, and used, too in Singapore.  In fact, I use that Annie skirt from Cotton On a lot.  I think it makes my stumpy legs look loads better.

     Anyway, we had to join a half day city tour so we'd get a free tour to Shenzhen, China, in the afternoon.  Our half-day tour was so boring.  We only went to a part of the Avenue of Stars, same place we went to last year, then nothing else.  Except for JC jewelry factory, again.  We didn't mind the shortened trip since we wanted to go Shenzhen earlier than scheduled.

Avenue of Stars



   I believe this is a ferry to Macau. 



    So, we're off to Shenzhen.  Only this time, we were given return-trip tickets.  Yay!

     The train ride to the Lohu border was uneventful, but the train was packed.  I was standing for most of the ride.  Anyway, we had to stop for a while after reaching Lohu and bought some drinks, breads and sandwiches and 2 packs of Yakult.  The HK Yakult is bigger than our Yakult but tastes the same, of course.

     You should know that Lohu is a very busy station as it is the border for HK and Shenzhen, China.  Of course, there are a lot of people rushing and it can be very intimidating.  So, be cautious and try not to slam into someone.



    If there is one advice everyone should follow going to Shenzhen is this:  GO STRAIGHT TO THE CHINA IMMIGRATION AREA AND NEVER TURN BACK ONCE YOU GET TO THIS PART.



     Why?  Well, all people are moving towards the China Immigration right after having their passports stamped by the HK Immigration and if you turn back, the security will chase after you.  You'll be suspected of having illegally entered the Hong Kong part of immigration, that is why.  We saw a lady, in her 20s walking against the flow and she was shouted at, chased and accosted by the security and was brought to a holding area.  Let it be a lesson for all.



     







Blog Updates Are Late!



     Geez!  I have been busy again for the past weeks that I have not been able to make updates on my trip reports.  Argh!  I still have to sort through my Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau photos, and I have just been to Naga, Legazpi and Caramoan, Camarines Sur last week.  And, I still have not made a  trip report on my Bataan and Boracay adventures last August and December 2011.  I really have a lot to do.

     I'll try to update one post at a time.  


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