Things to Remember when travelling to Hong Kong

Hong Kong Trip on a Budget:

We went to Hong Kong last November 21-23.; shortly after the APEC happened here in the Philippines. Our flight was 5:30am on Saturday. Thank goodness also our flight was not delayed. Cebu Pacific was our airlines then. We arrived at Hong Kong y 7:40am, it’s just a two-hour plane ride.

The obligatory ticket and passport shot. Our passport cases are courtesy of Storage Solutions

Okay, so here are the tips that I can suggest when you are a first timer in Hong Kong:

1. Exchange Peso to Hong Kong Dollars beforehand, or even right after you landed at the airport because you are gonna be needing it right then and there, especially if you plan to have your breakfast at the airport, or you need to buy your Octopus Card upon riding Bus or MTR.

2. When you are riding the bus, you sit next to the TV so you can track where you are already and what stop should you get down the bus. There is an operator who would sometimes speak the loading and unloading stations, but sometimes it speaks too fast that it cannot sync in right away. 

We rode the Airport Express Bus (A21) going to Tsim Sha Tsui. It’s a bit far by bus.

Their buses are cute, its two-floor bus, they also specificaily have a space allocated for luggages.

3. Not like here in the Philippines, you don't need to say something when you have to get down the bus. All you need is to press the button right in front of your seat one stop before your supposedly unloading area. Why? If you pressed it while you are already near the unloading area, the driver won't mind stopping for you, a factor I think is that not all bus drivers in Hong Kong knows how to speak in English. we've done it so in the end we went down to the bus stop next to Tsim Sha Tsui's.

4. Expect everything to be small or less spacious. Remember, you are in Hong Kong. 

Here's an example: This photo was given to us by Panda's Hostel so we won't get lost. What I noticed here is that mostly of the entrance of the hotels here are really just in between buildings or there is a small passage way that you won't be sure that it was already it when you first saw it. Aside fron that there are also elevators that are only good for four people without moving. Yup you read that right, and if you do have one luggage with you, only two can fit the elevator.

5. Just know what Bus code should you ride and there's no more thing you should worry about. 

And if you don't, then you can see bus codes, and bus stops just like this. It is very detailed already so you won't get lost.

6. Never leave Hong Kong with going to Disneyland.

If you don't like it now, well I bet you dreamt of going here when you were still a kid. It will bring back good old memories of yours, trust me. ;) If you don't like it now, well I bet you dreamed of going here when you were still a kid. It will bring back good old memories of yours, trust me. ;) We bought tickets online, specifically at Klooq, we got a discount of almost P500/head. You just have to scan the QR code in a machine at the entrance of Disneyland, it has a separate line compare to when you are going to buy tickets there.

(P.S. Klooq is a really suggested website for affordable tickets and entry passes.)

7. Some Chinese are  either hot-headed or very friendly, they get mad right away, especially if they don't understand English, there are also some who are too friendly (one that is willing to assist you in everything you need and smiles at you all the time.)

8. Be patient and understanding. Since not everyone can freely express themselves in English, they can be little "pasikot-sikot" in what they wanted to say. Example is, when we checked in our hotel and she's giving us a direction on how we should go to our room, all she needs to say is "you have to cross the street" instead she said, "when facing here, you look at the cars, the hotel is located when the cars are turning right" It's a bit hard to understand at first, but you'll learn from it as days go by.

9. Citygate Outlet is the best shopping mall with great discounts. 

 (photo from the internet)

If we are talking about branded things,this is a good place to buy one because the stalls here have really huge discounts.  Like for example, we shopped at Esprit for our pasalubongs, everything there are at 70% off, literally everything, not just for selected items.

10. You shouldn't leave Hong Kong without trying their street foods.

(photo from the internet)

Not like her in the Philippines where you can buy a fishball with just 50cents, there the streetfood is a bit pricey, it usually starts at P30 if you will convert it to Peso. Everyone would say try their egg waffle, for me its fine, nothing so special, but the ones that I will suggest is their squidballs. (Its the white one in the picture) Its soo goood, we had those for dinner for two straight nights because we got addicted to it. We found the best one in Ladies' Market, you'll know its already that, when you notice that it is a blockbuster store with a lot of people buying.

I hope I was able to help you a little for your trip to Hong Kong my dear readers! :)

xx