Hong Kong Family Trip: Day 3 to Shenzhen

Date: 24th March 2011

We are travelling to Shenzhen today to meet up Grandma’s nephews and nieces. They are travelling from different parts of China to meet Grandma at Shenzhen for dinner. So nice and friendly of them!

Kimi at the Hotel room and our Breakfast time ~

After breakfast, we still have a bit of time before checking-out from the Hotel. So we walked to Causeway Bay for some quick shopping. As time was very limited, I ended didn’t get to buy anything here. I actually got a bit disappointed over this. But no choice, need to rush to Shenzhen already… Hope next time I can have more time for shopping :)

We took a cab from the hotel to ‘Luohu Station’ <罗湖站>. From ‘Luohu’, we took the train to ‘Hung Hom Station’ to access to Shenzhen. Very convenient! Just that we we need to be extra careful when we are walking to the Custom as we have a toddler and Grandma with us. We need to keep them by our side all the time as the place is very crowded with people. The whole journey takes around 2 hours. Not very long and not difficult…. Just like from Pontian travels to Singapore like that ~

Finally, we reached Shenzhen. We took a van from the Custom to our Hotel. We checked into the ‘Vienna Hotel (Fu Hua)’. Address: No.73 Fuhua Road, Futian District, Shenzhen, China. The room is so much bigger than the room we had in Hong Kong and the price is much more cheaper as well. We paid RMB 198 per room per night only. Very good deal! The hotel is clean and comfy as well. Kimi has more space to run around too...

After we rest for a while, Grandma’s nieces and nephews arrived. Ah Ma has a great chat with them and did not want to join us for the afternoon tea. So Hubby, Uncle and I walked out from the Hotel to find some light snacks before the dinner. We had a quick bite before met them up at the hotel again.

As we still have a bit of time before the dinner, so one of the Aunt suggested to bring me to ‘Dong Men Shopping Street’  <东门老街> to do some shopping. This is a very big place with loads of things to see… Too bad, we only have around one hour to spend here, so I don’t have much time to grab things here. Another disappointment as I only managed to buy 2 shirts here. There are sooOoo many shops which I have yet to explore! Well, I tell myself again, next time then….

It is dinner time!! We met up Grandma and the rest at the restaurant. We really had a very sumptuous meal!! They ordered a lot of food and all also very delicious. We enjoyed the food a lot!

The Yummy-Licious Dinner can be viewed at: HERE ~~

What a GREAT reunion for everyone!

Not to forget our Group Photo before we left the restaurant. Grandma had a good day today. She is very happy to see so many people came and met her up! Glad to see that ~

We walked back to our hotel. Kimi had a taste of riding on a bicycle on our way back to hotel. Haha, he didn’t even want to come down. When we carried him down from the bicycle, he was crying so pitifully…. But after a while, he was ok already and ran together with them.

Very fast, another day passed so quickly! After settling down Kimi at the hotel, Hubby slept with him, and I went out with one of the Aunts to the hair salon at around 10pm. To my surprise, the salons there mostly open for 24 hours! I had a relaxing shoulder massage after washing my hair at the salon. It only costs me RMB 20!! What a great deal! Haha… I enjoy it a lot ~ Shiok!

Hong Kong Family Trip: Day 2

Date: 23rd March 2011

Today our plans are to visit the Lantau Island and to take The Peak Tram. Frankly speaking, with a toddler and grandma with us, travelling time takes a bit longer. Grandma wakes up quite early but Kimi wakes up a bit late. So both of them need to accomodate with each other timing. We ended up chose to gather at 8.30am so that I had enough time to settle Kimi before leaving the hotel. We are not in a rush of time so anytime is ok for all of us. After our ‘Dim Sum’ breakfast,  we walked to ‘Tin Hau’ station to buy our Octopus Card with HKD 150.00 credit in it. Then our free and easy journey started!!

We took the train to ‘Tung Chung Station’ and then walked to the Ngong Ping 360 to buy the round trip Cable Car tickets. We chose to take the one way Standard Cabin and one way Crystal Cabin which cost HKD 153.00 per person for one adult ticket.

It was really a great experience to ride on the crystal cabin. We can even see the views everywhere from the cable car cabin. Very beautiful!

It was quite a long journey but Kimi enjoys himself a lot. He still does not know how to feel scare yet. So keep on ‘Wow-wow-wow’ throughout the whole journey. Seems to be enjoying himself.

Finally, we reached the destination!!

~ We at the Lantau Island ~

After walking around to admire the beautiful sceneries there, we went for a bowl of ‘Tau Fu Hua’ and then had our vegetarian lunch. The vegetarian lunch costs HKD 60.00 per person. Very big portion - 6 dishes + 1 Soup!

After our lunch and Kimi woke up from his afternoon nap, we walked back to the cable car and continued with our next destination to The Peak Tram. The Peak Tram ticket costs HKD 36.00 per person.

~ We at The Peak Tram~

This is the ONLY photo which Hubby and I took together (2 of us) throughout the whole trip… Luckily still have one photo as momento ~

As I been to the Madame Tussauds before, I chose not to go in again. Moreover Grandma and Uncle also did not want to visit it so we walked around the place and admire the beautiful Hong Kong night scenery. It was quite a windy night so we did not stay long at The Peak. Moreover, the weather was a bit too cold for Kimi and Grandma.

Our Day 2 ended with a local dinner nearby our Hotel. Fruitful Day!

The Yummy-Licious Food during this trip can be viewed at: HERE ~~

Hong Kong Family Trip: Day 1

Date: 22nd March 2011

We woke up as early as 5.00am to get ready. As this round we were travelling with a toddler with us, making the luggage more and the packing time also longer than usual. I think Kimi knew that he was going for a holiday. Normally he will sleep until 10.00am, but today, he woke up around 5.30am together with us! Haha, what an unusual scene…

The taxi came around 6.30am and we left the house around 6.45am. Our flight was at 9.30am, so we were in time for everything. We had our RM5 breakfast at the KLIA McD… Here, we no need to queue for long. We ordered a cup of Milo and Coffee which cost us RM8++ to entitle for the free sets.

~ Kimi at the KLIA McD and Arrival at Hong Kong International Airport ~

Upon arrival, we bought the MTR tickets from Airport to Hong Kong. Travelling with Group of 4 entitles to buy for the Single Journey Ticket Set which costs HK$250 only. It is much more cheaper than you purchase the tickets individually. Child ticket costs HK$50.

Once we have arrived at the Hong Kong station, we changed our trains to take to Tin Hau station, where we supposed to meet up Grandma’s niece there. We came out from the Exit A and saw her waiting for us there. From Tin Hau station, we walked to the Empire Hotel, Causeway Bay. This hotel was recommended by the Aunt as it was conveniently located nearby the places we planned to go within walking distance and also by public transport.

~ Empire Hotel, Causeway Bay – The room is quite small and has limited space but it is clean with good service! ~

After checking in and rested for a while, we walked to meet up Grandma’s cousin brother. His shop is located a few streets away from our Hotel. Not very far... This Great-Uncle is one year older than Grandma and he is still very strong! He still walk to his shop to have a look and to meet up his friends for morning tea every day too. We dropped by his shop and house for a while before heading towards the restaurant for dinner.

Restaurant: Fortune Cuisine <家居軒> Address: B/F, Park Commercial Centre, 180 Tung Lo Wan Road, (Causeway Bay), Tin Hau <天后銅鑼灣道180號百樂商業中心地庫>

Grandma had nice chat with Great-Uncle. They have not met up for 40++ years. This was a great reunion for both of them! Great-Uncle has very friendly children too. They met us up in the restaurant to have dinner together.

Grandma was very happy on that night! I can say she is superbly happy… When hubby asked her on her feelings after meeting up her brother, I saw Grandma had some teary eyes. I think she was too happy to express herself on that day. It was really a comfort to us to see Grandma enjoyed herself very much. A very worthwhile trip!

~ Our Group Photos ~

We were suppose to go and see the Symphony of Lights <幻彩詠香江> before back to the hotel. A Symphony of Lights is staged every night at 8:00 p.m. But Kimi and Grandma were both quite tired after the whole day of travelling. Moreover after the dinner, it was almost 9.00pm. We missed out the time to watch the lights. So we decided to go back hotel to rest early for the first night.

The Yummy-Licious Food during this trip can be viewed at: HERE ~~

Visa Application to China

Date: 10th March 2011

January to March are very peak months for my work. Really not much time to sit down and plan for the holidays schedule. Until one of my colleagues keep on reminding me, do remember to go apply for the China visa since we are going to Shenzhen as well. So I keep on looking for travel agents for help. Perhaps this is too small money for those travel agencies to earn, I tried to call up a few but none of them willing to do it sincerely for me. Ended up, I decided to apply it by myself!!

Hubby picked me during my lunch hour and drove me to KL to apply the China visa at Chinese Visa Application Service Center. Address: 2nd Floor, Plaza OSK, Jalan Ampang. Tel: 603-2175 8888.

Normal application takes 4 days to collect. For Malaysian citizen, the Visa Fee is RM30 for single entry and RM28 for the Application Service Fee. Total is RM58.

All we need to do is to fill up the application form and attach with one passport size photo. The process is very easy. I think because a lot of people applying for China visa, so there are a lot of counters opening there . We no need to wait for very long for our turns to come… Very efficient! After we passed the passports to the officer there and off we go! Very easy procedures only ~

A runner from a travel agent charges RM30 per passport and RM10 pick-up fee. By using a little bit of our time and the car park fee of RM3, in return we saved up RM120 instead. We can pick up the visa and passport after 4 days. The officer gave us a receipt to pick them up on 15th March. Hope everything is in order :)

Do remember to use this 2 pages of forms when you apply for China visa.

~ Front Page ~

~ Back Page ~The one which I downloaded from the internet couldn't be used anymore. Now they have simplified the forms to only 2 pages to fill up.

Counting down to our Family Holidays very soon!!

Hong Kong Disneyland Reservations

Date: 18th February 2011

After discussion with Ah Ma and Uncle who are also following us to the trip, we have decided to only stay one night in the Disneyland. We want to allocate more time for Ah Ma to spend with her relatives. So Hubby chose to book the room on the last night in Hong Kong to make the travelling more convenient for Ah Ma.

Hubby got to know about the ‘Early Bird Offer’ from the Hong Kong Disneyland website, so we booked the room 30 days prior to our check-in date to enjoy the 15% discount for the Friday night’s room.

Note: This offer is valid for hotel reservations with check-in dates from January 3 - July 15, 2011, apart from February 1-10, April 22-24, April 30 - May 2, June 3-6, June 30 - July 2, which are block out dates ("Promotion Period").

More information on this special promotion can be read or Book Online at: http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/special/listing?name=EarlyBirdHotelOffer2011Page

We were served by a team of very friendly staffs via emails. They attended to our enquiries and all our requests efficiently. After a few rounds of emails, we finally confirmed our booking for the Sea View Room and also the “Stay2Day” Tickets. According to the staff there, this “Stay2Day” Tickets are more worth to buy because we can visit the Park for 2 consecutive days.

My friend has advised me to book the buffet dinner earlier to avoid any disappointments. She told me Kimi will sure enjoy the dinner as the Disney cartoon characters will walk around to your table and take picture with the guests. So I immediately emailed to the staff there to do the booking for Buffet Dinner in the Enchanted Garden. They responded to us very fast too. Within a few days, all the bookings settled!

So happy that all reservations needed for the Disneyland have finally done ~ Really hope that Kimi can enjoy himself there! Very looking forward to this day to come  

Orient Special Promotion by Cathay Pacific

Date: 22nd January 2011

I have checked on MAS and Cathay Pacific websites before I finally chose to fly with Cathay Pacific after comparing the travelling date and time offered by both airlines. Cathay Pacific has Online Special fares to 8 Orient destinations! Cathay's price is RM1,080 for an adult ticket and MAS is RM1,040. I find it quite a good deal offered by Cathay, so we opted for that. By paying an extra of RM40 per person we can have more travelling time to choose from compare to MAS which only offers 2 types of travelling times per day to fly to Hong Kong.

Sales period: From now until 31 March 2011.
Travel period: From now until 31 October 2011.

After discussed with Hubby on the travelling dates, we have decided to purchase it and chose a better time to fly so that we can make full use of our holidays to the fullest!

Step One DONE! The next will be the planning of itinerary and booking for hotels ~

Hong Kong, here WE come!

Finally I am back from my busy March working schedules and outstation trips. Now I can sit down in front my laptop and spare a bit of time to start writing blog again!!
Kimi, we shall see you soon on this weekend ya  
Daddy and Mummy are very looking forward to our Family Holidays soon ~

Month: December 2010

Last year, Hubby told me he wanted to bring Kimi and I for a short family trip after he was back from his Japan holidays. He said the next one, we must bring Kimi along! Haha, when I hear this, I am thinking… Not bad worr, I think my next holidays should be coming soon ~ Hehehe... Happy :) True enough, not long after we came back from our Singapore trip, Hubby told me, Well, let’s go Hong Kong! Kimi can go to Disneyland too...

Ok, so our planning started! We went back to Taiping to inform PIL on this trip, thinking of making it into a Family trip too. But too bad, FIL is quite tied up, so cannot join us this round. So MIL also not joining… But we managed to invite Hubby’s grandmother to join us! We were so happy when she agreed on going to this holidays with us. She is already at her 80+ years old and yet still quite fit for travelling. She says she has some relatives in HK and Shenzhen, so she wants to make use of this trip to meet them up. Since Hubby’s grandma is coming with us, so Hubby’s 2nd uncle also has decided to join us too. He said he can be of Ah Ma’s companion. To be honest, I am very thrill over this. To travel in four generations is not an easy thing to arrange but we manage to organise it. Although not many team members for this round, we are contented enough, at least Ah Ma is joining us... That is the best achievement for this trip!

Our Four Generations Holidays:
Ah Ma –> 2nd Uncle –> Hubby and I –> Kimi

After some discussions, we decided to go in March. Ah Ma is worried if we go after CNY in February, the weather might be a bit too cold for her. And if we chose to go in April, she said is the month of ‘Ching Ming’ Festival. She needs to stay at home for some prayers. And, we don’t really want the trip to drag until May when the weather turns hot ~

So Hubby gave me the task of booking air tickets and surveying on hotels… And his task is to plan for the trip and to contact his relatives in HK and China!