Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 14

Another video footage of fireworks display at Disneyland Hong Kong for your viewing pleasure.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 13

More footage of fireworks display at the Disneyland Hong Kong taken on 2-12-08.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 12

A compilation of photos taken from Zhuhai's Guangdong Regency Hotel at its revolving restaurant on 29-11-08. Enjoy the view of the city.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 11

Be mesmerised by the fireworks display at Disneyland Hong Kong

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 10

Enjoy the colourful display of fireworks at Disneyland Hong Kong.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 9

Oh yes, I managed to take a peep at the Disneyland’s Hollywood Hotel as we don’t have to budget to stay there. Too bad, I have no photos to share with you guys for the room.

Before ending our final night in Hong Kong and also our trip, we took the opportunity to take a stroll at the Women Street where we had our dinner and did our last minute shopping of souvenirs.

Our final day 6 of this trip with no time allocated for any visit as we have to catch an early flight back via Jeststar’s 3K692 which departed from Hong Kong at 11.05 am. At the airport, I managed to ‘clear’ my wallet of all the Hong Kong money that I had buying the local delicacies like Lau Po Ping (Wife Biscuit) and etc.

We finally arrived at the Singapore’s Changi Airport at 14.40 pm.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 8

We ended day 4 with a visit to the Avenue of Stars before checking into a 3-stars Metropark Mongkok Hotel.

In the early morning of Day 5, we had the opportunity to try Hong Kong’s tim sums. Of course, the tour guide funnily told us to lower our expectation in term of the quantity provided as the cost of livings here is just unbearable high. So we had to ‘ta pau’ (packed) some egg tarts and buns to supplement our breakfast.

Our first visit on day 5 of our tour was the Wong Dai Shin temple. We couldn’t access into most parts of this infamous temple complex as it is under massive renovation at the moment.

As meals will not be provided as from now in this tour, we decided to take our lunch first before visiting Disneyland Hong Kong. Owing to the exhorbitive pricings, we were advised to avoid consuming food and drinks inside Disneyland if we could. Only a bottle of mineral water is allowed to be brought in (in fact, we have to go through a security check before allowed entry into the theme park).

Disneyland Hong Kong is rather small in term of size as compared to its counterparts in US, Paris and Tokyo. It is quite different from the other theme parks we had visited in this trip like Shenzhen’s Splendid China and Happy Valley and Hong Kong’s Ocean Park. I think it is more suitable for young kids where the rides are less challenging. However, the ambience is very different, transporting our memories back to our very young age where fairy tales and animations embraced our lives then.



In the evening, we were entertained by the parade of many many cartoons personalities like Snow Whites and the & Dwarfs, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Ducks, Cinderella and etc. All these remind me of my childhood days.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 7

After lunch, it was the kids’ world again. The next visit was Hong Kong’s Ocean Park where we spent the whole afternoon here. The most memorable scenes here were of course, the pandas, the dolphins show and the ride up the hill via the cable car which gave us another fantastic view of Hong Kong. As for the kids, nothing beats the thrills of the heart-wrenching rides. Definitely a no-no for me, born with chicken heart…

After dinner, we went up the Victoria Peak by coach where we visited Madame Tussauds’s Wax Mesuem. We understood that had we used the tram to travel up Victoria Peak, the evening scenery of Hong Kong would have been more memorable. Anyway, the museum is divided into three sections, namely the internationally reknown film stars and singers; personalities comprising politicians, rich and famous; and lastly sport personalities.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 6

After lunch, we proceeded to the 2nd theme park in our itinerary which is the Shenzhen’s Happy Valley. The kids had a fantastic afternoon in this theme park but being a weekend, the queue was too lengthy and the wait was just unbearable long.

Before the night ended on day 3, we took the opportunity to stroll the Dongmen Street, where the 1st McDonald outlet in mainland China is situated.

Day 4, we started our journey early to Hong Kong by rail. The hotel we stayed in Shenzhen is located just across the street from the railway station. We had to drag our luggage up the pedestrian bridge, then after a long and sweaty walks, we finally reached the railway station. It was swarmed with people, a daily affair in fact. The rail ride took us slightly more than an hour to reach Hong Kong.

Our first stop was the Bauhinia Square, a venue that saw the return of Hong Kong by Great Britain to the People’s Republic of China.

We then took a short coach ride to Hong Kong’s Repulse Bay. Here, the view of Hong Kong’s coastal line was just too mesmerizing and where the residences of the former colony’s rich and famous are found.

Before we adjourned for lunch, we were brought to the Aberdeen Fishing Village where we took a brief boat’s ride to view how the fishing communities get on with their daily lives here since the early establishment of Hong Kong. The Jumbo Restaurant is also located here but we were given the understanding that the owner, Macau’s King of Casino, Stanley Ho will be towing this landmark back to his territory rather soon. The boat ride costs us HKD50 per head and the funny thing was we had to pay the fare not upon reaching the jetty but in the middle of the sea which is rather odd. Sounds like being ‘slaughtered’, isn’t it?

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 5

We left Splendid China for a brief dinner break outside and returned to the same theme park to enjoy a splendid cultural show at the China Folks Village.

Day 2 ended with a late check-in into the Felicity Hotel, a 5-stars hotel in town.

The next morning in Day 3, we were brought for the city tour of the Shenzhen City. We were awed by the developments that have been brought to this new city, mushroomed by skyline of high rise buildings with unique designs that is parallel to those found in Shanghai.

The first destination of our city tour is the Shenzhen’s museum.



Any arranged tour to mainland China is never complete without visits to outlets selling jewellery and tea leaves. Shenzhen is famous for its Lychee tea leaves, supposedly.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 4

Our first stop of the Zhuhai’s city tour was the Mermaid Statute which was created by a well known sculptor, Mr Pan He according to a local folklore.

Our next stop was the Shijingshan Park where we would get a birdeyes’ viewof the Zhuhai city. To get to the hilltop, we took cable cars (with dangling legs in the air type) to capture another view of this beautiful city. But the trip down the hill was probably something more memorable although we have the choice of the same cable car ride. We took ‘Tommy Car’, a ride which was so terrifying along the edge of the hill, swerving left to right at breakneck speed. At the end of the ride, we were awarded a ‘certificate of achievement’, of course at a charge with our terrifying looks imprinted on the certificate for remembrance.

After lunch, we set off for another city in the mainland China, Shenzhen. The coach ride took us about 2.5 to 3 hours and our first destination was a large theme park, Splendid China. Immediately, we see delightful faces from the kids in our tour, all 9 of them, the moment they have been waiting for. The tour guide immediately ushered us to the War Show which was one of the highlight in this theme park.

After the show, we toured the theme park which featured many miniature scenic spots in China.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 3

We were subsequently brought to the Wynn Casino, which is not too far a distance from here. Besides taking a quick look around the casino, we enjoyed a 15 minutes show at the centre court of the casino building.

We subsequently proceeded to the Mazhu Temple or better known as the ‘A-Ma Temple’. This temple existed before the city of Macau came into being and is an exemplary representation of the Chinese culture inspired by Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and multiple folk beliefs.



The main highlights of our trip to Macau are of course the visit to the reknown ‘Venetian Macau Resort’. This 5-stars hotel is huge! There are lots of lots of shopping in this spacious complex and branded boutiques are aplenty here, you name you got it. But the most notable feature is of course, the sky-look-alike ceiling of the building. Indeed a jaw-dropping experience, so hard to describe until you see it for yourself. No wonder it is dubbed the building that never sleeps because there is never a night in here. A must experience location when you next visit Macau, never mind even if you do not gamble.

As for local delicacies in Macau, we tried the infamous Portuguese Egg Tarts. Absolutely fantastic but too bad, we can bring them back to Malaysia to share with you guys. However, we brought back some Almond cookies.

Before the night ends, we crossed over the Chinese border and stayed overnight at the Guangdong Regency Hotel in the city of Zhuhai. A tiring first day, I quickly dozed off the moment coming into contact with the bed.

Zhuhai overlooks Hong Kong over the sea and borders with Macau on land. Occupying an area of 7,653 sq km, among which 1,687 sq km are land area, it has coastal line of 691 km and has 146 islands, thus winning the name of ‘City of one hundred islands’. Its population is over 1.4 million. We started our day 2 with a breakfast at the upper floor of the hotel’s revolving restaurant. Too bad, we understood that it is only revolving in the afternoon and evening, what a timing! Nevertheless, I took some snapshots giving a bird’s eyes view of the Zhuhai city.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 2

Upon leaving the airport, Macau gave me the impression as a very authentic city, a blend of old buildings alongside with new one. Some of these buildings are very uniquely designed and charming in all aspects. Traffic was hardly heavy and we were told that it is rare to encounter traffic lights here. Pace of life is slow and almost everyone here is earning a living associated with the gambling and tourism industries. Macau is now a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and is located in the Guangdong province. It is rather small, just an area of 29.2 km with population of 530,000 only.

Our first stop was the visit to the Ruins of St Paul’s which is the façade of what was originally the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640. It was destroyed by a fire in 1835. The ruins of St Paul’s College stood adjacent to the Church. Nowadays, the façade of the Ruins of St Paul’s functions symbolically as an altar to the city.



Just next to this was a Na Tcha Temple which is hardly noticeable by many. Nevertheless, it is heartwarming to see an ancient church situated just next to a Chinese temple, a symbol of unity and harmonious livings amid the turbulences faced in the other side of the world over religions differences. This temple was built in 1888 and is dedicated to the worship of Na Tcha.



After our buffet lunch, we had a short stroll at the nearby Macau Fishermen’s Wharf. It is a theme park which contains many retail shops, restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues with recreational objectives. We were told the ambience in the evening is absolutely a must-see experience but too bad, we would have to leave for Zhuhai by then.

Trip to Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Nov/Dec 2008) - Part 1

Another year has passed quietly and gladly, we got on with our second trip with almost the same group of friends and their family. This time, our trip was planned in such a way that we took budget airlines, i.e. Tiger Airways from Singapore to Macau and for our return flight, from Hong Kong back to Singapore via Jetstar. We arranged land tour from a local agent and the tour encompassed a day trip in Macau and cross over to China’s Zhuhai for a night stay. After sightseeing in Zhuhai, we left for Shenzhen by coach where we spent day 2 and 3 there. On day 4, we travelled by rail to Hong Kong where we stayed for another 2 nights. All in all, this 6 days 5 nights tour with 17 of us of which 9 are kids ranging from 3 to as old as 15 years old would visit 4 theme parks.

As we are catching an early flight at 6.05 am to Macau, we travelled by van from our homes at around 2.00 am to the Singapore Changi’s Budget Terminal. The clearance was smooth at both side of the causeway at this hour and we were at the airport in less than 1 and a half hour. The crowd at the budget terminal wasn’t that huge but food outlets seem lacking and seats were notably inadequate as well.



After a long wait, we finally boarded the plane, TR906 which took off according to schedule for our flight to Macau. The journey took 3 hours and 40 minutes and we finally arrived at the Macau International Airport. However, the wait for our local tour guide to pick us up at the airport was a long one due to miscommunication but nevertheless, our spirits remained high, looking forward to an exciting and hectic days ahead.

Taiwan Trip @ Day 9 (Bon Voyage) - Part 10

Day 9 marked the end of our fantastic tour of Taiwan Island when we boarded CI669 departing from Kaoshiung at 9.15 am for our flight home. We finally reached Singapore Changi Airport at 1.05 pm.

During this trip, the followings observation were made: -

a. Rivers in Taiwan are generally dry. The tour guide clarified that the phenomenon is due to the geographical terrain of the island. Being mountainous at the centre, water flows rather quickly into the sea. Taiwanese erected reservoirs along the rivers to conserve water for consumption purposes as well as for generation of electricity.

b. Scooters are aplenty in Taipei, Kaoshiung, Hualien and other major cities.

c. Despite the lack of natural landscape in Taiwan as compared to China (partly due to the latter’s vast size), Taiwan compensates this limitation with its friendly and courteous people. Cleanliness is well maintained although a substantial part of its cities are dotted with old buildings.

d. Pollution is quite apparent in most of the major cities.

Similar to China, Taiwan is also not spared from signages bearing Engrish which I came across as English is not the preferred language in its education system.

Taiwan Trip @ Day 8 (Taipei-Kaoshiung) - Part 9

Day 8 was supposed to be the final day of our tour but owing to twist of event involving complication of flight ticketing by our Malaysian’s agent, we got an extended day and best of all, it was all paid for. The only setback, the departure airport was in Kaoshiung instead of Taipei. But how can we complain since we got free bullet train ride which cost NT$1,260 for a journey of one and a half hour from Taoyuan station in Taipei to Zuoying station in Kaoshiung. After breakfast and check out from the hotel, we set off for Taiwan Miniature Park. It is a theme park divided into 3 sections.

Mini Taiwan features miniature landmarks of Taiwan ranging from ports, highways, train station to major buildings, some of which we had visited during this tour.

There is the Mini China which displayed major landmarks in mainland China such as the Great Wall of China, the Tiger Hill Pagoda and etc.

The 3rd section featured Mini World displaying major landmarks outside China and Taiwan such as the Pisa Tower, Taj Mahal and etc.

There is also a section allocated for theme park with rides such as roller coaster, bumper car, pirates ship and etc which was really a treat to the kids. There were also performances by clowns, magic show, and cannonball man.

At 3.52 pm, we boarded the high speed train reaching Kaoshiung at 5.30 pm, a journey normally requiring approximately 5 hours by coach. After a quick dinner, we returned back to the hotel for packing.