we checked in to our flight, paid the philippine travel tax (Php 1620.00), ate a little at the food court, paid the terminal fee (Php 750.00), went to immigration. at the last checkpoint before the gates, the people checking our passports, sang "happy birthday" for me.
the flight to HKG was uneventful; there was the on-board game of bring me, some turbulence, and after around 2 hours, we landed at Chek Lap Kok airport. this airport is huge! after disembarking from the plane, getting maps, we had to ride a train to the other terminal where the immigration and our luggages are.
interview at immigration went well, got our luggages, and went to exchange some of our US dollars to local currency. tip: do not exchange a large amount of your money at airport forex, their rates are low. just exchange enough money for your transportation to the hotel, and hotel deposit if needed.
after buying our octopus card, we rode the A21 bus which will take us to our hostel located at tsim sha tsui. we had a little difficulty finding our bus stop, but we made it to mirador mansion in nathan road.
we stayed at usa hostel. the hostel was a good catch since it was located at the center of kowloon where a lot of stores and establishments are. the hostel also provided the basic ammenities that one needs, and it even offered discounted tickets for disneyland and ocean park.
we checked in to our rooms, had lunch, and started our travels around hong kong. our first stop was at Victoria Peak. from Central, we took the Peak Tram which will transport us to The Peak. at the top, there are a lot of shops. also located there was the wax museum and the sky terrace. we entered the sky terrace where you can see a bird's eyeview of hong kong and all its skyscrapers.
our next stop was at the avenue of stars. this is hong kong's homage to its stars. you can see various hand prints of movie stars, and a status of bruce lee. we were supposed to take the star ferry cruise for the symphony of lights, but unfortunately tickets have been sold out. we watched this show from the harbour, which was equally nice. the show featured a synchronized show of lights and sounds at the hong kong skyline.
after walking back to nathan road, we had our dinner in one of the chinese restaurants, went back to our hostel, cleaned up, and went to bed.
end of day 1.
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