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This one, I assure you, will be a short blog post-because my photos and videos from this trip got corrupted 😶😶😶

One of the salvaged photos. This photo could have been taken anywhere without an indication that this was in Macau wahahahahahahaha!
Anyhoo, last January I went to Hong Kong with my perenial lakwatsera cousin, ate Lot, and during that trip we decided to have a day tour to Macau-because hey, been to Hong Kong twice but never been to Macau. Macau is like a pond (ok, exagerrating here) away from Hong Kong, which means an hour ferry will take you there in one piece.
A roundtrip ferry ride will cost you around 400 HKD, and upon arrival at the ferry terminal nearby Harbour Mall in TST (but upon checking it's already in Sheung Wan 🤷‍♀️). Do take note that there are like scalpers around the area offering different rates depending on the time of departure. Usually you'll be able to save more if you buy a roundtrip ticket already, but since we have no idea what time we'll be back in Hong Kong, we decided to push for a single trip ticket first.


Have I mentioned that the ferry ride will cost you a good 1 hour of anxiety? I am terrified of boats and ferrocious waves, so while I was at the ferry I was gripping at my chair trying to will myself to fall asleep-which I didn't, because good thing the waves weren't as violent as I was expecting *phew*.

So once you arrive at the Macau ferry terminal, expect to see the same amount of security like in airports. It's a must to bring your passport (I mean, really during travels you must have your passport near your body at ALL TIMES), because they'll give you this slip where it indicates you only have this certain time period to stay in their country (or city, or region? Idk what to make of this place tbh).

Me to Macau 🙃
After getting through all the stamping and customs stuff, you are now spewed to the outside world where you'll be haggled by people offering costly taxi services, and tours. Since we are not really considering that, we decided to venture first to the old places of Macau where you get to see buildings that look like the facade of University of Santo Tomas hahaha!

Di masarap yung milktea na iniinom ko dyan, isang oras ko yan hawak hawak 🤷‍♀️
One of the places we went is the facade of St Paul's ruins, which is jampacked with people. We opted not to to go near it anymore, and off we go to the stores that provide free taste of cured beef jerkies with different flavors and levels of spicyness-I mean, dude you can get yourself full in free taste alone! Hahahaha! I assure you, you wouldn't feel awkward getting free taste, because people around you are also getting a palm's full of samples 🤷‍♀️😂👏

Kala ko moment ko na.
A church. Yey.
While strolling around, you'll get to notice a lot of signs in Portuguese, that's because Macau was actually conquered by Portugal before, hence the influence in architecture and culture. After taking more photos while trying out their famous egg tarts (mas masarap pa yung sa Julie's tho hahaha jk, ang mahal kasi), we have decided to head over to the casinos and do some damage-chos, pang mcdo nalang pera namin. So coming from the vicinity of St. Paul's ruins, we decided to walk over to the nearest casino, take a free shuttle going back to the ferry terminal, then from there take another shuttle going to Taipa, the central of all casinos in Macau. The nearest one with the most available shuttle was in Wynn hotel and casino, and ohhhh boy what a journey it took us to get there.


Ok, so here's what happened, the nearest hotel and casino to us was actually Hotel Lisboa, however they don't seem to have a free shuttle service, so we opt to go to Wynn instead which is just across the road. Unfortunately, while it seems so near going there was quite a challenge because there are no pedestrian lines nor an elevated walkway that could get us there, but there is an underground walkway, and this is where things get interesting.

Usually when you go down an underground walkway, you expect a flight of stairs where a beam of sunshine is waiting for you, however this was not the case because the moment we got in the underground walkway there was just a door waiting for us to open at the end of the dimly-lit tunnel. Reluctantly, we open it, where we are led to another narrow tunnel now leading to an elevator, and a flight of stairs. Seeing that there are already a group of people waiting im the elevator, we opt to take the stairs instead. When we reached the 2nd floor, we realized that we ended up in an underground carpark with no directions how to go inside the Wynn hotel. With luck, guts, and a dozen novenas, we decided to just trust our instincts and go where we feel is the right direction. After opening 2 more doors, we have finally set foot... outside of Wynn hotel 🙈🙈🙈 Just when I thought we have already infiltrated the hotel itself, we were actually only led to the garden and the lakeside, and only a couple meters away from Hotel Lisboa *facepalm*.
you guys have no idea how my heart felt relieved when we saw the light hahahahah!
After hopping in a shuttle, which took us like 5 minutes only going back to the ferry, we then hopped in to a free shuttle going to Venetian Macau.




Mah cousin


I now get the concept of this eternally sunny ceiling, because you'll definitely lose the conceot of time while inside this humongous complex! Aside from the hotel, museum, and a replica of Tour de Eiffel (which costs a lot of $$$ just to go inside it), they also have different wings full of shops, and a canal where charismatic boat guys sing to you, and say bellisima to you (though I am pretty sure it was intended for my cousin hahaha).
Kunware di pa ako gutom, kasi ang mahal ng pagkain dito 🤷‍♀️🙃🙃🙃🙃
Just a side note, HKD, or Hong Kong Dollar, is accepted here so there's no need to worry if you have to convert money prior to going to Macau. Alsooooo, things are A LOT MORE expensive in Macau compared to Hong Kong. There are not much convenience stores in there so a bottle of water or a can of coke would take you as much as 30 to 40 Hong Kong Dollars, so better take a bottle of hydration with you before hopping into that ferry. As per my cousin, Macau is actually a good place to buy designer stuff because they are less expensive, and has more designs compared to here in Manila.

By around 7:30 p.m. we said our goodbyes to Macau, our eyes satisfied with all the grandeur it has to offer, but our tummies literally empty hahaha! This place is just ridiculously expensive.

One last tita pose before I face the waves again. Awuw.

Love always,
Nicole 😘🤗

P.S.
So much for a short blogpost 🙃🙈🤷‍♀️
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As the title obviously suggested, this is my 3rd time in the land of neon lights, and coffin apartments.

Oh and this harbor too.

As much as I want to push and continue with the Japan blogs (mej katams huhu), let me start anew with my trip to HK last January. Me and my cousin, Lot (the same crazy cousin I went with in Vietnam), booked our tickets last July-I think? I don't know why we chose HK, when she's been there more than 10x, but hey who am I to say no to travels, right?

Somebody likes pink too much.
Our flight was at 8 A.M. so we opt to go to the Terminal 3 at 4 A.M. for us to have plenty of time to gorge on the free food at the lounge facilities.


But lo and behold, it's either because most Filipinos are flying back to their respective country of work, or the service of the airport sucks, they were a lot of queues in both the travel tax counter (still smh on why Filipinos pay for this, when the tourists should be the ones to shoulder this), and especially at the immigration part. Luckily we did not miss our flights despite reaching our gate at around 8:15 A.M.- The plane left the airport at around 10! Kalokaaa 🙃🙃🙃🙃

I don't know why I look like this in the photo 🤔
Quintessential turista photo


I missed HK International Airport, but what I don't miss is not seeing McDonalds the moment you are about to leave if. Idk, but I think it has been replaced by Crystal Jade 🙅 but anyhoo, upon arrival we were greeted with the cold air, something that is non-existance in even during January in Manila.


Forlorn?
Since we will be staying at Mongkok, we took the A21 bus. Just a quick tip, make sure you have exact 33 HK dollars with you, because the bus driver doesn't give any change. I'm not sure where the other buses lead to, given that with all the times I have been in HK, I have only stayed in Mongkok because I am poor. Also, if you are not in a hurry, it's ok to take the bus, because from Lantau (the island where the airport is at) to Mongkok it will take you only an hour, so that's a good time to take a nap.

The most disappointing sale.



Huhuhu


The minions will be thrilled
After dumping our luggages into our miniscule Airbnb, we immediately wandered around the malls near to us (Hola MiraMall!). Despite it only just our 1st day in Hong Kong, I have noticed a lot of differences compared to our previous travels there:
1. Things are more expensive. I don't think this one is HK's fault, it's just that pesos has become weaker, that 1 HKD is equivalent to 7 pesos now, when a few years ago it was only 6 pesos.
2. People are quite rude. Idk, maybe I got so mellowed down by Japanese people, that the Cantonese doesn't sound as melodic as before.
3. There are more 360 mart! More Kinder Surprise eggs in every corner!

Pwede na


 At night time, we ended up having dinner in Cafe de Coral, where we ate this dessert thing that tasted like Ginataan but without the bilo-bilo-which just made me sad. Afterwards we decided to watch the dancing lights at the harbor, because believe it or not, I haven't seen it before haha!

That's about it I guess? More HK posts soon - or Japan ones... bahala na😂😖👋✌🤗

Love Always,

Nicole

P.S.
Don't bring Kate Spade bags when travelling, they are too heavy for their own good 🙅🙅🙅🙅
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I miss Japan, and that must be the biggest understatement of mine this year, to the point that, yes I am strongly considering starting a life there in the future. For now, I enjoy what Manila has to offer, while I yearn and look back to the amazing trip I had in Tokyo and Fukuoka! 


The lively arcade at the Sensoji temple area
For the 2nd day of our Tokyo trip, it has been quite a sensory overload. Of course, it comes to no surprise that every thing I see is a feast for the eyes, which definitely overwhelmed me -in a good way, of course 😍😍😍


Photoshoot?
Our Airbnb is in Sumida which I think is quite near to Asakusa, and by near I meant around 2 kilometers worth of walking. The neighbourhood we stayed at was very... quiet, which is a big contrast to the main city proper that is just a few kilometers away.


Hi... umm, Asahi?

Hi Skytree!

Happy Place 5Ever!

As I have mentioned, Asakusa is a couple of kilometers away from our Airbnb, which means the first- and well, the only temple we've been to, was the Sensoji temple where you can see the vibrant arcade.



Plushy wallets!🦊🐕🐶



My face whenever people offer sweets while I am on Keto diet.


Hi temple!

Given that Sensoji Temple is a popular tourist attraction, all the stuff you can see at the arcade are pasalubong worthy. From kitschy keychains to cool shirts with The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, you'll definitely be able to find something amazing to bring back home to people you love- or even just for yourself, given that there are also stalls that sell amazingly fresh mochis and melon pans amongst the myriad of merch. My personal favorite would be the watercolor post cards of Sensoji temple that are sold at around 100+ yen a piece, but if only I have enough spare cash I would have bought the mask above hahaha!

By the way, a quick note, given that Sensoji is a popular tourist attraction, you might as well expect that some items sold in the arcade tend to be pricier than in lesser known places around the area, so it's best for you to look around first before you hand over your Yens💴💴💴


Amazing subway art





Since we really had no clear itinerary at that time, we have somehow stumbled upon a Sega in Akihabara. Given that I am in the company of 3 boys who love gaming, we gave in to the crane games, and even the Initial D racing game-which we had a bit of "lost in translation" moment. You see, arcade games in Sega don't have English translations, so you can just imagine how lost we have been- but good thing, Imman's sister, Julz can speak Japanese, so we were able to make sense of things HAHA!

After spending as much as 3,000 yen on trying to get Lufi from the crane game, we have finally gave in to our hunger and gave in to this nice Tonkatsu resto within the area.
Pretty manhole covers everywhere!

Ultimate regret of the trip: Not buying this!



Hi Julz!
From Akihabara we headed over to Ikebukuro to visit Julz's humble abode. I find it enjoyable to visit houses in other countries, given majority of the time we either stay at hotels or Airbnbs. Majority of Japanese homes are small, and very quaint, which I really find weirdly endearing! I have always been a fan of tiny homes, so being in a little Japanese home brings joy to my kokoro- I know, I am weird.



 After a quick visit to Julz's home, we head out to the malls in Ikebukuro, and end up eating sushi, complete with the conveyor belt! Here's something I realized while I was enjoying a plate of sushi🍣🍣🍣:
1. All sushis have wasabi in it. I'm not sure if this is a common knowledge already HAHAHA, but every plate of sushi has wasabi inside the sushi itself, so if you are not a fan of wasabi you better learn appreciating them prior to your trip hahaha!
2. The best way to eat sushi is by hand. I have seen quite a handful of people popping a sushi, as if  they are just eating fries.
3. Eat the full piece of sushi. Noooow, this one is a common sense, given that if you tried biting only the half, it'll disintegrate - DUH!
4. Not sure if it applies to ALL sushi places, but the most convenient way for the restaurant to know how much sushi and how much you'll be paying for your plates without checking the menu is via RFID. The waiter in this sushi place placed this pokedex-like device, then scanned the sides of each plate, and before we know it the price of all the plates are shown in the monitor. They probably put chips under the plates which made it easy to be read by the pokedex-like device.






After finishing our dinner, we decided to go home already, and visit the nearest grocery to buy food for breakfast- in my case, to buy all the icecreams and cheese that will keep me snug inside the toilets the next day HAHAHA! OH WELLZZZ🍦🍧🍦🍧🍦🍧🍦

And that's it! Day 2 of our Tokyo trip! 7 more blogposts to go hahaha!


Cheers~🙃🙃🙃

Love Always!

Nicole
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Hola! Nicole Alejandro here with her random musings about travel, arts, and life- all for the benefit of her future kid ;)

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