Another late post, lol. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you probably know that we traveled to Hong Kong last month. And this time, with my girls, *wink. I always get lazy after my travels, so I am only able to post about it today, lol. But fear not, I have a lot to share, *wink.
Btw, this trip was all planned by me from accommodation, ticket purchases, and itinerary, so I was really really excited. I’ll share with you guys our itinerary and expenses soon, *wink.
Why Hong Kong?
If you’ve been following my travels, you should know by now that airfare promos basically rule my travel destination, wahahaha. I booked our airfare ticket last year while our local airline had their seat sale, and noticed that they have a direct flight from Cebu to Hong Kong, so I said, why not?! I traveled with my mom last year, so this time I decided to travel with my girls and I’m glad they said yes!
Choosing Hong Kong as our first international travel destination together may not have been special, but I was so glad that this country made our overall trip extra special!
How was our travel & arrival at Hong Kong International Airport?
It was perfect, well, almost *wink. Unlike my first international flight, this time our scheduled time of take-off was strictly followed. Goodbye delayed flight!
Actually, our original flight was supposed to be at 6AM but it was moved to 3:30 PM, but we were informed months before our flight so it was totally ok. With that advance notice, we were able to adjust our itinerary as well as our accommodation accordingly. I am so glad that there’s no more change of flight schedule after that, yey!
We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport around 6:30 PM and we noticed how foggy it was during our flight nearing Hong Kong. It was kind of a bummer that we weren’t able to take a picture or video of Hong Kong while in the plane 🙁 That said, it was already dark when we exited the airport since the line at the immigration was pretty long. Fortunately, our process after deplaning, lining up to the immigration, getting our checked in bags, claiming our octopus card and sim card as well as waiting for our bus going to our hostel was pretty easy to follow. I read online that Hong Kong’s airport is pretty big so we were a bit scared of being lost at first, lol. Just follow all the signage, and you’ll be ok, *wink.
Travel time from the airport to our hostel was around 1 hour, so it was pretty late when we arrived at our accommodation. It was already pretty dark, so I’m glad we were able to use our mobile data to make sure that we will be stopping at the right bus stop and locate our accommodation. Overall, that was a pretty good experience even if we commute and not avail a private airport transport. We were able to really save money, *wink.
Our Hostel
We booked this one before the end of 2023, so we were able to snag a good price. Accommodation in Hong Kong is usually pricey, so we ended up booking a hostel instead of a hotel considering that we will be out all day and just needed a place to sleep and take a shower.
There were a lot of concerns and negative stories about some hostels in Chungking mansion, but that’s the only place I could find that is within our budget and within our preferred place. Luckily, I was able to find one with a pretty decent review online.
We stayed at Unique Hostel and it’s in Block E, so the waiting time for the elevator was usually pretty tolerable. Their elevator was small, but still looks pretty safe. The Chungking mansion at first was quite chaotic if you haven’t prepared yourself for that, but for me, I was already prepared, so it wasn’t a bad first experience. Now that I saw it, it actually reminds me of divisoria mall but with mostly indian vendors, so get ready for the intense smell of spices and many more, lol.
As for our hostel, it was actually very very small. There’s three of us in the room, so it was quite cramped. The bathroom is of course very small but it has a small sink, a toilet and hot and cold shower, so it was ok. There’s also a space below our bed to store our bags to save space, but it’s a bit of a hassle when we have to get some clothes or things in our bag. Unfortunately there’s no cabinet to store clothes, but there’s a small table to put some of our small things like our snacks or chargers. There’s also an adaptor provided, which is great. There’s only two sockets in our room, but it was ok since we brought an extension wire with us. There’s also a TV in our room, but we didn’t have a chance to use it. There were no controllers, so I’m not sure if it was even working, lol. Our room is also air conditioned, and it also has a ceiling fan.
They also have a refrigerator, water dispenser (hot and cold), a glass and utensils we could use at the common area, so it was still a win win. Our accommodation also has a metal door which is powered by a number code or by card and looks pretty sturdy so our overall stay feels pretty safe.
Unique Hostel may not be my number 1 choice, but for the location and accessibility especially for the subway and bus stop is definitely a win! Plus, the owner and the filipina caretaker were very friendly and approachable.
The weather
I absolutely love the weather, wahahaha. It was already spring when we went there (we went in the 2nd week of March), but the weather is still pretty cool, and I love that! It was a bit gloomy in the morning and would look like it’s going to rain, plus the road was quite damp but I honestly prefer this one over the very hot weather in the Philippines at the moment, lol. The coldness in Hong Kong was actually tolerable during the day, and can be very cold in the evening because of the cold air but it’s not so cold that you need a heat pack, lol. Just have your regular jacket with you, and you’re usually going to be ok, *wink.
During our stay, we only experience drizzle once in a while and it is very foggy so I recommend that if you go to Victoria peak, go there early in the morning to enjoy the view.
The city & security
While we were riding the bus going to the hostel on our first day, I already noticed how vibrant this city is. There’s lots of tall buildings, luxury and branded stores like in every corner of the city, which is kind of amusing to see, lol. Looking at all these stores reminds me how broke I am, wahahaha.
I would also like to point out how clean the city is. Even though the road might be a bit damp because of the rain, it’s still pretty clean. I don’t even recall cleaning my white rubber shoes during that trip.
Their traffic lights also have a beeping sound to it. Once you hear it, you know that you are really in Hong Kong, lol. Very very amusing.
You won’t usually see any security personnel in Hong Kong like we usually do in the Philippines that will check your bag every time you enter an establishment lol, but we felt very safe during our stay there. We usually arrived pretty late almost every night while we were there, but we didn’t feel unsafe at all. What we usually felt was scared of getting lost, wahahaha.
Public transportation
I was really impressed! Their public transportation was very efficient and organized. I also love how big their subway stations are. That said, it’s very easy to commute in Hong Kong but be ready for some long walks, lol.
During our trip, we usually take the MTR and sometimes the bus so I really recommend having an octopus card with you. Aside from transportation, you can also use it to supermarkets, convenience stores, and many more. MTR and buses also accept card payments, but it is cheaper if you use an octopus card.
Tourist Attractions in Hong Kong
There’s surprisingly a lot of free attractions in Hong Kong that you could also check out but most of them require lots of walking, hahaha, so I highly recommend wearing comfortable shoes and clothes.
I think we were able to see most of the places in our itinerary. Unfortunately the cable car going to Ngong Ping Village was on maintenance during our trip plus the waiting time for the bus is usually around an hour, so we decided not to go there and went to the Hong Kong flower show instead. It wasn’t part of our itinerary because we didn’t know there was one, so we were really grateful to our very friendly pinay hostel caretaker for the suggestion. We were a bit sad that we weren’t able to see Ngong Ping Village or the Big Budha but at least we have a sure destination on our next visit in Hong Kong, *wink.
Language & People
They speak Chinese there, but there are some that can also speak and understand English. We were surprisingly pretty independent for this trip and we only asked two times for directions from a local. It was quite funny, because we didn’t realize that we were already at the place but it was above a parking lot and we missed it, lol. So for those going to Choi Hung Estate, just follow the google map like usual and remember that it was above the parking lot so don’t be like us and miss it, lol.
I read online that there’s some people there that are a bit haughty and maybe rude to some because they will not respond to you if you are talking in English. For me, I can definitely see and understand that because not all people there can talk or understand English, especially those who are small shop owners or vendors. Luckily for us, we didn’t have any bad encounters with the locals. I think it may be because we were very mindful and respectful while we were there.
For example, making sure we’re not in the way, especially in the subway since people there are usually in a hurry. Also make sure to always stand on the right, especially in the escalator.
There are also some people there who speak quite loudly but don’t jump to the conclusion that they are angry, because most of the time, they are not. Just remember to always be respectful.
Lastly, if you are going to the ladies market make sure not to touch any of the items they are selling if you are not going to buy them. Make sure to make your own research about the prices first, because they usually price it higher than their usual price. For example, if you buy a ref magnet, they would first offer it as 3 sets for $100, but we were able to haggle it to 6 sets for $100. Imagine that?! I read that there were some that were able to buy 7 sets for $100. So yep, learn the art of haggle before shopping there, *wink.
For your price reference, I will share some souvenirs buys we made at ladies market while we were there:
- 6 sets of ref magnets for $100
- 7 cloth tote bags for $100
- 8 tshirts for $100
We only bought individual keychains rather than the one on sets, so I forgot the pricing hehehe. But I think we got $10 for 1 keychain?
Btw, there were some vendors there that will pull you and will not let you go unless you buy, hahaha, so beware, lol.
Foods
Their servings are usually very big, lol, so if you can’t eat a lot, be sure to have a tupperware or a zip lock for your leftovers. For this trip, if we eat at local restaurants, we only order two sets for the three of us, because if we order three, it is guaranteed that we will not be able to finish it because of their big servings. And I really love that! We didn’t just have a lot of good food, but we were also able to save money.
Not all restaurants have rice meals though, so I’ll share some recommendations on my next post soon if you are a rice lover like me, *wink.
We also tried some street foods while we were there, and we also liked it. I think it’s mostly because some of them are available in the Philippines, but it’s good to finally taste legit Hong Kong street foods, so we were very happy.
We also tried Bakehouse’s egg tart and it’s heavenly!
Final
We really enjoyed our time there. I love the food, the place and I love the weather. There may be a lot of walking during this trip, but taking Alaxan fr before going to bed always keep me away from body aches the next day, so it wasn’t really an issue, *wink.
Hong Kong might be a bit pricey, but I can definitely see why a lot of people love this place. I don’t think this is going to be my first and last visit though, hehehe.
Yay for an airline sale to take you to a fun city! I enjoyed reading about your travel adventure and seeing your pictures.
Awww, thanks Sophia Rose! I hope I could snag another sale soon, hehehe