What Michael Likes: January 2013

I'm Coming Back to the Philippines!

I'm now on an A21 Bus on our way down to Terminal 2 at Hong Kong International Airport. Finally, this beautiful trip has ended. It's a success on my part because I really exerted full effort to create our itinerary, to book for a flight and to look up for a hotel where to stay. Honestly, everything went smooth--we did not experience getting lost! Thanks to Google Maps too! Ha-ha!

Here are some eye-catchy scene I enjoy while I'm here on the bus:

I'm happy because this has been a trip worth remembering. A little sad because I'm going to miss Hong Kong for real. I sometimes imagine myself staying here. I like the weather, the scenery, the buildings and starting to love Chinese cuisines too! But I felt that I just couldn't leave the Philippines in lieu of Hong Kong's prestige and luxury.

I love the Philippines more no matter what. I love our orange sunsets, our green mountains, the rugged roads to the barrios and our palm-surrounded white beaches. The Philippines is the place where I grew up, where I continuously learn new things and where I am continuously being developed as a good person and a responsible Filipino. I travel once in a while--in and out of town, but my feet always know where it should lead me after all that--back to my hometown, the Philippines.

At the Hong Kong International Airport

Terminal 2, Hong Kong International Airport

True, it's more fun in the Philippines!

Visiting 'The Peak' of Hong Kong

The Peak Tower

The Peak is one of Hong Kong’s major tourist attractions that welcomes millions of visitors every year. Being here is like being on top of the world since this place offers a great wide panorama of Hong Kong’s sky-rocketing mega-structures and magnificent harbours.

View from The Peak Tower

To get here, we took the Star Ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui Pier. Traveled for about 15 minutes by water, we alighted at the Star Ferry Pier in Central. From there, we took Bus 15 (you can also take 15B) that brought us directly to Victoria Peak.

Trivia: The peak of The Peak is the most expensive residential area in the world. It was reported that a square foot of land here is around HK$68,000—a luxurious value that only the rich and famous billionaires in Hong Kong can afford.

Escalator inside The Peak Tower

Madame Tussauds

This wax museum is located inside The Peak Tower. It houses perfect wax replica of some world known personalities—actors, musicians, politicians and artists.

Kelly Chen

Bruce Lee and I were ready to battle!

The Peak Tram

The 'Old' Peak Tram

Behind me is the Peak Tram from 1956. It is no longer functional today. This tram was placed just near The Peak Tower, and considered to be a treasured memorabilia now.

The 'New' Peak Tram

One way to reach The Peak is by taking The Peak Tram. The terminal is located in Hong Kong Central District. From St John’s Cathedral, it can bring you up until you reach the final station at the basement of The Peak Tower.

On our way back to Tsim Sha Tsui, we decided to take the tram instead of the bus since it’s a lot faster.

The Tram Terminal at The Peak

Inside the tram terminal where we waited for the next tram to come

Inside The Peak Tram

After our short trip to The Peak, it's now time to go back to the hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. It's time to make sure that everything is set for tonight's flight back to the Philippines. =(

My Star Ferry Ride in Hong Kong

The Star Ferry

This famous Star Ferry is one of the easiest and breeziest modes of transportation to reach Hong Kong Central District. The terminal is just located in Tsim Sha Tsui near Victoria Harbor.

We plan to go to The Peak today and this is the first step of the journey.

Inside the Star Ferry

This would just be a short trip taking 10 to 15 minutes, but for me—to better appreciate Hong Kong’s wide breath-taking harbor—this ride offers a better viewing perspective.

For the current Star Ferry updates and fare, please their website:

The Star Ferry Company Limited

Hong Kong Day 3: The Avenue of the Stars

This is going to be our last day here in Hong Kong but there are two more items left in our itinerary: The Avenue of the Stars and The Peak.

Avenue of the Stars

The Avenue of the Stars is known to be Hong Kong’s version of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. This site was intended to pay tribute to Hong Kong’s famous movie stars and to some known media personality. This is situated along Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui.

How to get here:

Take the MTR and alight at Tsim Sha Tsui Station. Cross Nathan road. Turn right and walk straight to the Salisbury Road intersection. Turn left, walk straight and you’ll find the way down to the pedestrian tunnel. Take the subway until you reach the other side of Salisbury Road. Once exited, turn right and walk straight until you see the harbor.

Bruce Lee

Behind: The Space Museum

Hong Kong Museum of Art

The Clock Tower

The Clock Tower sometimes called Former Kowloon-Canton Railway Clock Tower, is considered to be a declared monument and one of the famous landmarks in Hong Kong. Located just near Victoria Harbour and Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier, this tower stands 44 meters high, and is extended by a 7-meter lightning rod on top. Years back, it was open to the public for quick tours, but it is closed for maintenance now.

Next destination: The Peak

One Night in Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong—the city of lights, as what it is known to be. Every night, its megastructures shine like magnificent crystals from afar. It never fails to attract the eyes of both visitors and locals around the area.

A ‘show’ of city lights around Tsim Sha Tsu at night is worth seeing specially if you go to Victoria Harbor where the famous Avenue of the Stars is located. I didn’t want to miss this scene so even I was already tired and exhausted from our quick shopping at the district of Mong Kok and my feet and legs are already aching, I tried my best to walk few more distance just to see, to appreciate and to take a piece of this beautiful night scenery.