Hong Kong Trip

Travel Date: 10 January 2012 - 13 January 2012

Day 1

I arrived at the airport a little bit late. The check in counter close 1 minutes after I arrived. They all were shouting "Counter closed" to all their colleagues except for one who shouted "Wait I have one more". I f I missed the flight I would end up waiting for the next one which depart 4 hours later. Phew!

I flew with Cathay Pacific this time. It's the only timing I have which enable me to arrived at Hong Kong at 1330hrs. After settling with the immigration and custom, I headed to the Airport Express Line. Oh ya, the Hong Kong airport is long. So you might want to give a good 30mins walk and inter train transfer from your gate to the immigration. It's is far. Believe me.

The Airport Express is the fastest way to the city with limited stops. My stop would be Hong Kong station where I will need to transfer to another MTR line to my final destination - Wan Chai station. There are few other option to go to the city from the airport. Cost for the train to the city is HKD100

Option 1

Take the express bus which stops at station around hotels. Look for Axx (xx denote the bus number). Price is HKD45 on average.

Option 2

By normal bus S1 to Tung Chung MTR station where you could transfer by MTR to the city. The travel time is a little bit longer as both service stops at few places. An hour on average to reach to the city. Cost is much cheaper compare to other options at about HKD20 in total on average.

Option 3

The most expensive would be via taxi. Depending on traffic, you might end up arriving at your intended destination a lot longer and cost you a lot more. On average HKD150-300 depending on your stop.

For those who staying more than 3 days, Octopus card would be the best card to use around the city. You can get a discounted fare while traveling on the public transport and you could use it as a prepaid card as well to pay at shop. Such convenient way to go around Hong Kong.

I reached at the hotel about an hour later. The place of stay would be Regal iClub Hotel located at Wan Chan. Tram routes served the area for easy access to anywhere around the line and per trip regardless the distance will only cost you HKD2.30.

The hotel room are spacious and for Hong Kong is consider to be extremely generous to have such space. I didn't do much on the first day as I was tired from my flight. I ended up sleeping for a good couple of hours.

Well, it wasn't long before my stomach started to grumbling. So it's time for me to head out for dinner. Took a Ferry from Wan Chai pier toward Tsim Sha Tsui pier. There I waited for the Symphony of Light show at the Arena of Star before headed for dinner. It a must not miss event if you in Hong Kong. The light display from the buildings starts at about 1930hrs and actually nice viewed from the Ferry so you could see both sides of the city for the display.

Since its getting chilly as its winter now, I headed indoor searching for food. I realized they served a lot of pork. I guess Hong Kong do love eating pork as part of their meal. I settled for pasta instead.

Headed back home for a good night sleep. I don't really feels so good and started to feel sick actually.

Day 2

The initial plan was to go to the Disneyland. Due to me feeling a bit feverish (maybe due to the weather changes) I woke up late. So the best plan is to go to the Factory Outlet Mall called Citygate Mall which is located at Tung Chung MTR station.

After a quick shop, I headed to Ngong Ping 360 cable car. The cost is about HKD188/return for a 20 minutes ride to the mountain. It was drizzling today so nothing much to do up there except for a quick snap of picture and walk before heading back down.

Planned to go to Mongkok street mall but again I'm still feeling sick. So headed back to the hotel instead for a good nice rest.

Day 3

Thanks to the help of Chinese traditional medicine I constantly took for the past two days, I don't feel so bad anymore in the morning. It's tasted weird but at least it worked.

So today, headed to Disneyland. Before that, after a quick breakfast and check out from the hotel, I had to checked in at a new hotel for the night. Skycity Marriott Hotel located near the airport. Excellent hotel with great bargain on the room rates.

Disneyland. Yay! Sound like a small kid. I was indeed a small kid that day. Going all the ride and taking a lot of pictures. Lucky for me there aren't so many people. School holiday already ended I guess. So the waiting time so much more less. I manage to get all the rides I wanted. Plus I get to see all the shows they have. So so cool.

Spent almost the whole day. Even though the weather is a bit gloomy that day I have so much fun. If only they have cool thrill ride I can ride on. I guess like they said "Disneyland is made for princess".

Head back to the hotel in the evening for late dinner. Sleep like a pig.

Day 4

The trip is coming to an end. It's time to go home now. Since I was lazy to wake up early in the morning, I decided to take the later flight. Upon reaching the check in counter I was informed that my ticket was invalid as it was not properly issued. Hoping for help from the staff I waited for any good news but fail.

Due to this, I had to take a different airline which depart far later from my intended flight. So the only thing I can do is to wait at the airport before the check in counter open. Lucky for me there was free WiFi Internet throughout the airport so I could sit and surf from my phone.

Upon checking I headed straight to the executive lounge which located inside the departure area. Such a cool place nice lounge indeed. It is intended for Business Class passengers but I have my privilege to use the lounge as well.

Stayed for few hours before the journey back home.

More details on:
Cathay Pacific
Octopus Card
Disneyland HK
Ngong Ping 360
Regal iClub Hotel
Skycity Marriott Hotel

Singapore Trip - Wicked: The Broadway Musical

Travel Date: 18 January 2012 - 19 January 2012

The journey start from the Subang Skypark terminal while I'm await for my flight out to Singapore. This flight is operated by Firefly, the community airlines serve at the heart of the city centre for the convenience of people who don't like to travel far to the KL International Airport.

My flight was delayed due to the late arrival of the aircraft from the previous sector. I wasn't anxious yet as I believe I have such ample time to reach the theatre on time. My departure time was now change with additional delay of 20 minutes making me depart at 1530hrs.

This is a trip for Wicked: The Broadway Musical. Venue at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

I reached at the Budget Terminal Changi as expected. Transferring myself to the MRT took about 30 minutes by free Shuttle bus to the Terminal 2 where the station is located.

If you traveling to Singapore for more than 3 days and prefer to travel with their public transport, the best thing to do is to buy their EZ-Link card. It's a touch and go type which will make your journey so much easier around Singapore. It's only cost me SG$1.66 (pay less with Ez-Link card) for a trip from the airport to Raffles Place station.

I was late for everything. Lucky for me I booked the hostel around the city area. It was my first time staying in a hostel. To travel budget one must not waste so much money on the accommodation. I was so happy to find out I didn't make a bad choice choosing Five Stones Hostel as my place to stay. It's only cost me SG$33 per night for a 6 bed dorm and the interior of the building is excellent and nicely decorated. Free breakfast, free wifi, free 24 hours coffee or tea, free laundry and much much more. So I can't complaint at all on my stay. Plus I get to meet new people and friend.

After a quick shower, I went straight to the Marina Bay Sands. The best option was to walk. It was quite a walk. I reached at the theatre 35 minutes later just in time before the show started which is at 1930hrs. My seat location would be J14 Grand Circle Door 21.

The show. Lets talk about the show shall we. How do I begin my story. I can say theatre never cease to amazed me. I can say its definitely breathtaking and amazingly awesome. It's definitely worth every single SG$98 I've paid for it.

The night ended with splendid memories. I can honestly said I did have a good fun. I laughed, I cried, I dance (a little bit) and I even sing along to the songs (terribly).

Flew back the next morning and it's time for me to come back to reality.

Click for more details on:

Firefly

Ez-Link Card

Wicked: The Broadway Musical

Five Stones Hostel

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL)

Date: 3rd November 2010

Sector: Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Jakarta (CGK)

KLM is based in the Netherlands and serve from their main hub located at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Check In

The check in was easy. I am traveling under the stand by ticket so there are chances of me not getting a seat for the flight. Fortunately for me, I managed to get the seat at the very last minute.

Departure Hall

As I am not departing from the hub, I can commented a little bit about KLIA. The waiting area is a secure section. So before you enter, I would suggest for you to walk around the airport first before entering it. Ample of seat available in the waiting section. So you don't have to worry about the need of standing up.

Aircraft

Boeing 777-200 was use for this flight. The flight was from Amsterdam connecting via Kuala Lumpur before continuing to Jakarta. The interior is very nice and very well maintain. The seating configuration for this aircraft make it easier for passenger to move out from their seat especially for isle passenger. Comfort level for the seat is good.

Cabin Crew

Well, the cabin crew are nice and helpful. I think you heard me talking about the same thing again. They don't really smile a lot but they also does not show that they are unhappy. It's just neutral look on their face. They did their job profecionally. However, I do hope they could attend to passenger need more.

In-flight Entertainment

The personal IFE is at every seats. It start a bit late so for a short flight, not much can be view. A complimentary headset is given to every passenger and it can be brought home. A nice gesture from them. The IFE system is almost the same as any other airlines. It is AVOD but for some passenger who are not familiar with it might find it a bit difficult to use. The selection is acceptable but for a long haul flight this might consider to be a little choice for entertainment.

Meal

The meal is serve in a very cute box shape. There no selection of meal so everyone is having the same meal. The main dish is Fried Rice with Satay accompanied by Chocolate cake and Mango salad. I love the rice and Satay particularly. Around of hot drinks were serve right after the meal.

Overall Rating

Check-in 4/5

Departure Hall 4/5

Aircraft 5/5

Cabin Crew 4/5

In-flight Entertainment 4/5

Meal 3/5

Virgin Blue (DJ)

Date: 7th October 2010

Sector: Sydney (SYD) - Gold Coast (OOL)

Virgin Blue to me is a low cost airline operated in Australia. It is also Australia's second-largest airline as well as the largest by fleet size to utilise the Virgin brand [1]. As always, if you purchase your ticket early, you will get the best rate from them. As for me, I bought it on the day itself thus leaving me with higher fare. Just like any other LCC, you pay for only what you use.

Check-In

To buy the ticket, it is advisable to do it online. However, the service counter will gladly help you with the purchase. They could even check you in straight and all you have to do is to drop off your luggage (if applicable) at the dedicated counter. All this is easy and at breeze.

Departure Hall

The Sydney Terminal 2 offer an ample seating area and dedicated Gate for Virgin Blue. So it is easy for you to get around the terminal. Terminal 2 is mostly dedicated to low cost airline and regional airline.

Aircraft

For the flight, the Boeing 737-800 is being utilized. It is consider to be a brand new fleet and nicely maintain by DJ. The seats are a bit cramp but it does serve it purpose. Might not be so good for tall or big person though. All the seats are in leather and I personally find that leather seat if alright for a short flight but not for long distance flight.

Cabin Crew

The crew are nice and cheery. They are very efficient in doing their job. From my observation, they work nonstop right after departure until the time the aircraft land. Still I can see they smile.

In-flight Entertainment

Every seats are equipt with personal IFE. In this case, you have to pay if you like to use the IFE. I am not really sure if the headset is given free or you need to pay for it as I did not use it. The flight is just under 1:15 hours, I think I better save my A$10 for something else. The flight information still available free for viewing.

Meal

The meal need to be purchase as well. They do have set with drink available for sale. In my case, I can't review this section as I did not try it.

Overall Rating

Check-in 5/5

Departure Hall 4/5

Aircraft 5/5

Cabin Crew 4/5

In-flight Entertainment N/A

Meal N/A

Tiger Airways (TR)

Date: 02 January 2011

Sector: Singapore (SIN) - Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

Tiger Airways (TR) is a subsidiary of a Singapore based company and partially owned by Singapore Airlines. It is a low cost carrier based in Singapore.

Check In

Budget Terminal Changi is separated fro the main terminal. However, it can easily connected with free Shuttle bus from the Terminal 2. The check in area is huge enable to cater almost a thousand people (from my observation) at a time with ample of check in counter. But the check in counter opens only two hours before the departure time and mostly two counter dedicated for a flight. So plan wisely as only one Coffee shop and McDonald available.

Departure Hall

Even though it is a budget terminal, I can say it does not look like one. The ambiance is great with a lot of shop to browse around. The hall also provide free Internet, plug point for laptop, charger booth and computers for passenger to keep update with the outside world while waiting for the departure.

Aircraft

A320 was used and the aircraft was nicely maintain. A tip for everyone is if possible try and ask for the Emergency Row as there are ample of space for the seats.

Cabin Crew

Crew were nice and helpful. They tend to a lot of passenger demand just for a short flight. It's great that they are very efficient in doing their work. The only thing was on my flight, the crew could speak up more clearly as I hardly understand what the announcement was about most of the time.

In Flight Entertainment

No IFE available for this flight.

Meal

Meal are based on board purchase from the menu. A little bit overpriced but for short flight I believe we can just skip it.

Overall Rating

Check-in 4/5

Departure Hall 5/5

Aircraft 4/5

Cabin Crew 4/5

In-flight Entertainment N/A

Meal N/A