3D/3N in Singapore minus the Theme Park (Day 1 ~ China Town)

For my birthday, my Ex and I got a chance to do another out of country gallivanting (without the kids).  I have always wanted to go to Singapore minus the theme park commotion ~ Singapore was perfect for a short vacation; And since this is our 4th (or is it 5th) time there, this visit is more relaxed and carefree.

We took an early flight via Singapore Airlines and arrived at Changi Airport before noon time. 

• For SGD we exchanged a few USD at the airport and the rest we exchanged at Mustafa. Rates at the airport was surprisingly good (the best rates we have seen though was at Mustafa Shopping Center, which was slightly higher by a few centavos).
  
• We bought EZ Link and local sim cards, before taking a taxi to Amara Hotel near Chinatown.   Our taxi ride to Chinatown costs about SGD25.  
  

Our chosen hotel for our Singapore excursion is Amara Hotel (I will write a separate post about Amara).  It is located at Tanjong Pagar Road. Location is within walking distance form Chinatown.  Nearest MRT is Tanjong Pagar Station (about 300meters) and Chinatown Station (1 km away, about 7-9 minutes walk along scenic charming the Tanjong Pagar Road). 

Day 1 ~ Chinatown 

First stop ~
Singapore Gallery is a perfect way to start ones tour of the city.  It showcases a miniature 3D version of the Singapore on a 1:400 scale.  It was fun looking at the miniature buildings and identifying the streets and landmarks. 

About 3 minutes away is the next item in our agenda ~ Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is a remarkable four-story temple. Be sure to visit all the floors.  We took the elevator to the top floor then walked our way down.  It is really a magnificent temple.  

Then came the China Heritage Center ~ it is a good place to rediscover the life of Singapore's early pioneers and the stories of people who made Chinatown their home.  

Hours (not so sure how long we've been there) at the Chinatown Heritage Center worked up our appetite.  Just across the Center the Chinatown Seafood Restaurant. Food there is really very good and perfect night cap to our Chinatown tour.

Walked back to the hotel with a cup of special Singaporean ice cream on my hand.  It was a nice take-out as we check out Chinatown's many shops.

Look who bid us on our way out of Chinatown... 

"The Buddha of Wealth (Laughing Golden Buddha)”.

TIPS:

• Bring water and stay hydrated.
• Spend at least half a day at Chinatown, but if you really want to appreciate this part of Singapore at least a day should be in order.
• I did not do much shopping here, except for lucky charm bracelets which I gave my husband.
• For shopping I really recommend going to Mustafa.  They have everything there.  But if it is too far out Chinatown shopping will do. 
• We were not able to check out the nearby Maxwell Hawker place, but were back on our last night before leaving for Manila.

Follow our Day 2 as we explore Marina Bay Sands,

Welcoming 2018 at Hong Kong Disneyland

We were at Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) to welcome 2018. 

It has been five (5) years since our last visit. My 13 year old is now half inch taller than I am and my 9 year old is likewise growing as fast.  

Since we have been to HK numerous times before (Check here to read about our trip to HK in 2012), our HK year-ender was spent primarily touring the park.

Our before and after picture at HKDL (5 years apart).

Without toddlers (i.e., no whining and no piggy-backing) this HKDL travel was actually more enjoyable.  

DAY 1 (December 31)

• Arrival / Shopping at City Gate Outlet Mall (the closest to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, where we are staying).  

We took the Philippine Airlines 8am flight and arrived at HK Airport at about 10am. 

After deplaning, we made our way out of immigrations and picked up our pre-rented pocket Wifi via Klook.  I have been using this attractions/tours booking site for sometime now (used it in Singapore, Macau and Japan tours) and find it quite efficient.

Click here for Klook booking discount for first time users: Klook Discount Code

We quickly headed to the taxi stand and took the Blue Taxi to HKDL Resort.  Taxi fare costs us about HKD150 (for 4 pax with 2 luggage).

We arrived at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel about 20 minutes after. We were assisted to the 7th Floor Kingdom Club Lounge  and warmly greeted by the lounge casts (as they call all personnel in the resort).

We were given our lounge card access, detailed time table of the shows, explained the resort amenities and our complimentary Fast Passes (FP).

We were also given 12 FPs for 4 per pass and 1 Priority Pass to the Mickey's Wondrous Book Show. These FPs proved helpful in making us enjoy the park even more (Read as: No Queuing).  Please check my separate post on our Kingdom Club experience.



We left our bags and headed to the MTR Disneyland Resort Station to do some shopping at the City Gate Outlet Mall, which is located in Tung Chung Station, which is two (2) stops away. We got roundtrip MTR tickets to save us queuing time.

HK ~ where riding an MTR is actually fun

It was way pass lunch time when we arrived at the City Gate Outlet Mall. Lunch was at Korean BBQ Time located at the Fu Tung Plaza next to City Gate Mall (we decided to transfer to Fu Tung as all the restaurant at City Gate Mall were full).

We ordered deep fried chicken, Korean seafood pancake and Pork and Beef BBQ set.  Everything we ordered were spot on (It was good to know I will not die of hunger when visit Incheon mid this year).

Our plan was to check the mall for shoes.  City Gate Outlet Mall carries our preferred brands: Nike, Adidas and Sketchers.  Shoes were on sale up to 70% off and if you are not too choosy of the model these are really good deals.  Be warned, however as the mall was quite crowded and the payment counter were quite long and busy.

My 13 year old was quite specific to the Nike shoes model he wanted and decided not to buy any.  Me and my youngest, however, got ourselves Sketcher shoes.  I paid HKD850 for 2 Sketcher shoes.

My son loved his Sketcher's Light Up Shoes ~ and wore them soon after paying.

We were back at Disneyland at around 5pm, with enough time to freshen up for the New Year's countdown later.

Our room for 3 nights (Hongkong Disneyland Hotel) ~ Unlimited snacks and beverage access at the Kingdom Club Lounge and a room with a balcony view Discovery Bay (#LoveLife)

Somebody is excited to welcome 2018.

HK Disneyland New Year's noise makers.  So ready for the Countdown Party.

HK Disneyland Hotel is Victorian Themed, similar to the other Disneyland Hotels (Tokyo Disneyland Hotel Review)

Do you notice the intricate details on the room décor?

This cute toiletry kit made its way to my bag.

HK Disneyland Resort hosted a New Year countdown event at the hotel lobby.  It was fun and exciting seeing Disney All Stars (Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale, etc) perform while waiting for the clock to strike 12.

Countdown to 2018 with Chip and Dale

Unfortunate my kiddo's power were not enough to keep them up to see the countdown.  The early Manila-Hongkong flight earlier was too much for them (Oh well).

DAY 2 - 3 (January 1 and 2) - DISNEYLAND PARK

• Disney Park (we bought the 2 days ticket) also via Klook.  The vouchers were changed to Disneyland tickets on first entry at the turnstile. No need to queue differently to have them exchanged.

Please follow our Day 2 and 3  ~ Disneyland Park Post  

DAY 4 - DEPARTURE

• Departure back to Manila.  We left the hotel at 1030 for a 120pm flight.  Yes, extra time for shopping for "pasalubong". A down side staying inside the resort is the lack of affordable shopping.

Check below link to our 2012 HK trip, in case you wish to read about HK Travel Tips with Kids in Tow >>>  Hong Kong with Children in 5D/4N .

DAY 3 in Macau ~ Day 3 - Fisherman's Wharf, Grand Prix and Wine Museum and Macau Tower

Day 3 is Full Packed.

Today's itinerary is a tour of the Fisherman's Wharf, Grand Prix and Wine Museum, Macau Tower and the world's largest water-base show "House of Dancing Water".

From Holiday Inn, we walked our way to Sheraton Grand Macau Hotel's shuttle bus drop off area. From there, we took the hotel shuttle going to Sand Hotel which was just a short 5 minutes stroll to Lotus Square, the Grand Prix Museum, Wine Museum and Fisherman's Wharf.   The weather was not very cooperative  (it was raining that day) and we unfortunately had to forego a visit to the Macau Science Center.

The Sands Macau at Largo de Monte Carlo.

The Lotus Square is just across Sands Hotel. We took an underground tunnel going there (we have no idea though if there is shorter way).

The Lotus Square is a famous tourist attraction and a landmark of the city. The flower in full bloom symbolizes the prosperity of the region. It is a gift of China to Macau to celebrate the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region. 


The street behind the Lotus Square leads to the building that houses the Grand Prix Museum and the Wine Museum.  It is a must visit for car enthusiasts.  Beware though, if you are touring with your husband or boyfriend, I had a hard time making my husband leave this museum. He could easily spend an entire day inside easy. 

My favorite car is this Honda Ralt-RT 35,

which won the 1991 F3 Race.

Next to the Grand Prix Museum is the Wine Museum.

Before leaving the Wine Museum, check out the Wine Tasting area and have a sip (or more) of wine for just under MOP15. 

Entrance to both the Grand Prix and Wine Museum is free.  

It was raining when we excited the Wine Museum,  we had to wait for the rain to stop before we were able to leave and walk to the next item in our itinerary, "The Fisherman's Wharf". 

The Fisherman's Wharf is located in Macau's outer harbor.  It is a huge retail stores-hotel complex with plenty of Instagram worthy vista  (In fact, we saw a couple doing a pre-nuptial picture taking).  Aside from that however, there are not much to do here. 

We initially intended to walk further towards the Science Museum, but it started raining some more.  We eventually decided to skip the Science Museum and instead took a cab to Macau's tallest building, "The Macau Tower".

We also bought our Macau Tower tickets via Klook. Our package was a VIP Sky High pass with fast tracked lift access, a telescope Gold Card and complimentary snack delights and drinks at the 180 Lounge.

Spotted at the Macau Tower lobby is this teddy, doing a bungee jump (Me? I don't think so, will leave the jumping to Mr. Teddy).

At the Observation Deck (Yikes, I swear I felt like falling seated on the glass floor overlooking the streets below).

Only for those with brave souls...

Walking on the ledge of the Macau Tower

Preparing to bungee jump (NO WAY)!

Snacks at the 180 Lounge is served buffet style. 

It was worth the additional price.

Watching all those people jump 764 feet down made me (really) hungry ...

We left Macau Tower via a cab and headed back to our hotel to rest.  It was a tiring day and we needed to rest for today's highlight  the House of Dancing Water show at the City of Dreams.

(We also got our House of Dancing Water via Klook

>>> Check out this link for discounted prices. )

The show was just a short 5-10 minutes walk from Holiday Inn. We left the hotel early to claim our tickets ahead of the crowd. 

After claiming our tickets, we did a bit of shopping and had dinner at the Hard Rock Café, City of Dreams.

Our loot :P

Dinner at Hard Rock is wonderful as expected. 

The Hickory Smoked Ribs was the best.  The meat was so tender and literally falls of the bone.  Thinking about it is making me hungry again.  It was perfect with our order of Baked Macaroni.

After dinner we hurried to the House of  Dancing Water Theater and found our seats.

The House of Dancing Water is the most talked-about show in Macau. The show was created by the famed show-maker Franco Dragone and cost USD250 million to produce.

It is a wonderful love story that stood the test of time (along with all those death defying stunts and acrobatic).  It was indeed breath taking.  If you are to see one show in Macau, do choose this one.

Sorry no filming allowed inside the theatre,

but let me leave you a photo of the show's set ~  a 3.7 million-gallon pool – bigger than 5 Olympic-size swimming pools.

The stunts they do here are breath taking (so awesome).

 

Good night Day 3 ~ our last day in Macau.