HK/Shenzhen/Macau - Pre trip

It was difficult to find frenz to accompany me to hk as most of them had been there b4. I did not go with my sis and my mum last year as i want to concentrate on my studies and would not want to miss any lessons.

I was actually surprise when Xiu lian want to travel with me since her dad was strict and may not allow her to travel. Well, she only mentioned to her dad when we have booked our air tickets.

Initially, Tigerair offer only $99 for return including tax. I quickly booked but found out that I need my passport no to book! Yet I have not yet collect my new passport. Luckily, Jetstar promotion was a few days later and passport details was not required, hence I booked quickly.

As my sis had already planned the itinerary, I just took hers and modified. However I still spent alot of time searching for info such as those attractions I want to go and nice local food. What was traumatic to me was that about 2 weeks before my trip (after Phnom Penh trip) when I want to go to the money changer, I discovered that my itinerary was gone! I only saved it in SD card and I deleted all as I need the SD card for the camera during PP trip. Lucky I still have the itinerary in my office laptop, but the other food and attractions list was gone. I did not have the mood to search all over again, hence I only search a portion of what I last found.

It was not the 1st time going to Macau. My purpose of going back is to eat the pork bun and to visit the Venetian! It is not yet built the previous time I went.

Macau used to be a territory of Portugal until 1999, when it returned to China. It is now a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. The currency used is Macau Pataca (MOP) but HKD and RMB are also accepted but to your disadvantage as MOP is the weakest of all the currencies mentioned. It has an area of about 28 sq km. (Spore is 25times bigger!)

The easiest way to get around Macau is by foot or by public bus. However we can play cheat and get around by the free shuttle bus provided by the hotels. Hotels & casinos competitions are high. There are 4 regions namely - Macau Peninsula (澳門半島), Taipa (氹仔), Cotai (路氹) and Coloane (路環). Most of the attractions are in Macau Peninsula such as Ruins of St Pauls, Ama temple, Mount Fortress, Grand Lisboa, fisherman wharf, ferry terminal. The international airport, University, Taipa village are in Taipa. Cotai is a reclaimed land. Most of the casinos such as Venetian are found in Cotai. I guess Coloane is the purest among all. There is no casino except a hotel in Coloane and Hac Sa (黑沙 - black sand) beach can be found there.

Shenzhen is situated in Guangdong, southern China and has an area of 1,949 sq km. SZ is separated from HK by shenzhen river. It can be assessible from HK by the East Rail Line which stop at Lo Wu 罗湖 station.

I am planning to visit Window of the World 世界之窗, Splendid China-Folk Culture Village 锦绣中华·中华中国民俗文化村, Shenzhen International garden and flower expo park 深圳国际园林花卉博览园. I yearn to visit OCT East - 东部华侨城 but it was not very accessible. The only mode of public transport is by bus but you have to walk quite a distance. Shenzhen train system is expanding and I hope the next time I go there, there would be a train station there. OCT East has 3 major themes: Knight Valley 大峡谷, Tea Stream Valley 茶溪谷 and Wind Valley 云海谷. It is so beautiful!

We would be staying at the Shenzhen Guesthouse which is near Lao Jie, a good area for shopping. Our stay would be for 2 nights as I want to have enough time for shopping. The electrical plug at the hotel is 2 pin round plug.

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China and was a British Colony until 1 July 1997. It has its own currency Hong Kong Dollars (HKD). There were namely 5 regions - Hong Kong Island (香港島), Kowloon (九龍), New Territories (新界), Outlying Islands (離島), Lantau (大嶼山).

We would be staying at the Ah Shan guesthouse at Mongkok since I am on a tight budget and my sis have stayed there b4 and found it ok. Whats more is that we can conveniently travel to other places such as to take the East rail line to SZ without having to change line.

My itinerary for the trip includes:
Day 1: Victoria peak, Sky Terrace, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong
Day 2: Ocean Park, Avenue of Stars
Day 3: Tien Tan Buddha Statue @ Ngong Ping, Disneyland
Day 4: Shenzhen - Window of the World, Splendid China-Folk Culture Village
Day 5: Shenzhen - Shenzhen International garden and flower expo park, Shenzhen Book City
Day 6: Shenzhen - Shopping
Day 7: Macau - Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre, Venetian, Senado Square
Day 8: HK - Shopping

I budget about $1,400 for the 8days trips.

Breakdown of the expenses:

1. Airtix - $172 (return)
2. Insurance - $35
3. Accommodation - 5 nights at Ah Shan HKD700/2px, Shenzhen 2 nights RMB662/2px
4. Food - $200 ($50 for SZ)
5. Transportation (including admission tix) - $330 ($60 for SZ)
6. Shopping - $300 for HK&Macau, $260 for SZ

I change at Mustafa at 0.18020 for HKD and RMB at 0.20460. Subsequently, I think that my shopping budget of $150 was not enough for SZ hence I went to change another $100 for RMB at Chinatown at the rate of 0.2070393.