Hong Kong Trip - Total Expenses & Lesson Learnt

Total Expenses 

For 6D5N trip ni, aku hanya buat pertukaran sebanyak RM1,300 sahaja dari Malaysia. Tapi kat HK, extra RM200 aku tukar ke HKD sebab aku budget RM1,300 tu tak temasuk hotel, mana tau bila kami sampai Hotel dia cakap kena bayar. And aku assume masa tu credit card Fad dia tak charge lagi. And that lady cakap kalau pay in Credit card we have to pay 10% extra charge on top of total payment stated in Booking.com. Bukan 10% yang Booking.com dah charged tau tapi another extra charge by Hotel. Penipu betul lah Booking.com ni. Takde pulak ko cakap masa aku buat booking tu. So, nak save budget punya pasal kami setuju pay in cash atas persetujuan semua. 

Budget Before the trip: 

AA Return Ticket (KL-HK) – RM427 

AA Baggage (shared) + pre-booked meals (return) + pre-booked seat (return) – RM93 

Extra Foods – RM40 

TOTAL: RM560

Basic Budget Hong Kong:
Octopus Card - HKD150 (Topup+HKD50 Deposit) + HKD100 (Topup)**
Simcard HK - HKD88 *
HK Disneyland – HKD420
Ocean Park - HKD290
The Peak dan Madame Tussaud – HKD250
Hotel Delta (Tsim sha Tsui) for 6D/5N - HKD1025 PP (HKD2050 - Double Room)
Hong Kong Ngong Ping 360 (Crystal Cabin Cable Car) – HKD205
Harga tiket ferry (HK-Macau) - HKD159 (To) & HKD160 (From)
Harga tiket Bus (Macau) - HKD16

TOTAL: HKD 2863

Souvenirs:
The Peak – HKD 200 (Keychain & FM) 
Mongkok Ladies Market – HKD 200 (T-shirts) 
Hong Kong Disneyland Lantau Island HK - HKD 275 (T-shirt & FM)
Ngong Ping 360 Lantau HK - HKD380

TOTAL: HKD 1055

Makan-Makan: 
Dinner Day 2 – HKD 40 (Nasi Arab) – shared
Dinner Day 3 – HKD 15 (Nasi Lalapan) – Masjid Kowloon 
Lunch Day 4 – HKD 94 (Tahitian Terrace Disneyland) 
Dinner Day 5 - HKD 30 (Ebenezzer Kebab)
Dinner Day 6 – HKD 64 (Popeye Chicken) 

Miscellaneous – HKD 50 

TOTAL: HKD 293

TOTAL BUDGET: RM1766 + RM560 = RM2326

* Optional 
** Akan dapat balik refund HKD50 tolak with HKD 9 (charge) 

Rasanya itu sajalah, cuma tak masukkan cost orang belanja makan. Aku rasa macam banyak membazir beli souvenir yang tak perlu di Ngong Ping 360. Menyesal lah plak, nafsu.. nafsu... hahaha.

Lesson Learnt:

NEVER booking with booking.com.

Sebelum ni memang aku baca orang komen macam-macam pasal booking.com ni tapi maybe belum kena kat batang hidung sendiri, so, aku ambil jalan mudah juga book thru this. And lesson learn to myself too, always asking for the receipt even you book thru online. Aku tak nak apa yang jadi kat aku & fad happend to anyone after this. Disebabkan kelalaian aku & kesilapan hotel (tak tahu samada dia aware atau pura-pura tak tahu), telah memaksa kawan aku fad untuk terminate credit card dia immediately. Masa book thru Booking.com, they will ask your credit card number including the 3 nos. at the back of your card. This information will pass directly to the hotel you booked thru booking.com. Meaning they have all information on cerdit card & anytime they can charged your credit card without you knowing. Booking.com will not responsible for any transaction between you & the Hotel. So, sila baca betul-betul terms & conditions masa book, ok.

What happened to me??? When I returned to Malaysia, my fren checked the cc statement, there was a transaction on 2nd March 2014 and we’re still in HK. And that time, we already paid cash. Meaning, hotel already double charge you. We noticed only after 5 days in Malaysia. And hotel keep quiet lah sebab dah untung sampai lah aku terpaksa buat roaming call 3 kali sehari in 3 days, asking for receipt barulah dia nak buka cerita sebenar. Sebab kalau hantar email sampai bila-bila pun dia takkan respond unless kau cakap nak book hotel baru layan lah kot.

Silap juga sebab Fad tak boleh buat roaming untuk contact number dia guna for that credit card masa kami kat HK. Kalau tak, maybe akan dapat transaction immediately thru sms. So, lesson learnt kat sini. And this my first time booking with booking.com. Kalau sebelum ni aku prefer book dengan Agoda.com and so far, takde pulak masalah macam ni. Tapi aku tak rasa semua bank pun akan inform immediately kalau ada transaction.

Alhamdulillah, after dah berkali-kali call dan few time juga send email, finally barulah dia nak respond itupun after aku send email “WARNING”. Bayangkan lah kalau selama ni aku call & send email biasa saja memang tak layan tapi bila dah dapat email warning dari aku, Huh, baru teringat nak telefon aku... banyak kali pulak tu... emmhhh. Dan sampai ke hari ini aku masih belum terima, receipt officially dari Delta Hotel walaupun dah berpuluh kali dia cakap nak send. Dan menurut Fad, date dia refund tu adalah date hari aku hantar email warning. Nampak sangat menipu sebelum ni. Actually, email aku takde lah scary sangat tapi maybe apa yang aku cuba sampaikan buat dia tak senang duduk barangkali... emmhhh. Mungking juga, Allah telah perkenankan doa kami yang teraniaya ni, Ameen.

Kalau Hotel tak refund balik hari tu, memang aku terpaksa minta semua yang pergi bayar sorang sikitlah, tak kiralah sorang punye mistake pun. Sebab, I’ve taken risk for my credit card to book for everyone (eventho, kali ni using Fad punya credit card). Fad pun dah buat ayat sedih nak tarik diri dari trip korea bulan october ni kalau tak dapat refund hari tu. So, fad dah boleh tarik nafas lega lah walaupun refund agak kurang sikit dari harga asal yang Delta Hotel charge. But, better than nothing, right.

InyAllah kalau ada rezeki, aku akan ke sini lagi. Tak serik lagi tu.

Hong Kong Day 6: Ngong Ping 360

Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Wed, 4 Mac 2014 

Today is our last day in Hong Kong. And our main agenda for today was Ngong Ping 360, one of my Hong Kong's "must see" attraction. Macam mana nak ke sini? same MTR route macam nak ke Disneyland using Tung Chung line tapi stop kat last station, MTR Tung Chung. Just like Disneyland, Ngong Ping 360 also located at Lantau Island. From our hotel, it took almost 1 hour jugalah nak sampai ke sini.

For this Ngong Ping 360 cable car ride, we have bought crystal cabin ticket, features a glass bottom floor. And we have bought the ticket earlier form our Hotel, which I think a bit cheaper compare if you buy on the spot. For this crystal cabin, we got HKD205 for return journey. Aku rasa better beli awal sebab nanti korang tak perlu queue nak beli ticket. But still, we have to show our ticket together with our passport at the counter. Tak tahulah kenapa kena tunjuk juga maybe sebab security reason perhaps or maybe procedure for the foreigner. So, please bring your passport along with you.

Do visit the website to check on the schedule serving days because the Cable Car Service is closed during scheduled maintenance. Sometime, it may closed up to 1 week for maintenance. But, the themed Village remains open as normal. So, please check before you buy a ticket, so, takdelah sia-sia kedatangan korang ke sini nanti. 

You would see Citygate outlets once exit from MTR station heading to Ngong Ping 360 counter ticket station

Previously known as Tung Chung Cable Car Project before acquiring the Ngong Ping 360 brand in April 2005

Lets begin the journey...

This cable car can accommodate up to 10 persons at one time

Pic taken before the journey... tapi kena bayar

Ngong Ping Cable Car... The fact

Ngong Ping Cable Car is a 5.7-kilometre (3.5 mi) long bi-cable gondola lift system (formerly known as the Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail) linking between Tung Chung (where it connects the MTR Tung Chung station) and Ngong Ping (where the Po Lin Monastery and Tian Tan Buddha are located). Between the two terminals at Tung Chung and Ngong Ping, the lift system runs across the southern shore of the Hong Kong International Airport island and Nei Lak Shan, with eight towers including the stations. Five of the towers are located within the country park. Before Ngong Ping 360's opening, the only access was via a mountain road and bus service.

Ngong Ping 360 is owned by the MTR Corporation, the operator of Hong Kong's rail system. 

Take the 25-min cable car ride to Nong Ping and enjoy the view

The cable car journey offers a 25 minute aerial alternative to the current one-hour journey by Tung Chung Road, allowing visitors to glide across Tung Chung Bay and up to Lantau Island towards Ngong Ping Plateau.

The cableway is supported by 8 towers. The cabin has a modern design with seating for 10 and standing room for another 7. It also incorporates features to meet the needs of disabled passengers, including elderly and wheelchair users. The system has a capacity of 3,500 people per hour in each direction. The cableway starts at the Tung Chung Terminal, runs across Tung Chung Bay to an angle station on Airport Island, where it turns through about 60 degrees before returning across Tung Chung Bay. It then runs up the Lantau North Country Park to another angle station near Nei Lak Shan, before finally descending to the Ngong Ping Terminal.

The cable car line offers two levels of service based on different cabin designs, branded Standard Cabins and Crystal Cabins. The Crystal Cabins are distinguished by their glass bottoms, and are charged at a premium rate. Both sets of cabins circulate on the same cable, with passengers being segregated by queuing systems at both termini.

During the 25 minute journey, travellers can see panoramic views over the North Lantau Country Park, the South China Sea, Hong Kong International Airport, the Tung Chung valley, Ngong Ping Plateau and surrounding terrain and waterways. As visitors approach Ngong Ping, they can see The Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery. (source)

See thru OK

Pengalaman yang baru & sangat menarik sebab first time naik cable car with glass bottom floor. Bagi aku, a must try experience for travllers to Hong Kong especially those first time ride with cable car. Tapi agak mengecewakan juga bagi kami sebab cuaca agak mendung masa tu, al maklum musim sejuk di HK masa ni kan. So, view pun agak mendung jugalah. Imagine kalau musim panas confirm view sangat cantik masa ni. Apapun we still enjoyed the cable car ride.

Selphie sokmo

Welcome to Ngong Ping Village

Ngong Ping Village is set on a 1.5 hectare site on Lantau Island, adjacent to Ngong Ping Cable Car Terminal and the Tian Tan Buddha Statue. This amazing culturally themed village has been designed and landscaped to reflect the cultural and spiritual integrity of the Ngong Ping area. It boasts several major tourist attractions, Walking with Buddha as well as a diverse array of retail, dining and entertainment experiences.

Aktiviti utama gadis-gadis semasa... hahaha

Ngong Ping Village yang tenang

Interesting tea pot at entrance to Ngong Ping Village

The Big Buddha as seen from the Ngong Ping Village

Jom explore what is inside

The Bodhi tree known as the Bo Tree, is the “tree of awakening”. It was tree under which Siddharta meditated on “Who am I & why am I here?” he eventually attained enlightment and became Buddha

Those Buddhist can make your wish here... Bodhi wishing shrine

Another entrance to another attraaction

Entrance to Buddhist Po Lin Monastery and the world's largest Buddha statue, the bronze Tian Tan

Pengawal yang setia

Our journey ends here... no point pun kami proceed, hehehe

On the way balik tu, kami singgah lunch di Ebeneezer's Kebab, the only Halal Food available at Ngong Ping Village. Actually, initial plan kami nak makan dim sum di Islamic center canteen dekat dengan masjid Ammar Wan Chai tapi memandangkan kami dah kesuntukan masa sebab ada plan nak jalan-jalan di Citigate outlet after this, so, kami pun decide nak lunch di sini sahaja. Alhamdulillah, lunch hari ni ditaja oleh Cik Gojes & drinks by Cik Eein, thanks you so much. Terasa kenikmatannya orang belanja, hehehe.

Otw nak balik kami singgah makan kedai kebab Ebeneezer

Kebab dia memang terbaek lah... masih terasa kagi kesedapan nyer

Tian Tan Buddha Statue is the major centre for Buddhism in Hong Kong

We ended the tour around 12pm and return to cable car terminal at Ngong Ping Village to again ride a cable car to main station at Tung Chung. Another 30 minutes journey.

Masa otw balik... kabus agak tebal masa ni, ada ketika almost zero visibility

Bayangkan lah naik crystal cabin at this area

Ada trail hiking juga kat sini (pic not so ok due to cermin kotor)

Before returned to our Hotel, kami sempat singgah di Citygate outlets. Jalan-jalan cuci mata.

We returned to Delta Hotel only after 1 hour. Kami dah checked out pun pagi tadi tapi sebab flight kami malam, so, kami minta budi bicara Delta Hotel to keep of our luggage while we were away for half day trip to Ngong Ping. Alhamdulillah, tiada extra charge dikenakan. So, officially kami keluar dari Hotel around 4pm to airport.

End of my Hong Kong trip...

Hong Kong Day 4: HK Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland, Lantau Island
Monday, 3 March 2014

Our main agenda for today... HK Disneyland, one of my top things to do in Hong Kong. Actually, kalau ikut itinerary this is  supposed to be our first destination on the second day tapi memandangkan, that day was saturday, so, kami cancel plan and ke Ocean park dulu. Bukan apa, takut nanti keseronokan tak seberapa memandangkan weekend & cuti sekolah, confirm ramai nanti kan. So, we decided to change the day to monday with the hope that not so many many people during weekdays. Ternyata, still ramai juga orang kan. Aku rasa mostly yang datang on weekdays nie tourist from outside and they had the same sense & feeling like us, too avoid crowd on weekend. Still, we need to queue to access ride & show. Maybe kalau weekend lagi panjang kot compare to weekdays, I assume.

Getting Here:

Kalau dari Delta Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui, ada dua cara MTR route nak ke sini.

From MTR Tsim Sha Tsui 
Tsim Sha Tsui – Lai King (Tsuen Wan Line) (Interchange) – Sunny Bay (Tung Chung Line) Interchange – Disneyland

From MTR East Tsim Sha Tsui

East Tsim Sha Tsui – Nam Cheong (West Rail line) Interchange – Sunny Bay (Tung Chung Line) Interchange – Disneyland 

We had chosen the second option. Mana-mana pun ok sebab akan sampai juga cuma route thru Tsuen Wan line akan berhenti banyak station compare to west rail line.

Naik train mickey ni je dah seolah-olah berada di alam fantasy disney

Tengok station dia jer pon dah macam berada di alam fantasy disney

Masa kami sampai tu, rasanya masih awal lagi & belum pukul 9. So, kami pun ambik peluang bergambar sepuas-puasnya di entrance to HK Disneyland. Actually, kat luar ni before masuk pun dah macam-macam attraction of Disney characters yang menyambut kedatangan kami.

Kami tak sabar nak explore disneyland HK

Snow white pun sambut kami

Masih awal lagi masa kami sampai sini, main gate pun tak buka lagi

Kalau ikutkan pukul 9.30 dah boleh masuk tapi entah apa yang buat lambat. Nak dekat pukul 10 baru dia buka. And kami merupakan group yang terawal sampai & paling depan queue tunggu nak masuk jugalah. And ada standard procedure, ada spot check before they can allow you to get in. Tapi, sesuatu yang kami dapat jangkakan, our food for lunch tak boleh bawa masuk. Dia kasi option supaya kami tinggalkan di customer service counter with charge of HKD80. So, aku n Hezrin terpaksa keluar ke customer service nak simpan stok makanan kami tu. Kos ni untuk satu beg or satu bungkusan sahaja. Memandangkan bekalan makanan kami agak banyak, so, 2 plastik bag yang kami guna tu terpaksa lah aku compressed kan into one plastic bag sahaja. Huh, nak jimat kos punya pasal. Alhamdulillah, nasib baik berjaya itupun lepas aku terpaksa buang one of the canned food. Nak masuk balik, terpaksa lah kami queue semula. Luckily, queue dia tak panjang.

I hate being so cute

Beautiful disneyland architecture at the main entrance

Dah masuk situ sila dapatkan guide map & time guide HK Disneyland. Lepas tu plan lah apa yang patut untuk ride & showtime inside HK disneyland. Kalau tengok map memang banyak tempat nak kena cover. Tapi maybe tak boleh nak cover semua especially yang masuk one day sahaja, so, try plan the best, ok.

With Chip & Dale characters

Tomorrowland

Our first attraction at Disneyland HK. And since, this is the nearest. First ride yang kami naik, orbitron. Walaupun rasanya ride ni lebih sesuai untuk kanak-kanak tapi ada kami kisah. Lagipun yang naik tu pun rasanya lagi ramai adults compare to kids, hahaha. After that, kami ke space mountain pulak naik roller coaster yang sangat mendebarkan. Ingatkan macam biasa-biasa saja, yelah aku fikirkan untuk kids kan tapi this is really high speed roller coaster.

Tomorrowland our first destination

Excited dapat naik orbitron yea

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Finally, I was here

Gerai-gerai dia pun ala-ala fantasy juga

Jom masuk kita explore Fantasyland

Our first show "Philhar Magic"

One of the attraction at Fantasyland

This shop looks really interesting

Fantasyland Railroad station. Suspended due to construction of iron man experience

Adventureland

Welcome to Adventureland

Our first adventure here was jungle river cruise. Journey with itrepid skipper along the mysterious rivers of adventure. Bagi aku biasa-biasa saja sebab haiwan yang ada semua fake, hahaha. Cakap macam nak sangat yang alive ada kan. Tapi, kata adventure mestilah nak tengok real life kan. Sila ke taman safari yea kalau nak lagi adventure. Anyway, it was fun & view along the river pun awesome juga.

Our first adventure... Jungle River cruise

Be careful ada gajah keluar dari air tiba-tiba tau

Escape from rhino

Tarzan's Treehouse

Pandai juga tarzan ni design rumah dia kan

After journey thru mysterious river, kami rehat sekejap for lunch at Tahitian Terrace at adventure land. Tak salah aku cuma ada 2 restraunt yang served Halal food di sini, Tahitian Terrace and Explorer's club restaurant at Mystic Point. Alhamdulillah, boleh tahan sedap & kenyang walaupun mahal. Nasib baik boleh guna credit card sebab cash yang ada pun untuk the next 2 days kat HK. So, kalau boleh taknak sentuh my cash at that time. Thanks Fad.

Asian Fried Rice with Chinken & Salad. Total HKD94

After lunch, we continued the adventure. This time, we took raft to tarzan's treehouse crossing the same river. Jom kita explore apa yang ada disini...

Kami nak explore rumah tarzan, jom

The other side of tarzan's house

Tarzan & Jane in the house

Nice light decoration

Flight of Fantasy

Basically macam pertunjukkan kererta berhias from disney characters. Siap ada pancaragam bagai, hehehe, ada dancing & all characters from disney film. Maybe, kalau children maybe sangat happy lah sebab nanti ada satu slot tu, dia akan invite kanak-kanak to dance with them. Only children, ok.

The show is begun

Disney characters show

Winnie the Pooh

Dancing performance from lion king

Lilo & Stich performance parade

The flight of fantasy parade show ends 20 minutes later.

Our next destination after the Flight of fantasy was it's a small world. This is also one of the attraction at Fantasyland. Sangat cute & terhibur sekali.

It's a small world at fantasy land

Take a journey on "the happiest cruise that ever sailed" as the children of the world sing and dance to the song "It's a small world (after all)"

Selamat Tinggal

After it's a small world journey, we proceeded to the next attraction, "The Golden Mickeys" show at 4pm. It's a musical celebration of disney's film & characters. Anyway, it was fun. After the Golden Mickey show, we returned to Main Street USA nak cari disney city hall nak perform solat. Nasib baiklah kami diberi tempat solat yang agak selesa disini walaupun bilik yang diberi bukanlah musolla, Alhamdulillah. Masa kami habis solat, masa pun dah nak pukul 6 petang. Huish, macam nak gelap dah ni. Padahal masa tu, rasanya masih ada a few lagi attraction yang kami tak habis nak cover. 

Kami tumpang solat di City hall ni

Posing dengan Police car sekejap

Main Street USA... night time

Toy Story Land

Masa kami sampai sini, dah gelap pun tapi ride still going on. So, sempat jugalah aku jadi budak-budak kejap naik slinky dog spin. Biasa jer ride nie. After that, aku & kay try naik Toy soldier parachute drop, ride ni kiranya macam ala-ala naik solero. Tapi boleh tahan juga ride ni, naik sampai atas ok tapi bila bab nak lepas kan ke bawah tu, serius scary juga. Satu ride yang aku tak berani naik kat sini RC racer, maybe kalau ramai penumpangnya berani sikit kot, anyway, kalau dah penakut tu penakut juga kan, hahaha.

Toy Story Land

The Mystic Point

Dekat Mystic point ni ada 2 attractions. The mystic Manor & Garden of wonders. Tapi tulah, kami sampai sini pun dah malam, so, memang tak sempat pun nak masuk sebab memikirkan ada fireworks show yang akan berlansung pada pukul 8 malam di sleeping beauty castle.

The Mystic Point

Grizzly Gulch

Main attraction kat sini of course Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. Aku memang nak sangat-sangat naik Mine cars ni, memang dah set dalam mind nak naik ni tapi masa kami sampai ni dah pukul 7 lebih, so, nothing we could do other than just see the mine train trail. Dengar juga ada orang masih menjerit masa ni tapi masa tu dah agak gelap kot, confirm aku takkan naik. Aku rasa kami lalu situ pun dah takde orang sangat pun. Masa tu, macam agak menyesal juga sebab macam rasa banyak habis buang masa kat Fantasy Land, Adventure Land & Shopping benda yang tak pasti lagi nak beli ke tak.

Tengok dari luar sajalah... musnah segala impian nak naik mine cars

Ini agak nyer mine car tu, hehehe

Restraunt at Grizzy Gultch area

Wanted

Jam pun dah menunjukkan hampir pukul 8mlm. And kami perlu cepat sampai sebab acara kemuncak di Disneyland bakal berlansung tak lama sahaja lagi. Kena make sure datang awal sebab nanti dapat tempat tak best. Masa kami sampai tu pun dah ramai orang, siap dah ada yang setting camera point to sleeping beauty castle lagi sebab nak dapat angle yang menarik untuk "Disney in the stars" firewoks. Suggested viewing location dekat roundabout depan sleeping beauty castle.

Disney in the Stars Fireworks... awesome

Disney in the Stars Fireworks marked end of the show at HK Disneyland. After that, kami terus balik & ambik semula bekal kami yang dah kena charge HKD80. Lesson learnt, sila jangan bawa bekal makanan dari luar yea.

I returned with a mixed feeling. Happy sebab I really enjoyed, satisfied & impian nak sampai sini, at last, terlaksana impian zaman kanak-kanak ku, hahaha. So sad that I could not enjoy all the ride inside HK disneyland. Rasanya, one day macam tak cukup nak explore semua, maybe kena beli 2 days pass kot baru betul-betul boleh enjoy. Yelah nak kejar ride, nak kejar showtime, flight fantasy nak kena sampai awal pulak, semua pun nak kena cepat & on time. So, memang agak-agak terkejar-kejar juga. Dekat fantasyland sahaja, ada 11 attractions. Tapi, confirmlah tak boleh nak cover semua kan, so, buatlah pilihan yang terbaik untuk show & ride yang korang nak. Itupun dah kira bernasib baik sebab ada 2 show yang agak best juga ditutup due to routine maintenance. Salah satunya "Festival of Lion King" theater.

The best is plan your time wisely, so that, tak buang masa kat tempat-tempat yang agak kurang sesuai dengan adult. Bagi aku semua tempat pun macam best & menarik, eventho nampak macam sesuai untuk kanak-kanak riang sahaja. InsyAllah kalau ada rezeki kita ke sini lagi. Tengok dalam Disney times guide,  Katanya, ada Iron Man experience still under construction. Maybe, one by one they will try to improve & add more attraction. So, every year pun ada sahaja new attraction kan, maybe.

To be continued...