Had always wanted to go HK and Macao when I first came to Japan.. and finally I did.. :)
Flight:
With the drop in fuel surcharges, the air tix to HK became cheaper.. actually, it would have been much cheaper if I were to fly from Singapore.. but well, no point grumbling over things that I have no control over.. So the air tickets from Narita, Tokyo to HK cost me ¥28,110, which is roughly SGD450/MYR1050..
Accommodation:
As I have friends in both HK and Macao, I stayed with them to save cost..since this was supposed to be a budget tour.. :) Mich was staying in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Orchard equivalent of Singapore.. so it was pretty convenient to travel around HK from her place.. She recently got the quietest and most adorable puppy, Sesame from US.. Sesame is sooooo cute.. :) In Macao, I stayed one night at the Venetian and another night with Loreen.. Loreen got me a room at the Venetian at staff price (MOP690 which is about ¥8500/SGD140/MYR320 a night), so it was well-worth the money.. :) Shall blog more about Sesame and also my stay at the Venetian later.. All in all, I had great fun catching up with both of them..
Food:
Frankly, I wasn't really excited about the food in HK or Macao, as compared to my trip to Taiwan.. Cos the food that is available in HK can be found in Malaysia and Singapore, with just variation in the taste.. Thus I didn't really go around food-hunting.. In fact, I ate food that I knew and liked while in Singapore, for example Burger King and BreadTalk.. I was more interested in buying food and spices back to Tokyo than to try out local delicacies.. of course, I did went for dim sum, ate roast pork rice, claypot rice and etc.. but nothing "WOW" about them.. I prefer food in Macao as it provided something different and not so common..
Traveling:
My housemate, Sarah, passed me her Octopus card to use in HK.. It was very convenient..much more so than the EzLink card in Singapore.. almost every shop accepts payment through the card.. saved me a lot of hassles from having to dig through the unfamiliar currencies denominations when making purchases.. Also, traveling in HK was relatively cheap as the public transportation system is good.. I can't say the same for Macao.. one needs to either take a taxi or walk.. which I did a lot of the later.. all in all, traveling in those two countries was so much cheaper compared to Japan..
Sight-seeing:
Many of the attractions in HK are not meant to be enjoyed alone.. Or to put it simply, it would be more fun going in couples or with a group of friends.. As for Macao, one need to visit those tourist attractions only once.. there is no re-visit values, in my opinion.. of course, Macao holds another type of attractions for a different group of tourists.. There are so many casinos, big and small, in Macao that gamblers would be spoiled for choices...
Shopping:
A non-shopaholic, I must confessed that I was overwhelmed with shopping choices in HK.. and in the end, I did go shopping.. :p Now I can understand why people would shop like crazy when they go HK.. All the international brand names are there, so are some of the local or regional brands.. There is bound to be something for everyone.. My credit card had a good "work-out" in HK... I am going to be soooo broke end of this month.. :(
My Perception:
The first impression I had of HK when I took the Airport Express to get to Kowloon Station was: "Just like Singapore!".. After spending a couple of days there, I can't help but still have the same feeling.. except in HK, they are more service-oriented with a wider choice of products.. the downside is that it is messier/dirtier and more free-for-all.. As for Macao, it is just a rustic gamblers' paradise.. other than the casinos, much of it is still stuck in a time-capsule of 1980s.. All these said, I won't mind working in Macao if the $$$ is VERY good or has good prospect.. As the internet connection in Macao is fast enough and the supermarkets there are pretty well-stocked, I have no complaints.. :p
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