Honeymoon Destinations: Hong Kong

hubby and I in the avenue of stars.

It was our first out of the country as a couple and it was a great cultural experience.  We left Hong Kong with awe of its advancements in transportation and having the eagerness to come back any time soon.  

We are thankful that we found a good deal from Sans Travel and Tours.  At that time they offered the travel package for $99 and it was on a buy-one-take-one promo.

It is also a blessing that this travel pushed through because my body felt the fatigue of the wedding preparations and I was sick up until the very last hours of our departure.

On our arrival I can't help to be amazed at their airport.  Hong Kong airport is extremely large!  From its look you may say that this is the most advance airport in the world.  Well apparently it is the most advance!  It is said that it is 100%  free from luggage lost and it boasts of its capability to withstand the toughest typhoons.  No wonder, a lot of people love this airport!

(Left) Me riding a train inside Hong Kong airport. (Right) Hubby looking amazed at the airport

and left our luggage unattended.

Upon arriving at Panda Hotel we were both hungry and can't wait to grab a bite.  We went to hubby's favorite fast food restaurant, KFC.   I can still remember how Hubby was so hungry as if he can devour one bucket of fried chicken!  To our disappointment, we found out that they do not serve gravy in their chicken and that they only have ketchup and mustard.  Despite of it, I had so much fun seeing hubby's disappointment.   I was teasing him while we were having  our lunch and we both had fun enjoying the difference of KFC in Hongkong.

(Top) Me with my one piece chicken meal and hotshots. (Bottom)  Hubby with his one box of  hotshots

instead of a one bucket of fried chicken. =)

Our first day was our free day,we didn't have to go with our travel group.  Hubby and I decided to go around and explore the city on our own.  We used the MTR trains to go around the city. We were guided by the free maps given at the airport and the tourist guide that comes free with the MTR tourist ticket.  It was then that we realize that HongKong is transport friendly especially to first-time tourists like us. Traffic and destination signs had translations in English.   The MTR logo is all over the city, we called it "The Sign" because of its frequent appearance, enabling one to easily find his way.

(Top) Me pointing at "The Sign". (Bottom)  Directions with English translation.

Our first stop in our free day was the Ladies' Market.  It is found at Tung Choi street, Mong Kok. Upon walking its streets I felt its similarity to our Divisoria.   The place is filled with a lot of people and merchants.   In here you can buy a wide range of items, from shirts, dresses, and bags to souvenir items to oil paintings.  It was really a haven for shopping ladies and you can get a good bargain if you know how to haggle with the merchants.   Communicating is not that difficult even if some of the merchants hardly speak English.   The merchant's calculator serves as the medium for the language barrier.   They press the price they want and you press back the price you request.   Hubby and I had fun experiencing the bargaining with the store owners and the number of items you can buy.

The Tung Choi street at Mong Kok.

After our escapade at the Ladies' Market, we went to one of Hong Kong's seafood district, Lei Yue Mun.  Hubby have mistakenly thought this seafood district as the Lamma Island, where they sell fresh and cheap seafood.  Lei Yue Mun is found at the Kowloon south of Hong Kong and it is said that it came into prominence in the 1960's, where diner's buy their seafood at the market and ask the restaurants to cook it for them, similar to our "Dampa".  

This time we had a hard time communicating, we didn't know if the fishermen are selling the seafood at a good price.  Good thing we've met a Filipina named Alice.   She is working for the Sea King Garden Restaurant and she helped us buy our food for dinner.

(Top) A big arc that indicates Lee Yue Mun. (Middle) The sign of the Sea King Garden

Restaurant. (Bottom) The Lee Yue Mun seafood district at night.

Day 2 and 3 of our stay was travelling with our group.  We went to a lot places including the avenue of stars, floating restaurant , Victoria peak, Disneyland, Shenzhen, JCL jewelry and some silk and jade jewelry shops.

(Top) Me doing a growling pose at Shenzhen, China. (Bottom) Hubby introducing the beautiful skyscraper site at Victoria Peak.

Among of these places, Disneyland is my favorite.   It is place full of happiness, fun rides and a bunch of hidden mickeys that can easily be seen!  The Golden Mickey Show, Interactive Stitch and The Small World ride were my top favorites.

(Top) Hubby's feet at the brick road of Disneyland. (Middle) Tinkerbell in her carriage.

(Bottom)  The adorable Stitch! 

Disneyland closes at 8:00 PM and will capped its closing with "Disney in the Stars", a showcase of a very beautiful fireworks and lights display.

(Top) With the star of the place, Mickey Mouse. (Middle) I found one of the

hidden mickeys. (Bottom) The Golden Mickey Show.

Overall, Hong Kong can be one of the best and money-worthy outside of the country honeymoon destination for Filipino newly weds.  The diverse and beautiful culture of the Chinese are well mixed in the advancement of its metropolitan.  We can't wait to get a chance to be back in Hong Kong and I am sure that you too will fell in love with this place.

Our Quintet Leggiero Strings

Cool, reliable, professional.  These are the words that best describe our quintet, Leggiero Strings.  These guys where in the business for quite some time now but did not lose their elegance and artistic touch.   Their songs are not only the usual weddings songs you hear, they are innovative enough to explore new songs from U2, Coldplay, Katey Perry and all other new artists. They were even featured in a television show and was an ensemble for some of the celebrities in the Philippines.

They have a number of examples in You Tube, one of which is the song that they have played during our wedding, that became our instant favorite - Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

They were flexible with their payment options.  Aside from the discounts that they already gave us,  they have waived the extra charge for some of the songs we have requested that are not a part of their repertoire.  During the event they were very generous in their song renditions, they played all throughout the ceremony and was not particular with just a number of songs. We could say that their performance exceeded our expectations, to think that they were instances were hubby and I felt goose bumps. Indeed, they played their songs exceptionally!

For the soon-to-weds, Leggiero Strings will definitely make your event more memorable, more meaningful and more entertaining.  5/5 stars!!!

by: wifey

Weddings Rings from Golden Hills

One of the suppliers we love was Golden Hills Jewelry.  It was Dhalee, their sales executive, who convinced us to book them.  One of the things that made us decide to buy from them is that they are offering a life time maintenance on their jewelries.  Meaning if we decided to clean or to resize our rings they will be there to do it for us.  We were very particular about the resizing because we know that ring sizes differ specially when a woman gets pregnant.  The last things we want to happen is for us not to be able to wear our wedding rings anymore because our fingers in size.

Dhalee is cheerful and was very helpful.  She was very patient with us while we were choosing our wedding rings.  We already paid the initial down payment without knowing that we will eventually win a raffle from Golden Hills and Themes & Motifs.   It was really a blessing from God.  It helped us extend our budget and allocate it for something else that is needed on our wedding.

We really love Dhalee!  Her treatment to us was still the same even if she knew that we are getting the ring for free.   She was still ever helpful and ever patient with us.  She even suggested that we can use the down payment to buy a different jewelry.  Dhalee helped us find it and we ended up buying a white gold earring with mother of pearl.

For those soon-to-weds out there, we strongly recommend Golden Hills Jewelry to be your supplier for your wedding rings.  They offer good services, affordable payment schemes and excellent customer service.  5/5 stars!!!

by: hubby and wifey

The Coach Experience

 

It is still a puzzle to me why women love bags. They get them in different colors, sizes, and when women get the information that a designer bag will go on sale, they go crazy on buying them.   When my wife knew that I was going to have a business trip in the US, she asked me to buy her a Coach Bag.  It was my mission number 2: to go and hunt for a Coach Bag. =)

I was blessed that I have friends in the US and it was kind of them to escort me on my mission.  It was almost an hour drive just to get at the store and when we got to the entrance, cars were piling up just to get in to the complex where the store is located.

The complex was jam-packed.  It was hard to get a parking slot because of all the people.  It was not only Coach that was on sale but also other designer clothes and shoes located in the complex.

Getting inside the Coach store was a different experience.  It was like a jungle. It was filled with people running around getting bags.  Usually, when I buy stuff for myself, I go inside a shop, look at the item and buy it.  It will just take me around 10-15 minutes to get the stuff.   This time it was different, it took me almost 2 hours to buy.   It was also difficult to pick the right bag because women look at them differently. 

Through the advancements of technology I was able to communicate with my wife.   I called her through YM and Skype to show her the bags I selected.  Showing it to her wasn’t a good thing,  it just lengthened my time to buy the bags (hehehe). =)  She told me that she did not like the usual classic C’s printed on the bag and it looks like the one bought in Greenhills.   Good thing my friend saw something similar to what she likes and I opted to get it instead of the one that I initially got.

It was difficult for me buying because I was not used to the environment and not used to doing it.  I was blessed that I had the patience.   Although it was hard, I realized that buying these bags will make my wife happy and that is enough for me to go through it and get in the long line of people paying at the cashier.

Maffie, 2 Coach Bags are waiting for you when I get home! I love you!  To Donn, Annie, Arik, Audrey and Empoy, thank you for helping me and it was fun spending the day with you guys!

Wedding Photos by NicePrint Photography

First of all, we want to apologize for the late post of the pictures. We just got caught up a lot of activities and commitments.  =D

We want to thank NicePrint Photography for featuring us in their blog site and YouTube account. Kudos to our photographers (Bernie, Kenneth and Edmon), videographer (Gerome), light men, crew and office staff.

Below are the photos taken by NicePrint which are unedited (but re-sized for faster viewing).  We intentionally posted these pictures to help couples decide on getting NicePrint.  In our eyes they took excellent photographs! Thank you for making our pictures superb and making every moment captured.

We ♥ NicePrint!!! =D