Breakfast at Tim Hortons

Our cruise trip was cancelled a day before Eid Al Fitr (a Muslim holiday). At 7:30am, I was already wide awake and on a holiday-mode. Wondering what else to do on a non-working day, I remembered having Tim Hortons' gift vouchers from my cousin. FYI, Tim Hortons has been our latest favorite cafe and bake shop for afternoon coffee breaks. I have been dying to try their breakfast sandwiches. That once-in-a-blue-moon moment, a holiday without any plans, turned out to be the right time for us to check what Tim's can offer for breakfast.

Ed and I headed to the train station and rode a train to Financial Center, where the nearest Tim Hortons cafe is located from our place.

Financial Center Metro station and Sheikh Zayed Road's skyscrapers

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The Big Escape to Dubai

This blog is not just a travel blog, or a food blog. My life is not just about dressing up, dining out and exploring places. I am a wife, a full-time Medical Laboratory Technologist and an Overseas Filipino Worker in Dubai. So, aside from posting tips on the places I visited, I want to share my thoughts on serious stuff as well.

Over the past years, I received messages from friends who were also interested on working in United Arab Emirates. Since it has always been a trend for Filipinos to come to the UAE on a visit visa and look for a job, I hope this post can help.

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The Bungee Jump at Macau Tower

I was in Macau Tower, not as a bungee jumper, but as a cheerleader for my husband who fulfilled his dream of doing the bungee jump at AJ Hackett Macau Tower, the world's highest commercial bungee at 233 meters. After several days of pleading him to write about his experience, he finally did! 

Here's what he wrote:

"I loooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeee Maaaaaaaaccccccccaaaaaaauuuuuuuuu!!" 

Those were the 3 words I shouted, while on a free-fall, when I tried the bungee jump in Macau. Until now, I couldn't forget the awe and the excitement from that experience!

Ever since when I was young (around 6^th grade, as far as I could remember), it has been a silent reverie to do the bungee jump. I always had that enormous desire. I was dreaming of how it feels like doing one and thought someday, I am going to make it happen!

When we got the idea of going to Macau, the pursuit of doing the bungee jump tickled my senses again. After months of waiting, the day for my dream jump came. Upon arrival in Macau Tower, I registered at the lobby and proceeded to the tower's bungee jump area. I could feel my knees were shaking, my heart was pounding and I was having seconds thoughts “Will I do it? Will I survive doing it?” Afterwards, I realized that I waited so long for this and I have already paid the expensive fees at the lobby. The bungee jump full package, includes photos, video and a t-shirt, costs US$399. No payment refunds, so no backing out for me. 

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24 Hours in Macau

I have always been fascinated with Macau ever since I saw a friend's travel photos. Since Ed and I had extra days left on our vacation, we included travelling to Macau on our Honeymoon trip. Another wish on my bucket list was granted! 

Here's how we explored Macau in 24 hours without a tour guide.

We took Turbojet's  8:30 am trip at China Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong and arrived in Macau an hour after. Two months before our trip, we found a perfect Macau Hotel that fits our budget. We booked an overnight stay at Metro Park Hotel. We got an early-bird discount of 15%  and a free shuttle service from the port to the hotel. To help us on our unguided tour, I asked for free maps from the concierge. 

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Hong Kong: Do-It-Yourself Tour Part 2

Here's the second part of our Hong Kong Do-It-Yourself Tour.
If you have missed the first part, here's the link:

Day 3

7:00 am - explore Disneyland Resort and have breakfast at Disneyland Hotel

* We had buffet breakfast at Crystal Lotus, a Chinese restaurant, at Disneyland Hotel. Buffet price was at HK$ 150 per person that time. 

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Hong Kong: Do-It-Yourself Tour Part 1

My husband and I love to explore places. We do it the hard way most of the time, no tour guides, just us and a map! Yes, there are times we got lost, but we survived, learned and turned into better explorers. 

When we planned our trip to Hong Kong, we never considered booking an arranged tour from a travel agent. Despite of the comforts that a guided tour can offer, the thought of being in a tight schedule and expensive fees turned me off.  My husband and I made our own Do-It-Yourself tour because we wanted to have enough time at the places we love and skip the ones that we don't fancy. Hong Kong is a very tourist-friendly and crowded city. It offers fabulous food, exciting nightlife and unparalleled shopping, all set amid a vivid visual and cultural backdrop. This bustling metropolis combines high-rise buildings with traditional street markets and religious temples. It is one of my favorite cities in the world. We booked our Hong Kong hotel online and took public transportation, like trains, buses and trams. There are maps at MTR stations and easy to follow directions along the road. 

Love to explore Hong Kong at your own pace?  Here's our Do-It-Yourself Hong Kong Adventure itinerary with details and tips.

Day 1 

8:00 am – Arrival at HK airport

* at the airport, buy Airport Express Travel Pass for tourist - HK$ 300 each 

* The Airport Express Pass enables you to travel from the Airport to the city (vice versa) and enjoy 3 days of unlimited travel within the city using public trains and buses. Along with that, you'll also get discount vouchers to different tourist attractions.

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Coming up: Our HK unguided Tour!

Explore Hong Kong at your own pace! 

Details and Expenses will be on my next post.

Coming very soon!

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Hong Kong: Ocean Park

Ocean Park in Hong Kong is for the little girl inside me who loves going to Zoos and for my husband who is into everything extreme. The park is 2 in 1, it has cute and educational attractions, as well as fierce and adrenaline-rushing rides.

Directions to the park and expenses are at the end of this post.

Friendly park staff are more than willing to take your pictures at the main entrance, just as long as you pose for their official camera too! The moment you enter the park, in mere 5 minutes, your photos are already in tacky, expensive souvenirs you'll have to buy, but of course you can decline.

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A Magical Day at Disneyland Hong Kong

It was a rainy day when we arrived in Hong Kong. We were supposed to visit Disneyland Park right after we have checked in at Hollywood Hotel, but due to the rain showers, we decided to do it the next day. Though I have made a travel itinerary for our entire HK trip, it was flexible enough to handle misadventures, bad weather in this case. And so, Mr. Golden Sun finally showed up on our second day in Hong Kong, the day when all my childhood Disney Dream was fulfilled!

Since we stayed at Disneyland's Hollywood Hotel, we took the free shuttle bus from the hotel to the park. It was a 5-10 minute ride.

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Friday Night at Bob's Fish and Chips

Bob's Fish and Chips is a little, cozy restaurant in Dubai Marina. I have never heard of Bob's before, but a website which offers discount vouchers had a promotion for the restaurant, so my husband Ed and I gave it a try.

I was craving for prawns that night, so I had grilled tiger prawns with salad. There are four jumbo prawns in a serving, good enough for one. 

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Hong Kong: Disneyland's Hollywood Hotel

10 months ago, my prince charming and I tied the knot! For our honeymoon trip, we decided to spend a couple of days in Hong Kong. Since I am an OC traveler, I researched a lot before our scheduled trip. One of the important things I considered was the hotel in Hong Kong. Though we were on a tight travel budget, I wanted to stay somewhere special, somewhere magical! From the moment I looked into Disneyland's website, I couldn't get my mind off Hollywood Hotel, it was everything that I wanted!

Ed and I at Disneyland Hong Kong Hollywood Hotel

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