CutiCuti: Hong Kong, Macau & Shenzhen - Budget

Assalamualaikum.

Haritu 'ter'berjanji sama kawan untuk bentang budget cuti² Hong Kong. Mati lah kan janji tinggal janji, aku kelupaan & pembentangan pun ke laut. Sekali aku published budget pi Jepang (previous entry), suddenly kawan tu pun teringat balik janji manisku. Haruslah laju dia menagih aku untuk tunaikan. Sebabnya kawan tu dalam planning untuk menjejak Hong Kong. Pastu mau merayap till Shenzen juga. Hi Aima! I'm sure Ms G has been waiting for this as well.

Unlike my recent trip to Japan; yang masih fresh dalam kepala. Kertas aku guna untuk record segala macam benda still ada dalam simpanan...my Hong Kong trip has long ended. I went there end of June to early of July last year! Exactly a year sudah! Pengsanlah mengurik balik info lama. Bagus juga lah macam ni sebab last few days ada kawan yang mau bawa meredah Hong Kong lagi sekali. Suggestion sedang dipertimbangkan sebab sekarang ni lambaian Khmer Rouge lagi kentara. Sob.

Untuk entries about those trips, boleh baca sini (Hong Kong), sini (Macau) & sini (Shenzhen).

CutiCuti: Macau Part 4

Assalamualaikum. 你好

Previous post (here). 

Sebelum cerita Macau bertambah² basi, moh leh kita continue where I last stopped. Dari Cotai Island we took the shuttle bus back to the ferry terminal. Pastu naik another shuttle bus heading to MGM Macau building.

In one of Astro-AirAsia programme; Destinasi Cinta...Sazzy Falak & her husband was sponsored to Macau. And they went to MGM where the lobby is full with butterflies. At first, main purpose we went there was to watch for ourselves the many colourful butterflies. Aku kan suka rama² ni. 

Sekali sampai, harapan rama² terus ke laut. Turned out the management decorated the lobby with different theme for every season. But aku ndak kecewa lama sebab theme kali ni pun memang lawa gila. Macam berada dalam lautan dalam gitu.

In real life...jangan harap aku akan jejak dasar laut! Hatta masuk sungai air baru paras dada pun aku sudah semput & panik. Lagi sedalam² laut kan. Hentikan jak untuk bawa aku snorkelling, let alone diving. Berenang yang paling basic pun aku ndak kan mau. Gaya bebas? Naaahhh! Confirm akan jadi saksi agung aku terkapar minta nyawa. 

Nemo's friends. Comel jak semua ikan² ni. Besar pula tu. 

Siap ada coral reefs...schools of fishes...rumpai laut lagi. Ada bubbles. Memang feeling dasar lautan sangat.

Sungguh kreatif. 

After MGM, we took the bus back to the ferry terminal. And hopped on a shuttle bus heading for The Sands Hotel. Tujuan utama untuk visit The Fisherman's Wharf; located just opposite the hotel. 

The Coliseum, first spot upon entering. Running Man ada buat sini dulu. Lee Dong Wook was one of the guest. Yang ni aku snap dari luar jak, cannot enter the area unless ada show or event. 

One of my favourite at the wharf. Colourful buildings always cheered me up.

Walau sekejap berhujan sekejap berpanas, kulit aku yang sensitif laju jak menggelap. And oily somemore. Apalah nasib.

Angin sudah start mengganas, hence we ditched the idea to walk farther & stroll around the wharf. Di huuuuujung sana lagi banyak kedai & restoran. Filming locations for Running Man! Each area ada theme sendiri (based on architectures/landmarks of few countries). Nampak buildings ala Amsterdam style rindu terus menggamit hati. Gitu kan poyo.

Banyak games dalam kawasan ni, tapi nampak macam dull. Most of it pun macam ndak beroperasi jak. Perhaps it's true, orang datang Macau either for the UNESCO Sites or the casinos only. Hence explained keadaan theme park yang macam bukan park ni. Ka sebab kami datang silap hari? 

Replicate building of those temples in Beijing I reckoned. This located just next to the ferry terminal. 

Shopping mall that resembles the famous Water Cube (National Aquatic Center) in Beijing. 

At last boleh nampak Macau Bridge. Angin makin kuat, pastu start drizzling juga. Jadi marilah kita bergerak ke terminal. We have like an hour before departure.  Plan untuk spend more time at the wharf terbantut sebab risau terkandas kalau tiba² hujan lebat. 

Process check-in & departure berjalan lancar. Tapi subhanallah super ramai umat dalam terminal ni. Ada yang baru mau beli tiket, ada yang tiket cancel yadda yadda. Aku ikut pening. Masa ni perut start menyanyi but Bunda said its better not to get the stomach full prior getting on board. She's right! Always is. Nasib aku mendengar kata kan. Kalau ndak...berhambur²lah kejadian.

We opted for first class seats. Tu pun sebab economy class sold out. Erk! Again, sangat bersyukur aku menurut perintah Bunda, biar mahal asal ndak berhuyung hayang tengah lautan. Duduk first class ndak rasa sangat dilambung gelombang. I chose to sit near the window. 

Nightmare began merely ten minutes after we departed from Macau. Ferry started to swagged & bounced. Thing got worst when the lady behind me started making the 'bluek' sound. Endlessly. Pastu followed by unpleasant smell. Ah sudah. Aku pantang dengar bunyi & terhidu bau²an ni. Bunda can't sleep either because she had to take care of her ferry-ride-phobia daughter. Apa pun kejadian, aku tetap minta dilayan macam princess kan. Sadis betul keadaan. Sapu minyak kapak berulang kali di hidung to get rid of the nauseous. Failed! Sebab aku pun ikut menyumbang bau²an. I barfed more than three times. Enough said. 

Yang buat aku impressed, albeit having to deal with the rough sea we managed to arrived Hong Kong on time. Exactly one hour ride! Indeed it's a challenging one hour; at least for me. Mencabar kepeningan & kemualan ok! Salute sama captain & the crews. They handled the turbulence pretty well; sangat pro gitu. Also tabah melayan Bunda who repeatedly requested for more plastic bags. Ngek! Sampai Hong Kong tengok jalan raya basah. Sah lah hujan lebat juga di sana, just like in Macau. No wonder the super huyung hayang. 

Truly one helluva ferry experience for moi! And now aku berfikir baaaaanyak kali untuk merasa another ferry ride. Short cruise would be fine...but ferry ride yang berjam²? Fuh, perlu masa to weigh the pros & cons. Sekian.

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: Macau Part 3

Assalamualaikum. 你好

Previous post (here)

Two days of holiday were indeed utilized to the utmost. Managed to ran away from the busy life in Kota Kinabalu albeit only for two days; did rejuvenate the system. Alhamdulillah I managed to have a glimpse of Mount Kinabalu early yesterday morning.

The uni is having its mid term break therefore I would be a bit free this week. Also means, I can take the whole morning to update my blog. Unfortunately, I left my external hard disc at home. For now, I can only update with pictures I've uploaded & saved in the draft folder. Lets continue...

This is the view upon entering The Venetian (world's largest casino). Entrance door di depan sana tu. Near that arca where Jan Di sat after being chased away by Jun Pyo's bodyguards. 

This was also the place where she met Ji Hoo; her life saviour.

Main purpose to visit this hotel is none other than because of Boys Over Flower. So bear with me mentioning JanDi-JunPyo-JiHoo countless times.

Extensive & intricate ceiling design. Main attraction at this hotel. As if jadi teleng di Hong Kong isn't enough, continue mendongak di Macau pula. Suddenly, rindu Versailles Palace. The ceiling design is quite similar. Sangat menampakkan kemewahan. 

Although di luar building weather adalah super gloomy; awan mendung berarak lesu...but inside this luxurious RenaissanceVenice-themed hotel/mall/casino, it will always be bright & cloudy. Blue skies all day long; regardless it's already dark outside. Great marketing to lure people. Sini ndak kan sedar siang ka malam, truly shop till u drop. Or perhaps, gamble till u broke. Whoops.

Befooled u shall not...blue skies are only ceiling. 

Colonial Venetian architecture. I don't know what's there at the second & third floor. Maybe it's a storage room or maybe hanyalah decoration propa. Nonetheless, walking inside this mall memang rasa macam berjalan di luar bangunan on the street.

Jan Di & Ji Hoo went for the punting thingy but Bunda & I rejected the idea. Too many visitors queueing made us think twice about the initial idea to ride the gondola. Ndak palah, tengok orang naik gondola dulu manatau rezeki lebih boleh bergondola di Venice. Fuh angan² setinggi tower! Kalau murah bolehlah join nyanyi time atas gondola...buatnya mahal gila, nangis tiada lagulah jawabnya.

We had our tea time; indulging the yummy sandwich & the famous egg tart at Lord Stew's Bakery. The first thing we did after entering the grand mall. Ok tipu, first thing we did was posing ndak hengat dunia. Feeling Kdrama sungguh². While wandering around, tiba² perut pun macam ada konsert. The bass sound amplified when my attempt to search for this one particular restaurant went deadlocked.  

We toured the mall for nearly an hour...and tadaaaa we came to this view! Adalah gembira paling gaban. Rasa macam mau menari hulahup pun ada. Brilliant me for not searching prior coming.

Food court at The Venetian is situated at the Third Level, West Wing of the hotel.

Upon bumping into this Indian stall, immediately wide smile drawn on the face. We look no further; buang masa round seluruh food court untuk cari which stall yang kami boleh serbu. The tummy showed no mercy to me already. Before si Gastric comes visiting, better settle jaklah sama apa yang sudah di depan mata.

Spot the Halal Food sticker on the wall. Basically Indian memang ndak makan any type of beef. They consumed only chicken & veggies. But because we were a bit doubtful ayam tu disembelih cara yang betul ka ndak, we decided to be vegetarian instead.

Aku senang jak, once ada rasa sangsi...memang opt benda lain. Different people have different view, kan.

Bunda purposely requested for the food to be served using the bekas tapau. Hentamlah labu, sayur pun sayurlah. Ada roti phrata lagi, tambah mango lassi lagi. 

After lunch, we wandered around the mall. Memang besar, memang menyakitkan kaki. We were there for more than 2 hours. Pastu baru sedar we haven't bought the return ticket to Hong Kong. Boleh?? Roh si Pintar bin Bingai kalau masuk badan memang gitulah aku. 

Kelam kelibut cari jalan keluar from the hotel. Rupanya we were already at a different hotel. The Four Seasons Hotel. Picture above taken from the bridge connecting the hotel to the hotel of the opposite road. From here boleh cuci mata. That's The Venetian from outside. Another dream came true for Yours Truly. Fuh!

Initially we planned to visit those 2 hotels across the street but since we haven't bought our return to Hong Kong; we decided to forego the idea. Tiket balik adalah lebih penting. Masa dalam Four Seasons Hotel, ada signboard alarming that there was a typhoon level 3 coming. No wonder angin super strong, hujan non stop.

The bridge connected us to Sheraton Macao Hotel. Memang indeed hotel di Macau ni semua design luxuriously. One of the decoration at the hotel. Its a sprinkling water falling from the rock above; I assumed. When it reached the center, it will formed greeting in various language. My attempt to snap one "Welcome" obviously failed.

We boarded the FREE shuttle bus in front of the Holiday Inn hotel's lobby. Kalau rasa sesat, just ask around. The staffs would be more than happy to help u. Glad to see no discrimination di situ. Soon as the bus moved, it rained again. Memang nasib kami, either naik bas or sampai any buildings...hujan pun turun.

Crossing the Macau Bridge. This time dapat ambil gambar dari dalam bas although it rained. 

Traffic was smooth...we arrived in less than 20 minutes. Pastu kelam kelibut masuk ferry terminal. Crowded! Punyalah ramai orang queue untuk beli tiket balik ke Hong Kong. Semua gara² warning typhoon tu. 

Pastu si Err ada hati mau beli tiket jam 10p semata² sebab murah...ekonomi class perlu. While Bunda strongly disapproved my idea for the 10p ferry. Cheapskate ndak bertempat kan.

"U never catch a ferry during turbulence. Let alone typhoon with level 3 warning somemore. Take the 8p ferry; even if it's first class & cost more. As long as we don't get caught in the middle of the sea; swagging." 

She uttered those words while her eyes ferociously locked at me.  

Fine, dengar swagging ferry...harus setuju serta merta with Bunda. Last time aku naik feri was like 18 years back! Time tu memang mabuk lauk tahap kronik. Ever since that, aku phobia. Still demi untuk menjejak Macau, aku tolak tepi phobia aku. From Hong Kong journey adalah smooth; aku siap tidur. 

Mahal pun mahal lah, first class pun first class lah. Bukan banyak beza, puluhan RM jak. Demi keselamatan. Sila jadi anak yang mendengar kata especially when it involves something u never experienced, Bie. 

And thus I bought the 8p tickets. Since we have another few hours before departure; we thought why not use the time exploring the places nearby. Hajat untuk balik ke Cotai; mau masuk City of Dreams but takut pula if terlajak masa. Jadinya melawat yang dekat² jak. Itu kita cerita di entri lain. Penat menaip! Choii!

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: Macau Part 2

Assalamualaikum. 你好

Previous post (here).

Oleh kerana hari ni aku free dari sebarang aktiviti yang mau guna tenaga secara extreme...why not kasi habis entry for my Hong Kong trip; so I psycho-ed myself. Ndaklah nampak totally pemalas tegar stay rumah buat bodoh jak di kala weekend. 

Still cerita di Macau. Kunun buat tekateki mana next destination after Senado Square. Poyo sangat! UNESCO site yang sangat famous & landmark paling glamour for Macau. Beli fridge magnet memang mostly design bangunan tu.

Still drizzling masa kami menapak menuju destinasi tu. Kalau mau tunggu hujan totally stopped, risau pula ndak sempat explore other places. Orang pun super ramai, ada certain tempat tu crowded gila. Jalan pun serupa macam ikut traffic light, lems. Semua berpayung, comel! Aku jak refuse berpayung sebab rasa diri macho gila thus jalan tepi² kedai jaklah. Bosan ok sharing payung, jalan jadi lagi lambat. 

Few minutes of walking from Senado Square, akhirnya berdiri depan bangunan ni. One of the two buildings in Macau yang memang dalam wishlist. Alhamdulillah, Allah makbulkan! 

"Ruins of St Paul. First constructed in 1580, it was burned twice in 1595 & 1601. Reconstruction began in 1602 & completed in 1637. It became the biggest Catholic Church in East Asia at that time. But, the church caught in fire once more in 1835 when Macau was hit by a violent typhoon. And that was the time this church left its glory to history."

It's so easy to reach this site. Berlambak signboards; jadi hanya perlu peka & follow the sign. Aku ndak sempat bercinta sama signboard kali ni because we're running out of time. Furthermore, we didn't want to be stuck once more in a heavy rain. Sementara masih drizzling, baguslah teruskan perjalanan. 

This church was built with granites. The baroque facade is rich in ornamentation but with classic oriental characteristics. More info here.

We were supposed to walk up the stairs & visit Monte Fort; situated near this ruin. But because it started to rain again...we decided to leave the site. And continue our journey to the other side of Macau. Kita menyeberang via jambatan Macau!

Cepat² selca as of to avoid from being showered again. Bunda berduck face bagai, sungguh! And sila jangan berharap untuk ambil gambar without the orang²an as the background. Massive photobomb happened here. 

Once again, kejadian di Avenue Stars berulang. Dalam kami berselca dua beranak, posing sukajiwa regardless crowd di belakang; suddenly we were approached by a Korean. This time it's an Ahjussi. Offering to take our pictures. Macam² pose dia suruh kami buat ok! And later he asked his friend to take his picture with us. At first I thought, he will ask us to take his picture after taking ours...but when I said "Ahjussi, camera naenwa." he replied "Gwaenchanhayo". Aku pun sungguh rasa terhutang budi walau banyak gambar blur; kami belum habis posing Ahjussi sudah klik klik...I forgot how many times did I bowed & thanked him. "Kamsahapnida kamsahapnida". Fuh, nasib baik tau few Korean words untuk berbasa-basi. 

We were already at the facade when suddenly we heard the thunder. Ok, time to go. Simpan niat untuk explore jauh ke atas, insha Allah datang lagi one sweet day. Janji tu aku buat separa hati sebab memang belum ada intention to repeat Macau. Well, in few years to come perhaps. Who knows right.

And it rained just on time we reached the ground. Ramai gila orang jatuh di tangga tu ah. Kesian; untuk orang tua of course. But untuk yang muda mudi yang terlampau excited berposing? Aku ketawa dalam hati. Karma tiup, aku yang macam nangka ni pula jatuh bergolek. Lagi sungguh kesian.

Back to Senado Square once more, the sun came out. Panas terik! Aigoo main emosi betul lah weather Macau sama kami. That's St Domingo's Church behind me; the 31^st world heritage site of China.

"Constructed by the Spanish Dominican friars who worshiped St Damingo & Lady Fatima (a Portuguese goddess who represents Virgin Mary) in the mid 17^th Century. The church becomes one of the performing grounds of the Macau International Music Festival; held every year. Behind the church's main building, there is a small museum housing famous marbles & legacies of St Paul's Cathedral." 

Walking on the very street where my favorite Ji Hoo once walked. Told u, regardless where I am...jiwa Kdrama harus tersemat di hati.

The famous fountain in Senado Square. 

From here, we walked ahead heading to Grand Lisboa Hotel. It's the left turn u should take upon exiting the square. According to my itinerary, we're going to take the public bus from the bus stand in front of the hotel to The Venetian. Another Boys Over Flower filming location!! 

For the umpteenth times, heavy rain came after the sunshine! Lucky this time it poured soon after we reached Grand Lisboa! As we're pretty wrecked, we went inside the hotel. Pinjam restroom hotel mewah; the least we could do here. Mau masuk casino, duit nan ado. Jangan berangan untuk stay walau semalam kan. So kita buat yang termampu saja. Sob.

The hotel's interior decoration definitely put us to endless wow; just like what its exterior did to us. Amazed we were. Such intricate & detailed ornamentation. 

Other tourists joined us as well. The wind was so strong that no one dared to stay outside. The lobby area was a bit packed at this time. Yang berteduh dari hujan, yang memang ikut tour untuk explore this grand hotel, yang memang datang untuk berjudi...and that included yang masuk untuk tumpang ber-restroom. Eh?

Bunda & I had the same question as we passed by the reception area. Sangat curious! We looked at each other & started asking 

"How did they clean all those dangling crystal lights? Certainly they need weeks or months to clean those." 

Ouh such kepochi dua beranak itu kan.

Lavishly decorated restroom! Boleh tidur & menari golek² atas lantai! We spent more than 30 minutes in here. Berurusan itu ini...siap cuci muka bagai. Nasib lah ramai manusia masuk lepas tu, kalau ndak harus aku ambil peluang kasi kering jeans yang lencun tu. Imej kena jaga although chances to bumped into them again is highly zero. 

Siap berdandan, we went out only to be greeted by heavy pour. It has gotten pretty heavy. Angin makin kuat; siap ada bunyi macam orang bersiul. We waited for the rain to slow down a bit. The bus stand is just opposite the road (right side) but with such strong wind & lightning...we dare not to go. 

Few minutes of waiting, the rain suddenly subsides. Kami pun apalagi, lari pecut crossed 2 traffic lights in front. In the middle of the road, while waiting for the green light sempat lagi snapped gambar Casino Lisboa. Pantang!

View of the Grand Lisboa from the bus stand. Memang betul grand! The onion-dome can be seen from St Paul's Ruin tau. I wonder how it looks like during the night. Memang cantik; based on pictures yang orang upload. Dengan mata kepala sendiri jak belum menyaksikan. Gitu! 

We rode the bus #25X from the Praca Ferreira Amaral bus stand. Rain started pouring again as we hopped on the bus. Punah harapan untuk ambil gambar Macau Tower & Macau Bridge. Dari dalam perut bas cuma nampak kabus di cermin. 

Journey from Grand Lisboa to The Venetian took about 30 minutes. The bus dropped us at the bus stop just across the road from The Venetian. View of the picture is a passage to Hard Rock Cafe Hotel & City of Dreams.

Traffic was pretty slow but we managed to arrived within the time of arrival that I estimated when drafting the itinerary. I could say that public transportation in Macau is quite reliable. Based on my experience that is; considering I was there during the summer-rainy season. And not to forget, that guy at the ferry terminal did warned me traffic could be worst during the weekend; apalagi kami yang mau naik public bus ni. 

Fortunately I didn't buy his words. And chose to stick with my plan.

Finally, jejak kaki di tapak The Venetian. I climbed the very stairs Jan Di climbed in the drama. Just to meet her beloved 'cold-hearted' Gun Pyo. Whilst me, mendaki tangga demi menjejak 'foot prints' cinta hati ku si Ji Hoo. Parah!

Just how I always imagined it to look like. Perfecto! 

I entered the building with smile stuck on my face. When I first watch this drama, I asked myself...will I ever set foot upon this place. And years later, there I was! Alhamdulillah.

All this while, reading people blogged about either The Ruins or The Venetian caused serious 'damage' to my system. Let alone seeing all the beautiful pictures they attached to complete their stories. Berdarah mata! 

And now, I am jealous no more for I've had my chance. Both places pula tu aku dapat cover in a day! Syukran Allah for granting my wish. Dream big!

eryantierdabdulkarim