Hong Kong and Macau Trip.

I'm the kind of person that doesn't like last minutes plans.

If you ask me at 5PM, asking me out to grab dinner together with some friends, it is most likely that I will give a lot of thought before I could decide anything.

Well, it depends on who you are, where we're going and what other things you plan on doing. I'm rarely spontaneous because I tend to worry a lot. I think it is also why I have lots of regrets of not going out or doing something.

But well, going to Hong Kong (and Macau) wasn't something really out of the blue. It wasn't like someone asking me, 'Hey, you wanna go to Hong Kong?' two days before the trip and I just said 'Ah heck, sure why not!'

My cousin who is living in the UK got married to a person from HK, and they're having their wedding dinner in HK. My uncles and aunties were invited, but the 'kids' weren't included because there would be too many people and that would probably complicated the whole trip.

So when I first heard of the dinner, of course I did not expect that I would be heading there. But then an uncle and an aunty of mine couldn't make it, I was given the opportunity of going along with another cousin of mine, XY (becausewe'renotemployedtoohahasobs).

Even then, I declined the offer, because I was still looking for a job. But obviously, things didn't turn out that way.

Just two days before the trip, my mother asked me again if I was interested in going. By then, I was kinda secured with a job and honestly, the offer was really tempting. I didn't have to worry about accommodation and food expenses, I just had to pay for the flight ticket.

I asked my cousin, XY if she wanted to go and to both of us, the other party seemed eager when in reality, we're just waiting for one person to decide. But in the end, we thought, heck, let's just go.

After that decision, I had to prepare myself in just two days. HK was below 20°C and there are also other things to consider like what to bring, what to wear (HAHA such a female), what is it like over there, blah blah blah.

Anyways, it wasn't long until I find myself at KLIA2 at 5 in the morning with my cousin. We bought our tickets later than everyone else so we're in a different airport. I flew by myself a few times before so it's not like I'm scared but this time, it feels a little different.

I just decided to join this two days before and to a country that I would never thought of going. I did no research on HK or what we could eat or do there so it was like flying blindly. Me and my cousin was nervous and excited.

DAY ONE

The flight to HK took about four hours. It was terrible as there was a family from China sitting behind me. A super annoying girl wouldn't sit still and was constantly moving around the plane. It doesn't help that she keeps bumping into my chair and touching me, keeping me from sleeping.

We landed safely and met up with the other aunts. We followed the directions to the hotel that was given by our other relatives and got to our hotel by bus. Immediately after boarding the bus, we got a taste of how rough the locals can be.

Before this trip, my knowledge of HK was only from their dramas. I wasn't really interested in their country or their culture, and I can't speak Cantonese. I can listen to basic conversation, though.

The weather wasn't terribly cold, but it was much colder than what we Malaysians are used to. Right after I got off the plane, the area below my nose and above my lips (I have no idea what the name is) felt weird, and I knew immediately that I was going to be sick.

We got to our hotel safely and was greeted by an aunt who already arrived. We took our luggage and went to our rooms. When we opened the doors to our rooms, we were shocked by how small the room is.

There's not even space to walk if you lay out your luggage on the floor.

  

By the time everyone settled down, it was around three in the afternoon. We got our first meal in a Hong Kong-style diner which we've seen a lot in dramas. They are called cha chaan teng (茶餐厅) and they basically serve anything from breakfast food to heavy meals to western styled meals.
 

It was then I realized the difference in culture and language of both of our countries. Like for an example, there isn't much spaces in HK so their buildings are packed together and the rooms are smaller. In the diner, it isn't unusual to sit with strangers at the same tables because there's just simply not enough space.

The locals are much, I wouldn't say rude, but more impatient when you don't make decisions fast enough. They just don't have the time or energy to kiss your ass. I would like to state not all of them are mean and rough with us.

The food was great, though.

I've never tasted such good beef noodles.

After eating and resting a bit, we decided to go to Victoria Peak. It is known to get on the mountain by their tram. And there's only A tram. One single tram. One friggin tram to carry all the tourists. It's not a surprise that it takes two hours to get into a tram.

 

We did took a walk around the city area before getting to the Peak. There's a lot of tall modern buildings, different from our hotel area, which looked a little more old. I think in some ways, it is quite similar to KL.

After queuing for two hours with a bunch of tourists, we finally got on the tram got to the peak. There is  an observation deck that you could view the city from, but my family chose not to get the ticket to it. But it wasn't like there was no other ways to view the city.

I was already tired from the flight and waiting in line for two hours, so I wasn't in the best mood. Since we couldn't get on the deck, I found there was not much purpose staying there. My mom and my aunt was trying to a spot to view the city, though.

So there we were, outside the main building, embracing the cold weather. We did took a picture of the city at one part of the building so it wasn't like we didn't see it already. At that point, I was hoping that we would leave the peak as soon as possible.

The view from Umeda Sky Building is better *saltyjoon*

The queue back down wasn't as long as going up, but it did not help as the weather was colder and I was surrounded by rude tourists from China. My ancestors were from mainland China as well but man, I was so pissed at them.

They are loud, they have the nerve to cut queues and they have no sense of personal space. The queue isn't going any faster if you push, and there's no need to stand so close till there's no space. I just don't understand how can people be such assholes.

We skipped dinner when we were at the peak, so we bought some instant cup noodles to munch on for supper. It was very salty.

DAY TWO

My family got out to get breakfast at 8AM, but due to miscommunication, some navigational errors and the misfortune of the restaurant that my mother wanted to go being closed, we found ourselves in a HK-styled diner once again.

After having our breakfast, me and my cousin separated with the adults and headed to HK's Ocean Park.

We were pretty excited, but I actually woke up sick in the morning. I did felt better after breakfast and after eating some kind of medicinal sweet given by one of my aunts. I thought that things would go smoothly since I was feeling so much better.

There wasn't a lot of people in the park even though it's a Saturday and we got in without queuing. The park is large and there are many things to see and do.

The good thing about Ocean Park is that it's suitable for everyone. If you're looking for thrills, Ocean Park doesn't disappoint. If the idea of being in the air upside down doesn't fancy you, you can relax and just observe cute aquatic animals. This works well as I'm really into extreme rides while my cousin isn't really daring.

I tried some of the more extreme rides and I must say, they're pretty good. The only thing is that I think that the rides are short. It's like when you finally get hyped and suddenly you're back at the platform.

We also went to see some animals like penguins, seals, fishes and even a walrus. I think it was the first time seeing a walrus for me so I got really excited.

I think I began to feel sick again after getting on a water ride. We thought that we won't be that wet but oh man, the top part of my pants was completely drenched. Being wet probably wasn't good to begin with, what's worse that the weather was too cold for it to dry quickly.

I felt a huge pressure on my chest and could only walk at a slow pace. Did I mention the park was huge? I did not even want to get onto tame rides. I felt really sorry for my cousin, as she wanted to try lots of things but she had to be considerate of me.

We had McDonalds for lunch and we happened to pass by what I believe is a new attraction: a VR roller coaster.

My cousin, who was quite afraid of the idea of wearing a headset on a roller coaster wanted me to accompany her. Believe me, I really wanted to go. Who the heck is dumb enough to skip a VR roller coaster? Probably a sick Joon.

I felt nauseous so I tried to get myself to vomit. Nothing to came out, but I felt a lot better. I thought that I should go for the VR ride incase I got sick again, so I queue 30 minutes with my dear cousin who got increasingly worried the closer we got to the ride.

The VR gear wasn't as good as the Oculus Rift, but it did its job. The ride brought its riders deep into the ocean, avoiding boulders and dropping from insane heights. I wasn't scared of heights but even I screamed. The ride was really worth it.

Then I felt sick again. I waited for my cousin as she went for another water ride. I felt really bad for being a burden.

I've decided that I couldn't go on anymore. We made our way back to the exit by taking the cable car. (Yes, the park's so big that they have cable cars). I think I would enjoyed it more if I wasn't feeling unwell.

Spot the flu mask.

It was torture just making my way back to the hotel. I remember that the MTR train station was packed with people who were also going back at the same time. I didn't want to wait for the next train to arrive, so I jumped into a packed train right before the doors closed.

When I got out, I couldn't see my cousin anywhere. I have left my cousin behind, lmao. It's okay, we reunited immediately after.

The moment I got back to my room, I collapsed. I couldn't attend the dinner later that night with my relatives and the family from HK. I only heard of how much food was served during that dinner.

SIDE NOTE: HK people are probably the most unenthusiastic people I have ever seen. While the Japanese are like machines that talk and smile non-stop, the workers in Ocean Park look like they were forced to work there, HAHAHA.

DAY THREE

The plan for this day was to see the hand print plaques of famous stars at the Avenue of Stars and seeing ferry boats at the Star Ferry Pier. The breakfast we had for that morning was soya bean soup, porridge and some you char kway.

Before going to HK, I was worried about eating the food there. I'm actually not a big fan of even my own culture's food, so when my mother told me the kind of food that we'll be trying in HK, I thought that I would struggle.

But you know, when you're in some different country, you automatically want to try new things. I still will decline the next soya bean soup offered to me but man oh man, the porridge was good. I usually will groan when my mom prepares porridge but this time I asked if she could replicate the porridge we had in HK.

After breakfast, we made our way to the Avenue of Stars. Turns out the place was under maintenance and all the plaques were moved to the Garden of Stars. I don't know many artists but it was still cool to see their hand prints.

The Star Ferry Pier at Tsim Sha Tsui was basically just a pier where all fancy looking ferries carrying people around the Victoria Harbour. But you can see a nice view of Hong Kong island.

The weather that day was warmer, and I think I was wearing too many layers.

Me and my mom decided to head back to the hotel, as we weren't interested in shopping. We basically slept till it was time to get ready for the wedding dinner.

In HK, wedding dinners begin with a mahjong session that lasts for hours (that's what I'm told). My family don't play mahjong (they play cards) but we just wanted to experience their culture so we went there early anyways.

We don't play and most of us are still sick so we just sat there. My cousin, XY noticed that the HK family was dressed rather casually. Me and her then took a walk because there was just nothing to do there.

However, we barely made it back and was just in time for the dinner to begin. When the couple was walking into the hall, we were behind them. Ha.

Dinner was really good. Everyone was served with lobster and they served different types of food. The dinner was international style so it fitted me very well. The dessert was quite good as well.

Unfortunately, most of the Malaysian family members was feeling unwell because of the cold weather and decided to return earlier. Me and my mom shared the same regret after we returned back to Malaysia, and felt really bad for not staying long enough.

We will be having another dinner though, this time with the HK family coming to Malaysia.

Anyway, we returned to the hotel by taxi. I mentioned this because I thought it was really cool riding a HK taxi, which we normally see in dramas only.

The driver complained that we shouldn't get on a taxi since it was a short distance to our hotel. He said he didn't even want to earn that kind of money, lmao.

DAY FOUR

On this day, we took an hour ferry trip to Macau.

Just like how I have no idea what to expect in HK, I knew literally nothing about Macau before going there. Nothing. Zero. Blank. I'm sorry if I sound ignorant but it's because I had no interest in these countries and I had no time to do research before deciding to go there suddenly.

When we left the ferry terminal and took the shuttle bus to our hotel, I was greeted with tall, majestic buildings in the city. They were all casinos combined with hotels. It was only then I realized that I'm in the Asian version of Las Vegas.

Unlike our hotel in HK, the hotel in Macau has bigger rooms with spaces I think the HK people would have to sacrifice an arm and a leg to have. All of us are glad to have so much space.

After having lunch, me and my cousin, my mom and an aunt decided to visit the Ruins of St. Paul's. We were dropped at the Senado Square because vehicles have no access to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was only then that I learned that there are Portuguese influences in Macau. Some people compared Macau to Melaka, which was also conquered by the Portuguese. I also realized that they use Spanish much more on signboards than English. It was very shocking for me.

There are rows of shops selling food and souvenirs along the road to the ruins. We also stopped by the Rose Church.

We finally saw what was remained of the St. Paul's church on top a flight of stairs, filled with tourists taking pictures of themselves with a lone wall. It's a very beautiful wall, I must say. *doesn't know what else to say about a wall*

My mom and my aunt decided to stay behind while me and my cousin went to check out the Monte Fort nearby.

The fort greatly reminded us Melakans of our own A'Famosa fort. I guess both of them are not much different, since they are both forts and have canons around them. We joked that we didn't have to come to Macau all the way to see what we already have in Malaysia.

But the view of the city you can see from up there is just too breathtaking to pass the chance. We saw the usual casino buildings, but also the older looking ones.

We got down from the fort and did some shopping. We also stopped by a milk pudding restaurant to try local desserts. We ordered the usual milk pudding, ginger milk curd pudding and something like an egg pudding.

We only went because everyone said we have to try it, not because we like it. For me, it was very difficult to finish the meal because it's like cheese, too much of it and you'll get sick of it.

Then, we went to check the IACM building nearby. We headed back to the hotel after that.

Around dinner time, me and my family took a taxi to the Venetian Casino Resort. It's a huge hotel plus casino, and there are many others like it (Galaxy, City of Dreams, Sands). My relatives heard that it was a really pretty place so.

It sure was a pretty place. And it's pretty expensive to eat there too, ha.

We noticed that the food portion in HK and Macau is huge compared to our usual standards. There was a few times when we made the mistake of ordering too much. This time, we ordered a four person meal for seven people. You might say we're cheap but hey, it was just enough and we didn't waste food like other people around the food court did.

Then, we headed in to the casino.

This isn't the first time I went into a casino. I have no intention of gambling, but I was curious to see how people gambled. My family does gamble at home, but rarely in casinos. For the most of my time in the casino, I watched my aunts try their luck in roulette.

Then, my aunts gave me and my cousin some money and told us to just try. It's okay if we lost everything or sucked, it was just for the experience.

It was funny because me and my cousin don't gamble usually anyway, and now that we're in a casino, we have no idea how everything works. We couldn't possibly go to a table (because you had to bet a lot) and we just didn't understand how to play so many different games.

In the end, we tried our luck in a Sic Bo machine. My cousin lost all of her money and while I did won some money, I lost them all again. We didn't know what was going on the whole time. It was then I realized how dangerous gambling is, and I can kinda understand how people can fall into the trap of gambling.

Our way back wasn't smooth at all. We took a local bus back based on what we heard from a lady working at our hotel. We knew the bus number, but not the bus stop. I was looking at the bus route then my relatives were already jumping into the bus.

We did ask for information but when we got to the bus stop, it didn't look familiar at all. I was betting on seeing our hotel building, because we do see buses stopping in front of it. But it wasn't the case at all, so I stopped my relatives from getting down.

In the end, we went through almost the whole bus route, when it was just supposed to be two stops. Of course, my relatives were frustrated, and while I admit that I should have just trusted the locals, I think we should some done more research before doing anything.

Traveling with my middle aged relatives can be a pain sometimes, because they are the kind that does something first, then ask later. They don't necessarily have the best sense of direction (my mom still messes up left and right occasionally), and they don't really remember routes or landmarks. When there are younger people in the group, they just forget everything and rely on them.

I'm not saying I wouldn't want to travel with them ever again, but I guess I have to prepare myself before the trip. Traveling with them also means I have to look out for them, because sometimes they can't walk as fast, or they get tired more easily. I find myself reminding them not to just stop and stand in the middle of the path quite a few times.

Being with my relatives from Melaka is fun, I do love spending time with them. But are they the best traveling partners for me? Not really.

DAY FIVE

It was during the midnight when I asked if my cousin wanted to get some food. We went to a 24 hour mini mart and tried to look for something for another cousin of ours. We got a limited edition coke bottle and some instant noodles.

We were discussing plans for the next day while eating when she found out that there wasn't an available ferry trip in time for our flight back to KL.We immediately informed our relatives in the group chat, as everyone else is already asleep.

In the morning, we decided that we couldn't go sight seeing like we planned and to catch the earliest ferry back to HK International Airport. Yes, they have a ferry straight to the airport.

We still have some time after breakfast, so me, my mother and my cousin decided to check out the Fisherman's Wharf which is just 15 minutes away. We wanted to see it because it was recommended in the places that we should visit. I was amazed by the picture because it showed something like the Rome Colosseum.

Turns out it was a disappointment. The 'colosseum' was fake AF and there was nothing else to do or see there. Doesn't stop us from taking pictures, though.

We stopped by the Sands casino just to look around and went back to our hotel to start packing our luggage. Then, we took a taxi to the ferry terminal.

We had some problems checking in our luggage and because we didn't arrive early, we also panicked about getting on the ferry on time. But in the end, everyone made it. Learn our lessons guys, always plan your journey and be early.

We arrived at the airport and there wasn't any problem after that. I had unagidon for lunch and window shopped with my cousin.

Our plane was supposed to leave at 5:45PM, but I'm guessing there was some weather problem so they had to redirect their route. Redirecting the route means that they have to refuel the plane. All of that caused an hour delay.

The thing is, I didn't realized all of that happened because I felt asleep right after I got on the plane. When I woke up, I was so angry and confused on why we didn't move an inch from the airport. I couldn't ask my relatives because I was sitting with strangers.

Thankfully, we finally got into the sky and the rest of the trip was fine. I even moved to the back where no one was sitting because not much people were on this flight.

We landed in KLIA2 safely and met up with the rest of my relatives in KLIA. I will still be seeing them the upcoming weekend for another wedding dinner so nothing to be sad about.

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Overall, this trip to HK and Macau was, I would say, interesting. It's a sudden decision, but if it wasn't for this, I would have never willingly made a choice to visit both of these countries.

Would I go back? No. I'm not extremely fascinated by their culture, I'm not interested in gambling, and their food doesn't really suit my taste. If I HAVE to go back for one reason, I would choose to visit more historical sites in Macau, nothing else.

But of course, this trip wasn't for our leisure, it was for the happiness of our married cousin. So, congratulations to the couple.