4 days 3 nights at Hong Kong (4D3N)

"Give me a break!"

So, we decided to take a short getaway in June 2017 to HK.
It's a long weekend because Hari Raya Puasa is on Monday. We bought Cathay Pacific air tickets as it is reliable and there's a free 30kg check-in luggage included in the air ticket. It was about SGD1.2k which I think is acceptable for non-budget airlines and considering the comfort, space, environment on plan and etc. I think it is acceptable because we were going to travel in the following week. Like some other non-budget airlines, the air tickets can go real expensive. Another thing is, we could have gotten a cheaper rate if we were to book the air tickets 14 days in advance with Cathay Pacific. That is because they have an existing offer for HK trip as low as half of the normal price with American Express purchases if I am not mistaken. Lessons learned! Overall the airline experience was very good since it's under Singapore Airline.
So, if you're interested in taking Cathay Pacific Airlines, why not keep an eye on their updated promotions and subscribe for their news. All you have to do is to make sure you booked your last minute trip 14 days in advance. Half price and nothing to lose.(the offer may vary from time to time)

My previous HK trip was for business purposes. This time is a trip with my partner, so we have some homework need to work on. :) The main purpose for us to go HK is to visit HK Disneyland, The Big Buddha, foods and etc. 

Here's our itinerary for you to get some ideas. 

Relevant tickets to be prepared

•  Return Airport Express Train Tickets with 3 days unlimited MTR card

We selected Round Trip + 3 Day Pass
Meaning 1 round trip of Airport Express and Unlimited 3 days pass of MTR use /pax.
We have compare the separated price of
(Round trip airport express for 2 pax, Octopus MTR card for 2 pax),
and come to a conclusion to buy this package $61/pax.
Since we were going to travel quite a few destination
by taking MTR these 3 days,
to be honest the unlimited 3 days pass is quite satisfying.
Even sometimes, you can scanned the card for free
to enter into the MTR washroom. Which pretty annoying that we couldnt
find the washroom outside MTR border. =.= Luckily I have unlimited card!
GOing IN and OUT like a BOOOSS~ ahaha

•  Return Peak Tram Tickets

We bought Roundtrip Peal Tram Sky Pass (Fast Track) $17 each

• Ngong Ping 360 Tickets

• Disneyland eTickets $96/pax Klook.com (no need to redeem at counter, they will be able to scan the barcode for you at the entrance)

•  Butterfly On Prat Tsim Sha Tsui room reservation (we booked from agoda.com which believe to be the cheapest website compare to other websites like expedia.com etc)

HONG KONG 2017 

22 June 2017 (Thursday)

0600 - Check in @ Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 

0630 - Breakfast @ Transit Hall

0800 - Flight Departure

1200 - Arrive Hong Kong International Airport (baggage claim & redeem Airport Express Tickets together with 3 days unlimited MTR access)

1230 to 1400 - Take Airport Express to Check in at Butterfly on Prat Hotel Tsim Sha Tsui (Return Airport Express to Kowloon Stn)

1430 to 1700 - Lunch & Harbour city shopping (Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit L5 Peking Rd)

1700 to 2000 - Peak Tram/Sky terrace

2000 - Travel to Mongkok; Ladies Market / Dinner / supper

23 June 2017 (Friday)

0700 - Rise and Shine! 

0800 - Luk Yu Teahouse 24-26 Stanley Street Hong Kong Tel: +852 2523 5464 Daily: 7am – 9pm Nearest Station: Central

1100 - Travel to Disneyland via MTR from Tsim Sha Tsui

1230 - 2030 Disneyland! - Late lunch @ Disneyland

2200 - Dinner at Mark's Noodle (Address: 77 Wellington St, Central, Hong Kong
Opening hours: 11 am – 9 pm daily - Central Stn) ; Hui Lau Shan Tsim Sha Tsui near to hotel

24 June 2017 (Saturday)

0715 - Good morning!

0800 - Walk around and buy cookies for family!

1100 - Maxim Palace

3/F, City Hall 5-7 Edinburgh Place

Tel: +852 2521 1303

Mon to Sat: 11am – 3pm, 5.30pm – 11pm

Sun & PH: 9am – 3pm, 5.30pm – 11pm

Nearest Station: Central

1400 - Arrive at Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal, Redeem tickets and aboard. Ngong Ping 360 ride for 25mins, Lantau Island

1430 - Arrive at Ngong Ping Cable car Terminal

1500 - Went only to Tian Tan Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, Wisdom Path etc

1700 - Return to Tung Chung Stn (Shopping at Citygate Outlets)
1800 - To Mongkok Stn > Fa Yuen Street Market

25 June 2017 (Sunday)

0800 - Wake up

0900 to 1200 - Breakfast & last min shopping

1200 - Checkout

1330 - Wait for Free Shuttle Bus in front of Park Hotel to Kowloon Stn (K4) 
1400 - Check in our luggage at Cathay Pacific Counters in Kowloon Stn(apparently most of the airlines accepts checkin from Kowloon Stn, not sure about other stn)
1425 - Reach Hong Kong International Airport, go and have quick lunch at 大家乐.

1640 - Departure for Singapore Changi Airport

2030 - Home!

_______________________________________________________________
22 June 2017, Thursday

Upon arriving at the HKIA, we came out at Arrival Hall B. First thing to do is to redeem the Airport Express Tickets and we were told to walk over to Arrival Hall A, which is the other end. You do not want to approach those big counters because they will ask you to go for the small counter which specifically handle cases like us. You also can refer to the printed voucher, you need to go to counter A13 to redeem. We walked all the way to Arrival Hall A because the counter is just right in front of it. 

When you reach the counter, they will ask which station you will be aligning (Tsing Yi Stn, Hong Kong Stn or Kowloon Stn).

Since we are staying in Butterfly on Prat Tsim Sha Tsui, we chose to align at Kowloon Stn as the Shuttle Bus drop off point Park Hotel is nearer to our Butterfly Hotel instead of Tsim Sha Tsui Stn. Therefore, we are to stop at Kowloon Stn from the Airport and take Shuttle Bus K4 once we reached Kowloon Stn(look for "free shuttle bus" signboard. 

The shuttle bus comes only every 15 minutes. We take the bus around 1pm on Thursday's afternoon, the traffic was fine. We only need about 15 - 20 minutes to reach Park Hotel. Once we are at Park Hotel, we need to walk for a short distance to reach hotel either following the green lines or purple. As you can see in the picture. On your last day in Hong Kong, you just need to walk back to the original place where they drop you off and wait for the shuttle bus. They have timing for this, you might want to double check their timing of free shuttle bus. If you do not wish to take shuttle bus, you can always take MTR or other transportation. :)

After checked in at the hotel, we went to Harbour City for a walk and shopping. We understand that staying in Tsim Sha Tsui was never a good idea but to save some money and a little bit of walking i think is fine.

After shopping, we went for Peak Tram at Central Stn to assemble with the other Klook buyers. We bought the tickets with tour to guide us to walk to the Peak Tram Terminal. You will receive an sms of which EXIT to meet on your registered mobile phone. In our case, we were told to wait at Central Stn EXIT K. You will be ask to reach there 15 minutes before the departure time as registration and briefings are needed. Following Peak Tram tour is so much easier as it helps to shorten the timing where we follows Google maps and queueing time at Peak Tram Terminal. You will be on the fast lane, you can save a lot of time! You can refer to above attachments on which one to choose! *Peak Tram Tickets

With Klook tour, we were able to get on the tram in just + - 30 minutes!
There was another 5 to 8 times this volume
of people waiting on the opposite rd!
Tell me do you wanna wait for 2 3 hours for 10 minutes ride? 
You may choose to go up there by bus or taxi.

Queuing for Tram departure :D

I  strongly suggest you to buy Peak Tram tickets in advance because there can be super crowded and can take hours just to get on the tram and please get a sit in the tram as it can go really steep! We were lucky to see the entire Hong Kong at Sky Terrace. No clouds, everything was clear, windy and peaceful. No rains. Very satisfying view. We went around 5 to 6pm in the evening on Thursday. After that, we went back to hotel, get a quick shower and off to Ladies Market for shopping and dinner. :) Again, to be honest, the ladies market is pretty disappointing, I would suggest you to go to Argyle Centre if you're going Kowloon area. :3 The ladies market has now become very alike, they sells almost the same thing. Waste of time. So you wanna go to those centre instead of Ladies Market.

Kowloon Stn EXIT D Argyle Street

I love cosmetics! XD

_________________________________________________________________________________
23 June 2017, Friday

Went to Luk Yu Teahouse at Stanley St for breakfast. The egg tart was nice. However, we didnt see any dim sum menu. It was not a very pleasant visit, I would rate it ** star only. It looks pretty promising from the website but we did not think so. 

We went to Disneyland after the meal. YEY!

Luk Yu Teahouse is in Central Stn. Therefore, we walk to Hong Kong Stn and take MTR to Sunny Bay Stn and transfer to Disneyland Stn.

SIMPLE! It only takes about 15 to 20 minutes :)

If you can wait till 8.30pm that would be great. It is because they have fireworks on every Friday! We had our late lunch at Corner Cafe about 3 or almost 4pm. We could not stand to wait till 8.30pm because were too tired to wait.

The food over here was great. However was a little too salty for us. Overall good experience.

Moving on to Mak's Noodle for dinner at Central Stn. Mak's Noodle is a traditional Cantonese restaurant in Central, Hong Kong, specialising in wonton noodles. The address is at 77 Wellington St, Central. Walking distance from Central Stn. You can alwaus use google map to find the location, it is just across the street. Good wanton mee. Overall ratings is 4 stars for us. Very clear soup with very different texture of noodle. My partner is a Wanton Mee lover, he said it's nothing like in Singapore. He loves it! SO try it!

Then we move back to Hui Lau Shan that is nearby our stay (Butterfly On Prat Hotel). We ordered and durian cheese puff. It was delicious! Wanted to eat the second time on the next day, but we have no time to wait another 10 to 15 minutes for the order! SAD! 

_______________________________________________________________

24 June 2016, Saturday


Sunny day, no doubt for the Summer Season! The Dimsum restaurant called Maxim is going to be crowded, so we went to the restaurant as early as possible. Go to Central Stn from East Tsim Sha Tsui. If you are staying in East Tsim Sha Tsui, you might want to get out from the hotel as soon as possible as the subway where you will need to walk quit a distance from East Tsim Sha Tsui to Main Tsi Sha Tsui Stn as show in the map.


We took MRT to Central Stn and go out from EXIT E, H or K is the nearest. 

Going back to the original EXIT where you came from is easy. Central Star Betting Branch is an underpass where you can avoid the rains/sun by passing through an underground subway to the opposite road(or you can take bridge). You can also refer it as The Hong Kong Jocky Club Off-course Betting Branches. Don't be surprised by the atmosphere because it can get really crowd-y! There are Filipinos(maybe there are others,we dont know) hanging around for their days off along the way. Don't worry they won't do anything crazy to you, they basically just enjoying/wandering(whatever you wanna call it) their weekend just like us wandering in a shopping mall. LOL



So, returning to the original spot is pretty simple. In case, you are not good at memorizing the road.

Once you walk to the opposite road, you can find the nearest MTR EXIT E(right at Bvlgari) or EXIT K(near Starbucks Coffee).

This is how the entrance of the tunnel from the other side looks like. (underground bypass)


Maxim Palace is open at 11am. If you can get real hungry, no worries, you are served right after you enter the hall and sat on your seat. The queue can be quite long even though we reached at 11 am sharp. But HEY! No worries, the place is big enough to fit 20 over tables I guess. It is really big and that's why I see it as a hall. XD The food is great, no regret of spending money there and fantastic experience. Overall 4.5 stars.


After having late breakfast at Maxim Palace, we moved on to Tung Chung Stn by MTR. Free MTR access! :D Again, on Saturday noon it only takes 15 to 20 minutes to reach Tung Chung MTR. Once you reached, you wanna follow the signboard because it makes your life so much easier! You need to go out from the building and walk to the opposite(no shelter, clear sky, do not turn left of right, just walk straight. Keep your eye on the signboard. It is somewhere in the middle of the building on your right side. Don't be like me! I almost walk past it! Good luck!


We were lucky to buy the tickets in advance/before we are in HK because a lot of people were queueing and LIKE A BOSS, "welcome on board" ! XD I am a very considerate person, I do not want my partner to suffer, therefore we go for STANDARD Cable Car. :) When you purchase the tickets, you have two options to choose either Crystal Cable Car(glass floor) or Standard Cable Car(covered/norm). It was a very satisfying journey on the cable car, where you can see clear skies, wonderful HK view, it was windy and the cable car was indeed strong enough that it does not swing easily when the wind gets crazy. 



There were quite a few destination once you reached at the top. All those destinations are free. As we were trying to catch up with our schedule that we are going back tomorrow,Sunday. So, we only manage to go to visits the Big Buddha and went to the temple to pray to gods. Namo Amituofo~~~~


We settle down and took a cable car back to Tung Chung Stn. It happens that we want to shop more because there is this place called CITYGATE OUTLET just outside Tung Chung Stn! XD Few videos will be uploaded here..


After that, we went back to Mongkok Stn. This area is famous for cheaper Adidas Nike products, cosmetics.. etc. They have pretty much shops across the street. It also happens that we saw some old people/entertainers dancing, singing like you're travelling back to the old times! They were indeed interesting, entertaining I would say. haha Therefore, is a MUST place to visit! We love Adidas Nike NB.., cosmetics.. !!! 

_______________________________________________________________

 25 June 2016, Sunday



Good morning! Packing up out stuffs and went out early for a last minute shopping, especially buying gifts for family~ <3


As in the previous photo, we carry our luggage from Butterfly On Prat Hotel(white blue star) to FREE SHUTTLE BUS K4 area to wait for the shuttle bus. The bus comes every 15 minutes. We took the bus to MTR Kowloon Stn. Guess what? Almost all the airlines has a check in counter in Kowloon Stn! So we went to check in our luggage and took the Airport Express Train(Kowloon Stn) to the Airport without carrying anything with us! How convenient!


After arrived at the HKIA, we went for late lunch and go through custom area. HKIA is very big, they have almost all sorts of foods inside the boarding areas. So, you might want to go through custom first and take your time to eat around that area.  

That is all from me. Goodday!  

Collecting Student Pass at ICA Building (Singapore)

Warning: THIS IS FOR RENEWAL OF STUDENT PASS (but the process is similar to first application)

The final process of getting your Student Pass(STP) from ICA Office Building in Singapore is called the Formalities.

I finished Diploma in Management Studies (DMS) at SIM Clementi (a Private School) for one and a half year. So, I am consider an ex student at SIM now. 

I applied for DMS in 2015, I was asked to do Medical Report at the school on a specific date and time given. The school arranged medical personnel to come SIM to do the medical test for us on a bus sitting in front of SIM main entrance. Now that I completed DMS program, I applied for Degree straight from SIM as well. At this time, I am not asked to submit any Medical Report unless the report is more than 3 years time.

Before you go to ICA office, you want to prepare all the relevant documents and make appointment through the given website(ICA) to collect your STP. Where to get the link?Check all your emails that are related/registered/correspondence to school. Your personal email that you use for registration, the mymail account that the school(mymail.sim.edu.sg) provided, and other relevant accounts(if any). 

When choosing an appointment day(the day to go ICA office to collect STP), any changes of the appointment date and time is limited up to 3 times. Check your schedule carefully and ensure you can make it on time and date for the appointment. Set the time and date from the links given if your documents are complete.


Documents to bring (should be stated clearly in the email by ICA):
1. Passport photo 
I'm renewing my STP, so a new passport photo is required. 

You can take a new passport photo at ICA building Level 4 as there is a photo booth provided and it cost you approx. SGD6 for 4 pieces standard(price may vary).

2. Passport copy one piece
Ensure your passport expiry date is far away from your graduation/completion date. 

For example, if your study course starts in Jan 2018 and you are going to study for 1.5 years. Assuming your course ends in June 2019, your passport expiry date must at least valid for 6 months from the course completion month. Meaning 6 months from June 2019, your passport expiry date should be in Jan 2020 or onwards.

3. ICA Letter (2 pages)
You should receive it in your personal email or school(mymail.sim.edu.sg) email.

Please note that the details or structure of the letter may be vary.

Page 1

Page 2

3. Social Visit Pass(SVP) (1 page)
A SVP is issued to you, which allows you to stay in Singapore if you are planning to stay in Singapore after course completion. The school will arrange a day to guide you on this before/after your final exam. For example, under what circumstances you need to declare your stay in Singapore or leaving Singapore, and etc.

I completed DMS program on 7 Nov 2017 and my STP is expiring on 15 Nov 2017. Meaning I only get to stay in Singapore for another 8 days. If I stay after 15 Nov 2017, I will be considered as overstay/illegal visitor and you will get a penalty for it or even banned from entering Singapore! So, its not something you want to play with.😖

The period between 16 Nov to 31 Dec 2017 before the course commencement, there will be STP renewal period within these dates. During the renewal, you are not allowed to leave of enter Singapore depending on what you declare as your status.

If you are staying in Singapore during the renewal period 16 Nov to 31 Dec 2017, you will need to collect this letter from the SIM, Student Service Counter. 

SVP look something like this but it may be vary.

Page 1


4. Terms & Conditions of Student's Pass (3 pages)

Please note that it may be vary from time to time.

Page 1

Page 2 (I missed out this page)😆😅

Page 3


5. eForm 16 (3 pages)
You must print this together with your ICA letter from the email.

Page 1 

Page 2

Page 3

Checked all these documents and you are good to go!✌
******************************************************

If you're going to take public transport, I will suggest you to take the East West Line MRT (Green Line) to Lavender Station. The ICA building is located next to Lavender MRT Station. Other transportation would be by Taxi, Grabcar, and bus. It is your call.👍

Once you reach Lavender MRT station. 

Please head to the exit and beware of the signboard of ICA Building. You should be able to see the signboard pointing at your right-hand side and you will need to take the escalator up.





Once you reach to the ground floor, you will be able to see(video) all these in your surrounding. Follow the crowd(usually people come here just to get to the ICA office), cross the small road/zebra crossing and ICA Building will be in front of you!

The entrance looks like this..

Taking photos are forbidden. Therefore, I can only show/brief you the documents that is needed and the ICA building.

You must show up at least 15 minutes before your appointment to avoid setbacks. 

Once you are in the building, take the escalator or lift to the 4th floor. 

Go to the Ticketing Kiosk and select Collect Student Pass to get your queue number. 

Please note that the process may vary from time to time.

After getting the queue number, go to Level 1(E-lobby) to pay $60 for Issuance Fee (compulsory). 

It is mentioned in Page 2 of the ICA/IPA Letter. It can be really fast because the payment process is simple. There are a few kiosks for you to make payment.

Below photo is for you to refer. Please note that the price may vary from time to time.

When you are in Level 1 (E-Lobby), find the signboard for Student Pass payment and all other businesses will be shown on the board. So, follow the signboard and head to the E-Lobby area and get a machine to make the payment. 

Firstly, queue for a machine if it is crowded, once it is your turn, select Fee Payment, scan your barcode, and select your preferred mode of payment. The barcode can be found on ICA/IPA Letter.

After the $60 payment, you will receive a copy of the receipt for yourself and another for ICA officer to keep. You can find these words on top of the receipts. The receipts looks like this..

Now quickly go back to the 4th floor and wait for your number to be called. 

The waiting time should be about 15 to 20 minutes. 

The ICA officer will ask for all these documents and your thumbprints. 

Then, you will need to wait for another approx. 45 minutes to an hour to get your new STP. Now, you can go and have breakfast or lunch if your appointment is in the morning or afternoon. Just make sure you make your way back to 4th floor real quick after the meal!

I was lucky that I got my STP about 45 minutes later. Why lucky? Because I heard from some of my friends, sometimes it can be a few hours later depending on the situation/crowd👎😕


Hope I don't confuse you! 

Please note that the information given may vary from time to time.

Have a nice day! Welcome to Singapore! 😚