Hong Kong Disneyland

We actually planned this trip to Hong Kong just for the purpose of visiting Hong Kong Disneyland! Since we were staying at Butterfly on Hollywood Boutique Hotel in Sheung Wan, we decided to take the MTR train to Disneyland which is the cheapest, fastest and most economical way of commuting in Hong Kong but be prepared to walk quite a bit of distance; stand-by a pair of comfortable walking shoes! Get an Octopus card with a stored value of HKD100 plus a HKD50 deposit which is refundable upon returning the card at the end of your trip at any MTR stations. We reached Disneyland at around 11.00am (opening time is 10.00am to 9.00pm) and left around 5.00pm. The one day pass costs HKD450.00 (B$75.00) and for an additional HKD135.00, you can opt for a two days pass which is valid for one week. The weather today is 5°C (very cold!) and to make matters worse, there was a slight drizzle for about an hour. My fingers and the soles of my feet were going numb! 

Hong Kong (9 to 11 Feb 2014)

Butterfly on Hollywood Boutique Hotel

 The lift lobby on 3rd floor of Butterfly Hotel

 Ladies' Market

 Mong Kok MTR Station

 Avenue of Stars, Tsimsatsui

Jackie Chan's hand prints

This morning, right after breakfast, we took the Sheraton Macau's 11.00am shuttle service to Taipa Ferry Terminal (10 minutes away) to catch the 12.30pm ferry (Cotai Jet) to Hong Kong Island. We managed to board the 11.30am ferry (one hour early) and reached Hong Kong one hour later. Throughout the journey, my daughter felt sea sick and spent most of her time in the toilet! After checking into Butterfly on Hollywood Boutique Hotel, we took the MTR train from Sheung Wan to Mong Kok (Ladies' Market at Tung Choi Street is just a stone throw away from Mong Kok MTR station) to do some shopping and then to Tsimsatsui to visit the Avenue of Stars. The weather was very cold at 5° C and it was drizzling but this did not deterred us from enjoying our shopping! Hopefully, the weather would get warmer as we are going to visit Disneyland tomorrow.

Macau (7 to 9 Feb 2014)

Ruins of St. Pauls

 Cunha Bazaar

 Cunha Bazaar

 Cunha Bazaar

 Galaxy Macau

 Sheraton Macau

 Venetian Macau

 Senado Square

 Grand Orbit Restaurant

 Galaxy Macau

 Sheraton Macau

 Galaxy Macau

 Venetian Macau

 Venetian Macau

 Sheraton Macau

On 7th February at 1.45pm, we landed in Macau via AirAsia flight FD2542 from Don Mueang International Airport and took the complimentary shuttle bus to Sheraton Macau, our home for next two nights. After checking in, we took a cab to Cunha Bazaar to do some shopping before heading to a few casinos to take some photos. We managed to squeezed in a visit to Macau Fisherman's Wharf but unfortunately most of the shops here were closed. That night, we tried the buffet at The Grand Orbit Restaurant at the Sheraton Macau before retiring for the night. The next day, we visited Senado Square where the famous Ruins of St. Pauls is located. This is my second visit to Senado Square (although I've been to Macau many times) and I'm here for the benefit of my wife and daughter as this is their first trip to Macau and their visit to Macau will not be complete without a photo taken at the ruins! The weather in Macau is very cool with temperatures hovering around 12° C. After Macau, we will be travelling to Hong Kong by ferry where we will be staying for another two nights before heading back to Brunei (my daughter will be flying back to Bangkok and returning to Taipei on 22 February 2014).  

Tiger Temple at Kanchanaburi

 

Up close & personal!

My daughter, Felicia

My wife, Mary

My brother-in-law, Michael

Walking the tiger to the canyon

I've always wanted to visit the Tiger Temple at Kanchanaburi ever since I heard about this place many years ago but never get around to visit it every time I was in Thailand as it is about 3 hours drive from Bangkok! However, this morning I got my brother-in-law to drive us there from Sankhaburi which also took us 3 hours (we were early by more than an hour as the temple only opens at 12.15pm). This temple opened in 1994 and the first tiger cub was sent to the temple in February 1999 in critical condition after its mother was shot by poachers. It died five months later but villagers continued to sent tiger cubs to this "sanctuary" and the temple has 128 tigers to-date! These tigers can live from 15 to 20 years in captivity and would probably never be freed into the wild as their greatest threat is poaching due to the lucrative trade in tiger parts (these tigers are so used to humans and would never survive in the wild). The entrance fee is 600 Baht (B$24.00) which is really cheap considering the high costs of feeding these magnificent cats. For an additional 1,000 Baht (B$40.00), visitors can bottle feed and play with the cute tiger cubs at a different enclosure. Safety tips: no shorts, red coloured clothings, strong perfume or sling bags allowed (tigers treat anything dangling as toys) and visitors are advised to face the tigers at all times; turn your back and the tiger may pounce on you! However, the safety records in this temple has been impeccable except for one incident last August! 

Nicholas' Farewell & Christmas Gathering

 A momento for Nicholas

 One for the album

Last night Persatuan Warganegara Malaysia (PWM) organized a farewell party for Nicholas Chung, (our Honorary Treasurer for the past two years) who will be leaving Brunei for good as he has taken up a new appointment in Singapore. As Christmas is just around the corner, Azlan Ahmad proposed an exchange of gifts among the twenty one participating Exco members. As usual, our ever resourceful President, Mr. James Lee, found this chic and cosy place at Bunut to host this farewell party. The house was beautifully adorned with Christmas decorations from the living room to the dining area setting everyone of us in celebration mood! The atmosphere and ambience were further enhanced by the soft lighting, not to mention the good food and drinks (BYO)! There's also ample parking both inside the house compound and outside the house. I would definitely support PWM's future events here! Good luck, Nicholas and we shall meet again, probably in Singapore...