Here's a rough estimate of the Budget Plan we had for a 4-day, 3-night Hong Kong itinerary, which got revised several times before and even during our trip.

We bought our airline tickets roughly 3 months before our flight on a promo. Airport taxes and fees include the Travel Tax (PhP 1620) and the international terminal fee at Clark Airport (PhP 450). We also estimated our transport and food budget before and after the trip (PhP 1000/pax). In the end, we actually got to save a significant amount from that budget, which is good. Our accommodation for 3 nights at the Pearl Hostel cost HKD 1350 excluding the HKD 100 key deposit. We also estimated our meal at HKD 50/meal/pax. It turned out that our average meal during the trip was only at 35 HKD/meal. The amount that we saved, we splurged on a satisfying Tim Ho Wan meal which cost us only 125 HKD. Not bad. The Octopus Card pretty much took charge of all our HK transportation (City Bus, MTR, and Star Ferry). We loaded it an extra 100 HKD more and got back our 50 HKD deposit (less 9 HKD as handling fee for using the card for less than 3 month). For the attractions - i.e. The Peak Tram and Ngong Ping 360 - we chose the cheapest package available. We also availed of the 10% Fun Attraction Deals discount for the NP 360, by just showing our Peak Tram tickets we purchased on our first day. Anything we saved from our budget we used to buy pasalubongs.

Estimated exchange rate is at 1 HKD = 6 PHP

So there it is, we were really on a shoestring, but we sure had fun!

Day 4 in Hong Kong. The day of our flight back to the Philippines. However, since our scheduled flight is at 9:45 AM, we obviously got no more itinerary for the day other than just get prepared and head immediately to HKIA.

Nathan Road near entrance to Mirador Mansion

Early morning in HK: The side of Nathan Road where the A21 Bus to the Airport passes.

We left the Pearl Hostel at around 6:30 AM. From Mirador Mansion, we crossed the other side of Nathan Road and waited for the A21 Bus to arrive. It was a Sunday and according to the Citybus website, the interval of A21 Buses is 12 minutes starting from 6 AM. There were already several others, some Pinoys, queuing at the Bus Stop as well. We actually waited no more than 5 minutes before the A21 Bus finally arrived. Of course, we immediately went up to the upper deck right after we left our luggage below for us to get a good last view of the city we now learned to love. I will truly miss transportation in Hong Kong. Sigh.

Entrance to the Departures Level of HKIA

After getting off the bus, we immediately looked for the Air Asia baggage counter. However, as huge as the HKIA is and as first time as we will ever get, we thought we needed some help after wandering around the airport for quite some time. We asked the information desk where Air Asia counters are located, we just told them our flight number and they directed us to Terminal 2. Apparently, we were in Terminal 1. It was close to a 5-minute walk between the two terminals, again don't underestimate reading signs and directions properly. After a few minutes, we managed our way to our assigned baggage counters.

HKIA Departures Level

It was around 8 AM and we headed back to Terminal 1 to clear Immigration and security. It was just quick. No further questions were asked. Actually we could already have waited at our assigned boarding gates but we were hesitant, thinking there were no restaurants or food stalls that may be available in the area for breakfast. Besides there were still several HKDs at our disposal, so we thought of just staying outside for a while and buying more pasalubongs. In retrospect, we regretted this decision. Actually, prior to going to the Airport, we have already bought some canned coffee and pastries for our breakfast at 7/11 last night, but someone's craving for another round of Hong Kong McDo. Hahaha. Honestly, I did too. We realized our breakfast was relatively light. And so we looked for a McDo outside but to no avail. So we just decided to proceed on looking for more pasalubongs instead. I guess we lost track of time that it was already passed 9 AM when we finally decided to go head to our boarding gates. To our surprise, the boarding gates area has a lot of food stalls and restaurants (including a McDo!) plus there were also plenty of other good finds for a possible pasalubong. Oh well, we'll meet HKIA soon anyway. Lesson learned. Hahaha.

I remembered the Air Asia baggage counter personnel saying our flight's boarding gate was at "Gate 25". My mistake: I did not double check my ticket or I think I actually did but I just overlooked! We hastily went to Gate 25. And then got surprised when it was Cathay Pacific passengers waiting at the gate. Did we just miss our flight? The adrenaline rushed yet again and I guess it went just up my head. I wasn't thinking clearly anymore. We asked the good lady in-charge at the boarding gate and she told us that the flight may be following Cathay Pacific's scheduled flight at 10:15 AM. What the hell?! Our flight is at 9:45 AM. Did we really just miss our flight back to the Philippines? Possibly. I looked at my watch. It was almost 9:30 AM. Did they just leave early? I don't think so. An angel might have told me to check on our tickets again. It was GATE 35, not GATE 25! Another effing airport boo-boo. Tsk tsk tsk.

We only had 15 minutes to sprint our way pass 10 boarding gates to the finish line - GATE 35! I thought to myself - are we somehow jinxed at airports and these things just keep happening to us? Hehehe. I'd rather think otherwise! Thank God HKIA has "walkalators"! Finally they served their purpose for clueless, not to mention helpless, HK idiots like us. Hahaha. We arrived just in time; our fellow passengers were also just about to board as well. Phew! That was close!

So long, Hong Kong!

Disembarkation Card signed for the Immigration and Customs waiting for us at DMIA

Meet Beany - our Hong Kong travel buddy - enjoying his flight home!

A good day back in the Philippines!

We arrived at Clark at around 11:45 AM. After clearing the Immigration and fetching our luggage, we again hopped on a DMIA jeepney shuttle bound for the Mabalacat Bus Terminal at Php 50/pax. From the bus terminal, we hopped on another bus, Victory Liner, bound for Cubao. We are home at last. Well, almost. Hehehe.

[END OF HONG KONG TRIP]

I must say that it really was a memorable Hong Kong adventure. Good thing it never rained throughout our entire stay which was great as we got to enjoy most of the attractions at their fullest. It was my first time abroad and although we went there with a specific itinerary in mind, we realized that it was really more fun following where you feel your heart (and feet) leads you. That, I believe, is the true spirit of adventure that no specific amount of money can buy. We may be in Hong Kong on a shoestring, but we did just fine and still had the time of our lives.

Next Hong Kong itinerary: possibly a visit to the theme parks or a sidetrip to Macau and Shenzen or just hike the Hong Kong trails or simply plain shopping, mall hopping perhaps? Hehehe. My pick, you ask? Your guess will be just as good as mine. ;)

After our exhausting Ngong Ping escapade and as soon as we arrived at The Pearl Hostel in Tsim Sha Tsui, it was time for a quick nap. We rested for at least 2 hours and by 7 PM, we were again ready to explore Hong Kong by night - this time, I was not alone. Aside from the key chains and nail cutters that we bought at The Peak on our first day, we haven't yet really been able to buy some pasalubongs for our folks back home. Since this was our last night in HK, we figured it was just apt that we explore the night markets for some possible good finds.  

Avenue of Stars and the Symphony of Lights

But before anything else, we went back again (hehehe... actually it was more of "I went back again") to the Avenue of Stars and finally explored the whole stretch of it to the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, only to realize that we could have taken better pictures had we gone to the area earlier. Well, on second thought, we badly needed that rest. Anyway, here's what we discovered... ok, let me rephrase it again... here's what I discovered the second time around in AOS. Hehehe.

Finally got to walk the whole AOS stretch

Avenue of... STARS (Haha)

Bruce Lee's Star!

Bruce Lee at night. It wasn't lit up really well which was exactly why we thought the pic would've been better shot while the sun was still up. Same goes with all our AOS pictures. But then again, if you have a DSLR with you, I guess that won't be a problem. Hahaha.  Poor us. :p

Photo op with McDull - a cartoon pig character created in Hong Kong by Alice Mak and Brian Tse

Of course, the famous Hong Kong skyline at night is still unbeatable. 

We also chanced upon a Duk Ling that night!

As we were heading back to our starting point, we noticed a lot of people queuing for this snack - dried cuttlefish in butter (iron pressed and pseudo-shredded for easy consumption). The aroma was just tempting so we gave it a try.

Very tasty. We enjoyed munching it while waiting for the Symphony of Lights. 

It was 10 minutes to 8 PM when we noticed people were already starting to flock the Harbor. Honestly, it was only then that I remembered the Symphony of Lights show was about to start. I almost forgot because it was not really in our itinerary and the forums I've read did not really recommend it. But since we were already there, might as well see it for ourselves. It was approximately a 10-minute light show and, true enough, there was nothing really spectacular about it. Not all the buildings were really part of the show which makes it actually dull since the lights are not necessarily continuous. We even overheard one foreigner shouting, "Boring!" as the show was about to end. I must admit, the forum was right. Hahaha.

Spectators of the Symphony of Lights show flocking the Harbor

The SOL is short of expectations. 

Temple Street and Café de Coral

It was now time to head to the night markets - specifically, the Temple Street Night Market. We actually only went to this one, since our time was limited and the 3 days of non-stop walking was apparently already taking its toll on us.

From the AOS, we walked back to Tsim Sha Tsui and rode the MTR to Jordan Station. We exited at A and continued to walk towards Jordan Street where the Temple Street Night Market is at. In the Philippines, we more or less frequent areas of Divisoria and Binondo and the very first thing we noticed about the place were similarities in terms of the stall set ups. It was basically a Divisoria in Hong Kong. From the accessories to clothes, to home furnishings and decors, to food and refreshments, to Canto-pop music playing in the background, name it they got it all the same. Although, one big difference, I should add, was the attitude of the vendors towards the tourists, it was rather cold. They weren't really as welcoming as our vendors in the Philippines. And you could feel this nonchalant vibe with most of them. Of course, there are exceptions. Good thing, we were only there to spot some cheap but still tasteful souvenirs. We got our Hong Kong shirts, of course. We also got more HK key chains at a cheaper price than the ones we bought at The Peak. The rest of our pasalubong budget was allotted for food which we bought at a mini-grocery on our way back to MTR Jordan. 

We were famished. When I saw a Café de Coral near Jordan Station, I thought it was time for us to try an authentic Hong Kong fast food that was supposed to be a counterpart of our Jollibee.

This is Jordan Street viewed from Café de Coral, which is on 2nd floor.

Café de Coral interiors

My Dinner: Rice with Baked Pork Chop in Tomato Sauce Toppings. (Again, large serving!)

Honestly though, our dinner at Café de Coral was a nightmare, at least with that branch in Jordan. Ordering was fine as you will just have to mention the code of your chosen meal. My mistake: I thought that just like our fast foods here in the Philippines where you will have to wait for your orders to be served at your table, I also had to wait for one of the crews to deliver our food to us. I was wrong. I approached the cashier again and she told me that there is a separate counter on the side where you will have to pick the food yourself. And that was the last time she understood me, I guess. I fetched our orders only to realize that one of the orders doesn't have a drink; as far as I know, and as far as the picture in their menu shows, the meal comes with a drink. And so bee had to ask one of the crew, a lady in her 40's who was currently sweeping the floor (oh and by the way we noticed that in Hong Kong, most of the crew in charge of cleaning the tables and the floor were old ladies, I wonder why). We asked her nicely if our meal actually comes with a drink, but she blurted out in loud Cantonese which we really could not understand; we were utterly shocked. A concerned Hongkie diner, who witnessed the incident, asked us politely what's the matter and she was the one who explained to the rude lady crew our trivial predicament. Still she looked irritable; the concerned Hongkie diner told us that what the rude lady said - it doesn't come with a drink. Honestly, I was not convinced given the rude lady's way of talking; it looked more like she wanted our meal to have no drink at all. Anyway, we just thanked the concerned Hongkie diner for helping us through. 

Just to be sure, I asked the cashier yet again that night's ultimate forbidden question - that is, whether our meal comes with a drink. And boy was I bound for another communication mishap! She couldn't understand me. Only to realize I was already resorting to sign language - i.e. pointing at other's drinks, pointing at the menu's pictures with the drink - just so she could understand me. Sigh. I knew that night I did make an idiot out of myself. Hahaha. I just hoped they could have just done what the cashier in Sha Tin McDo did, where they basically show you a picture of the menu and merely point at what you like. Out of my frustration, I told her that I would just want to order another drink, but the conversation was actually getting no where. Bee was much more frustrated than I am and just told me not to order anything, anymore. 

I was really hoping that the Café de Coral staff and crew spoke and understood more conversational English given that the fast food already has a lot of branches in Hong Kong, not to mention it is pretty much established. I mean, it is inevitable that tourists will drop by their place, whether they like it or not. They should really learn how treat their customers with utmost concern. Tsk tsk tsk. Again, on second thought, I am in Hong Kong and it ain't no Jollibee. Hahaha. I miss home.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, caps off our 3rd day in Hong Kong. How I wish we could have ended it on a better note, but that's life - we just have to learn how to drift.

We went back to the hostel at around 11 PM. We packed all our bags and finally rested for our flight back to Clark. We thought of leaving early so that we could hop on the first A21 Bus back to the Airport.

T'was our last night in the "Fragrant Harbor" and I thought we did make the most of it. [Lights off.]

[END OF DAY 3 IN HONG KONG]