My first trip to Hongkong was my college graduation gift from papa.
We (me, papa, and his wife) were there on April 22-24, 2006. We took
PAL's PR300 8:00am Manila-Hongkong flight on April 22. It was my first
time to ride on a plane, so the feeling was mixed excitement and
nervousness. The flight took 1 hour and 45 minutes. I enjoyed taking
pictures of the clouds while we are up there. But aside from that, you
know what else I enjoyed? The FOOD :-D. PAL serves delicious meals
during the flight, and I say "meal" not "snacks".
These are the arrival procedures at the Hong Kong International Airport:
1.
Immigration
- We presented our passports and completed arrival cards and health
declaration forms at the Immigration Hall
. Arrival cards and health
declaration forms are distributed by the airline before landing. If in
case they are lost, there are blank forms at the Immigration Hall. I
noticed there are counters exclusively for Hong Kong citizens for
presentation of their Identity Cards.
2.
Baggage reclaim -
After immigration check, we proceeded to the Baggage Reclaim Hall to
pick up our bags. Is there an airline who is careful enough in shipping
the baggages? 'Cause when I got my baggage from the conveyor, its strap
was ripped :-(
3.
Customs and Excise - We proceeded to
Customs and Excise control after reclaiming our bags. The red channel is
for those who have items to declare while the green channel is for
those who don't need any declarations.
After that, we went to Holiday World Tours booth in the airport lobby
and waited for the other tourists. The travel agency provided a bus to
bring us to our hotels. Ours is
Panda Hotel,
formerly Kowloon Panda Hotel. It is a four-star hotel in Tsuen Wan, New
Territories, Hong Kong, located between MTR Tsuen Wan Station and Tai
Wo Hau Station. It is the largest hotel in Tsuen Wan District with a
total of 1,026 rooms, and the nearest city hotel to the Hong Kong
International Airport.
From time to time the travel
agency provided a shuttle service for us to get around. The tour guides
are friendly and are generous in giving information. Few places that I
remember going to (in group) are:
Victoria Harbour,
The Peak,
Disneyland (where I felt like a child again),
TSL Jewelry, and night market.
We also went to the common places for the locals. Like the usual wet
market, chinese restaurant, and others. I think more than going to the
tourist spots, it was more interesting to learn and know more about the
people and their culture. Three days are not definitely not enough! I
really hope I could go back in the future.
- Glai
