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Nursing travel tiredness from Macau's fun and no-itinerary trip, we woke up next day to carry on our real hk trip as set on the voucher we got from Metrodeal tied up with Reliable international Travel service.
We woke up early as our call time was 7:45am. We had a voucher for set meal ( included in the package) in cafe de coral which according to our trip contact is near where we were staying. The eating place, according to the same person opens also at 6am.
First voucher deal horror is having all that information a little twisted. We were up and ready by 6am. We did not want a rushed breakfast. We checked out, asked for directions and went to where our breakfast should be. Nearing the area, we were surprised to see the place closed. With our luggages and growling sleepy stomachs we pulled our thoughts together and remembered we have cup noodles untouched from previous night's in case we cannot find a mcdonalds to eat from. We stopped by the 711 in front of cafe de coral. We asked for hot water and spoon and decided to seat on the floor, eat the noodles and wait till it opens.
The cafe didnt open till around 7:30. We got acquainted with two filipinas who were there as house helps. Their friendliness did keep our waiting light. After te quick breakfast, our group's first stop was the Avenue of Stars. The trip was nice save for few short heavy drops of rain, each clique in the group went all over the strip takin pictures of the stars on the ground with jackie chan's and other artists' hand prints.
We went to other places like the Aberdeen Wharf where the tour guide bragged about the floating restaurant, the boat houses of the boat dwellers and scenes from Hollywood movies the place was included in. This is where the second voucher deal horror comes in. Half asleep and all i caught the line from the guide that this particular portion of our trip wil require an additonal fifty dollar if we will take the boat tour. The three of us decided not to and stayed for mere 20 minutes on the dock while the other group members blindedly grabbed the boat ride. The additional fifty was what the agency contact in the Philippines told us about. Good thing she remembered and that we were listening though half asleep.
Stop number three was the jewelry house. Not much horror there except of the boredom. Im not a feng shui observer nor am i a pricey jewelry enthusiast. So after my oohs and aaahs on the first round of the showroom, i was already tired, bored and looking for the free tea and coffee. Hanging out at the free corner, taking in the warmth from the hot mild tea, i contemplated on how this part of the trip is definitely boring the kiddies that were with us. I am pretty sure they were looking for a happier place to be in which is the next stop.
No lunch and all, we finally went to Disneyland. It was a wallet-crunching pain to know that is where we are having lunch. Thank God for good bowls inside, i did have a good time over my pricey late lunch. I invited my pals for a space mountain ride but the tiredness took over a little halfway my eating sprint. I am beat. We skipped the ride and chose to see the spots of disney we haven't seen yet or is new or the parts where it is interesting. Plotting out route on the map, first off is the disney on parade. Whoopie. No horror there. Matter of fact, the jolly presentation and parade of the characters alleviated the tiredness.
We went to the other places looking for washroom and water fountains every once in a while. We loved the golden mickey but not the queue. For some reason some locals and other foreigners do not know how to line up. It is a good thing that Tarzan did get our atention and the rest of the production was not the same production when i was there a year ago. Again the golden mickey made tiredness forgettable. After some walking, we scouted for a spot to camp in while we wait for the fireworks. Tour guide says we have to be in the bus ten minutes after the fireworks or we will miss the train to Shenzhen. No waiting.
A little shower of rain here and there. The spot we had was a little far but perfect. I didnt bring my tripod inside the park i had to make a make my cam steady for the fireworks show which hehe Iris failed to capture anyhow hahaha.
Day 2 didnt end in disney. We were time cramped for the shenzhen trip. Arriving more like less than 8 minutes before te train leaves, it felt like we were on an amazing race low class. We had to beat the train schedule and then we have to beat the immigration in shenzhen as well.
All tired with no dinner, we were able to be in the train seconds before it closed the door. Thankfully we did not have to stand the whole ride. We did not have problem with the immigration. I wasnt able to capture our group visa. We were gathered by the Shenzhen tour guide George just after the immigration. He said we were the last group to arrive which gave accent to the feel that we are in an amazing race, last group to arrive, eliminated. Hehe. According to George it is his first time to be picking up a group in the border at 12am. He webt on about saying our package is rats (yeah rub it in bro! Rub it in!) and that he thinks it is boring and that he can propose a better itinerary but we need to rest first. The whole building is closing already that time. George briefed us that in this part of China, there are few locals who can speak english therefore we should stick to george, speak to george and his favorite line: "Follow George; Trust George" ...
From the platform to the bus, thank God there is an escalator going up. Stairs goin down no problem. Stashin our luggages in the bus compartment, we settled in for the ride to our place to crash in. Three of us settling in a 2-bedroom is live-able. Tension builds up as group leaders stay in the lobby for the passports. Adults settle their issue, my friend mediating and stating the nasty fact that if we they dont let go of their steams, they will affect the whole group next day. All settled and all well, we went to our rooms, ate dinner and slept right. Waking up next day for day 3 Shenzhen, and alien breakfast buffet.
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