Bring Some Games During The Trip

When we travel, I always make it a point to bring some game with us, whether board game or console. That's to be sure that the kid has something to do in case she's not interested in whatever she finds during the trip. The worst part of travelling is having to get into a fight with a child because he is bored.

But the downside of bringing a board game is its size and weight. We normally have to bring our laptop with us so any additional luggage is adding weight to the already heavy load. It's a good thing there is a blog called Free games and Softwares on the internet. That way, we don't have to worry about not being able to bring any game with us.

At Free Games and Softwares, you get to play all of the games for free by downloading it first. And, as the title suggests, Free Games and Softwares shows you what softwares are freeware or sharewares too. That way, if you need to do something and you have no software to use, you can just go pay the site a visit. You'll most likely find something to use there.

It's a great site. There's normally something for anybody.

Hong Kong on a Budget

Everyone who visits a new place and does not take a package tour will be jittery and a bit scared of getting lost and feeling really helpless. What more when going to a place where noone speaks english or your native tongue? I feel that way everytime we go on a trip abroad. I mean, I don't know the place nor does my husband. The worst part is that everyone in our party counts on me to know what to do and where to go, as if I was the tour guide and that adds to the jitters. But each time we come home from a trip, the feeling of being able to accomplish something for yourself and for your family is there, and it feels good.

Well, I always start with research,then book, then research, buy a map, then research, and more research. So yes, you got it right, the secret is to research. Start off with viewing websites such as virtuatourist and lonely planet. These two offer tips for going about your destination and you can book online with them. But I don't book with either one. With VT, I am able to save my travel guides to a certain folder which is exclusive for a particular destination. You'll have to be a member to do that. Anyway, membership is free. I read travel guides and ask questions in the forum. The guys at vt (I'm a member too you know) are really accommodating and will try to help in anyway they can.

After I have made my temporary IT, I try to check out the prices. I won't expound on this as I have written a blog about it so do read the other posts. the resources I have for booking flights include Trip Advisor, Booking.com, cheaperthanhotels.com, Expedia.com, Asiatravel, ctrip.com, and Hostelworld.com. Hostelworld and booking.com have hostels listed for the budget conscious travellers which we are.

Next, I read more on the places of interest. For Hong Kong, I found THKA and the Hong Kong tourism Board to be of so much use. THKA offers a local's way to go around hong kong, saving the traveller money from taking cabs and suggests walks that can be done by themselves. The Hong Kong Tourism Board gives you more options to include in your IT attractions that you can visit for free such as the museums that are free on wednesdays and tuesdays, heritage walks, free chinese junk ride, free visit to a theater, and the MTR-Ocean park package (which gives you a free ride).

I don't find Hong Kong cheap at all. So, because we have 8 days and 7 nights to spend for our holiday, I've decided to include both Macau and Zhuhai in our IT too. These two places are also interesting because they give another perspective of the modern China - Macau for the Portuguese-cantonese culture and Zhuhai for the beach, the chinese palace and shopping! Well, Shopping mainly because according to my sources, Zhuhai is the place where you can get cheap goods (mostly unbranded and imitations though). Cheaper than Shenzhen and way way lower than Hong Kong.

We need a visa to go to zhuhai. So, instead of getting a chinese visa from here which will cost us 1,500 php each, I've discovered that we can actually get them at either Macau or Hong Kong. It only takes a few hours to secure the visa and is good for single entry and exit at zhuhai only. This costs about 750 php which will save us 50%. Also, Zhuhai hotels cost only about 30 to 50% of the hotel prices in HK and Macau for the same hotel star rating. Jumbo Hotel costs only 30 USD per night and it's even a 4 star hotel (5 star even according to some).

If you've been following my blog you'd know that I gave myself a 25k challenge for the whole Macau, HK and Zhuhai trip. So far so good. I've still managed to keep the costs to 21k including the ferry trip which costs around 4,500 php for all 3 of us, and the chinese visa. It is a good thing that the main purpose of the trip is to orient my daughter with chinese history and culture so we can actually stay out of Disneyland. Well, quite frankly, she's not so interested in going because she says it's too small when compared to the disneyland parks she's been to. That saves me at least 180 USD. plus, the places she wants to see are either free or cheap with the exception of the Ocean park which is not that expensive either.

I guess that's that for now. I'll let you know my final IT before I leave. Check back in when you can.



Jane


For more info, please visit:

Travel Hong Kong Attractions
This site offers you an ultimate virtual guide on how to get there, to the Hong Kong attractions and where else you can go from there. Save your time and money to your Hong Kong journey, know before you go.

Hostels and Budget Hotels in Hong Kong

After asking friends and researching over the internet, I've found that most of the hostels and budget hotels in Hong Kong have very small sizes. Also, that these places mostly do not have towels for their clients to use. Well, for hostels that could be forgiven. But for hotels? How do they manage to get a 1 or 2 star rating?

Another thing is that most accommodations in Hong Kong cannot give a price for a reservation that's made more than 60 days of the check in date. That's because they would like to charge higher rates during the peak season.

To address these concerns, it is necessary to:
1. Check out the room first. Some places have crawling creatures or smell like smoke even when it's supposed to be a non-smoking room.
2. book a large room - if there are 3 of you travelling, then you should probably get a room that's good for 4. That's to assure you that you'd have space for your luggage.
3. Bring a towel or buy one in HK.
4. Reserve with an online travel agency that can get the desired date for you. I've heard that Hotelclubs.com, hotels.com, ratestogo.com, asiarooms.com, asiatravel.com, expedia.com, booking.com, cheaperthanhotels.com, hostelworld.com, tripadvisor.com and travelocity are some of the more reliable sites.
5. Just for added security, it would be best to pay through paypal if the travel agency or hotel will accept it.

Keep safe and happy travelling!

Bouncing Through Travel Sites

Hah! I've not been able to book my hotels for our Hong kong trip yet. Hong Kong has always fascinated me. I've come across so many stories- personal accounts from friends, historical accounts from books since one of our former presidents went on exile there, and from blogs and websites over the internet. It is a good thing that travel bookin sites such as www.cheaperthanhotels.com are now made availabe to us, the travellers.

I can't consider myself a seasoned traveller yet. Yes, I've been to 4 countries and a great deal of domestic sites but that doesn't make me a seasoned traveller. When we go to a place unknown to me (and most countries are in fact unfamiliar to me), I get hold of as much information as I can. www.cheaperthanhotels.com
,booking.com, hotels.com.ph, and other such travel agencies come in so handy. I get to compare prices, am able to obtain information about hotels, events, tourist attractions, budget... and all those pertinent data. It's so funny sometimes that our friends in those countries I've been to even ask why I know such and such exist! Technology is such a powerful tool to the traveller, whether neophyte or seasoned.

In case you're wondering though, I've come to the decision to book with www.cheaperthanhotels.com. I don't like taking too much risks and have asked friends and travel forums for travel sites that they could recommend. So far, from those that I've been give, www.cheaperthanhotels.com
have the best rates I could find over the internet. I can make this conclusion for myself because I've made a comparison table in excel listing down costs from booking.com, expedia, asiarooms, asiatravel, lonely planet... and a hundred more sites. www.cheaperthanhotels.com
beats them all.

Well, next time I hope I can go to the Scandinavia area. Why would I go to sandinavia? Well, for one, I do like driving and I like how I can drive and see the sites on a cool day with my family. Sounds interesting eh? what about having to spend a night or two in a rustic hotel, with a fireplace and some cheese and wine? Finland would be perfect. Alternatively, drive to Sweden and stay in one of its hotels. Or probably see the auroras? A good resource I've found for this travel would be www.visitfinland.com . The tourism www.cheaperthanhotels.com provides info for those who wish to drive the countryside of Scandinavia. Some of their tips include:

1. Cars are driven on the right side of the road all over Scandinavia.
2. Use of seatbelt is a must.
3. Driving under the influence of alcohol is prohibited.
4. There are different speed limits in the different scandinavian countries.

I've browsed the site and searched for pictures through the internet. Seems like they do have a beautiful scenery in those countries. The site has resources too for stockholm hotels, norway hotels and Oslo hotels with hotel rooms that cost as low as 550 SEK! Some rooms are breakfast inclusive. They do have great deals. Budget travellers can find great deals in these travel sites. It's like finding pearl in the deep blue sea.