Amazing Asian Tour

It's been a month since I first set foot to a foreign land and I still can't get over it.

I don't remember exactly when did I convince my sister, Candy, to go out of the country with me, but I won't forget the day we left the Philippines. It was March 20, a Holy Thursday, around 730PM.

Afraid that the plane might leave without us, we got to the airport around 430-5PM. Excited, hahaha! Soon after, my officemates Joyce and Queenie arrived. In the immigration, my sister and I were completely caught off-guard. The officer who checked our passport and other documents (and who was old enough to be my father) was so obnoxious and condescending. Clearly, it was our first time to travel abroad. He didn't have to say it to our face. I was so tempted to answer back and tell him "Yes, it's our first time. But we'll be traveling to four different countries, old man!" Of course, I kept my cool, lest, he'd prevent me from leaving the country. Needless to say, it was kinda traumatic for us.

I thought I was going to experience the same thing when we got to the Macau International Airport. The lady kept looking at me, to her screen and then to my passport. After what seemed like forever, she finally let me enter their country. Thank heavens! What's with these people?!? Come on, I'm not a terrorist or some kind of bad element (hahaha!). We just want to have fun! ;-)

And what FUN we had!

First stop: Macau

We got to play some of the slot machines in the casino of the Venetian Hotel, got to go around the place and explore the wonderful Venetian Hotel, got our pictures taken in front of the Grand Lisboa Casino(hehe), got to see the amazing Prosperity Tree in Wynn Macau Casino. There is, of course, much more to Macau than casinos. We also got to visit different churches, museums & galleries, the Senado Square, which really made an impression on me. Even the temples and fortresses were inviting. Macau is not just an entertainment place, but is also rich in culture. Though I didn't really enjoy the Macau food, I can still say that the whole experience was worth it.

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Next stop: Hongkong

Most of the people I know relate Hongkong with shopping, shopping and more shopping. The only thing I can think of when I think of Hongkong is Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse equals Disneyland. This, I believe, is the reason why my sis got convinced to take this trip with me. We both love Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the rest of the gang. Imagine how happy we were getting our pics taken with Mickey and Goofy. Had the queues been shorter, we would have lined up again and taken another pic with them. =) I also enjoyed our trip to Ocean Park, prolly because I'm such a sucker for theme park rides, hehehe! Tip: try the The Abyss, if you want to get your money's worth. It surely made my day. ;-)

But of course, we also got to do some shopping. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! =) I bought a souvenir shirt from Disneyland for my dad and I, a ref magnet from Ocean Park for Margie (which until now I can't find, sorry girl) a Lacoste bag (yipeee!), pasalubong shirts for my siblings and pamangkins from the night market (hehehe), a jacket/blazer, a backpack and a (katsa) bag from Giordano. Good thing I got a hold on myself, otherwise, malamang super gasgas ang credit card ko.

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Singapura

After Hongkong, my sis and I went back to Macau and went straight to Macau International Airport to catch our flight to Singapore, while Joyce and Q went back to the Philippines. We arrived in Singapore around 10 or 11PM. After a good night sleep and waking up at almost around noon, my sis and I, together with her friend, explored Singapore via the MRT. It was fun and I felt kinda at home. Funny, coz I don't really like taking the MRT (especially during rush hour) back at home, but I enjoyed the train ride in Singapore.

I was really looking forward to this trip because I was excited to see my good friend, Apol, who now works and lives in Singapore. True enough, the following day, afer our Sentosa adventure, we got off at Lavender station to meet with Apol. 'Twas like a scene from the movies - we ran to each other, kissed and hugged each other (kulang na lang background song, hehehe). This definitely made the whole trip more special. I missed my friend so much and was just looking forward to spending crazy times with her.

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Last stop: Malaysia

I didn't get to explore Singapore with Apol, but we did spend time together in Malaysia. Right after meeting her at Lavender, we went to the bus station going to Genting, Malaysia. It was going to be a 6-hour long drive, but we didn't mind. We were busy catching up. So when we arrived in Malaysia, we were all tired and kinda not in the mood due to lack of sleep. But after getting breakfast at Mcdonald's and seeing the rides at the Genting Theme Park, we were all pumped up again. I was surprised to find out that Apol was also not scared of trying all the rides. We were thrilled in riding the Space Shot and Flying Coaster. But we had the time of our life when we tried the former. Space Shot is Malaysia's version of Ocean Park's The Abyss, so another tip: try and experience Space Shot! The best, pare! ;-) But be warned, this is not for the faint-hearted! ;-)

After exhausting all our energy in the theme park, we looked for a place to stay, dropped our things off, and went to have dinner in KL. Good thing, dinner was great (forgot the name of the resto, but they served mostly fish and chips)! This gave us energy to do our last task for the day - have our pictures taken, with the Petronas Twin Towers serving as backdrop.

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We went back to Singapore the following day. Apol and I said our goodbyes, this time around, we were not that sad. We were maybe thinking the same thing - it's more possible for us to visit each other, unlike when she was staying in China.

Eversince I was a child, I've been dreaming of living in another country, specifically, the US of A. I'm still far from realizing that dream. But I am more confident now that, it has a big possiblity of coming true.

I will forever cherish the opportunity of visiting other countries, may it be in Asia or Europe. This is such an amazing, amazing journey and I can't wait to take the next one.