Ocean Park, Hong Kong

by Gay Mitra - January 19, 2010August 13, 201414

We (my husband Shervin, my sister Gabe and I) did a mad dash through Hong Kong’s MTR stations, from the Tung Chung Line to the Island Line. It was already 2:30 PM and we were still at Central Station, waiting for the train to Admiralty. Earlier that day we went to Lantau Island to see…

Tian Tan Buddha

by Gay Mitra - January 17, 2010August 13, 20144

When in Hong Kong, do not squeeze Tian Tan Buddha and Ocean Park in one day. First, transportation will take too much time because they’re on different islands (and not entirely reachable by MTR). Second, half a day is just not enough for both. Tian Tan Buddha looming in the fog.I speak of this with…

Hong Kong and All Its Jazz

by Gay Mitra - January 14, 2010August 13, 20148

We awoke at 6:00 PM from a three-hour nap. Though we were able to recuperate from lack of sleep, we felt bad for sleeping in because we could have used the three hours on a walking tour. Will our host, assured us that no time was wasted for it rained the whole afternoon. We didn’t…

A Tea House With No Name

by Gay Mitra - January 12, 2010August 13, 20145

The primary reason for booking our Hong Kong flight is that it was our cheapest option to enter China. We were able to score tickets with a 30% discount (fare was brought down to P1,995 MNL-HK) from their August 2009 sale. From Hong Kong, we will be taking the 24-hour train to Beijing. We aren’t…

Transport Options from HK International Airport

by Gay Mitra - January 11, 2010August 13, 201413

Our Cebu Pacific flight bound for Hong Kong touched down at its expected time of 7:40 AM. Because of its popularity among Filipino vacationers, I thought getting past immigration would be swift. But heck no – or perhaps it was just that particular official, whom I want to proclaim “The Most Meticulous Immigration Officer of…

Travel Romance: Temporary Residence Visa for Foreigners with Filipino Spouses

by Gay Mitra - January 9, 2010August 13, 201411

“This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know upfront, this is not a love story…” – or something like that. A quote from 500 Days of Summer. Just thought of throwing that in. For the love of travelling, you end up in far-flung places to maybe party, soul-search, sight-see, and even…

Visa Extension for Foreigners in the Philippines

by Gay Mitra - January 6, 2010August 13, 201414

So let’s say you’ve fallen in love with the Philippines and you’ve decided to stay longer than 21 days (that’s never enough for a country with 7,000+ islands!) and your visa’s about to expire, how do you go about the extension? Since we don’t have any land borders shared with other countries, you can fly…

9 Countries for 2009: ‘Best Of’ Snippets Part II

by Gay Mitra - January 4, 2010August 13, 20149

If you can’t play the video, it may have been removed because of its soundtrack. You can view it here instead.Here you go, Part II of Pinay Travel Junkie’s ‘Best Of’ video. Rush (and amateur) editing quite obvious, but I’m mighty proud. I forced myself to finish the second part just because I mentioned ‘to…

9 Countries for 2009: ‘Best Of’ Snippets

by Gay Mitra - January 3, 2010August 13, 20149

If you can’t play the video, it may have been removed because of its soundtrack. You can view it here instead.Part 1 of Pinay Travel Junkie’s Best Of 2009 video. ‘Best Of’ may not pertain to the best choices in town, but they’re the most unforgettable for me. Places I have been to and experiences…

Forget Climate Change

by Gay Mitra - January 2, 2010August 13, 20144

Smoke gobbling Manila. View of Malate, Paco and Sampaloc from Burgundy Westbay Tower’s Roofdeck.Streets of Manila turn into war zones every New Year’s Eve. And the annual theme: Forget poverty, forget climate change. Considered as one of the happiest people on the planet, the Filipinos greeted 2010 with a bang. Literally. Despite catastrophic Typhoon Ondoy’s…