From our 5-day trip to Hong Kong, 1 thing I observed is that this place is not cheap. You'll definitely get what you paid for. We stayed at Crystal Hostel inside Chungking Mansion during weekdays mostly because we thought we'll spend most of the day wandering around, but then it was really tiring (bring really comfy shoes) so we kinda take rests during late afternoon since Chungking Mansion is in Tsim Sha Tsui (located at the center of most tourist spots). We transferred to Stanford Hotel during the weekend since most of these cheap hotels' rates rise up to which they are the almost same price with high-end end hotels.
Stanford Hotel, Mongkok
Pros:
Very spacious room (Skyline room)
Affordable and very accessible
Near the MTR, malls, restaurants, food stalls, street markets
Good breakfast buffet
Very cozy and clean room
Nice window view
A free phone you can use while roaming around
Very friendly staffs
Complimentary water
There is a user-friendly safe
You can also leave your luggage in the lobby if you are checking out but still want to go around a bit more
Cons:
The only thing I can say that may be needed to be out in there is that, there was no bidet. lol
Note:
There is a 500HKD deposit, not sure if this goes up if you stayed more than 1 night. Better use a credit card so you won't have to take that money off your vacation budget.
We Stayed in a double room at Crystal Hostel, booked thru Booking.com.
Note: When you book here, you'd be credited by some percentage only.
Their system only holds the amount for reservation, then you'll pay the whole amount when you get there via Cash or Credit card.
Double Room (Crystal Hostel)
Pros:
Tony the receptionist was excellent, he was accommodating and polite.
Room temp is cool, we didn't use the AC on some nights. it was 25-32 degree Celsius outside, just to give you an idea on what the weather was.
It is very near establishments, train station (Tsim Sha Tsui-red line)
It is located in Block E, at the back of the building. more people go to Block A, near the entrance.
If you just need somewhere to sleep because you'll be out all day, this is the place to be.
Safe and secured. we had no troubles leaving valuable items in the room
The Western Union(first one on the left side upon entrance) inside Chungking Mansion has the highest money exchange rate from what we've seen around Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok area.
Cons:
So many Indian people that might come on aggressive in some sort to sell you something or offer you rooms, if you're not comfortable with this, do not book here. although my partner was relieved when we enter the hostel because our receptionist is polite. I just told her to not look at anyone when we get past all the stores since the hostel is in Block E.
It is located in Block E, at the back of the building.
The room has limited space. we had to put our luggage under the bed, and also enter the room one at a time.
The toilet was also cramped but doable.
I suggest bring your own toiletries, towels, and blanket.
This is the 2nd time I visited Osaka, though this was a shorter visit than before. The last time I went in Osaka was back in July 2013, with my previous company. This time I was allowed to extend my stay and go to Tokyo.
We stayed in Hilton Hotel, the location was nice. Shopping malls, train stations, coffee shops, restaurants are nearby. I stayed there for 2 nights, I went to Tokyo on the 3rd morning, exhausted because of Universal Studios and no sleep. But it was all worth it, I got some sleep while I was riding Nozomi Bullet Train from Osaka to Tokyo. From Hilton Hotel, the Osaka train station was a walking distance but it was raining so I had to call a cab. then from Osaka, I took a train going to Shin-Osaka which was 10 minutes away. From Shin-Osaka, I waited an hour for my scheduled bullet train trip going to Tokyo, travel time was approx. 3 hours.
It was thrilling traveling alone in a non-familiar place where people hardly speak English. I tried to stay awake during drop offs on stations. It was really nice to see the beauty of the provinces, there were mountains up until you see buildings and feel that you're getting near the city. The city where I found great memories 11 years ago (2004).
I stayed in Adachi-Ku with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. We drove days and nights in Tokyo, it doesn't matter what time it is. there are restaurants and shopping centers and spas that are open until...I'm not even sure if they are open 24hrs.
We drove to Shibuya to see Hachiko, it was late midnight and people there are everywhere like it was still 6PM. Of course,
I wouldn't forget to go back to where I first fell in love with a street, I came back to Ochanomizu. It was a place where music stores are everywhere. Sadly, it was not like 11 years ago, where you see bands walking with their gears, streets are loud and guitars are literally everywhere. I stopped by some shops and bought some for me and my drummer brother. We almost bought a telecaster type guitar, I'm not sure if it was Fender though it looked customized. I didn't bother to hold it and take a picture because I already decided not to buy it, and it breaks my heart.
After roaming and reminiscing, me and my aunt left Adachi-Ku and stayed in Fussa. We shopped and drove around. And man, have I told you I'm a thrift shop junkie! I can spend the whole day just looking for Home-use items. We also shopped inside U.S. base, too bad my timing wasn't perfect because there was a sale after I left Tokyo. We also pub crawled, and this time I felt more homey, as there were more Americans than Japanese, so it was easier talking to anyone.
Right now, the only countries I've been to was Japan and of course Philippines. And still, Tokyo's my favorite place on earth. That's why I want to travel more and see if I will still have those butterflies when I'm in other places.
Why did I mentioned ‘matured’ to describe a guest from an underdeveloped
(I was about to use ‘third world’ to describe my country. But after I researched,
I found out that there are people considering Philippines as not a third world,
maybe a level higher than that. But I will not discuss about that here) country
to one of the most established country in Asia?
I first landed my feet in Japan way back 2004; I was still
in High School. My mom used to do this surprise trips for herself when she was
younger, well actually it was me and my dad who were being surprised at that
time. We got there through Philippine Airlines, it was my first time to ride a plane
and so I did funny things like pressing a lot of buttons I see there. It was a
very memorable moment, first time I’ve been to Disney Land (though I was having
a bad day because of migraine), first time I went to Ochanomizu, Tokyo; I
almost drooled literally because of the music shops around. The food and people
were great. If there’s one thing I don’t like about Japan that would be the
scary feeling that all this Asian mostly Japanese horror films are almost real
because I was right there living in a house same with the movies. Haha. And so,
I really hoped that I would go back there someday, until my current company
gave incentives to the whole office and planned an international trip. The original
plan was to go to China but then during the planning there was flu spreading or
at least there was news that there is indeed flu in China so my company decided
to change it to Singapore. But most of my office mates had already gone there
and so Japan became the theme and everyone was so excited! I am shocked because
when it was still China I decided not to come, and yes, Japan is my deal
breaker that time.
I literally had no sleep before our 7am flight. The only
time I get to rest my eyes was during our fly. 4 hours is travel time, but I
had to stretch and stretch my legs so I napped for roughly 2 hours.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival at Kansas
Airport,
Osaka Aquarium
Kaiyukan
Osaka Castle
Lunch and Dinner
at Dotonbori
Day 2:Universal Studios
Lunch at Universal
Shinsaibashi shopping
Dinner around New
Otani Hotel
Day 3:Kiyomizudera, Kyoto
Tōdai-ji, Nara
Lunch at The Buffet Style Sara, Kyoto
Dinner at Ramen house in Dotonbori
Free time-shopping
Day 4: Free time- bike around
Departure
We stayed at New Otani Hotel
I thought I will not enjoy this trip as much as I enjoyed going to
Tokyo 9 years ago. I actually felt like not going back, it’s some place you can
feel more than home (without your loved ones). I feel safe, comfortable, even
if I’m just reminiscing I still feel like dashing through clouds while sipping
cold drinks.
