Just documenting our family’s quick getaway to Hong Kong and one-day trip to Macau! 🇭🇰 🇲🇴 It was our third time in Hong Kong (read my HK first trip) but our first time to visit this quaint administrative region: Macau, also known as Las Vegas of the East!

This trip was kind of spontaneous; we had originally decided to postpone our trip (to a different country initially) due to some family circumstances. But at the last minute, things got better, and we were able to pull off this trip. Since we didn’t have much time to plan, we opted for somewhere we had already visited. We were tossing between Singapore and Hong Kong for a very “important” reason—it has to have an amusement park! It was for the kids! Eventually, we chose Hong Kong because it’s near & we can do a side trip to Macau, which all of us haven’t visited before!

It was nice to see HK this lively. ☺️ The last time we went there in 2020 (before pandemic), it was very, hmm, somber? There were hardly any tourists, even our hotel upgraded us to a fancier, bigger room. There was something going on there last time, and some places were being cautious about traveling there. But we figured it was still good to go, so we went for it. It was quite a contrast from the HK I visited back in 2016. Surprisingly, Disneyland didn’t have many people around; in fact, we enjoyed riding many attractions because there were hardly any lines (read my first Disneyland adventure). However, 2024 HK is a whole different vibe; bustling with people—so many tourists! It was refreshing to see that change!

We weren’t able to ride a lot this time, but my ever-generous sister booked us early access, so we were able to check out their new attraction—the world of frozen! ❄️ It was so pretty! Glad we had time to check ‘em out before the rest of the people got in! (and there were so many people, I tell you!) We managed to do what we weren’t able to do last time: take a photo with Minnie Mouse/any Disney characters, see the parade, and watch the final fireworks display! They also done renovating the castle, it was amazing to see! To sum up, it was exhausting! The rest of the HK trip was spent to exploring places we hadn’t visited during our previous visit. Too bad we only discovered that there are also cherry blossom parks in HK!

For me, the highlight of this trip is our Macau one-day trip! It’s similar to HK but defo different experience! One, the Portuguese influence remained relevant; in fact, most signage still has Portuguese in it! We went to the Cotai Strip, where the casinos and hotels are! I was amazed at how they were able replicate popular places in London, Paris (that Eiffel Tower), and Venice! Yeah, walking around was a bit of a workout, but were determined to make the most of the day, so, naturally, we couldn’t pass up the chance to visit the famous St. Paul Ruins and Senado Square! We met a very nice lady who helped us out (got lost, basic  travelers dilemma 🙈), we even got to eat at a restaurant thanks to her! There are so many Filipinos there! I think I heard more Tagalog there than in HK, and it seems they are residents (?) there already (shoutout to the nice family in the bus on our way to Senado Square who helped us find our way to St. Paul Ruins!) Overall, it was another amazing trip, also one for the books!