Davao City: Life is Here

Hi, loves! How are you? I’m great, btw. Sorry for being MIA for the past few days; my schedule was jam packed! Thursday, I went to Los Banos for ze boyfriend’s birthday salubong (he is turning turned 23!). We had an amazing dinner date at Joe’s, and then had a couple of drinks at Jacques, and we went to IC’s Bar, too, for another party. We went back to Manila last Friday afternoon to have dinner with ze boyfriend’s mom. We had reservations at the Jeepney Café at Hotel Intercontinental Manila. The buffet was so-so; I loved their steak and their dessert station. A gastronomic experience, indeed! Then come Friday, we went to SM Megamall for lunch before ze boyfriend’s mom leaves for Davao. Then we boarded the bus to go back to Los Banos for another party: Edwin’s birthday. Will blog about this soon, prolly. Too bad, though, I didn’t have much photos during my (long) weekend. How was yours, anyway?

For today, I’d be sharing with you my first trip to Davao last January 16 to 19, 2012. This is a memorable trip for me for two reasons: first, it’s my first time to ride an airplane; second, it’s my first time outside of Luzon. Yeah, and add up the fact that I ‘m visiting my then ex-boyfriend (aka as ze boyfriend), and we’re staying at their place. LOL

DAY 1 I was glad that I was able to go to this trip with friends Jen, Vea, and LA. It made the trip more memorable. Anyway, our flight was scheduled at 2PM, and we were at the airport before noon. After checking in, we had lunch, and waited for our flight.


Have I mentioned it was my first time to ride airplane? It was Jen’s first time, too, so we had mixed feelings towards the whole flight thing. I was quite worried since the then-ex told me I should try gasping for more air by yawning to prevent my ears from popping, and I had trouble “gasping for air.” Haha! That was the funny part.



So yeah, we landed, finally! HELLO, DAVAO!



The then-ex and his cousin, Kuya Butch (+) picked us up from the airport. Nothing much on our itinerary that day, but a zipline ride at Zip City Davao.



I heard great comments about Zip City Hilltop in Barangay Langub, so we decided to give it a try. The place was majestic. You have a wonderful view of Davao Gulf and Mt. Apo while traversing the cable. Aside from the view, the zip line is fitting for first timers: the length is only 320 meters, and 120 meters above the ground. Compared to other zip lines, this is a baby. Plus, it’s dubbed as the “most friendly zip line for all ages.”



I forgot how much the zip line fee is, but it’s quite affordable, I’m sure. Plus, they gave us coupons for a nearby restaurant. Finally, here we are, donning our safety gear on the unloading platform.



It was everyone’s first time to try zip lining. AJ was truly terrified coz he’s afraid of heights. Hehe. Time to conquer that fear, dear! But yeah, I was having doubts, as well. I mean come on, NO ONE WILL FRIGGIN’ CATCH ME IF A FALL!!!



AND WE SURVIVED!!! It was truly a fun experience, I must say. The mixture of fear, euphoria, and that adrenaline rush, amazeballs!



After our zip line ride, we headed to Abreeza Mall to pay for our reservations at the Pearl Farm Resort. We paid Php1800 for our daytrip for Day 3 of our Davao trip. We then headed home to prepare for AJ’s birthday (January 17) salubong. Her sister, Erika, and I baked cupcakes! Haha!



That’s for now, loves! I’ll share with you the rest of our trip soon!

Love,


ZIP CITY
Location: Hill Top Davao, Barangay Langub, Diversion Road, Ma-a, Davao City
Contact Numbers: +6382-2822339, +6382-2861055 +639236586049
Email: davaowildwater@yahoo.com.
Website: http://www.zipcity.psdgroupph.com

Technorati Tags: Davao,travel,trip,airplane,Cebu Pacific,zip line,adventure,friends,Zip City

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Hong Kong Day 2: Ocean Park Hong Kong

How’s Day 2 of your 2014, so far? Mine’s ok! Haha.

Anyway, Day 2 of our family’s Hong Kong getaway last April was dedicated to visiting Ocean Park Hong Kong. Have I mentioned how easy commuting in Hong Kong is??? I love their public transportation system; hoping we have disciplined commuters and effective commuting system, too!

I highly recommend buying an Octopus Card once you get to Hong Kong. The Octopus card is similar to the LRT/MRT card; only BETTER. Aside from using the card at the MTR, you can also use it to pay for your bus fare. In addition, you can use it for your purchases at 7-11, SaSa, and other retail stores, parking lots, and more! It’s a reloadable card that you can use to pay for almost everything! The regular Octopus card costs HK$150 (HK$100 load but HK$50 is refundable). It has other card types, such as the Tourist Octopus card. We opted to get the regular one, so we can still refund the HK$50. You can buy the Octopus card at the airport or any MTR station (that’s where we got ours). Also, fares are relatively cheaper if you use the card compared to giving cash for your fare.

We wanted to get there as the park opens (10AM), so we left the hostel at 9AM. Mirador Mansions is very near the MTR station (Tsim Sha Tsui station), so commuting was really easy for us. To get to Ocean Park, ride the Tsuen Wan Line train towards Central, and get off at the Admiralty Station. Walk to Admiralty West Bus Terminus (Exit B) and wait for the 629 Bus that will take you to the Ocean Park Main Entrance (bus trip is around 25 – 30 minutes). The bus will drop you off the entrance; ride the escalator going up, and HELLO, OCEAN PARK!!!

Lace longsleeves top from Forever 21, Aztec print skirt from Pixie Dust, black tights from Hong Kong, Red jelly flats from MEL, Le Pliage Longchamp bag

We got our tickets at Asia Travel because it’s cheaper there compared to buying it at the gate. I think, during our trip, tickets cost HK$290 (around Php1500) at the entrance, but we got our tickets at HK$252 each (around Php1300) instead. Few hundred bucks cheaper ;)

Ocean Park Hong Kong is soooooooooooo big. Unlike Manila Ocean Park, HK OP has tons of rides and other amusements aside from the usual aquariums. It has two areas (The Waterfront and The Summit), which are connected by the cable cars and the Ocean Express.

The Waterfront area has 5 “sub-areas” : Amazing Asian Animals, Aqua City, Waterfront Cable Car Station, Ocean Express Waterfront Station, and Whiskers Harbour. The Summit has 7 sub-areas: Submmit Cable Car Station, Ocean Express Summit Station, Marine World, Adventure Land, Thriller Mountain, Polar Adventure, and Rainforest.






We visited The Summit first, and we rode the cable car going there. IT WAS AMAZING! ‘Twas my first time to ride the cable car. A bit terrifying, yes, but the experience was worth it. Take the cable car option if you’re a thrill junkie; if you’re afraid of heights, I suggest you take the Ocean Express instead. My parents visited Ocean Park Hong Kong in 1994, and they swore the cable car ride wasn’t that loooong then. I guess the park underwent tons of renovations since then.









The Summit has more rides compared to The Waterfront. However, we weren’t able to ride everything ‘coz most were scary! The most adventurous ride we went on was the Mine Train! The track is more than half a kilometer long and is 85 meters off the ground. Plus, it was beside the ocean! We felt like we would fall off to the ocean!

Here’s a picture of the Mine Train!

My favorite attraction at The Summit was the South Pole Spectacular. Was able to  meet real live penguins!!! They were really cute and playful! Be warned though, it’s verrrry cold inside! Around 8-10 degrees inside the building.




 

We also got to watch the dolphins show. It was quite similar to the show at Ocean Adventure in Subic.



They were many things to see at The Summit, but we were really tired from all the walking. We then headed back down to The Waterfront via the Cable Car. Once there, we visited my next favorite attraction: the Giant Panda Adventure!



This was the highlight of my trip to Ocean Park! I loooove pandas <3 Good thing the pandas there were awake! One of the pandas just woke up from his nap and he was hungry, so he ate in front of us! UGGGGH. CUDDLY PANDAS!!!





I also bought a souvenir: a panda plushie. My boyfriend and I named him (CHESTER) [apparently, Chester is my TIGER plushie. Haha! #confused] GAO.



The dancing lights fountain show marks the closing of the park, which is at 6PM. So be there before 6PM, as people would flock that area. We didn’t wait for the show since we were too tired.





We went back to Tsim Sha Tsui the same way we went to Ocean Park: 629 bus and MTR ride to Tsim Sha Tsui. We headed back to our hotel and rested for a while. After, we headed out to scout for dinner, and we landed at KFC. Haha!

‘Till next post, readers!

Love,

Dianne

(See previous posts about our Hong Kong trip here and here!)

Technorati Tags: hong kong,ocean park,family,love,ocean park hong kong,panda,animals,penguin,rides,forever21,mel,pixie dust,longchamp,ootd,outfit

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