Remember when I won a trip to Guilin last year during one of our company trip? Well, I decided to use it last week and so I went to travel to Guilin with my travel buddies: Ate Carla and Ate Doris. We started our trip Wednesday evening, taking the train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and staying in Century Plaza Hotel, a four star hotel 10 mins. walking distance from the train station.

The trip started Thursday morning, taking the earliest train from Shenzhen North Station (Shenzhen Bei) to Guilin. The train ride took 3 hrs. running around 300 kms. per hour. The first class seat is very comfortable with the seating arrangement 2 - 2. We got free snacks as well, some nuts and biscuits and orange juice. There's never a dull scenery, we passed by beautiful and peaceful fields and mountains along the way. Three hours just passed by. 

We then met our guide named Johnny and he brought us to this restaurant where we met the tour operator's owner, Christine. She was the one sponsoring the trip and then she treated us to this wonderful lunch, where they served the spicy local stuff. Oh we all love it!

After the heavy lunch, we drove for 2 hrs. to Longsheng, famous for its rice terraces and its ethnic group called Yao and Juang Tribe. After two hours drive, we stopped by first in the entrance where Johnny brought our tickets. We also need to repack our stuff because we will need to leave the things that are not needed. And boy, Johnny was so right. When we reached the parking area where we started walking up, I can't imagine bringing our big luggages here because it will be very tiring. Porters are available, however they are mostly women so you wouldn't want that. There are sedan chairs available too where two men will carry you to your accommodation. The hike will take 30 mins. and all uphill with lots of stairs. I was only bringing my bag for the night and I was exhausted.

One of the highlights with this trip is meeting the local tribes living in the area. We have encountered Yao women, who are known for their long hair (they never cut their hair, if they do, they will make a wig out of it and still put it in their head - imagine the heaviness!), and the reason they said is for longevity and love. They are also known for being aggressive in business, which I think is true because they will ask to have a picture with you, then you will need to pay them of RMB 20. Then they will start selling you stuff, not very expensive but really nice tribe stuff reasonably priced, oh how I love their scarves! I wish I brought more!

It was a fantastic trip, truly! I will soon write a part two which will be about our accommodation and other alternative. Stay tuned! :)

Last week my colleague came up to me and asked if I was free that evening, she was inviting me to this horse show called Cavalia. I have seen ads about this show in the newspaper, but I have never really thought of going. Finally, I said yes, I can come with her and use her extra ticket. Her extra ticket was due to her husband not being able to come, while I do need some time off from both home and work, so off we went!

What's interesting with Cavalia is that you will not just see people perform, the horses are the absolute star of the night. They claimed that they Cavalia have 40 horses in total. Oh you just won't believe what you'll see, they are well trained, smart, funny and cute, all at the same time! The dancers were very energetic and very passionate, seeing those acrobats are just unbelievable! And the music being sang by the band at the back of the stage is so superb. There's nothing like it! They also used technology to create a horse illusion in some parts of the show. There's also the combination of colored light and water poured from the top was amazing!

We were forbidden to take photos so unfortunately, I cannot show the performance to you guys, however they have this Youtube video that brings justice. Here's the link: Cavalia Youtube. They will be in Hong Kong until May 10, and ticket price starts from HK$395 - HK$1,895 (VIP) seats. I think the seats we got are not so bad - the yellow seats. Seat map here! Sorry, my photos are really bad, time to buy a new camera! :(

The show's duration is 2 hrs. with a 30 minute intermission. Watch this in the evening so you will feel comfortable, I heard it can be hot during the day in the tents. 

I am giving this show a 4.5 stars!  I recommend this to everyone especially for families, I'm sure whether you're a kid or a kid at heart, you will love this. 

It's definitely worth the time, c'mon give these horses a chance! You won't be sorry. :)

Two months ago, I had a lucky opportunity to savor a wonderful lunch in a Relais and Chateaux restaurant in Taichung, called Le Mout, top 26 of Asia's 50 best Restaurant of 2015. The word Le Mout means, a process of fermentation of grape juice into fine wine. From the name itself, they serve French cuisine but another factor to look at that makes this restaurant special, is the elegant environment the building portrays and the truly exceptional service of the staff around you from the moment they open the door until you bid farewell. I hope the below photos bring justice to describe my exceptional experience here. 

Overall, it was a superb experience, with each dish bursting a flavorful sensational feeling in my mouth. I absolutely love every meal they served us. I could not speak Mandarin, but the staff thoroughly explained what they were serving me with a sincere smile on their faces. With the price we paid in the restaurant, I can't argue at all. I am giving this restaurant a FIVE out of FIVE. 

Sometimes I do get dull days especially when I can't think of anything new to do here in Hong Kong. I am a type of person that easily get bored if things become very repetitive. The usual step I would do is to google (yes, this is now a verb), "Hong-Kong-weekend-what-to-do", and the list will drag me from the amusements parks to the museums. Later on I figured that maybe I can make up a list of nice things to do on a weekend (or even on a weekday during your lunch break), a list of places to go to whenever I wanted to feel cheer up. This do not requires so much time, it actually depends on how much time you have, you can be very flexible.

Just around our office in Lyndhurst Terrace, I recommend three places to go to that can cheer you up! 

One of the best short trip I had was when we visited the historical place of Bataan. Before we went to Bataan, it is very essential that you do your research. Alas, we only have an overnight to explore the area, given the time we could have explored more. I was inspired to visit Bataan because there is a hotel called Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar which features heritage houses of the Philippines. Walking around the place, I felt I have been transferred back in time a hundred years ago. This hotel is a destination itself, a must visit if you are interested to see how Filipinos in the past live.

Mac's sister, Liezl went with us and we stayed in a duplex style house that is very modern in the inside. Based on the staff service, I will rate this hotel a four star, while if I will based it in the destination, this is definitely a five star.

How we go:

From Pasay bus terminal, we took the Genesis bus going to Balanga Bataan. Once we arrived in Balanga, we took a jeep that takes around 40 mins. to get to Bagac. Just make sure to inform the driver that you would like to visit Las Casas and they will let you know when to get off. We get off in a road where there are lots of tricycle waiting. You do not need to take the tric as it's only 500 meters away, which is what we did. A lot of people who visit the area usually have a car, while we approach the premises by foot. It's so funny, but oh well... what can we do? We do not want to spend money on tric when we can walk seeing fields and mountains.

How much we spent:

Accommodation with breakfast and tours: PHP 6,000+ (booked through agoda.com)

Lunch & dinner: PHP 1,500 per meal for 3 persons x 2 meals = PHP 3,000

Bus: PHP 210 per person per way

Souvenirs (cup, t-shirt, book): PHP 5,200

It is possible to visit the area without staying overnight because they also offer day tours.

Again, very memorable and I will surely come back to see the other sights and probably to experience the beach.

Radisson Blu will just be another four star hotel. Some things do not really work well but it pretty has much what you need. The shower is slippery and there is really no working window and door that separates it from the bedroom itself. They delivered the wrong order in the evening and in the morning, no one was there to meet us when we arrived atbthe Tabu. The food is good still with your normal buffet breakfast.

We had a twenty minutes walk to the business centre with a few shops around. It has everything that you need but leaves you without any other option. Anyway, I have purchased a Nelson Mandela Autobiography book since I would like to really learn more about him. When we came back to the hotel, we were picked up by Pembury Tours Representative again and was driven to Eagles Craig, Shamwari Game Reserve. The drive took us an hour and fifteen minutes. 

Shamwari Game Reserve without a doubt is veryyy cold during these months. My hands are actually freezing. After having lunch and dinner here I am sure to say that they do offer asian cuisine here. Drinks are at an additional charge except during the game drive. They are also known for bird sightings thus the name, that they have this telescope in the room. Out of all the properties, this is also the best property that they have. We have seen the other two but it did not impress me much. 

The game drive however was wonderful, just marvelous. They have covered jeeps, probide ponchos, blankets and heated water bottle in the morning. They even have seat belts.

The game drive this afternoon, although short offered us what we really wanted to see. We finally saw lions and cheetah. There were two lions first lying around after eating the wild pig. Then two cheetahs laying around as well. They were yawning and were looking bored while looking at us. The last two lions which seemed to be a couple were running after a type of antelope. We followed then anyway but since we kept on bugging them, they decided to call it a night and lay around again lazily. 

Beth (a guy), is a very jolly person, I could say. We were really thankful that he showed us what we needed. We saw animals in a bigger amount compared to Kruger and Sabi Sabi. Never saw an elephant though but they claimed that big five can be seen here, plus the other cats such as cheetah and leopard.