• Duration: 5 days 4 nights (19th Dec to 23rd Dec 2011)
• Accommodation: Hotel Madrid, GBP242 per person for 4 nights
• Flight: Easyjet, GBP157 (return flight from Bristol to Rome)
• Season/Temperature: Winter, average 0 to 2 degrees Celsius

Note: click on images to enlarge and click on links for further info.

DK Eyewitness Rome

Prior to coming to Rome, I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel book for Rome (~£12 on Amazon). I used it to plan my trip to maximise our stay there. I highly recommend it. One of its unique features is the “suggested itinerary” which I modified to meet our interest. Our planned itinerary is listed below.

For further details on what we did, please continue reading (this post is separated by days below)

Day 1 – 19 December 2011 (available below)

1. Spanish Steps – evening view
2. Trevi Fountain – evening view

Day 2 – 20 December 2011 (available below)

1. Colosseum
2. Palatine Hill
3. Roman Forum
4. Capitol Hill
5. Pantheon
6. Piazza Navona & Christmas Market

Day 3 – 21 December 2011 (to be published soon)

1. Vatican City
2. St Peter’s Basilica
3. Vatican Musems & Sistine Chapel

Day 4 – 22 December 2011 (to be published soon)

1. Trevi Fountain – day view
2. Spanish Steps – day view
3. Shopping at Via dei Condotti
4. Villa Borghese
5. Circus Maximus
6. Baths of Caracalla
7. Piazza del Popolo – evening view

Day 5 – 23 December 2011 (to be published soon)

1. Mausoleum of Augustus
2. Palace of Justice
3. Hadrian’s Mausoleum
4. Piazza del Popolo – day view
5. Fly back to UK

If you’re interested in seeing the photos I took in Rome, it is available in my Flickr page here.

Day 1 (19 December 2011)

Leonardo Express

We arrived in Rome Fiumicino airport around 4PM. From there, we took the Leonardo Express train to Termini (the central train station in the city). The Leonardo Express was €16 and the trip took us 30 minutes. From Termini, we took the Metro to Spagna, the district where our hotel is located. I was quite shocked to see the sad state of these Metro stations. Although it provides efficient and timely service, in general the Metro stations looks very old and dirty. Wires dangling, trash, vandalisms etc.

When we arrived in Spagna, we exited right next to the Spanish Steps. I was quite pleased to know that our hotel, Hotel Madrid, was very near the Spanish Steps and the famous shopping district, Via dei Condotti. As for the hotel, I find the guy at the counter quite friendly. In terms of facilities, it’s your average Rome hotel. I find the small old lift amusing. The rooms were OK, but the bathroom really surprised us. It’s obvious they had put some effort into upgrading the bathrooms. It was very nice. Our room had a very nice view of the small streets beneath (we were on the 3rd floor).

Hotel Madrid

After settling in, it was around 6PM (sunset is around 5PM). We took out our map and went out exploring the city. We went to the famous Via dei Condotti where all the fancy brands are located. From there, we walked south towards Trevi Fountain. I was surprised to find the distances between locations were quite near (I guess things tend to look far from each other on a map).

Trevi Fountain

The Trevi fountain was absolutely gorgeous. The lightings under the water and around the scultures made everything looked surreal. We sat beside the fountain for a while, admiring the designs. After taking photos, we had dinner at a nice cosy Italian restaurant nearby. After that, we walked back along the small alleys in the city to explore the shops.

Day 2 (20 December 2011)

Breakfast at Hotel Madrid

We woke up early that day. The breakfast offered at the hotel was just average, but what I was really impressed with is the coffee. I am well aware that Italy is famous for their great coffee. However, I have to say that from my stay here, the cappuccino at the hotel I stayed (Hotel Madrid), was definitely one of the best.

After breakfast, we took the Metro from Spagna to Colosseo station (Italian for Colosseum). We arrived around 9:30AM. The moment we exited the Colosseo station, the Colosseum (built: 70AD) was right in front of us. I was in awe to see its massive structure. The citadel of ancient Rome, right in front of my eyes. Amazing. Simply amazing.

Colosseum

One of the best thing about coming to Rome in winter is that the crowd is at its minimum. Since we arrived early in the morning, the crowd was even less. We only queued for 10 minutes to get our tickets. We collected the audio guide after that we were off exploring the Colosseum.

The Colosseum is actually not its original name. Back in ancient Rome it was known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. This is because it was built by emperors of the Flavian dynasty. The word Colosseo was probably derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby at the time.

Inside the Colosseum

I know that Rome was sacked by the Goths and over the years Roman structures were pillaged by people. But what really shocked me was that back in the 1600s, the Pope made the Colosseum as a quarry for Renaissance projects. That essentially stripped all remaining marble from the Colosseum. A big chunk of its marble and stone have been converted to other structures in the Vatican and around Rome. The most evident is the steps in front of St Peter’s Basilica.

Arch of Constantine

From the Colosseum, we went to inspect the Arch of Constantine, (built: 315AD) situated right next to amphitheater.

Ancient Romans

Outside the Colosseum, we saw a number of people dressed as ancient Roman soldiers and officials. They would try to convince you to take photos with them. This is a tourist trap. Rome is full with con-mans. I’ve heard many stories of people being conned into this. The honest ones would say their price and you can negotiate. Some would force you to take photos with them without announcing the price, and suddenly, after the photo shoot, they would ask for something like 30 Euros. Be careful. Make sure to negotiate the price beforehand. (I’ll write about my con-man experience on day 4)

Palatine Hill

After admiring the architecture and history of the Arch of Constantine,, we went on to Palatine Hill, the ancient residence of the Caesars. There were a number of structures still standing, notably the residence of Augustus and emperors from the Flavian dynasty. There were even remains on an aqueduct going into Palatine Hill. I’ve always been amazed at the technology of the aqueduct. It’s the ancient equivalent of modern-day piping.

Some spots from Palatine Hill gave us an amazing view of the city. The emperors had a fantastic view of the city. I would imagine they would be very proud to be surrounded by such marvels, while most parts of the world are still living in the jungle.

Roman Forum

From Palatine Hill, we went to the Roman Forum. The main buildings of the forum are no longer standing. However, some smaller temples survived. We visited the Temple of Romulus (in the Forum) that was built in 4th century and explored the remains of the pillars. One particular Arch that caught my attention was the Arch of Septimus Severus (erected in 203AD).

Arch of Septimus Severus

Capitoline Hill

From there, we went on to Capitoline Hill, one of the citadels of the earliest Romans. We explored the area and admired Michelangelo’s cordonata (wide-ramped stair). After that we had teatime at the Capitoline cafeteria. It was a nice rooftop cafe overlooking the south-west of the city. After feeling rejuvenated from the excellent cappuccino served at the Capitoline, we went to the Pantheon. The walk from Capitoline Hill to the Pantheon took us around 10-15 minutes.

Pantheon

The Pantheon (126AD) is the best preserved Roman temple as it was converted into a church in 609AD. It is interesting to note that the famous painter Raphael is buried in the Pantheon. His tomb is clearly marked in the Pantheon.

Piazza Navona

With little sunlight remaining, we walked to Piazza Navona for teatime and to explore the Christmas market. The distance between Pantheon and Piazza Navona is less than 10 minutes by foot. We had a nice teatime at one of the cafes. After that we explored the market and the 2 famous fountains which are the landmark of Piazza Navona. Piazza Navona is located on the ancient site of Stadium of Domitian (80AD), similar in size to the Circus Maximus but used to held foot-based games (rather than chariot-based games).

It was a full day of exploring ancient Rome. I had finally relieved my teenage dream, to see the wonders of the Roman Empire. The next day is set for exploring Christian Rome, the Vatican!

All our lectures are done in the Julian Hodge Building (photo above). It’s a dedicated building for the Business School with all the state-of-the-art facilities for students.

During our orientation week (the week before week 1), we had an election to select our MBA Representatives. Since our cohort is around 220, we  needed to select 11 representatives. Me, along with another 35 students, nominated our names for the election.We had a submit a photo along with a write up about ourselves for the voters.

The elections were done online, and since it was during orientation week, where we still haven’t met most of the class, campaigning was a challenge. Some of the nominees tried reaching out out using Facebook, which in the end turned out to be the most successful method of gaining exposure.

At the beginning of Week 1, the results of the MBA Representatives election were announced. I was glad to hear I was elected. Below are the results:

MBA Reps 1

MBA Reps 2

In terms of nationalities, the representatives are well balanced. We have:

• 1 American
• 1 British
• 1 German
• 1 Russian
• 1 Palestinian
• 2 Indian
• 3 Chinese
• 1 Malaysian (me!)

We had meetings with the MBA Engagement Coordinator every week starting week 1. Our responsibilities includes attending to students issues, disseminating information from the business school, and providing feedback to management.There were not many issues during the first few weeks as most of the students were still easing themselves into uni life.

As promised by our Course Coordinator, the first few weeks went on really fast. By the time we knew it we were swamped with reading lists, tutorial work, and a major assignment coming up in week 6.

Note: click on images to enlarge and click on links for further info.

Etihad - Business Class

Image above: The interior of Etihad’s business class

Etihad - Reclining chairs

Apart from being able to recline the chair to become a full bed, it also provides a full back massage (similar to Osim‘s concept). Actually if I really think about it, it might just be an Osim chair built into the seat.

My flight had a 2 hour transit in Abu Dhabi. I was really amazed with the airport. It’s massive, modern, and they have all sorts of shops for shopping and dining. Very impressive.

Heathrow - Cardiff Uni pickup

I arrived in Heathrow around 7AM. There was a massive queue at Immigration, and they had a dedicated queue for first time students coming to the UK. I was stuck in the queue for nearly 30 minutes. Once I was out, the Cardiff  International Office was there to greet me and other international students that arrived that morning.

The bus ride from Heathrow to Cardiff took around 2 hours 30 minutes. They took us straight to a hall next to the business school where our accommodation is being sorted out. Since I took private accommodation, I got to skip the whole thing entirely.

I had chosen Victoria Hall, which is a private college hall. The hall is a mere 5 minutes walk from the Business School. Since I had done all the payments and paperwork online, all I did when the university took us there was sign some papers and collected my keys.

Victoria Hall

It took me a few days to settle in. Shopping for groceries, bedding and other miscellaneous items took a few trips to the city. Adjusting to student life after working for 4 years turns out not to be that easy after all.

In my flat, there are 5 rooms. My other flatmates are 1 Thai and 3 Chinese (mainland). The Thai guy is also doing MBA, so it feels nice to have a coursemate living nearby. The other 3 Chinese guys are undergrads.

I’ll try to post as frequent possible throughout my MBA.

Note: click on images to enlarge and click on links for further info.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Basic facts on Mount Kilimanjaro

• 5,895 meters (19,341 ft)
• Highest mountain in Tanzania
• Highest mountain in Africa
• One of the 7 Summits of the World
• World’s highest free-standing mountain

Mountain Operator
After much research, we decided to go with Team Kilimanjaro, a London based mountain operator. Details of the climb are below:

• Operator: Team Kilimanjaro
• Website: http://www.teamkilimanjaro.com
• Route: TK Rongai 7 days
• Mode: Full Camping
• Cost: USD2016 (per person for a group of 4)

Earlier in our discussion, we were considering Marangu (a route with huts, no camping required) and Machame (a very famous route that offers excellent scenery). However, given that we wanted a route that offers the best acclimatisation and the best summit rates, the mountain operator suggested their own version of Rongai, dubbed “TK Rongai”.

Kilimanjaro route map

TK, which stands for Team Kilimanjaro, has developed their own version of Rongai which is by far one of the most unique on the market due to its excellent acclamatisation and high success rate. This is a full camping route that starts at the north of the mountain (in red in the map above) and ends at the south-east of the mountain (down the Marangu route, marked in light green in the map), hence you get to see both sides of the mountain.

Our decision to go with Team Kilimanjaro and to choose their specially tailored TK Rongai route was the best decision we made that guaranteed us a trouble-free trip and first class service by TK’s team members.

Flight

KL > Doha > Dar Es Salaam > Kilimanjaro

My flight to Tanzania was from Kuala Lumpur. I was quite concerned with baggage loss/delays, hence I flew into Tanzania with Qatar Airways, a highly respectable airline. Our route and transit:

Kuala Lumpur > Doha > Dar Es Salaam > Kilimanjaro

The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Dar Es Salaam was on Qatar Airways. The flight cost was RM4,333 (US$1,443). I bought this ticket directly from Qatar Airways’ website.

Precision Air

The flight from Dar Es Salaam to Kilimanjaro was on Precision Air, a local airline. The flight cost was RM1,008 (US$336). I bought this ticket from Vayama.com.

Total Flight: RM4,333 (US$1,443) + RM1,008 (US$336) = RM5,341 (US$1,779)

For Malaysian travelers, we do not need to obtain Visa into Tanzania. The immigration officer will greet you with a friendly “karibu” at the airport. Most non-African nationalities are requested to obtain visa on arrival.

Upon arrival in Kilimanjaro airport, TK picked us up and transferred us to Arusha, where we would be spending 2 nights before the climb. The journey from Kilimanjaro airport to Arusha took around 45 mins.

Arusha
Refer to my Arusha blog post here: http://imran.kifli.net/2011/07/tanzania-arusha/

Safari
Refer to my Safari blog post here: http://imran.kifli.net/2011/07/tanzania-safari/

Kilimanjaro – Video summary
My Kilimanjaro trip is summarized in the video below. If you do not have time to read the full details, please enjoy the video below:

Expedition summary:

• Day 1: Trek from Rongai Gate (1997m) to Simba Camp (2635m) – 3 hours, 7KM
• Day 2: Trek from Simba Camp to Kikelelwa Camp (3675m) – 9 hours, 12KM
• Day 3: Trek from Kikelelwa Camp to Mawenzi Camp (4302m) – 5 hours, 4KM
• Day 4: Trek from Mawenzi Camp to School Hut (4717m) – 6 hours, 8KM
• Day 5: Trek from School Hut to summit (5895m). From summit trek to Kibo Hut (4714m)
• Day 6: Trek from Kibo Hut (4714m) to Mandara Hut (2723m) – 9 hours, 22KM
• Day 7: Trek from Mandara Hut to Marangu Gate (1905m) – 3 hours, 8KM

The full set of photos from this expedition is available on my Flickr here: Kilimanjaro Album

If you’re interested in the details of our adventure, please continue reading:

Kilimanjaro – Day 1 (3rd July 2011)
Trek Details: Trek from Rongai Gate (1997m) to Simba Camp (2635m) – 3 hours, 7KM

Team Kilimanjaro picked us up at our hotel, The Outpost Lodge around 8AM. We met Sifuel (Lead Guide) and Tom (Assistant Guide) yesterday when they came over for a short briefing. The rest of the team were there, all 17 of them. Later at the Rongai gate they had to add 1 more porter as our luggage was too heavy (total 18 crew). The breakdown of our team was:

• 4 climbers (me, Aiman, Fazril and Farooq)
• 1 lead guide (Sifuel Moshi)
• 2 assistant guides (Max and Tom)
• 1 temporary guide (Yasin) – to assist us on summit day
• 2 waiters (Nickson and Mark) – they are both porters and waiters
• 1 cook
• 11 porters

Yup, as you can see, it was quite like a small platoon moving up the mountain. Initially the plan was for us to head to Marangu Gate (Kilimanjaro National park’s main gate) for registration, and from there we’ll head to Rongai Gate. The journey from Arusha to Marangu was scheduled to be around 1 hour 30 mins, and from there to Rongai Gate should take an additional 3 hours. On the way, Sifuel sent somebody from the office in Arusha to register for us, that way we saved 1 hour of traveling time. We went straight to Rongai Gate.

Porters at Rongai Gate

At the Rongai Gate, the guides then started to assign all porters with their share of luggage and items to be carried. All items were weighted to ensure equal distribution. We had lunch at a hut at Rongai Gate, and around 2PM, we started our hike.

Starting our hike at Rongai Gate

Rongai gate was at 1997m AMSL. The plan today is that we’ll be hiking from Rongai Gate to Simba Camp (2635m AMSL). Based on many reviews, the first day of the Rongai route was supposedly the “ugliest” in Kilimanjaro.

Passing by farms at Rongai

The slopes upwards passed through pine plantations followed by fields of potato, maize and a number of wooden shacks by the local Chagga tribe.

Hike to Simba Camp

To be honest I wasn’t that concerned nor disturbed with this. The various plantations looked completely fine to me. I enjoyed the various scenery throughout the trip.

Simba Camp

We reached Simba Camp (2635m AMSL) around 5PM. The weather was chilly and there were a number of camps nearby. I inspected the tents they gave us and I was really impressed. The mess tent (blue colour) was huge, and our personal tents (green colour, twin sharing) was of high quality.

Personal Toilet

Notorious Kilimanjaro toilet

I was also relieved to see that our “personal toilet” looks very pleasant and easy to use (it was way better than the notorious Kilimanjaro public toilet provided at the campsite).

Personal washing basins

Nickson and Mark provided us our personal wash basins to wash ourselves. Later we discovered these wash basins would be given to us every morning and every evening. After washing up, we went into the mess tent for tea time. We were shocked to see the well organised eating table and the popcorn served. Throughout our 7 day trip, popcorn is served for teatime along with hot coffee or tea.

Dinner in mess tent

After we were done with teatime, we relaxed a bit in our tent and explored the campsite. Dinner was served at 7PM. Again we were surprised with the high quality food. We were served potatoes and beef stew. It was during dinner that Nickson introduced himself formally as our waiter. He said we could talk to him about anything, from the mountain, to culture, to even Tanzanian politics. Over the next few days, me and Nickson talked about all sorts of topics. He was a great companion over those freezing nights. Discussing on various issues really takes your mind off the fatigue and the difficulty that lies ahead.

Later when the sun set, the weather got colder. We realized that it’s only at 2635m and the evening temperature was around 12 to 15 degrees. Little did we know, over the following next few days, the evening temperature at our camps would reach sub-zero. Throughout this trip, we were prepared to face mountain sickness (read about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) here), but we were definitely not prepared for the cold.

Kilimanjaro – Day 2 (4th July 2011)
Trek Details: Trek from Simba Camp to Kikelelwa Camp (3675m) – 9 hours, 12KM

We woke up early around 6AM. Nickson and Mark brought coffee and tea to our tents. After our wake-up drink, around 15 mins later, they brought our washing basins. After we washed ourselves in the freezing cold, breakfast was served at the mess tent at 6:30AM.

Breakfast

We were shocked to be served toast and sausages, along with porridge! This is even better than what we get back at home!

After breakfast, we quickly packed up and by 7:30AM we left Simba Camp. Simba Camp, at 2635m AMSL, was at the same level with the clouds. After 1 hour of trekking upwards, we could see the clouldline beneath us. The view was breathtaking.

Lunch at Second Cave

We trekked for about 5 hours and had lunch at Second Cave (3487m). There were 2 sections to the Second Cave site. A section was reserved for folks that will be camping and staying the night there, and the other section was for teams that planned to stay there for lunch. We had our lunch just outside of cave.

Kuku na chipsi

Again, we were shocked with the high quality food that was served. Today we were served our favourite “kuku na chipsi” (Swahili for Chicken and Chips). It’s a popular dish throughout Tanzania. There’s a thing about how they fry their chicken that makes it so tasty.

Kikelelwa Camp (3675m)

After lunch, we had our usual tea and coffee, and continued the journey to Kikelelwa Camp (3675m). The trek after lunch wasn’t as steep as in the morning. It took us an additional 4 hours from lunch to reach the camp. The view of Kikelelwa was stunning.

Aiman sleeping

We had our usual teatime (popcorn), and for dinner we were served hot steamy rice and beef stew. Nothing beats hot rice in the cold weather. The temperature was much colder compared to Simba Camp and we were literally freezing. It was difficult to sleep in such low temperatures. Good thing TK gave us high quality sleeping bags. By the second night (at Kikelelwa), I have figured out how to properly use the sleeping bag. Once you’re tucked in and it’s all zipped up properly, it can be quite warm.

Kilimanjaro – Day 3 (5th July 2011)
Trek Details: Trek from Kikelelwa Camp to Mawenzi Camp (4302m) – 5 hours, 4KM

After yesterdays long and exhausting trek, today’s trek was relatively shorter, but just as streneous. This is because we’re going higher up in the mountain and our body needs time to acclamatize to higher altitude.

The trek to Mawenzi Camp

As we were trekking to Mawenzi, we can see that we were leaving Kilimanjaro on our far right. This is all part of the plan as the Rongai Route is meant to help you acclimatize. The route to Mawenzi is part of the acclimatization process. Later when we arrived at Mawenzi we went for an acclimatization walk up to 4500m.

Big milestone at 4100m!

Along the way, we took a photo at 4100m AMSL, the point where we exceeded Mount Kinabalu (4095m). From then onwards it was a different game altogether as our bodies have never reached these altitudes. All team members (except for Farooq) experienced various mountain sickness symptoms such as headache, loss of appetite, nausea and difficulty in breathing.

Mawenzi Camp (4302m)

Mawenzi Camp was something that look right out from Lord of the Rings. It was situated at the foot of Mawenzi Peak, with a small lake with an underground stream. There was a bit of mobile phone reception at Mawenzi and I quickly tweeted a photo.

Traditional african ugali

Today’s lunch was the famous East African dish Ugali. It is made from maize flour (cornmeal), cooked with water to a porridge- or dough-like consistency. We had that with our usual beef stew. However, despite being hungry, we didn’t have the appetite to eat. After eating half of the ugali, we went back to our tents for a short rest. This is part of the affects of being in high altitude, it lowers your appetite to eat.

Mawenzi - acclimatization walk

Around 4:00PM, Tom and Max took us for an acclimatization walk up to 4500m on Mawenzi. This is one of the features that I like with the TK Rongai route. It gives you ample opportunity to acclimatize as the trek is planned on the “climb high, sleep low” methodology.

Mawenzi Camp - aerial view

The hike up to hill beside Mawenzi took us around 1 hour 30 mins. We had a good view of Mawenzi at the top of the rocky hill. At the top, we stayed there for around 15-20 mins to give our bodies a feel of the altitude at 4500m. After dinner, our guides asked if we needed Diamox and me, Aiman and Fazril took 125mg each. That’s half a pill of the standard dosage (the standard pill is 250mg).

That night we slept around 9:30PM. The surroundings were much more colder than Kikelelwa. You see, it’s not a pleasant experience to leave your comfortable sleeping bag around 2AM to use the toilet. It’s extremely cold (around 2-5 degrees). After day 2, we realized the big difference sunlight made despite the freezing winds. We made it a habit to wait until the sun is fully out around 6AM – 6:15AM before going out of our tents.

Kilimanjaro – Day 4 (6th July 2011)
Trek Details: Trek from Mawenzi Camp to School Hut (4717m) – 6 hours, 8KM

That morning we had our usual breakfast. It was freezing in the morning, but once the sun was out, it became quite bearable. We crossed the small hill that we went for acclimatization yesterday, and from then onwards it was a flat plane with a steady inclination towards Kilimanjaro. Later I was told the flat plane was called The Saddle. We could see Kibo Hut from far. School Hut was not visible as it’s covered by a ridge.

The saddle

Trekking at 4300m to 4700m isn’t easy. The thin air resulted in us getting tired faster. Towards the end of the route, there was some rocky area that despite the guide saying “School Hut is just 30 mins away”, we still couldn’t see it. We reached School Hut (4717m) around 4:00PM. We were dead tired and went straight for lunch.

School Hut (4717m)

Initially there was supposed to be an acclimatization walk after lunch, but looking at how exhausted we were, the guides decided to cancel it.

Tonight is our summit attempt. Sifuel told us that he believes it’s best that we attempt a “day summit”, rather than a “night summit”. A “night summit” attempt would start at midnight, and you are expected to reach Uhuru Peak around sunrise. A “night summit” starts around 4AM, and you are expected to reach Uhuru around 6 hours later, around 10AM. We unanimously agreed that we were not keen on seeing the sunrise as the we needed the sun to be out for our hike.

We had an early dinner, around 6:30PM. During dinner, Sifuel briefed us on our summit attempt. He said that we will have 2 summit attempts. One tonight, and another tomorrow, just in case if everything goes bad. He told us to wear 4 layers for our top, 4 layers for our bottom and 3 layers of socks.

Kilimanjaro – Day 5 (7th July 2011)
Trek Details: Trek from School Hut to summit (5895m). From summit trek to Kibo Hut (4714m)

We woke up around 2AM. After having breakfast and a last minute briefing, we started our ascent at 3:50AM. Most of us didn’t wear 4 layers of pants. I had my Millet Thermal pants layer as my first layer, and the second layer was my Columbia insulated pants, and the 3rd layer was a waterproof trackpants. Later during the summit attempt I realized there was no need for the waterproof trackpants.

Thermal inner pants

As for my top, I had a similar thermal body suit (only that I didnt buy the Millet one, which I regretted), the second layer is a plain long-sleeve tshirt, third layer is a fleece, and the fourth layer is my baloon-summit jacket. As for socks, I only wore 2 layers.

We tracked in darkness for the first 2 hours. We were guided by our headlights, and a bit of moonlight. The guides that were assigned to me, Aiman and Fazril didn’t even use their headlights. They said they could see just fine with the minor moonlight. Amazing eyes.

Making way to Gilman's Point

It was very cold, around 0-4 degrees, with the windchill factor being much colder. After trekking for nearly 2 hours, sunrise appeared and we felt slightly better. We were really exhausted by the time we got to Hans Meyer point (~5600m), and Tom (our assistant guide) even said “it’s OK even if you get to Gilman’s, it’s considered one of the peaks”. That didn’t really helped.

Farooq had left us way ahead by 5:30AM. He’s a fast trekker and he is used to altitude, so he had no AMS and had the energy to push ahead. He summited within 6 hours of leaving School Hut, us (me, Fazril and Aiman) on the other hand, took 12 hours. Imagine that.

Near Gilman's Point

Anyway, at Hans Meyer point, one of the guides pulled out 2 cans of Red Bull for us to share. I felt slightly better after that, but despite my renewed energy, I continued to trek upwards slowly and steadily. I needed a slow ascent to provide my body with enough acclimatization time to avoid AMS. Along the way, we noticed that our drinking water froze, half of the bottle was ice. Sifuel did warn us about this, and to make it still drinkable, we were advised to put the bottles in our bags upside down. That way, the top part of the bottle will freeze (just like a lake in winter, the top layer of the lake freezes, but the water below is still available), but we’ll still be able to drink the bottom part.

Kilimanjaro - aerial view

The photo above is to help readers understand the path we took from School Hut up to Gilman’s Point, and from there onwards to Stella Point and Uhuru Peak. We trekked along Kilimanjaro’s rim.

Gilman's Point (5681m)

We reached Gilman’s Point at 1PM, nearly 9 hours after leaving School Hut. By the time we arrived at Gilman’s, Farooq was there waiting for us. He was on his way back from Uhuru Peak. At Gilman’s, one of the guides pulled out a pack of Pringles. Pringles was OK, but it wasn’t enough to provide us the energy that we needed. We have overshot the standard estimated schedule (the normal plan is that you should be back down at Kibo Hut by lunchtime), and we were really hungry.

Stella Point (5730m)

After having some other light snacks, we pushed on to Uhuru. We passed by Stella Point, and from there the guides had to push us as we were too slow. I had to trek slowly as I was out of breath if I went any faster. The same goes to Aiman and Fazril. 3 hours after our checkpoint at Gilman’s, after pushing really really hard, we reached Uhuru Peak at 4PM.

Uhuru Peak (5895m)

That’s 12 hours after leaving School Hut, with no energy bars or proper meals. We were really exhausted, but upon seeing the Uhuru sign, we were in high spirits and extremely happy. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I say some were almost in tears. Our struggle paid off. We were at the roof of Africa, having an unsurpassed view of our surroundings, unbeatable from anywhere on the same continent.

Glaciers at the peak

We took a number of photos and video clip at Uhuru, and around 20 mins later we were on our way down to Kibo Hut (4714m). We still had sunlight by the time we reached Gilman’s. But by the time we went below Hans Meyer point, it started to get dark. We skied down the volcanic ash after descending from Hans Meyer point, and halfway through it, it was sunset. Skiing down the volcanic ash took around 2 hours and it was quite the experience.

You would think “skiing” down the volcanic ash (which is indistinguishable from small rocks) would be easy, no you’re wrong. By that time we had no energy left, we could barely walk straight, and definitely had no energy to balance ourselves properly while skiing down.

Me and Fazril had to stop a few times on the volcanic ash slope to pace ourselves. At the end of the volcanic ash, we had to trek another 30 mins before arriving at Kibo Hut. Around 500 meters to Kibo, a number of porters from our crew came to our assistance. Mark (the assistant waiter) brought fresh juice to us, a sort of congratulatory drink for our success. It felt good to drink something other than cold water for a change.

However, due to my empty stomach from almost 15 hours of trekking with no food (it was around 7PM+ by the time we reached camp), I threw up at the campsite. I felt much better after having dinner. Aiman and Fazril had a quick meal, after that they retreated to their tents to rest. I had washed myself earlier after reaching camp, so I just relaxed at the mess tent while chatting with Nickson. Somehow I had recovered significantly after dinner and I was able to walk around the freezing campsite to enjoy our last night at 4700m AMSL.

Later around 9:30PM Aiman felt hungry so I helped him prepare an instant noodle (the noodle-in-a-cup type). I have to admit, having hot instant noodle in freezing weather, while sitting comfortably in your sleeping is a nice feeling. After 5 days in the mountain, the sleeping bag feels just as good as your bed at home.

Kilimanjaro – Day 6 (8th July 2011)
Trek Details: Trek from Kibo Hut (4714m) to Mandara Hut (2723m) – 9 hours, 22KM

Kibo Hut

We woke up around 6AM. The weather was cold, but the prospect of descending later made us felt excited. After our usual breakfast, I explored the other huts in Kibo Hut, and took various photos. The huts are reserved for people on the Marangu route. The Marangu route is the only non-camping route on Kilimanjaro. For all 5-6 days of their trip, climbers would have cosy wooden insulated huts to sleep in. We chose the camping route as we wanted Rongai’s acclimatization, and because we wanted the camping experience.

Leaving Kibo Hut

We left Kibo Hut around 8:30AM. There isn’t much vegitation after leaving Kibo Hut as we were still in the rocky area of Kilimanjaro. The plan today is to trek for 22KM, with a lunch stop at Horombo Hut (3720m AMSL).

Horombo Huts

We descended via the Marangu route, which is south-east of the mountain. In comparison, we hiked up via Rongai which is north-east of the mountain. One good thing about the Rongai route is that you get to see 2 sides of the mountain. However, the most scenic route are the ones on the west, which are mainly the Machame and Lemosho routes.

Aiman wasn’t feeling too well today. I guess his fatigue didn’t recover and he wasn’t feeling great. To add on to that, he was developing blisters and toe injury, which is common when you’re descending. The guides recommended that we wear sandals but too bad we didn’t bring any.

We arrived at Mandara Hut (2723m) around 7:20PM, and it was already dark. We walked past the huts. Our camp was situated nicely at a clearing, towards the end of the huts. At this lower altitude, the jungle is thick. There’s a lot of trees around us. It’s a nice change from the alpine desert and moorland vegetation that we’ve been getting for the past few days.

What surprises us the most was how cold it was at this altitude. It felt like it was around 5-10 degrees. After much thinking, we guess the trees and greeneries must be the main cause of this excessive cold. In comparison, we didn’t feel this cold at Simba Camp (our first day camp), which is around the same altitude.

Evening at Mandara Huts

That night me, Farooq and Fazril stayed outside our camps for a bit, in the freezing weather. We wanted to enjoy our last night at camp, and the amazingly clear skies of Kilimanjaro. The stars were so clear and bright that you could possibly make out the constellations (if you know how to read it, that is).

Kilimanjaro – Day 7 (9th July 2011)
Trek Details: Trek from Mandara Hut to Marangu Gate (1905m) – 3 hours, 8KM

Mandara Hut

Today we woke up feeling energetic. It’s our last day of camp. Deep down in my heart I knew that I will be missing this experience. So much has happened over these past 7 days. We have seen things that not many people have seen.

Me and Nickson

While packing up before going for breakfast, I manage to get a picture with Nickson (our porter and waiter). He’s a good man. He is currently working here to get some money to finance his part time studies. Later at the end of the trip we exchange contact details to keep in touch.

Breakfast on last day

Today’s breakfast was surprisingly good. We were served pancakes and fried egg. After that, we quickly packed and by around 8AM we were on our way down to Marangu Gate.

On the way to Marangu Gate

On the way down I had a long chat with Sifuel (lead guide). We asked our feedback, and we also spoke of many things about climbing and Tanzania in general. He is thinking of setting up his own company. I was very happy to hear that he had big plans. Something that I learnt from my trip is that the Chagga people are keen on businesses, and so far, all the Chagga men I met have shown this trait. I respect them for that.

Somewhere along the way we came across people who just started their climb. Their guide smiled at us and announced to his team “these guys are on their last day, and we are on our first day”. I wished them good luck.

Marangu Gate

We reached Marangu Gate just over 3 hours later. The Marangu Gate is the main gate for Kilimanjaro. It has all the administrative offices of the Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) and some other souvenir shops. At the exit gate, we had to sign out. The counter next to us were a bunch of Americans who were just about to start their climb. They were having problems with the registration officer as they didn’t have enough cash to pay for the mountain fees. They had to resort to their credit card, which took awhile to be processed.

Marangu Gate registration office

We didn’t experience any of that bureaucratic problems as Team Kilimanjaro handled it smoothly behind us. For that, I felt grateful for choosing TK.

Me, Aiman and Fazril bought Kilimanjaro t-shirts from a guy near the Marangu Gate. I was kinda hoping that the porters would sing us the Kilimanjaro song and the Jambo Bwana song, but they didn’t. I was slightly disappointed. But then, I didn’t see the other climbing groups doing this. In fact, throughout my 7 day on the mountain, I didn’t see any singing (apart from small 2-3 individuals). This is contrary to what I saw on Youtube where after a successful climb, sometimes at the camp and some at the gate, all the porters would gather and they would sing to the climbers.

After everything was packed, we made our way to Moshi, which is around 45 mins from the Marangu Gate. We had lunch at Chrisburger, a popular restaurant serving western\african food. There, we exchange comments and thank you notes, and Sifuel gave us our certificates.

Receiving certificate from Sifuel

After that, we gave them our tips. After their effort in pushing us to Uhuru, and all their first class services at the campsites, all of us decided to give them USD250 each (USD1,000 in total to be shared for all 18 members of the crew). This amount was given to Sifuel, and he would decide on who gets how much (TK has a fixed ratio system for each role (e.g. 1/10 of tip to assistant guide, 1/15 to waiter etc). I have discussed the tipping approach with Sifuel during our conversation between Mandara and Marangu, and I have decided to give the tip via him as he knows best what his team members did.

Suffice to say Sifuel and team was very happy. I was glad to see their happy faces when Sifuel distributed the tips to his team members.

Later when we arrived at The Outpost Lodge, I exchanged contact details with Nickson and Sifuel. I told them if they need any assistance (Nickson with his part-time diploma studies, Sifuel with setting up his new company),  I would be more than happy to help out.

It felt so good to be finally back in the hotel. I took a shower and after that I went down to the cafe to relax and check out the photos we took. Our flight leaves the day after at 7:30AM to Dar Es Salaam. From there, we had a 9 hour transit before our connecting flight at 6:30PM from Dar Es Salaam to Doha, and finally from Doha back to Kuala Lumpur.

Note: click on images to enlarge and click on links for further info.

I was in Tanzania from 1st July to 10th July 2011. The purpose of this trip was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (refer to main article above) and to experience the Safari. During our trip, we stayed for 3 nights in Arusha (2 nights before the climb and 1 night after).

Street views of Arusha

Arusha, as most bloggers put it, is your average African town. It’s small, with lots of people walking around during the day. Albeit its modest infrastructure, it is able to meet your basic needs. They have a supermarket selling all sorts of local and imported goods, a “cinema” mall, a number of African and other western/asian restaurants, and is reasonably safe for a foreigner to travel around.

The Outpost Lodge

Our Mountain Operator, Team Kilimanjaro (website here), arranged our accommodation to be at The Outpost Lodge (website here). It is located on Serengeti Road, away from the normal noise of traffic and touts. It has it’s own laundry service, room with TVs, internet room (with PCs), lounge, and a small swimming pool to chill by. It even serves good coffee such as cafe latte or cappuccino at the restaurant (around ~US$3).

Outpost Lodge - rooms

Outpost Lodge - swimming pool

We paid US$128 per night (that’s US$32 per person per night as we had 4 people in our group). I highly recommended The Outpost Lodge to travelers with a “medium budget”. If you’re on a “high budget”, you might want to consider The African Tulip Hotel (website: http://www.theafricantulip.com). The African Tulip was quite near to our place.

Upon arriving in Arusha, I contacted a Malaysian friend who was working there. In the evening, he took us around Arusha town for dinner.

Khan's BBQ

He took us to Khan’s BBQ, a very famous BBQ restaurant in Arusha. (Khan’s BBQ website: http://khansbbq.com)

Khans - Food

Khan is (as you might have already guessed) an Indian name. They serve localized Indian food with an African twist. It’s a garage by day, and a BBQ joint by night. It offers you a back-alley Africa-style experience for foreigners. They do mixed grills (tandoori chicken), chips, naan bread and a serve-yourself selection of salads and sauces.

Khan's - salads and sauces

Khan’s is recommended by many travel books and I support their recommendation. However, getting there might be a problem at night. From The Outpost Lodge, it’s not walking distance. I was fortunate to have a friend working there. I would suggest other travelers to ask the hotel or your tour company to arrange for transportation if you were to go out at night.

Cinema Mall

After we got back from Mount Kilimanjaro, our Malaysian friend took us for dinner at what is known as the “cinema” mall. The cinema mall has a mini-cinema, a grocery store selling imported products and a variety of good restaurants (Khan’s also has branch there).

The feast at Cinema Mall

After being on the mountain for 7 days, we were very pleased to be served good tasty food. We ordered pizzas, briyanis, naan (from Khan’s) and lots more. I have to say, the briyani was one of the best I’ve tasted in a while.

In the end, Arusha exceeded my expectations. Prior to coming to Tanzania, I was expecting it to be a small town, being so far from the main city Dar Es Salaam. I had a very pleasant stay, all thanks to the friendly people of Arusha, my Malaysian friend and to the staff of Team Kilimanjaro . TK is highly recommeded. Their staff are honest, friendly and hardworking. For details of how excellent they were during my climb, please refer to the main article (link provided above).

The full set of photos taken in Arusha is available on my Flickr here: Arusha Album

To read about our Kilimanjaro climb, click here: http://imran.kifli.net/2011/08/tanzania-mount-kilimanjaro/

We went for safari with our mountain operator, Team Kilimanjaro (website here), as they offered us a discount since we were climbing with them. We choose Tarangire National Park and it was USD169 per person (for a group of 4).

Initially we thought of going to the nearby Arusha National Park, but a Malaysian friend working in Arusha said that Arusha National Park doesn’t have that much animals, and he recommended either Lake Manyara or Tarangire. I did some additional research and 1 day before we left I emailed our safari operator to inform them that I would like to go to Tarangire instead.

Tarangire map from Arusha

Arusha National Park is a mere 45 mins away from Arusha town, compared to Tarangire which is  a 2 hour drive. But since it offers more wildlife, we didn’t mind the travelling. On the way to Tarangire we saw a number of Masai villages. Check out the video below that shows our key photos and videos from our safari:

We saw the following animals at Tarangire:

1. Warthog (“pumba” from Lion King)
2. Zebras
3. Wildebeests
4. Impalas
5. Waterbucks
6. Elephants
7. Ostricth
8. Lion
9. Giraffe
10. Baboons

All in all I was very pleased with my safari experience. The number of wildlife I saw at Tarangire exceeded my expectations and I am very impressed with the hospitality and friendliness of the Tanzanian people.

I plan to return to Tanzania in the future for a pure safari trip, to visit the Serengeti. They had a 4 days 3 night safari which includes the Serengeti but the price was around USD 1300 and that was too expensive for us as our priority was Kilimanjaro.

Hakuna matata (no worries), I’ll visit this wonderful country again in the future!

To view all our safari photos, check out my Flickr page here.

Nur Kasih The Movie

The whole family went to watch the much anticipated Nur Kasih the movie on 20th May 2011. For those interested, check out the trailer below.

I have separated the review into pros and cons. Read below: [SPOILER ALERT]:

Pros

1. Excellent cinematography. Some scenes, like the one at the cemetery, had a superb angle. We were gobsmacked!
2. Superb acting
3. Location of certain scenes was brilliant, especially the ones shot overseas (the one in Petra, Jordan)
4. Well defined plot with sub-plots that gave the whole movie an enjoyable depth
5. All characters had depth and were colourful characters (I guess that was inherited from the TV series, I am comparing this to the recently released Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa where the characters and plot were too simple)
6. Brilliant Islamic messaging that highlights modern stereotypes.
   • This is the scene where Adam invited an Ustaz to the rehab center that he owns for talk on a certain religious topic. The Ustaz refused to proceed with the talk as he said the audience (the boys and girls in the rehab) were not dressed appropriately and lack manners. Adam said there’s no point if we enforced manners and Islamic dressing if we do not help them with their inner understanding on the religion, rather than focusing on the facade. The Ustaz did not agree and he left.
   • Another is when the boss of a certain firm wanted to engage Nur Amina to design a night club (she’s an architect). Amina refused to accept the job offer as she said it’s against her principles to be involved in something that is not permitted in Islam (haram activities). The boss lashed back at her saying she sounded ridiculous, like somebody from a village, and with this mindset she could never progress in this modern world. He also said she is not being thankful as he said he could have given the job to anybody.

Cons

1. I know it’s a love story, but towards the end, when there was a small fighting scene involving Aidil and some gangsters. I was half hoping that Aidil would have some fighting skills, silat or anything of the sort.
2. Some of the scenes might be a bit overly dramatic, especially about how Adam had dreams of terrorist attacks in the Middle East. A stereotype, perhaps?
3. Towards the ending, where they showed Aidil and Adam growing old by using pictures of their future achievements, it was too short and it doesn’t give the audience a full grasp of how successful they became. Furthermore, the scene of the “old” Adam and Aidil with their kids showed their kampung house unchanged. To show that the timeline is now 30+ years in the future, they should have made the kampung house look older and the surroundings change (perhaps more buildings around it?)

Nur Kasih at Petra

All in all, I have to admit that this is by far the finest Malay (Islamic themed) love story that I’ve seen in the local scene. Good job to the director and the crew. The director, Khabir Bhatia, definitely has his own magical touch when it comes to cinematography. He previously worked on the TV series for Nur Kasih and that was a piece of art as well. I hope to see more brilliant movies from him in the future.

Related posts: Hong Kong Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 (Day 5 & 6 coming soon)

Note: click on images to enlarge and click on links for further info.

Today we planned to meet up with Aliaa’s old university friend from ANU for brunch. In the morning, we went to Sheung Wan district to visit Man Mo temple and a nearby market.

On the way to Sheung Wan district, I took a few snapshots of Hong Kong’s world class MTR to share with you guys.

MTR - Train

MTR - Map

I was immensely impressed with the MTR system. The trains were spacious, clean, fully air-conditioned, fast and on time. The map provided inside the train were really helpful. It has a blinking dot to indicate which station you’re currently at, and an arrow to show to point the direction you’re moving. It also has a door indicator to indicate which door you’ll be exiting. Pure brilliance.

MTR Station - Area Map

Apart from the train itself, the MTR stations were really well designed. All of them are passenger and tourist friendly. At each station, there’s a map of the surrounding area with all of it’s major attraction. There is even a picture of the attraction so that you know what to expect and how it looks like when you get there.

Man Mo temple

We visited Man Mo temple, and after that we went to a nearby market selling interesting antiques.

Antique shop near Man Mo Temple

Aliaa’s local friend took us for brunch at Lin Heung Tea House, which apparently is a very famous tea house. It is highly recommended by Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor and even Time Magazine.

Lin Heung Tea House

After brunch, Tim (Aliaa’s ANU friend) took us sightseeing around Sheung Wan. We stopped for coffee at Holly Brown (website), a famous coffee & gelato chain in Hong Kong.

Holly Brown Coffee

After that we took the ferry to go to Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong Kong mainland). From there, Tim took us to Mong Kok Computer Centre (similar to Malaysia’s Low Yat Plaza).  There were a lot of computer devices, just like Low Yat, and some were considerably cheap. Aliaa decided to buy a new laptop there! She bought the Lenovo Ideapad.

Mong Kok Computer Centre

The Mong Kok Computer Centre is quite big. It’s around 4-5 floors and each floor looks like the photo above. It feels kinda cramped but that’s partly because there’s so many things sold there. To be honest, after observing the Computer Centre for a while, I would prefer shopping for computer stuff at Low Yat Plaza. It’s much more breathable, not as hectic, around the same number of choices available, and minor differences in prices.

Stanley Bay

Later that night, Tim took us for a car ride to the south of Hong Kong island. The south of Hong Kong island is not accessible by MTR therefore your average tourist wouldn’t go there. He took us sightseeing at Stanley Bay. We visited the Murray House. Along the way we saw lots of big houses as these areas are where the rich and famous live.

Hong Kong desserts

After Stanley Bay, we went for a typical Hong Kong dessert. It was my fist time having these types of dessert. I have to admit it tasted really good, and the chill Hong Kong winter made it tasted even better!

A big thank you to Tim for taking us around Hong Kong. It was a thoroughly enjoying day!

Check out the rest of my Hong Kong (day 4) photos on Flickr here.

Related posts: Hong Kong Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 (Day 5 & 6 coming soon)

Related posts: Hong Kong Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 (Day 4 to 6 coming soon)

Note: click on images to enlarge and click on links for further info.

Pacific Coffee

On day 3, as planned, we went to Macau. We stopped by Pacific Coffee, which is located within the same block as our apartment. Pacific Coffee is a famous coffee outlet in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong - Macau Ferry Terminal

We took the Macau Jet Ferry at Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal. The ferry was big, modern, and comfortable. In fact, it feels much comfortable than a low cost airline. The trip took about 2 hours.

Macau Ferry Terminal

Macau Immigration counter

We arrived at Macau’s Ferry Terminal. The immigration was jam packed with Chinese nationals. My Hong Kong friend mentioned previously that with Hong Kong & Macau becoming part of China, it makes it easy for mainland Chinese to travel to Hong Kong & Macau. Over the recent years Macau has seen a massive increase in local tourism, mainly due to the gambling culture from China.

One thing I like about their tourism information counter (located at the Macau Ferry Terminal) is the amount of information & maps given to tourists. They have all sorts of maps and some are even 3D. The level of detail provided in the maps made it so easy for us to move around and ensured that we visit all the key attractions.

Senado Square

Our first stop was Senado Square. Macau was under Portuguese influence for more than 300 years. This is clearly evident in the architecture, the street names, and most of the shop names in the city center. The floor in Senado Square (as you can see in the photo above) is a traditional Portuguese pavement design.

St Dominic's Church

From Senado Square, we walked further down the to see St Dominic’s Church, built in 1587. We explored the nearby shops to see what sort of goods are being sold.

Shops near Senado Square

Portuguese egg tarts

As we walked towards the Ruins of St Paul, we spotted a small shop selling Macau’s world famous Portuguese Egg Tarts. It was freshly baked and we couldn’t resist the aroma.

Ruins of St Paul

When we arrived at the Ruins of St Paul, there are a lot of people. The Ruins of St Paul was built in 1602 and was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835.

Fortaleza do Monte

We continued to explore the ruins before moving on to Fortaleza do Monte (Portuguese: Mount Fortress), which is located behind Ruins of St Paul. The fortress was built in 1626 and it was the military center during the Portuguese colonial era. There was a museum (Museum of Macau) at the top of the fortress.

The general feeling of visiting the fort somewhat reminds me of visiting St Paul’s Church in Melaka (refer to photo above). Melaka was colonised first by the Portuguese before they went on to Macau, hence the similarities in architecture.

After getting down from Mount Fortress, we saw a Dairy Queen shop near the Ruins of St Paul. The advert looked so convincing so we just had to give a try. The advert said “served upside down or it’s FREE”. They were that confident with their ice-cream that the guy at the counter actually turned the ice-cream upside down and it didn’t fell down. Damn good marketing right there!

Dairy Queen - upside down ice cream

Next we decided to go sight seeing in the city and we got to see the massive casinos they have around here.

Portuguese Street Signs

While walking, I noticed their street signs are in 2 languages, Chinese and Portuguese. I saw the Portuguese word for ‘church’, which is ‘igreja’. The Malays derived the word “gereja” from (Malay for ‘church’).

Macau casinos

After that, we headed to the city center for some more sightseeing. We took pictures with one of the major casinos in town.

The Venetian

The bigger casinos were in Taipa, so we took a cab across the bridge. We visited the Venetian, which in my opinion, really lived up to its name. Apart from the branded shops that makes it look like KL’s Star Hill, it has a man made river, with a few gondolas, and, to top it off, the gondolier even sings to you. Mind you, some of the gondolier can sing really well.

Cotai Jet Ferry

We took a ferry back to Hong Kong island early in the evening, around 6PM. This time,we took the Cotai Jet ferry (website: http://cotaijet.com.mo). The jet ferry was just as impressive as the one we took to Macau. I was very impressed with how clean and efficient the jet ferry service was. The seats were comfortable and we didn’t even feel the bumpy sea.

I was very happy with my Macau trip. Since Macau is not that big a place, I would recommend a 1 day trip from Hong Kong or a 2 day trip if you’re planning to explore the whole place.

Check out the rest of the Hong Kong and Macau photos on Flickr here.

Related posts: Hong Kong Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 (Day 4 to 6 coming soon)

Related posts: Hong Kong Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 (Day 4 to 6 coming soon)

On the second day, our sole plan was to go to Disneyland. We planned this trip by purchasing the Disneyland tickets online a few weeks back.

We woke up quite early in the morning and I needed a good breakfast. After searching online, I found out there’s a famous western diner that offers excellent breakfast (this was what the online review said). What was even more surprising was that the shop, called The Flying Pan, was located in Wan Chai.

Note: click on images to enlarge

Wanchai Street Market

On the way to the The Flying Plan, we walked through the daily market located in between the streets in Wan Chai. It’s interesting to see the shops (despite being a market) maintains a very clean environment. You would also observe a police officer walking around to ensure everything is safe and in order.

The Flying Pan - Entrance

It took us around 15-20 minutes to get to the The Flying Pan, which was located on the 3rd floor of a building on Lockhart Road. True to the reviews, their breakfast lived up to our expectations.

The Flying Pan

After a hearty breakfast, we made our way to Disneyland. Below was our MTR route from Wan Chai to Disneyland.

• Wan Chai MTR to Central MTR
• We walked from Central MTR via the underground passageway to Hong Kong station, where we took the Tung Chung line to Sunny Bay (in Lantau Island).
• At Sunny Bay station we took the Disneyland Resort Line, a dedicated train to Disneyland.

Central MTR station

Central MTR to Hong Kong station underground passageway

The underground passageway between Central MTR and Hong Kong station was very comfortable. It’s underground and fully air-conditioned. If you’re unfamiliar with Hong Kong’s MTR network, refer to the map I provided in my Day post (map link here). You can see that Central MTR and Hong Kong station is quite the walking distance.

Disneyland Resort Train Line

The Disneyland Resort train line was really attractive. I would imagine if I was still a kid, I would get really excited looking at all the Mickey Mouse designs on the trains’ exterior and interior (even the train handles were Mickey designed!). Upon arriving at Disneyland’s train station, it was a 10 minute walk to the entrance. I was really glad that we bought our tickets online after I saw the queue.

Disneyland queue

Disneyland online ticket collection

As you can see, the online ticket collection booth was almost empty. With that, we started our Disney tour. We arrived just in time for the morning parade.

Disneyland morning parade

It was my first time coming to Disneyland, and it was awesome. I was told by other friends who have visited various Disneylands around the world and they said the one in Hong Kong is of modest size. The one in Japan and the US are way too massive. To me, the Hong Kong one is just perfect for a family holiday as you could cover all rides within a 1 day trip. I tried queuing up for some of the rides but then the queue was just too long. In the end I just took the Circle Train around Disneyland.

Disneyland Rail explorer

One thing I have to highlight about Disneyland is that the food was good. I was in Hong Kong in December, and that’s winter. The weather was slightly chilled and having hot food while exploring Disneyland was enjoyable. I can still remember the taste of the Mickey pancake and the hot potato with its special gravy.

Mickey Mouse special pancake

Later we went to the Lion King show which was quite entertaining. I have seen the actual Lion King broadway performance back in Melbourne, and I have to say this Disney performance in Hong Kong has its own uniqueness.

Lion King show

The highlight of the trip was the fireworks show at 9PM. We waited with the crowd outside of Snow White’s castle. The fireworks lasted aroudn 15 minutes and it was absolutely beautiful! To think that they have a fireworks of this magnitude on a daily basis is just amazing! All in all I had a great time at Disneyland. Hopefully one day I will be able to visit the ones in Japan and the US.

Fireworks display

The rest of my Disneyland photos are available on my Flickr page here.

Related posts: Hong Kong Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 (Day 4 to 6 coming soon)