I opened up my facebook page this morning and found almost everybody rejoicing that Japan has lifted visa requirements to ASEAN countries Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and including Philippines.

Much to my amazement and excitement, I later found out that it was just false information. The link of the sites 1 and 2 that circulated online forgot to mention that it was just Thailand and Malaysia who were given visa free. However, Japan has granted the Philippines a privilege to apply for multiple entry visa. 

The multiple-entry visa for Filipino and Vietnamese travelers will allow them to visit Japan several times within a period of three years. The maximum stay per visit will be 15 days.

For information on the Issuance of Multiple Entry Visas for Nationals of the Republic of the Philippines, please visit Japan embassy website.

While it is not yet visa free to Japan. I tell you, it is easy to get a visa as long as you are complete with your visa requirements. For visa application, I personally recommend Japan accredited agency "Friendship Tours" in Dusit Thani Manila office. I will try to blog about my experience in getting a visa to Japan as soon as possible.

I was looking for something new to try in Bangkok and found Chocolateville via a random post in Tumblr. We took a taxi from Chatuchak market and we're very lucky to have found a friendly and very helpful cab driver. The place is definitely not easy to find. 




























Our driver had to call Chocolateville to ask for directions. And it's so far from Chatuchak. It took us almost an hour to finally see this signage.

When we arrived. It was just W.O.W. It's like a theme park. But actually it's a restaurant with a European vibe in it. 

It's a small English village restaurant which looks like a mini Disney theme park without the disney characters.  At the entrance you will be greeted by the windmill, strolling down you will see the light house and other pretty cottages. 

We spent probably 6 hours in this place. We left around 10PM. Took a taxi back to our hotel in Pratunam.

If you want to go there, it's better to print this map and give it to the driver.

FISHERMAN'S WHARF

It's not a theme park or an amusement park rather it's a complex (just like Chocolateville in Bangkok) with lots of dining options.

Located on the Outer Harbour, Macau Fisherman’s Wharf is just a five minutes walk from the Macau-HK Ferry Terminal and is a landmark for visitors arriving by both ferry and helicopter. Possessing of a total business area of over 111,500 square meters, Macau Fisherman’s Wharf is a large-scale multi-functional mall, covering entertainment, shopping, restaurants, hotels and yacht.






























VENETIAN HOTEL CASINO

We checked out first at our hostel then head to the Macau International Airport to store our luggage. 

The Left Luggage counter is located in the Departure Level and it is open 24 hours a day.

Services	Rate
	LEFT LUGGAGE Hourly: MOP 10.00 per Piece Daily(24 Hours): MOP 80.00 per Piece Note: - Storage for part of an hour is charged as one hour. - In any 24-hours period, storage is charged at the hourly rate or the daily rate, whichever is less. - For security reasons the piece(s) of luggage has to pass through a screening device before acceptance for storage.

Then we used the Venetian Hotel & Casino shuttle bus at the airport to get to the hotel.

I think we spent 3 hours or so at The Venetian before we came back to the airport - using the same shuttle bus.

This post is part of Hong Kong and Macau Tour (4 days) series. 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 1: Ngong Ping 360 & Disneyland 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 2: Red Ant, Avenue of Stars, Star Ferry, Golden Bauhinia 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 2: Central Police Station, Mid Level Escalator, Aberdeen, The Peak 2010 Macau Trip | Day 3: Turbo Jet, San Va Hostel 2010 Macau Trip | Day 3: Senado Square, Ruins of St. Paul, Museo de Macao, Macau Tower 2010 Macau Trip | Day 4: Fisherman’s Wharf, Venetian Hotel & Casino

We were greeted by a festive vibe upon reaching Senado Square. The square were all decorated in celebration of Chinese New Year.

Known as Largo de Senado in Portuguese, the square itself is carpeted Portuguese style with a beautiful spray of black and peach colored tiles, intricately interlocked in a wave pattern.

We made our way to The Ruins St. Paul Cathedral following the crowd and passing a lot of food shops offering free taste.




















We tried to get a good picture of the Ruins to no avail. It was crazily crowded that day.

























So we posed for photo the other side instead :(

We continued to walk towards Macau Museum. Museu de Macau is just a few steps away from Ruins of St. Paul. We climbed Monte Fortress in order to get there.





















We decided to not enter the museum and spent our time wandering around the fortress.

And true enough, there were a lot more interesting sights to see.

Canons anyone?!

And a fantastic view of the city

We ended our day visiting Macau Tower after getting lost and making our way back to the hostel.

Sai Van Bridge

Macau Tower




















Then called it a night. We were too tired and it's so cold that we decided not to visit any casinos anymore.

This post is part of Hong Kong and Macau Tour (4 days) series. 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 1: Ngong Ping 360 & Disneyland 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 2: Red Ant, Avenue of Stars, Star Ferry, Golden Bauhinia 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 2: Central Police Station, Mid Level Escalator, Aberdeen, The Peak 2010 Macau Trip | Day 3: Turbo Jet, San Va Hostel 2010 Macau Trip | Day 3: Senado Square, Ruins of St. Paul, Museo de Macao, Macau Tower 2010 Macau Trip | Day 4: Fisherman’s Wharf, Venetian Hotel & Casino

It's so easy to commute by bus in Hong Kong. We had a lot of bus rides compared to MTR's. Plus the bus stop is nearer to the hostel.



























We also preferred commuting via Star Ferry crossing Hong Kong Island.





















And preferred walking (walking to Hong Kong - Macau Ferry Terminal)

To encounter such beautiful dog as this.





It was only travel by ferry to reach Macau. It was a smooth and comfortable trip via Turbo Jet. We booked the ferry tickets online.





















Upon arrival, we planned to take advantage of the free casino shuttle buses to take us to Senado Square. But since we had our luggage with us, the drivers won't let us in. Haha. We took a taxi instead.

We found our creepy hostel after we asked directions from a kababayan. Glad we only stayed one night at San Va Hotel.

Below is not a picture of our room. We didn't take any photo. But the room we got was definitely better than this one. But yeah, it has a haunted and creepy vibe.

Photo Credit: www.j2kfm.com

After settling our bags, off we go to explore Macau.

This post is part of Hong Kong and Macau Tour (4 days) series. 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 1: Ngong Ping 360 & Disneyland 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 2: Red Ant, Avenue of Stars, Star Ferry, Golden Bauhinia 2010 Hong Kong Trip | Day 2: Central Police Station, Mid Level Escalator, Aberdeen, The Peak 2010 Macau Trip | Day 3: Turbo Jet, San Va Hostel 2010 Macau Trip | Day 3: Senado Square, Ruins of St. Paul, Museo de Macao, Macau Tower 2010 Macau Trip | Day 4: Fisherman’s Wharf, Venetian Hotel & Casino

Day 1 Itinerary:

1. Arrival at the airport. Bus towards Tung Chung Station. If I remember correctly, we got into S1 bus and got off at Tung Chung MTR Station. 

I was not a good trip planner back then. Haha. 

We went to McDonald's first to grab breakfast before we took the train to Mong Kok. 

We planned to take a taxi but the officers suggested we take the train instead. 

So off we go and took our first MTR ride in Hong Kong. 

We easily located our hostel and we were glad that we were able to early check in. After settling our bags, off we go and rode a double decker bus going back to Tung Chung to ride a cable car to Ngong Ping 360. 

IKR! We could've left our bags at the station. But we went to Disneyland afterwards so it was all good. 

It was a 25 minute surreal and fun experience. It was winter so the wind was blowing so hard, it was scary. But fun waving back to other tourists passing us on the other side. 

  

Take a look at the Lantau trail below. 

It was winter, Chinese New Year and valentine's day all at the same time.

Climbing the steps to the Golden Buddha. 

And the Buddha emerged from the thick fog. Lucky!

   

We also made our way towards the Wisdom path. 

And to the Po Lin Monastery

We took a bus going back to Tung Chung and rode the super cute Disneyland MTR. 

We didn't buy tickets. Besides we didn't have enough time to squeeze in Disney in our 2 days in HKG. We just went there for the sake of picture taking. Hehe. 

And we're already exhausted from all the walking. 

We called it a night after the light show. Took the MTR again going back to our hostel.