I don’t normally do this – plan itinerary & organize customized tour to bring ‘customers’ out of Singapore to their dream destination. But, when it comes to my siblings, I succumbed to their request. When I’d agreed to bringing three families (including mine), a total of nine persons – age from 10 to 55 for a 9 Days Hong Kong & Macau tour, I knew I am gaming for a mission-near-impossible.
Why?
Challenge No. 1 – My siblings’ families are familiar with Hong Kong and they can speak Cantonese better than I do. Strictly speaking, they do not need a ‘tour guide’ in Hong Kong. Hence, my tailored itinerary has to be special and appealing to them. It has to offer them a different perspective of Hong Kong they’d never seen – that Hong Kong is not just about Koowloon, Tsim Sha Tsui and Temple Street.
I deliberately planned the itinerary for them to experience the rustic country side of Hong Kong, yet at the same time, cater ample time for shopping, visiting theme park and sampling the best food in Hong Kong & Macau in 9 days.
Challenge No. 2 – Look for spacious yet affordable hotel rooms during December school holidays season. Hotels in Hong Kong are not cheap and to search for cheap & good hotels in Hong Kong during December peak season is definitely an up-hill task. I browsed through more than 50 hotels based on these stringent requirements:
– Spacious room
– Value-for-money (below S$160 a night)
– Free Wi-Fi
I finally found these two ‘gem’ hotels: 60 West Hotel and Gold Coast Hotel that met the above criteria.
60 West Hotel
Gold Coast Hotel
Picking a Macau hotel was easy. Their kids glued their eyes on Venetian Macau Resort Hotel, so the parents were obliged to them. Though the room rates may seem expensive (around S$360 a night), when you squeezed four persons into a suite room, it’s all worthwhile!
Highlights of Hong Kong and Macau Itinerary
Before the trip, I presented the tour itinerary in powerpoint slides to my siblings and they were all impressed with this ‘Michelin-Chase-Food-Safari” itinerary. The highlights of the Hong Kong tour include:
- To eat the best food in Hong Kong: Roasted Goose, Seafood, Dim Sum, Street Food, Roasted Pigeon and Wanton Mee
- To buy the best Lao Po Bing (老婆餅) and Pineapple Tarts
- To eat the best burger
- To shop at the best factory outlets in Hong Kong
For the 2-day Macau itinerary, I recommended to eat at a Michelin-starred Portuguese restaurant, the best egg tarts and a high-tea at Macau’s highest revolving restaurant with panoramic view of Macau.
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