(Activity) Duet and Recording Session

This happened the day after watching the movie "Begin Again".  There was no duet in the movie but there were lots of recording scenes that we felt like singing and recording after.

I've been a guitarist and a member of a rock band since high school and I think I'm a pretty decent singer.  Love is a member of the "One Voice" choir and serves at the Greenbelt chapel every Monday and she can also play the guitar. Even though our music preferences are different, we have a broad appreciation of music that allows us to be each other's fan.  

One of my "ligaw" tactics was teaching her a few songs to play on the guitar and we sing a lot together so we can say music is kinda' our thing as a couple.

We decided to record the song "Everything Has Changed" by Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran. 

For this song, here's what we used to record it:

1. A PC.
2. A recording software.  I use Reaper - it's free to use and it's easy to learn. 
3. Studio monitors.  I use these as my default PC speaker (Alesis M1 Active 320). 
4. A USB interface device.  I used an MBOX2 Mini.  This device transforms the audio data it receives to digital data that can be processed by the recording program.
5. A condenser microphone and stand.  I used an MXL 990.  A pop filter is not required but is recommended.
6. An acoustic guitar.  I use an Ibanez MASA.  A minus one MP3 would be OK too.
7. 2 headphones.  I used a Vic Firth studio headphone and a normal headphone.

Studio Monitors

USB Interface

Digital Audio Workstation

   

The recording process:

1. First we listened to the original song and I measured the tempo using an online tap tempo.
2. I recorded the guitars first.  Love was being the sound engineer.  I used a click track as metronome.  Using the microphone to record the guitars instead of plugging the guitar to the interface sounds better.
3. Then I recorded the male vocals.
4. Then Love recorded the female vocals.

Sounds easy?  It took us about half a day to finish the raw version.  Here's a clip:

I'll upload the whole song once its mixed and mastered.

(Travel) Hong Kong

It was just past noon when our ferry arrived at the terminal in Hong Kong, we were supposed to go to Lantau Island immediately after arriving but decided to just check in for the day and visit the Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery.

Transportation:
From the ferry terminal, walk to the Sheung Wan MTR station
Chai Wan line - Sheung Wan to Central
Transfer to Tsuen Wan line - Central to Tsim Sha Tsui.

Tip:
Octopus cards are not only convenient but apparently much cheaper than buying single journey tickets.  Just don't lose it or say goodbye to your 50 HKD (150 HKD card = 100 HKD consumable + 50 HKD deposit)

Kimberley Hotel

Located at Kimberley street along Nathan road, just walking distance from the Tsim Sha Tsui station and Avenue of Stars.  The breakfast buffet is nice, the room though, is smaller than our hotel in Macau, there was no pool and the price is just a little more expensive than Macau Regency (I don't really have any other comparison).  Location is good though.  

It took a while for the hotel to get our room ready since we were supposed to arrive late after visiting Lantau island, so we just left our bags at the concierge and went to the nearest mall to eat (Mira Mall).  The restaurant we ate at was called Sen-Ryu, the food was great and the price was reasonable.

Hyaku-Ryo Set - 78 HKD

Nan Lian Garden

Transportation:

MTR at Tsim Sha Tsui station

Tsuen Wan line - Tsim Sha Tsui to Mongkok

Tiu Keng Leng line - Mongkok to Diamond Hill

The tag-line said, more or less: "A garden escape inside the city", more like a forest actually.  Lots of trees with very few flowers.  It's a nice place to just sit and relax (tambay-tambay).

Chi Lin Nunnery

Now this was more like the structures I see in Shaolin movies.  Located just across the Nan Lian Garden.  Made me want to practice my Kung-Fu, but it seems it was a place of silence and meditation.  The temple was closed when we got there (until 4:30 PM if I remember correctly).  OK sana mag-wacky pictorial.

We went back to the hotel after a quick ice cream break at Plaza Hollywood

Avenue of Stars

The next morning, we went for a jog at the Avenue of Stars before going to Disneyland.  The path was long and includes an uphill and downhill, perfect for run training.  It seems that for other people, it's good for swim training too, imagine Baywalk in Roxas boulevard, (same water pollution level from where I see it) and then imagine people swim training there.

We saw a lot of Chinese movie star names on the ground, we also looked for our favorite ones like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun Fat, Jet-Li and a lot more.  We didn't get to see the Symphony of Lights show which apparently happens at night.

Lantau Island - Ngong Ping Village

Our Lantau Island visit was supposed to be just half-a-day, good thing we postponed and allotted a whole day for it.  It was a nice peaceful destination as opposed to the busy and hectic Disneyland.

Transportation:

MTR at Tsim Sha Tsui station

Tsuen Wan Line - Tsim Sha Tsui to Lai King
Tung Chung Line - Lai King to Tung Chung

We walked a bit from the Tung Chung station to the cable car terminal then we purchased the package we wanted.

Lantau Package - 175 HKD per person

• 1-way cable car ride to Ngong Ping village - 2-way is not worth it
• Unli NLB bus rides - you can ride any bus in Lantau for free for the day.
• Tai O boat excursion - a nice boat ride along the Tai O river

If you have money to spare you can opt to ride a clear-floor cable car or a private one.

"Kabado"

Giant Buddha

After our cable car ride, we walked to the giant Buddha shrine.  There were devotees praying on the stairs and in the shrine, I'm no Buddhist but since we were there we prayed a little to Buddha too.

This Buddha was huge and... thin

Po-Lin Monastery

Another Shaolin temple type shrine.  I liked the Che Lin Nunnery better.

Ngong Ping Garden Restaurant

We decided to have lunch before we went to Tai O for our boat ride.  We found this restaurant near the cable car terminal.  

264 HKD for everything in the picture

We then rode the 1:00 PM bus (21) to Tai O

Tai O Expedition

Tai O is a fishing village, so it will smell fishy and you can purchase all of your fishy needs in the markets.  

The boat excursion starts at the river where most of the Tai O residents built their houses.  When the boat enters the open sea, then it becomes peaceful and relaxing (as you can see).

We then decided to go back to the hotel to rest and prepare for night shopping.

Going Back to Tsim Sha Tsui:
Bus 11 from Tao O to Tung Chung

Tung Chung MTR line - Tung Chung to Lai King

Tsuen Wan Line - Lai King to Tsim Sha Tsui

Night Market

There are many night markets in Hong Kong according to Google, but we decided to just visit the Temple street market and the Ladies market (walking distance from each other - although the walk can take 20-30 min).  

Tip: 
Just go directly to the Ladies market, it's bigger and there are more shops surrounding the market.  The markets officially open around 8:00 PM.

Transportation:
Tsuen Wan MTR line - Tsim Sha Tsui - Mongkok
The Ladies market is just a short walk from there.

Imagine Greenhills, just outdoors.  We bought key chains, T-shirts, blouses and snacks to take home. You can haggle up to 75% off if you're good (so they say). After Love saw that my feet were already killing me (girls have unbelievable endurance when it comes to shopping), we went back to the hotel to pack for our early flight the next day.

Hong Kong Airport

We requested for packed breakfasts since our flight leaves at 8:30 AM.  We just took the A21 bus from Nathan road straight to the airport.  The airport was so huge that there's an underground train used to bring passengers to the different boarding gates.  We exchanged our Octopus cards back to HKD then we left Hong Kong thinking: Tapos na bakasyon T_T

(Travel) Macau

Love and I were so excited for our first overseas trip that we arrived at the airport (NAIA Terminal 3) at 5:00 PM and our flight was not until 7:30 PM. Good thing though because the line from immigration took us about an hour yet we still had some time to sit around the boarding area.  The plane left at 8:00 PM

We arrived at Macau airport around 10:00 PM, immigration was short and we got a taxi right away (the driver will add 10 HKD/MOP to your fare since it's a ride from the airport).  We checked in at our hotel (Regency Hotel - located near the casino area) at 11:00 PM.  Lots of Pinoys in this hotel's staff.

Tip 1:
Don't exchange money at airports.  The difference is quite big.  
NAIA: 6.7 PHP per 1 HKD
Macau Airport: Didn't bother to look (I'm guessing it's better than NAIA)
A ForEx shop we saw near Senado Square: 5.83 PHP per 1 HKD 
Hong Kong Western Union: 6.36 PHP per 1 HKD

Tip 2:
HKD is valid in Macau.  It's what the casinos prefer rather than MOP.  Use up all your MOPs before leaving Macau.

Tip 3:
Buses don't give change so a lot of coins and centavos are nice to have.

We woke up the next morning earlier to try out the pool area of the hotel. 

We then had our buffet breakfast.  If you happen to talk to a Filipino receptionist, ask everything you want to know about the tourist spots and transportation but if you want to have some fun, talk to a Chinese one.  After my fun conversation with the concierge, I had all the info I needed for our tour (lots of maps and bus diagrams). We left the hotel at 11:00 AM (bringing an umbrella is a good idea).

Senado Square

Transportation:
Bus 11 from Regency Hotel to Barra (4.20 HKD) - we got lost, we should have gotten off at an earlier terminal.
Bus 5 from Barra to Armeida Ribiero (3.20 HKD)


We found a nice ForEx shop with a good rate so we exchanged our PHP there.

What can I say about Senado sqaure?  Lots of people, lots of stores, lots of free taste foods.

Square Tocino

Ruins of St. Paul

We walked until we reached the Ruins of St. Paul.  It's nice if you like historical stuff and there's a small museum inside (sarap sa loob, aircon).

We then decided to go to Macau Tower next.
Transportation:

Bus xx (sorry I forgot) from Armeida Ribiero to Hotel Lisboa (3.20 HKD)

After seeing Hotel Lisboa, we can't help but take a selfie.
Bus 32 from Hotel Lisboa to Macau Tower (3.20 HKD)

Macau Tower

This is where all the extreme activities are done.  If you have 20K PHP to burn then try the Sky Jump - highest bungee jump in the world.  I told myself if I ever went to Macau I will definitely try it, maybe next time (no moolah).

City of Dreams

It's now time to casino-hop.  We took the free shuttle from Macau Tower to City of Dreams and hoped we can buy tickets for the House of Dancing Water show, turns out, these are the tickets you should book early if ever you're planning on watching it.  So there were no more C class tickets and the tickets left were double the price so I just said "isugal nalang ang pambili". 

Sands

We walked around from casino to casino then found ourselves at the Sands. We didn't do much but pass through, then we saw the garden there and it was nice.

The Venetian

Our last stop was The Venetian.  Compared to the others, this one had much more visitors.  Lots of stores, mostly watches and high-end stuff. The ceiling was nice, it made it seem that it's still early even though it's already dark outside.

7:00 PM na nyan.

We tried the gondola ride (118 HKD per person). We thought we were going to ride a love boat on the river outside the casino but it was just the indoor river (di sulit - pinang-sugal ko nalang sana).  The boat man sang Italian songs to make it more like Venice - pero di parin haha...

We had dinner at the food court to maximize our gambling money then we marched to the casino.  To cut the story short, I lost T_T...  But Love enjoyed her first casino experience.  The baccarat minimum there was 500 HKD, good thing we saw the virtual one with 100 HKD minimum.

We got back at the hotel via taxi at 9:00 PM, no night life for losers (parang ang laki ng natalo).  

The next morning, after we ate, we left the hotel at 10:00 AM aboard the free shuttle of the hotel to the ferry terminal.  We bought our tickets to Hong Kong then and there (148 HKD - no need to book early) and bid Macau farewell aboard a TurboJet Ferry.  The trip took about an hour and a half.    

Hello Hong Kong!

(Travel) Hong Kong Disneyland

This is probably the day I was looking forward to the most since it's my first time to visit any Disneyland.  I was a Disney kid in the 90's and I watched Lion King, Aladdin, Hercules or Mulan almost daily.

It was our 2nd day in Hong Kong and the 4th day of our trip.  We woke early and jogged at the Avenue of Stars since it was walking distance from our hotel (Kimberley Hotel).  We then had our buffet breakfast.  We left the hotel at 9:00 AM.

Transportation:

MTR at Tsim Sha Tsui station

Tsuen Wan line:  Tsim Sha Tsui to Central.    

Transfer to Tung Chung line: Central to Sunny Bay (10 minute walk from the Tsuen Wan line - yes it's far).  

Transfer to Disneyland Resort line: Sunny Bay to Disneyland

We arrived at Disneyland at 10:00 AM.  We bought our tickets (450 HKD - adult 1 day pass) and decided to buy an umbrella since we didn't bring one (big mistake - it was too hot without it).  Buying there cost us 200 HKD (it was cute at least and Love liked it).  We took our selvies at the entrance then got our program and guide map from the City Hall.   

Note:  

Wear light and comfy clothes, it's going to get hot and lining up for rides usually takes an amount of time depending on how many people are visiting.

We then scheduled our itinerary for the day.  If you want to experience all of Disneyland, we suggest you book a 2-day pass and an overnight stay at the resort.  If it's just a day, our schedule seems to cover all the nice rides and shows.

1.  Golden Mickey (Fantasy Land)

It's funny that Mickey Mouse speaks Chinese

• 11:00 AM
• This was one of the three shows available to watch during weekdays (there are additional shows on weekends).  You'll get to see a lot of Disney characters dance and sing.  The show lasts for 30 minutes.  

2.  It's A Small World (Fantasy Land)

Maliit Lang Ang Mundo

• A boat ride that travels around the world.  You get to know where your favorite story happened.  I like it that they play the song "It's a Small World" with different renditions per location.  Watch out for the Filipinas singing "Maliit Lang ang Mundo".
• After the ride, we stopped by the Space Mountain ride in Tomorrow Land to get our fast pass (an alternate ticket with an indicated later time where you can line up at a special entrance - eliminates the long wait time at the normal queue).

3.  Lunch at Tahitian Terrace (Adventure Land)

• 12:00 NN
• The next show is at Adventure Land at 1:30 PM so we decided to eat lunch there.  Since there were many trees, it's a great place to spend time at during the hot hours of the day.  We ordered Tandoori and Lemongrass chicken.  A meal in Disneyland will cost roughly 90-100 HKD. 

4.  Festival of the Lion King (Adventure Land)

Si Simba oh!

• 1:30 PM
• The story of Simba being re-enacted by African-american performers.  Sing along to the songs of Lion King - Hakuna Matata, Can You Feel the Love Tonight and others.  The show was nice and the fire dances were insane.  The show also lasts for 30 minutes but there are less shows in a day than the Golden Mickeys

5.  Space Mountain (Tomorrow Land)

• 2:30 PM
• We then went back to Space Mountain and lined up at the fast pass lane, it was quick and the ride was nice.  Kinda like a roller coaster but in darkness and no loops and drops - in other words, "Pambata".

6.  Stitch Encounter (Tomorrow Land)

• An interactive talk show with Stitch.  It's funny how he responds to statements from the audience.

7.  Mickey's PhilharMagic (Fantasy Land)

• A 4D movie where some famous Disney songs are featured.  You can smell the food during "Be My Guest" and get splashed during "Part of Your World". 

8.  RC Racer (Toy Story Land)

Probably the most extreme ride at the park

9.  Snack at Market House Bakery and Main Street Market (Main Street, U.S.A.)

• Got some drinks at the Market House Bakery and the Mickey Mouse waffle at the Main Street Market.  We needed to fuel up so we can line up for more rides.
• We also looked for souvenirs at the Main Street shops.  They have everything, from toys to souvenirs carved from glass. They even have jewelry (those that cost a lot).  We didn't buy anything though, one 200 HKD umbrella is enough.

10. Mystic Manor (Mystic Point)

• It's supposed to be a haunted house ride.  Got a few screams from Love so I guess it works.

11. Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars (Grizzly Gulch)

• 7:00 PM
• Another roller coaster type of ride.  Better than Space Mountain.

12. Dinner at Royal Banquet Hall (Fantasy Land)

• 8:00 PM
• We just had pork dumplings and these Piggy pork buns for dinner.  The Banquet hall is nice, it has a Hogwarts great hall feel to it.

13. Disney in the Stars Fireworks

• 9:00 PM
• Amazing.  You have to see it for yourself.

If you're planning on purchasing one-way tickets or your octopus card before leaving the park, we suggest you do it before the end of the fireworks since everyone will rush to the exits at the end of the show.  During the long walk back we were singing "A Whole New World" a-la Jasmine and Aladdin.

Transportation:

MTR from Disneyland to Sunny Bay

Transfer to Tung Chung line: Sunny Bay to Lai King (this is an alternate route that does not transfer at Central - no 10 minute walk) 

Transfer to Tsuen Wan line: Lai King to Tsim Sha Tsui (just a short walk across to the station's other side)

We were back at the hotel at 10:30 PM