Do you remember the first time you traveled abroad? I do. I vividly remember many parts of my first Hong Kong Trip with my relatives, way back in 1995. We did a lot of walking, a lot of shopping, a trip to an amusement park. And yes, tons of eating Chinese food.

Fast forward to 2014 on Christmas Day, my friends and I were on our way to Hong Kong for a quick getaway. And we did practically what my relatives and I did back in 1995. Only this time, we did much less shopping. And drunk a bit of booze.

Upon our arrival in Hong Kong, early evening of December 25, we took the bus to our apartment which we rented via AirBnB. And we quickly headed out to the shopping district of Tsim Tsa Tsui to look for food. We were hungrrrrry. I was, in fact, HANGRY.

On our way out of our apartment, I took a photo of our apartment complex and several establishments around it just to make sure I’d be able to go home safely, in case I get separated from the group, or we all forget or get lost. We walked from the apartment to Tsim Tsa Tsui. We chose that apartment from the AirBnB options we saw precisely because it was conveniently just a walking distance from most places we wanted to go to.

That first night was a actually a blur for me. After dinner, I think two of my friends (GUESS WHO) went out to party. It was, after all, the eve of Madie‘s birthday.

The next day, we Googled where the nearest Toastbox is and headed out for brunch.

Of course, we had to have Milk Tea the soonest time possible. Hehe!

Then, it was time to take the train to the farthest station.

We were on our way to Hong Kong Disneyland.

It was my first time in any Disneyland so I was quite giddy. Being the scaredy cat that I am, I only rode the It’s a Small World ride. After even more walking around, watching The Lion King show, and a bit of souvenir hunting, we ended our Disneyland visit and decided to go straight to the Avenue of Stars.

And then it was time to go home and sleep. But first…

I joined the pre-game session of my friends but I stayed at the apartment while they partied the night away. #SignsofAging

The next day, we set out to walk, walk, walk to the famous Michelin rated Tim Ho Wan.

For this…

Yup, we walked several blocks (to my char grin) for these Pork Buns. After about 30 minutes of waiting, we tasted these popular dish and other Tim Ho Wan best-sellers. All our walking and waiting was worth it.

And later that day, I separated from the boys with only Google Maps to guide me to another popular Hong Kong food destination.

And I didn’t regret it at all. The Xiao Long Bao by Din Tai Fung is as good as they say. I heard they’re opening a Manila branch soon. I am definitely looking forward to that.

After another night at our AirBnB apartment, we were on our way back home to the Philippines. It was a quick, simple, walking-filled but fun getaway.

You too, can travel and feel at home at a nice apartment or any sort of accommodation (even an entire house) via AirBnB. Download the AirBnB app for free from the App Store or the Google Play Store to have access to a catalogue of apartments, condominium units, and other accommodations around the globe.

AirBnb has partnered with the largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, SMART to bring you awesome deals. To celebrate the partnership of SMART and AirBnB, all Smart Prepaid, Smart Postpaid and Smart Bro subscribers enjoy a P2500 discount for a minimum of P8,000 booking, here or abroad, on Airbnb. This special promo is available from October 29, 2015 to January 2016. Just text SMARTAIRBNB to 2855 to receive a P2500 Airbnb discount for any Airbnb booking with a booking worth PhP8,000 or more. The discount is limited to one booking per subscriber, valid until December 2016. The booking should be made by March 31, 2016 and the date of travel must be between October 29 and December 2016.

More information about the terms and conditions at http://www.Airbnb.com/smart.

Map to our Hong Kong Destinations: