Hong Kong: My First International Trip

Posted on 27 May, 1989 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

1989 was a landmark year for me and my wife Grace as we departed on our first overseas vacation, notably to the British colony of Hong Kong. We weren’t traveling alone as we were joining Grace’s E. Ganzon, Inc. office mates as well as their boss, Engr. Eulalio “Loi” Ganzon on a 3-day tour. We all departed on Manila on board Philippine Airlines Flight PR-0300 and arrived at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak International Airport after a 1.5-hr. flight.

On board our PAL flight to Hong Kong

On board our PAL flight to Hong Kong

From the airport, we were all transported in a bus to our hotel located at Hong Kong’s Harbor City area – Omni Prince Hotel. This hotel, overlooking Kowloon Park, is just a 20-min. drive from the airport. Here, we stayed at some of the hotel’s 401 contemporary rooms and suites. Our visit to this British Crown colony was to last three days.

Check out “Hotel and Inn Review: Omni Prince Hotel“

The author at Omni Prince Hotel

Omni Prince Hotel: Harbor City, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: 3-7361888.

This travel blog, a diary of the author’s local and international travels, aims to provide the reader with news and information on people, places and events that would interest the avid traveler and tourist. But, it also aims to be much more, providing insights on the wonders of this beautiful country, as well as the world, beyond the strict confines of the city. Have a BLAST seeing old churches, exotic temples, educational museums as well as palm-fringed islands; white sand beaches; thundering waterfalls; placid lakes; fiery sunsets; turquoise seas; cathedral-like caves; swirling rivers; majestic mountains; stupendous, amphitheater-like rice terraces; awesome volcanoes and the like. Get to know the movers and shakers in the tourism industry; find out where to titillate the palate; rejuvenate your body; feed your adrenalin, unwind and relax; satisfy your craving for history and culture; and find out what's being celebrated and where.

BENJAMIN “BENJIE” LAYUG, an architect by profession (he finished his B. S. Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1982), is also a copy editor for two publishing houses; travel writer; blogger; architectural historian; author; concert. movie and musical reviewer (for www.pep.ph); and a motivational speaker.

As a free-lance travel writer, he has, in the past, contributed articles to Travel Update, Philippine Daily Inquirer, COLORS, TODAY, 7107 Islands Magazine, Business Day and Bluprint. He currently writes for Artplus Magazine and the Business Mirror.

He is also the author of the following travel books:

A Philippine Odyssey (New Day Publishers, 2005)
Pathfinder’s Travel Guide: Boracay (Great Books Trading, 2006)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches (New Day Publishers, 2007)
A Tourist to Notable Philippine Historical Landmarks, Monuments and Shrines (New Day Publishers, 2010)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Museums (New Day Publishers, 2012)

Some of his books now appear in the local library shelves of the National Library of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Sto. Tomas, U.P. Diliman, Centro Escolar University, San Sebastian College, Miriam College, Silliman University, to name a few, as well as internationally at the National Library of Australia and the University of California Berkeley Library.

Now a senior citizen, he is probably one of the oldest, if not the oldest, active travel blogger in the country today. He also has a lifestyle blog called F.Y.I.:Firing Your Imagination (www.firingyourimagination.blogspot.com). Benjie has traveled to two-thirds (53) of the country’s 81 provinces and over 20 countries in 4 continents.