My second time in Hong Kong proved to be one of the best trips I've taken overseas. Almost everything I've listed down in my itinerary was followed, and more. It was great. And I had the best company Joyce, KC, Mimi, RJ, and Nini.

Exploring the city on my own terms means learning the ins and outs of commuting, which wasn't hard in Hong Kong. First thing you need is an Octopus Card. This saves you a lot of trouble lining up and getting your ticket from the vendo and of course each ride costs less than a single journey ticket. Plus, you can use the card to pay for items bought in many establishments like 7-11, McDonald's, Sasa, and many others. Reloading is easy. However, you can only load HK$50 or 100 into the card.

Second, you need a hotel with a great location. We were lucky because we got a really nice, cheap hotel (Read: Largos Hotel on Chi Wo cor Nanking Streets) that is literally less than a minute walk to the bus stop and Jordan MTR station. The bus stop was the exact stop for the Cityflyer Bus A22 which travels direct to and from the airport. And at HK$39 one-way is a lot cheaper than taking a cab or even the Airport Express train.

Third, you need a good tourist map and the MTR map as well. Get one from the airport and don't forget to grab all the leaflets and tourist guides you can get your hands on. These will help you navigate through the streets of Hong Kong.

Fourth, you need to plan the night before what you want to do the next day. This saves you a lot of time trying to decide and finding your way around the city. I was in HK for 5 days and yet I felt it wasn't enough to explore everything that this little mega city had to offer.

My first night in Hong Kong was spent walking Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, dining in McDonald's, browsing the stores, and camwhoring everything in sight.