With Jeanne’s 2nd birthday anniversary coming up, we decided to give her a real treat and at the same time make one last use of her infant privileges (free air fare, free entrance tickets): we went to HK Disneyland. Of course, you don’t go to HK just for Disneyland, there’s shopping and sightseeing, too.
Day 1: Ngong Ping, Po Lin Temple, Harbour Cruise, Avenue of the Stars
From the airport, we headed straight to Tung Chung to take the cable car up to Ngong Ping Village. The village is a fake village and a tourist trap. Breeze through it as fast as you can and head straight to Po Lin Monastery and up the giant Buddha which requires an entrance fee but it was well worth it. We took “advantage” of an entry ticket with lunch package. I didn’t think it was any cheaper but we were thinking it’s more local than those at the restaurants at the Piazza. The menu was vegetarian but there were also non-vegetarian meals for those who have the urge to be carnivorous.
Tip: You can also ride buses up to and/or down from Ngong Ping.
After Ngong Ping, we went and checked in to the CityView Hotel. It is a very well-located hotel. Right smack in the middle of the shopping areas in Kowloon and just across an MTR station. As we were tired from the flight and the Ngong Ping visit, we took a nap and ended waking up late in the afternoon.
We hastily prepared and rushed off to Tsim Sha Tsui for the Star Ferry Harbour Cruise. Now this is another tourist trap. Tickets cost HK$120 and even infants had to pay $HK103(!!!) For that you get to go around the harbour, listen to trivia bits about buildings and places (e.g. Wan Chai used to be the red light district, yeah that’s so good to know alright), and have basic refreshments.
Tip: Instead of taking the Harbour Cruise, you can simply take the cross-harbour ferry (less than HK$3, also an HK must do).
We got off the Harbour Cruise just in time to witness the Symphony of Lights. It’s a pretty display of building lights, spotlights, and lasers sort of choreographed with the music.
After the quick show, we headed over to the Avenue of Stars. This place has been rated by CNNGo as one of the top ten worst tourist traps and for a good reason. It’s crowded and there’s really nothing much beyond the names of occasionally-recognized actor or actress imprinted on the concrete and that statue of Bruce Lee. We tried to head over to the statue but the thick crowd and exhaustion setting in made us turn and head back to the hotel.
Day 2: Harbour City, Silvercord Mall, IFC Mall, Victoria Peak, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Times Square
As expected, we woke up late the next day. Again, we hastily prepared and rushed off to Tsim Sha Tsui. We dropped by the Harbour City(for Toys R Us where I got Jeanne a box of Duplos) and Silvercord Mall (for H&M, where Michelle got a bunch of clothes, and lunch)
After lunch, we took the cross-harbour ferry to Central. We dropped by the most expensive Apple Store to date at the IFC Mall. It was crowded but I squeezed in and stopped by the iPhone 4S displays and played around with Siri. Pretty interesting. I could see how convenient it is for iPhone users to just siri (instead of google) things up.
After a gelato snack, we walked across Central to the Peak Tram where we queued up with a whole bunch of tourists. It was moving fast though and soon we got on the tram, up to Victoria Peak, and into the Peak Mall.
Tip: You can take buses up to and/or down from Victoria Peak.
The Peak Mall is yet another tourist trap. I did see a pair of Adidas Sambas at one of the shops. I’ve been looking for a pair for quite some time. I really wasn’t planning on buying anything for myself but since it’s not available locally and my Merrells were shot, I got the pair.
There’s also Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. It’s a gallery of wax replicas of both living and dead people. Creepy, yes. Somewhere in the museum, we almost lost the shopping bags we were carrying. Good thing the staff was helpful and efficient. They found it exactly where we forgot them.
After Victoria Peak, we hopped on a regular tram (an HK must do) to Canal Road East and walked the rest of the way to Times Square. It is a vertically-oriented shopping mall for fashion goodies and it is huuge! I’ve been there on a previous trip but I wasn’t able to appreciate its size back then.
Day 3: Disneyland, Temple St. Night Market
Finally, it was most awaited day: Disneyland! Again, we woke up late. The biggest mistake was lining up right away for photos with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. That took up almost 3 hours and during the hottest and brightest part of the day at that. We ended up getting Mickey Mouse souvenir items: a pair of sunglasses and an umbrella. And the delay meant we missed some shows (Golden Mickeys) and a whole area (Tomorrowland).
I have to admit that I wasn’t too really too much of a believer of Disneyland. But I saw the kids there were so happy and it’s even infectious. There’s got to be magic there, right?
On the way back from Disneyland we dropped by the night market at Temple St. for a bit of bargain hunting. As it is a known tourist destination, I had doubts about how good the supposed bargains are. But so long as they’re not available at divi and the local tiannges, right?
Day 4: Langham Place
On our last day, we did some last minute shopping. Early in the morning, Michelle shopped at the areas around the hotel. Later in the afternoon, we went to Langham Place in Mongkok. Like Times Square, it is a vertically-oriented shopping mall for fashion goodies though at a smaller scale. I finally succumbed and bought some shirts at H&M. So I guess that more-or-less completed the HK experience for me.