Hong Kong – 5 Dec to 12 Dec 2012
Although both ZA and I had been to Hong Kong several times in the past, we were really looking forward to this trip as this would have been a special trip. It will be Ashley’s first holiday and Jarod’s first trip to Hong Kong! Jarod’s trip to Hong Kong is long overdue, we were scheduled to visit in 2003 when SARS broke out and our plans cancelled.
Ashley had been resistant towards overseas trip and thus we have not been travelling since 2009. She finally agreed to visit Hong Kong and we owed credits to Disneyland advertisements on Disney Junior. One week before our trip, Ashley came down with conjunctivitis and high fever. We were relieved that she recovered 2 days before our departure. Alas, ZA and myself caught this contagious disease from her and we both came down with conjunctivitis the day we departed. Armed with eye-drop from our GP, we set off and hoped for the best.
Day 1 – Off to Hong Kong
Our flight on Singapore Airlines departed on time and the flight was smooth. We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport in the evening. Ashley lamented that she had to wait till the next day to visit Disneyland. We hopped on a taxi and headed to Langham Place in Mongkok where we checked-in.
We had a triple sharing room with a King-sized bed and a single bed which fits four of us nicely. The hotel has an excellent location and it is directly connected to the Langham Place Shopping Mall and Mongkok MTR. It is also within walking distance to the famous street markets. As Ashley did not want to go out for dinner, ZA and Jarod headed off to the nearby Dundas Street to take-away the delicious street food. Ashley happily soaked herself in the bath tub while waiting for dinner. After dinner, we called it a night.
Day 2 – Disneyland
We took a taxi to Disneyland and once we alighted, we were not prepared for the extreme long walk to the park entrance. In fact, the taxi drop-off point is the furthest away, the coach and MTR were much nearer to the entrance. We purchased the 2-Day park tickets and Ashley, being too tired from the walking, requested for a stroller which we rented. Once we entered the park, we were immediately greeted with the sight of a long snaking line. This was the queue for the Mickey and Minnie meet and greet. We were told the line is about an hour and we did not bother.
Our first stop was the Toy Story Land, where Ashley watched Toy Story I, II and III repeatedly and loves Woody and Jessie dearly. We had fun at The Slinky Dog Spin and Jarod rode Toy Soldier Parachute Drop and RC Racer. Ashley spent some time posing for photos with RC Racer car and the Toy Soldiers. Ashley also had the opportunity to meet her favourite characters, Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear. She was ecstatic!
We took the train next and explored the Main Street, and we were there at the right time for the Christmas parade. Several kids including Ashley were invited to participate in the dance at the parade. This is definitely unique to Hong Kong Disneyland. Next, we had a go at the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and we had a blast! No trip to the Disneyland is complete until we tried It’s A Small World boat ride which was our next activity. Next, we watched the Flights of Fantasy Parade at the Main Street as Mickey leads a parade of Disney characters including the Disney princesses. Once again, Ashley had the opportunity to participate in a dance segment and she was elated.
As the night approached, the castle was lighted and we headed to Disney’s Hollywood Hotel where we had a reservation at Chef Mickey’s Dinner Buffet. Chef Mickey’s was extremely packed. The international spread was good and there was a special buffet table set up for children. However, both ZA and myself could not enjoy the buffet as we were running a fever by then. Jarod and Ashley tucked away happily though.
We ended the dinner in disappointment when we asked about the complimentary Chef Hat with Mickey’s autograph and was told this will only be available on weekends. I read the fine prints again after our return but it was never stated so on the website. In fact, the same misleading promotion still runs on the Disneyland website:
After dinner, we returned to the park to watch the fireworks. The park by now is illuminated by lights and it felt pretty magical. We had some time to spend before the fireworks so we learnt to sketch Winnie The Pooh at the Animation Academy. Ashley also bought merchandises at the Main Street Emporium and was eyeing the Tinkerbell doll. By now, the Main Street was jam-packed and we could not find a good spot to watch the fireworks. In the end, I struggled to carry Ashley throughout the fireworks which she enjoyed tremendously. Jarod was of great help and carried Ashley to the taxi stand and we made our way back to the hotel for our much deserved rest.
Day 3 – Free and Easy
This is the first trip which we did not have a travel insurance, which was always on our priority list. We had planned for only a short trip with 5 night stay and did not think it was really necessary. It turned out that this is the trip where we would have appreciated the insurance. Since Day 2 into our trip, both ZA and I felt really sick with high fever and our eyes were red and swollen. We left Ashley under the care of Jarod and headed to a clinic nearby. The doctor prescribed Panadol Extend and a new eye-drop. It was then that we decided to extend our stay in Hong Kong so that we can take things slower.
We managed to change our return tickets to 12 Dec only to find out that we could not get hotel extension. It was fully booked! We scrambled to find another hotel and managed to get one with good rates using ZA’s corporate travel rate. With that episode settled, we walked towards Tai Hing for a late lunch. We were recommended by friends to try this place and loved the Milk Tea served in with separate ice in a bowl. The noodles and toast which we ordered were delicious too. After lunch, we headed to Megabox where we soaked in the Christmas atmosphere and did some shopping.
Back in hotel, Ashley enjoyed her bath tub time again while ZA and Jarod went out to get dinner. We were glad that our hotel was highly accessible where we can get food easily. We also indulged in simple pleasure such as Toastbox coffee and pastries.
Day 4 – Ocean Park
We woke up and felt better so we decided to visit Ocean Park. We enjoyed the scenic cable car ride at the Waterfront Station. Our first stop was the Giant Panda Adventure. The pandas, Ying Ying and Le Le were rather inactive. However, unlike the River Safari in Singapore, there was no time limit where you could stay at the enclosure.
Next, we spent some time at Whiskers Harbour where the rides are catered to the kids. We also enjoyed the entertaining seal show at the Pacific Pier. We stopped at The Terrace Cafe for lunch. This is an alfresco cafe with beautiful view of the ocean. The food was decent but we did not have much appetite. Jarod did enjoy the lunch though. We explored the park further and while waiting for the show at Ocean Theatre, Ashley had some fun with sand art and ZA won a bear for her at the ‘throw-a-dart’ game.
As the day draws to a close, we had to queue for the Ocean Express to bring us back from the summit to the Ocean Park’s waterfront. We were greatly taken aback by the sheer number of people trying to cut queue. What made it worse was the kids would manoeuvre ahead and thereafter the parents join them. We were forced to protect our territory by strategically placing ourselves in the queue.
Day 5 – Shopping
Throughout our previous trips, food has always been the highlight. This trip had been an exception due to our lack of appetite even though we love the food in Hong Kong. So, today, we decided to venture out to get the highly rated porridge at the Municipal Building nestled among the industrial area. We found the place and ordered Fish Porridge and raw fish. The texture of the porridge was really smooth and it was tasty! Wish we have this in Singapore!
Next, we headed to Harbour City for shopping. The Christmas decorations at Harbour City were all decked out and we left after Ashley picked a toy from Toys R Us.
We also checked out Langham Place Shopping Mall, picking up some souvenirs and pastries.
We decided to walk to the nearby Ladies Market for dinner. We chanced upon a Cha Chaan Teng with many locals and we had our dinner there. After dinner, we strolled along the night market. To our surprise, it was not crowded and some of the stalls were not opened. However, we did not find anything we like, since many of the items could be easily gotten through our favourite online shopping site – Taobao.
Day 6 – Regal Kowloon Hotel
We checked out of Langham Place and proceeded to Regal Kowloon Hotel for our final 2 night stay. The location of Regal Kowloon Hotel is not as ideal as Langham Place but it has perks such as free coach return transfer service to Disneyland. We were given a room with an angled sea view, which was not too bad. The room came with only 1 king sized bed, so Jarod slept on a couch by the window ledge.
Next, we ventured out in search of the infamous 1 Michelin Star Dim Sum place – Tim Ho Wan. When we arrived, there was already a long line. We found the lady who gave us a queue number. She will stop issuing queue number once the restaurant has hit the capacity for the day. We waited for about 40 minutes and were ushered into the tiny restaurant with tables and chairs lined up closely. We ordered a feast and all the items were delicious. The final bill came up to about SGD 50 which was unheard of in Singapore. The 2 other tourists seated beside us also had the disbelief look on their faces when they were presented with the bill.
After our satisfying meal, we went for more shopping and then decided to take the MTR back. That was a good decision as we caught sight of the road sign ‘ASHLEY ROAD”. We also found the same sign at the MTR station. Ashley of course had to pose with the signage ! Jarod has been of great help and obliged when Ashley needed to be carried. The 3 of us took turns carrying her but this was taking a toll on us since we were not recovered fully. Back in the hotel, we rested and braced ourselves for our final day in Disneyland.
Day 7 – Disneyland
We set off to Disneyland using the complimentary coach service provided by the hotel.The queue to meet Mickey and Minnie was still as long as over so we spent some time exploring the Main Street.We had a snack – Mickey Ice Cream Bar and Minnie Popcorn as well as a gigantic Candy Floss at Tomorrowland.
Next, we headed to Adventureland for the Jungle River Cruise where we had the view of Tarzan’s towering Treehouse. We also enjoyed The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh and the shows at Fantasyland – Mickey’s Philharmagic and the broadway styled Golden Mickeys. Ashley enjoyed The Golden Mickeys so much that we watched it twice despite the fact that she could not understand a word of Cantonese. The cast had alternated between Mandarin and Cantonese which was quite distracting.
As Disneyland Hong Kong is very small, we found ourselves completing the park with nothing much left to do. So, we kept our promise and Ashley got her Tinkerbell doll she had been eyeing for since Day 2. Clutching the new doll, she met Tinkerbell at the Pixie Hollow. Tinkerbell left her autograph on her doll box.
Next, we strolled towards Fantasy Gardens where we finally met Minnie. We decided to bid farewell to Disneyland in the evening so that we can enjoy a better dinner outside the park.
We had intended to have dinner at the famous roast goose in Yung Kee but the taxi driver dropped us off at a wrong restaurant. So, we found ourselves at Lin Heung Tea House instead. We ordered a variety of dishes and they were all very tasty. No regrets!
Day 8 – Goodbye Hong Kong
We checked out of Regal Kowloon Hotel and headed to Hong Kong International Airport to catch our flight back to Singapore. It is such an irony that we found our appetite on our last day in Hong Kong. However, we were glad that Jarod did not contract the contagious conjunctivitis. The flight back was smooth and we arrived home after 8 days. This is the longest time Ashley had been away from home. She did enjoy the trip and was looking forward to our next holiday!
Photo Video of our Hong Kong Trip in December 2012.