Hong Kong - Day 2

Day 2 in Hong Kong started on a wet note.  Dark clouds around us.  We decided to have a quick breakfast and start early.  We were so early that we were the first few to reach the cafeteria and had the whole place almost all to ourselves.

Breakfast consisted of a simple meal for each of us.

As the Disney characters were nowhere to be seen, Baby G entertained us with his little antics and funny faces.

Since we had to check out that morning, we decided to take some photos of the hotel first since the night before, we were too busy shopping.

After breakfast and a quick tour around the hotel, we went back to our room to get our bags to check-out.  It was then that we realised that the Typhoon Warning Signal went up to Level 3.  The bad news is that all the outdoor rides would not be opened.  After some consideration, we decided to take a risk with the weather and hopefully, the indoor rides would be worth it.

 We quickly checked out of our comfortable and spacious room and left our luggages with the porter.

We took a shuttle bus from our hotel to the Disneyland park.  It started to drizzle during our bus ride, so out came the raincoats and umbrellas.  Due to the rain and typhoon warning, there was really not much to see or play so most of the time, we walked around the park only.  Not much to describe so enjoy the pictures instead.

 
 
 
 

There were not many indoor rides available which was quite a disappointment.  The 1st one we queued for was the Winnie The Pooh ride.  It was very much similar to the Madagascar ride at USS, although I think Madagascar wins hands down.

The next indoor activity was the Mickey Fantasia show.  Again, this one was pretty much like the Shrek at USS.  I would say it's a tie between Disney and USS.  Disney scores on the simple fact that the cartoons they showed were the cartoons that I watched during my childhood days.  It definitely brings back memories.  For USS, it's the electronic wizardry that makes you be part of the show.

 After the 2 indoor shows, the rain started to get heavier and heavier.  We walked around the Toy Story area and a stroke of good luck came our way.  We saw Woody and Jessie under a shelter.  We quickly queued up to take a shot with them.  I think this was the highlight of the entire day.  The rest of the time, we simply walked in the rain and tried to take as many pictures as possible.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Soon we found a little snack bar near the park representing the Wild Wild West.  Just in time too as the rain started to really pour.

Soon the skies cleared a little for us to start our walk again.  This time it was really nothing except structures to take photos.  The structures were not as nice as the Toy Story ones but, better than nothing, I guess.

It started to rain again, so we decided to take a break and have our lunch.  Food was so-so and the only interesting part were these little pork buns.  Taste was quite lacking, only presentation score full marks.

The next indoor ride we decided to queue up (although it was a super long queue) was the Buzz Lightyear ride.  Basically, you get to sit in a spaceship and shoot at aliens and monsters and get points.  I was actually quite good at shooting and garnered almost 200,000points while Baby G got 10,000 points.

 

As we walked out to the gift shop, Baby G eyed some Lego sets and thought we brought him to the toy store to buy Lego.

From here on, there are no more pictures of Disney because our friend from Hong Kong, TianYen, called us and told us that the Typhoon Warning would be raised to a Level 8.  As this was the 1st time we were facing a typhoon, we decided to play it safe and cut short our Disney trip and go back to our hotel in Kowloon.  We quickly called our tour guide to pick us up earlier than the scheduled time of 9:45pm.  Luckily he just dropped off someone at the airport and could come earlier to give us a ride to our hotel.

By the time we reached our hotel, Eaton Smart, along Nathan Road, the rain started to really get heavier and heavier.  Our shoes were all wet and we decided to dry them under the light.  As expected, the room was really small.  Basically what you see in the picture is the entire room.  Since there was no place we could go, we decided to relax in our room while I took some pics of the place.

 
 

On the advice of Tianyen, we decided to venture out to the Tsui Wah Restaurant opposite our hotel to have our dinner.  As it was cold and wet, the wonton noodles were a welcome treat and to top it off, my milk tea was nice and warm.

In fact, after our dinner, we managed to catch up with Tianyen for coffee at Starbucks (also opposite our hotel).  We were busy chatting that I forgot to take photos... haha..  Tianyen happened to be at TST (Tsim Sha Tsui) for a haircut.  Can tell he's a seasoned person when it comes to typhoons.  Haircut during a Level 8.... hahaha. 

During the chit chat, one could see the smaller trees outside swaying against the winds and the rains blowing almost perpendicular to the streets.  Actually, Baby G was pretty subdued during the typhoon, probably cause I warned him that the winds can get so strong that it may just carry him away.  Hahaha.... what a terrible mummy I am.  He quietly sucked on his lollipop, courtesy from Uncle Tianyen.

And there ends Day 2.  A very disappointing day at Disney but what an experience with the typhoon.

San

Hong Kong - Day 1

Our 8 day vacation to Hong Kong began in the early hours of a Sunday morning.  Gu Gu and Ah Ma came to pick us up to the airport.  We had a light meal before going in.



As this was the 1st time we actually departed from Terminal 3, we decided to go in earlier to explore what T3 had to offer to travellers. I must say, it is pretty comprehensive. They offered Foot Reflexlogy outlets, free lounge area for the weary travellers and even an indoor playground for the little ones. Guess where we ended up spending most of the time?



Oh... and did I mention? We will be flying on the A380. Woo hoo! Just cannot wait to board the plane.

I quite like the fact that the crew prepared child-specific items for the little ones.  Even the heahphones were in bright colours as opposed to the black ones that we had.  Even the Kid's Meal was prepared and arranged with the child in mind.

I chose the English Breakfast meal.  As for Alex, at point of booking, we informed the reservations officer that he doesn't want any beef with his meal.  When the flight attendant came over, she said, "Sir, your meal is the no-beef, Hindu meal".  At first we didn't really take much notice, until the meal came and then we realised the Reservations Officer must have thought he opted for the Indian meal.  We had a good laugh over it.  Lucky the meal was pretty nice.

After thoroughly enjoying ourselves on the A380, we finally arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport.  We quickly collected our luggages and met the tour guide to take us to Disney.

The bus that picked us up was the 26-seater bus but there were only 2 families.  Ours and another family of 4.  What a waste of resources, I say.


Finally we reached the front door of the Disney Hollywood Hotel. Very colourful atmosphere.

I must say, our room was rather spacious, considering how notoriously cramped rooms on Hong Kong can be.  We had 2 queen-sized beds.  I know I am going to have a comfortable night's sleep.

After a quick check-in, we were off to do some shopping before the day ends.  Some more photos around the hotel before taking the train to Tung Chung.....

 
 
 


The Disney trains were so cute.  Even the windows to the trains were in the shape of Mickey.  I know I sound so 'sua-ku' but seriously, it's my first time at Disney, so please bear with me.  Every little thing about the train also must take photo.

  1st stop is Tung Chung.... shopping at Citygates Outlet stores.  Since it is supposed to be the sales period in Hong Kong, we were hoping to grab some good buys.

 

But first, we need to get our 'Octopus' card for our travels since we plan to take the MTR pretty regularly.

 

Too busy shopping, so not much photos of us subsequently.  But we did manage to find time to rest and have dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

Finally, we were shopped out.  Although we expected to get a lot of stuff but in the end, a lot of the items didn't carry our sizes so pretty disappointing.  We did, however, manage to get some discounted items at Espirit (for Alex) and Adidas/Nike (for me).  The best was at Giordano where we simply just grabbed lots of T-shirts and shorts.

 And finally, our last stop for the day, Saint Honore for some snacks for tomorrow.  Just in case, we get hungry.
And that ends Day 1 of our Hong Kong trip.
San