My First Time in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is hot, tiring and expensive.

This has been a proven theory based on my experience. But do not be discouraged as I will recuperate later on the positive and fun side of our trip 🙂

Our morning flight of 7:50AM was a breeze. (Less hassle compared with my immigration nightmare the first time I left the country then I realize that my status at the time was really questionable.. I am unemployed and my passport is super clean, no exit haha).

Extra: Get your Octopus card at HK$150 to use for MTR and buses (you can refund this after your trip).

Getting out of the airport was quite a challenge for a first timer. Though I had planned our scheduled itinerary complete with addresses and transportation details I didn’t have an idea of the exits and entrances.

First Pre-Stop: CITYGATE OUTLETS a standard mall with every store on sale (nothing special If you have no plan to shop).

First Tourist Spot: THE GIANT BUDDHA. Getting to her takes time (It took 2 mountains before we saw a glimpse of her) – riding the cable car has a good view with nature all around you.

We reached it at past 2PM, so imagine how hot it was with summer weather. The stairs is my enemy as I saw black spots and had cold sweat one set before it ends. Thankfully my sister did got me water and sweets to power up. It took me quite a while to appreciate the view around me. The BUDDHA isn’t called giant for nothing, It really is huge and powerful with the sun glaring at it tremendously.

The MTR sticks up to its reputation of being easy and reliable. I did get us to our hotel at little over an hour. WiFi hotel is compact yet has everything we need 🙂

After a few hours rest, we’re set to explore Causeway Bay at night. Seeing Time Square with the Monster University statue craze is picture prefect. (One regret is I saw the movie after the trip so I wasn’t quite familiar with the other characters). Shop to shop we go, we did dropped by Cafe De Coral (their version of Jollibee) but find the menu the same with what we ate earlier at CityGate. So we passed and bought good ramen instead. (The soup is phenomenal!)

Tip: You need to eat fast as the soup were absorbed by the noodles easily 🙁

We did dropped by at Wellcome to buy groceries. The cheese (Kraft product) and bread isn’t that sweet as what we have here. the Yakult is bigger – these are just for my personal taste.

After the good food and long walks – day one: lights off!

Saturday is DISNEYLAND day!

With our shorts, sunscreen, shades and hat on, we go! The transfer from Hong Kong MTR line to Disneyland train is quite an experience as the locals are too excited or we’re just too fond of taking our time, that they overwhelmed us. I didn’t find the Disney train too charming.

Another tip: Make your way from back to front in Disneyland. See, people get to take their pictures on the entrance upon arrival then making their way to the rest of the park. So, if you do my tip then you get to go to the rides first, and when all are settled in the park then you just take your shots at the entrance because few people are in it, so you’ll have an empty arc entrance as backdrop 🙂

Here are the highlights of our DISNEYLAND trip:

It’s a small world – loved the Philippine dolls and their Tagalog song (kay liit lang ng mundo)
Toy Story land – meeting Andy and riding the rides, but what I enjoyed most are the giant replica of toys and the characters statue.

Asian Cuisine corner – I ordered the Indian food selection. It was a nice meal 🙂
The SHOPS – everything Disney all around you. Too many choices, few HK bucks – choosing wisely is a must.

Our pictures are mostly solo as its only me and my sister. The park is childlike and a fun venue and an energy drainer. With this mentioned, day two – lights off!

Going home… The Airport Express is something to be jealous of, Comfortable and direct… I wish we have it here.

All in all, Our Hong Kong trip may be hot, tiring and expensive but it was all worth it. The scenic views, experiences, foods and souvenirs compensates everything.

Extra: Clumsy me, on my way out of our immigration I slipped flat on the floor. Ouch! A remembrance/HK hang over that I endured for a week.