However, true to J & AC fashion, we booked the accommodations on the last minute which is a very bad idea when you're traveling with senior citizens and kids. AC booked a hostel in Tsim Sha Tsui area which I thought was a hostel similar to the one we booked in Seoul- which in my standards is puede na for the price. But lo and behold, it was a teeny tiny room in an old, not-so-tidy building and we had to share with our parents. In the words of one of my nephews, J1, "this is not what I expected." LOL. Buti na lang talaga huli sa itinerary ang Disneyland. Imagine if we stayed in Disneyland hotel first then transferred to our cubby holes, I may never return to Hong Kong ever again.
Day 1: Arrival in Hong Kong
It was the boys' first time to ride an airplane so I prayed hard that our flight be a smooth, turbulence-free one so as not to traumatize the boys. The flight going to HK was one of the smoothest flights I've been on and we even arrived way ahead of the ETA.
There are only a few things I like about HK and one of them is their very reliable transport system. Oh how I wish we could do that here. Getting from the airport to the hostel was easy-peasy since you just need to hop on the bus that would pass by your stop (that's A21 for us!).
Day 2: Mong Kok, Wong Tai Sin Temple, Garden of the Stars (while Family T went to Ocean Park)
Mommy, Daddy, AC and I went to Mong Kok for Mommy and AC's shopping fix. Or so they thought. Mommy's idea of HK was more than 15 years ago- siguro mura pa yung mga bagay-bagay doon. Kung ang slogan ng bansa natin ay It's More Fun in the Philippines, HK's is It's More Expensive in Hong Kong. LOL. And it's not worth it. I'm sure I can find those stuff they're selling in Mong Kok in Divisoria or the tiangges in Greenhills.
We had lunch at Cafe de Coral, the cheapest and most decent food we could find in the city. My cousin said we just didn't do enough research on where to eat. Even McDonald's was more expensive and less tasty. Nalungkot ako sa BBQ sauce ng nuggets nila. So here's what I ordered for lunch
BBQ pork and roast duck ☺ I liked it and out of all the meals I've had in HK, this was the best.
After lunch we headed to Wong Tai Sin Temple because Mommy wanted to visit the temple. Oo nga pala, we almost lost our parents. We left them in Mong Kok MTR station when the train doors were already closing just as they were entering it. AC and I were in a panic. But all's good ☺ Buti na lang they stayed inside the station. So, Wong Tai Sin Temple...
After visiting the temple and taking bajillion photos of mommy, we headed back to our teeny tiny room and after resting for a bit, headed to the Garden of the Stars, supposedly to watch the Symphony of Lights that apparently can't be seen from there. Boooo!!! I blame Google for that wrong info. But still, the view of the cityscape was nice.
Day 3: Avenue of Comic Stars and Hong Kong Science Museum
This was supposed to be Victoria Peak day but shit happens. For me, figuratively and literally. LOL. TMI. After breakfast, we took the boys to the Avenue of Comic Stars. The boys enjoyed posing with the statues of comic characters. I enjoyed their park- how I wish we have something like that here.
The kids enjoyed the science museum as well. Too bad we had to leave after exploring just the first floor. We wanted to go to Victoria Peak but first, V and family had to transfer hostels and they had to check in before we leave for the peak. That was when we found out the booking was canceled and to make matters worse there was a marathon (an international one) happening the next day and the city is fully booked. The itty bitty room we're staying in was priced at Php37,000++ QUE HORROR. To cut the long story short, we were able to cajole Auntie to rent out one of her single room to us. Buti na lang or we would've spent the night at McDonald's. Buti na lang next day is Disney Day!!!
Day 4: Disneyland!!! Woohoo!!
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| waiting for our turn in the Iron Man ride |
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| Fantasy Land |
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| Lion King |
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| while the sun sets in the happiest place in HK |
This was the redeeming factor of our vacation. We were contemplating to put this first in our itinerary so our energy isn't depleted yet but AC insisted that we put this last since it's closest to the airport. Our flight back to Manila was at 10:40 in the morning so we weren't able to enjoy our hotel room as much. I know I said I won't go back to HK ever again but I think I'll make an exception- next time derecho na sa Disney. We weren't able to go on all the rides and next time we should spend at least two days to enjoy the theme park leisurely.
Gaaaah. I'm so excited to go home!!!
Day 5: I'm going home!!!
Thank God for the smooth flight back home and in the words of my nephew once the pilot has announced we're preparing for landing- PHILIPPINES!!!
It was a nice experience, at least ☺ Some lessons learned such as get a packaged tour when traveling with senior citizens and kids, book accommodations waaaay in advance and buy comfortable shoes (Chucks aren't too comfy).
I hope we acquire the money to go on another trip later this year (birthday month!!!)- I want to go back to Seoul or maybe Taiwan or Vietnam with the parental units again. Crossing my fingers ☺☺
