HK Day Two

We left the guest house early so we'll have a couple of hours head start towards Disneyland. It's another adventure as the only thing we have is the MTR map going there.

We went to the Tsim Sha Tsui station and rode the MTR to Lai King. From Lai King, we again rode the MTR to Sunny Bay, and then from there, we rode the Disneyland Resort Line MTR to Disneyland. The Disney Express was a our first taste of Disney and yes, it was already magical. The windows and the hand rails were shaped like Mickey Mouse's head and bronze statues of Disney characters are displayed inside.

We bought our tickets and went in. An adult ticket costs HK$ 350, and a child from 3 to 11 years old is HK$ 250. They also give senior citizens (65 years old and above) a cheaper price at HK$ 170. I was almost in tears the moment we went inside Disneyland. It was a lifelong dream for us, and it finally came true now that my wife and I are both 29 years old. The feeling was just surreal.

I knew that we wouldn't be able to enjoy the place as much if we'll be bringing our luggage the whole time so we left them at the luggage storage for HK$ 60 per luggage. We left the 2 big ones.

We got a map of the whole place and before starting to explore, we ate at the Starliner diner and ordered their burger meals (the most affordable) for the three of us. Total for our lunch was HK$ 146. Converting it into Philippine Pesos is Ouch! :)

After lunch, we went around Disneyland, experienced the different rides, took a lot of pictures, watched their different shows, and just had a lot of fun. Real fun. They were not kidding when they called Disneyland as the Happiest place on Earth. It really is. Imagine walking around the park and seeing Princess Aurora, Cinderella and the very beautiful Belle in person. I also bumped into Buzz Lightyear outside the Restroom, and met two Muppet characters, Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker.

I was again in tears watching the Golden Mickeys, a "Disneyfied" version of the Academy Awards. It combines live-action theatre with film, video, music and pyrotechnics in a memorable salute to Walt Disney and his legacy of classic animated films. My dream roles were live on-stage singing my dream songs. It was a half dream come true. :)

Mickey's Philharmagic, High School Musical, The Grand Parade, It's a Small World, The Lion King Adventure, and the amazing fireworks dubbed as Disney in the Stars are just some of the many more magical experiences we experienced.

The Disney in the Stars was the finale before Disneyland closed for the evening, and what a spectacular sight it was. And yes, it was so hard holding back my tears watching it. It was the end of a beautiful experience, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. And what a way to end the fulfillment of that wish I had when I was little than to watch the sky light up with that Disney magic.From the Happiest place on Earth, we again rode the MTR to Sunny Bay, then took another MTR to Tsing Yi and finally the Airport Express to the Airport. We were shocked to see the price of the Airport Express tickets on the Ticket Issuing Machine. HK$ 150 for 3 one way tickets to the airport! We went to the customer service counter to have our HK$ bills exchanged for coins, but we ended up buying the same ticket for only HK$ 120. Turned out, customer service were selling a package of 3 tickets promo.

We arrived at the airport at around 8:30 PM, checked in at 9 PM to a very friendly Filipino Cebu Pacific guy, then went through immigration. I was told I can't bring my half-filled 500mL mineralized water inside so I left it with the immigration officer. And yes, they call it mineralized. We slept for a couple of hours at the waiting area before we departed for the Philippines at 12:40 AM.

It was a very tiring and painful (my feet!) 2 days but also something we will never forget. For my daughter, it was the first of many more adventures with her parents, for me and my wife, it was an experience 29 years in the making. Yes, we were drained but it was damn worth it!

To all who come to this happy place: -Welcome - Disneyland is your land.
Here age relives fond memories of the past...
and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.
Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams,
and the hard facts that have created America...
with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration
to all the world.

- Walter E. Disney, 1955

HK Day One

Our plane landed 30 minutes before midnight, and since the hostel that we had a reservation with would not accept check ins before 9 AM, we decided to rest at the airport until morning. Though we were tired and sleepy, it took us a while to finally sleep because of the adrenalin rush of being in a different country.

Woke up around 5:30 AM and followed the signs to the bus stop. It was an adventure because we had nothing but a map and the name and address of the hostel we were going to. Nice thing about the city is that there are a LOT of signs and directions that even if you're lost, you won't feel scared.

We boarded a bus towards Kowloon, got off at the Park Hotel bus stop, and went to the Lee Gardens Guest House. It was around 7:30 AM, and since check ins start at 9 AM, and we were told to come back later. We decided to walk around and look for a place for breakfast. Burger King was something we don't have in Cebu so my wife and daughter wanted to try it. We ate a sumptuous breakfast and killed time, then went back to the hostel and was finally able to check in.

My wife didn't want to waste any time so we just freshened up then went out again. The plan for that day was Ocean Park. It was a challenge going to the place since we didn't have any guide, just our handy map, and the maps posted all over the city.

We arrived at Ocean Park shortly before noon via bus, and wasted no time in going around. Spent the entire afternoon trying the rides and going around the different buildings. It was very hot and tiring since Ocean Park is such a huge place with a LOT of things going on. It's the first time I've been there but I already recommend it to anyone who plans to visit Hong Kong. It was a wonderful experience even if I almost died there. Yes, I almost died, and no, I'm not exaggerating. We rode a steel "mine train" roller coaster perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking Aberdeen Harbour, and even if I was wearing seat-belts, I was also holding on to dear life because every time there's a turn, I get lifted from my seat. If I didn't hold on, I'm sure the seat-belts would break and I would have been thrown out 85 meters down. I would NEVER EVER ride that again, even if you pay me a million bucks.. Make it 2 million and maybe I'll think about it. :)

Another ride that scared us was the cable car. It was a great but really scary experience. It was long ride that took us from one part of Ocean Park to the new part which would require you to pass by a lot of mountains to get there. It was a slow, breathtaking ride 205 meters above sea level, and we were very careful not to make quick or big movements since it would rock the car. Yes it was VERY SCARY but I don't mind experiencing it again in the future.

We left Ocean Park late in the afternoon, and went to the Avenue of Stars along Victoria Harbour. The view was spectacular and it was fun walking along the street where the greatest film legends of China once walked and left their prints. We were able to take a lot of pictures but we weren't able to really see all the stars nor wait for the world famous symphony of lights because our feet were already aching.

Again using the map and road signs, we walked towards the hostel, getting lost every now and then, finally arriving around 7:30 PM. We freshened up and went to bed. Well, my wife and daughter went to bed, while I went out to look for dinner. There were a lot of stores nearby, but the prices of the food were quite expensive considering that every HK dollar is equivalent to almost 7 Pesos.

After almost an hour of going around, I finally chose KFC. I was looking forward to eating 1 original recipe chicken and 1 hot & crispy chicken with a cup of rice, macaroni salad and Pepsi. I got disappointed when I saw their menu. They had mostly roasted chicken and just a few crispy chicken. They had no macaroni salad and you had to order rice separately too. And being used to seeing working students working for KFC back home, I was surprised to see half of the KFC crew in HK being the same age as my mother. Nothing wrong with that, it was just surprising.

I ordered a 2-piece original recipe chicken with a cup of mushroom rice and Pepsi. The chicken didn't taste like it was from KFC at all, and the rice had spices in it. I've always known that for KFC outlets all over the world, there's only one taste with their chickens, but in HK, it really tasted different. I even thought that the KFC outlet I went to was a knock-off outlet, a poor copycat of the original KFC frachises.

From the KFC nightmare, I went to Burger King and bought 2 burgers for my wife and daughter and a Cream Soda Float for me, then went home.

A full but definitely fun first day at Hong Kong.