As a travel freak,
we (family) always make it a point to visit a new place every year. Last year
has been an exception as we were awaiting the arrival of new member. So, this
year, to celebrate my first son’s fifth birthday, we zero’d in on Hong Kong.
Achyut (my first son) was always craving for Disney land. I had no idea how he
gained the knowledge about Disney land even before he reached 5. At this age, I
think the maximum I craved for was a trip to my grandparents next street : (
Never mind, such is the globalization
(eh ??)
Hong Kong is again
a small country (may be around 3 times the size of Singapore) and located on
the South Eastern border of China. The country is formed out of Chinese people
moved out of mainland china (I don't wanna go in to the political reasons for
good reasons) Macau, for your information is not a place in Hong Kong. It is
another tiny country located 30 KMS away from Hong Kong. I came to know this
only a month ago ; ) Hong Kong is predominantly crowded with Chineese and Filipino
Tourists. People their hardly speak English but you won’t be completely lost as
in case of Austria or Prague. After our
tough and exciting experience, here is the perfect info to help you plan your
trip to Hong Kong
The evening tour of
City and Victoria Peak:
This is all about
depart at evening (around 4 or 5 PM) reach the tram station in the bottom of
the hill and take your tram to the Victoria peak. The tram ride is about 8
minutes and the view from the hill is just beautiful overlooking the HK
skyliners where you can walk around, take pics and visit the famous Madame
Tussads Wax Meusesum. This is the meuseum chain in London, Paris etc., where
you can find real life size wax models. This is the best chance to take pic
with celebrities. You will definitely love your visit to Victoria Peak. After
this, get back down and visit the Clock Tower which is a huge stretch along the
bank where you can walk around and enjoy HK skyliners at night. There is a
laser light show at night you may want to watch. (Total duration : 4-5 Hours)
Lantau Island-Tai O
Village:
HK is composed of
3+ main islands. Lan tau is the one where Airport, Disney Land, Buddhist monastery
and Tai O Village exists. The Lan Tau Island is a blissful Cable car ride (for
about 30 mins) to the top of the hill and relax yourself under the giant Buddha
statue. The monastery is one of the main attractions and nothing much other
than that. From there it's a 15 minutes’ drive to Tai-O village. To me, this
village is the real Hong Kong with some history. The villagers are the original HK residents
and the main trade was fishing those times. You can still find the living
village who stick with the old houses on the banks rejecting the housing
facilities provided by the govt. This, over the years turned out to be tourist
attraction. You can pick Tai O village only if you are interested in history
and exploring HK culture (Total Duration: 4-5 Hours)
Disney Land:
The
gigantic-huge-stuffed Disney land is the chief attraction of Hong Kong. I would
suggest you not to target those silly thrill rides. Instead, spend your quality
time in the shows they conduct over there. Here is the list of items (in the
order of top priority to the least) for your pleasure in Disney land
- The evening
parade that stars at 3.30 PM where all Disney characters comes out in the main
street. This will be damn crowded and you need to be there atleast 40 mins
prior to the start to secure a decent view spot. The parade will be for around
30 minutes but a high quality one. Mind you, it will be scorching heat there
and be prepared with umbrellas and hats.
- The fireworks at
9 PM around Castle area. This is a beautiful fireworks show and again, you got
to be prepared well ahead and after this, people start walking off and call it
a day
- The Disney characters
(Light year, woody, Stitch, Mickey etc.,) will be wandering everywhere and you
can take pictures with them. The kids will absolutely love this. Achu was so
thrilled to find his fav. Light year buzz and still thinks that is the place
the actual Buzz lives.
- The well-organized
shows in each land are mind blowing. The lion king show was my favorite.
Stellar performance, well air conditioned auditoriums and all were like minimum
30 mins duration.
- Of course, there
are rides everywhere. Doesn't matter how crap is the ride, you have to be
prepared for at least 1 hour wait
I will strongly
suggest you to try and spend 2 days in Disney Land if you are a Disney lover or
if you are with kids. Most importantly, plan these 2 days over the weekdays and
make sure there are no China or HK school holidays that time. We were horribly
stuck in the school holidays time but knowing this ahead wouldn't have mattered
as it was Achyut’s birthday : )
Ocean Park:
This is one place where
tourists generally over look. I should say this was surprisingly a good visit.
This is again a huge theme park with not as much crowd as in Disney land. You
can meet lots of fishes, animals etc., here and there are elements of
attraction for all ages. You definitely need whole day here. Google for Ocean
park website to know more.
Macau Island Trip:
We chose to skip
this as the chief attraction of this trip is the flowing Casinos everywhere.
Overall, 4 nights
trip to HK is the ideal suggestion for any one irrespective of age group if you
chose HK as your holiday destination. I wouldn't say its out of the world but definitely
worth visiting.
Here is the video composition (shot and edited by me) for better understanding :) Enjoy travelling : )
Here is the video composition (shot and edited by me) for better understanding :) Enjoy travelling : )
