Hong Kong : If you can dare the crowd and bear the heat

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 : )

On-SIGHT opportunity

The ultimate joy of being in IT industry is the on-site or business trips that one encounters very often. The greatest advantages being all expenses paid and top of that you will get a daily allowance (what is called as ‘per-diem’).  Above all, you get to visit a new place and start enjoying the new culture altogether without shedding a cent. Here are the highlights that I experienced over different office trips. Also, tips for other travelers on a business trip.

The travel : The business trip travel will not be as cumbersome as your personal vacation. The reason being, YOU ARE NOT PAYING FOR ANYTHING : ) The ultimate challenge is you need to be ready for Monday morning office. Means, make sure your office attire (dress, shoes etc.,) are in a good shape to be used for the office day. The flight travel is pleasing part. Most of the times I will be travelling alone, use the time to the best for reading books. I usually love to pick a book randomly (just go by the cover page info) from the airport, head on to coffee place or viewing gallery, sip n read -> heaven

Credit card : Most of the companies will give the option to pay and claim for the expenses based on the agreement. So, always keep the card ready for any surprises. Once, I had to end up paying 3 weeks of hotel stay (in KL) and claim later due to my office admin’s mistake. Always, be safe and ensure you exchange enough money in local currency or have good amount of US dollars for your safety.

Behave : You might be a super star in your team or family but while you are on travel in a public, you are just another human. Be extremely careful with your communication and activities especially in alien countries. Be extremely patient and co-operative to immigration official. Your visa status or reason to enter the country may b 1 out of 100 which the official are encountering each day. They are in a pressure to ensure no illegal entry and very likely that you might be suspected. The more co-operative and polite you are, the less trouble you may face. This is embarrassing but I have to highlight. The Dresden (Germany) immigration officials ripped all parts of my DSLR to make sure I am not smuggling any drugs. Me, being the only colored guy might have been mattered but they apologized and appreciated my co-operation. They even explained the hidden cargo on a flight from UK to Dubai incident that happened the day before. And, they fixed my camera back in to shape : )

License : Carry your driving license where ever you go. This is very much handy. If possible, have an international license too. Driving anywhere out of Indian cities is a bliss and you don't wanna miss the fun. Most of the countries does accept Indian driving license if you are on a short trip (some countries allows longer duration too) If your base is out of India, try and get a local license too which will be very handy. If you don't know driving, LEARN FAST otherwise you are missing biggest fun in life. Ya, drive safe and observe speed limits all the time. I had a very bad experience in South Africa due to speeding and after a havoc, got rid off it. After that I vowed not to speed even when I go for Marathon run ; )

Research : Do a research about the country you are going to. Wiki is an amazing source. Learn the local culture, weather, currency conversion rate, where not to go, what not to do etc., Since, am a person always excited about new culture, I do these religiously if not, atleast for the sake of safety and comfort, know where you going. Since its official trip, all you got is weekend to hang around. Make the perfect plan from Friday evening to Monday morning before you reach. My best plan and execution was Dresden (Germany) to Prague (Czech) weekend trip with my mate from Dubai turned out to be one of the finest memory of life (ya, we ended up staying in a Boatel (Hotel on boat) filled with mostly honeymoon couples and imagine the state of 2 (male) guys ) : (

Food : I am ovo lacto vegetarian (vegetarian who eats egg) and I have no problem in traveling to any corner. Reason, I can adjust myself to eat anything vegetarian. You cannot definitely get Dal Tadka in every corner of the world. However, being an Indian vegetarian is again a privilege. Indian food is almost everywhere I went : ) But I still love to taste the local cuisine (of course vegetarian options) The best surprise is the everyday south indian lunch I got in Brunei (that too in a remote town called Siria) close to my office.

Enjoy : Above every thing else, enjoy the trip and make your trip more meaningful by accomplishing what you went for (I meant work) and study the place you live. Remember, per diem (the daily allowance) purpose is to support your stay in the country and not your salary. Stop complaining the company and love travelling (be it official or vacations)