The departure from Hong Kong....

Well! Well!

Who wants to leave the place when you have just started to enjoy it!


But that's how it ends; you feel dejected; hoping this vacation never ends.


The day we departed, we opted for a taxi to the airport since it was 4 and half of us with all our 4 luggage and a baby pram. The taxis in Hong Kong are really spacious; don't be deceived by the old looks of them.



The leaving formalities:-

1. Remember to return all the MTR cards that have deposits and electronic cash.

So we returned the octopus cards that we had to the MTR station just next to the departure hall.

2. Spend all the coins as much as possible as they cant be converted. Best way is to ask a local to provide you with notes in exchange. I prefer buying coffees or snacks before departure....

Very convenient! Headed back to the departure gate and soon flew back to the reality that was awaiting us!


Back to Work!



Some Random shots which didn't find mention in the posts before.

Random Indian restaurant menu

The Dream Disney Castle

The local snack shop

The back alleys

The meat shop, fresh meat early in the morning!

The HK skyline, bit hazy at that moment.

The Mody road Christmas decorations

Beauty and the beast at Disneyland, HK.

The harbour, the ships, the sailors!

The path to salvation, not! Just a regular site seeing. Lantau Buddha.

Hey Did you call me! No!

Outside Casino Lisboa!

Pink, Windows, Tram, Hong Kong!

The skyline and the starlet....

The decor of best western, fit for Royalty...

Aptly called the ladies market, Mongkok.

Thats all folks!

The clock tower and Victoria peak....

Today was the our last day of Hong Kong trip before we get in flight tomorrow morning!

This day we had planned to get up leisurely. So got up by 11. There is a tram stop near the Best western. Took the tram going towards Central.

 The trams are age old form of transport on the Island side of HK. 

Rustic and nostalgic, remembrance of the by-gone era. 

So much preserved and maintained that they are still usable even in this century....

A must try...

Soon the tram pulled near Central. A short walk down the streets will take you to IFC mall. We had a quick veggie bite at subway. The veggie patty were a lifesavers for veggie guys like us. The Subway sandwich shop is one level below the airport check in at IFC; just next to the elevators on B1.

To get to the clock tower, we opted for a ferry ride across the channel. The octopus card is accepted as a form of payment. Don't remember how much was the exact fare. However it was a fair fare ;) 




The ferries keep plying day in day out. We did the ride at day; during last time when I was here, I had done this ferry in evening. It is a site to behold at the blue hour. 
The seats on the ferry are a bit unique. Depending on the direction a person wants to face, one can shift the backrest on either direction.

The Clock tower is in the same area as the Avenue of stars. Since on first day we came here in the late evening, so today we made sure we complete the tour of the TST (Tsim Tsa Tsui) Area. A short stroll by the promenade and a Ice cream made my day. The delightful part was we could pay the Ice cream cart guy by our octopus money card. Returned back to Central by the next ferry.





Next destination was the Victoria Peak, fondly called as The Peak. There are quite a few ways to reach the peak, most preferred way is the peak tram, most expensive way is the taxi and most cheapest is the bus no 15 from central. 

Well we were not in hurry, so we chose the bus. Advantage was there was less crowd. Disadvantage, could not experience the peak tram as we did with the Island line of tram. No regrets. The wait for peak trams can run into hours easily on peak times.




This is where you can get the no.15  bus to the peak.

There are two malls at the peak, with both offering the choices of Vantage points and window shopping.  The sunset was the most amazing from here!

The free viewing option is at peak galleria. The paid and  a slightly better option is the sky terrace. It was very cold at the top and we could see the other side of HK, the west side. 

Sun was just setting down and the air was turning from cooler to chilly.  We soon took retreat into the warmer insides of the two malls. The MacDonald provided the warm and cosy atmosphere. We had a delightful dinner and made our way down to Admiralty by the nightfall. 

Soon we reached at the Ladies market at Mongkok via MTR, the last stop and the most important for the Ladies and Gents alike, the shopping haunt. 

Well it had few more elements to it other than shopping. 

There were street performers and food vendors, professional photographers taking Souvenir photographs and a wide array of electronic shops.



The most dominant ones were the clothes and bags shops. 


The entire area is cordoned of for vehicles and is pedestrian only for the evening. 


The famous desert shop Hui Lau Shan to finish off the evening.

We returned back by the last MTR to Central from Mongkok. Then last leg was covered by taxi till hotel. Trams were running at midnight but we preferred comfort over everything else. 

A day well spent. Feeling emotional that the trip was ending tomorrow!

Date with Donald @ Hong Kong Disneyland!

On 2nd Jan, we got up early and headed to Hongkong Central Station for our MTR ride to Sunny bay.
This time time we took Tram from our hotel directly to Central....


From Central one needs to take the Tung Chung Line. Then Change over at Sunny bay for the Disney line.
Take a look at the MTR Map here.

Disney has its own separate line to take all us adults to the childhood dreamland, the land of Disney!

Once inside, make sure you chart your whole days plan! There are lots of parades, shows and rides to look out for.

The queue at the ticket counter was not that long considering it was holiday times.

We started off in the anticlockwise section once inside.... 

We did Tomorrow land ride and Space Mountain by lunch.

Space mountain was a stomach-churning, neck crunching ride in the black-void space like setup...

Beware ones with Migraines and neck ailments!  

It has option of Disney fast-pass. 

We had lunch at the food court near to the TomorrowLand! We later found an Indian outlet at the Adventure land.
There were few shows we took notice of while walking from one section to the other.

Post lunch, we moved towards the Grizzly Gulch..

 and then moved towards Toy Story land...

The Parachute ride was not that exciting, but may be fine to ride with your young ones. 
Since we were only 2 persons, we opted to ride single riders. The queue otherwise was expected to be 2 hours + long....

The RC Racer ride is worth the wait time.... more like a giant see-saw.

In the adventure land the river safari is highly recommended.

By the time we finished the Mystic point it was evening

We ran to catch the Disney's "The Golden Mickeys".

And now it was time for the famous Disney Fireworks. Fireworks were dreamlike.... Absolutely amazing! Exactly how we expected.

One day is never enough! It was too crowded on holidays and still more we wanted the dream to never end! 

The park closes shortly after fireworks!

After a tiring a day at Disney we headed back to Central. It was already too late and we headed to midlevel escalators to have a sumptuous dinner at a Turkish restaurant.



We called it a day after a short taxi ride to our hotel.

Tip:- 1. Always get your hotel name written down in Chinese by the  Tourism Board person at the Airport.
The Chinese name will help the local taxi driver decipher your hotel name.

        2. 7-Eleven near your hotel should be able to provide you with fresh milk and bread/butter for next day breakfast. If your hotel doesnt provide you free breakfast then you should stock the juices and milkshakes for next day.



Next Day... Macau....