Home

[Malin]

Hong Kong Trip Report

15th to the 22nd of May

We left London's Heathrow Airport on a Cathay Pacific flight on direct route to Hong Kong. Flight was ok if you enjoy Asian movies and sub titles, only good thing was that the flight wasn't fully booked so we could move and spread out a bit more. Slept for a couple of hours before arriving at 13.20 in the Afternoon. After going through immigration and collecting suit cases, we came to the arrivals hall where I met someone who had my transfer details. A short wait one of the staff members started up a conversation asking why I was visiting Hong Kong during May as it was far too hot. Boarded a very cool air conditioned bus and we were on our way to the Hotel which was the Metropark in Causeway Bay. Journey took about an hour.

Upon arrival I had the staff run straight over to collect the luggage and guided me upstairs to check in. Check in was a breeze and I was handed a MTR map. I had a few hours before I needed to be at the Hong Kong Convention Centre for the James Blunt concert which I had pre booked tickets for before leaving the UK. So thought I would take the MTR over to Hong Kong Disneyland and pick up my Value Annual Passport which I would be using for the week. MTR station was only across the street from where I was staying and thanks to the map from the hotel it was easy enough to work out where I needed to go. First I purchased a Octopus Card, which was recommended. Journey took about an hour and involved two transfers, but I made it without getting lost or on the wrong train, so that's a result.

According to the Hong Kong Disneyland website I would be able to pick up my tickets from a dispensing machine, which I was unable to find. So I ended up going over to the booth and picking up the ticket from there!

Feeling kind of hungry by now I decided I would actually pop inside the park and find something to eat. Now I've heard the only restaurant that sold western food was in Tomorrowland which I ended up going to and had a rather nice meal of chicken pieces and fries from Starliner Diner. Next I sneaked in a quick ride on the new it's a Small World attraction and made my way to leave the park. On the way out I was sidetracked by the High School Musical show, which I caught a bit of before leaving. I will have much more on this park later including pictures.

Arriving back at the hotel I only had about an hour to get to the Hong Kong Convention Centre before the start time. So I grabbed the tickets and enquired about the quickest way to get to the Convention centre from here. Luckily it was only 2 stops on the MTR. Arriving at the Station I followed the sign to the where I needed to go. It was actually about a 20 minute walk passing though quite a few passage ways and up one or two escalators. Finding the right Hall I found the crowd outside waiting. Doors opened at 20.00 which was supposed to be the start time and the show didn't start until 21.00.

The actual show was really good and I recommend if you get a chance to go to one of his concerts, to do so. I don't have any actual footage of the show but others at the show have posted YouTube videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...Rl7b_OaI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...=related

Leaving the show on a high I made my way back to the hotel and purchased a bottle of water from the 7 - Eleven store next to the hotel before calling it a night.

[The Butlin Boy]

Great start to your trip report Malin, I'm looking forward to the rest of it

[Epcot_Boy]

:hello:

Seems like you had a hectic ( though enjoyable ) start to your trip

Look forward to the rest of the report, especially the pix

Epcot_Boy :ears:

[Malin]

Please Note due to circumstances beyond my control the Disneyland part of the trip report is going to take a bit longer to post. So instead of keeping the whole trip report on hold I'm going to skip it for now and keep it going with my day trip to Macau.

Macau Day Trip 2008

Today I wanted to visit Macau which is in the process of becoming the Las Vegas of China, thanks to heavy investment from American Investors. Macau is situated between the western side of the Pearl River Delta bordering Guangdong Province in the north and facing the South China Sea in the east and south on an Island about an hour away by boat from Hong Kong. And its the only place in China where it is legal to gamble. Macau like Hong Kong is under Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and was once a former Portuguese colony.

The Ferry's to Macau are easy to get to by MTR, but you must remember to bring your passport. Journey like I stated above takes about an hour and if you wish to avoid the crowds your best avoiding Weekends. As many people from Hong Kong and the Mainland visit Macau to gamble on Weekends.

Upon arrival you need to queue up to get your passport stamped before your allowed though. Also visitors need to fill out a landing card like you do when arriving in Hong Kong. Once you reach the main terminal building head outside and either take a taxi to your destination, or if like me instead you only wishing to visit the Casino's follow the signs for free shuttle, as all the major Casino's and hotels offer complimentary service. I had heard from reading the net that Steve Wynn has recently opened up a new Hotel and Casino in Vegas named after his Vegas Resort The Wynn. So I decided I would head here first and check it out.

Like in Hong Kong most people can speak English but Cantonese is the main language, and I was greeted with a hello morning and welcome to the Wynn sir as I entered the building. The first area I arrived at was the Tree of Prosperity, which is one of those Casino attractions that keeps you from leaving. Show time was not for another 30 minutes so I ended up snapping a few pictures of the massive hand sculptured dome, which had a number of animals, and checked out the shops which were getting ready to open. The shops were big name brands like Gucci, Chanal and Giorgio Armani and as you can expect were there for the purpose of entertaining people with money to burn. At 10.00 o clock the Tree of Prosperity show began, and its hard to explain what the show is about as I have no idea but it involves a crystal chandelier and a gold painted tree turning and changing colour to music. More about it can be found here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...CIDL7HhI

After the show I checked out the surrounding area, including the MGM Grand. While this Hotel and Casino shares the same name as the one found in Vegas the theme is not based on entertainment and is built around an area referred to as the Grande Praca. Leaving the hotel and entering back out in the street I took in sights like the Grand Lisboa Casino and the Macau Tower in the background.

It was coming up to 11 o'clock and I took my place along the lake in front of the Wynn for the Fountain shows which is a Vegas tradition that can be found at the Bellagio which is a Vegas property that Steve Wynn built before selling it on. The fountains while located in a smaller set up is actually enhanced by the addition of fire effects, in this show the music was set to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Seeing that I had booked a return trip for Hong Kong at 4.00 pm I decided it was time to leave and head back on the coach to the Ferry Terminal. At the Terminal I located the Venetian Macau bus and headed there next. It would have been easy to get a taxi but why pay money. Journey took a bit longer but we finally arrived to find the Vegas style Strip with only the Venetian. All the other hotels are in the process of being built.

Made my way though the Venetian's Casino which is said to be largest in the world and entered the Canal Shops, which are twice the size that the shops in Vegas are!

Feeling a bit hungry I stopped of at a Restaurant called the Three Wise Monkeys or something similar and it had very similar theming to the Rain Forrest Café chain. Lunch was a Chicken and BBQ pizza which was rather tasty.

After lunch I walked around the shops taking in anything of interest, although not surprised to find the usual StarBucks and McDonalds. Next I had a bit of a go at the Casino mainly just the machines before venturing outside and taking a closer look at the Cotai Strip. It was starting to get late so I headed back inside and purchased a drink before getting on board the coach back down to the Ferry Terminal.

The Journey on the way back was uneventful, however when passing by Lantau Island I spotted the Tian Tan Buddha on top of one of the peaks. Arriving back I made my journey back to the hotel. The Hotel is located next to the Tin Hau Temple and I spent a couple of minutes checking it out. I had read from the Hotel reviews on Trip Advisor to take the lift up to the top floor and visit the Swimming pool, as the views were fantastic. I spent a couple of minutes snapping a few shots which will be available in a upcoming album.

Leaving the Hotel again I took the MTR to the other Ferry building and taking a ferry over to Kowloon using by Octopus card. The trip takes about 5 minutes. Leaving the Ferry building on the other side you were greeted by people trying to sell you stuff. After about 3 attempts of saying no, my language turned quite colourful. Anyway I was left alone after that. I walked over to the Waterfront where people were already staking out a spot for the Symphony of Lights show that takes place each night. I had a look around the Avenue of Stars which is the Asia version of Hollywood Walk of Fame before finding a spot. A live band was performing on a stage so I heard a bit of that. After the show I had a look around the museum areas, and took a few pics of the Olympic Mascots, before walking what seem like miles to find the MTR station. On the way back I stopped of at Causeway Bay for a Mcdonalds and checked out the main area before heading back to the Hotel.

Thanks for reading, pictures from Macau can be found at this link enjoy.

http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/...y=18geoc

[Malin]

It appears the album of Macau is bringing up a dead link, hope this fixes the problem

http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/I.jsp?c=1 ... 0&y=18geoc

[Malin]

Hey guys Richard has been working very hard over at the hkdlsource.com website to be able to now bring to you, my trip report and 175 + pictures from Hong Kong Disneyland. Special thanks to him and I hope you enjoy.

Trip Report can be found here http://news.hkdlsource.com/story/296

[Epcot_Boy]

:hello:

Enjoyed the trip report Malin =D>  I too had heard complaints about the food, but as far as I am concerned 'When in Rome.......'

Enjoyed the pix as well

Epcot_Boy :ears:

[Soap]

Great and honest report Malin! Enjoyed the pictures as well.
Thanks for sharing!

[Anthony]

Thanks Malin, always great to read about the other resorts from a more "local" perspective.

I have to admit to taking more than the odd jab at HKDL, but it does indeed look like a really cute little park with a lot of potential. Their Victorian MTR station is just beautiful, one feature that really stands out as a DLRP-beater. The concrete "chateau" and random glass half-pyramid in Paris never really did it for me.

[Malin]

Thanks for the nice coments

I have to admit to taking more than the odd jab at HKDL, but it does indeed look like a really cute little park with a lot of potential. Their Victorian MTR station is just beautiful, one feature that really stands out as a DLRP-beater. The concrete "chateau" and random glass half-pyramid in Paris never really did it for me.

I have also taken a couple of shots at Hong Kong Disneyland in the past and its so nice to be proven wrong. The park will continue to recieve criticism, but many of these people are the same ones who also don't see much value in our own Studios. The Victorian MTR Station is stunning in design as are the trains with all the Disney details. Next to catching a ferry to the Magic Kingdom this is probarely my favourite way to travel to a Disney park.

[SMCD]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad you had a good time in HK. I very much agree with your opinion about the park.

Reading about your experience eating at the Royal Banquet Hall makes me sad it was closed when we tried to eat there. Well, Well.

By the way, I believe what's missing from the Jungle Cruise is the "indoor temple"-part. Am I right?

[The Butlin Boy]

Great trip report Malin, I really enjoyed reading it and seeing your pictures. It's great to see some positive attitudes towards HKDL for a change. Thanks for sharing it

[Malin]

Sunday the 18th of May 2008

Day started today by hopping on a MTR Train over to the Ferry Terminal and boarding a train over to Kowloon. According to many no trip to Hong Kong is complete with out a Harbour Cruise, so I made my way over to the ticket office. Was handed a ticket and a voucher, and told to wait with everyone else, in the terminal. After a brief wait we were all informed to queue in a line and wait while our tickets were checked.

Upon boarding you were given a option of where you would like to sit, and I chose to sit outside. The journey takes about an hour and the views of Hong Kong's Harbour were breath taking. After a while I was beginning to feel a bit hot sitting outside and made my way indoors to purchase a soft drink. The voucher your given gives you a choice of a drink and a chocolate muffin and both went down a treat as you could sit back and relax in one of the comfortable seats.

Upon arrival I had been recommended by members of an online forum to check out the History Museum. The pocket guide that I carried around with me at all times stated that the Museum was not far from Kowloon Station. So I decided to trek the way over to the Museum's site. Unfortunately I couldn't find many signs pointing to the direction of the Museum and in the end I had to locate the map of Kowloon I had. After a couple of wrong turns and back stepping I was able to find the museum with ease.

Its location is right next to the Science Museum and only about a 10 minute walk from the Harbour Front. The cost of admission was a bargain at only $10 Hong Kong dollars and it felt great to finally be inside in the cool air conditioning.

The Museum takes you back 400 million years and goes up to Hong Kong being handed back to China. Its divided into many sections and rooms on two story's and includes video presentations, and so much else. I only spent a few hours here but I think you could easily spend a good day here taking in and reading everything this museum offers. Leaving the main exhibition I came across the small gift shop which had a surprising selection of Hong Kong History books. The Museum also has a café where Chinese and Western snacks are served. I had a ham and cheese sandwich before leaving the museum to make my way over to the MTR.

By this point it was getting to be mid afternoon and I wanted to get over to the Peak. Finding the Peak's tram station was a bit tricky but if you just follow the signs once you get to the right MTR station you can't go wrong. After about a 30 minute wait to buy tickets I was on a tram heading up towards the top. After getting off I had a quick look around the shops before taking what seem like 8 escalators to the Sky Terrace, which you need to buy a ticket for. The Sky Terrace is located on top of the Peak shopping mall, and gives you a fantastic view of Victoria Harbour. My only complain is that your ticket only gives you access the once as I wanted to see it again at night I had to buy another ticket.

Leaving the Shy Terrace I headed though the mall and to the outside where another mall is located and so are some nature trails. Sadly the views while being stunning were also cloudy. Feeling rather hungry I decided I would pick Bubba Gump. The Restaurant is located on one of the top floors of the Peak and offers diners some more views of Hong Kong. I ordered the a steak that was cooked to perfection.

While it was starting to get a bit dark it was still to early to see all the skyscrapers lit up, so I ended up checking out Madame Tussurds, which is very similar to others versions found around the world except it had a few more Asian stars. Sadly it was at this point my camera's battery ran out. After exiting the attraction and checking out the skyline at night I decided to call it a day.