Thursday, March 19, 2009

4Days Hong Kong Magical Disney & Shopping Extravaganza, 15 – 18 March 2008

It had been another wonderful family vacation experienced. Time really flies when you are having good times.


Just a quick recapped of our 4 days tour:

Day 1: Sunday, 15 March

Singapore → Hong Kong (CX 736) Dep: 1010 / Arr 1410 hr

We were met up with our local agent – Win’s travel and they sent us to our hotel – Eaton Hotel.

I had a “SHOCK” upon checking into the room. The room was BIG!!! I had read previews of the hotel before and was mentally prepared for small room as their standard rooms are all very small. We had 2 Single beds and 1 Queen sized sofa bed in our room and the bathroom has both standing shower and bath tub...: P


Then I told Adrian that it seem like we had been given Executive room. He confirmed it as he was the one who did the check in. he said the receptionist told him we had an EXECUTIVE ROOM. I cannot believe our luck but I was very thankful. The main reason why I shortlisted this hotel was it has a swimming pool and a gym, which were requirement for the children and Adrian.

As usual after checking in, we went to explore the swimming pool and the gym. The children were so excited to see the pool and requested to go for a quick dip. The weather was pretty cool but the pool is heated so the water was quite warm. We had about 20 minutes of water play, then went back to the room to change and got ready for dinner.

We had made a dinner reservation at Yung Kee which was recommended by one of my ex-colleague. When we arrived at the restaurant, the restaurant was crowded, all 3 levels were crowded and there were people queuing for places.

The recommended dish – 烧鹅 was very delicious and yummy. Our whole family enjoyed the dish. Together with the Roast Goose, we ordered their special prawns, spinach in boiled soup, and porridge for the children. We had a very enjoyable meal and it was worth the trip to the restaurant.

After dinner, we took the MTR from Central Station (中环站) back to Jordon Station. This was the station nearest to Eaton Hotel. We took a stroll around the hotel and discovered that Temple Street (庙街) was just across the street from our hotel. We walked through the night market and I saw many vendors showing the LV Catalog. Out of curiosity, I asked how much was one of the LV bag and I was quoted HK$550 (about S$110). Not a bad price for LV Bags and they had so many models, I was so tempted…haha.

After the walk, we went back to the hotel to rest. The children even bought back Macdonald for supper and watched their favorite Cartoon network on TV.

Day 2: Monday, 16 March

We decided to forego our ½ day city tour as the tour guide told us the pickup time was 7.30am. I told Adrian since we are here for holiday, we should relax and enjoy at our own pace. We cancelled it the day before with the local agent. It was the right decision. We had a good night rest and woke up around 9.30am.

After changing, we headed to Macdonald (which was just across the street) to have our breakfast. The Macdonald in Hong Kong is non-halal as they served pork dishes. After breakfast, we headed to the nearby supermarket – Welcome to stock up some stuff for our Disney hotel stay.

Anthea and Anders wanted to go for their swim, so Adrian brought them back to the hotel after breakfast. I took the opportunity to explore the places around the hotel. I found the famous “天后宫“- Tian Hou Temple. I went in to give a simple prayer and did some donations.

Then I walked down Nathan road. As I walked, I saw many interesting food/dessert soups along the street. For me, I prefer to discover food than shopping…haha. I am not a shopaholic. Thanks God!!

Finally, I discovered the few famous streets – Fa Yuen Street (sports goods)/ Tung Choi Street (Ladies Market). As it was still day time, so most of the stalls were closed. I was happy to see so many nice food places around the location. Since it was noon time and almost lunch, I decided to pack food back to the room for Adrian and the children.

I bought the 双拼- 烧鹅和烧肉 rice for Adrian. The children had the 鲜虾云吞 面. I also bought some freshly baked 蛋塔and bread with a cup of 鸳鸯。We had a very nice and relaxing lunch in our hotel room. The children were enjoying the programs.

While the children took their nap, I went for a quick gym workout.

In the evening, we booked ourselves an optional tour with Win’s travel – open top bus Hong Kong by night. The tour started around 5.30pm with the guide picking us from the hotel. 1st stop was our dinner stop – we ate at a Hong Kong famous roasted goose restaurant. At the restaurant, we met up with another group of tourists and they are all Singaporean… : )

After dinner, the guide brought us to Victoria Peak to view the whole night scene of Hong Kong. We also had the chance to see Madam Tussauds wax museum on the Peak.

The scenery was very beautiful and we had a good tour of the wax museum, happily clicking away with all the famous people. We even saw our MM Lee, must take a photo because Singapore not chance..haha.


Then the guide brought us to Avenue of the Stars. We walked along the walkway and saw some famous people names and hand prints on the street.

Finally, the open top bus was there and the whole group went on it. Both Anthea and Anders were happy to get the chance to sit on top of the open bus.

The bus cruise along Nathan road and I saw some familiar places, like Miramar Hotel and TST where we stayed in 2007.

The ride was very enjoyable and the weather was very cool. It finally stops at the Ladies Market where the tour ended and we made our way back to the hotel.

As usual with 2 children in tow, it’s never easy to shop. So we decided to buy supper back to the room to enjoy. On the way back, we managed to buy a packet of the famous “炖蛋奶“and in another dessert soup, we bought a very delicious dessert – quite similar to our bo bo char char.

We had a good supper in our room and finally slept around 12 midnight.


Day 3: Tuesday, 17 March

This morning we woke up around 7.30am as our pick up time was 9am. I went to the 茶餐厅 across the hotel to buy breakfast. The breakfast set was delicious and each set come with a cup of coffee/tea/oval tine.

We checked out of the hotel after our breakfast. Then we were transferred to Hollywood hotel in Disney.

When we arrived, Adrian did the check in and the receptionist mentioned that we can only get our room after 2pm. So we decided to go ahead to visit the Theme Park via the shuttle service by the hotel.

When we reached the Theme park, the entrance Q was quite long as they were checking the bags. People who planned to picnic in the Theme Park had to forego the plan as all the food/canned drinks were confiscated. Luckily for us, I only packed some small packs of biscuits and bread. The person who checked my bag was kind enough to let me through.

Once we were in the theme park, our Dreams came through…haha. We went around taking photos with all the Disney characters. Anders was excited to see them for the 1st time.

We went around for the rides, 3D shows and we also managed to catch the High School Musical Live Show.

The Disney Street parade was on at 3.30pm and after seeing the parade, we went back to the hotel to check in the room. It was a very Disney room – the amenities inside the room were all Disney. The children had another treat – Disney channel / Playhouse Disney was shown on TV.

They took a power nap and we return to the park around 7.30pm for the Fireworks show.

Then we were recommended by the Park GR to go to Tsing Yi Station (青衣站) to have our dinner. They had a big mall there. Indeed, we found the place – Maritime Square. It was like our local shopping mall and it had many eateries, supermarket and shops. We had dinner at Pizza Hut. Then we bought some bread for our breakfast tomorrow.

We went back to the hotel and rested for the night after the eventful day.

Day 4: Wednesday, 18 March

In the morning, we woke up around 9 am and had simple breakfast in the room. As the hotel swimming pool was closed for maintenance, we had no chance to go for swim.

So we decided to go back to the Theme park to take the Train ride and also had lunch before our departure. As our theme park tickets allowed us to play for 2 days, we were making full use of the privileges.

Then the agent picks us up around 1.40 pm to go to the airport for our departure flight.

It was Home Sweet Home.

Hong Kong → Singapore (CX 711) Dep: 1600 / Arr 1945

The 4 days 3 night trip had been a memorable one for the family. This was Anders 1st time visiting Disneyland and his 1st trip to Hong Kong.

Our family had enjoyed great bonding time during the trip. Judging by the response, I believe this will not be the last time we visit Hong Kong..
再见。。。香港!!

8 comments:

Shiny Stars said...

WOWOWOW very detailed post! Hee I know where to go for shopping and eat if plan to go HK next time!

Holidays are always nice yet seems to passes fast!

Taiwan is a beautiful place indeed! However, more on scenery though. Me and hub went there without d kids 3 years ago.

therens said...

Hi Astee

Was this a 4D/3N Free n Easy trip booked fr Sgp or thru local agent in HK? Saw some promos gg on by Dynasty Travel. Wonder which is better - book here or book wif local HK agent there?

Nell.

Aces Family said...

Hi Vivien,

Yeah, i know Taiwan more for scenary & eating..but seem like there is also a new theme park, so i do research 1st..haha.

Hi Nel,

We bt this 4d/3n package via Chan Bros..include airfare/hotels/half day city tour.

You can always buy the optional tour via the local agent as they hv diff tours.

Alternatively u can go on your own local tour as HKG is very easy to go ard via the MTR.

When are you planning to go ?

cheers,
astee

Aces Family said...

Hi Vivien,

Yeah, i know Taiwan more for scenary & eating..but seem like there is also a new theme park, so i do research 1st..haha.

Hi Nel,

We bt this 4d/3n package via Chan Bros..include airfare/hotels/half day city tour.

You can always buy the optional tour via the local agent as they hv diff tours.

Alternatively u can go on your own local tour as HKG is very easy to go ard via the MTR.

When are you planning to go ?

cheers,
astee

therens said...

hi Astee

I see. I saw something similar by Dynasty which didn't state the hotel nor the air carrier nor final price. Yup, HKG is very accessible n gd food everywhere. *yum yum*

Possibly in early June but really hv to think thru all destinations suited for our needs/budget.

Thks,

Nel.

blurblur said...

Yes, this is a very detailed post about your HK trip! :) I know where I can get tips if I ever visit HK... :P Your room is really big!! Food wise, I heard it's not easy finding food for kids? Is it true? :)

Aces Family said...

Hi Nel,

Yes, HKG food is definitely yummy..haha.

If you need anymore details upon confirmation of yr hldy, let me know, will email you all the lobangs...haha. : )

cheers,
astee

Aces Family said...

hi BB,

haha..if u need any tip, just let me know, i will be more than willing to share. Btw, i heard June will be hot...so remember to bring more sunblocks.

Foodwise is not a problem - they have chinese,western (macdonald), Japanses, Thai and their local specialities.

regards,astee