Location: Tsuen Wan District, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
Date: September 14, 2014.
Author: Liz
Author: Liz
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| An excursion across Victoria Harbour |
"Alas!" We waited a year in order to vanquish quite a limited number
of attractions in Hong Kong (because we only booked for 3 days). The most famous spots we longed to visit were Ocean Park, Disneyland, Avenue of Stars, Mongkok and Ngong Ping 360. But, before we even began travelling, Ngong Ping 360 was scheduled for maintenance on the exact date of our visit when we checked their website, so we had to cancel it out from our itinerary. With a bit of a heart break we continued looking forward to see Victoria Peak as an alternative.
However, we were not able to overpower the weather during our scheduled visit to get the best out of it. We left Manila in a late Sunday afternoon experiencing aggressive rain showers from the #StormLuis causing us a slightly delayed flight. We arrived in a calm, dry and hot Hong Kong evening with typhoon Luis (Kalmaegi) threatening to follow us on the afternoon of the next day (based from news forecasts), which it did and uncontrollably remained with us for the whole duration of our next 3-day stay. It was a bit frustrating to experience an out of the country tour with such a bad weather but on a brighter side, we were all safe and we nevertheless enjoyed our sight-seeing and shopping time. What happened during our trip just gave us more time to stay in one city to another which made us all fall in-love with the place and gave us the more reason to come back to Hong Kong soon. #unfinishedbusiness ^_^
However, we were not able to overpower the weather during our scheduled visit to get the best out of it. We left Manila in a late Sunday afternoon experiencing aggressive rain showers from the #StormLuis causing us a slightly delayed flight. We arrived in a calm, dry and hot Hong Kong evening with typhoon Luis (Kalmaegi) threatening to follow us on the afternoon of the next day (based from news forecasts), which it did and uncontrollably remained with us for the whole duration of our next 3-day stay. It was a bit frustrating to experience an out of the country tour with such a bad weather but on a brighter side, we were all safe and we nevertheless enjoyed our sight-seeing and shopping time. What happened during our trip just gave us more time to stay in one city to another which made us all fall in-love with the place and gave us the more reason to come back to Hong Kong soon. #unfinishedbusiness ^_^
Mooncake Overload
In time for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival 2014, we were welcomed cordially and offered with authentic locally-made moon cakes in no time after our arrival at Hong Kong International Airport.
Mooncakes are regarded as Chinese indispensable delicacy during Mid-Autumn Festival; a celebration for lunar worship and moon watching
As soon as my friend's aunt handed me a packed piece at the airport as a present, I thought to unwrap it and take a bite, thinking it's like a typical bread which I can eat wholly, uhm, like hopia in the Philippines. But I was wrong. Before I was able to open its plastic wrap, Alvin's aunt mentioned that it's eaten in small wedges and is perfect if accompanied by Chinese tea.
The production of mooncakes is labor-intensive and thus they are considered as a delicacy. Locals and tourists alike prefer to buy them from commercial outlets, ranging from small individual bakery shops to high-end restaurants. The average price range of mooncakes differ from US$10 to US$50 for a box of four, although cheaper and more expensive mooncakes can also be found.
God's Touch
Our trip was blessed. Alvin and our other friend have their aunties living in HK already so it’s a good thing to know
that we’re never going to get lost in the big city. Plus, we were accommodated warmly and were showered
with generous treats making me remember God's love and promises. He is indeed watching everytime. ;) Who am I to deserve such freebies?
Day Tour: Day 1. Ocean Park
Our first day was dedicated to Ocean Park. We were just lucky to see the Tourist Services stall near Exit B of Admiralty MTR station. They offered discounted full-day passes for Hong Kong Ocean Park. What I liked about them is that before they let us purchase the tickets, they made sure we understood their disclaimer about the forecasted typhoon. |
| From there, we rode CityBus 629 to get to the park. |
Though we were already told that a storm may come in the afternoon, we're a bit cynical about it because the weather was all clear and sunny that morning. The temperature was hot at around 40°C. And so we took the risk.
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| Photo taken in the morning when it was really hot and sunny |
enjoyinglifetoitsfullest™ @ the Ocean Park Entrance
enjoyinglifetoitsfullest™ @ Ocean Express
The Ocean Theatre
The Panda Village
The Goldfish Treasures
The strong winds and heavy rain came in the afternoon so we did not experience all the exciting rides they have. Good thing we got to see all the other exhibits and the grand aquarium.
Ocean Park Souvenir Shops
Disneyland for Day 2? Boooo!
We decided to cancel out visiting Disneyland the next day since the weather got worse. At storm signal #8, all rides including buses, trains and cabs are not operational so we stayed indoors until we got the news that at least the MTR is open again. The rain and strong wind stopped at around 10 am and so we were good to go. Having nothing left to do for Day2, we headed straight to Mongkok with all our baggages to check in with our 2 other friends in a guest house they have already reserved. Afterwards, we were off awry the streets of Mongkok. We harrowed the row of shoe shops to check out some new pair of kicks. It was fun hopping-in from one shoe-store to another to get the best discounted deal for the pair I needed.
We also bought some souvenir items and take-home goodies from the well-known Ladies' Market where several different products are displayed and being sold for a bargained price.
Want to know more about our Hong Kong trip? Watch out for the links on this page once published. ;) See you next time!
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