Hong Kong Hustle… (Going to Hong Kong for the First Time)
So we took the bullet by the tooth and decided to visit Hong Kong. It was my first time without my parents around. I have been to Singapore and Baguio during the late 80s and early 90s and it was my great adventure, something that pushed me to become a pilot, which unfortunately, never materialized. Anyway, after summoning up enough guts and cash, Angie, Isa and I took flight PR300 on an early February 9 morning going to Hong Kong. We took the Econolight of Philippine Airlines and as a word of advise, bring some food because the food at the airport is quite expensive (paid 50 PhP for a bottle of water) and that they do not serve food on the “budget” flight. While the passengers were having breakfast, we were having peanuts,
When we arrived at Hong Kong and went through their immigration, we had to immediately get our things sorted out as we need to make the most of day 1. The thing about Hong Kong is that they have designed this place for tourism. From the airport, brochures lined up the arrival area. It had information on where you want go depending on the vacation you want, whether you are on an adventure trek, a family outing, a nature trip or shopping spree, there are brochures for you to use. It is fairly easy to say that Hong Kong has been prepped up for tourism. The brochure have clear details on where to go, where to get off and what to ride, there are details on the brochure as well as maps with an itinerary of sites to go on foot. It isn’t really that easy to get lost in Hong Kong with train stations and street signs have markers to point you to where to go. Unlike in the Philippines, you really have to rely on the taxi drivers (who like pirates, will hijack your wallets) as well as asking people around of directions. As for Dubai, sign boards on the streets will be your only indication, that is if you are driving on the road, there are maps but it just isn’t as easy finding where you want to go since the places are a bit difficult to reach with public transport except for taxis (which also rip you off but in a legal sense), until the DURL in the UAE gets built, it still has a long way to go for adventuring tourists. The nice thing about Hong Kong is their MTR (Mass Transit Railway) which is very accessible and is all over the city. There are around 10 lines, mostly run underground and majority are walking distance to tourist destinations. What this means is that it is so easy to go around Hong Kong by yourself, you’d make a little mistake here and there but it wouldn’t be a major issue at all.
A word of advise when landing in Hong Kong is to immediately purchase an Octopus card. It’s a card which you can load credit into as it is being used by most, if not all, transport systems and small stores like restaurants, 7-11 and other facilities. You get discounted rates when travelling the MTR unlike using a single fare ticket. You need to pay around 150 HKD when getting one, 50 HKD as deposit and 100 HKD as your credit. Each one of you has to have one, you can not use one Octopus card for all members of your party. Children also have their own Octopus cards. The cards you usually have is a “loan” card which you will return when leaving HK, otherwise, you lose your deposit. You can claim your deposit from the same place you bought it from the airport or in train stations. From the airport, you can take their buses headed to the city called “Air Bus” because they came from the airport or the Airport Express Line, which is a train dropping you off to the MTR stations within the city, the tricky thing is that the Airport Express has a higher fare going to the City which is more than 60 HKD, however, you can expect lesser travel time, nice seats and avoiding confusions and scenarios of getting lost for the first time. You can also use the Airport Express to do an early check-in and still be able to visit the rest of Hong Kong. This is what we actually did on our last day since our flight was at 6PM, we decided to do an early check-in and visit Hong Kong Disney for the second time from 11AM till 4PM. You can check in your luggage at Kowloon station and enjoy the rest of the day, just make sure that the places you visit are near any MTR stations.
I’ll add more stories as we go along but for the mean time I hope these pointer can help you get started.
Ngong Ping 360
- This visit will take 3/4 of your day. This place is huge and will be very very tiring. If you are bringing a child, have a stroller or a strong back.
- There are two types of tickets, a package ticket and a trip ticket. The package ticket includes a return trip via Sky Ride to Ngong Ping Peak by cable car and entry to two shows which are really for kids, Walking with Buddha and Monkey’s Tale Theater. The trip ticket is a return ticket via Sky Ride. If you are under budget, just get a return ticket, you will have access to all facilities except the shows. There is an optional bus route but the cable car ride is just too difficult to refuse.
- A very nice place to eat and will cost less than other eateries in Ngong Ping would be Taiwan Zen Bistro. Serves great noodles, real solid toppings and affordable prices, around 28 HKD than the others which goes up to 45 HKD.
- Bottled water within the Buddha statue costs a lot. Better to buy from the vending machine or the small shops before getting to the Buddha steps.
- Ngong Ping closes at around 6 to 7PM so I would suggest that you leave the place at around 3PM. There are a lot of people going there in the morning and a long line is there. These people return at around 2PM to 4PM so returning at an earlier time will help you out in planning your trip.
Ocean Park Hong Kong
- This visit will take 3/4 of your day. This place is huge and is divided into two part, the Lowlands (Soon to be named WaterFront) and the Headlands (Soon to be named The Summit).
- Always check show timings and their locations.
- Lowlands have the Dolphin academy and the show for the seals.
- The Headlands is a 15 minute cable ride from the Headlands.
- Bus 629 from Admiralty Train Station took around 20 minutes.
- All adult rides are located at the Headlands, children rides located in the Lowlands.
- Try to plan the trip going UP then DOWN, don’t do the opposite, it will be very tiring. Unfortunately, the Ocean Park Theater show takes place at 330PM and 530PM which is a must see for all but it is located in the Headlands.
- Always take the 330PM show on the Ocean Park Theater so you don’t get caught in the rush to go down to the Lowlands. There is a long queue going by cable car, we had to stand in line for 45 minutes.
- There is a small aviary behind the Headlands, try to visit it before going up.
- Wear COMFORTABLE shoes, you will need it.
- We were able to bring a bottle inside Ocean Park, bottled water there is expensive.
- Visit Atoll Reef, it is a must!
Hong Kong Disney
- This visit will take an entire day, extending till 7PM if you want to see the fireworks show. It opens at 9AM. Train ride from Hong Kong Station will take at least 45 minutes. You will transfer to another train once you get to Sunny Bay.
- We were able to bring a bottle inside Disney although it really is prohibited, bottled water there is expensive.
- There are long queues when you want to take pictures with Disney characters, you will find them in Fantasy Land. There is an entire area for them sponsored by KODAK. As always, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse always gets the longest line.
- I loved Stitch Encounter. Make sure you visit it.
- The Disney Parade started at 330PM.
- It would be useless to visit after 2PM, there just isn’t enough time for you to visit or enjoy all the facilities of Disney, besides there are long lines on some rides and some Disney character picture taking.
Tram to Victoria Peak (The Peak Tram)
- This visit will take you no less than 3 hours.
- You are not required to purchase pictures printed out after you pay for the ticket, it is just a thing for tourists, you can simply decline.
- When you get to the last stop, the Peak, you can still venture on top of the Peak building. You have to pay an additional 15 to 22 HKD. The view there is spectacular. If you are carrying a powerful camera, I suggest you pay the extra quid and start shooting away at the Hong Kong Skyline.