Hanging Out in Hong Kong

Just a brief update today. After our epic tour of China we had a week in Hong Kong. While Hong Kong is part of China – despite having different money, immigration, and legal system – we thought we’d separate it from the China post since that was such a loooooong one. Hong Kong indeed felt very different from mainland China.

We were lucky to have one last day with our tour group that included a ride up to Victoria Peak, the pinnacle of Hong Kong Island. The tram was closed for renovations so it was bus up and bus down for us. From the peak we had a panoramic, birds eye view of the city and harbour, which was impressive.

We also walked around the city and took the iconic and very crowded Star Ferry ride to Kowloon, which offered amazing views across the famous harbour. The view was spectacular at night with the thousands of buildings lit up.

A few hours were also spent wandering around the local jade, fish, clothing and food markets.

After saying goodbye to our group we were on our own once again. Hong Kong is a great city – clean and modern and a welcome reprieve from some of the more chaotic areas we had visited in China. Unfortunately it rained and rained and rained which definitely hindered our explorations. When it rains in Hong Kong it rains heavily! We took the time to recharge our batteries after our busy China tour. It was nice to have no agenda which allowed us a few sleep ins and a chance to get caught up on a few things.

We did manage a trip to a couple of the massive malls to replace some shoes and shirts the boys have out grown since we left home. Shopping is a big thing in Hong Kong and one of the reasons it is such a tourist destination. Everything imaginable can be found; some things super cheap and others crazy over-the-top expensive. Sadly, we had no room in the backpacks!

A highlight was a day at Disney Hong Kong. We debated whether to go or not on account of the weather but after 2 days holed up in a hotel room we decided to give it a go.

The subway system in Hong Kong is amazingly easy to navigate. The subway to Disney itself was really cool, complete with Mickey shaped handles and windows. We have been to Disney in California, Florida and recently Paris. Disney Hong Kong was most definitely the smallest and least busy. It was eerily quiet and ironic it took going to Disney in Asia to escape the crowds. We had an amazing day! Maybe it was the rain, maybe the fact we were in low season or maybe because it was a Wednesday but it felt as if we had the park to ourselves….with NO LINES! This allowed us to ride whatever we wanted however many time we wanted – which we did, sometimes until we felt dizzy! Favourite rides included Grizzly Gulch (a longer and more elaborate version of Big Thunder Mountain), Hyper Space Mountain and Antman and the Wasp. We also were able to get pictures with many characters, without the usual line ups.

We feel as if there is so much more we could have seen and done in Hong Kong, in better weather. Maybe we will get back again…someday!

With Love,

The Travelling Babins

“Better to see something once, than to hear about it a thousand times” – Asian Proverb