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16 Oct 19, 08:43 PM |
#1
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Imagineer
Join Date: Jul 09
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TRIP REPORT: Day 1 Central Hong Kong – Saturday 21st September
So we landed at 7.40am and eventually got off the plane once the bridge was in place, and made our way through the ENORMOUS Hong Kong airport.
Immigration was unbelievably quiet, so we filled in our landing cards, and went straight through. We had our luggage and were in a taxi to Lantau (the island where Hong Kong Disneyland is) within 30 minutes of stepping off the plane – winning! The taxi to Lantau took 30 minutes, and cost $174 (about £17), and the feeling when we pulled into the driveway of the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel was incredible! We went to check in, and asked if there was any possibility of an early check in given the long journey we had had. The check in guy advised not in the Deluxe room which we had booked, or even a Standard room, but I could pay to upgrade to a Sea View which was available immediately. When I inquired about the cost, he advised $250/£25 per night – sold! That was worth it for a shower! Look at these cute Mickey plushes you could buy - I really wanted one but resisted temptation! So after we were checked in, and had our tickets and extra Premier Passes which came with the upgraded room (3 per night – which we didn’t really need, but more on that later in the report), we requested our luggage to be sent to our room (they take it off you when you pull into the hotel) and went to look in the shop briefly because we knew the luggage would take 15 minutes or so. Well, I was like a kid in a candy store, and made my shopping list of things to buy later on! As we came out of the shop, Tai Chi with Goofy had just started, and there was a lovely lady giving out candy as part of their Halloween celebrations, so cute! We went to our room, and were stunned by the gorgeous views and of course the amazing room! We had decided to splurge on our Hong Kong stay because the Disneyland Hotel wasn’t actually that much more expensive than our first choice, the Explorers, and how often do you get the chance to stay at the Disneyland Hotel/Grand Floridian/etc?! We were so happy, I welled up with joy! The Halloween decor was so cute! When our luggage arrived about 30 minutes later, we thoroughly enjoyed our showers, and were out the door by 10am, so within an hour of arriving at the hotel. Some piccies of our room... And the piece de resistance - look! We took the shuttle to the MTR station, as we didn’t yet have our bearings, to realise that I had brought the Chinese not Hong Kong currency with me (they look very similar!) so we had to go back to the hotel again. We opted to walk back to the MTR the second time around and it was really quick, maybe 10-15 minutes. On route, we grabbed a bottle of water from one of the Disney ‘stands’ near the station, and it was $28/£2.80 – expensive for Hong Kong, but not compared with other Disney parks. Once we had bought our Octopus cards ($150/£15 each, including $100/£10 of credit), we caught the Disneyland Resort Line MTR to Sunny Bay station, which basically acts as the interchange to wherever you want to go, so we headed towards Central and got off the train at Hong Kong Station. We decided to head towards the shoreline first past the piers whilst we got our bearings. We were on a new continent, in a new country, on a different timezone, had skipped a night’s sleep…we were a bit zoned out…but we got there in the end! Our first ‘find’ was the observation wheel which we didn’t ride but it was branded with my company logo so felt familiar at least! We spotted the Star Ferry too which was a good result - but we wouldn't ride in it until tomorrow! Our first proper stop though would be the HSBC Tower where we stopped to rub the lion’s paws, which is apparently good luck! We then went to go to the Man Mo Temple, but hunger struck, and we were stood right outside of a McDonalds. With everything feeling so unfamiliar, we decided to just stick here for today and get more adventurous tomorrow, so Matt had an Angus Original Signature burger ($43/£4.30) with a side of wings ($10/£1), I had the nugget ($25/£2.50) so for a total of $78/£7.80, we were refuelled and ready to go! So off to the Man Mo Temple, which was a little underwhelming because it is covered in scaffolding and looked nothing like I expected – don’t worry, my temple needs were well taken care of throughout the trip! Whilst there, we also saw Ladder Street, known because it is basically one giant set of steps from one end to the next – ouch! We went on the hunt next for the Mid-Level Escalator which was firstly hard to find, and then found that that was under construction – we weren’t having much luck, were we?! (Thankfully, we did find them again later in the day and found a section that was working). Edited at 08:51 PM. |
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16 Oct 19, 08:50 PM |
#2
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Jul 09
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However, nearby, we did find the Tai Kwun (Historic Police Station) which was a bit more like it. We saw the old year and cell block, and liked to see the colonial architecture.
This toilet was for the wardens to use On our way back down to the bay, we grabbed some drinks from the 7/11 (I didn’t note the price, but I’d be amazed if it was more than $30/£3), and we went down to a square to sit for an hour. Central is very hilly and my feet were getting sore already – oops! We ended up sitting there for the next hour before our next booked activity, just enjoying a rest, and taking it all in. The square we were in was the home of the Final Court of Appeal, and I really liked seeing the contrasting architecture of the colonial Court of Appeal and the surrounding skyscrapers. At 2.45pm, it was time to meet our Klook (the tour agency) guide for our 3pm visit to the Peak Tram. Once everyone was there, we walked up to the tram where we got straight on with no wait. The tram took about 7 minutes to get to the top and it was very steep, far more than I expected! When we got to the top of the Sky 360 to see the views from Victoria Peak, it was really fantastic. We really enjoyed the whole experience really, particularly after some ‘meh’ sights earlier in the day which were either closed, or scaffolded…Central hadn’t overwhelmed us, let’s put it that way. There was more to see in Central (mostly gardens, or the Causeway Bay area which we had avoided as a common protest area) which we will return to in the future, as we will no doubt return to Hong Kong. If you visit Hong Kong though, don’t miss the Peak Tram! I had pre-booked our tickets on Klook for £15.58 for both of us, so it was an absolute bargain really! We weren’t up the Tower long before returning back to the Tram for the descent, and decided to head back to the hotel at this point. Needless to say, it had been a long and overwhelming day, and we were ready to crash. We were back at the hotel for 5pm, and I couldn’t go to bed without visiting the shop and making some purchases! I bought a Shellie May mini backpack (you’ll see it on day 3) ($318/£32), Shellie May 14th Anniversary Ears (I was so happy as I wasn’t sure if I would find them!) ($158/£16), Arundelle Aqua Ears (and my sister got me the Spirit Jersey in WDW) ($158/£16), the Pixar ‘toy’ Ball ($38/£4), and a reusable carrier bag like the new ones in WDW ($190/£2). I was so happy! When back the room, it didn’t take me long to change…into my swimsuit, I was getting in that pool! We enjoyed a 20 minute sit in the hot tub (so lush!), and then a further 20 minutes sat on a lounger, before returning to the room to sort everything out (not unpacking, but just getting things in order), shower, relax a bit, and prepare for a busy day ahead tomorrow. We both drifted off at about 8pm, and what a brilliant day it had been – no, Central hadn’t overwhelmed us, but we still really enjoyed our day, and our first taste of Asia! Steps = 23,742 |
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17 Oct 19, 08:19 PM |
#3
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Imagineer
Join Date: Sep 15
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Great trip report. You managed to do a lot in one day! Looking forward to your other posts.
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17 Oct 19, 09:02 PM |
#4
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Imagineer
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Wow all that before unpacking, very impressive
It looks great so far
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2000 - Disney All Star Movies 2000 - 2007 - Quality Inn International. 2005 - Quality Inn Suites 2008 - The Fountains 2009 - Orange Lake 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Vista Cay 2017. The Grove Resort & Spa 2018 Majorca - Tonga Towers 2019. Orange Lake 2020 - never happened. Orange Lake 2022. Orange Lake 2023. Voco Dubai 2024 |
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17 Oct 19, 09:49 PM |
#5
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Getting Excited
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Looking forward to reading! We are going in November so will get me even more excited!
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WDW 08, 14, 18, 20 DLP- 10, 13, 16 |
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18 Oct 19, 11:18 AM |
#6
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Very Serious Dibber
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Wow amazing first day and some fab pictures - I’ll be keeping a close eye on your reports as I’m off in November to Hong Kong & Shanghai, it was nice to read something about Recent Hong Kong travel and how protests haven’t hampered a trip (certainly makes me feel better)
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18 Oct 19, 07:04 PM |
#7
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Imagineer
Join Date: Mar 04
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What a fantastic first day!
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18 Oct 19, 08:36 PM |
#8
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Jul 09
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That's our style lol...wait til we get to Tokyo! Thank you for reading along!
Haha yes...go hard or go home! Thank you, you're in for a treat! Thank you - yes please don't worry, if you're savvy and keep up to date with the planned protests, you will barely notice. You will need to keep a back up in mind for the MTR closures but cabs are not the most expensive I have ever used. You're absolutely in for a treat, it's a great place! |
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19 Oct 19, 06:51 PM |
#9
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Apprentice Imagineer
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Great first day and so glad the protests didn't affect your plans. Hotel looks lovely... What amazing views.
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19 Oct 19, 06:58 PM |
#10
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Jul 09
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