Hong Kong 2016: Day 3

It’s so weird to be typing a new blog post about something that happened more than 4 years ago. It’s also weird that it both feels recent and so long ago at the same time. I always say that Hong Kong holds a special place in my heart because it was the first country my friends and I went to after we graduated college. Now, it holds another new, fond memory, because my family and I recently went to Hong Kong as well. And I want to have them all documented which is why I’m still writing about my backlogs from four years ago. So, here I am, trying to write down bits and pieces of what I remember, with photos that I still have (did I mention my hard drive crashed while I was in the middle of backing up my files so I only have a few folders saved?). Fun times.

Our third day in Hong Kong is one of my favorite travel memories to date. It was my first visit to a Disneyland resort! And if you know me, first thing I inject into my itineraries are themed/amusement parks. I usually favor ones with adrenaline pumping rides… but it’s Disneyland! I’m a big Disney fan and as someone who honestly thought I won’t be able to visit places like this, I’m so proud and happy that I did it all with money that I have earned and saved up.

But let’s back up a little bit because that was not our first destination of the day. We had a late start this day as we were tired from Day 2’s Ocean Park adventure. After we had our customary breakfast at Mcdonald’s, we set off to our first stop: Zoological and Botanical Garden. Then, we got seriously lost. Like, we were just going around in circles for about an hour after getting off the train station lost.

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We unknowingly explored Central in this hour and guessed that this is like the Makati/BGC of Hong Kong. There’s many tall buildings here and lots of luxury stores. And the garden? Nowhere in sight. When we were just about to give up, we did find a kind stranger who gave us a detailed description on how to get to the garden. Yes!

Zoological and Botanical Garden

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Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden is the Central Park of Asia. It’s huge but since we were running late, we weren’t really able to explore it that much. We just took advantage that it was almost empty and took photos in front of the fountains.

Zoological and Botanical Gardens is open from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily.

Disneyland

We arrived at Disneyland around 2-3PM. It is kinda late but we still have a day to explore. Everywhere, Mickey is there! Since this is almost all of us’ first time, we took a lot of photos. A lot.

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Like in Ocean Park, Disney isn’t overly packed. Lines are usually around 10-15 minutes, with the exception for lining up for the meet and greets. My favorite Meet and Greet was probably with Baymax because he is a ball of fluff. But we got the most interactions out of Tinker Bell! I love that the characters interact with anyone – you don’t have to be a kid for them to spend a few minutes with you before taking a photo. We also got a photo with Mickey that we lined up the longest for but I can’t find a copy of the photo anywhere. 🙁

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And contrary to popular beliefs, the rides aren’t too much for kids. We still got a kick of the roller coasters! And I especially loved watching the Parade and the fireworks show. I’m such a fan of Disney princesses that it really just made me smile the whole time! I didn’t cry tho. Not that much of a softie. (Fun fact: I did cry at every single Disney movie I saw…)

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The few hours we spend at this park was loads of fun, and thus, this started my goal of trying to go to every Disney park there is. I can’t wait for that! 🤞

Ladies’ Market

Our last stop for this packed day is the Ladies’ Market. It was around 10PM when we arrived here and we were surprised to find that most stalls were already closing up. We weren’t really able to stop and take photos as we were in a rush to find random souvenirs and knick knacks.

By the way, I just want to highlight that we ate at Cafe de Coral for both lunch and dinner and I really recommend this restaurant. They’re priced good, tasty, and has huge servings. They’re all over Hong Kong so keep you eyes out if you’re looking for a place to eat at. 🙂

That’s it for now. Stay safe and healthy!

Ciao,