Hong Kong - October 2011
I was fortunate enough to enjoy an excellent trip to Hong Kong in October of last year with my family, and it surprised us in so many ways. From the beautiful scenery to the shopping, the weather, the food and the many wonderful activities we couldn’t have asked for more from this amazing city.
We started our stay at Disneyland Hollywood Hotel and what a great hotel it was. It’s definitely designed to impress the kids which it most certainly did. My girls just loved meeting Donald Duck and Daisy throughout the hotel. We stayed in a Parkview Room which I definitely recommend if travelling with kids because every night at 7:30 pm you can see the fireworks from your room. The pool area was also fantastic with a pool slide which kept the girls entertained for hours. We brought a 2 day Disneyland Pass which was well worth it because we didn’t quite see everything in one day. Disneyland was everything I ever imagined it would be and it had everything from amazing rides to all the wonderful characters you have grown up to love. They had some brilliant shows and our favourite was the Lion King which was just spectacular.
After 4 nights we moved to Kowloon and stayed at the Harbour Grand Kowloon. This hotel was about 10 minutes from Nathan Road (which I was a little concerned about but we didn’t need to be). This hotel had absolutely amazing views of the harbour and a roof top pool which was absolutely spectacular at night. They offered a free shuttle to Nathan Road every 30 minutes which was very convenient for us indeed. Nathan Road is famous for its shopping and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It offers everything from up-market shops to the more casual ladies markets where you can buy all your souvenirs, shoes, clothes and many more discounted items.
A must do is to take a double-decker bus to Stanley Markets. The experience and views of the bus ride are magical. Truth be told, I was a little disappointed with the markets but the bus ride made up for it for sure.
Other attractions that I would recommend if visiting Hong Kong are:
- Ocean Park Hong Kong
- The Peak - The Peak offers spectacular views over the city, harbour and mountains beyond.
- Happy Valley Race Course
- The Big Buddha on Lantau Island
- A Symphony of Lights - is an amazing light show on the Harbour every night from 8:00 pm. You can either sit along the harbour or take a cruise along the harbour. Spectacular.
The food in Hong Kong varied from your traditional food to Western, Thai, Italian and all the usual fast food options that you can think of. Hong Kong was a fantastic holiday and one I would highly recommend to add to your ‘must do’ list.