Happy Holidays - Hong Kong Part 2

"Why are you staring at photos of siew mai?" That came from dear hubby who caught me in the act of salivating over delectable morsels of dim sum on various food blogs. Hey, a hungry gal can at least fantasize about stuffing herself silly if she can't do the actual feasting.

This staring episode was triggered by hunger pangs and post-holiday nostalgia. Reminiscing is therapeutic and yes I've finally found the time to continue with Part 2 ...

I arrived at the Hong Kong airport somewhat smug that I survived my first flight alone with the kids. Baby C slept for half an hour on the flight and explored the length and breadth of the cabin (with me in tow) for the rest of the flight. E was entertained by Puss in Boots for the first one hour plus and then I had on my hands, two kids who think the plane is their playground! I guess mums have this innate ability to multi-task when the situation calls for it.

Nursed the baby, fed her lunch, went to the toilet multiple times, made sure E ate his lunch, ate my own lunch, pieced together a jigsaw puzzle with E, walked up and down the aisle, prevented the kids from annoying other passengers, kept them from fighting ... thankfully an uneventful flight without tantrums and tears. And thankfully it was only for 4 hours.

Touch down. Please take over. Unfortunately, that was only possible after waiting in line (a really long line) at immigration. It was back to bribing them (I mean the kids not the officers) with snacks in order to keep them from running amok.

Finally. I am so glad to see my knight in shining armour waiting at the arrival hall. My solo journey with the kids is over. Hong Kong here I come!

The Peak was our first stop. The highlight wasn't the famed night view. I think the lack of "wow" had to do with the massive crowd, the fog and a certain jadedness after seeing quite a fair bit of "night views from the top" kind of scenery on our travels. Lights and buildings against the night sky look strangely similar after a while.

The attraction was Baby C, all bundled up in an oversized pink jacket. She was waddling around like a penguin and lost her balance a few times due to the bulk. Her royal cuteness did manage to distract a number of people from the night scenery :)

Baby C was happy to be free. E was happily chasing after her. Mummy dearest couldn't be rescued from her parenting duties as her knight was busy setting up the tripod. Playing catch in a cold and crowded place was no mean feat.

The other highlight was dinner at Tsui Wah. Really yummy food! We found out later that there was a Tsui Wai opposite our hotel. Prices were 20% cheaper as compared to the one at The Peak.

The highlight for E was definitely the playground at The Peak. He was playing with the local kids. It was nice watching them play, hearing Cantonese chatter around me and basking in delightfully cool weather. 

We ended the night with supper (takeaway from Tsui Wah opp. our hotel) in the hotel room. Exhausted but contented.

Day 2 was a visit to Ocean Park. The highlight here was the cable car ride. An oasis in this crowded city. It was a relaxing ride, with the ocean and mountains as the backdrop and the refreshingly cool breeze.

We didn't do much here because E didn't meet the height requirement for most rides. I wasn't exactly interested in hanging upside down or getting tossed in the air. And hubby didn't think it was fun riding solo. I reckon his fun comes being amused at my expense. Obviously, I will not oblige!

We watched the dolphin/ sea lions show (Baby C was enthralled throughout), visited the aquarium and the panda enclosure. The rest of the time was spent exploring the place. We walked A LOT.

Next on our itinerary was Victoria Harbour. I guess we don't have much affinity with anything night-related. The Symphony of Lights show was way below expectation. It attracts huge crowds every night so I expected a first class show. Well, at least the harbour was nice.

Day 3 was a trip to Disneyland. More of that in Part 3 ...

View from cable car

It's ok if I can't go on the roller coaster, I'm happy with just the seat.

 

Victoria Harbour

Look who's bright-eyed after a whole day out and who's ready to knock out