For Spring Break we decided to make a trip to Hong Kong, China. Yet another place I never thought I would visit but we had heard great things about the city from friends. We left early on a Thursday morning to get to the airport and arrived in Hong Kong around 1:30pm local time. We grabbed our bags and then headed out to catch a big red double decker bus that would take us to our hotel. The boys enjoyed sitting up top and looking out the window on the way. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile which we chose for its location. It was central to all the places we wanted to visit, had a pool, and provided a daily breakfast buffet before we headed out on our daily adventures.
The city was full of double decker buses.
On the bus on our way to the hotel
After getting settled at the hotel we walked down to the harbor to see the views and check out a light show. The night views were amazing. We walked around the promenade and took some photos and then waited for the light show. It wasn't the best light show we have seen and the boys kept asking "is this it?" They are spoiled from Singapore I guess.
Walking the streets of Hong Kong
The boys at the harbor
A & E Selfie
Big city, little Linc
Big Bo
One more!
Our first full day in Hong Kong we were excited to do Disney. Hong Kong Disney is smaller than Tokyo Disney but also a lot less crowded. We were able to do all the rides we wanted with minimal wait times. The boys favorites were Space Mountain, which had a Star Wars theme, and Grizzly Gulch which was another roller coaster. They also enjoyed the Iron Man virtual ride which is unique to Hong Kong Disney. My favorite area was Toy Story Land. I bumped into some Army Men while the boys were in the bathroom. They asked to do a selfie with me. ;)
The Disney train into the park
Let's do this!
About to enter the park
The park was decorated for Easter and had cute character eggs throughout
Main Street
Star Wars Eggs in front of Space Mountain
Toy Story Land!
Me and Linc on the slinky dog ride
Buggy Car
My new friends
One with Woody!
On the Winnie the Pooh ride...exactly the same as Tokyo Disney except in English
Me and Bo
First time on Disney tea cups
Vaillant Fam on a boat
Our Space Mountain keepsake photo.
Family photo at the end of the day
The next day we were off to Victoria's peak to see more city views and walk the trails. For this you take a tram up and down which was a steep climb and descent on the mountain. At the top there is an observatory with great views of the city. We took some photos before walking some paved paths at the top. We also enjoyed lunch at the top at wildfire pizzabar and grill.
On the tram up
Hayden
I didn't even pose them like this.
A & E
It was a bit windy
Hunting for Geocaches...that we never found.
Linc entertaining himself threading leaves on a stick.
Lunch with an awesome view
Pretty good beer and the food was great
We had taken the train to get to Victoria'a Peak but took a Ferry to get back to our hotel area. Star Ferry is a popular way to get around Hong Kong and super cheap. We ended up only riding the ferry once since the train was so convenient and fast. The boys enjoyed the ride.
Star Ferry
That night we met up with my sister-in-law's daughter and family who live in Hong Kong. We had never met but we were in touch prior to our trip. We enjoyed having dinner with Mallory, Philip, and their new baby Nathan. She made reservations for us at a Peking Duck restaurant that was right across from our hotel at the K11 mall. We really enjoyed the duck (even me) and dumplings which was filled with a soup.
Empire City Roasted Duck
My first duck and dim sum
The next day we were off to see the Tian Tan Buddha via a Crystal Cabin. The cabin floor was glass so we could see beneath us on the 15 minute cable car ride to the Big Buddha. We shared a cabin with another family on the way. Once there we climbed 268 steps up to see the Big Buddha, walked around the grounds and the boys even found a geocache. We made our way back down the 268 steps and grabbed lunch at a pizza cafe. On the way back we had a cabin all to ourselves!
Buddha in the distance
The boys heading up
Geocache find by Buddha
Hi
Going down
Vaillant Fam in the Crystal Cabin
Bye Big Buddha
That afternoon we relaxed at the pool back at the hotel for a bit before heading out to dinner and market shopping. We checked out Kowloon Taproom near our hotel and then headed to the Night Market. We also shopped at the Ladies Market twice during our trip. I purchased some discount purses and paintings while the boys were excited to find $1 packs of Pokemon cards. This was the only reason they allowed us to go back to the ladies market. :)
Headed to the markets
Eric loved the purse shopping. It was pretty crowded so we all wanted to get out quick.
Shopping success
Crazies at the market
Our last day we decided to check out Ocean Park which was part amusement park, part zoo, and part aquarium. The amusement park portion was just ok and by the end of the day the lines weren't worth the wait. The roller coasters were cool but Lincoln wasn't tall enough to ride and Eric and I took turns with Hayden. The zoo and aquarium parts saved the day and we enjoyed watching a dolphin show and seeing sharks and a panda. The park was set on beautiful grounds and we got to enjoy another cable car ride.
Ocean Park entrance
The boys in front of the aquarium
I rode this coaster with Hayden. It was a little scary riding over the water. I let Eric do the remaining coasters.
2nd ride on the log flume. Mommy went the first time.
At the dolphin show
Awesome setting on the water
Checking out the sharks
Eric and Hayden on another coaster
Ferris Wheel
Another great view on the cable cars
Hi Panda
It was a very busy 5 days but we really enjoyed our Spring Break in Hong Kong. Our last morning we took one last walk down by the water. I am always grateful to Eric for planning all our fun Asia adventures.
