Here's looking through Richard's eyes!
The "Curiosity Chemical"
10 hours ago
Showing posts with label Hong Kong trip 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong trip 2012. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
On the morning of my birthday, I crept out of bed, looked back at my two sleeping loves, and felt a great sense of having been blessed. We were in a (very) small hotel room in Hong Kong and I was on the verge of falling sick, but we were together and we were happy. It was then that I noticed the heart shape formed by the pillows and the duvet - a wonderful sign of the love that we share - and I knew it was going to be a fabulous day. Even if our plans turned out badly, we would have each other to share the experience with, we would laugh about it together and we would learn from it together. I didn't need anything more.
As described in yesterday's post, we spent the most of the day at Ocean Park. By the evening, I was well and truly down with a cold. Our original intention was to go up to the Peak for dinner but Richard was concerned that we would end up staying out too late and that it would be too much for me. With me being sick, it might be too cold for me up there and I really should be getting an early night. I was a little reluctant to cancel our plans. Richard and I have been up at the Peak before but I was looking forward to giving Ryan the experience of going up on the tram, especially as he had enjoyed the cable car ride at Ocean Park so much. In the end, I accepted that Richard was talking sense and so we went to a popular Cantonese restaurant near our hotel, highly recommended for many of its dishes. The place is called Tso Choi (10 Jordan Road).
Here's a photo of the birthday girl at her birthday dinner!
The star of the evening was not me though - it was this dish! Braised pork on a bed of preserved vegetables. The pork comes with some seriously yummy fat, or would it be more accurate to say that the fat came with some pork? Even though I typically don't eat the fatty portion, I could not walk away without trying at least one (or two?) fatty slices. Heavenly.
Here's a shot of Ryan, doing his usual construction activities at the table. This time, instead of making letters, he was making patterns.
Next morning, it was off to Sweet Dynasty for breakfast.
Then we hopped over to Harbour City where we picked up some books and clothes and sat down at Starbucks for a breather. I was tired, having had a rough night battling with my leaking nose, but Ryan was going strong.
I was nevertheless determined to make the most of our last two hours so I asked Richard to take us to IFC Mall for more shopping, although we didn't buy anything there. Anyway, that was the end of our frolicking. We went back to the hotel to wait for the transfer to the airport and, after a long wait for our delayed flight, stepped back onto Singapore soil in the wee morning hours on Tuesday.
Friday, April 13, 2012
We spent most of our third day in Hong Kong at Ocean Park. We weren't sure how to get there at first, but it turned out to be pretty convenient - take the MTR to Admiralty Station, where there is a mini-bus interchange for direct buses to Ocean Park. You can even buy your park admission tickets at the station.
The first thing we did was to have (an early) lunch. We went to Neptune's Restaurant at the Grand Aquarium, which turned out to be a good decision because we had an unobstructed view of the main tank in the Grand Aquarium. The restaurant is located one floor above where the public viewing area is.
After a relaxing and quiet meal, we ventured out and joined in the queue to go into the Grand Aquarium. That was our introduction to the theme for the rest of our day - the queue was massively long (although constantly moving) and the crowd was extremely heavy. Walking around inside the Grand Aquarium (which is a larger version of Sentosa's Underwater World), we saw more people than underwater life. Most of the time, we couldn't get close enough to the viewing areas to see anything because of all the people. Ryan lost interest quickly.
After we got out, we walked up the hill towards the carousel and joined the long queue. Unfortunately, at this point, Ryan was feeling tired and hungry, so we didn't make it onto the carousel. Instead, I carried him while we joined yet another long queue, this time for the cable car ride up to the headland. After he had some rest plus some biscuits, Ryan was all cheery again and ready for the ride, which turned out to be his favourite part of the outing. He was all smiles, excited and happy.
The ride is about 1.5 km, and the four lines of cable cars go quite quickly. There are spectacular views from the cable car, including views of the bays, the surrounding islands and as far as the South China Sea. It was quite windy when we were there - Ryan kept getting his hair in his eyes! He's due for a haircut!
There are lots of rides at the summit, including a large roller-coaster, plus a few exhibits. The main attraction, however, is the Sea Dreams show.
Before the show begins, a live band entertains the crowd. The show itself is pretty basic - dolphins and seals - but nevertheless, still a crowd-pleaser.
After the show, we decided to call it a day and go back into the city to freshen up for dinner. Took the cable car down and made our way back the way we came - via the bus to Admiralty Station and the MTR back to our hotel.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
We went over to Disneyland Hotel for breakfast, opting for a quiet start to our day, instead of the hustle and bustle of a buffet breakfast. We went to Walt's Cafe, a charming little place decorated with photos of Walt Disney on the walls. We had a table next to the window looking out to the sea, with the morning sunlight streaming in.
We explored the hotel grounds a bit. Here's Richard and Ryan in the maze!
Back inside the hotel, the princesses had come out to grace the occasion! Here's Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
Princess Jasmine from Aladdin.
And Goldilocks!
As you can see from the photos, Ryan was completely uninterested in the characters (he doesn't know any of them) so we didn't bother to queue up for a proper photo. We just snapped our shots from the side.
After we checked out of our hotel and deposited our luggage with the concierge, it was off to the theme park again! Once past the entrance, we decided to ride the train, which would take us right to the opposite end of the park.
From there, we went into Toy Story Land!
Toy Story Land is fashioned like an oversized toy world. Everything is super-sized and you feel like one of the toys. Ryan was especially happy to see this alphabet board! He spent a long time here, lovingly calling each letter and tracing it out.
The green army men were there, and they put up a short skit for everyone.
We didn't go on any of the rides in Toy Story Land. We decided to troop over to the next land, which was Adventureland. On the way out, one of the cleaners was drawing on the ground with his broom and some water - he was drawing the aliens from the Toy Story movies!
There were elephants, alligators, orangutans, hippos, zebras... even headhunters!
Well, actually they were all fake. But looks real yah? They were all electronically animated, so it was very believable. We filmed it on the handycam, so no photos (other than the two above) to show you.
On the way out, there was this fellow - Donald Duck!!
Unfortunately, the queue for photos was all filled up so we didn't get a shot with Donald. I just snapped one from afar.
Tomorrowland!
Lunch at Starliner Diner.
This photo was taken at the entrance of the ride called Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.
You get into this capsule which runs along a track and just shoot! There are two guns in each capsule. I was in the capsule in front of my boys.
Of course, the ultimate glory is defeating Emperor Zurg!
The next and last land was Fantasyland. You enter through Sleeping Beauty's castle.
We made a beeline for the famous "It's a Small World" boat ride, which was housed in this castle (which looked a little sinister to me).
The boat ride was ok, lots to see but nothing spectacular.
Outside, we sat down to share some ice-cream and after we'd had our fill, the boys went on the Cinderella Carousel, which Ryan enjoyed a lot.
This was taken when we watched a show called "Mickey's PhilharMagic", which was a 3-D animated show. Those are 3-D glasses that Ryan is holding up.
Popped into the souvenir shops for one last round of shopping and when we came out, Ryan was really tired and asked to be nursed. He dozed off for a bit and missed seeing this little lady - Tinkerbell! Not that it mattered, Ryan doesn't know her at all.
We took the shuttle back to our hotel (Ryan woke up once we got on the shuttle) and had the buffet for dinner. At 8.00 pm, we went outside to the carpark to watch the fireworks from the theme park. Then it was bye bye Disneyland as we transferred to our hotel in the city.
