Our HK family holiday (24- 28 June'08)

There was plenty of excitement and anxiety on Monday night when we all went to bed and Kayden seemed to be able to feel it as he only fell asleep after 11pm! We booked a cab and set off early in the morning on Tuesday for the airport to meet up with Gong-gong & Ma-ma.

DAY 1

<- That's me! All buckled and ready to go!

It was Kayden's first flight and he was real happy to be able to get up close with the airplanes that he had seen on the telly and picture books. He lifted up his "airplane wings" and was all ready to fly as we sang him Barney's airplane song.... We had braced ourselves for his first flight and it was not as bad as what we had imagined it to be- his favourite snacks were on hand to keep his mouth occupied and Alvin & the Chipmunks appeared on the inflight entertainment system to keep his little mind occupied!

Lucky us!!! We checked in at the hotel after 2pm and we got upgraded to the spacious, executive rooms! Newly-renovated and well-furnished.

After a good afternoon rest, we went over to Tsimshatsui for dinner at Sweet Dynasty.

Take a look at pa pa's exotic-looking dessert ->
(actually only bean curd with red bean and some dry ice effect...ha ha)

After a heavy dinner, we proceed across the road for harbourside shopping to work off some fats and spend $$$.

<- That's me at Toys R' Us!

DAY 2
We had kept close tabs on the weather in HK prior to departure and were also keeping fingers crossed that everything will turn out well but unfortunately, typoon signal 8 was put up during the second day of our trip. Hence, we spent half a day in the hotel following the news reports while enjoying a slow and long buffet breakfast and only went out for some shopping after lunchtime.

Me enjoying the breakfast buffet ->

DAY 3
We sort of knew that good weather will not follow so closely behind a storm hence we had to make plans for a rainy Thursday - what else but eating and shopping again!






This is why Pa Pa is my "Fav"... Look at the pram, heavy backpack and ME! ->












We hung out at Central and was all ready to make a dash for the Peak once the weather has improved and we did make it! The steep and bumpy tram ride up and down the Peak was a rather enjoyable experience for both Kayden and his grandparents. Due to the thick fog and mist, we were not able to enjoy a panaromic view of HK island but we did have a good time (especially Ah gong) taking pictures at Madam Tussards Hong Kong.





Look at Bruce Gong! (As in Bruce Lee Gong Gong) ->


That evening, we even had left-over energy for the ladies night market and some shopping at the nearby shopping streets. Amazing, aren't we?

The grands did not want to miss out on their Macau trip and neither do we want to miss out on our Disneyland trip......we knew that we just have to go for it on Friday unless the typoon signal is up again! .....(We kept our fingers and toes crossed throughout the night....)

DAY 4
There was a slight drizzle when Papa sent Gong-gong and Ma-ma to the ferry terminal but we thought "What the heck, let's go for it!"

We were all excited as we boarded the specially-designed Disney train and approached the park.

The little boy was so happy to see the familiar Disney characters and was busy pointing and shouting along the way. We rented the park's stroller as we needed the rain shield and struggled to get Kayden to wear his new raincoat. Surprisingly, the park was rather crowded and it got even more so in the afternoon when the rain stopped. We guessed there were lots of people like us who were waiting for the weather to improve before venturing out and we counted ourselves lucky for being able to enjoy a fun-filled day at Disneyland!


Kayden was very taken with the sights and sounds, overwhelmed by the meet-ups with the Disney characters, had loads of fun with the kiddy rides (Carousel, Flying Dumbo, Its a Small World, Winnie the Pooh & Flying Saucer) and performances (The Lion King, Mickey's Show, outdoor parade & High School Musical) such that he only managed to catch a 45min nap that day.

Our family shot with Pluto



We really had an amazing day and by the time we had dinner, caught the fireworks display, completed our shopping and bid farewell to this fantasy land, it was already 930pm. Yes, we were all tired but it was a wonderful experience.... we will be back next time with little Mickey too!



DAY 5
Our flight back home was scheduled at 815pm and hence there was still time left for some last minute shopping. After breakfast, we drop by Mongkok and mummy managed to grab a few pieces of good buys. For lunch, we went over to Grand Century Place for Maxim's Palace and got into the queue. The restaurant was really crowded and but the queue did move rather quickly. We had rather high expectations of the food since this place was highly recommended at the end of the meal we were not quite as satisfied....perhaps we did not order the "right" items.

It started pouring just before we reached the hotel and we bid a wet farewell to this shopper & foodies' paradise.