This morning's buffet breakfast (here at the Harbor Plaza Whampoa) was fabulous. Lovely dim sums and congee broth made up the majority of my meal, but I did weaken and couldn't resist the chocolate croissant.
Hong Kong City Tour
After breakfast we departed for our half-day city tour. The first stop was at Victoria Peak, normally the place to ooh and aah over the fabulous Hong Kong skyline. Due to the fog today, my photos look pretty similar to the ones I took at Mt. Fuji last week, but still the photos around the peak gave us a pretty good idea of what we were missing.
Our next stop was at the bustling (okay I do realize that I am resorting to using cliche's here) Aberdeen Harbor. As I've enthused repeatedly, my childhood upbringing at an Eastern Canadian seaport has caused me to have a permanent love affair with all harbors. I just love seeing the fishing boats, mixed in with the Sampans, mixed in with the mega-complexes along the coast. We took a thoroughly enjoyable Sampan ride through the harbor, where I took nearly as many pictures as I did in Guilin a few days prior.
Following the harbor cruise we headed over to Stanley market, where I resisted most temptation and only spent about $10 on some Hong Kong paintings for my mom. (I was feeling so proud of my restraint, but the whole Hong Kong Disneyland trip blew that right out of the water.)
We returned to the hotel at around 2 pm, and despite the fact that I was SOO craving dim sum (you know the kind I like with hundreds of people and carts and ratty decor). However, I didn't have a lot of time as I had to get to Disneyland and I knew it was closing about 8 pm. So I asked the hotel for their suggestion, and got the standard, you should enjoy dim sum in our hotel. Not having the time or energy to go looking for a place, I did stop for a snack in the hotel. It was quite lovely, and I especially enjoyed the soft shell crab dish.
Hong Kong Disneyland
After that, I was off to Disneyland park. The park is surprisingly easy to get to. A short (less than 30 minute subway ride) and I was at the main gate. The final transfer is from the main subway line, to the Disney only line, serviced by special Disneyland rail cars, complete with Mickey windows.As rumored, the park is fairly small, with only four lands--Main Street, Adventure Land, Fantasy Land, and my favorite, Tomorrow Land.
Of course the very first thing I did was get on my most favorite of all times ride, the one, the only, the incomparable Space Mountain. A mere 10 minute wait for the ride, which was a dream come true.I realize I went to the park during the day (arrived at 3:30 pm), on a week day, during a light sprinkle, but I was quite ecstatic with less than gigantic crowds. Lines here were quite minimal, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. In fact I thought I'd just stay for a couple hours, but found myself leaving the park at 9 pm that night. (Among the last of the people to leave.)
In addition to Space Mountain (which I rode twice), I also went on Buzz Lightyear (and made it to level 6, which I NEVER do in Anaheim), Winnie the Pooh (cute), the Jungle Cruise (which had some fabulous fire effects not found in Anaheim.) I also saw the stage show "The Golden Mickies" which felt a little like I'd taken some hallucogenic drugs (Mickey, Minnie and Goofy talking in Chinese.) Plus all the chorus singers singing in English with Chinese accents. (UNDA DA SEA). They had a token buff Western Boy who had some severly quick costume changes, as he transformed from Tarzan to the Surf Dude in Lilo and Stitch and then on to Aladdin.
Also, I went to see a fabulous 3-D show called Mickey's Philharmagic, which we don't have in Anaheim, but I think is in Florida. LOVED IT. The musical instruments take over when Donald puts on Mickey's magic conductor hat and the audience gets an overview of some of the best of the best Disney music, with accompanying moview footage.
Oh by the way, since so much of my blog has been about the culinary wonders of Asia, I must say that I loved the food inside. I was worried it would be a lot of hamburgers and fried chicken, but I don't think I ever saw any American food. I ate a whole dim sum platter, but there were plenty of sushi, noodle, BBQ and other Asian specialties. Inside the Plaza Cafe, the entire decor was in a Mulan theme, and it was so lovely, that I recommend anyone visiting the park make sure they have time for a meal here.
I stuck around for the fireworks, which was a kind of combo of Anaheim's Fantasmic and the Fireworks show. I think it was a little shorter and not quite as stunning, but still quite enjoyable. What was totally fun was that almost every single person in the park held up their cell phones to try to capture pictures of the fireworks. It looked kind of like that commercial where everyone in the stadium uses their cell phone to light the stadium.Then I headed to Main Street to do a little shopping. This is also where I realized that I need a serious 12-step shopping program when I get home. Intervention time here people. I bought shirts, and souvenirs and collectibles. On the subway home, I'd slung three big bags full of Disney stuff across my back. I took comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only person hauling home serious merchandise. (Nearly everyone in the park had done their fair share of shopping.)
Back at the hotel, feeling a little hungry, I ventured to a local restaurant, where I enjoyed a lovely won ton soup, and a side of stewed duck. Again, far too much food, but boy did it taste good.
In my hotel room, I didn't even bother trying to fit everything I'd just bought in my suit case. All that shopping had just worn me out.
Tomorrow, my last day, and I have no specific plans yet, other than to take an early morning Tai Chi class.
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