Turning 7 - The Hong Kong Trip Part 1 (Disneyland & Ocean Park)

I was reminded by my friend who is an experienced mom of 2 to go travelling during the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) marking days in October.  All primary schools were closed for 4 days (!) & there was a public holiday that week.  So it was a no-school week literally.  Since there is no Primary 1 year-end exam (primary school students of other levels would use this period to study for their examinations), I was encouraged by her to get out of Singapore to enjoy an off-peak holiday.  So, why not?

As the father could not take leave, this trip was just AJ & I. Perfect for bonding, I say, & a great test once again to travel solo with him.

I settled on Hong Kong (HK) since it could be nicely planned into a 5-day trip, & also we had just returned from Taipei 2 months ago. 

So to Hong Kong we went.  AJ & I.

Taken at HK Int'l Airport

Our 1st destination was Disneyland.  This was the 1st time AJ visited Disneyland.  Naturally, he was excited about it.  What was more exciting to him was Disney's Hollywood Hotel because everywhere in the hotel premise reminded him of Mickey Mouse, his favourite character.

On the train to Disneyland

Excited boy in Disney's Hollywood Hotel

I was glad that we stayed a night at Disney's Hollywood Hotel as we stayed on to watch the fireworks in Disneyland on our 1st night.  It would be too tiring to travel all the way from Disneyland back to a hotel in town.

This is always the most magical part in Disneyland

The hotel allows its guests to deposit their luggages after checkout on the same day so that guests may continue to enjoy their visit to Disneyland without having to lug the luggages.  That's what we did.  Such thoughtful service!

So hot! I cant open my eyes!

We left Disneyland on the 2nd day of our trip & headed to Rainbow Hotel in Jordan before it turned dark.

Rainbow Hotel is a very new budget hotel.  Hotels in HK are expensive, thus, when I chanced into this budget hotel, I did not hesitate to book it.  It is new, it is a budget hotel (thus kinder to my wallet), it is very near Jordan MTR & it has free wifi in the room (yay!).  From the photos above, you can see that it is of very acceptable standard.

I am not a person who will go all the way out to hunt for food.  Laziness is my second name. Especially when I have to lug a young boy around alone, it is deem too troublesome for me to do food hunt.  But I am glad that both Yee Shun Dairy Company & Australia Dairy Company are both in Jordan!  The steam chocolate milk in Yee Shun is simply heavenly. 1 bowl was not enough for both of us to share.  This is probably the only food I came back to Singapore craving for.  The ordinary steam milk in Australia Dairy was a tad too sweet for my liking.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed my meals there in both places.

Steam Milk in Australia Dairy

Steam Chocolate Milk in Yee Shun

We went to Ocean Park (OP) on the 3rd day.  Well, I must say, even though OP has recently extended its park & added more rides & facilities, I find that it is a far cry from what Singapore has - Zoo, Bird Park & S.E.A Aquarium combined.  I would not recommend this place for children under 10.

However, if you are a youth or dare devil (like me), the rides in OP will surely blow your mind!  If I have at least another adult with me, I will not give these rides a miss!

I had 2 cheap thrill though.  The 1st one was the cable car ride in OP.  The view of Deep Water Bay was simply awesome.

The view of Deep Water Bay

The 2nd one was a little more exciting.  AJ was, ahem, tricked into taking this ride called Eagle.  When I took it with him, deep down my heart I was actually quite worried that he might not be able to take it.  I was kinda regretted tricking him into this ride but then, there was no turning back.  Thankfully he took it well.

The Eagle that spins around at high velocity

We also went to the North Pole Encounter & South Pole Spectacular.  But, as mentioned, I think our Singapore Zoo is better.

On our way to exit, we took some photos with the Flower Fairies & a Joker.

All in we spent about 4 hours in the park.  It wasn't a fulfilling trip but we were glad that we left early so that we could visit Avenue of Stars & Space Museum in the evening (next post).  Oh, a MTR station is currently under construction in front of OP.  I guess, in the next 1-2 years, when the station is ready, it would ease getting there.

Click the link to view our Hong Kong trip on:

(1) Hong Kong Space Museum & Avenue of Stars

(2) Noah's Ark