After spending some time in Shekou, we decided that it was time to head over to Hong Kong. The set up that Shekou has for traveling to Hong Kong is very convenient. Their is a ferry station literally ten minutes from where the Johnsons live. From there you just buy your ticket and take a ferry that gets you to Hong Kong in 45 minutes. They also have ferries to Macau. We were tempted to make it over there but we just could not fit it in our schedule.Pazi really wanted to see Hong Kong Disneyland so that is were we went. Since a typhoon hit southern Asia recently the weather was a little wacky and the effects of the storm lingered a bit. However, it appeared that we picked a good day to do heavy sightseeing and hanging out with Mickey and the gang was a go.
We first decided to hang out in Kowloon for a few hours and just check things out. We had brunch in a restaurant just a few blocks in from the ferry station. As we walked the streets we noticed how much commotion was taking place. Street vendors, signs, and pedestrians are everywhere. And on top of this we forgot about driving on the left side of the road. The British influence is still very evident in many aspects.After just soaking up the new environment for a little while, we located the subway and were off to Disneyland. It was amazing to see how clean and organized Hong Kong's subway system was. They were enormous too. They appeared to be as big as some mid-sized airports! Rob and Anne let us borrow their "Octopus Cards" for using public transportation. These nifty cards are a fabulous idea. Basically, all major retailers have scanners that allow you to reload funds on these smart cards. Once they are loaded you can use them for subway passes, train rides, buying food and drinks, and much more. It really is a smart concept.
Once we reached Disney's separate subway line, we entered into a train line that was by far more extravagant than your standard subway. Inside neatly upholstered seats were lined up with glass cases inserted every so often displaying Disney memorabilia. Even small details like windows and subway handles were made in the shape of Mickey's head and ears (see photo). This separate resort line made sure you knew exactly what your were in store for.Within five minutes we reached Disneyland. As we entered the grounds we came to a very neat fountain with statues of Mickey and all his friends. Just past this was the entry gates. The price for a ticket was 295 Hong Kong Dollars (just under $38.00). The price is considerably cheaper than in the U.S. but we learned that there is a reason for this. The facility is very nice and is built to resemble Disneyland in Anaheim, but it is missing some major attractions like Splash Mountain and the "It's a Small World" show was closed down. It appears like they only have one crew to do the attractions so they rotate through about four of them.
Nevertheless, we enjoyed our time. We saw a great bilingual show that was called the "Golden Mickey Awards." It was a musical type with songs from many Disney movies. We also rode the tea cups, Space Mountain, Hong Kong Disneyland Express, and many more. They even did a Downtown Disney Parade Show. The nice thing about our visit was that the crowds for a Friday afternoon were rather small. We waited no more than ten minutes for any attraction. Pazi was bummed that they did not sell any chocolate dipped bananas but other than that we were glad we went.Day Two on Hong Kong Island
Now, Disneyland is located on Lantau Island, west of Kowloon. The most famous area of Hong Kong is "Central." That is where the urban hub with dozens of skyscrapers is located. Our second day in Hong Kong took us here. Before leaving on the ferry again we said goodbye to Rob and Anne. They left Saturday morning to take a Chinese cruise on the Yangtze River. We thanked them for all of their amazing hospitality and wished them the best.
From there were took the same ferry over to Hong Kong. However, once we got to Kowloon, we then hopped on another boat to Hong Kong Island which takes literally 5 minutes to reach the Hong Kong that we all are familiar with. Even with some fog the skyline was incredible. Seeing such a small area so densely populated with massive buildings was quite the sight. The ferry ride gave a great view of so many famous buildings like the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, HSBC Headquarter Building, Bank of China Building, and the Two International Finance Centre (currently the world's third tallest building).Rob highly suggested we make it out to Stanley so we walked down to the bus stationed to take the hour long trip across the island to reach this famous resort area known for its beaches and market shopping. We quickly learned that traffic in "Central" is brutal. The trip could easily have been only forty minutes but we spent at least twenty in jams. Once we got on the expressway it was smooth sailing. The sites were incredible. We saw lush green forests and peaks. There was also a number of beaches that looked very appealing. Adán even saw a golf course that made him yearn to get out and play a round.
Finally, we reached Stanley. We headed to the marketplace to see what goodies we could find. Much to our disappointment we found vendors completely unwilling to negotiate on any prices. It was amazing to see the difference as compared to Beijing. Our guess was that because this area is well visited by the wealthy, vendors have become strict and know that if you don't by it for what they are asking than somebody else sure will. This attitude turned us off to shopping here so we focused more on just checking out the sites. Since this would be our last day before flying back home, we took off after just over an hour of visiting. We still had other places left to visit.We really wanted to visit the "Peak Tram" which supposedly has incredible views of the the Hong Kong Skyline but after reaching the ticket booth we realized we weren't the only ones that thought this was a good idea. Lines were so backed up that we decided to skip this one. It hurt to miss out on the views but time was not allowing us to wait. Oh well, we will save this site for the next time we visit Hong Kong ;).
With just a couple of hours before our ferry was scheduled to depart, we headed to SoHo. This famous Hong Kong District is short for South Hollywood Road, its location. Here there are several restaurants, cafes, shops and other stores to visit. The district being built on a slope was very difficult to travel within so in 1993 a HK$205 million escalator was built. Dubbed "The Escalator," this 2,598 foot long covered outdoor escalator links the district together. It is also believed to be the world's longest! We had to see it for ourselves (see photo).Since it was about time to catch the ferry, we made our way back to station. Within an hour and a half we were back on mainland China. We spent the next day with Courtney (daughter of Anne and Rob) and her boyfriend Jarred. We had brunch together and walked around Sea World before we took the bus to Shenzhen Airport for our flight home. Our first in-country travel experience in China was one to remember!
