We arrived 30 mins. ahead of arrival time in HK. So its an advantage for us to go to our hotel earlier but since a local agency arranged the flight, they have their counterpart in HK with arranged itinerary. Since it’s a bit early, we decided to wait for the free ride to hour hotel but it took us 1.5 hours i think since we are still waiting for other parties that will also be riding in our bus. So we have no choice but to wait, at least we saved HKD66 for the fare. ***TIP#01 - Don’t immediately change your money at the airport to buy your Octopus Card, if you have this travel agency, better change it to your tour guide since they have better rate than the airport.

After the other contingents were dropped at their hotels, we arrived at our hotel at around 12PM. We just checked in our things freshens a bit then started the itinerary I prepared. We have this host for the first day so he handled it on our behalf. We just changed our money at nearby money changer since it’s almost the same 7.7XX for 1 USD. Our host (a HK national) brought us to a restaurant for lunch. He said its one of the best restos (I was not able to get the name – our host don’t even know its English name) around the area. It took us few minutes before we are able to choose what to eat. It’s a bit pricey since we are just planning to eat at one of the cheap restos in the area until he informed us he’ll shoulder the cost, TING! So we let him do the ordering and he orders chow fan rice, shrimp and beef dumplings, siomai (its like siomai) and mini siopao like but with light sweet yellow liquid inside (its delicious). Again I was not able to get their names. Last food he orders was lettuce in bagoong – like sauce. Not good for the last serving but its worth tasting.

Then after lunch, we went around the area and showed landmarks and shopping malls and some historical information like the Peninsula Arcade and Heritage Building. There is an on going wedding photo shoot when we passed the building. Then we proceed to the ferry station headed to HK Island I think. It’s great experience even in few minutes. According to our host, the owner of the of ferry company loses a great amount yearly since its only 2HKD to ride the ferry. I said its one of the tourist attraction in HK it’s he’s one way to help his country.

From ferry we took the double decker bus to The Peak. Upon arriving at The Peak, we stroll around, took some pictures. I’m wondering about the Sky Terrace, our host doesn't know about it. I’m not sure if its at the top of the Y-Shaped building. But we did not try the top of the building since my mom is a bit afraid of heights and its already very cold at the place. Thanks to our host he brought a spare jacket for my mom since we left our jacket at the hotel. 

We headed to Causeway Bay by the Island (double decker tram) and our host showed us the top shopping malls there and that’s where he left us to do the adventure. We are very thankful to him for accompanying us for a day and for a festive treat of dish. We decided not to stroll there and rode MTR to go to Central to buy our Disneyland tickets at Traveleasy and bought snacks to bring there then headed to Jordan station to check the Temple Night Market to do the initial shopping but we are unable to purchase anything since we are still going to Mong Kong on the 3rd day.

After checking for prospect pasalubongs at Temple Night Market, we rode the train back to Tsim Sha Tsui station to go to Avenue of the Stars to watch the Symphony of Lights. My mom is already complaining since her knees are already aching but I still insist her to watch the SOL. When we arrive at the AOTS, chill starts to pinch our skins since we are not able to bring our jackets and haven’t got anything for dinner. Since my mom is already complaining (you know oldies) and I’m already chilling we decided to leave the area 5 mins earlier before it ends due to loads of people that will also leave the place. We took a cab headed to our hotel and charged the flat rate 18HKD. Our knees are already shouting on pain due to whole day of walking and I almost got sick since we haven’t got our jackets for very cold weather at The Peak and AOTS. I just charged my phone for alarms, boiled water for coffee, ate few for dinner, took a medicine (to anticipate cold and headache), charged our camera battery and slept. That concludes our first day.

After savoring the place, we rode the Tram going down to the metro. ***TIP#02 – if you don’t want to be stuck on long lines waiting to ride the up to The Peak, better take the bus going up then the tram going down. There were very long lines when we arrived at the station.

Woke up 7am, took some shower then headed to nearest McDonalds for breakfast. At around 8am we took the MTR to Lantau Island / Tung Chung station. We first saw Citygate Outlet and checked around and decided to wait for Nike shop for me to buy a back pack since we really need it for our hand carries for Ngong Pin and Disneyland. But since Nike shop opens at 11AM we decided to head to Ngong Pin. We went to the bus terminal (Bus 23) bought a roundtrip ticket (35HKD each) since we are saving our octopus card for the remaining MTR rides. 

After strolling NP, we headed to the Giant Buddha. ***TIP#03 – I think summer is the best time to enjoy Nong Pin Village, Take the Cable car ride and climb the stairs to Giant Buddha. Due to foggy and windy weather, you’re not able to see the Giant Buddha clearly from the village. You still need to climb the stairs like in Lourdes Grotto in Baguio before you can have glimpse of the Buddha but still not that clear due to weather condition. And I did not insist with my Mom to try it…you know oldies alibis.

We took again bus 23 back to Citygate outlet to purchase a Nike bag and fortunate enough im able to buy one. We arranged our hand carries in preparation for Disneyland. We took MTR again from Tung Chung to Sunny Bay and transferred to the Disney Train Resort line. We arrived at around 2PM in Disneyland an hour behind our schedule. ***TIP#04 – Be strict with your time. If you have this kind of itinerary for a particular day in HK, wake up at around 6AM and you should be traveling at around 7AM. Stay in Ngong Pin until 10:30AM check the Citygate Outlet until 12NN and should be in Disneyland at exactly 1PM. We took our traditional pictures in front of the main entrance, the fountain and the entrance proper after the ticket booth. You might be checked by one of the Disney employee, I think they are conducting a random checking of the visitors with the country of origin and age. After that, we took another picture in front of the famous Cinderella Castle - the one featured at the Disneyland logo.

We walked at the USA main street while checking what show we will watch first. Thanks to PEX for the proposed Disney itinerary. We first watched Mickey's PhilharMagic. Donald duck is very funny and naughty as always. All you can say is a big Wow! and many laughs while watching the show. My Mom loved it since its her first time to try a 3D show. I think it’s already 4D because you can also smell and feel it with wind effects and fragrances during the show.

After that we checked the Beauty and the Beast food court stroll around a bit and look for an empty bench for a few minutes of rest and snack. After that we looked for good spot to watch Disney on Parade. ***TIP#05 – Don’t choose any curved spot or where the parade will take a turn since you’ll not be able to get a great view of the Floats. Choose the straight street at the right part of Tomorrowland facing Cinderella Castle after the circular garden in front of the castle. Its where the parade will be starting. Its also near to other attractions right after the parade. Even we are not able to get the best spot for the Disney on Parade, its still a great one – the floats, the dancers in costumes, Disney characters and most of all the Princesses. I got starstrucked when I saw Alice, Cinderella, and Ariel. They are really damn very beautiful just like a real cartoon character turned to life. Another thing about the parade, the sounds are very good and really appropriate for the festive atmosphere of the event. I also spot some Pinoys on the parade and they really dance gracefully.

We skipped Winnie the Pooh adventure due to long lines and headed to Adventureland and rode the boat for Jungle River Cruise. It’s also a must try, their animals are almost real with great robotics to animate them. I was amused with the giant frog like stone formation where the water flamed. Some of the kids on the boats cried because of fear. Haha! The ride is very much jungle-like environment with matching storytelling of the boat crew.

From Jungle River Cruise we just came in time for the Festival of Lion King. I can say another must watch show. It’s like an amphitheater where the show will be played in the circular stage in the middle. It’s a great story telling of tale of Lion King. The two Chinese playing monkeys are great actors. The lightings and effects are also great especially the surprise fire effect and interactive stage with all great 4 floats and also the actors. ***TIP#06 – Upon entering the theater, choose the audience section at your right for the best view of Simba’s float together with Timon and Pumbaa.

I checked again the itinerary and we still have enough time to check Tarzan's Treehouse. We rode by rafts to Tanzan’s Island. The tree house is very interactive. It will tell the story of Tarzan from the time he was an infant. It’s really a giant tree house including the daily things used by Tarzan. It also has a hanging bridge to the main Tree where you’ll see a big Mother Gorilla taking care baby Tarzan watching animation on something like a canvas or cabinet. At the top of the Treehouse you have a great aerial view of Adventureland. We again rode the raft to go back to Adventureland.

After Tarzan's Treehouse, we tried to check Tomorrowland but upon passing the information board, Golden Mickey show in Fantasyland is about to start. So we headed to watch it instead. We are fortunate that it’s just in time when the gate opened when we arrived. We waited for 15 – 20 minutes before the theater doors opened. They have two lanes to pile up people both the same line but we choose the right lane facing the theater and we got the best spot for viewing – 4th row in the very middle and eyelevel for the actors. Too bad may camera run out of battery and im not able to capture the show. ***TIP#07 – Bring video camera if you can to record the show. They don’t prohibit it even camera as long as there is no flash / lights that will affect the performance. I can say that you must not skip this show whatever happened. Golden Mickey is the compilation of some Disney movies like Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, Tarzan (for the girls, you’ll love Tarzan for sure), Little Mermaid, Hunchback of Notre Dame. You can also see Mickey, Minnie, naughty and funny Donald, Goofy and Pluto live. So this is a high priority show and must take note of it upon arriving Disneyland.

Its Small World is just a right turn when you exit Golden Mickey Theater so we headed there. We have enough time for it before the fireworks display. We rode a boat and experience the amazing robotics dolls dressed in different countries and culture while singing It’s A Small World song in different languages. The mini cruise if very colorful even adult (like me) will love it. Its not only those dolls are moving even some of the objects around them are moving. ***TIP#08 – bring extra batteries if you can. This has been one of the reminders in PEX. Low temperature will easily drain your camera battery. Using flash will also contribute to the quick drain. Since our cam ran out of battery I’m not able to take some pictures of the dolls.

So we are good with the must see shows. Though we are not able to check Tomorrowland and some parts of Disney we really enjoyed the shows we watched. My Mom’s wow’s  are enough even we are not able to try some rides (oldies alibis you know). We are just in time to take some rest and look for a good spot to watch fireworks. The back of Cinderella Castle will be closed early to prepare for the Fireworks display since I think in most Disneyland fireworks take place at the castle. This also proved in the logo and the introduction of Disney in movies.

And the fireworks begun at around 7:30 and the whole USA Main Street are packed with expectators, (there is a 5 mins interval announcement for the beginning of the fireworks) it starts with a bit introduction to the proper show. It’s also like watching a movie since there is also an animation projected at the castle aside from the fireworks with it’s specially arrange musical score. You’ll surely go back to your childhood when watching it. It’s also another great event for your special someone.

 After fireworks, we checked the USA Main Street for souvenirs and also let huge number of people settle before we ride back to our hotel. I’m able to purchase the red embossed Mickey Mouse Mug for 80HKD. ***TIP#09 – You might want to check the Airport Disney store for a good purchase since when we arrived at the airport they have 2 shirts for only 200HKD vs 160HKD for the regular shirt. There are also other promos for other items at the Disney HK Airport. We again took the trains back to Tsim Sha Tsui station. I bought our dinner at nearby Chinese fast food, purchased water in Welcome and headed back to our hotel. Again, we ate our dinner, sipped a coffee, charge our batteries and slept. That concludes our second day.

This time, we make sure we have our jackets for cold weather precautions. It took us more than 30 mins before we reached Ngong Pin Village. Its very cold and foggy (jacket to save us) and a bit windy. Sometime it also rain a bit and we are thankful we also have our umbrella. We strolled around the village and at the end is the cable car station. We did not took the cable car ride since my mom (as I said) is a bit afraid of heights and it’s the weather is not suitable for the ride but there few are still using the cable car to reach Nong Pin.

We woke up a bit early, prepared ourselves and packed our things and did an early checkout from the hotel and left out things at the bell service. We headed to nearest McDonalds for breakfast and we are already traveling at around 7:30AM headed to Tsim Sha Tsui station and walked to reach Avenue of Stars for the morning tour. Again we learned our lessons so we brought our jackets with us and its indeed cold there. ***TIP#10 – The earlier you’ll be in AOTS, the better because there are still few people in the place with some taking their morning jog. As time goes by, the number of people is growing and they will ruin your great photo shoot. ***TIP#11 – The part where the a lady statue stands is the best part to take pictures if you want to include the HK Cultural Center (most likely the same with Sydney opera house) in your shot.

After taking some (no its many with plenty of my jump shots) pictures we headed back to Tsim Sha Tsui station traveling to Diamond Hill station for Nan Liang Garden via MTR. We arrived there just in time and we don’t need anymore our jackets since the great sun is now shining. You’ll exit with a Hollywood Plaza mall in front of you. That’s it. You need to turn right facing the mall and you’ll find the signage pointing to the garden. Just follow it. It’s about 3 - 5 mins walk to the wooden entrance of the garden. ***TIP#12 – Tripods are prohibited (as also stated in PEX) in the garden. Don’t be naughty to still use it because there are plenty of roaming securities to check the place. All you need to do is follow the route to be able to stroll around the place. There is this majestic golden pagoda with I think orange bridge in the middle of the garden. The garden is surrounded with great landscapes of bonsai trees making it really a Chinese place. It also houses wooden houses which based on my research have no single nail used. There is also this waterfalls and a giant mill. Included in the Nan Liang Garden tour is the Chi Lin Nunnery where you’ll be amazed with their Monastery housing their different Buddha. Before entering the monastery you’ll pass a bridge and will get a great aerial view of Nan Liang Garden. There are loads of photographers there proving it great for photography. You can check the Lotus ponds and go inside the monastery.

So we concluded Nan Liang Garden and now back to Diamond Hill station headed to Mong Kong for the great pasalubong shopping at Ladies Market – women’s haven. We are able to get a great bargain for 6 shirts for 120HKD (its already hard to get 6 shirts for 100HKD as reminded by PEX). In the middle of shopping, we decided to take our lunch in one of the restos there. Their foods are great especially their chicken noodle soup and tofu rice topped with grounded pork in tomato sauce which we ordered. 

I went back to the hotel 30 mins before our pick up time. Our bus arrived at around 6PM to drop us at Terminal 1 for Cathay Pacific.

We just ate our dinner first before checking in our luggage. Stroll around the airport then after 30 mins decided to check-in to the immigration to be able to check the other stores at the other part of the airport. My Mom thought she won’t be able to pass the immigration office because I was not able to include her departure card to her passport. I think she had that card since it’s her first time to travel in HK because I don’t have it since it my second time there. Then we have another 30 mins. to stroll around the half of the airport and we headed to gate 28. It’s a bit far but good enough HKIA have moving pathways in interval before you reach your gate. 

Im looking for the free use of PS3 at the airport but not able to pass it instead I saw a wifi station. Im just not sure if it’s for free because there is this counter near it. Then we reached out gate, looked for a vacant seat, seated and waited for our flight. We arrived in NAIA Terminal 1 or 2 (not sure because we passed this glass fences) when we went out the plane. And back to normal world again – Manila Philippines.

After munching with our lunch we continued our shopping. Since Ladies Market is long enough for my Mom to complain her knees are already aching, we decided to go back to hotel at around 2:30PM. I just make her seat and wait there comfortably while waiting for our pick up bus. The hotel floor manager (I think) is kind enough for us to charge our camera battery at their admin room for free in case we need to take some pictures at the airport. I let my Mom wait there at the lobby and I stroll around the area to look for the Eggette. I was able to find one. It just taste good but not that great for pasalubong since its only good when hot and it costs 10HKD for a couple of egg like pancake. Better to try their smoothies – Milk + Juice + Tea at around 18 – 30 HKD depending on the size and extra fresh fruit toppings. I was not able to try it since I only have few dollars I saved for emergency uses. There are also many stalls selling Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma and other brand on sale like shoes and shirts. I bought a sandwich, and egg tart and a type of bread in a bakery and extra water at Welcome for our dinner at the airport.