Travel Tips

This was the second last day of our tour. For me, this was the highlight of our tour here. Ngong Ping is located on the Lantau Island. To get to Ngong Ping, you can take cable car (Ngong Ping 360). This covers a distance of more than 5 km and takes you to the Ngong Ping plateau at the top. The cable car ride is an experience in itself. You get great views of the mountains and the forest. One can get a bird's eye view of the Hong Kong airport as well. When buying tickets for Ngong Ping 360 present your Ocean Park tickets. We got a 10% discount on the ticket price. The things to see at Ngong Ping are the Po Lin monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha. You can also see the 'Walking with Buddha' and 'Monkey's Tale' shows there. Combination ticket can be bought while buying the cable car tickets. The Tian Tan Buddha is one of the tallest outdoor Buddha statues. A series of 240 steps takes one to the base of the statue. There are a number of restaurants in Ngong Ping...

Other than the Disneyland, this is another location in Hong Kong that kids would love for sure. The Ocean Park has been built at 2 levels. To move between the levels you can either choose the Ocean Express or take the cable car. Try both. The ocean express gives you the feeling of travelling through water. It is the faster of the 2 options as well.  The cable car give you great views of the mountains and the seas. There are a number of shows that are held daily at the Ocean Park. Hence plan your visit for the attractions in advance. At the upper level, you have the dolphin show. At the lower level there is a bird show and the light and sound show late in the evening which marks the close of activities at the Ocean Park. There are a number of restaurants at the Ocean Park. We had researched the restaurants at Ocean Park and had planned to have our lunch Bayview as that was the only restaurant advertising Indian meals. The Indian meal consisted of rice and curry. Th...

Next on our itinerary was The Peak. We started off the day with a visit to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Park. This is supposed to be one of the oldest zoological and botanical centers in the world. This is a nice patch of green among the tall sky scrapers of Hong Kong and one can spend some relaxing time over here. There are a number of plant, animal and birds species on view here.  The peak is the tallest mountain on the island and offers great views of the city skyline and the harbor. The peak tram is the most popular option for reaching the top. The gradient of the route is so high that you actually feel the trees and buildings are inclined. Once at the top, there are a number of shops and restaurants. Make sure to visit the Sky Terrace 428, which is the highest 360 degree viewing gallery in Hong Kong. Tickets to the Sky Terrace can be bought as a combo ticket when buying your Peak Tram tickets. Madam Tussauds is another attraction at...

Before travelling to Hong Kong we had read that June is one of the wettest months in Hong Kong. So we were a bit worried on how things would pan out during the stay. Disneyland was the one place that we all were looking forward to. When we saw that the weather forecast for the day was sunny, we changed our itinerary for the day and decided to do Disneyland. To go to Disneyland, we went to Sunny Bay by Tung Chung line and caught the Disney train from there. We were staying near Tin Hau station on the Island line. We had to change at Central for the Tung Chung line. Once you get off at Central, its a big distance to get to Tung Chung line. For us a better option was to change at Admiralty for the Tsuen Wan line. Then change at Lai King for the Tung Chung line to Sunny Bay. Though it may take slightly longer time, it reduces a lot of walking. Change of lines is achieved by walking across the platform. Check MTR map We bought the Disneyland tickets by paying with VISA card. This...

Prior to our trip to Hong Kong, the first thing that came to mind when one thought of Hong Kong, was tall sky scrapers. So Day 1 of the itinerary was planned to get a taste of the same. Overnight flight into Hong Kong meant that the kids were tired and they slept out the entire morning. We had anyways planned a late start to the day as we knew that the Symphony of Lights show starts at 8:00 p.m. First stop for the day was the sky100 observatory. This is an observatory on the 100th floor from where you get fantastic views of Hong Kong. If you are travelling by the MTR trains, then get off at Kowloon station. From there follow the signs to ICC building. We got ticket discount on showing our Cathay Pacific boarding passes. English audio guides are available for free in the observatory. From here we went to the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Sha Sui to catch the Symphony of Lights show. The Symphony of Lights is said to be the biggest permanent light and sound show. The sound (narration) can ...

Last minute change in plans meant that I was looking for a travel vacation during the summer vacations. We zeroed-in on Hong Kong, because we had heard that it was a "children-friendly" destination - lots of things /places that children would enjoy. Had to book my flight tickets, hotel, decide the itinerary in a very short time. I started to look around on the net. I realized that there are huge number of sites/applications that can help you in planning your trip. Below are some useful sites/links. Airline + Hotel booking : I checked the sites for  agoda and expedia .My observation was that the rates at agoda were marginally lower. Room rates from Monday to Thursday are much lower than the rest of the week. Ditto for flights. Look for a hotel with proximity to the MTR if you are planning to cover the destinations on your own, instead of joining group tours. We booked our room at L'Hotel Causeway Bay Harbour View. Review of the hotel can be found here . This h...