We spent just over 6 hours at this park. As usual, our choice of transportation to the attraction is by train. I noticed 2 hotels situated near Ocean Park, which are Marriott Hong Kong and The Fullerton. In this park, several different themes showcase their unique attractions: Whiskers Harbour, Amazing Asian Animals, Aqua City, Marine World, Polar Adventure, Thrill Mountain and Rainforest. I would recommend that you bring your own waterproof clothing or raincoat to get on one of those rides in The Rainforest.
This is a glimpse of things we saw and did there.
We were surprised to see our Malaysian university as partners in their conservatory projects
On the imaginary platform boarding a ‘submarine’ to explore the ‘deep’ ocean
A mini themepark at the hills
This is where the Prayer Room is. Jilbab and a wudhuk area is provided.
The penguin place was freezing
One of the halal options there. I believe they have a halal cafe here as well.
The jellyfish place was simple but the interesting play of lights make it seem so magical
The Cable car overlooking the sea and mountains
Old Hong Kong setup. Very nostalgic.
Great place for a family outing. I think we did about 12K steps here. Would definitely recommend it for your next trip to Hong Kong.
This is my first time going to Disneyland, including my kids. However, this is the 4th time my husband has been to Disneyland. eyes uprolling in jealousy
After a heavy breakfast in our room, we made our way to the nearest station by 830am. This time we already have our Octopus card, which makes travelling on public transport so easy. Once we had made the necessary station changes, we finally boarded the special Disney train to Disneyland itself.
Mr Husband brought our tickets online. I do not know for sure if he bought it from Klook or something, cause well, I am not the one paying. Mr Husband said we couldn’t bring in any outside food, although I was pretty sure I’d read somewhere that packed snacks are ok. Even then, he and the kids really tried their best to finish our packed biscuits. However, I did keep a few of them and my mini Beryl’s chocolate in the front pocket, hoping that it would not be confiscated at the security. It didn’t, and I get to nibble on them whenever I feel nauseated from the rides.
Tips ;
Bring a water bottle, wipes, a hat or a fan – anything that could help protect you from the sun and cool off
Wear comfortable shoes and attire – while it may seem cute to put nice princess dresses on your kids, Hong Kong weather is hot! At least bring an extra T-shirt and pants.
If necessary, have your anti-nausea meds before you come. I had terrible vertigo on some of the rides. I really needed to close my eyes
Plan your rides and shows if you’re kiasu kaw2. We did not plan and missed out on photos with characters, some shows and attractions. Some of them we didn’t go on purpose because the rides seemed scary. Hence, we didn’t go to the Animation Academy, Art of Animation, Barrel of Fun, Fantasy Gardens, Garden of Wonders, HK Disneyland Railroad (closed), Mickey’s Philharmagic, RC Racer, Toy Soldier Parachute Drop, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleigh and maybe a few more.
There’s a Quiet Room that Muslims can use to perform solat. Even a wudhuk area is provided. But do bring your own praying attire if you need to use one.
Having said that, there is a HALAL restaurant in Disneyland. It is located at Adventureland. We had rice dishes and laksa.
Of all the shows, aim to at least watch The Lion King show. To me, that is a must!
The best minifan ever. The centre is so cold, like ice, you can place it on your face and neck for an extra cooling effect. The battery lasts for more than 3 hours with a full charge.
The Quiet Room
The Halal restaurant at Adventureland
The crowd waiting outside The Lion King show
The grand setup of The Lion King show
Here is my take on these attractions.
Ant-Man and The Wasp
Our task was to shoot the enemy using our laser guns and collect points. I sat with my son, and he was doing very well shooting down the wasps. I certainly could do better.
Big Grizzly Mountain
This is easily one of my favourite rollercoaster rides. It has enough thrills that excite you, but is not dangerous at the same time. It reminds me of The Mummy Ride at Universal Studios, Singapore.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
A benign ride where even a toddler could operate the handles and make Dumbo fly. I think we had like 3 or 4 circles before it stopped.
Fairy Tale Forest
This was surprisingly fun due to its interactive features. It is a forest that tells the story of our favourite Disney princesses. Do take note that there is a wheel just underneath the book that you could turn and make the replicas in front of the book do something. I realised this quite late, and it was just too tiring to go back and turn it for other characters. For example, in the Beauty and the Beast section, you could see them dance once you turn the wheel. It was so magical.
There is also another box at the side that you could interact with.
Frozen Ever After
This is one of those rides where they bring you through the story. Minor fast-paced areas, but nothing too scary. Toddlers would love it.
Hyperspace Mountain
I had bad vertigo in this one. Thus, I am unable to describe how it was, but my daughter loved it. I just know there are lots of movements, and there’s a glow in the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. Forgive me.
Iron Man Experience
This is where we assemble in a room, seated on the aircraft and are supposed to just tour Iron Man’s place comfortably. Of course, we were attacked and had to escape. So the ‘aircraft’ was hovering in all directions with our feet dangling from the floor. The visuals and sound effects were great. Not bad.
Iron Man Tech Showcase
We went in for the air conditioning. Basically, it’s like a display of Iron Man’s suits, fighting tech and buildings. Helps to cool off the body a bit after all the heat.
It’s a small world
You sit in a boat and just cruise the canal with the song ‘It’s a Small World’ on repeat until your ears bleed. To make it interesting, find your own country and see how it is depicted. If it is included. It is a good setup for a scary movie, though because there were lots of dolls.
Jungle River Cruise
You could choose to go on the English/non-English tour boat. We went on this twice. I thought that the script would be the same. Turns out our first lady guide, Yama, was much better and more entertaining. Although the animals during the cruise were knowingly fake, we enjoyed it just the same.
Mad Hatter Tea Cups
Another vertigo-inducing ride that kids seem to tolerate better than myself. It’s just a spinning teacup, but I was nauseated.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Similar to Frozen, this ride tells you a story about Winnie the Pooh. It’s just nice to be seated and see the colourful displays and special effects.
Mystic Manor
Honestly, I have no idea Mystic Manor exists in Disney. It was nice, though. During our first time, the ride malfunctioned and all of us were escorted out. However, we were given coupons so that we could bypass the queue later. To which we did when it was up and running again. The story was entertaining and so magical.
Slinky Dog Spin
Pretty much like Dumbo, only this time we are going around in circles on Slinky. I have to say the Toy Story area was really hot as they tried to emulate a Cowboy area in a deserted land. There were hardly any trees, and the area was just brown all over. The toilet was a great place to cool down and relieve ourselves. Some visitors were even sitting at the entrance of the toilet as they couldn’t cope with the heat.
Of course, Disneyland is a great place to go. Apart from the heat. I hope that my blog readers will be able to set foot in it someday. We said goodbye to Disneyland before the fireworks started, as we wanted to avoid the crowd. We had dinner at the hotel with food we tapau nearby.
During our holiday, we stayed at two different hotels in two different areas, easily accessible by train. They are the COZi Resort Hotel at Tuen Mun and The Charterhouse, Causeway Bay.
The COZi Resort Hotel, Tuen Mun
This hotel is within walking distance of the train station. We should have taken the train from the airport, but the lady at the airport said that it is quicker to get there by bus. Since we did not have an Octopus card yet, my husband paid for the fare using his Visa card. I honestly love the systematic transportation system. The buses and trains arrive in short intervals, which is a blessing if you rely on public vehicles.
On the bus to Tuen Mun
I did not get to explore the hotel fully, especially its restaurant menu. We did not opt for any breakfast buffet anyway, out of halal concerns. I do know there is an outdoor swimming pool, a children’s playroom and a fitness centre. Mr Husband was able to use the treadmill during our stay there.
By the time we arrived at our room, it was already near 8pm. Our room was a Thailand-themed Family Room, and I think Mr Husband paid for less than RM 300 per night. We booked it for 3D2N. It has 2 comfortable Queen beds, WIFI access, a mini fridge, coffee, tea, towels and a hairdryer. I was a bit surprised to see that no bottled water was provided. There was also no water dispenser outside the room. Turns out the tap water is drinkable, although the quality may be influenced by the plumbing system of the building. I still prefer to boil my water. However, I do miss the readily available cold drinks we get at most hotels in Malaysia.
I began to prepare our dinner. I brought a few ready-made meals to HK. For example, Brahims, Sharifah, KA dendeng, PAMA bihun, Indomie, Prego’s mac and cheese, 3-in-1 instant drinks like Ovaltine and tea. I wish I had brought more instant coffee. We had PAMA glass noodles that night and turned in early. After our 2-night stay there, we moved into another hotel at Causeway Bay, The Charterhouse.
The Charterhouse, Causeway Bay
It took us a few hops to get from Tuen Mun to Causeway Bay. The new area is more lively and busy as compared to our previous location. There are plenty of eateries and shopping malls within walking distance. In fact, the mosque and Islamic centre are just behind our hotel. We tried the food at their canteen on level 5 and it was so delicious. Will elaborate more on the food in a different post.
The hotel reception is a small desk just beside the lift. The employees were standing all the time. Pity them. The Family Room is slightly smaller, and since this is a budget hotel, they do not provide mugs or beverages during our stay. Despite the word ‘budget’, I think the price was still just below RM200/night. My paper cups were put to good use. The pillow was not fluffy. I had to fold it in half. Not only that, I did feel some sort of creepy crawly on my mattress at night. Interestingly, my husband and kids did not feel anything. Anyway, I resorted to sleeping in my telekung to buffer that sensitive, touchy feeling. They did provide a mini fridge, but it was not working. I had to clean out the kettle a few times as I saw black mold sitting at the bottom.
Our sink had a leak. Thankfully, they fixed it quickly. Otherwise, the room is not too bad, as the air conditioning was satisfactorily cold to my liking. They provided basic toiletries like body soap and shampoo. Including a hair dryer, which was a blessing.
Mr Husband loved the gym. He goes there every morning for his walk on the treadmill. Overall, it was a comfortable stay for our 5D4N holiday in Hong Kong.
Since I am in government service, I need to submit my application for overseas holidays 1-2 months earlier, including proof of insurance. Initially, we wanted to fly with Cathay Pacific. However, we missed our flight at 8 a.m. I did have a bad feeling about this. After all, early morning flights are never a good idea if you are commuting from Melaka at 430 a.m.
We missed our flight for Cathay Pacific
I was fuming silently when Mr Husband decided to return to Melaka and forfeit the whole trip. I tried to get my leaves signed and the suitcases packed nicely. He cited reasons for wanting to spend the holidays with his mother instead, and that our daughter was just unlucky for not being able to go overseas. The universe must have heard my silent screams, as it turns out that my MIL already has a holiday planned with her eldest son.
Now, if it were me, I’d probably book another flight to at least Langkawi or Kuching the same day. Some sort of trip to soothe the heartache. It did not happen initially. But the final innocent laments of the daughter to say, “What a waste to get all dressed up and not go for a trip!” did the trick. And just like that, another flight was booked using Air Asia to HK the following day.
The blessing in disguise is that, instead of lugging 2 big suitcases in HK, we repacked our luggage and brought only one. We later learned that it was easier to travel in the city that way.
The YouniQ Hotel
We stayed overnight at YouniQ Hotel near KLIA. Pretty comfortable and sufficient for travellers. There is a mamak nearby and plenty of kedai runcit. I believe the room rate is an average of less than RM100 per night, depending on room size. There’s a water dispenser, an iron and a laundry area on every floor. I also saw other budget hotels nearby – Sky Star Hotel, Qlassic Hotel and Sri Langit Hotel.
After a mamak breakfast, we checked out at 8am so that we wouldn’t miss the 1pm flight to HK.
Air Asia Flight
It was a 4-hour flight. Mr Husband ordered in-flight meals that consisted of roasted chicken, biryani, nasi lemak and chicken rice. Unfortunately, the only beverage available is an Americano. Haneem slept throughout the flight.
This time we were early and ready
Hello Hong Kong
The weather in HK is like Malaysia. So is the GMT. Just that the prayer times are similar to Sarawak, an hour earlier compared to Semenanjung Malaysia. Below is our basic itinerary for the week-long trip. Some people love a packed one, but given our budget and family stamina, this is what we came up with.
I will be writing separately on the hotels we stayed at, the food, Disneyland, Ocean Park, Kowloon and Madame Tussauds. So, keep a lookout for the posts for the coming few days. Maybe weeks. I don’t think I could write about it fast enough, considering my work commitments. ha ha.
Alhamdulilah, Ee managed to secure a CGPA of >3.6 upon completing Asas 1. This is not to say that students with pointers less than mentioned are not smart. They are equally smart, only that they are excelling more at non-academic aspects of their education.
The Majlis Anugerah Pelajar (MAP) ceremony was held at the UKM Bangi campus. It was less than a 20-minute drive from my hotel. However, parking spots were scarce. This is expected as we have parents from all levels of study coming to celebrate their children’s success. The phone connection here was equally bad. It was so hard to get a signal. Or maybe the hall was built with a system that intercepts all forms of phone signal. If that is the case, I am not surprised, as this is a centre of high-performing academicians. Apart from giving out scrolls and plaques, there were also performances from students, like singing and dancing.
My husband was not able to attend MAP as he had ongoing work commitments in Bangkok. The ceremony was completed by noon. We headed straight to the highway after that to Melaka. On the way, we stopped at the new RNR Seremban for prayers and lunch. The surau was so beautiful. There were loads of restaurants and food trucks. Ee wanted to eat A&W’s coney dog, so we ordered that. Then, we bought Boost Drinks to sip on in the car on our way home.
Once we reached Melaka, I changed into a more comfortable attire. The plan is to walk over to my MIL’s house, which is within walking distance, to pick up my daughter. She had to sleep over at her cousin’s house the night before since she still had school. The next day, I brought them out to dinner at this fantastic new cafe. That will be another blog post.
Minci Moss 