(All pictures and 
videos are taken from my mobile phone. Not great but good enough to capture the moments)
Disney
- Overall Ambiance
While I have visited America's Disney Land two times,the first visit being with my brother's family and second one on my own, I was keen on visiting Hong Kong's Disney for two reasons. One, I was curious to know how much of the original themes were set as they were and how many were adapted to chinese culture. Two, this was a much cheaper option to take my children than fly them to US.
The ambiance was absolutely great and the whole atmosphere was festive given it was Xmas. The attractions were similar to US except that the no. of rides were about 50% lesser.
- The Parade
The parade was very good and reflected true Disney!
- Rides
There were the usual Fantasy Land, Tomorrow Land, Adventure Land etc. I enjoyed the Tomorrow Land the best while I completely hated the adventurous Space Mountain ride. Space Mountain is for those who love really aggressive roller coasters and I really thanked God that I was alive after coming out of that.
In general the thumb rule is - if you see a warning board saying 'if you want to EXIT, this is your last chance' or 'not for people with high blood pressure' then just discard the ride.
Some old age homes had brought their senior inmates to the shows. It was heartening to see them enjoy Disney.
videos are taken from my mobile phone. Not great but good enough to capture the moments)Disney
- Overall Ambiance
While I have visited America's Disney Land two times,the first visit being with my brother's family and second one on my own, I was keen on visiting Hong Kong's Disney for two reasons. One, I was curious to know how much of the original themes were set as they were and how many were adapted to chinese culture. Two, this was a much cheaper option to take my children than fly them to US.
The ambiance was absolutely great and the whole atmosphere was festive given it was Xmas. The attractions were similar to US except that the no. of rides were about 50% lesser.
- The Parade
The parade was very good and reflected true Disney!
- Rides
There were the usual Fantasy Land, Tomorrow Land, Adventure Land etc. I enjoyed the Tomorrow Land the best while I completely hated the adventurous Space Mountain ride. Space Mountain is for those who love really aggressive roller coasters and I really thanked God that I was alive after coming out of that.
In general the thumb rule is - if you see a warning board saying 'if you want to EXIT, this is your last chance' or 'not for people with high blood pressure' then just discard the ride.
Some old age homes had brought their senior inmates to the shows. It was heartening to see them enjoy Disney.
Ocean Park
Again, full marks to this place. Knowing Honk Kong's access to the seas it was a great tourist spot. I was amazed and felt humbled by God's creations - the jelly fishes and corals were sooooooooooooo beautiful. Huge stinger rays (remember Steve Irwin?) floated and glided right before our eyes and one fish really stuck its nose out to us through the glass.
Some river rides had the 'barbaric' roller coaster and free fall effects but I'm not really a fan of these. It was very nice to visit and say hello to the Panda bear. The bear demoed to us how to eat corn!
The dolphin show was very good, on expected lines.
Star Cruise
The symphony of lights was beautiful though not 'Green' at all since the announcer said Hong Kong spends about a million dollars a day for lighting up the lights alone.
Space Museum
My kind of space! The space museum has amazing 3D shows on iMax screens. Stanley Ho space theatre is for the intellectuals and I just loved the show that I saw 'Dawn of the space age'. Our own Visweshwaraiah musueum in Bangalore can do a lot better and in fact, does have a lot more equipments to show than the HK museum. However execution and presentation are very different from capabilities :-)
The Tao temple
This was very very beautiful and very close to my Hindu beliefs. A mammoth statue resembling Krishna was my favourite (which I was told was a sea goddess). Lots of Budhdhas and a 'Nandi' was also there. All Budhas had forehead marks and had beads on the necks. Lotus seats for all gods.
My kind of space! The space museum has amazing 3D shows on iMax screens. Stanley Ho space theatre is for the intellectuals and I just loved the show that I saw 'Dawn of the space age'. Our own Visweshwaraiah musueum in Bangalore can do a lot better and in fact, does have a lot more equipments to show than the HK museum. However execution and presentation are very different from capabilities :-)
The Tao temple
This was very very beautiful and very close to my Hindu beliefs. A mammoth statue resembling Krishna was my favourite (which I was told was a sea goddess). Lots of Budhdhas and a 'Nandi' was also there. All Budhas had forehead marks and had beads on the necks. Lotus seats for all gods.
Different Gods:
Other usual places such as Victoria Peak and Ladies market are not worth mentioning and there was nothing great about them.
The vegetarian struggle!
As a family we don't consume even egg, leave alone non vegetarian food. Long back when I began traveling outside India, I transformed into a bread eater. 'Bread and Juice' is to be internalized as much as 'Rice and Curd' for a south indian brahmin. South east asia is the worst option for a vegetarian and Hong Kong comes behind only Korea which tops the list of black listed countries for a vegetarian. I learn not to even trust salads because the ubiquitous salad will most often contain oyster sauce. So, always ask ask ask and reconfirm verbally and by animated hands - 'no meat, no pork, no beef'. Once when I was in Europe in a remote place where the hotel had absolutely no vegetarian food I survived just on cakes and pastries for a week (it's another matter that I gained several pounds).
My children learnt what it is to travel to a country where no one knows 'vegetarian'. They had a tough time when they knew they cannot even eat chips. Any chinese potato or BBQ chips can and most probably will have the porky stuff :-) . We ate Bread Toast most often. Here's a video.
Here's my list for sustenance in a predominantly Non-Veg country!
What to carry with you to sustain:
- About 10 Cup Noodles Maggie, Top Ramen)
- Rice Cooker, Rice
- Lemon Rice Instant Mix and any other instant mixes
- Milk powder
- Pickles or Gojju or Thokku
- Lots of chips packets for children
- Cookies for children
Here's a video of the Hong Kong experience from my younger son.
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