Hong Kong Series: The Million Dollar Question!

For travelers staying in Hong Kong on a limited budget and time period, the million dollar question is whether to go to Ocean Park or Disneyland. I did not want to trouble myself with choosing between these two themed attractions, so I intentionally made sure that we had sufficient time in Hong Kong to see both. I am too lazy to write a long post on this, as I would like to get on  with recounting our trip and showing you some pretty pictures, so here are my two cents in bullets:

• If you have kids with you, Disneyland is definitely the better option. It has well produced shows and non-extreme rides that kids will like. If you are going as an all adult group however, Ocean Park might be more suited to your interests, unless of course, you are a kid at heart still caught up in childhood fantasies of becoming a princess or a cheesy drama queen who still believes in happy endings and magic.
• Some parents argue that Ocean Park is more educational, but then again, are you in Hong Kong for a vacation or for education? Give them kiddos a break! I first experienced the magic that is Disneyland when I was 7 or 8 and I tell you, I felt like the luckiest kid in the world! My cousin, who was in her early adult years at that time, had tears in her eyes when we watched the Fantasmic show in Disnelyand, California.
• Disneyland is definitely more expensive, no question about the price tag. Tickets cost 350 HKD each, while Ocean Park's are just about 250 HKD. You can get the tickets at a cheaper price though, if you know where to look! See where we bought our discounted tickets in my previous entry.
• Food and souvenirs are miles better (but more expensive of course!) at Disneyland, but you are not there for the food, are you? Besides, souvenirs from theme parks are overrated.
• If you have been to Disneyland elsewhere, you might get a tad disappointed. Disneyland Hong Kong is smaller and it has fewer attractions than its Western (probably even, Eastern - ever been to Japan?) counterparts.
• If you have ocean/marine parks in your home country and have never stepped foot on any Disneyland, go to Disneyland! Ocean park has a lot of adult rides, but they are not unique in any way. If you are residing in the Philippines for instance, you can get the same thrill riding Enchanted Kingdom's Space Shuttle and you can learn all the marine life lessons you want in the ocean parks of Manila and Subic.

I personally enjoyed Disneyland more than I enjoyed Ocean Park, but I may be biased, because I went to the former on my birthday and the boyfriend made me feel like a princess that day.  It was also Philippine-summer-hot-and-humid the day we went to Ocean Park, so we spent quite some time bitching about the heat and called it a day even when the afternoon was still so young. So yeah, I blame my not enjoying Ocean Park so much on the weather!

What about you? Ever been to Disneyland and Ocean Park in Hong Kong? Which would you recommend?

Summer Love, You Bitch!

The heat these days is such an unwelcome bitch. No matter how hard I try to think of fine sand and clear blue waters, I cannot help but shout summer-you-bitch at the top of my lungs inside my room when  I'm all alone, bored and sweaty. Anyway, since I am in such a sullen, pms-y sort of mood right now, I decided to do an Ebenezer Scrooge and walk down the memory lane of all the summers gone past as I try to remember why I love summer (and the freedom from the bondage of school that it comes with).

Since I'm kind of digging lists lately, here is my summer lovin' list. Let's not call summer a bitch now, people! Why o why do men love bitches, anyway? I digress, I know.

(1) Getting lost in Hongkong with my cousin, Marco. I was 5, he was 8 and we were the worst combination of kids to have with you when you are bargain shopping in Hongkong. Our parentals, so swept by Jimmy Choos or whathaveyous forgot that they had kids with them and left us in one of the stores. Good thing I had the sense to stay put and NOT leave the store then because my cousin  had the brilliant idea to look for our parentals in the streets of Hongkong.

(2) Building my first snowgirl.  It took me quite some time to gather enough snow to build my first ice masterpiece, which, by the way, was reduced to complete ruins quite promptly by my cousin, Marco. I know that summer and snow do not go well together, but this was taken during my summer vacation in a totally different timezone.

(3) Enjoying childhood at 8 and reliving childhood at 16 in Disneyland. This is a welcome escape from reality at the heart of Orange County. I just luuuurve that Indiana  Jones Ride. Okaaay, maybe not the ride itself, but the way my aunt held on to the handle bars for her dear life during the entire duration of the ride. Teehee.

(4) Sinning in the Sin City! Oh, gluttony, I succumb to you! Think endless supply of bacon for breakfast and tender juicy steaks for dinner. Think Monet's paintings on exhibit and romantic gondola rides. I'm so infatuated with Vegas!

(5) Playing around San Francisco.  The biggest playground for kids! Play hide and seek in Alcatraz, traverse  the Golden Gate Bridge and go up and down and left and right on Lombard Street! Okay, so that is me pouting right there in the picture because the cold wind was slapping my face like crazy. It was kinda painful, I tell ya. Like when my mom hit me way back when I was in preschool  just because I didn't like going through lessons over and over again.

(6) Taking pleasure in staring at the magnificence that is the Grand Canyon.  I spent over an hour sitting on a rock and staring at the grandeur that was before me. I'm cheesy and emo like that, I know.

(7) Going wild at San Diego Zoo and Sea World. Yes, I am the kind of person who spends hours at the boyfriend's house watching Animal Planet instead of paying attention to the person beside me. I discovered that I can watch penguins, polar bears and flamingoes live their lives for hours without getting bored. What a total geek-freak, this Michelle person.

(8) Beaching! What is summer without sun, sand and water? Zambales and Batangas, I so heart you! I'll love you more when I'm thin enough to wear a bikini though. Lol.

(9) Braving the rapids at Pagsanjan. A welcome adrenaline rush.  I had a great time pretending I was in a jungle or something like that. The kid in me never grows, I tell ya.

(10) Bonding with the boyfriend in Subic, Laguna, Tagaytay and wherever.  What better way to escape the hellhole that is work than to spend time away from the city with a person who can totally relate to a geeky, cheesy and crazy person like myself?

Okay, so now I'm feeling all better.

 

Seriously, what was I thinking?

How can anyone not LOVE LOVE LOVE summer!