圣诞快乐, Hong Kong!

Disclaimer: This post has been in my drafts for quite a long time... hence, the Christmas post in April. Haha :) 

(Read: Merry Christmas, Hong Kong!)

Christmas is a time for family - especially in the Philippines. It's a time for reunions and out-of-town trips. We start our Christmas early... very early. Preparations usually start when the Ber months come in (SeptemBER, OctoBER...). People start putting out Christmas trees, lights, and other decors during September, some even do their Christmas shopping already.

We're always around family, friends, gifts, and good food. This Christmas (since this has been a draft for so long, the Christmas here is in 2010), however, we decided to go out on our own and experience Christmas in another country, in another culture.

Read all about our Christmas in Hong Kong after the jump!




No Bedbugs Here

We stayed in Kimberly Hotel. It's definitely not a 5-star hotel but everything's really clean and comfortable. The rooms are quite small and claustrophobic, as compared to the grander hotels on Nathan Road. But if you're on a budget, I recommend this place, it's close to the street shops and within walking distance of Victoria Harbor. It actually got a great rating in Tripadvisor - 4.5 out of 5 stars. Not bad!

It's definitely Christmas in our hotel!

Victoria is Popular in Hong Kong

I'm sure you've heard of the two famous Victorias in Hong Kong - Victoria Peak and Victoria Harbor. Don't miss visiting these two places - they're included in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. 

Ride the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor. The view is amazing at night - especially with all the countless building lights from Hong Kong's business district. Christmas time makes it all the more interesting:

Giant Santa Clauses and Godzilla Christmas trees

During the day, we went around the harbor by boat - I'm actually not sure if this is still part of Victoria Harbor. Anyone is welcome to correct me :)

Sea of Mixture: Old Fishing boats and Grand Yachts

We weren't able to ride a tram and go up to Victoria Peak. We settled for Stubb's Road Lookout instead. It's not really interesting here - just the typical city view that can be found in any typical city tour.

View of Hongkong... or any other City. :p

Snow in Hong Kong!

It's a white bubbly Christmas!

...Disneyland, that is. HK Disneyland may be a lot smaller than the others but never ever skip going here during Christmas, especially when you're with kids or kids-at-heart (like me! haha). On the main walkway, they spray sprinkle shower(?) foam/bubbles to make it look like it's snowing. It's not so much as the foam that makes it awesome. It's the fact that Disney's creativity never ceases to amaze people. :)

Other must-see events in Disneyland are their parade and fireworks. No matter which park I'm in, there's always an element of surprise in each one. Once you get a hold of the show schedules, take note of the parade and fireworks - ARRIVE EARLY. I cannot stress this enough. Both attract almost all of the visitors in the park, so get a good seat! Or else you'll be stuck at the back with huge ass trees and cameras blocking your view - like us. Haha

Check out the fireworks in action:


I don't have a Disney parade video. But this was my favorite among all the characters:

Small Soldiers - complete with their flat feet things! :))

Even if Disneyland sounds so cliche, i still say, visit all of them! My goal is to visit all the Disneylands in the world: California; Florida; Paris; Tokyo; and Hong Kong. That's 2 down and 3 more to go! :)

Under Renovation

One thing we learned on this trip is to visit the attraction's website first. When we went to Ocean Park, it was under renovation, so most of the rides were closed. We still made the best out of it. The dolphin show was obviously one of the main attractions. I loved it, but, for me, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. But we definitely enjoyed the cable car ride! It's probably the longest one I've ever taken - the view was awesome too! 

Who would be scared to ride that with a view like this??

Of Pecking Duck and Bagpipes

Filipinos love eating. There's no doubt about it. New Year's Eve dinners and Christmas Eve dinners are definitely long planned events - family recipes are taken out, top restaurant directories are compiled, grocery lists are at their longest.

Our family was in a foreign country - we were just planning to eat Christmas Eve dinner in our hotel. However, when we saw this, we couldn't just stay inside.

Christmas on the Streets of Hong Kong

When we went out of the mall, EVERYONE was out on the streets - drinking, laughing, singing. And even this:

Rocking it out on the streets of Hong Kong

We definitely didn't want to miss out on this awesome cultural experience. So we decided to join them all! We walked around and finally stopped at a tiny hole-in-the-wall. None of the staff knew how to speak in English, which made the experience all the more worthwhile!

Our Oriental Christmas Eve Dinner

After this trip, I realized that traveling isn't all about going to world-famous places. It's also about experiencing the new culture and people, in however simple way you could.

♥ Anna