Hong Kong

     

We arrived in Hong Kong at 8. It is beautiful sailing into Hong Kong Harbor. I missed most of it but did enjoy it on the way back out again. We berthed at Harbour City, a huge mall right next to the Star Ferry in Kowloon. It is a great place to be because you can just walk off the ship to catch ferries, buses and the subway. Mel had a couple of jackets that needed work so our first stop was the tailor. We had met Sandy in 2009 when we were on the world cruise. He had been recommended by the dance instructors. That took about 1/2 hour as he hadn't arrived yet, then we were off to Disneyland! 

Since Hong Kong was once run by the British, signs are still in English (and Chinese). It makes getting around very easy. We walked about 4 blocks to the entrance to the subway then another 1/2 mile or so underground to get to the train! We had to change lines twice, the final line being the one just for Disney. The windows are Mickey icons, overhead handles Mickey's pants and there are bronze statues in the corners, like the award statues cast members get for years of service. We were in the park at about 10:15. It had opened at 10. 

                              

Our first stop is always the jewelry shop. It is the only park that sells Disney jewelry in Chinese gold, 24 kt or 999.99 gold. There didn't seem to be any new Tinker Bell pieces but there was a lot to choose from! We went thru the rest of the shops on the right side of Main Street then headed to the new area of the park.

 

They had advertised the new area as 3 new lands so I was expecting a lot more than there was. We first entered Grizzly Gulch and rode on Big Grizzly Mountain Railway, the Thunder Mountain type ride. It was very well done. All around it was made to look like an old western town called Geyser Gulch. There there are places for kids to play with water. Next was Mystic Point, the highlight being Mystic Manor which is beautiful! It is set up as the home of a world wide traveller and collector. As you pass thru the house, you go into different themed rooms, 4 different variations we were told. The vehicles are electro magnetic so there is no track. It was very enjoyable with an interesting story. 

   

The last new land is Toy Story Land. It is made entirely of Tinker Toys, very cute. 

There are 3 rides there, we didn't go on any of them. In the rest of the park we only did Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster but hit every shop! Mel met some Disney pin collectors on board our ship and offered to buy pins for them. They gave us a budget of $50 to $75. Mel spent $100!  I don't think he realized how pins can add up. I am sure they will be ok with it. We tried to just buy pins that say Hong Kong Disneyland. 

         

               The park is decorated for Halloween with a large Chernabog in the center of the 

              hub with a grave yard all around. Notice the mountains in the background. You do 

                                            not see that at any other Disney park!

I returned to ride Mystic Manor one more time while Mel waited for me. It was wonderful to be able to just walk on any ride we wanted, NO lines! We shopped our way back down Main Street before walking back to the subway and going back into Kowloon. We arrived back at the ship to drop our packages, eat a bit, then head out again around 4. We decided to walk up Nathan Road, the main shopping street in Kowloon, to the Night Market. On the way we stopped to see a jeweler we met when were here in 2011. They remembered us and were happy to see us. Of course they remembered that we purchased a couple of items 2 years ago and were hoping for the same this time. He is a very good salesman. We ended up making one purchase after he lowered the price about 4 times. We then headed up the road. 

If you have ever seen pictures of shopping in Hong Kong with the dozens of neon light signs sticking out into the street, it is probably Nathan Road. It was packed with people and shops, many probably just getting off work at the time. We probably walked 10 blocks before asking someone exactly where the market was. We were close, it was in the next block, over 2 streets. It is a street that is closed to traffic so has booths on each side, a walk way in the middle which at times was impassable because of the crowds. We saw many people from our ship including the Captain and his girlfriend. There were a lot of electronics, handbags and clothes but nothing like in Shanghai. I guess they are not allowed to sell knock offs there. When we asked one vendor for a specific item they had it but had to go get it. We met up with the ship's rabbi and his wife and asked to share a taxi back to the pier. We were in our cabin by 9:15. We had walked over 10 miles that day so were both pretty tired. But Mel went to the cultural show they always do on an overnight stay and I returned to the terminal to use the free wifi. I read several digital magazines which take a long time to download. I was hoping to get them downloaded there. I was fairly successful. After a great day we dropped, exhausted, into our bed by 11. 

I forgot to mention that when we were in Shanghai, the Chinese we spoke to were curious about Mel, his being an ABC (American Born Chinese). One guide asked him is he speaks Chinese. He replied that he speaks Cantonese which is spoken in Hong Kong and some of southern China. The guide's reply was priceless. He said "So you almost speak Chinese!"  I guess the mainland Chinese do not consider the Cantonese speaking people Chinese. I thought it very amusing.