Ocean Park: Cable car ride

Our service brought us from Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel to Harbour View Renaissance Hotel, where we checked in. The 45-minute ride ws due to distance, as we hardly experienced any heavy traffic. The highways of Hong Kong were impressive by wya of their obvious maintenance - then again, one has to remember that this is one place that infrastructures are well planned and maintained.

Their tunnels were well lighted and the tunnel's ceiling had traffic signal arrows or signs indicating if everything was green and go the rest of the tunnel or one should slow down in event of a yellow light and best shift to another lane in event of a red - which would possibly mean that obstructions to traffic flow were up ahead. Just like any city that was influenced by the British, traffic flow in H.K. was obviously at the left side of the road (as opposed to the Philippines and other U.S. influenced country wehre traffic is normally driven at the right side.

The weather was cloudy and rain was continuing to pour - and this would stop at times. Our main worry would be that the weather might become too bad that it would entail stopping the use of cable cars - which were the main transport in Ocean Park. A quick glance towerds the cable cars showed that they were still operational, so that fear was settled.

We finally arrived in the Renaissance and approached the hotel's concierge, to check in and ask for arrangements and directions to Ocean Park, and were lucky to discover that one of the hotel's staff was a Filipino. Still, even without our 'kababayan' we would have been well received since the hotel's staff were very competent and professional. A slight problem occured though, see... unlike Disney's Hotel, it seems that Harbour View's rooms were not that large - more specifically, their beds were small, making it difficult to billet all four of us in one room. Apparently, our travel agent already took this into account and reserved two rooms.

We asked the hotel staff to see what cold be done to arrange for us to be in one room - or barring that, ensure that we had adjacent rooms - the ones with a door between rooms (no go either, it seems), so we settled for adjoining rooms - sans connecting door. After all, we were on a schedule.

We were given rooms apparently at the 40th floor - an area that not everyone could reach without having to insert their room keys into the elevator's slot... something that was not mentioned and we had to figure it out after a few trials. I noticed the slot and played a hunch and... presto! We finally reached the 40th floor. We then fixed our stuff, then went back to the lobby for more formal directions. Though it was around 1:30 - and we had not had lunch yet, we decided to take lunch in Ocean Park, since, as barbie reasoned out, there would be places to have lunch there.

Apparently predicting the need of their guests, the hotel had ready-printed cards with the hotel's address on one side, and names of the possible attractions on the other side - both in English and Chinese (designed for Cab drivers who were unable to read or understand English), this helped us direct our cab to where we wanted to go... skipping an otherwise big barrier - language.

We arrived at Ocean Park as the park gates were closing, in observance of, and a seeming show of solidarity for the victims of the Earthquake that happened one week ago in Sichuan, China. The casualties, after all, were staggering, and the nation really tried doing what it could. Three minutes of silence was observed by all in the nation, beginning at the exact time the quake struck.


Before the formal observance of 'silence', Barbie decided to take this picture of in front of the Ocean Park entrance, for posterity. As you can see, there were hardly any people lining at the gates, probably because they were likewise observing the silence.

There was even a news crews taking the whole thing in, thought I doubt we appeared in any television - and even if we did, I wouldn't have known... besides, I'm sure there were a lot more graphic images to be played in the early afternon and evening news, regarding this observance of solidarity (and prayer - at least for those who prayed. I wouldn't put it as a far fetched idea though... notice the body language of the park staff near the right, looks like she's privately doing just that).

We eventually got in, and went straight for the cable car... even as the rains were once again beginning to pour. Still, this did not dampen our enthusiasm (as you can see in the picture with the kids) to see what this particular place could show us. Prior to arriving here, we were told that the kids might enjoy Ocaen Park more than Disney, simply because of the park's more natural and scientific features. So you can imagine my curiosity with what we might be seeing.

I wonder though, how would people arfaid of heights travel from one place of Ocean Park to another. I had not noticed any alternate transportation - though I imagine that there would be... not just noticable by people who would love to experience the cable car ride. Barbie. of course, was just hamming it up for our benefit.

I, on the other hand, just wanted to enjoy the view afforded by the cable car ride. It was, after all, a rare occasion to see a majestic view of one's surroundings - seeing all greens - yet seemingly well manitained greens at that - as evidenced by a garden collage of a sea horse on the mountainside (at fist, I thought it was an H.K. symbol of sorts, hence my mistaking it for a stylized Dragon).

The cable car was built to travel near the top-side facing the ocean, hence anyone riding the cable car could view the waters as well.

The cable-car ride was quite long, as it seemed to transport us from one side of the mountain to another - where we would find the aquariums. For any nature-tripper (at least the moderates, and not the purists - who might still balk at the encroachment of human-made structures through all these greens), this was a great start for experiencing the theme park.

On a side note: my camera's spare battery was acting up - it would show that it was fine, then when I would use flash photography, it would show the red signal of needing ot recharge. Unfortunately, my otehr battery was charging back in the hotel - so I had to select my picture-taking moments from here on. Lucky for us, I was not the only one wielding a camera - as Barbie had also brought hers along, and was obviously not experiencing any such problem with her battery.

Disneyland Hollywood Hotel - a sneak peek & Goodbye to the magic!

Hong Kong Disneyland has two hotels - the first one being the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, and the second being the Hollywood Disney;and Hotel. Since we were billeted in the first - I was curious to see the latter.

From afar, the architecture looked... well, retro - say, circa 1950s U.S.A., I guess... complete with that 'diner' feel that can be related with said era, and images of serving girls on roller skates came to mind.

The Hollywood hotel did not necessarily present itself as pure elegance, but it did present itself in a Hollywood elegant manner; one that brings to fore images of past Oscar awards, and the glamour attached to it - and it was certains comparatively more 'modern' in looks when compared to the Victorian feel of its sister hotel... though not necessarily more modern than the other in terms of equipment and facilities (which I could not conclusively state, since I had not experienced the amenities of both hotels; heck, I hardly experienced the amenities of the hotel we stayed in).

As we entered, I noticed that there were many Filipino tourists here, and Barbie told me that this hotel was relatively cheaper than the Victorian one, ehich might explain the greater representation of budget-conscious Filipino families here, as compared to the mostly Indian contingent we say, billeted in our hotel. One advantage of our hotel, I was later told, was the presence of Disney characters in our hotel - something missing in this one... but the Disney themes were more obvious here. In other words, there was more than enough Disney eye-candy via the hotel's designs.

Had I been the one planing this, I might have chosen this hotel, due, of course, to my somewhat frugal nature. Not that our stay in the other hotel was a mistake, mind you - as we had experienced the better (in terms of the mere presence of Disney characters) one-day lodging experience, I'm just saying that given outward appearances and price - I'd have chosen this (but I'm glad we stayed in HK Disneyland Hotel).

Since time was short, we went straight out their garden and took some pictures.


The Hotel's theme and era became more apparent, as we looked at this hotel's garden. For example, here's a replica of the Disney studio signage - where classic movies like Snow White, Pinochio and other Disney classics were made.


And we couldn't help but pose in front of the Hollywood backdrop. By the way, it just wasn't always 'Hollywood' as it used ot be called (and presented as) 'Hollywoodland'. The 'land' was part of its early times and somewhere along the way, the word 'land' got dropped, leaving us with the all-familar 'Hollywood' sign on the mountain-side.


This hotel had Hollywood Hotel spelled out - but naturally, we just wanted the first portion. How about that? A little trivia on the side, while exploring Hollywood Hotel. I should be paid for stuff like this.

To call the read of this hotel a garden was possibly short-selling it. It was more a park - and definitely seemed larger than our hotel's rear-side garden. I would liken it more like a mini-park (no animals, though) complete with benches for those who would like to pause and rest or just take in their surroundings. As you can see, ther are no Hidden Mickeys to be found - simply because they aren't hidden - one can't help but notice them.


Here's a 'top-of-the-hill' moment for Bernice... as I experiment with larger pictures


... and here's Bryce making like Tiger Woods - and I'd have to say that had this been a golf tourney, people would know who exactly is sponsoring Bryce... need a clue? Look at his get up - see anything familar?


Perhaps a close-up is in order. That's right... the tell-tale sun-visor. So with a sponsor like that, who needs Nike?


Get a load of this 'hot rod'... with a paint job like that, its just begging for challengers to a long-stretch road race.


Of course, such a set of wheels needs a world-class driver like me - and before anyone balks, I scored a 94 in an international driving test I had to take two years ago (never mind the fact that it was for 'defensive' driving), and anyone who's driven in Metro Manila can attest to the sometime insane drivers we have... not that I'm insane, mind you. I was just making a point that I can dish it out with the best of 'em.


Anyway, here's a picture of Bryce and Bernice outside the hotel's perimeter fence - that's the South China Sea behind... and somewhere beyond that horizon must be the Philippines.


Funny story about these fences and the gates they have - its an electronic lock type, and as I saw said gate open, I went out - not realizing that the gate was closing and slammed shut on me. So, here I was on one side, with Barbie giving me a 'now what will you do' look, and Bernice, who was behind me, exclaiming that it wasn't her fault (it wasn't).

Luckily, I noticed an intercom beside the lock with a sign that only hotel guests could access the gate. I had to use the intercom and inform the hotel security that I was accidentally locked out. Lcuky for me, they believed me, and opened the gate. had this not happen, I would be hard pressed to climb the fence since its design was purely vertical bars... with the only horizontal bars either too low and too high(yes, I did assess the gate and fence the first few seconds I was locked out).

Had help not been had, it certainly would have been interesting to see if I could climb - or to see where the path eventually led, had I needed to follow the fence parallel to the next possible exit point... deciding, of course whether I would need to go either left or right (though right seemed a more logical choice, had the need, to walk and search for an alternate ingress, arisen).

Having had that close call, and having reached the end of the road (literally) we decided that we had enough outdoor experience - and headed for the hotel corridor nearest us. Did I say I imagined a diner - well, there actually was one!... though we did not have to eat yet.

We also noticed what seemed to be a cinema in this hotel followed by a Golden Mickey statue. This I took, with Bernice at the foreground.

After this , we noticed a blue-tinted mirror shaped like Mickey, Barbie took a picture of the mirror with us.

So as you can see, noting to search for as far as hidden Mickey's go - they're all overtly displayed. Wherever you turn, this hotel reminded you that you were in a Disney establishment.

Anyway, it was back to our hotel via the shuttle service's three destination route: HK Disneyland hotel to Hollywod Hotel to Disneyland theme park then back... so we naturally had to disembark the bus once we reached the theme park - walked towards the other side where the busses waiting to bring guests to the hotels were already parked and leaving every 10 minutes... which gave us time for one last picture of the park's entrance.


Once we reached our hotel, I went to get our stuff, while Barbie checked us out... and while waiting for our shuttle service to our next hotel, we took some last-minute pictures... including this with Bernice and Cinderella.

Notice the intricate iron-works behind Cinderella... can you spot the hidden Mickey? Like I said, this hotel had them - and I got to enjoy this more covert manner rather than its Hollyood counterpart's 'too obvious' Disney motiff.

Bryce got a last minute picture with the Mickey statue by the lobby. Somethign he was not able to do the previous day. After which, it was off to Hong Kong proper, with Bryce and Bernice taking advantge of the 45 minute trip to take a power nap - a new skill they learned in this trip.

As for me? I wanted to absorb everything I could - after all, I felt that Disneyland did not afford me with my real Hong Kong experience. Sure, there were obvious influences... and you might even say that the Victorian design of the hotel we came from was a salute to the island's British influence, but I felt insulated in Disneyland... not totally immersed with the sights and sounds of the city / past colony. In fact, I could say that if I had just my Disney experience to base HK with, I'd say it was not different form Manila or better yet KL (because of the crows). In short, I had little - to no HK exposure... with excpetion to what i read in certain fiction, my knowledge of the city and culture was nil. I needed exposure to something that would give me a unique perspective of the city, and make me say I had been there. Guess this was the explorer in me talking.

Now, as we were enroute to the city proper, I was curious to finally see Hong Kong for real.

Hong Kong - day 2: Disneyland Hotel

I this habit that I've cultivated by way of a combination of sheer practice and repetition plus some outside stimulus - its to make my body clock wake me up early morning around 5:30 in the morning (Philippine time of course - and it so happens that Hong King time is just the same) - this is because I normally bring Barbie to work, before going to work myself... and since Manila traffic can be spectacular, we do need to leave the place we stay around 6:30 to 6:45.

Regarding my outside stimulus? Bubbles (our dog) wakes me up between 4:30 to 5:30, so I can bring her out. You could say that I've also gotten used to the fact that even as she approaches me, I know she's doing so - I can sense it, even in dream-state and need not have my face kissed (in her case, lots of licking) too much.

The reason I stated this is that regardless of how tiring yesterday was, I found myself awake around 5:30 A.M. and looked out our room's window to notice that it was raining. We'd left Manila behind experiencing a storm - and it seemed that said storm finally caught up with us. I felt slightly disappointed since this meant that we'd have little to no time to go around exploring the hotel's grounds. Hence I just stayed in our room - watching some television (but not too loud, since I was still sharing the room with barbie and the kids - all still blissfully asleep.

Eventually, I got bored - hit the shower, left a note that I'd be exploring the hotel, and brought with me my trusty camera - battery newly charged at that. I wanted to really see the garden up close, but only if the rain allowed it. Meanwhile I was roaming the hotel's corridors to get a lay of the land. Maybe find something I could show the kids later.


Call it an early bird catching the early worm thing, but in my roaming, I found a wing filled with conference rooms - which normally would be a 'so what?' moment for me. But this time, I spied Donald Duck (or if you don't want to suspend belief - someone wearing a Donald suit) at said conference room entrance. So I approached the hotel staff, and requested to have a picture with Donald. The result you can see right here.

I then looked around some more and realized that it stopped raining - or at least, it weakened to a bearable drizzle. This allowed me to go outside and explore said garden that I spied from our hotel room window.


I specifically, wanted to see the garden maze. Not to try it out though - at least, not yet, but to capture it in a picture too. Notice the shape of Mickey's head in the maze's center?

The garden was nice, and I noticed some crows (or were they ravens? - I couldn't tell too much since they were not making too much cawing sounds to make sure), and remembered seeing similar birds in Malaysia all those years back. So I wondered... there are crows, here in Hong Kong, as there were in Kuala Lumpur too - so how come I do not see them in Manila? I thought maybe because they're caught and are eaten? Possible. They don't like our pollution? Maybe, too.

I dismissed the thought and started clicking away some more. Explored a little more and discovered where the outdoor and indoor pool were - but then I decided to return to the room. I felt that I gave everyone enough time to rest, and wanted to wake them up, so this morning would not be wasted on sleep.

Barbie was awake by then, and we ordered breakfast delivered to the room, while the kids were getting up and taking their respective showers. We then explored the hotel, with my earlier exploration helping us navigate through its corridors. It was also at this time that I started noticng those hidden Mickey's in the hotel's designs, pointing them out to the kids or challenging them to find such hidden Mickey's - a game introduced, by the way, via the Disney Channel on cable TV.


I'd also found what I can just term as sweet spots for taking pictures to capture certain parts of the hotel in the background. Take these two large chandeliers, for example. I wanted to catch their size, but traditional pictures would not capture their grandeur - or size, but there was this little balcony that seemed perfect for a picture taking moment, while affording one to likewise capture these chandeliers.

Okay, so I still wasn't able to capture the size... but you get an idea.

We then went to the garden, so Barbie and the kids could enjoy the maze.

On second thought, why let them have all the fun?

That's Bryce with me in the Mickey head portion of the maze.


The maze wasn't so intimidating - but that was because I could see above the walls, thus able to navigate to the right direction by virtue of above-sight (as in, I can see above the maze and know which leads to a dead-end or an opening). I'm sure they could be more daunting had they been around six-feet high.


This here's the entrance to the romantic portion of the garden leading ot the Gazebo where garden weddings can be arranged - at least, that is what the hotel's website says.


And here's the rest of the pathway to the gazebo (which can be seen in the background), and where "I do's" can be exchanged. I'm sure that with proper lighting and romantic music played by a string quartet, this could be a really romantic and memorable evening for a 'Happy ever after' night.


I, then, showed Barbie and the kids where the indoor pool was, and I'm sure we were all kicking ourselves for not bringing our swim wear (at least, I know I was...). Ah well, we can still request for ourpicture to be taken, so it wasn't a total loss.

With the aid of the hotel's scheduled activities, I learned early this morning (during the time I was contemplating what to do) that there would be a 'learning how to draw' talk around 10:30 in the morning, so this would easily fit into our schedule. Though this was also offered in the theme park, we had no time to try it out - now, I was glad that it was being offered here, so Barbie and I decided to add Bryce and Bernice to the attendees.


Here they are getting instructions of how to draw...


... and here's Bernice, proudly showing her masterpiece. Hey... why does Mickey look scared? Not bad for a first try, though. In fact, I'd even say that she drew the best Mickey in the room amongst all the art-course students.

Since we still had more time to kill (about an hour before pick-up and transport to next destination), we decided to go visit the other Disney Hotel... the one with the Hollywood theme.

High School Musical and Disneyland at Night

Alright, as far as shows go - this was the last on the list of our must see items, asfter which would be the wait for the fireworks at 8 P.M. This was supposed to happen at the same spot where we observed the Disney parade earlier, and since it wasn't too immediate, this time, we waled around in a liesurely pace - Bernice even got to find time to eat a cotton candy.

Soon as the High School Musical show came around (basically performers with one float as a backdrop, the kids were all watching - and the cast even tried making the show interactive by getting young kids to play 'basket ball' using hoola hoops and beach balls as props. The very young kids were, of course, up to the challenge.


High School Musical - one float with cast performers dancing to the movies upbeat tunes.


This is it? Where's Zack? Vanessa? Ashley?

After which, the cast invited older kids to join them and teach them simple choreographies, so they could dance with the cast with some of their music. I was hoping to get a picture of Bernice dancing with them - but I guess, she did not find it enticing enough to join in.

Having ended, we were now just walking around Main Street U.S.A. looking for characters whom we could pose with - you see, as of this time, we hardly had such poses with said characters, as we were too busy running from one show to another.

We also got to explore some spots worth taking pictures of - like the castle in the middle (where the fireworks would later be seen from).

We also looked at the different shops, coffee, pastry, souvenir - all just to pass the time. Here's Bernice looking at candies and chocolates.


While Barbie is looking at other similar souvenir items.


Bernice posing with Main Street U.S.A. in the background.

Here I am looking around...




...and we finally found Mickey and Minnie, to get our pictures taken.



Right after that, we found Goofy too!


Bryce and Bernice posing beside a shop's display...


...and later on, just resting and awaiting the fireworks display.


Here's a picture of the castle as the fireworks were about to start.


Here I am, having my picture taken with the Mickey collage lighted up. This was on the way out - post fireworks display, which also signalled the formal close of the theme park, likewise ending our Disneyland experience. We then returned ot our hotel, took our well deserved baths... ate dinner - room service style, as we were too tired to go out, and finally got our first decent sleep since... well, since two nights ago.

The next day, we were scheduled to leave the Disneyland Hotel by noon, and transfer to another hotel - one closer to the city proper, Ocean Park and the shopping centers... which was good, since I'd suspected that we'd be sleeping until late morning.