This post is being made specifically for one trip. The trip lasted one night and one day, but I will never forget it. Our journey began at 6:30pm Monday June 9th. Monica met me at the Starbucks close to where I work, and we excitedly made our way to the subway. First stop, Guangzhou East Railway Station. Here, is where we had our first mild panic attack. Visa? Check. Overnight bag? Check. Money? Check. Train ticket? Check. Customs papers? Ummmm…. which ones?! Basically, we had to muddle around with body language for a few minutes to retrieve the proper paperwork, but we still got it! We saw our train sign move and we got up and followed the crowd, hoping we were going in the right direction. Praise the Lord, we ended up in the boarding waiting room. Once we were comfortable settled into our train seats we could relax and watch the scenery pass by for the next two hours. Then the real fun began. Bags in hand, we followed the mass of people up the stairs and to the customs area. The line was incredibly short and it was our turn to be checked nearly as soon as we stood in line. Monica first. No problems! Me next. The customs lady does NOT look like she enjoys her job, still I smile – I really don’t want to look negative. She takes my visa/passport, looks at the picture, looks at me, looks back at the picture. Now I’m a little nervous. “Smile” she says. So, I smile. She is still not satisfied with me. Apparently, she thinks I do not look like my passport photo because the next thing she asks is “Have you lost weight since this photo was take?” “Yyyeeesss.” She give me a brief stare down before loudly and angrily stamping my passport. “Have a nice day” I call out as I pass her desk into the glorious realms of… HONG KONG!
Monica and I have safely made it to Hong Kong. Our next order of business is to change money and somehow arrive at our hotel. Money exchange was easy and after a brief confusion of the exact location of our hotel – island or Kowloon- we were in a taxi. “Bright lights and the big city” Monica and I were pretty wrecked by this point and though we tried to take in the scenery, it didn’t really sink in. By the time we reached our hotel, both of us were falling asleep sitting up. We get out right at our hotel door and stumble through the door. Once we are at the check in desk we are promptly told that the room we had booked for the night was no longer available! (2nd minor panic attack) However! the desk clerk quickly informed us that our room had instead been upgraded to the executive room, free of charge! YAY! (I had been praying that God would do something to make this trip extra special. He said yes, and it was awesome!) During the process of getting to the hotel, I had developed a massive headache and immediately hit the sack, so I don’t really know much else of what happened until the next morning.
Well over a dozen floors above the ground, our view in the morning was spectacular! Sunlight glistened off the thousands of windows and the air was clear. We were just too excited to enjoy the view for very long. Downstairs we went! And bought… Disney Land tickets! Yep, Honk Kong Disney Land! We fumbled around trying to find the appropriate mode of transportation (bus and subway) but we made it there in under 2 hours. In fact, we were at Disney before it even opened. I have never seen the opening ceremony at Disney before. So cute, the funniest part was the warning we heard over the intercom. “For your safety, please walk to your first ride.” I guess some people are just way to excited. 😀
Monica and I still hadn’t eaten so our first order of business was breakfast. Belgian waffle shaped like Mickey Mouse anyone? Disney know how to do it right! Commence the ride ridding. lol As it turns out, the Chinese are not overly fond of roller coasters. They are more ‘go see the attractions’ people. Thus, we practically walked onto every ride. Let’s just say, Space Mountain is just as fun the third time in a day as the first. Now, as a Southern California girl, I grew up around Disney Land (though my family was more of a beach time family), I still kinda know what Disney Land looks like. Hong Kong Disney and Disney Land are like siblings – definitely related, yet vastly individual. In a size comparison, HK is smaller. It has different “lands” in comparison to the Cali Disney; for example: Toy Story Land. In Toy Story Land you can take a leisurely ride on Slinky, parachute down with the army men, and even ride with RC. HK’s Adventure Land is more like a trip to the Old West than anything, including a ride through a prospector’s gold mine. We spent hours there going on rides and eating unhealthy food.
As our conclusion for the day of Disney we made a pit stop in the gift shops. I must admit, I’ve never been enough of a Disney person to buy the absurdly priced merchandise crowding the shelves. This trip was a whole different story. Both Monica and I spent more on souvenirs during this trip than both of us combined have ever spent in an amusement park before. We bought bags, pillows, watches, pens, candy, the most adorable polka dot umbrellas (which I’ve already lost…) and so much more.
Now, with our backpacks and purchases in tow, we were ready to make the long march back home. Luckily, taxies wait at the gates of Disney Land and we were able to grab one of those to take us back to the train station. We had a minor panic attack at the station when we bought tickets for a train that left in 15 minutes. We may have sprinted a touch… We made it in plenty of time, settled into our chairs, and prepared for a nap. Around four and a half hours later, we finally were able to cart our wrecked bodies into bed. Who knew fun could be so exhausting? 😀
Our next trip to Hong Kong is coming up in just a couple days and I’ll do my best to get a post up every two weeks.