In year 2015, we had planned to visit Hong Kong in August 2016. We were indecisive between Hong Kong and Taiwan and eventually, we chose Hong Kong.
The flight was supposedly on 1st of August ... I can only say we were too unlucky. Taufan Mida arrived RIGHT ON THE DAY of our flight! Like out of so many days in August, it decided to visit Hong Kong on that day =.= So basically our flight was cancelled and it was like a stone falling down on us suddenly.
My mom was so lost at first as she didn't know what to do. I had no choice but to stay calm and try all the ways possible to make sure that the plan still go on. We were only given a few options: either we get our refunds or we postpone the flight without any additional cost. Of course, we chose the latter. Nonetheless, we got to catch the afternoon flight on the 2nd.
The flight was supposedly on 1st of August ... I can only say we were too unlucky. Taufan Mida arrived RIGHT ON THE DAY of our flight! Like out of so many days in August, it decided to visit Hong Kong on that day =.= So basically our flight was cancelled and it was like a stone falling down on us suddenly.
My mom was so lost at first as she didn't know what to do. I had no choice but to stay calm and try all the ways possible to make sure that the plan still go on. We were only given a few options: either we get our refunds or we postpone the flight without any additional cost. Of course, we chose the latter. Nonetheless, we got to catch the afternoon flight on the 2nd.
Anyway if you're planning to go to Hong Kong, there are some things that you have to take note and do some research on so that it will save you more time and reduce hassles during your journey.
First of all, it's the Octopus Card. You can get it at the airport (Terminal 2). If you find it hard to look for the counter, you can always get help from the Information Counter (that's what I did). For each Octopus Card, you have to pay HKD50 as deposit and then you can top up any amount that you want.
Rest assured, you can always get the full refund when you leave (but make sure to redeem it back at the counter again). Octopus Cards are really useful as you can use it for MTR, bus fares, paying at 7 eleven and more. Check out Octopus Card official web to get more information.
First of all, it's the Octopus Card. You can get it at the airport (Terminal 2). If you find it hard to look for the counter, you can always get help from the Information Counter (that's what I did). For each Octopus Card, you have to pay HKD50 as deposit and then you can top up any amount that you want.
Rest assured, you can always get the full refund when you leave (but make sure to redeem it back at the counter again). Octopus Cards are really useful as you can use it for MTR, bus fares, paying at 7 eleven and more. Check out Octopus Card official web to get more information.
Next, you need to confirm and understand the route to your destination by MTR.
The transportation system in Hong Kong is undeniably convenient as the MTR goes to any place in Hong Kong and there's one thing that amazed me during my trip was that the interval of their MTR was only around 1 minute! It's like if the cabin was too full you won't have to worry as you always have plenty of time to wait for the next one.
For my case, I studied the route of the MTR by making sure which line I should take and where to take the interchange. It can be confusing for tourists at the station if you hadn't done research on the accurate route. MTR Hong Kong official website (Train Trip Planner) will show you the complete route as long as you insert your departure and destination.
Last but not least, there is a very useful and convenient website/app where you can purchase your entrance tickets online beforehand in a much cheaper price! I was surprised when I found out that the tickets were so much cheaper than the original price.
In addition, we didn't have to queue up at the counter to buy the tickets as we only neeedd to scan the barcode and the tickets would be printed by the automated machine. Everything is done in just a few minutes.
Besides that, they also offer meal vouchers for you to buy and redeem your meals at selected restaurants in the tourist destination. For instance, when I went to Disneyland, I had actually purchased 4 meal vouchers in total and we separated them into 2 for each lunch and dinner. The meals with the vouchers are also in cheaper price as compared to the original price. Isn't it awesome as you can save some money for your shopping!
So ... the website is called KLOOK. You can even download the app so that you don't have to print the tickets as you can directly scan the barcode that's on your phone. Super convenient! You can use this app if you're going for vacation in the future as they include a lot of countries. Check out more on their official website.
This is my itinerary that I literally spent 2 weeks to plan on ... it is kinda rough though. (MTR route usually starts and ends at YMT Station as there's where our hotel located.)
Day 1 (2nd August) – Victoria Peak
- Octopus Card – HKD 150 per card (deposit HKD 50 + preloaded HKD 100) *we might need to preload 200 for sufficient use
- SIM Card (CSL Discover HK Tourist) or any others that can be found at the airport
- Airport to hotel - taxi (max HKD300) - Airport Express MTR > Tsing Yi station (platform 4 to HK) > Lai King (platform 2 to Central) > YMT Station
- Follow hotel’s package to go to The Peak (Peak Tram, Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum, 360 Sky Terrace)
- *** Walk to Temple Street Night Market (11 mins) – closes at midnight
Day 2 (3rd August) – Disneyland (10 am – 8.30 pm)
- Breakfast at Hotel
- MTR: YMT > Lai King (platform 3 to Tung Chung) > Sunny Bay Station (platform 3 to Disneyland) > Disneyland Resort Station
- Scan voucher at automated ticketing machine and tickets will be printed
- Head to map kiosk to get a map
- Lunch and Dinner in Disneyland
- Light parade and fireworks show at night before leaving (make sure to watch! too spectacular!)
- MTR > Sunny Bay Station (platform 2 to HK) > Lai King (platform 2 to Central) > YMT (Exit A2)
Day 3 (4th August) – Ngong Ping and Tai O
- YMT MTR > Lai King (platform 3 to Tung Chung) > Tung Chung (37 mins)
- walk to Tung Chung Cable Car Station
- redeem tickets and ride the standard cabin cable car
- visit Ngong Ping Village, Po Lin Monastery, Big Buddha
- Lunch at Ngong Ping Village
- Walk to bus station outside the village and take bus No. 21 to Tai O Fishing Village
- Take a boat ride around the area (cross the bridge to get a better rate)
- Walk around the village
- Take bus No.11 back to Tung Chung (about 50 mins)
- Tung Chung MTR > Lai King (platform 2 to Central) > Jordan (37 mins)
- Dinner at Mak Man Kee Noodle (closes at 12.30am) / ***Dessert at Chung Kee Dessert (all very near to MTR)
- Jordan MTR > YMT (Exit A2)
Day 4 (5th August) – Ocean Park (10 am – 8 pm)
- YMT MTR > Jordan Station
- Breakfast at Australia Dairy Company (1 min walk) (7.30am -9pm)
- Jordan MTR > Admiralty Station > Exit B > bus station > Citybus Route No. 629 > Ocean Park
- Scan the voucher to get tickets
- Lower side and higher side in the park (use cable car / Ocean Express)
- Lunch at Bayview Restaurant (higher side)
- Water fountain and fireworks show
- Take 629 bus to Admiralty Station > Central Station
- Dinner at Yung Kee Roast Goose Restaurant (closes at 11.30pm)
- Central MTR > YMT (Exit A2)
Day 5 (6th August) – Victoria Harbour
- YMT MTR > Prince Edward Station (Exit D)
- Breakfast at Prince Dragon Restaurant at Cedar Street (Dim Sum) (opens at 10am)
- Prince Edward MTR > YMT Station
- Check out Hotel
- YMT > TST Station
- Walk to Victoria Harbour and Avenue of Stars (10 mins)
- TST > YMT Station
- Hotel airport shuttle / taxi TO airport
Conclusion: Overall, what impressed me from this trip the most was their transportation system. Maybe it's due to the bad transportation system we have in Malaysia, I found theirs was really impressive. Their MRT can go almost everywhere in Hong Kong and the interval of each train trip during peak hours was just 1 minute! We didn't have to worry after missing a train at all because the next train will always arrive in one to three minutes. This totally does not happen in Malaysia as we normally had to wait for 30 minutes for one trip of train even during non-peak hours. Impressive, isn't it?
