Planning in Progress. Lots of Thought Flows.

Strange as it may sound, the day after I entered my last post on Hong Kong pre-trip on my wish to get a credit card because of a promotion, I found that there were promotions on both Disneyland Hotels and the hotel I had been eyeing.

I had booked both hotels for a 5-day trip. However, on second thoughts, I think we would need 6 days if we are going to Macau for 1 day.

A rough sketch of the itinerary:
Day 1 - Arrival. Ladies Market, Victoria Harbour, Symphony of Lights, Temple Street
Day 2 - Macau
Day 3 - Ocean Park
Day 4 - Disneyland
Day 5 - Giant Buddha + Tung Chung MTR area shopping /Disneyland/Return to Kowloon for last min shopping. Departure

We virtually don't have time to explore the eats and shopping.

Originally, I had planned Macau to be something optional or half-day. I had even toyed with the idea that my parents might be able to travel to Macau on their own while Coco and I go Ocean Park, but I'm quite worried that they might feel lost if I let them go on their own. Even as I type this, I'm still wondering if it's plausible. We'll KIV on this first and see how it goes.

If it's a 6-day trip:
Day 1 - Arrival. Ladies Market, Victoria Harbour, Symphony of Lights, Temple Street
Day 2 - The Peak, Madam Tussauds Wax Museum, Granville Road Factory Outlets.
Day 3 - Macau
Day 4 - Ocean Park
Day 5 - Disneyland
Day 6 - Giant Buddha + Citygate Outlets shopping /Disneyland/Return to Kowloon for last min shopping. Departure

Someone in a forum had suggested a brief 5-day itinerary (for another forummer):
1 day - ocean park and victoria peak
1 day - macau
1 day - tsim sha tsui and mongkok
1 day - central, causeway bay, wan chai
1 day - disneyland and lantau island (big buddha, ngong pin)

At first glance, it looked impractical and rushed, but at a second look, it does look somewhat plausible. Ocean Park and The Peak are at Admiralty and Central MTR respectively and The Peak is open till midnight, with the exception of Madam Tussauds (till 10pm) and Sky Terrace (till 11pm). If we leave Ocean Park at 6pm and reach The Peak at 8pm. We can visit Madam Tussauds Musuem for 1.5 to 2 hours and go up to Sky Terrace till 11pm and back to the Peak Tram.

Planning for a trip is never an easy feat, even with all the help you can get from the internet, as each family's needs are unique. Take for example the Ocean Park & The Peak Day, I may have planned it this way, but my parents and Coco and even myself may be too tired to go anywhere else after the Ocean Park.

I would like to try out the eating hotspots in Kowloon recommended by the forummers, but looking at the itinerary, we are practically out of Kowloon after the first day. I've calculated: if I extend the stay by one more day, I'll need to pay an extra $237for the hotel stay. I thought it is kinda worth it. Meanwhile, I'll wait for the reply from Disneyland to confirm the change of date of stay.

Talking about Disneyland, on hind sight, it seems quite impractical to book a hotel stay in there as it plucks us out from Kowloon and it is a hassle to travel back to Kowloon to have our dinner and back to Disneyland hotel for the night. The 'Character Dinner' at Disneyland cost a bomb. It works out to be about $74 per adult! I can almost foresee my thrifty parents stopping me from taking out my purse to make payment.

But staying in a Disneyland Hotel (not the Hollywood one) has always been something I have always wanted. I really want to experience for myself the luxury of zzzing in the land of wonder and my childhood much-loved characters. I want to scrutinise the beauty of the room decorated in Mickey Mouse theme, every nook and cranny. I imagine it will be a beauty to behold and the pictures will be something to cherish for a long time to come.

I'm not exactly a food person. I only like food that are cheap and good. It's only reasonable that food that are expensive are good. So most of the time, I'm not willing to spend on food. However, my father is a foodie. I really have to keep that in mind and be more willing to splurge on food this time.

As I've said, planning for a trip is never easy, even if it's for a simple trip to Hong Kong. The things to do, see, shop and eat are quite clear but still, to try to contain them within a short span of a few days is very challenging.