Kowloon City

Due to ongoing disruption of the MTR system and an inclement weather forecast, featuring thunder and monsoon rain, the planned Hong Kong Disneyland excursion was postponed until today. Instead of Disneyland we got all intellectual and hands on at the very impressive Hong Kong Science Museum. Time well spent.

Luckily for us by this morning most of the MTR system was back in action, apart from a few stations which were too damaged to be safely opened. None of the closed stations were on the route I was taking from Tsim Sha Tsui to Lai King, then Tung Chung and finally onwards to the Disneyland Resort.. This meant I could use my Octopus card instead ponying up the $600HK taxis would have stung me. Score bonus points for the tightarse that I am.

Arriving at the park in time for rope drop, which unlike the US Disney parks was at the leisurely hour of 10:30am it was already 32 degrees, so shade was highly sought after unless you fancy seeing photos of a shallow Celtic puddle on the ground. (that would have been me after more than ten minutes in this relentless tropical sun!)
Although I was at the park for rope drop it was the least populated park opening I've ever seen, which was great news for wait times. Basically there were no wait times, you could just walk straight on to any ride. It was a dream run. There had to be an upside to the strife and chaos which had disrupted lives and schedules throughout Hong Kong! In no time Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine train had been ridden twice, Mystic Manor, Fairy Tale Forest, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain, It's a small world (for the air conditioning of course!) The Iron Man tech showcase, Ant Man and the Wasp Nano Battle had all been tested and approved by this Disney veteran.

Along the way, and in between rides, every Disney store had also been thoroughly investigated and I even found time to squeeze in some fine Disney vittles at the Starliner Diner.

It was a surreal experience having so much space at a Disney park, I almost miss the crowds for some of the atmosphere they generate, almost. So in a mere five hours the resort had been conquered, then it was back on the MTR a final fast retail splurge at Citygate Outlets before riding the 45 minutes back to Kowloon.

Now it's my last chance to enjoy the room's view of the junks, cruise ships and barges as they ply the harbour and the technicolour light show from the skycrapers on Hong Kong island.

I'm ready to be impressed by Cathay Pacific's Business class on tomorrow night's return flight to NZ. It's already scored more points than Air New Zealand because they'll be flying us in an A350-900, my favourite ride. See you next time from Aotearoa.Weiterlesen