Ocean Park Hong Kong

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After being somewhat underwhelmed by Disneyland, we elected to use today to venture off to Ocean Park; an awesomely designed themepark on the peaks of Hong Kong. Its divided into two levels, one at the bottom of the mountain, and the other atop the peaks. To get between the two you have the option of a cable car, or express tram. The former is much more spectacular, if you're willing to wait in line..
Crowds were again a problem as far as getting onto rides goes. We managed to get onto two, one being the Mine Car Rollercoaser, and the other the Wild Log ride. The mine car was awesome, a roller coaster with a most spectacular view! The second ride, was an excuse to get soaked, with the standard fun drop at the end. Aside from these rides, we managed to see the aquarium, panda exhibits and bird show. The downside was, it was all a bit rushed. We got transported there via tour, arriving 11.30am for pick up 4.45pm. We spent half of the time in queues or trapsing all over the massive scale of the theme park in ridiculous crowds at 35c and intense humidity.

Having rushed around so much over the first few days, we elected to finish our Hong Kong adventure (or so we would think...) with a Night Cruise/boat ride on Victoria Harbour for the light show. This was most spectacular, arguably my favourite activity of Hong Kong. Finally just chilling out with a glass of wine and breathtaking view was a well received relief.
So in conclusion, some perceptions on Hong Kong, the people, lifestyles and general observations:
- Umbrellas: Everywhere. Everyone has them! I mean really? Are these THAT neccessary??? Yes its hot and sunny, but a bit of Vitamin D dosnt go astray. The amount of times I was near decapitated by vicious umbrella movements was utterly countless.
- Rudeness and naivity: I'd always considered that Hong Kong would have a polite and courteous nature. Alas, it appears these concepts are utterly foreign to so many that live here. Its not as if people are purposely rude here, its just that the very idea of considering the well being of another person in their vacinity never even registers. Queue courtesy, personal space, just the ability to line up, be patient. Time and time again, clerks and hospitality staff must have noticed an appauled or bemused look of disgust on our faces collectively. Pushy times!
- Midget fever: I think this must have been one of the first times that Natalie felt TALL. Often she was the next tallest in a crowd behind me. The amount of buildings/ rides or locations I had to almost get on all fours to get through was vast. It took me about 5minutes to get on the Space Mountain ride at Disneyland, and by the time that happened, and my knees were beside my ears, I was ducking with fear at the constant beams hurtling towards my head.Read more