Hong Kong- A memorable trip!

The moment we got to know that we are finally flying to Hong Kong, the joy was

unimaginable. We are all excited for two reasons, one going to Hong Kong obviously and second finally catching up with my father after 10 months.

AIRPORT

We left home on 5th October at 9:30pm. Our first flight was to Hyderabad, where we are supposed to catch a flight to Hong Kong.

There was a huge mess in Rajiv Gandhi Airport, Hyderabad. My moms name in the COVID report didn't match the passport name. They told us that we further can't go to Hong Kong, but to wait for the next flight back to Hong Kong. Then the COVID report guy sent the report with the correct name, and then it got approved and we could finally go to Hong Kong!!

(Sadly, she had to wear the

PPT kit for both the flights!)

QUARANTINE

It all began with a quarantine of 2 weeks-14 days. We self-quarantined in a hotel by name DORSETT BY THE SEA. The first 3 days felt like I was locked in a prison as all the windows were locked, and they would serve the food at door. It was hard! Adding salt to the injury, my exams were just around the corner, so all I had to do was

(Finally I met dad after 10 long months!) study. Thank God, there was a partition in the room as on one side my sister and mom were watching movies with a loud volume, and on the other side, it was only me studying! And that's how I spent my quarantine. Finally after 14 days we left home with a pomp.

Our journey of exploring Hong Kong started...

(Last pic in the hotel)

(1st pic in our HK house.)

ADVENTURE & SIGHTSEEING

Hong Kong is open to many adventurous places, Kids can have loads of fun!

1. TREKKING

It is a must do thing in Hong Kong. The best thing I have learned is this activity

Hiking/Trekking.

Some trekking that I've been to are :-

Lam Tin Park

This was our first ever trek. I can say this was our shortest yet difficult, but as it was our first trek we took our own time.

The view from the top was exciting as I could see my apartment it looked so small that I could nearly step it. There was nothing much up there. But, I can say it was fun! First trek, best trek.!

The Dragon's Back Trail

As per google research it says it takes 4 hours to complete the trek, so, we thought we would get late so we trekked in a hurry, but ended up reaching the ground in 2 hours! The view from the peak was just jaw-dropping

you could see a small gulf court and two small islands, for a second a wave of happiness just went into me and I felt like I was ruling the whole world, and that I stood on top of everyone! I could touch the clouds (I tried something really weird I tried to taste a cloud.. It's tasteless!). It was a sight that I could just keep looking forever at!

Big Buddha Trek

Oh My God! Don't even get me started on this trek... it was the longest trek I've ever been on. It took us 5 looooooong hours to complete. It comprised of all steps like stone, rock, steep slopes and wood. After a certain distance of trekking we could walk along with the cable car (360 NGONG PING)

and we waved at random people sitting inside the cable car. We could see

the airport from top and we came across beautiful sights. This was the first time of my life where I walked so much.. But after viewing all the beautiful views, I felt it was worth walking so far.

This trek is called Big Buddha because when you are almost nearing your finish line you see a side view of the Buddha which is seated and stands 212 feet (34 meters) long. This place is crowded everyday.

Tip:- If you ever want to go trekking here I suggest you to get some practice because my whole body was numb for the next 2 days.

The Peak

!CAUTION!- It was a scary trek..

We went on this trek with few of my dad's office colleague. This trek was fun as I had so many people along with me. The starting 1km was really a nightmare to me as it was a really

steep slope and next to it was a graveyard..(a huge one). Imagine trekking along a graveyard. I still get goose bumps thinking about it. We stopped at a distance when we heard splashing of water, it sounded like a water source was near us. As we

walked further we stopped at a small waterfall. It looked risky to get down there, but we all did

get in the water. We spent some time there taking pictures. This was a pretty small trek it took us about 2 hours to reach to the Peak. The Peak here I refer to the ground as it was called the Peak. We had lunch and then went to a candy shop. It was so candy-ful. There were sour candy strips hanging from the ceiling.

There were just to many candies to choose and finally ended up choosing a lollipop. I really didn't want to leave the shop! I miss it so much!

2. Ryze Hong Kong Ultimate Trampoline Park

This is the Hong Kong's biggest trampoline park.

Once you are in you can bounce, jump and flip to your heart's content! I enjoyed a lot for half a day.!

3. Beaches

Sai Kung Town is one of the most popular destinations where you can go scuba diving, go on a junk boat ride and man-

y other water activities. Sharp Island is a part of Sai Kung where you have to climb for about 10 mins and reach a beautiful site for pics... We just saw them from a close view but did not try as it was very cold already. We have also been to beautiful beaches like the Stanley beach, Sai Kung Beach, Clear Water Bay Beach and the Stanley Beach. Each one is unique and really enjoyable.

4. Symphony Of Lights

One of the popular sightseeing in Hong Kong is Symphony Of Lights a daily light and sound show. It is one of the best to view from Tsim Sha Tsui where music is played along with laser lights are splashed from the top of tall buildings on both side of the sea. This is the only world's permanent light and sound show.

5. Centrals Mid-level Escalator

Another best one in Hong Kong is Centrals Mid-level Escalator. It is also renowned for the

Longest Escalator in the World which is 800m (2600ft) long. It passes through many

streets vertically from Queens road all the way to Conduit road meant for commuting for

people living on the hill slope. More than 100k people use it daily! It’s wonderful

thought … making life easier for the people there to travel easily. Wonderful experience going on escalator crossing street after street, watching so many restaurants, shops and markets, it was a magnificent sight.

6. HONG KONG ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL GARDENS

Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest zoological and botanical centers in the world, and the oldest park in Hong Kong. It is a huge home to many rare species of birds & animals. It is a place where all age groups can enjoy. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic many of the animal cages were kept closed and we could see only a few of them. I could see many rare species of birds from different parts

of the world. The most attractive bird for me were the flamingos, they stood tall and proud, their color attracted me the most.. It was so fun to learn about all the species.

ENTERTAINMENT

Hong Kong is known for entertainment for all age groups..

The best is DISNEYLAND.

I just can't describe it. As I was entering Disneyland I felt like I was entering a magical

world. It is just a dream… There are 7 lands filled with magic and fun, they are:-

1. Adventureland

2. Grizzly Gulch

3. Mystic Point

4. Toy Story Land

5. Fantasyland

6. Tomorrowland

7. Main Street, USA

All were filled with rides and games. It is totally another world experience visiting. You also

get to see many sea animals like seals, walrus and penguins. You also get to meet Disney

characters! It is really really a place to go back and stay… I am sure I will go one day again there. I suggest you if you want to finish all the rides you have to stay back in the resort.

OCEAN PARK

Ocean park is another wonderful place to visit.

The park is really huge. As you enter there is an aquarium and a panda show. Here, you have rides of all age groups. There are so many roller coasters. You also have many restaurants, and animal sightseeing's

too! The scariest ride I went was the FLASH. There are really long lines for each and every ride (max waiting time is 15 minutes). We couldn't finish all the rides. But, no regrets, I enjoyed a lot!!!!

FOOD

This city is a home to some of the food obsessed people in the world. There were bakeries everywhere we went. The bread there was top notch, so smooth and tasty. My favorite was the Lotus seed bread and the Cheese bun. And how can I forget the croissants I had! I am

stopping here because my mouth is watering real bad. If you ever visit Hong Kong I suggest you to taste the traditional foods of Hong Kong like:-

1. Egg Tart

2. Milk Tea

3. Bubble Tea

4. Rice Rolls

5. Dumplings.

6. Red Bean Dorayaki

7. Egg waffle/Bubble waffle

8. Dim Sums

I am really proud of myself as I learnt to eat with chopsticks!!

TRANSPORT

Transport in Hong Kong is way too hygienic, smooth and user friendly. They have really

strict rules that you have to follow, one of the rule is that if any person is found hawking in

front of the exit of the MTR station will be sentenced to prison. I was so shocked.. There

were many means of transport such as MTR, buses, cruise and tram. There was a fixed rate for every station you go. All payments can be done through the system of Octopus Card. It is a card where you can make payments anywhere up to a certain amount. You get monthly rewards debited to your card.

It is not a one time use card, you

can keep adding money to your card. When you go to Hong Kong you will lose all interest on riding cabs instead you will love the public transport which is provided there. My favorite is MTR as it is so well planned. It is so systematic, and most of it is underground.

TEMPLES

One of Hong Kong's main attractions remain the temples. We have been to few temples like

the:-

1. Ten thousand Buddha Monastery

2. Chi Lin Nunnery

3. Hindu Temple

4. Shirdi Sai Baba Mandir

5. The Big Buddha.

SHOPPING

Last but not the least at all…. The best of all.

Who would want to return from Hong Kong without any shopping? It's a shoppers paradise. Hong Kong offers shopping experiences of both local markets, street markets to high end malls like One Pacific where one can find all the expensive brands like Channel, Burberry, Hermes, Prada, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton etc., worth to have a window shopping at least (wish I could buy). Hong Kong has so many street markets worth spending time and take out wallet for like sneakers street, temple street, ladies market, night market etc...

I went to many shops and markets in which we bought clothes, cutlery, accessories, bags and

so much more. There was a Sketchers sale in Hong Kong where we bought so many pairs of shoes. There was a haul of shoes in our house that night.. The Night Market, a must place to visit

to buy stuff at a cheap rate.

LIBRARY EXPERIENCE

Public Libraries were all around Hong Kong, like any area you go to. I frequently visiting the library at Tiu Keng Leng. I read a lot of books there. It was so peaceful. It had a library as well as a study room. There were 3 floors. The first floor was for all the kids aged between 1-13, and on the second floor was for novels, and the third floor was educational books. As I entered the library I could smell the books around me that gave me a homely feeling. I read the books from the JF section. I started so many series. The books over there were

sanitized and arranged frequently by the volunteers there. The books there were so neatly arranged that you wouldn't feel to pull out a book from the shelf. The best thing was that, it was my first time ever going alone which was a really fun experience.

AROUND MY APARTMENT

There was a huge lake right behind our apartment, we use to go there every night for a walk. You get to see all people of all ages working out there. The people there are so lean yet they workout so much, I feel tired looking at them working out.. In the mornings around the lake I use to go cycling using the public cycles available there.

It was fun cycling in HK. As you have a lot of people cycling

behind and in front of you. And people there cycle with such play such loud music with huge speakers attached to their cycles. I felt weird as I didn't know their music at all. It sounded so different to my ears.... It was so fun.. I miss it so much..

I strongly recommend for a visit to Hong Kong. It is a great place for everyone to visit! Plan

it well to cover all the places that I have mentioned!! Plan your visit to HK for about two weeks for a great experience.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY BLOG!! HOPE YOU ENJOYED!:))