To paraphrase Samwise Gamgee "Well, we're back."
And we are back from a short weekend holiday in Hong Kong. As usual, there just wasn't enough time. We left the house very early Thursday morning to catch an 8 am flight. We had to be in the airport three hours before flight time, so we woke up pretty early. For a change, Ben got up without any fuss. At the airport, while we wait to board the plane, he was as usual very talkative and very active.
I didn't really know how he would react, since it was to be his first plane ride. He kept asking why it was taking us so long to board. Finally, when we were about to be boarded, he kept asking why we couldn't go in right away, and I had to keep explaining to him that we needed to line up (something I had to keep reminding him over the weekend as we went lined up for rides). He was compalining too why it was taking the plane too long to board, too long to taxi, too long to get clearance to take off, and too long to take off. I'm sure you get the picture as to the amount of why's I got even before the plane left the terminal.
He was game though when the plane took off. He switched seats with Jenny to look out the window. The flight was less than two hours but with Ben fiddling around, it felt longer.
While waiting to clear immigration (for which we had to line up), Ben once again complained. I kept thinking we're a few hours into the trip and already I can imagine what he would be like for the rest of it. We took the Airport Express to Hong Kong Island, where we were to stay. He loved it, particularly because this kid loves trains and anything that runs on rails. From the Hong Kong terminal, we switched over to the MTR station (our main form of transportation while in HK) in Central to go to our hotel.
Thursday night, we went to the Peak, taking the Peak Tram to the top. The view is just breathtaking. Here are a few of the pictures.
This is the tram that we took up to the Peak
Ben sitting by the fountain in front of the Peak Galleria
Me and Ben by the fountain
That's me and Ben with a view from the Peak. 
Ben and me on one the topless buses plying the Peak-Star Ferry routeThe ride up was really cool because there are areas where the incline is so steep it looks like the buildings are standing on a weird angle. We didn't go into the Peak Tower anymore but I heard the view from there was even more spectacular.
Friday, we went to Hong Kong Disneyland. We took the MTR to Central Station, then transferred to another MTR that took us to the Sunny Bay station where we took the Disneyland Express. Ben of course, had a great time. It was fun for me too, but of course, very tiring. Good thing Jenny went with us so I had some help. He was so impatient, always complaining when we had to wait in line (which we did all the time). In the end though, I think he had so much fun with the rides. Here are some pictures from the Disneyland visit. We weren't able to get pictures with many of the Disney characters because the lines for them were so long (as was the lines for almost everything else).
In the Disneyland Resort MTR
Me and Ben near the HK Disneyland main entrance
Near the main Disneyland fountain with major Disney characters
In front of the Mickey garden and the Disneyland Express train station
Making a round of the park riding in the Disneyland Express
near Main Street while waiting for a picture with Goofy
Me and Ben with Goofy
With Mulan and Wushu
On one of them "going-round" rides
Riding the teaser car for an upcoming ride (Autopia)
With Buzz Lightyear
In front of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" piece
Riding Cinderella's carousel
A quick roundabout with Dumbo, the flying elephant
Waiting to ride the Jungle River Cruise with Tarzan's treehouse in the background
With Daisy Duck (Donald got tired)
With EeyoreFollowing the Disneyland trip, we went back to Central and had a short walkabout. I did plan on taking Ben for a ferry ride but I was too tired and he looked like he wanted to rest too so we just headed back to the hotel to get rested for the Ocean Park visit. Took a picture of him on the footbridge near the MTR station near our hotel.
Saturday, Ben and I went by ourselves to Ocean Park. Jenny decided to go shopping instead. We took the MTR to the Admiralty station and then followed the signs to the bus that will take us to the Ocean Park, located in the southern part of Hong Kong Island. We took a double decker bus, and Ben was a bit disappointed that the top half was full and we had to sit in the lower level. (Going back we were able to grab a sit on the top half though). Ocean Park is really nice, bordering the sea. We took the escalators to get up to the top and then took the cable car to go down. Ben loved the attractions like the seals, the dolphin show, the shark aquarium, the reef atoll, all those places with sea creatures. As for rides, he wasn't all that interested in them so we only took a ride on the Ferris wheel. As usual, he complained about the lines. I have got to teach that kid the virtue of queueing.
Ocean Park as seen from the bus stop where we got off
Ben near Ocean Park's entrance
In front of a small Buddha near the park's entrance
In front of a temple replica
View from two flights of the elevator up the park with the Mine Train ride in the background
I think that's Aberdeen in the background
By the Pacific Pier (sea lion exhibit)
In the Shark Aquarium
Going into the shark's mouth to see the sharks overhead
A ride in the Ferris Wheel
In the Atoll Reef
Enjoying the cable car ride down the park
Me and Ben on the way to the panda exhibit
Ben by the sign to the Golden Pagoda
Enjoying the fish at the Golden Pagoda
The cable cars in the background
In the panda exhibit
With Whiskers, the Ocean Park mascot
By the fountain near the park exit
That tree is actually a trash bin, and that's a little owl that peeks out and says something I think. Just didn't understand what it saidBy the time we left Ocean Park, I was sooooo very tired. Running after Ben for several hours is no party, believe me. I was planning again to take the ferry ride that night, but both of us were too tired by the time we got back to the hotel. So we just had dinner at McDonald's and then it was bath and off to bed for Ben. I realized just how tired he was when he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Which was a good thing because we had to get up early the following morning for our return flight to Manila.
So Sunday morning, we were up early. We took the MTR back to the Hong Kong station, and from there jumped into the airport express. Here are some pictures from the airport.
Pushing the trolley in the airport
In HK airport
That's Ben's 747
Looking forward to coming homeAll in all, Ben had a jolly holiday in Hong Kong. I thought it was a fun trip too, though it was tiring. But the important thing is Ben had a lot of fun, so that makes up for the everything. Just seeing him having a great time made the trip all worthwhile. I really would like to take him on another trip. In fact, one of my bosses has invited us to stay at their house if we ever make it to Kuala Lumpur. I think that will have to wait though. Maybe next year (wishful thinking).
By the way, for more pictures, you can visit The Plastic Banoms in Hong Kong in our fotopic site.
