Our Hong Kong Holiday (October 2011): Day 3 (Ocean Park Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui)

I did a lot of research prior to our trip and most of the info I got came from the Hong Kong Thread of PinoyExchange (PEx). Thanks to commoner who created the thread and to all the PExers who contributed. :) 

We were a party of 5 adults and 1 kid (a senior at 62yrs, then 29, 26, 25, and 18 yrs old, and a 2yr-old-kid).  The promo tickets were bought in February 2011 (tagal ng paghihintay, hehe).

OCTOBER 29, 2011, Saturday (Ocean Park HK & TST)
The HK Thread of PEx would advise to never do Disneyland and Ocean Park on two consecutive days.  In our case however, we had no choice but to do it since we only had about three days to spend in Hong Kong (excluding travel time).

Ryken woke up late again so we were able to leave Golden Crown at around noon.  We first went to Mirador Mansion to exchange money at Wing Hoi (1US $ = 7.75 HKD, lower than last October 27) then we looked around to shop for souvenirs.  We found the Cinderford stall owned by two sisters (one was named Alice) and bought several pasalubongs there. :)

Here's the pricelist of the souvenirs:
-Hongkong printed shirts (varied designs and magandang uri ng tela): 5 white color for 100HKD then 4 black color for 100HKD
-HK magnets (yung parang 3d ba na painted): 8pcs for 100HKD
-round compact mirrors and round-shaped bag holders: 6pcs for 100HKD
-wallets for ladies (yung pahaba na kasya nang buo ang bills): 5pcs for 100HKD
-HK baseball caps: 5pcs for 100HKD
-assorted keychains: 6pcs for 50HKD

 

ang mga nag-hoard :)

careful, baby, wala tayong pambayad diyan

Ni hao ma :)

Ryken likes this little umbrella (but we didn't buy this, hehe)

After shopping, we went back to Golden Crown to deposit our loot and to buy our discounted Ocean Park tickets (HKD240.00 each).  Sayang nga kasi it was only HKD220.00 when we arrived pero nag-increase ang Golden Crown on this same day (October 29).  'Di kasi ako agad bumili, oh well.  We ate lunch at KFC near the hostel.  We ordered the KFC Variety Bucket na may 4 original and 4 flava crava (a bit spicy bbq) chicken, 2 mushroom rice, 2 chicken a la king rice, 4 egg tarts, criss-cut fries, 1 box of hotshots(9pcs), 4pcs hot wings, 4 softdrinks then we had additional two sofdrinks, one chicken a la king rice and one mushroom rice for HKD 191.80.  Mura na rin. :)  They don't serve gravy, you have to pay additional pa so di na kami nag-gravy, haha!  Beside KFC is Hoixe Cake Shop (recommended by fellow PExer, delisyus) which is similar to Bread Talk and we bought bread, egg tart, and cake (total of HKD57.50 yung orders namin) for baon to Ocean Park.

sign of Hoixe Cake Shop

daming customers

masarap ang bread and cakes nila :)

We took the MTR to Admiralty and rode Bus 629 to Ocean Park.  I think we arrived the park at around 4pm already and we had a problem with our baon because they weren't allowed by the park attendants!  I read from other blogs that we could bring our own food. :( We went outside again and since we cannot eat them all at once (we bought a lot, hehe), we just hid them inside our bags.  Buti nakalusot :D

We again rented a stroller for Ryken (it had a name tag, too) for HKD60.00.  There's a deposit of HKD40.00 which will also be given back to you once the stroller is returned (the deposit rate is lower than in Disneyland).  It was also a Halloween-themed Ocean Park.  Some were dressed in scary costumes (I don't know if they were employees).

pumpkins again

bones and volks

We were just in time for the feeding of the pandas in the Giant Panda Habitat, yey!

It's An An!

it was cold inside

Next stop was the Giant Panda Adventure.  There were raccoons! :)  Ryken is familiar with pandas because he has watched Kung Fu Panda.

raccoon

 

you can write here. Ryken scribbled a bit :)

the cable cars

We rode the Ocean Express (train) to reach the summit (Sadako was there! hehe..). Ocean Park is huge because it is built on a mountain like Genting Highlands in Malaysia.  We watched the 5:30PM Dolphin and Sea Lion Show at the Ocean Theater.  We were not really after the rides since we have some of there here at Enchanted Kingdom.

inside Ocean Express

view at the summit

breathtaking!

dolphin show

bye-bye! :)

The park was open until 11:00PM because of the Halloween Bash but you had to buy a night ticket if you wish to enjoy the rides and attractions.  Hubby wanted to try "The Abyss" ("drop" ride) but wasn't allowed anymore because he had a day ticket (maybe next time, 'pa).  We also saw the family of hubby's boss at the exit of Ocean Theater.  It was great to see a friend and kababayan in another country. :)

with the family of hubby's boss (cool coordinated outfits! :)

Our next stop would be the Grand Aquarium at the Waterfront.  Since my mom, hubby, and I had experienced the cable car in Singapore, we let my brother and sister-in-law ride the cable car back to the Waterfront.  I accompanied them so Ryken could join, too.  With our limited time in HK, we wouldn't be able to visit the Giant Buddha in Lantau Island anymore where there's also a cable car ride.  The rented stroller wasn't allowed inside the cable car so I left it with hubby and mom who rode the Ocean Express.

cable car passengers

The ride wasn't scary at all, probably because it wasn't windy and the cable car was smaller compared to Singapore's.  We weren't able to watch the Symbio light show at the Aqua City Lagoon because we thought that the Grand Aquarium would be closed at 7:00PM (hindi naman pala, herher). :)

The Grand Aquarium was similar to the one in Manila Ocean Park but there was no "tube" where you could see all the fishes.  Ryken enjoyed watching the sharks and sting rays.

bangus!

cavesweeper

sting ray (the effect was like the "tube" in Manila Ocean Park)

We were able to watch a little bit of a fountain / light show in the Aqua City Lagoon while dancers in Halloween costume performed.

 

 

We left the park at around past 8:00PM.  Nagkaproblema pa yung octopus cards namin kasi kulang na raw ng value for the bus ride so we had to pay in cash (HKD10.60 each adult so total of HKD53.00 for 5 adults).  There was an attendant there at the bus stop who computed the total fare for us. :)  We had to top-up the octopus cards at the Admiralty MTR Station (HKD50.00 each).  Dapat pala ang initial load is HKD200.00 na agad for our itinerary.

We strolled around the TST area while looking for a place to eat.  We chanced upon an eggette and "tusok-tusok" stall.  Sarap nung eggette lalo na pag mainit, parang manipis na hotcake! :)  An eggette costs HKD12.00 then the squid is HKD10.00 and hotdog is also HKD10.00

the eggette

yum, yum!

We ate dinner at Caterking Dim Sum. Sarap! Price was reasonable.  It was cheaper than Tsui Wah Restaurant in The Peak Galleria.  Our total bill was around HKD290.00+ (or Php1,664.25).  You also settle the bill on your own at the cashier. 

chicken feet (don't know the white one)

Japanese something (haha, sorry, I forgot already!)

Siomai (laki ng shrimp! katuwa!)

can't recall the name pero masarap :)

beef rice topping

On the way to Caterking, we saw Crumbs Frozen Yogurt which was recommended by fellow PExer, delisyus.  We didn't go back to the hostel without us buying one just to try the taste.  I ordered large yogurt (with free crumbs) plus 2 toppings: strawberry and mochi (a bestseller) at HKD33.00.  I'm not a fan of strawberry but it was yummy! :)  And the yogurt wasn't overpowering.  We weren't able to try Hui Lau Shun Desserts, though.  It's also famous in HK especially their mango desserts.

wawa Ryken tulog na

Time to pack our bags as we will leave Hong Kong for Macau the next day. :)