Back from HK Vacation I

I went on a trip to HK with 3 other young families from my cell group last week. 8 adults and 7 children. This is the story of how I survive the trip.

Wed: We woke up at 5am because we needed to reach the airport at 6am to check-in. Flight was at 8am. We were flying Cathay this time. Taxi driver we called didn't know where Commonwealth Ave West is. We get that sometimes. Some didn't know that it is near Clementi. They think it is Commonwealth, which is about 10 min away because of all the traffic lights. In the end, we took a cab by the road. (To wife: I told you so.)

Breakfast at Burger King. Bad. Why do they have to force 2 "sausages" on us?

Brunch on the plane. In-flight entertainment. Good. I think budget airlines is just not worth the savings.

We stayed at Langham Place, Mongkok. Many people asked me if the hotel was nice. My answer is simple. At S$300+ a night, what do you think? Hotel was very classy, very good. I have only one complaint: pillow was too soft and bed too soft. I used the squarish headrest as my pillow, and I tried to sleep on my back (after getting a backache for sleeping on my side).

We ate lunch at Chee Kei at the Langham Place Shopping Mall. With hindsight, this was my main regret of the trip. I ordered their soft bones and wonton noodles. Although it was decent, it wasn't great. Also the Kee taste of the noodles is rather strong. I regret that I should have ordered their crab porridge which was their signature dish. Based on online reviews, that is the good one. Darn.

Our first draft on first day was to visit Noah's ark. But in the end we decided to increase shopping time by visiting IFC. However, there was a slight delay as rooms were not ready. The one of the kids fell asleep. In the end we decided to head straight to Habour City. This place is HUGE! In the end, we just walked around a little and sat down for a drink. The truth is that traveling with a bunch of kids (some falling asleep and some needing discipline) really wears you down. If we had planned this a little better, we should have allocated more time for this, and less time for the uneventful programs later that night.

The night program is simple: Eat dinner at a nice restaurant at New World Centre. Visit the Avenue of stars, watch the Symphony of lights. Then return to hotel to use our vouchers for a drink at the Backyard bar.

Dinner plans were spoiled when we discovered upon arrival that New World Centre is closed. (It was closed on March 31, 2010 for demolition!) We ended up eating some bland Japanese food at Sogo.

Then we went over to the Avenue of Stars where a huge crowd has gathered.
1. It was too dark to enjoy anything about "Avenue of Stars".
2. The lights show was not spectacular at all.

Becoming bored quickly, we returned to the hotel for a drink at the Backyard bar. Drinks were alright, but the nachos took really long. We found out why. Instead of a simple Nachos with cheese, they had a complicated nachos with all kind of bits on top. It was tasty, but it felt more like a "nachos pizza", than a snack.

The first day is pretty uneventful. But it's the first day after all. We have time to make things better. ;)