Traveling with family is always a little different from traveling alone or with friends. It’s like bringing the comfort of your home to the chaos of the world; you get to see both the world and your family in a new light.
When the opportunity arose for a Hong Kong getaway with my mom, uncle, and cousin, I jumped at the chance. Planning a trip with such a diverse group might have been half the adventure, but at the end of the day, it was a joy to create memories with the people you call family.
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Here’s a little chill travel video diary to keep the memories alive. :)
Our Itinerary: the New and the Old
The weather forecast said to expect light rains nearly every day, so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy dry sunny skies for most of our trip instead. The highlight of this trip for me still had to be HK Disneyland and the views from Victoria Peak.
I’ll have to come back to properly visit the West Kowloon Cultural District, including the M+. museum. There were also so many parks I didn’t get to enjoy. Some day!
Scheduling this trip between people in different stages of life –myself fairly free at that point in my residency (I was rotating in advocacy), my mom and uncle more flexible in their work, my cousin sitting for exams in law school– was a struggle, much like the months leading up to this trip in general. The stress of waiting for my aunt’s new passport to arrive only added to the chaos. The fact that it arrived at the nick of time was truly a sign from the universe that this trip was meant to be, despite all the twists and turns of life.
The last time I went on a trip with extended family was back in 2019 in Taiwan. And much like my more recent trip in Taiwan earlier this year, I was preparing myself for the role of navigator, translator, and all-around busybody. Explaining Google Maps and eSIMs to oldies… I’ll just handle things myself, thanks.
Read here: Hello 2019! New Year in Taiwan. and Revisiting Taiwan | A Hot Summer Weekend 2024
Since this was my cousin and aunt’s first time to Hong Kong, we decided on a fairly “classic” itinerary. But some day I hope to find my way across Asia with a foodie!!! I need a braver and more patient soul to guide me through alley stalls and secret menus.
DAY ONE: Lantau Island and Kowloon
➡ Travel to Lantau Island via bus
➡ Deposit bags in the luggage lockers in Citygate Outlet
➡ Visit Ngong Ping Village via cable car and climb Big Buddha
➡ Travel to City Center via MTR (train) and check-in at hotel
➡ Drop-off hotel connected to Tsim Sha Tsui / TST East Station
➡ Visit to K-11 Mall and Avenue of Stars, with Symphony of Lights show at 8PM
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Read here: Travel Diary: #HK2013 and Hey HK 2017!
It feels like nothing and everything has changed since the pandemic.
One of the new things we tried out during this trip was renting out luggage lockers in Citygate Outlets. We kept our things there for a couple of hours while we explored Ngong Ping. This made our itinerary more efficient, since our flight landed some time before lunch and our check-in time at The Kowloon Hotel was still at 3PM.
Lockers could be found in GF, B2 and B3, and can be used for a fee of HK$15 every 2 hours (for the small locker which can fit a small or carry-on luggage) and HK$40 every 2 hours (for the large locker which can fit two carry-on luggages). The lockers are limited so it’s best to have a back-up plan. We experienced a problem with one of the lockers when it was time to leave; the doors wouldn’t open even though we paid in full. Thankfully, the staff in the mall were understanding and helped us within a couple of minutes.
Our original plan was to spend one day in Disneyland and another day in Ocean Park, but that felt way too tiring (and also too heavy for my wallet –I had promised to pay for all attractions for this trip, as a way to repay my mom for my loans over the years). We eventually ended up on Disneyland. Somehow the place never fails to spark joy, even if it’s the smallest Disney park in the world.
DAY TWO: Hong Kong Disneyland
➡ Breakfast in nearby Cafe Coral
➡ Enjoy Hong Kong Disneyland!
We grabbed a quick but filling breakfast in Café Coral, one of the staples in the Hong Kong fast food scene. The food was good for the price, if a little dry. Then it was time for the happiest place on earth.
The World of Frozen, patterned after Arendelle, was new and exciting; the nordic food and Olaf as a melting scoop of ice cream were fun and delicious. But as usual, the meals can set you back a good Php 1000 or so every time. Best not to think about it.
One of the more disappointing changes which happened as a result of the pandemic was the loss of the parade. We actually waited until 8PM or so, only to find out that it was a fireworks show. It’s not bad, but it was kind of a letdown. My fault for not checking it out ahead of time, I guess.
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DAY THREE: Central, West Kowloon and Mongkok
➡ Take the Star Ferry to Central Pier
➡ Hear mass at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception
➡ Take the tram to Victoria Peak and visit Sky Terrace 428
➡ Visit M+ Museum
➡ Shopping along Ladies Night Market and Sneakers Street
➡ Dinner at DimDimSum
Our third day in Hong Kong was intended as more of a break and a breather, but in hindsight we ended up doing a lot of things. We started out the day with a HK$3 trip via the Star Ferry to Central Pier. We walked all the way to and through Exchange Square and had a quick breakfast. Because it was a Sunday, there were a lot of Filipinos around enjoying their day off.
We heard mass at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, which is a beautiful building hidden among the bustle of central Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens stretches from the Cathedral all the way near the Peak Tram Lower Terminus. A part of me regrets not taking the time to visit the gardens –or any park in Hong Kong, for that matter. Next time.
From the Peak Tram Lower Terminus, we made our way up via the 10-minute tram ride to Victoria Peak. This was my first time. The view from the top provided a beautiful perspective of Hong Kong. I’m glad the skies were clear. The sun was a little too harsh, though.
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Every time I visit a country or city, I try to search “best museums to visit” beforehand. Two museums came up –the M+ Museum, and the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Because I had just recently enjoyed viewing Chinese cultural artefacts and traditional art at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, I wanted to appreciate the more contemporary art and galleries at M+ Museum instead.
The museum is positioning itself as “Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture”. Sounds exciting. And the fact that the exhibition space takes up 17,000 sqaure metres sounds intimidating.
Unfortunately, we arrived at the museum after lunch, with only a few hours left until the galleries closed. I’ll come visit another day.
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The museum is in the West Kowloon Cultural District, another fairly new development that didn’t ping our radar back in 2017. I’ll give it maybe five more years, then it will be worth the return trip. All the empty spaces and surrounding construction make it seem inaccessible.
Still, we quickly made our way to Mongkok for some shopping. I once again bought a bunch of souvenirs for my work colleagues that I still haven’t given away (a bad habit). My aunt bought a pair of Adidas; Sneakers Street is such a confusing delight.
A few hours into the night, and the promised rain finally came. Luckily we were only minutes away from DimDimSum, one of the food stops on our list. It was delicious. My cousin, who is apparently allergic to shrimp, survived the night. By any metric, I call our busy third day a success.
The fourth day was the part of our itinerary where I just scribbled “free time”. To complete our “classic HK tour” and also tick off another item off our food stop list, we made our way to Causeway Bay.
DAY FOUR: Causeway Bay
➡ Breakfast and coffee in Causeway Bay
➡ Visit Times Square & free time
Bakehouse HK was honestly a little underwhelming. My latte was great, and the aesthetic rocks, but the baked goods were a little lukewarm.
We also made our way to Times Square, which can frankly take up a whole day to explore (but why would you). I spent a good thirty minutes in the nearby Eslite bookstore –which is great, 100%, I loved it– and my mom checked out the nearby giant Apple store.
And just like that, our trip to Hong Kong was over. We packed a lot of experiences –and hopefully good memories– in just four days and three nights.
It’s comforting to know that while some things remained the same, many other things have changed. Change is a constant, for both the places we visit and the people we can become.
Top Tips for Traveling in Hong Kong
- Book attraction tickets via Klook. It saved us a lot in time and even money. I booked and paid for our tickets to Ngong Ping 360 (specifically the combination crystal + standard cabin type), Victoria Peak tram (only the morning ticket, so we also saved up a bit), and standard Disneyland Park ticket, all in advance of our trip. If you want to signup to Klook and make your first booking, feel free to use this referral link!
- Buy and use a local eSIM for Internet access. For each big booking in Klook, I also received a free 4G local eSIM. That helped us out a lot with data roaming. If you have an eSIM compatible phone, I recommend you also buy a local eSIM (preferably before your trip). You can also check Globe’s data roaming packages, which are more or less also affordable.
- Buy an Octopus Card for regular commute. The Octopus card is a reusable contactless stored value card which can be used as payment mode in most convenience stores, MTRs, and buses. It’s even accepted in some food stalls which don’t accept credit. For our four-day trip, we ended up consuming only HK$180 per person. (Keep in mind that we didn’t use the Airport Express line, which would cost around HK$115 per person). Don’t worry about loading too much money; most of the value stored in the card can be refunded at the airport for a minimal fee.
- Download Google Maps for hassle-free commute. If you haven’t used Google Maps for traveling yet, now’s the time to try. Because of the general efficiency of the HK transport system, the app can predict the arrival and departure of trains, buses, and other transport vehicles.
- Download the HK Disneyland App. The app has a helpful map which lists down the current queueing time for each attraction. It also lists the upcoming shows that are available for the day. I saw some reviews online that the app can be buggy or late in updating, but I personally found it to be more or less accurate. It was at least helpful in guiding us to the next most convenient rest stop for such a hot day.
This part of the blog is not sponsored, but I wish it was. Maybe I should work on my social media profiles to get an affiliate link…
Notes on Intention
My first trip abroad was in 2002. I was 6 years old, and I had just encountered death for the first time. My dad had died after a 2-year battle with advanced cancer. Our mom wanted to get away from it all. I’ve been told that my aunt and I got lost somewhere in Causeway Bay, but it’s otherwise blurry in my memory. Earlier this year, my uncle had passed away, also after almost 2 years of battling cancer. We packed our bags and made our way to Hong Kong.
There are happier trips. Once in 2013, which was my first time in Ocean Park and Ate Risa’s first time abroad, and another in 2017, one of our last family trips before we grew a little bigger. I want these memories to be crystal clear.
Until next time! ♡
jari m 
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