After our arrival in Hong Kong I’ll take you with us on our first couple of days of our city trip in Hong Kong! We have a lot planned; exploring the city, spotting pink dolphins, testing playgrounds and trying out public transport
Day 1: jetlagged and exploring the city
Yes, it’s the start of our city trip in Hong Kong! After a very smooth flight with Cathay Pacific from Amsterdam to Hong Kong and a one hour taxi drive we arrive at our first hotel:Dorsett Wanchai on Hong Kong Island. Unfortunately the hotel is fully booked and we have to wait until people are checked out of a four person bedroom before we can get a room.
Luckily we are able to have breakfast already so we can fill up our stomachs and get accustomed to the new time zone at the same time. A big hooray from the kids too as we near the breakfast buffet and notice croissants and yes, even peanut butter! We have a good breakfast and notice we’ve won an hour of waiting already, only three to go. We make ourselves comfortable in the lobby on two comfy couches. The kids take a time out on the iPad, Kev takes a nap and I’m writing an article. Luckily the room is available a bit sooner than expected and we are allowed in at 11:00 o’clock!
We sleep on one of the top floors, number 23, and have a four person bedroom with 2 double beds. The room comes fully equipped with a minibar, bathroom with a tub, a desk and a closet with bathrobes and slippers in it for not just us, but the kids too (love it!!). And… a spectacular view! Seeing as the four of us are pretty tired we decide to take a quick nap. We set the alarm three hours later and close our eyes. Oh my, would I love to stay in bed when that alarm goes off but no, that would only make the jetlag worse.
Exploring the city
I always tend to get rather happy of the “Asian smell” of Asian cities and Hong Kong is no exception. We decide to go for a walk to wake up a little. It’s great leaving Holland where it’s -1 degrees and to walk around here without a coat in 20 degrees. Our hotel is located very centrally and after a 10 minute walk we’re right in the middle of the busy part of Wanchai Station where there are shops, markets, restaurants and spa’s. Kev and I decide to treat ourselves to a well-deserved foot massage, just looooovely! In the evening we give Lotte and Flo some fries (not making it too hard on them or ourselves as they are still pretty tired) and Kev orders a plate of Chinese food at a local restaurant.
At 20:00 o’clock we are back in the hotel and the four of us are fast asleep at 20:15.
Day 2: Spotting pink dolphins, exploring Kowloon and play, play, play
And so day 2 of our city trip in Hong Kong commences. The alarm goes off nice and early at 6:30. After breakfast we take a cab to the Kowloon hotel where we are picked up at 8:45 to go on a dolphin tour. And not just any dolphin tour, we’ll be looking for pink dolphins! The pink dolphin is very rare, in the waters around Lantau there are only 43 still alive. The dolphin is born grey but loses its color over the years turning it into a shade of pink.
Spotting pink dolphins
After a 30 minute drive on the bus we’re near the harbor and walk onto the boat. We have a nice view from the highest deck. Sailing from the harbor onto the open sea is already worth the trip! You have a beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline and the Ngong Ping cable car.
After a 2.5 hour journey we haven’t spotted a single dolphin yet. On the bus the tour guide told us there is 97% chance of us getting to see one but I’m starting to think we belong to the 3% of people with bad luck. But fortunately no! On the way back to the harbor we spot them near the boat, pink dolphins! Slowly they swim past us. We even see a mother with a baby dolphin. There are about 10 of them, swimming back and forth, blowing water from their holes and diving in the deep every now and then with their tailfin upwards… After half an hour of gawking and taking pictures we sail back. Wow! This was certainly worth it!
Kowloon
The bus brings us back to Kowloon, we are dropped off at the Kowloon hotel and walk on to Kowloon Park. Kowloon Park is a beautiful park in the middle of the city. We get an ice cream at the Mc Café and walk to the playground. It’s Sunday and therefore rather busy, but in a nice way. On our way back we walk past the flamingos and the kids note that today is “pink animal day”, well they got that right.
The subway
We decide to take the subway back to Hong Kong Island instead of the taxi. We buy an Octopus card at the station where you can pay your public transport fees with but a 1000 other things too, such as food, drinks and all kinds of other purchases, very useful indeed! Travelling with the subway turns out to be very easy and fast. It’s just not very fit for the buggy so Lotte needs to walk a lot (and Kev needs to lift a lot;) The nearest stop to our hotel is Causeway Bay. When you take the “exit” Times Square you walk through the mall (past the delicious pastry shops) on to Times Square. It certainly looks a bit like the actual Times Square in New York, but on a smaller scale; you’re surrounded by bright billboards and flashy signs. From here we walk for 10 minutes to our hotel. It’s lovely weather still so we decide to have a bite to eat and a beer on a terrace.
Kev thinks he ordered a nice chicken leg and isn’t sure how to react when he gets a plate of chicken feet served. Ok, so the nails have been taken off but it still doesn’t look very tasteful at all… He wants to shove the plate aside but hold on just one sec…
What do we tell the children time and time again?! “You need to try it first!” Luckily the kids gladly remind him so he’s forced to give it a try, under protest, and he puts one in his mouth. His face speaks volumes and the kids laugh hysterically. Afterwards we walk to a playground near the hotel so the kids can play for a bit. Then we go to our room, take a shower and hop into bed. Another day lies ahead of us tomorrow! Are you having doubts about going on a city trip in Hong Kong? Doubt no more! It’s a magnificent city, I can tell you now already.
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This article “City trip in Hong Kong, day 1-2, from recovering from jetlag to spotting pink dolphins…” is sponsored by Cathay Pacific and Dorsett Wanchai.
