Trip to Hong Kong (Free and Easy)

My family have never tried joining group tours. There are many affordable and tempting group tour packages available when you search on the internet but the idea of being "tied up" with other people doesn't sound very inviting.

Just like our previous Penang Island, Bintan Island and Batam Island escapades, our recent Hong Kong escapade is free and easy. As usual, I booked an early bird hotel promotion and hubby booked an airline ticket deal.

This trip was supposedly done in 2011 but I got pregnant and gave birth to baby Gian so we put it on hold. Since baby Gian showed no sign of travel anxiety when we brought him to Batam Island at 6 months old, we planned our HK getaway a few months prior to our departure.

The downside was, Jetstar Asia cancelled our original flight to HK and changed it to a much later timing. We were supposed to leave at 6am and reached HK by 10am that's why I actually reserved 2 day tickets at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and even planned to do a side trip to Macau.

Our departure was postponed to 10am. Hubby doesn't like the idea of a hurrying here and there so we were at Changi Airport by 8am. 

The check in counter was already open when we arrived. The early bird catches the worm, so they say. Checking in was easy and breezy.

We had ample time taking photo memoirs for baby Gian's first flying experience. That was the reason he was dressed as baby superman and I asked daddy to play matchy-matchy. 

Kyla on the other hand was dressed comfortably in her I Love NY barbie dress and tagged along her puppy bag as accessory. More about her OOTD here. 

Well, she's already considered an expert traveler by now. Even before she permanently joined us here in Singapore, she has been travelling to and fro PH and SG at the age of 3. 

My precious two. Let me baptize them with their initials K (Kyla) and G (Gian) so I'll be using their initials from now on.

My mom thought it was too early for G to be travelling but this trip is actually a treat for Kyla's 10th birthday. We thought 10 was a perfect age to let one of her big childhood dreams come true as her adolescent years are looming just around the corner. 

Hubby and I are also celebrating our 5th anniversary this year so it is sort of an advance celebration. Need not mention hubby holds the same birthdate as K and baby Gian just turned 1 year old last month.

Hubby said it's an all-in-one celebration for the family. Smart saver tips! Haha!

Tip from a self-proclaimed wanderlust and cheap fashion enthusiast: Travel in style. Play dress up with your family and have fun.

Loved how everyone recognized baby superman and the airline crew reminded hubby that he forgot to wear his underpants. LOL!

And when you travel with kids, never ever forget to bring entertainment on board. iPad comes in handy and make sure it's loaded with your children's favourite movies and shows.

G enjoyed watching his Baby Einstein and when he fell asleep, K watched Lorax with daddy.

It was a very pleasant ride. G doze off 15 minutes after taking off. He woke up briefly when he heard the click sound when I opened the window at lunchtime but he doze off again. It must be really comfortable in mommy's embrace.

I ended up being fed by Mond and K alternately while having a tender moment watching G sound asleep in my arms. Talk about mommy perks. Can't get enough of his long eyelashes.  :D

When we checked the weather forecast before leaving Singapore, it was supposed to be raining but because we prayed really hard Mr Sun was actually out when we finally touched down at Hong Kong International Airport at around 2pm. 

We were greeted by Hong Kong's low lying mountains and tall buildings. It reminded me of the day we landed at Penang Island. 

The queue at the immigration counter was overwhelming. We waited for almost an hour to reach the end of the line. Whew! That never happened to us in Singapore. Although HK Int'l Airport and Changi Airport are equally modern, nothing beats service standard in Singapore. #JustSayin'

Everyone told us to take the blue taxi but when we reached the taxi stand, hubby found out it was the red taxi that offers the cheapest rate so we took the red taxi all the way to Disney's Hollywood Hotel. We wanted to explore the MTR (equivalent of Singapore's MRT) but we are running out of time. 

Imagine our excitement when we saw this sign. We are a couple of minutes away in reaching K's Disneyland dream.

A few minutes later, we finally reached our destination. "I can't believe we are really here! Thank you daddy and mommy!!!", K exclaimed out of extreme excitement. She was teary eyed while giving us a hug. No. I am not exaggerating. :D 

This post is part of our Hong Kong Travel Tales series:

• Disney's Hollywood Hotel
• HongKong Day1
• Chuen Kee Seafood Restaurant Sai Kung
• Chef Mickey Breakfast Buffet
• HongKong Disneyland Park
• Flight of Fantasy Parade