3 Nights in HK over CNY

I was in Hong Kong for 3 nights over the CNY holidays. It was intended to be a short getaway from Singapore….

….BUT I ENDED UP WISHING I HAD STAYED PUT IN SINGAPORE.

I did NOT enjoy Hong Kong, and I don’t think I’ll be returning, ever. At first we thought HK would be a ghost town during CNY — much like Singapore — but a bit of research revealed that most shops/attractions would still be open, which cemented our travel plans.

However, what it didn’t tell us was how much MORE crowded it was going to be in already crowded HK during this period. We discovered there were hordes and hordes of mainland Chinese tourists who apparently love to vacation there over the CNY holidays.

I can’t tell you how many times I was pushed, bumped into, stepped on and elbowed. The extent of it became one of the major reasons why I didn’t enjoy HK. How could I, when I spent half the time pissed! Let’s not even talk about saying sorry — not one of them had the decency to at least offer me an apologetic look.

We went to Disneyland on our second day, and boy, if you think Singaporeans are kiasu, these people are a million times more kiasu. Queues for attractions were, needless to say, atrocious everywhere in HK at the time, but the kiasu-ism was especially ugly to see in a “happy” place like Disneyland. Once they reached the head of the queue and the gates were opened, they were SPRINTING to secure a seat like vicious predators going after their prey. Get a grip — it’s just a bloody teacup ride!

Also, the concept of personal space is non-existent in their culture, so queuing in front of a mainland Chinese means having them breathe down the back of your neck — which is gross and really annoying. Aside from having to experience uncivilised behaviour, almost everything else went wrong for me this trip as well:

• Didn’t get to take the tram up to The Peak because of the ridiculous queue. Paid the equivalent of SGD 60 for a cab ride up that lasted less than 10 minutes. The fare was split 5-ways but it still doesn’t change the fact that it was expensive for a single cab ride.

• Didn’t get to take the cable car to the Big Buddha, again because of the queue.

• Didn’t get to eat a single halal dim sum or anything that comes under the umbrella of Hong Kong cuisine because oddly, all the non-halal restaurants were open, and all the halal authentic HK restaurants were closed. The irony! I was told the hotel we were staying at, Panda Hotel, has a halal cafe — but in reality all they had was a measly one halal line at the buffet — serving nasi lemak. Yes, I went all the way to HK to have NASI LEMAK. And Turkish food. And Indian food. All other cuisines BUT HK cuisine. This was probably also one of the most upsetting things because I was really looking forward to having authentic HK dim sum.

• I was on the fence about going to Disneyland because I’m not really into these things, but I ended up going, for a lack of a better thing to do. Instead of showing me a good time, Disney decided they’d ruin possibly my one and only time in Disneyland and in HK by scheduling the Sleeping Beauty Castle for maintenance. The fireworks display above the castle at the end of the night was supposed to be somewhat a highlight, but this was how it looked like that night:
  

  Fireworks + Castle = Epic. Fireworks + Box = WTH?

  What it could’ve looked like:

  

  Source: jellybeanz on Flickr

• I wasn’t looking to buy branded goods either, which are supposedly cheaper in HK because they don’t charge VAT — so shopping was not that exciting.

• Perhaps the most painful thing to swallow was that all this disappointment carried a hefty price tag of about $1,350 — flights and hotel were more expensive because of the CNY holiday. As if that’s not bad enough, I returned with an inflamed ankle from all the walking. My feet were throbbing like it grew a heart of its own. Seriously, I don’t think my SIL is human — when everyone else felt like dying she was still all bright-eyed and cheery and like, “OK where should we go next?”

I went with my sisters- and niece-in-law, and I’d say the only positive thing that came out of it was their company and the bonding. That’s seriously the ONLY thing that is preventing me from hitting my head on the wall.

This was also my first brush with retribution for not listening to my husband. Faz had voiced out that perhaps it wasn’t a good time to go on holiday because we have the house renovation to finance, but I was stubborn. It didn’t take much, but he relented, choosing to see the good that the trip will do me — how it’ll be a good break for me, and that I’ll get to bond with the women in his family. As usual he was his considerate self, and I — well, I was just being selfish. And I got served.

You could say it was a case of bad timing — and I agree — but I still don’t think I’d return. Even without the crowd, there’s really not much that would be of interest to me in HK. It’s just like another Singapore, only more Chinese.

Well, at least that’s another country struck off the map.

No other pics because buat sakit hati.