We decided to take a short vacation in HKG as our flight had a layover there. We took a flight from Blr to Mumbai via Jet airways. The travel to Mumbai was uneventful as R was fast asleep. We landed in the domestic airport which I was seeing after 6 years and it seemed to have become a little more organized. We boarded the shuttle bus with little delay and R was thrilled to ride in a bus. The ride was a little over 25 minutes and the we were dropped off at the crowded international terminal entrance. There were so many people standing outside the airport, it seemed like atleast a dozen people were coming to see off 1-2 people. It was a bit of a struggle to navigate the stroller through the crowd, I am considering getting a horn or a whistle for the stroller next time around, a slight adaptation for Indian roads. We reached our gate and got some milk for R while he went to sleep, it was almost midnight. When the boarding began, we were shocked to see that we had to take a big flight of stairs. How could we do that with a sleeping toddler in a stroller? When I complained to the flight staff, all I got was a sheepish grin. Argh ! Anyway, we managed to go get to our seats and luckily, R was in deep sleep. I noticed several people wearing jackets with 'Shaimak' and could not see any famous faces. Then suddenly out of the blue, Shaimak came from the business class to talk to his troupe members. Wow !
He passed us a couple of times and I could not get up because I was holding a sleeping baby. I pleaded V to take a picture with Shaimak and he refused. Finally by the time he was ready, Shaimak was nowhere to be seen. Sigh !
We reached HKG and completed the immigration in a jiffy. It was so nice to get a visa on arrival with so few countries doing it for an Indian passport holder. We picked up a octopus card for us and took a taxi to our hotel in Taikoo. The city looked so nice and well planned. We checked into EAST hotel and got a fabulous room with a harbor view. The hotel was very nicely located near the MTR (metro) and the city plaza. After a quick shower, we went to the city plaza to grab lunch. We could not find an elevator to take the stroller and had to make do with the escalator. Then began the hunt for vegetarian food and the food court had nothing. Many of the staff there did not know english also making it more challenging. We found McDonalds for R and we finally found Pizza Hut. We had big plans for that evening but finally just took a nap. Later that night, we visited my aunt who lived down the road and got some pointers on food and travel. V found a supermarket in the city plaza basement where he got fresh fruits and drinking water.
Next day, we were still jetlagged and woke up late. By now, we found the elevator and could navigate the stroller more conveniently. We found an Indian place in the basement food court of city plaza, called ' curry in a hurry' which had awesome food. We had a good brunch and set off in the MTR towards the giant buddha called Ngong Ping 360. The attraction was easy to find and the although there was long line, it moved very fast.We took the crystal cabin cable car at around 3:00pm and had fantastic views. All of us enjoyed the ride and it got chilly on top. After a quick walk in the village, we went towards the big buddha. We parked the stroller in the bottom of the steps, and walked the 200 some steps. We were impressed when R also walked the flight of stairs by himself. After taking blessings, we came down to the Po Lin monestery and had a veggie snack. The snack was simple and delicious. The monestery was very beautiful and we felt at peace. This was a toddler friendly attraction and R loved to run around in the open spaces everywhere. He was also very happy to see many friendly dogs roaming freely everywhere. We picked up some souvenirs and passed by the Bodhi tree, it seemed to be made from plastic ! We boarded the cable car and when we reached the base it was almost 6:30pm. R fell asleep in the MTR train and we decided to go and see the star ferry as it was too foggy to go the 'peak'.
From the central station on the MTR, we found an exit towards the ferry. It was a bit of a walk and was thankfully stroller friendly. We found the ferry towards kowloon and boarded it. The ferry crosses the south china sea from Hong Kong to Kowloon and is about 15 minutes long. We got a wonderful view of HK skyline. After reaching Kowloon, we walked for an hour and saw all the famous designer stores. There were lines to get into stores like Chanel. I wonder if there was a sale going on. After sometime, we walked into a mall for dinner and there was no elevator to the basement, where the food court was situated. As usual I did not find anything vegetarian and had to make do with some sweet soup. V had some nice dumplings while R continued to sleep. We took the ferry back to HK and I spotted a subway. I was happy to see it and had a sandwich. We then headed back to hotel via the MTR on the island line.
It was a good day and we were happy to have managed to see two attractions. I will be happy to see more elevators in the malls and signs for them. Next time, I better learn some Cantonese to at least ask for veggie options in food. Next stop, Macau.
