Trip Report The Solo Circle Tour of Asia - CONCLUDED!

To all who come to this happy thread, welcome.

Whew! So I just recently completed a super-frantic, super-awesome solo tour of the great Asian theme parks! Why solo? In order to travel fast, light, and to my own interests. Perfect for cramming so much wonder into two weeks!

This trip took me to Hong Kong and Japan. And to which parks?

Ocean Park
Hong Kong Disneyland
Universal Studios Japan
Tokyo Disneyland
Plus the absurdly jaw-dropping Tokyo DisneySea!!!

And since so much of Asia’s appeal extends beyond theme parks, I dedicated an equal amount of time to exploring many fascinating cities: Hong Kong, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo

Most trip reports start by introducing the travelers. In this case it’s just me (migrating over from the Imagineer boards):

This past winter, I broke up with my longtime girlfriend, in part because while in France we learned that she detests international travel. I love it, and that trip rekindled a long-dormant bug. So too did an impromptu side-trip to Disneyland Paris during a snowstorm, my first Disney park beyond California. That visit got me looking to Asia...

I’m a Disneyland Passholder. I’ve never been to Walt Disney World (I know, I know) nor Shanghai Disneyland. (Those can be future trips.) I generally visit Disneyland once a month, usually with zero planning. Sometimes I pop in to do a single ride and leave. Disneyland locals are a strange breed. Which means until recently I’ve never even stayed in a Disney hotel! So there’s plenty of new-to-me goodness in this trip report.

This’ll be a very in-depth report – unless everyone wants me to skip ahead to just the Disney parks – full of photographs, park observations, and hopefully advice for anyone who’s ever considered a trip to the other East Coast. It’ll be fun!

Up next: Days 1 & 2, because with time zones that’s how long it takes to fly to Hong Kong and get settled in.

 

[D Hulk]

Table of Contents

Days 1 & 2
Arrival in Hong Kong
Sailing Victoria Harbour

Day 3
Climbing Victoria Peak
Kowloon - More Dim Sum and More Rain

Day 4
Ocean Park
Checking in at Hong Kong Disneyland
Sleeping on Disney Property for the First Time

Day 5
Hong Kong Disneyland - Main Street & Adventureland
Toy Story Land, Mystic Point & Grizzly Gulch
Adventureland & Fantasyland
Parades, Shows & More

Day 6
Flight to Tokyo & DisneySea's Hotel MiraCosta
Night in Tokyo DisneySea

Day 7
DisneySea's Happy 15
Mysterious Island
American Waterfront
Lost River Delta
Mermaid Lagoon
Port Discovery
Mediterranean Harbor
Arabian Coast
Nighttime & Fantasmic!

Day 8
Tokyo Disneyland's Happy 15
Monsters Inc. Ride 'n' Go Seek & Pooh's Hunny Hunt (& Tomorrowland)
Toontown & Fantasyland (&Tomorrowland)
Adventureland & Westernland (& Tomorrowland)
Parades & Critter Country (& Tomorrowland)
Nighttime & Dream Lights

Intermission

Day 9
DisneySea Rope Drop
Cape Cod & Environs
Details & Gondolas
Showtime
Miscellanea
Magellan's & Final DisneySea Thoughts

Day 10
Bullet Train to Osaka
Dotonburi Nights

Day 11
Kyoto Daytrip
Daytrip Part 2

Day 12
Universal Studios Japan Rope Drop
USJ's Single Rider
Seasonal Shenanigans

Day 13
Tokyo Capsule Hotel

Days 14 & 15
Final Day in Tokyo & Flight Back

 

[LieutLaww]

Sounds awesome, following along !

 

[amjt660]

Sounds amazing
Following along

Max

 

[MinnieM123]

This looks like fun--I'm in!!

 

[fractal]

Following!

 

[D Hulk]

Days 1 & 2: Arrival in Hong Kong

My flight from LAX to Hong Kong was on Thursday, September 7th. At 1 A.M. on Thursday, September 7th, so really the trip begins the preceding Wednesday!

So a 1 A.M. red-eye flight…with a transfer in Beijing of all places. What am I doing?! Getting incredibly cheap airfare, basically – 5 flights for a total of around $600!

Living in Los Angeles, the gateway to Asia, I doubt flights to Orlando would be cheaper. There’s certainly still a ton of preplanning which made these prices possible, thanks largely to Google Matrix Software. Cheap airfare is good, because I splurged in other areas - *cough!* MiraCosta *cough!*

Midnight at LAX is basically China. Already I’m immersed in unknown foreign languages. Already I stand out from the crowd. (In the mornings, LAX becomes Latin America.)

The flight to Beijing on Air China was eventless. I put myself on Hong Kong time (17 hours ahead), and then I either snoozed or reread “IT.” My seatmate was the Korean version of Milton from Office Space.

Beijing International Airport was by a wiiiiide margin the worst part of the vacation. Both directions! Each time, i barely made my generous 3 hour transfer window. Let’s hear it for Mainland Chinese bureaucratic inefficiency, folks! One person through security per minute. Typically, they’re fast-tracking travelers whose flights are set to depart, meaning you’re basically shoulder-to-shoulder in a wretched bottleneck corral waiting to almost miss your flight too.

And Beijing’s ugly. It’s famously polluted. From the air, it’s an L.A.-sized sprawl of concrete factories and pop-up McCities with barely an acre of green.

Pictured: smog

Contrast that with Hong Kong:

Mind you, this is the industrial area as seen from a speeding train. This is ugly Hong Kong!

It gets prettier. Here’s the view from my hotel room, still not especially scenic by Hong Kong standards:

But that’s skipping ahead.

Reaching central Hong Kong from the Lantau Island airport is a breeze. The city’s metro is possibly the world’s absolute best! It’s new, clean, efficient, easy to navigate, and even the touchscreen ticket booths work in any language.

I emerge from the train into bustling chaos. Hong Kong is among the most densely populated places on earth. Skyscrapers are built within meters of the towering jungle mountains. They ran out of vacant lots decades ago. Narrow and tall structures fill every available space, all with signs in multiple languages vying for your attention. Hundreds of locals speed past – businessmen in ties, gaggles of schoolchildren, shirtless workers with wheelbarrows full of cement. Dozens of odors permeate, from the dried herbal medicines to the teas to the nearby fishmonger. This is the greatest moment of culture shock in the entire trip, and it takes me about 20 minutes to navigate my way to the hotel.

And the humidity! Hong Kong is tropical. It’s southeastern China (but don’t ever call Hong Kongers Chinese!!!), more Thailand or Cambodia than anything else. The temperature and humidity are forever the same number – 90, dropping way way down to 86 at night! I’d hoped mid-September would avoid the sweltering summer. Not quite. This probably sounds pleasant to WDW fans. Me, I’m a desert guy. Heat is fine, but humidity…

Thankfully, Hong Kongers are also world-class AC experts. (Most cooling units are visible cluttered on the outside of buildings amidst bamboo scaffolding.) Things cool down whenever you’re indoors. This goes double for my lodging, Ibis Styles Hong Kong, part of a 3-star chain of hotels with “meh” furnishings but excellent locations.

Ibis Styles is in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island (the main burb south of Hong Kong Harbor). Until last year it was the literal end of the line, a vibrant, congested haven for locals. Still, that’s just one metro stop from Central, the city’s financial and retail hub, so I can easily walk from gritty urban Asia over to sleek modern glamour. I mostly favor the former.

It’s time to eat! Airplane food doesn’t count, and besides, Hong Kong is one of those food tourism meccas. I get recommendations from the concierge, and wend my way down alleyways of bicycles and pharmacies to Dim Sum Square. There I feast!

Dim sum is a Cantonese specialty – assorted Chinese appetizers served ala-carte. Hong Kong is famous for it. I enjoyed rice, fried treats, dumplings in steamer baskets, pork, and some things I couldn’t name even at the time.

Food on this trip was generally amazing. I’m an adventurous eater, but Hong Kong shouldn’t put off travelers with more Western tastes. It’s a former British colony – probably the best entry point to Asia I can think of for Americans – and much of Hong Kong’s cooking combines European and Cantonese cuisines.

My stomach was jetlagged, and though it was now 3 P.M. this would be my last meal of the day. I ate heartily, then retired to the hotel to recover once again from the humidity (never helped by the hot tea which is served everyplace). But I’d rest for only an hour, because Hong Kong beckons, and the nighttime holds untold adventure!

Next up: My evening turns to junk

 

[Suchomimus]

Ocean man

 

[MinnieM123]

Your impressions of Hong Kong are fascinating. Never been there, so this was an eye-opener.

Enjoyed the dum sum photos--I love dim sum! Must have been great to find interesting local restaurants with traditional food. That would be a highlight for me!

 

[D Hulk]

Sounds awesome, following along !

Sounds amazing
Following along

Max

This looks like fun--I'm in!!

Following!

Glad to have everyone following along. Hopefully this proves an interesting and exotic report.

That meme perfectly summarizes Hong Kong's humidity.

Your impressions of Hong Kong are fascinating. Never been there, so this was an eye-opener.

Enjoyed the dum sum photos--I love dim sum! Must have been great to find interesting local restaurants with traditional food. That would be a highlight for me!

Look for more and better dim sum to come!

 

[D Hulk]

Sailing Victoria Harbour

Preface: Writing the last update made me hungry (likely to be a recurring problem) so I went out for dim sum.

Leaving the hotel again, I head with purpose towards the docks. This takes me towards Hong Kong Central, home of the cleanest and biggest skyscrapers, the ritziest shopping centers, and the most overpriced hotels. If you like polished marble, pricey cocktails and feel compelled to wear a suit at all times, this region’s for you! There’s the IFC Mall, a glittering deluxe complex of luxury brand shops topped by the Four Seasons. That’s the tallest building on Hong Kong Island, and second overall in town. It’s home to the world’s first Apple Store. Batman jumped out of here in The Dark Knight.

For me, the main draw was the waterfront view. Looking north across Victoria Harbour is Kowloon. The pics pretty much speak for themselves.

The weather is constantly changing in Hong Kong. Any cloud pictured will likely be gone in 5 minutes. Rains come at random, lasting only briefly. In fact, the week before my arrival was dominated by thunderstorms, so I really lucked out weather-wise. A typhoon even flooded out nearby Macau, so I made no effort to go there. This is nothing compared to the awful hurricanes hitting the U.S. and Caribbean, and I felt kind of guilty enjoying Southeast Asia while Irma dominated headlines at home.

The sun set slowly as I progressed towards the docks. This is where the Star Ferry regularly carries passengers to Kowloon. It costs the equivalent of a U.S. nickel, and is supposedly the best way to enjoy views of the Hong Kong skyline. Sadly I never managed to ride that ferry (I meant to the following day).

Still, I managed to get out onto the water, thanks to reserving a nighttime junk cruise. The skyline on Hong Kong Island is among the world’s finest, perched precariously between the harbor and Victoria Peak. The problem with staying near downtown is you rarely see it. Hence the booze cruise.

Floating on a traditional junk boat is relaxing enough. The views of evening Hong Kong, awash in neon, are incomparable. But the main selling point is a front row seat for A Symphony of Lights, the world’s largest nighttime musical spectacular.

Symphony of Lights spans the entire harbor and countless miles of shoreline, with over a dozen major skyscrapers providing synchronized projections, lasers, spotlights, fireworks, and other pyrotechnics. I’d expected something like a city-scale version of World of Color.

Impossible hype to meet.

Spread over such a vast area, the show was honestly a little underwhelming. In fact, it was never really obvious when it either began or ended. The cruise piped in music – a really chintzy midi, actually – which sort of failed to provide the same grandeur and awe of, say, a Disney spectacular. Peering westwards towards Lantau, far off in the distance, I see just that – Hong Kong Disneyland’s fireworks, too distant to photograph but still somehow upstaging the nearby Symphony. Only two days ‘til I see those up close!

It seems like I’m kvetching. The panoramic views were spectacle enough.

Eventually leaving the junk, my fellow junk-mates – nattily-clad Four Seasons types reeking already of martinis – set out for a night of clubbing and showing off. Obnoxious people! Loud, uncourteous, attention-hogging twerps! That’ll be the last time I hear native English until returning home. Just as well, too. No interest in this “Asian Cancun” thing they were doing. The next day would be a big one, exploring the city’s textured nooks and crannies, and with some minor jetlag it was time to turn in early.

Next up: Day 3, climbing Victoria Peak and exploring Kowloon

 

[spacemt354]

Sailing Victoria Harbour

Preface: Writing the last update made me hungry (likely to be a recurring problem) so I went out for dim sum.

Leaving the hotel again, I head with purpose towards the docks. This takes me towards Hong Kong Central, home of the cleanest and biggest skyscrapers, the ritziest shopping centers, and the most overpriced hotels. If you like polished marble, pricey cocktails and feel compelled to wear a suit at all times, this region’s for you! There’s the IFC Mall, a glittering deluxe complex of luxury brand shops topped by the Four Seasons. That’s the tallest building on Hong Kong Island, and second overall in town. It’s home to the world’s first Apple Store. Batman jumped out of here in The Dark Knight.

For me, the main draw was the waterfront view. Looking north across Victoria Harbour is Kowloon. The pics pretty much speak for themselves.

The weather is constantly changing in Hong Kong. Any cloud pictured will likely be gone in 5 minutes. Rains come at random, lasting only briefly. In fact, the week before my arrival was dominated by thunderstorms, so I really lucked out weather-wise. A typhoon even flooded out nearby Macau, so I made no effort to go there. This is nothing compared to the awful hurricanes hitting the U.S. and Caribbean, and I felt kind of guilty enjoying Southeast Asia while Irma dominated headlines at home.

The sun set slowly as I progressed towards the docks. This is where the Star Ferry regularly carries passengers to Kowloon. It costs the equivalent of a U.S. nickel, and is supposedly the best way to enjoy views of the Hong Kong skyline. Sadly I never managed to ride that ferry (I meant to the following day).

Still, I managed to get out onto the water, thanks to reserving a nighttime junk cruise. The skyline on Hong Kong Island is among the world’s finest, perched precariously between the harbor and Victoria Peak. The problem with staying near downtown is you rarely see it. Hence the booze cruise.

Floating on a traditional junk boat is relaxing enough. The views of evening Hong Kong, awash in neon, are incomparable. But the main selling point is a front row seat for A Symphony of Lights, the world’s largest nighttime musical spectacular.

Symphony of Lights spans the entire harbor and countless miles of shoreline, with over a dozen major skyscrapers providing synchronized projections, lasers, spotlights, fireworks, and other pyrotechnics. I’d expected something like a city-scale version of World of Color.

Impossible hype to meet.

Spread over such a vast area, the show was honestly a little underwhelming. In fact, it was never really obvious when it either began or ended. The cruise piped in music – a really chintzy midi, actually – which sort of failed to provide the same grandeur and awe of, say, a Disney spectacular. Peering westwards towards Lantau, far off in the distance, I see just that – Hong Kong Disneyland’s fireworks, too distant to photograph but still somehow upstaging the nearby Symphony. Only two days ‘til I see those up close!

It seems like I’m kvetching. The panoramic views were spectacle enough.

Eventually leaving the junk, my fellow junk-mates – nattily-clad Four Seasons types reeking already of martinis – set out for a night of clubbing and showing off. Obnoxious people! Loud, uncourteous, attention-hogging twerps! That’ll be the last time I hear native English until returning home. Just as well, too. No interest in this “Asian Cancun” thing they were doing. The next day would be a big one, exploring the city’s textured nooks and crannies, and with some minor jetlag it was time to turn in early.

Next up: Day 3, climbing Victoria Peak and exploring Kowloon

Fantastic trip report so far - loving the detail and kudos for having such a good memory! Sounds like you had a really amazing time.

Also P.S. - you remind me of Jason Segel in your picture for some reason (Might be the shirt)

 

[D Hulk]

Fantastic trip report so far - loving the detail and kudos for having such a good memory! Sounds like you had a really amazing time.

Also P.S. - you remind me of Jason Segel in your picture for some reason (Might be the shirt)

Well isn't that something, because my future wife will look exactly like Mila Kunis ! Oh, if only...

 

[spacemt354]

Well isn't that something, because my future wife will look exactly like Mila Kunis ! Oh, if only...

Haha one day I'm sure!

 

[D Hulk]

Apologies for trip report delays. I've been struggling with picture uploads, and the jetlag seems to have finallycaught up with me .

I promise more updates tomorrow!

 

[newhorizons1]

Definitely following along for this one! My husband and I spent two weeks in Japan back in 2014. We spent two of those days exploring the Tokyo Disney Resort and loved it! DisneySea is the most amazing theme park! We definitely have plans to return to Japan in a few more years (with stops in Hong Kong and Shanghai too).

The Ibis chain - I looked up several of these when we went to Europe a few years ago. London hotels are so expensive, and these were more in our price range. They seemed incredibly plain from the reviews. We ultimately stayed somewhere else.

Also, sorry about the breakup. I can completely understand someone not wanting to travel internationally being a deal breaker though.

 

[D Hulk]

Definitely following along for this one! My husband and I spent two weeks in Japan back in 2014. We spent two of those days exploring the Tokyo Disney Resort and loved it! DisneySea is the most amazing theme park! We definitely have plans to return to Japan in a few more years (with stops in Hong Kong and Shanghai too).

The Ibis chain - I looked up several of these when we went to Europe a few years ago. London hotels are so expensive, and these were more in our price range. They seemed incredibly plain from the reviews. We ultimately stayed somewhere else.

Also, sorry about the breakup. I can completely understand someone not wanting to travel internationally being a deal breaker though.

Glad to have you aboard @newhorizons1. Tokyo DisneySea truly is incomparable. Between it, Japan, and other destinations in Asia, I feel like there's always more left unseen. Wish I could've added Shanghai to this trip.

The Ibis hotels are indeed very plain. If you need something cheap and well-located, they're fine. It's like one step above youth hostels. They're not for everyone, but good if you just need a "base of operations" with wifi and a bed.

 

[D Hulk]

Sorry again for my brief absence. This overall report will likely take longer than the trip itself. But hopefully in 3 days or so I’ll start recapping 5 straight days of Disney parks, so hang in for that!

Day 3: Climbing Victoria Peak

Being in a new time zone (15 hour difference – I mistakenly said 17 earlier), it’s hard to sleep in. I rise before the sun, and spend the wee hours fine-tuning the day’s plans. The big attractions are a given, so instead I look into Hong Kong’s incredible and vibrant food options.

The morning’s goal is to ascend Victoria Peak. The Peak Tram opens at 9. Leaving early, I head there on foot, exploring the awakening neighborhoods. For breakfast it’s Lin Hueng Tea House, another dim sum joint. Several in town seemingly have this name, but I’ve chosen the one tourists avoid, and it is incredible!

Entry is actually through the kitchen! With the humidity, steam is everywhere. Inside, I’m the only non-local, possibly the only American who’s eaten here in ages. This is the pre-work morning rush. Patrons all read Chinese newspapers and smoke strange cigarettes. There are live birds in cages overhead. If you’ve seen John Woo’s Hard Boiled, it’s basically the tea house from the opening shootout.

There is no menu. Ladies roll around carts of piping-hot appetizers. They only speak Cantonese, so I point and pick my meal completely at random. Wrapped inside bamboo leaves is a rice cake housing an entire pheasant. I also get sticky custard buns and a gelatinous savory shrimp pancake.

Oolong tea is not served in kettles. Instead they pour hot water into a bowl of leaves, then you pour that into your cup. I spill steaming water all over, but it turns out everyone else does too. This seems to be by design, and every table is host to an ever-spreading tea puddle.

Full, I again head out. Merely a block away the high-rise financial district begins, which is a stark contrast. My route takes me down Battery Path, through jungle-like parks which date back to the British colony’s founding. Here overgrown foliage (thick vines and creeping roots) mixes with old European architecture, all in the shadow of sleek modern skyscrapers. Battery Path’s main feature is St. John’s Cathedral, which was having a quiet morning mass at the time, and I briefly popped inside for some tranquility and a brief break from the omnipresent humidity.

There are no crowds at the Peak Tram at 9 A.M. (Compare to the hour-long queue at noontime when I returned from the mountain.) This is a vintage funicular train dating back to 1888, offering rides 90% of the way up Victoria Peak.

All along the way are spectacular unfolding city views. This really is an unlikely place for a major metropolis, squeezed onto an archipelago between mountains and harbors.

The Peak Tower at the top is shockingly touristy. There’s a wax museum, a laser tag arena, and a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. I pause here to grab a bottled drink from the local Starbucks equivalent (where I overhear British expats badmouthing Mainland China), then I continue on. Unwisely, perhaps, my goal is to climb the rest of Victoria Peak on foot. I hike a lot at home, but not in humidity, plus some rather vengeful-looking clouds are charging in from the South China Sea.

This hike is along a winding mountain road, past consulates and old-money apartments. The roads are crumbling cobblestone, a jungle stream actively forming within them, but the garages display Teslas and high-end BMWs.

The actual summit is inaccessible, home to a radio tower. At its base is a quaint park with incredible views of the island’s south shores. This is a meditative garden flanked by mossy stone lions. I’m pretty isolated up here. There are only a few old men practicing tai chi.

Those angry clouds arrive. It starts to rain!

Tropical rainstorms can be intense and brief, as I keep hearing from Disney World trip reports. And I can be obstinate and adventurous, so rather than seek shelter I foolishly continue hiking. My clothes were already soaked-through anyway, with sweat. The rain simply cleans them.

This has actually been a rather substantial morning trek, 25 floors climbed in 3 miles. It’s time to head back. The Peak Tower is swarming with tourists when I return, all of them huddled under a pagoda. The skies clear, and I linger a while longer to enjoy the million dollar views.

It’s nearing noon now, and of course there are big afternoon plans too. I need time to recover, stop sweating, and change clothes. So for now it’s back to the hotel – via a new route through bustling urban Hong Kong, past fruit stands and temples and dried-seahorse pharmacies all crammed together in too-small space. The city is vibrant and full of life. It’s overwhelming on every sense! I look forward to seeing more of it.

Up next: North to Kowloon.

 

[LieutLaww]

Wow that looks amazing, I would love to visit Hong Kong sometime.

 

[D Hulk]

Kowloon – More Dim Sum and More Rain

Kowloon sits north of Victoria Harbour. It’s common to reach Kowloon via the Star Ferry, but my aim is to head a little further north and then backtrack. For that reason, I take the metro.

It’s interesting, the advertisements you see in a foreign country. The metro is the best place for these. Most are visual, so even in Cantonese I can tell that a purple pill will turn me into a beautiful Chinese woman, or that pickpockets prey on manhwa characters. Still, it’s sometimes the American cultural transplants which really make a place seem foreign, like with the hallways upon hallways upon hallways dedicated to The Golden Circle.

Food has drawn me north. Where to now? Tim Ho Wan, the world’s cheapest Michelin Star restaurant. Unlike most Michelin eateries, Tim has zero pretensions, only the best dim sum anywhere!!! Also, they don’t do reservations; you just have to wait.

Within half an hour, I’m sharing a table with a young Chinese family. Despite no shared language, we seem to hit it off, and we even split our meals – the best way to do dim sum. The parents had a super adorable toddler! Seriously cute! He ate with plastic cartoon character chopsticks and matching bib. Out of respect, I made no efforts to photograph my meal-mates. Instead, here’s a small fraction of a massive, filling, inexpensive lunch:

Steamed chicken feet, assorted dumplings, turnip cakes, beef balls, pork buns, spring rolls, you name it! It’s more than my stomach can accept, despite a heroic effort.

All this excessive eating (a recurring theme for this trip) barely matters since I immediately walk it off. (Was averaging 7 miles a day; this day I did 10.) I stroll from Tim Ho Wan due south towards central Kowloon, passing contemporary apartment complexes built on the top of neighborhood shopping centers. This is definitely not old Hong Kong, not touristy Hong Kong, but it’s the residents’ city, with their versions of 7/11 and Vons and Old Navy. None of the decades of texture from Sheung Wan; this stuff is brand-new.

But the further south I go, down into old Kowloon and back towards Victoria Harbour, the denser and wilder the city becomes. This climaxes at the next big destination, the Temple Street Night Market. I’ve screwed up my timing a bit, because you’re supposed to visit this place at night, and instead it’s mid-afternoon. Plus the area is renowned for its cheap street food – succulent barbecue ducks taunt me dangling from their steamy swindows – and I’m still super sated from Tim Ho Wan.

Temple Street is still wonderful. For nearly a dozen continuous city blocks, an incalculable number street vendors peddle wares under multihued tents. Everything here is for sale, all of it cheap and most of it knockoffs! Ersatz watches, pseudo Pokémon, fake bananas. I don’t buy anything – another recurring theme for this trip, ‘cause I’m not really a souvenir guy, and besides I don’t wanna start carrying knickknacks through Asian subways this early.

And besides…those nasty rainclouds are gathering again! Yeesh, the weather in Hong Kong is bonkers!

It takes about 15 minutes for the cloudless blue skies to completely darken, as long as it takes me to cross Kowloon Park. Lightning flashes. Half of the pedestrians instinctually rush for shelter; the rest whip out umbrellas. Me, I need shelter (brought an umbrella, but left it at the hotel). Kowloon Park has none, and this time I’m not keen on getting soaked again – wearing a nice collared shirt now. So I set into a total sprint alongside dozens of panicky Hong Kongers.

We all huddle together under an awning to wait it out. The skies grow darker still. This storm isn’t going to blow over quickly. My initial plans had been to continue on through Kowloon down to the waterfront, to admire the skyline and take the Star Ferry. Honestly, by now I’m getting a little exhausted (lousy time zones!) and I’m ready to call it quits early (another recurring trip theme).

Whenever I start to wimp out on this trip, I justify it by saying “tomorrow’s a busy day.” And it always is. Five theme parks and four international cities in under two weeks is a lot! So I artfully dodge falling raindrops as I race for the nearest metro, and I simply retreat back to Sheung Wan. Once back, my hunger returns – it couldn’t happen near the ducks?!?! – and I stop yet again for dim sum…Really crummy dim sum this time. The Arby's of dim sum. (Not pictured.) Well, two fantastic meals out of three in a day ain’t bad.

So a somewhat anticlimactic end to an otherwise exciting day. But no matter. Tomorrow’s a busy day.

Up next: Day 4 – Ocean Park, Hong Kong’s Six Flags