Happy Halloween, Hongkong!

Nope, I am not in Hongkong now. This trip happened three years ago, long before I even dreamt of having a blog.

The first family trip abroad was in Hongkong from October 31 to November 2, 2008. We were lucky to have gotten a trip in time for Halloween because our main purpose was to go to Hongkong Disneyland for the kids, and for the kids inside the Hubby and me. 

I honestly don’t remember everything now in details. Just some flashbacks here and there. So before I forget the fun memories we had in HK, let me just squeeze in some pictures here, even if they’re already three years old.

October 31: We arrived there in HK at around 9:00 p.m. The airport didn't disappoint. 


Travellator:Check

Clean, fragrant bathrooms: Check

Efficient train system

Welcome to Hongkong!

There was an orderly queue for taxi, so we rode two cabs, one for the boys, and one for the girls. Let me just say that the HK drivers that we encountered were more on the grumpy side. Maybe because it was already nighttime. Maybe because they hated seeing excited tourists. Or maybe because they didn't know how to speak English that much. The Hubby tried to engage their driver in small talk, but he was just dismissed with a gesture. Suplado sha!


We arrived at the hotel and checked in. I honestly forgot the name of the hotel:-( .

The young boys were exhausted, but the girls and the Hubby were still raring to explore HK night. 


Our hotel was in Mongkok, just a block away from the Ladies Streetmarket, so we just had to scour the place.

Hongkong streets were still bustling with people. Parang hindi natutulog ang mga lolo't lola! We also met peeps wearing costumes, kasi nga halloween e!


We just passed through the Mongkok Ladies streetmarket. I thought it looked just like Baclaran or Divisoria, but with HK dollars price tag. So, we didn't buy anything there.

November 1: Disneyland. We set out for Disneyland early since we didn't like to go with the crowd. The Mickey train was still almost empty.

 Yey, Hongkong Disneyland! It was heaven for all of us, kids and kids at heart.

We were reminded that Mickey was with us every step we took.

Mapapaakyat ka sa poste sa tuwa!

We bought the entrance tickets at the gate, and waited for it to open.

At 9:00, the gates were still deserted. (It opened at 10:30?)

We were the first in line.

Who wouldn't be giddy to see Sleeping Beauty's Castle?

We also found Snow White and Cinderella roaming around the place!

I know, I ain't King Arthur. But a girl can try, can't she? 

Ghouls and ghosts lurking on the streets!

Hmm...It's a Small World is really for small people. 

Just a building full of moving statuettes dressed in different national costumes. 

Skip if you don't want to listen to the song "It's a small world after all.." a thousand times.

A word about Hongkong food. Remember that you are in China, and their spices may be too much to handle for your Pinoy taste. We didn't really dig their food there.

Most of the rides were suited for small kids. But we tried some anyway, for the sake of the Youngest. The problem was, some lines were far too long, so we skipped some too.

What we were agreed to all ride was Space Mountain (except the vertigo-infested Hubby, of course), so we patiently lined up, and excitedly waited for our train to go.

Before: Mga nakangiti pa!

During: Namumutla na!

After: No Photo.

It's an indoor roller coaster, so we felt kind of stuffy and queasy. 

After the ride, Trina and I found a toilet where we could throw up. 

Never again Space Mountain!!!!

Note: If you are going to Disneyland, make sure that you plan your itinerary ahead. Show times are on their website. You don't want to be running back and forth in that enormous place!


Must not miss shows:
1. Golden Mickeys. All our favorite Disney movie characters were there: Beauty and the Beast, Quasimodo, Mulan, Tarzan, Ariel, Woody, etc, etc. Nostalgic overload!!!

2. Mickey's Philharmagic. We watched how Donald Duck recalled some of the most memorable moments in Disney movies--in 3D!!! Or is it 4D? Coz I swear I felt bubbles and spray of water on my face!

3. Lion King. Amazing performers and set. Couldn't get enough of Simba!

4. There were scheduled shows even on the street. At that time, High School Musical was in. I don't know what they have on today.

5. Daytime Parade.

6. Night time Parade. Like I mentioned, there was a special Halloween parade at night. But during that time, my feet were already killing me, so I just watched from afar.

 There is supposed to be fireworks at Sleeping Beauty's castle before closing time, but we were all exhausted so we decided to go back to the hotel.

November 2: This day was a hectic one since our flight for Manila was 12:00 am of Nov3. So we planned to make the most out of the whole day by going to Ocean Park in the morning, then go for a little shopping at Langham Place in the afternoon before heading to the airport.


Morning: Ocean Park. Now we are not a family of adventure, animal, nor outdoor lovers but we were looking forward to seeing this place, not only because it is a must-see in Hongkong, but also because of the opportunity to see different species  of aquatic animals in one enormous place. Of course we had to go.

Saw the adorable pandas. I felt sorry that they were held captive and made as mascots there.






Entered several aquaria...

Rode the cable car with the Hubby reluctantly joining in...

Ate hotdogs and had drinks along the way...

..and watched the seal and dolphin show at the Ocean Theatre.

We decided to skip the rides. Not only did we lack time, but we were also still nauseous at the thought of riding another roller coaster, after the Space Mountain episode. Later, I regretted not trying even one ride though.

You might want to have second thoughts of visiting Ocean Park with very young kids in tow. Yes, this is a perfect place to wow them with exotic aquatic animals, but carrying them around will take a toll on your energy. Even if my kids were already 13, 12, and 11 years old at that time, they were so tired after the long walks.

The sign on the Ocean Park Escalator read, "No sitting on the escalator." But at 225-m long, the second longest outdoor escalator in the world, and after walking the whole morning, can you blame them for not following instructions?

We went back to the hotel to check out. Then...shopping!!!

We were only given an hour to go around by the boys while they stand by at Starbucks and guarded our bags. When we got to H&M, the girls lost track of time. When we got back to them, they were fuming mad at us. Sorry, boys!!! Anyway, the boys didn't really have anything interesting stores to go to there. So they were really, really disappointed.

7 P.M.: I thought we spread ourselves too thin. When we got to the airport to check in, I was shamelessly lying down wherever I saw benches. Bumawi ang boys. They saw a lot of toy shops and novelty stores there. 

When we arrived Mactan, Cebu and waited for the flight to Bacolod the same morning, no one was in the mood for pictures anymore. 

Someday, I would want to go back to Hongkong again.

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Issa at 4, Paolo at 3

7 Scariest Movies to Watch this Halloween: A Scarefest!

So what are you going to do this long weekend? Are you going to be busy designing your kids’ Halloween costumes (Thank God, I’ve graduated from that!), or are you donning a costume yourself to attend a party? Of course, most people are heading towards the memorial parks or cemeteries to pay respects to their loved ones, but what about those who can't go, or don't want to go?

In my case, I’m here in Cebu to chillax with my family—those rare moments this year when we get to hang out together. Anyway, I’m not planning to shop till I drop since Christmas bonus is still a few weeks ahead. Maybe we will just hole up in the Hubby's pad, turn off the lights, and scare our nights away with my top 7 scariest movies of all time:

1.    The Exorcist (1973)– It’s not jumping scary. It’s disturbingly frightening. The idea of a 12-year old being possessed by a demon frightened me to death since I have near experiences of those when I was a kid. (Watch out for my Nov. 2 blog)

2.   The Omen (1976) – What is it about kids that if you put them in horror movies, it will unfailingly scare your brains out? Damien is said to be the anti-Christ because he was born with a 666 on his scalp. Beware, those who adopt kids. Beware, Brangelina!!!

3.   The Amytiville Horror (1979)– I remember watching this when we just newly transferred to our new house in Las Pinas. It gave me ideas of houses evil enough to possess the inhabitants to murder each other. Shudder!

4.   Poltergeist (1982)– This scared my mind for days. Again, the spirit adviser’s appearance and voice creeped me out since I had met a lot of them in my childhood. (See Nov. 2 blog)  After watching this film, I didn’t want to watch television alone at night for some time. Three of the movie’s stars untimely death led to the belief that Poltergeist was really a cursed movie.

5.    The Sixth Sense (1999)– The twist at the end of the movie compels you to watch the movie one more time. “I see dead people..”

6.   The Ring (2002)– The plot is so now. A mysterious cursed-ridden tape, once watched, will kill you in three days. Very similar to emails which will make you unlucky if you don’t send it to 100 people. But this time, the consequence is real. The image of the girl with her long hair in front of her face stuck with me a week after I watched it.

7.   Paranormal Activity (2007) – The idea that it is an amateur home-made video made it more effective in the tension department. Nowadays, we are consumed with reality TV shows that we could willingly believe that this one was made by the couple. It is scary because they could be us sleeping in our warm bed, but little do we know that something could be happening while we are sleeping. “I feel it. I feel it breathing on me.”

Shokot ko, teh!!!