Kiddo Talk & Pic Mar 2023

Lots of photos this month and almost all from our Hong Kong trip. Although the trip came up to about $8K all the pictures were well worth it.

Viral & Bacteria Combi Attack

It started on Monday evening when I was picking 阳阳 from school. He vomited right at the shoe rack at the school's entrance. That night his fever shot up as high as 39.7 so the first thing next morning we brought him to see Dr Ang. Even though the blood test showed both viral and bacteria infection, we couldn't ward him as there were no beds available at Thomson. There must be a bad wave of illness and infection among kids. We got on the waiting list and went home to bear it through. His fever kept going up to 39.5+ and everyone was all hands on deck. He was obviously very sick. What's more worrying is that I'm traveling this weekend.

On Thursday we managed to get a bed and brought him straight to admit into the hospital. Haiz ... hopefully he gets well soon now that he is in hospital. Meimei has to accompany her and we had to leave 萱萱 with Siti as Nyaong and Nyama are in Indonesia. I need to travel tomorrow night so Meimei shooed me home to rest for the trip.

HK 2023 - Day 6 - Going Home

Going home today! We had a slow morning and then buffet lunch at the Cordis Hotel restaurant. The kids were delighted at having a buffet lunch where they can choose their own food. They had multiple servings of ice cream cones.

After lunch it was straight to the airport to catch the flight. The kids are excited to be going home. I guess 5 to 6 days of holiday is satisfying enough. This is the first of many to come!!

HK 2023 - Day 5 - Trams

Trams day with an added bonus short visit to the flower festival display. Weather's better today with clear skies. We made our way to Central by MTR after breakfast. It was quite an uphill, literally, track to the Peak tram station. The kids were complaining all the way and 阳阳 kept wanting me to carry him.But we eventually made it and were able to get good seats on the tram. I like how they have created a sun roof so passengers get a wider and grander spectacle on the ride.

 

Thankfully it was a clear and sunny day with a constant cool breeze. We were able get a number of pictures though the sun was in our eyes as we took the shots. We took to a trail and just enjoyed the peaceful stroll around the hill. It wasn't long though before the kids complained of tiredness so we headed down to Central again for the next Tram ride.

There is a flower festival at Victoria Park so that's where we took the train. We went upstairs and found seats at the back of the train. It's a nice experience for the kids to take in the sights of the city.

The flower festival was very crowded and it was such a hot day we didn't stay long. Everyone was drained from the terrible heat so we quickly took a few photos and escape to lunch.

We made our way via Ting-ting tram again to Wan Chai to eat at Honolulu Cafe. I don't have any pictures ... well I took some ... but lunch was such a misery that none of it was good. The kids were great to try and eat the mediocre food. And don't get me started on the flat out crappy service. Never again will we eat at the cafe ... its not the old Honolulu Cafe that we know of.

Overall we tried to make it a relax day but both kids were still beat from the trip out. 

HK 2023 - Day 4 - Disneyland

Disneyland! We were smarter this time and rented 2 strollers. It was a day of waiting for rides, eating crappy amusement park food and generally trying to get as many nice photos as possible. Again I'm glad we came here, the kiddos can at least appreciate this more than walking the streets of Hong Kong.

HK 2023 - Day 3 - Free & Easy

It's free and easy day as we had a video call with 婆婆 after lunch.

So first order of the day is a trip to Kam Wah Cafe which seems to be a favourite amongst tourist. We wanted the kids to try authentic Hong Kong breakfast noodles hehe. Glad they loved the food. We'll be back again another day.

After breakfast we went for a stroll through a roadside market. There was a lot of people and it quickly became tough to walk the kids through the crowd. They don't seem to be interested in observing the hustle and bustle of the place. I guess they don't even know what it's like in Singapore to make a meaningful comparison. We should bring the kids out more in Singapore haha.

In the evening we made our way to the waterfront at Tsim Sai Tsui to see the nice coastline of buildings across on Hong Kong Island.

We ended the day with a simple taboo meal of roasted meats from a nearby restaurant. Even though we didn't do much the kids were still beat and slept pretty quickly. Good that they rest early as we have more adventures tomorrow!

HK 2023 - Day 2 - Ocean Park

Day 2 is Ocean Park day. We did the most touristy thing and bought both photo shoots from the sea aquarium and the cable car ride. We had the old photos from years ago when Meimei and I came here when we just got married. 萱萱 and 阳阳 have always been fascinated with it and we wanted to create the same picture for us. 

It was drizzling with we arrived at the Ocean Park entrance. So we rented a stroller and got rain coats. The kids were excited with the rain while Meimei and I were struggling to make sure everyone stays dry haha.

First stop was the red panda exhibit. I've always thought the red pandas are cuter and better in photos than the giant ones. We happen to be there when its feeding time so the red panda was out and about.

We spend some time in the gift shop after the exhibit but thankfully it was still early in the day and Meimei and I held out buying anything till we see the rest of the place.

We were going slow as its raining and the two were fighting over who gets to sit on the stroller. Haiz we should have gotten two instead. We stop for a snack break but there were not much choices. None of the restaurants were open. I guess Covid has not been kind to the amusement parks too. So we basically fed them junk though they were not going to complain.

Once we were done with snacks we went to take the cable car to the other side of the island. This is the highlight of the trip for me. It's one of the few things I remembered of our trip years ago. This time it was even more impressive as I wasn't cowing in fear in the cabin and could wholly enjoy the scenic ride.

Lunch was just as crappy as the snack. We were trying to find the McDonald's but went to a wrong direction instead. The park seems to be structured the walkways to direct guests to the rides instead of the older area where the Mac was. So unfortunately we went to the amusement rides section but 阳阳 was too short to ride on any of them.

We left quickly and somehow managed to hit the dolphin show just in time for it to start. It was great to see the sea creatures but the whole area of kinda old and unkempt. The park must have fallen on hard times due to Covid and couldn't upkeep the place.

Overall it was an ok experience for the kids and us. I doubt there would be superb fond memories of the place but I guess we achieved what we set out to do ... which was to get pictures of us with the Ocean Park motif.