Today was a scorcher! I left at 9am and it was 29 degrees already! I knew as soon as I left the hostel (I have put up a picture of the entrance to the hostel, that’s a security guard there and I am stood on the street taking the photo) that I had made a mistake and should have put shorts on, but didn’t want to waste any more time. I got the star ferry to Hong Kong Island and then the tour bus to Ocean Park which is supposed to be the best theme park in Hong Kong. Now my tour bus ticket that I bought on Saturday was for 48 hours which should have expired on Monday at 10am. My argument is, until they start checking the tickets, I’m going to keep using the tour bus!
Now I was a bit dubious about going to the theme park on my own as I was worried I would feel awkward and like the kid with no friends who has no one to share the excitement with. I was even having second thoughts walking to the ferry, but I told myself I would give it a go and if I feel weird about it I can always go somewhere else for the day.
I got to Ocean park which is in the south of Hong Kong island at 10.30am and was in the queue to get into the park for an hour! It was a lot like how I expect Alton towers is during the Easter holidays, absolutely packed! The park is separated into two sections, the waterfront which is as you enter the park with the rides for very little children and the aquarium, then there is the summit, which is at the top of the mountain. There are two ways to get to the summit, by the ocean express which is a train that goes through the mountain, or by cable car over the top. Now my trusty lonely planet guide has the cable cars in the list of top things to do in Hong Kong so I opted for that and was rewarded with some amazing views of the park and across Deep water bay. I nearly didn’t make it that far as at the start of the queue for the cable car there was a security guard telling people the queue was 1 hour 30 minutes- 2 hours long! I was very tempted to just forget the whole thing and leave but I thought I might as well stay and I am glad I did because I was only queuing for 15 minutes! Although it seemed a lot longer as there was a Chinese woman pushing into the back of me the whole time, I wanted to shout at her but that’s a big no in Chinese culture, avoid confrontation at all costs! I just mentally cursed at her and that made me feel a bit better, along with blocking her way with my body everytime she tried to push her little boy past me. Is it really just westerners that understand how queuing works?
I got to the summit and the first ride in front of me was the water rapids and previous experience has taught me to always start with the water rides so that you have the rest of the day to dry off. I queued for an hour in the hot sun and it was a welcome break when I got splashed with cool water and even enjoyed being sprayed with water guns from the people on the bridge as we went past.
After the rapids I lined up for the rollercoaster which you can see from across the bay. Again, I was queuing for an hour and there was the Chinese woman in front of me who kept gasping everytime we saw the rollercoaster go past the line. As we got to the bit where we get on the rollercoaster she starts talking really fast and looking scared and laughing and I realise that I have to sit next to this woman on the ride! As the ride is about to start and we pull out of the station she grabs my hand and is squeezing it and screaming the whole way round and I realise that I am holding hands with a stranger on a rollercoaster, bizarre!
I did a few more rides and then by 4pm I stopped for something to eat. I had been at the park for 5.5 hours and I had only been on 5 rides because the queues were that long which was a bit disheartening. By this point my legs were really aching so I made my way towards the exit and timed it just right for the tour bus to pull up as I got to the bus stop! I took the tour bus to the ferry terminal and then switched to a different bus for the night tour which took you through the tunnel to Kowloon where the night market was.
I got off the tour bus at the night market and had a look round, it wasn’t that big and a bit rubbish really, I bought a keyring (it is a tradition that I buy a key ring from everywhere I go, I have no idea how many I have got now but it’s an awful lot) I got a taxi back towards my hostel and found somewhere to eat but after a few mouthfuls I was full, I think it’s this weather (it was 8.30pm and still 28 degrees) all I want is a salad but everything is fried!
I came back to my hostel and was greeted by one of the cleaners who laughed and pointed to my face (charming!) I got into my room and realised what she was pointing at, I have a bright red face and chest, apart from a white spot where my necklace was and permanent white sunglasses mark. I make this error every year, will I ever learn?
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