Visit Hong Kong: Ngong Ping 360

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The Ngong Ping 360 experience involves taking a cable car to the Ngong Ping, where you can explore the village and even do some hiking.

We bought our tickets off of Klook, which was a few dollars cheaper than buying them on site.

You take the cable car from Tung Chung (there are two kinds of cable cars - a "crystal" which offers "80% more visibility, including a glass bottom, and a standard car - we went in a standard).

Depending on crowds, you may have to share your cable car, but it was pretty slow the day we went, and we had the cable car to ourselves both ways.

The views were spectacular, as we could see the Tung Chung Bay, Hong Kong International Airport, as well as waterfalls, and even hundreds of stairs which people can actually hike on (it's called the Ngong Ping Rescue Trail).  

You could even see the Big Buddha from the ride.

It was a beautiful 25 minute cable car ride to the Ngong Ping Village, a portion of which was really touristy, with American and international chain restaurants and shops.

There were some parts of the village that seemed to have more authentic shops, but they too were also selling lots of souvenirs.

The big draw is the Big Buddha, or Tian Tan Buddha.

Tian Tan Buddha

There are other attractions in the area to see, such as the Po Lin Monastery.

We then took a hike on the Wisdom Path, which ended with a display of wooden columns with inscriptions of the Heart Sutra by master Sinologist Professor Jao Tsung-I.

It was so beautiful!

There are numerous hiking trails in the area that you could explore if you have time.

The ride down was just as spectacular as the ride up.

There is not much shaded area in Ngong Ping Village, so it can get quite uncomfortable during the hot and humid days.  Be sure to bring sunscreen, umbrellas, neck fans, plenty of water, and insect repellent.

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Visit Hong Kong: Hong Kong Disneyland

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We went to Hong Kong specifically to visit Disneyland.  We haven't been to all of the Disney theme parks yet, but so far, Hong Kong Disneyland is my favorite.

Getting to Disneyland was super easy on the train (they have a dedicated Disney line you can transfer to).  We bought tickets online for a Tier 1 day, which meant the crowds would be minimal.  You can buy tickets via Klook for slightly cheaper, but we bought tickets through Disney just a few days before the day we visited. 

As soon as we entered the park, we noticed Duffy was featured vs Mickey at the entrance.  Duffy and Friends are huge in Asia.  

I immediately checked the wait times and we saw that Frozen Ever After only had a 10-minute wait, so we proceeded to that ride first. 

It was a great ride and my fave of the park. The animatronics were so neat and the ride itself was so fun!

The rest of the day in terms of rides went the same - we never stood in a standby line longer than 15 minutes, and we even got to ride multiple rides more than once. There was no need to buy early entry, premiere access or "fast passes" (they sell them per ride).

There were many rides also found at other parks, such as Jungle River Cruise, "it's a small world," and Hyperspace Mountain, which differed slightly from other parks.

There were also some rides like Mystic Manor that were unlike rides we've been on at other Disney parks (I thought it was going to be like the Haunted Mansion, but it was completely different).

The park is overall small compared to other Disney parks, but it didn't make it any less fun. 

The food options, in my opinion, were not as good or plentiful as in other parks, but they did have some cute options as well as cool looking burgers.  

I did love the ice cream options. We can never leave a Disney park without getting ice cream, and Small World Ice Cream had the best treats!

There is a parade - Mickey and Friends Street Celebration, but it was literally just 5 minutes long.  

During the time we visited, they had a Find Your Super Power: Battle in the Sky drone show that was super neat.  

The “Momentous” Nighttime Spectacular really was spectacular.  It was the best Disney fireworks show I've seen and lasted a good 20 minutes.  

It was a combination projection / light / water / fireworks show and it was so amazing.  

We caught two taxis to get back to our hotel (we didn't want to wait for a larger taxi) vs catching the train (it was only 25 minutes to get back vs almost an hour on the train).

We also lucked out with weather. We visited during the summer rainy season, but it was breezy with just a few light sprinkles.

It was a very long day at Hong Kong Disneyland, but truly magical!

Hong Kong Disneyland
Lantau Island, Hong Kong

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Visit Hong Kong: A Symphony of Lights

On our first night in Hong Kong, we went to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront to watch A Symphony of Lights.

This light and sound show takes place every night at 8pm, as the buildings along the harbor light up with lasers, searchlights, and LEDs, synchronized with music that is emitted from nearby speakers.  

Unfortunately, the music was very soft (not sure if the speakers were not functioning properly), so it impacted the light show in a sense, but the lights from the buildings across the harbor did put on a dazzling show. 

The show was only 10 minutes long, but I'm glad it was short, because we were at the Waterfront for a while, saving our seats, and it was just so humid.

At 8pm, when the show started, everyone started standing on the seats in the area (even though security would tell people not to stand on the seats prior to the show starting), so even if you don't get a spot near the railing, you can still see the show from afar.

Even if you miss the show, the buildings along the harbor at night are just so pretty lit up, and it's worth a walk along the waterfront.  

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