Holidays Hong Kong Style

About six months ago my father in law quietly announced that he wanted to take our whole family to Hong Kong on a holiday. He thought Hong Kong as it was close enough to Aussie shores and it had a Disneyland there and he wanted to take the children. When he said whole family, he did not just mean mine, he meant my two sister in laws and their families aswell and my mother in law, so 15 of us in total. Generosity flows from this man and we were truly blown away by it. Of course we agreed that it was a great idea and we set about looking forward to the trip.

This trip could not have come at a better time. We really needed something exciting to spice up a pretty crappy last six months and I can't believe that it came so fast.

The fact that the whole trip was not planned by us at all except for some travel insurance meant that when it was time to go, we could hardly believe it was happening!

On the way to the airport the bus picked up all the members of our family. It was a hoot and if it wasn't for the excitement of having everyone together the fact that the traffic was making us so late would have stressed anybody out, but we made it just in time and thanks to my father inlaw's first class checkin we were on our way in no time to the gate.

The kids were so excited on the plane and little Naomi was very happy to be sitting with her cousin James. Now one tip I will give you is take snacks. Our trip was only 9 hours but Naomi refused to eat anything offered and when she did she threw the lot up back onto her plate which was a lovely unexpectant surprise to me sitting next to her!

When we arrived in Hong Kong we were shuttled across to our hotel, The Disneyland Hotel, part of the Disneyland Resort. It was the most amazing place I had ever stayed in in my life. The kids were so amazed. Everything spoke disney and it was sparkly and magical and majestic.

Breakfast time was fun with Disney characters who came to say hello and the most amazing food you could ever eat. Everything was on the menu.

Our first few days were spent at disneyland covering all of the rides and attractions and soaking up the luxury back at the hotel.

When disneyland was over we headed on a tour on a bus my father in law had hired around Hong Kong. It was a most terrifying trip along the edge of the mountains to the highest peak, but we made it and there was some amazing views along the way.

Then we settled at our hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong city.

The next few days we explored Hong Kong life, we were amazed at how many people lived in this city. The buildings were so high and there were countless heads on the streets. I am seriously amazed how we didn't lose any of our 8 children between us. We visited markets and shops, took trains and ferries.

On the second last day we went to Ocean Park, a theme park in Hong Kong city. It was amazing. It had everything there, even Giant Panda Bears. It had the most terrifying yet amazing chairlift in the world that took you up over the mountain and kilometres to the other side of the park where the thrill rides were. I was so scared we were going to get stuck up there and there was no way down. I was trying not to cry the whole time!! The view however was amazing.

On the last day we hit the markets, the fresh food, the jade and the ladies markets. It was fun trying to barter with the stall holders and get them down to reasonable prices. I scored a few good bargains too!

Hong Kong was truly amazing. It had everything we wanted in a holiday. A cultural experience and a fun adventure that was close to home and good for kids. I highly recommend it.

It is good to be home now though :)

Thought you might like to have a look at some of our holiday snaps!