Milestone Birthday in Asia - Hong Kong, Macao, and South Korea

Sun. Nov. 24, 2019 - Tues. Dec. 3, 2019

This was our first trip to Asia… our longest trip together to date. Anthony had been wanting to visit Hong Kong and what is more appropriate than that for a milestone birthday. There is no real way to prepare for the travel time that comes with a long trip, but I promise the initial excitement doesn’t even let you think about all that. The journey started spending time in the Delta Sky Mile Club at MCO. That first leg took us to ATL where we rented a room to hang in (Minute Suites). Anthony pulled out all the stops for this next flight booking us Delta Premium from ATL to Seoul, Korea. Premium meant we got toiletry kits and slippers. I wanted to pack it all in my bag and not even open it. So cute! I may or may not have taken an extra from empty seats near us. For our AVG Geeks - we flew on a Airbus A350. This was also our first experience truly eating Korean food. Oh the food. Stay tuned for how that journey went for us. 

We arrived at Incheon International Airport and immediately fell in love with this beautiful airport. It was super early, and not a lot was opened then, so we took our time exploring and taking some fun pictures. One of the first things to open was Starbucks, naturally a new mug was purchased and added to our collection and we grabbed some needed coffee/chai. We made our way to the lounge and loved trying all kinds of things we normally don’t eat or drink. One in particular came in this really cute can and was made by Lotte - Milkis. Honestly, I don’t remember it being all that good but the can gave me Little Prince vibes. 

From Korea we still had another 4 or 5 hours and the last leg of the trip was on Korean Air. Aside from their awesome outfits and company colors, the highlight was definitely the safety video. It highlighted a K-Pop band and was AMAZING! 

We made it to Hong Kong and immediately made our way to our hotel, a great Hilton Garden Inn in the Mong Kok neighborhood. It was mesmerizing! Such a different country than anything either one of us had experience before. We couldn’t wait to get going and explore as much as we could during our time there. 

Once we got all settled in we decided to start by wandering around Mong Kok. Not far from the hotel we came across the Nelson Street Wet Market. We couldn’t believe it. Both of us had experienced Chinatown in NYC growing up, but this was so much bigger, a huge variety of fruits, veggies, meats and all kinds of seafood. Oh the things we saw there. Animals jumping out of their containers, as many were sold while still alive. 

We then made our way to the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade and were baffled by the skyline views. You may have seen that skyline in movies or pictures, but my gosh, there is nothing like seeing it for the first time, and at night. Stunning! We continued strolling down the promenade and walked the Avenue of the Stars. Much to our surprise we came across our very favorite store from London: Fortnum & Mason. They had recently opened in Hong Kong. So much fun wandering this store we became so familiar with in England here in Hong Kong. 

Wednesday, Nov. 27th: 

We got up and took the train and made our way back to the promenade to see the skyline during the day and visit some of the other points of interest near by. We stopped by to check out the Hong Kong Museum of Art from the outside. Coolest murals! Then we took some cute pictures by the Former Kowloon Canton Railway Clock Tower. This is such an iconic landmark and once the site of the Kowloon Station. 

We took the ferry over to the island - Hong Kong Island that is… to really take in the business centre and to get a foot massage. Keep in mind when we were there during the Hong Kong protests. This was the first day we experienced some of that. We saw writing all over the stations, people peacefully protesting and most impactful of all armed forces everywhere. We could not ignore that we were living history. Many were concerned about us visiting Hong Kong during that time, but believe me - Anthony did his research and we were always very careful while traveling. When researching places to get a proper foot massage I came across Happy Foot. So off we went in search of Happy Foot. Can I just tell you - this is an experience we are not going to ever forget. The place… kind of sketch. It was on the 19th floor of this building. We were the only customers. The massage was so intense, Anthony could barely walk after it. Ha!

Ok, so another one of our goals that day was to find this Dim Sum place… what a story that turned out to be! We were walking all around Queen’s Road Central. All the fancy stores were around that area. It was so exciting to be part of the hustle and bustle of it all. As we were exploring we kept a lookout for this Maxim’s Palace (I had read they had the most amazing food). Then there it was Maxim’s, no palace, but we thought ok. Bizarre because it was under an underpass of sorts, but we figured, trust the name right? We walk in and immediately saw you had to order at the machines. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing, but managed to get the machine to show the menu in English and ordered. When I tell you that this was the worst food we’ve ever had in our lives… oh my gosh. I’m pretty sure I have a picture of Anthony with the best expression. We could not even eat it, it was just not something we were accustomed to at all - so we threw it out and got out of there. At this point we were cranky and very hungry. Well, for whatever reason I was not convinced that was truly the Maxim’s we were after. After asking for help we finally found the place that we were looking for. It was not far from where we were inside another building. Hysterical really! With our luck the place was closing soon and there were barely any dim sum left to try. We made the best of it and got ourselves some food. 

We didn’t let our failed lunch experience bring us down! We kept wandering and came across the Man Mo Temple. An 1800s temple featuring a lavish, traditional interior with dozens of incense spirals overhead. After that, we continued wandering and saw this cute little Italian place called I’ll Bel Paese. It was everything we needed after our tragic dim sum experience. We did drinks and an appetizer there. Perfect break before going back to the hotel to change for the evening.

For dinner we wanted to go back to the island and explore some options there. We started with Hard Rock Cafe for diner and drinks. Then I had been following two different bars on Instagram and had done some research. Both were close to that area. The first was called Iron Fairies. There was a really cool band playing. The drinks were so yummy and there were literally iron fairies everywhere we looked. It was beautiful. We had a blast there! We then made our way to Dragonfly. That one was a little harder to locate, but so worth the walk. It was beautifully decorated. Definitely more of an intimate vibe. We had a couple of more drinks and called it a night. Took an Uber back to the hotel. 

Thursday, Nov. 28th: 

MACAO! First of all… I’m truly ashamed I had no clue about Macao. Before I went to Hong Kong I wouldn’t have even been able to tell you where Macao was located on a map. 

To get there we took a ferry, a fast speed ferry for about 50 min. This was the wildest ride in the wilderness and for sure I thought we were going to flip at any moment. I’m surprised we didn’t get sick during or after. When we arrived we truly didn’t have concrete plans. Anthony was looking for a restroom and asked a gentleman that was standing there. Some would call that a rookie mistake, this time it worked to our advantage. He was a local tour guide, and with all the protests there was very little tourism happening. He was offering to take us around to all the main sites in Macau for the day and made us a deal we simply could not refuse. 

Our tour began by leaving the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and checking out the Fisherman’s Wharf (Doca dos Pescadores). There was a replica of the colosseum there. Then a stop by the statue of Kun Iam, a 20 meter statue of Guanyin on a lotus seat built by the Portuguese government in 1997. Then we were off to Capela de Nosa Senior da Penha, a small hilltop church with amazing panoramic views. There was a beautiful wedding going on while we were there. 

Next we went to the Templo de A-Ma, Macao’s oldest temple - built in 1488 and dedicated to the sea goddess. On the walk to the temple we saw some interesting murals. After that a visit to the Macao Diocese, before walking down the busy R. de Sao Domingos and Travesa da Se. That’s where all the shops and food spots were at. We were intrigued by the Lou Kay Mansion, this stately 19th century home with pretty courtyards. We stopped by Saint Honore Cake Shop for a little snack right before. 

Our next stop was absolutely gorgeous! Our guide took us to the Ruinas de São Paulo - a well known facade of a 17th century church destroyed by fire. It felt like we had transported to Europe somehow. 

Then just like that it’s like we were in Vegas. Our last stop was visiting the Venetian, one of the many casinos. I also had to get a picture in front of the Parisian. Anthony got lucky and won enough money on the slots to pay for the tour and gratuity. What a fantastic way to end our visit in Macao.  

We took the ferry back and decided to go back to the little Italian restaurant for dinner this time. 

Friday, Nov. 29th:

Another day meant another great adventure. This day we decided to visit Lantau Island. We got to ride a cable car and had a full experience in the Ngong Ping 360 Village. 

Our goal was to see the Tian Tan Buddha all 34 meters (over 111 ft.) up close, and we certainly had to put in some steps to get there. It took 260 steps to reach the bottom of this huge bronze Buddha. I bet you can guess who did not love all this physical activity. HA! We also visited the Po Lin Monastery, which was beautiful, and so colorful.

Basically the village was created to have some shops, restaurants and entertainment between the cable car experience and the giant Buddha. Such a cool chill day! The village had some great picture spots including a section with the We Bare Bears. 

Saturday, Nov. 30th: 

Next day, we got up nice and early and took public transportation, and there was even a special metro that took us straight to: Hong Kong Disneyland. Windows were shaped like Mickey Mouse, it was absolute perfection. From the metro we walked through Disneyland Resort in order to get to the park. 

Here are some of the highlights from that amazing day: 

• Castle was tiny! There was also some construction going on. 
• Adventureland had rides like Mystic Manor which we don’t have in Disney World. There was a Toy Story area. Fantasyland was also unique and had a gorgeous garden that paid homage to the various princesses. It’s a Small World had a really cool facade, and we also watched a Star Wars show. 
• One of my favorite rides was Iron Man, there was also Antman and the Wasp. 
• All the girls in the park were obsessed with Duffy and Cookie Ann (I had no idea who she was before this trip). They all had cute little outfits and were carrying him as a purse… I totally did not get that memo. I did buy two exclusive Minnie Ears, I just had to. 
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• Lunch was super gross. I had completely erased it from my memory, until I began writing about this day. All I remember is we wasted money and did not like it at all. 
• It was all decorated for Christmas, and we enjoyed the show at the end.

It was such an experience to be there. I’m a huge Disney fan. As a matter of fact we’ve both had annual passes for the parks here in Orlando for years (both separate and together). 2022 is the first year without our passes, and I definitely miss it. There is no feeling quite like being part of the live Lion King show or buying not one but two sets of Minnie ears to bring back home. Are you a Disney fan?  

Sunday, Dec. 1st: 

We had done so much during our time in Hong Kong up to this point, but there was still so much to see! We decided to venture into a different direction for this day. Walking out of the hotel Anthony spotted the coolest pet ever! A HUGE tortoise, ‘cause it was way bigger than just a turtle. Best part it was wearing sneakers. We wanted to go pet it, but didn’t want to startle it. How crazy is that? We knew from that moment it was going to be a great day. 

Our location of choice for the day was Victoria Peak. We took the Peak Tram, a funicular that dates back to 1888 and makes the very steep ascent form city center. Once we reached The Peak, we were greeted by various shops and a great view of the city. That is also where we found Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen & Bar - timely I might add because we were truly over our losses with the local food. For dessert we stopped by Gino’s Gelato. We also had the silliest time inside the Peak Tower where they had this 3D wall crawl museum - it was fun getting pictures with the murals.  

To end our adventurers that day we ventured out to the Yick Fat Building, otherwise know as the Monster Building from Transformers. This was in a very residential area of Hong Kong. Pretty far from city center. Not gonna lie, it was later in the day, and we actually felt a little funny visiting the inside of the courtyard - the most famous part of the building. We were not afraid per say, but definitely did not feel welcome. There were signs everywhere warning to not take pictures of video. I was able to capture a few as proof that we made it all the way there. 

Monday, Dec. 2nd: 

This gal I follow on Instagram that lives in Hong Kong had recently shared the most beautiful cafe in Hong Kong. Naturally, I research to see how far it was from our location and was ecstatic when I found out it was walking distance from the hotel. The OMG Cafe was so visually stimulating. Beautiful colors, gimmicky desserts and drinks. I loved it! It was inside a hotel. Once we finished with that experience we decided to rest and get ready for our long journey home. We still had one last adventure to experience. 

Tuesday, Dec. 3rd - last day :( :

We arrived in Incheon International Airport in Korea around 6am. Much to our surprise it was so cold - like 30 degrees cold. We were definitely not prepared for that weather. What we were prepared for was signing up for one of the airports free city tours during layovers. There were a couple of options to pick from and we opted for one of the shorter ones. We had a layover of about 8 hours. Kudos to Anthony for doing all this research and making sure we optimized our time in Seoul. While we waited for our tour to begin we stopped for some coffee at Cafe Adagio. I’m a sucker for cafes with cute decorations/walls. 

I can’t recommend this Free Korea Transit Tour enough. They took us to this amazing temple, then we had another stop in this cute shopping district. This is also where we stopped for lunch. Please admire this picture of Anthony. At this point we could not look at another bulgogi and the options just did not appeal to him in the least. We were also just thrown into one table all together which meant we couldn’t even sit together. 

After lunch we headed back to the hotel where we did a little more lounge hopping and enjoyed a nap before our first flight back home. 

What a memorable adventure this was!!! 

Google List: Hong Kong