Holiday in Hong Kong

Hi folks,

Been a long time since I wrote to you so I'll just keep you up to date on what's been happening in this lil corner of the world. Christmas in Mumbai was the same like every year. We went for midnite Mass, then came home opened the presents etc. What was really exciting though was the trip we made to Hong Kong with the extended family - there were 12 of us - 10 adults and 3 kids. We've gone on holidays before with the in-laws but this is the first time we all flew together abroad. It was fun and at times a little harrowing. Can you imagine 12 people wanting to use 3 bathrooms? By the time we got together to go out anywhere it was past noon. Ocean Park is a great place that kids and adults can enjoy. It's right on top of a hill and we went up by escalators - not one but maybe 5 or 6. There's lots of stuff to do and see. What I really liked was their Aquarium. They replicated the ocean floor and it was amazing to see such a great variety of aquatic animals.

We were there for about 8 days. The last 2 days we spent in The Disney's Hollywood hotel and the kids had a blast. To be honest, the rest of us did, too. We went on all the rides, watched the parade with all the Disney characters participating. Like my 45 year old brother-in-law Bobby said, "It's a fantasy come true."

If you ever go to Hong Kong don't stay at The Imperial Hotel which is on Nathan Street in Kowloon, which is one of the prime shopping areas. When we went there was some reconstruction going on. The room was small and lousy. The toilet was big enough for Mickey Mouse - there was no room to turn around. worst of all was the incessant horrible noise that came from the repairing work going on. And it wasn't even cheap. They don't even offer breakfast. We stayed there only 2 days and later shifted to The Empire Hotel on Hong Kong island which was far better and a palace compared to the dingy room we had earlier. And besides The Empire offered a sumptuous breakfast!

Hong Kong is pretty expensive for shopping unless you know where to go and you're prepared to bargain. It's better to shop in the bigger shops and departmental stores because although they are slightly more expensive they don't cheat you. The small shops at places like Nathan Street are best left alone.