Day 6 - Disneyland HK (Thursday)

*Whistle whistle* "Stop Stop!" Yeah, maybe last night I should have just stayed in the room instead of venturing out... One minute I'm about to buy a uniquely shaped waffle. Next thing someone running into me, apparently slips something into my pocket as he bumps me and next minute I'm being questioned by the cops. I was only in custody for an hour until they sorted everything out. Could have been way worse.

Good morning HK. Something that's struck me as very odd here. HK folks LOVE LOVE their shampoo. I mean, love it. Whole stores are dedicated to nothing but the stuff. Why is that weird? You can't find deodorant here nor sunscreen. Trust me HK, you need to make a shelf available for deodorant. Signed - A concerned tourist.

SO... today there are a lot more mainland Chinese here. How can you tell? They have these small, carry-on sized suitcases everywhere they go.

I've knocked out everything on my list I wanted to see while here. How best to spend a free day? Disneyland! I loved that the subway took you to the Disneyland tram stop. Nice Disney touches were all around the cabin.

The park is combination of Disneyland and DisneyWorld. It is small compared to Cali. The most popular attractions are things you sit and observe (a 4D movie, a Jungle music / live action thing). Big scary rides like Space Mountain were empty. Even those that rode it, when there were zero-gravity spots, no one screamed or yelled. It was eerily quiet.

Disneyland custom train	Loved the handrails	All the characters were in statue
Mickey's birthday was two days ago	I know that place!	Nice station to transition you to the park entrance

Roughly 68 USD

Kinda crazy how similar this is to California Disneyland		More of the stupid suitcases
All the main rides of Tomorrowland are here	Space Mountain, Disneyworld style	With no lines, it was well worth the admission price
	Combination Thunder Mountain and Expedition Everest

Some rides are missing. No Matterhorn, no Indiana Jones, no Splash Mountain. They don't have the Haunted Mansion because here the idea of spirits is very different than home. Instead they have the Mystic Manor.

	Loved Buzzlightyear	Combination Swiss Family Robinson + Jungle Cruise + Tom Sawyer Island
The family all were crashed out even the baby in the stroller	If you enjoyed your bathroom experience at the Buddha you can do it again here (they have Western style too)	Who knew the secret to Disneyland was a ratchet wrench
There was a line for this stuff
	Tall people problems. Seriously? Are people here really that short? I had to duck many places throughout the park	Apparently

What a day. I didn't plan on staying so long but I wanted to see how it looked at night. Turns out, nearly identical to California. 30 minute subway ride and I'm back at the hotel. The HK night lights originally kind of sketched me out. My mind took it to mean seedy things happened in dark corners. Now I feel very different. They're soothing.

Back at the hotel area, getting hungry	I have no idea what was what but people were many people deep to buy a little of everyting
Taxi colors are important here, they tell you what part of HK they're willing to drive you to

You may recall I purchased an Octopus card (subway card) upon arriving.  This thing is beyond awesome! Not only is it used to get you on the subway or the little boats that cross the water but you can buy nearly anything from any store with it! Want lunch? Debit your Octopus card. Want a trinket from a certain store? Use the Octopus card! When money gets low just walk into any 7/11, give them some cash and it's recharged and you're on your way. It's awesome as you don't have to bust out cash and worry about carrying around change. Only downside, taxi's don't often take them. Cash only there. It's my last night, I'm hungry, I've got some money left on my Octopus card, makes sense to get some street food. These little waffle-like things looked great in the street sign. They tasted even better.

Every kind of Western food is here

Regular waffles, chocolate-blend waffles, supreme (peanut butter, butter, powder sugar)

Little, light, crispy balls of yumminess

It's my last day in Hong Kong. Tomorrow midday begins the trip down to Australia. The hotel has a free happy hour upstairs. Happened to meet some folks for my trip. One couple was German, one was Australian. The German couple, likely in their late 60s, had just come back from the Galapagos. 4 people met, 1854 more people to go.



(Regarding the whole almost-jail thing from the top, sorry, none of that happened. One of my friends was convinced I'd be sold into sex slavery for being a tall white guy OR would arrested for some sort of unknown drug smuggling sting)