Hong Kong no Phooey TR (Apr 2012)! The Yee's have it....TR finish #1101, 07/09

[zaccy]

Avoid the weekends at all costs. Leaving it last also has you near the airport.

Princess have you considered buying a Magic Access card (Annual Pass) for at least one of you. They start at a tiny HK$650 and you get quite a few perks with them including a % off accomodation.

We stayed for 3 weeks when we went to Hong Kong and found plenty to do. The Disneyland Hotel is just lovely and if you want a breakfast with amazing character interaction I recomend you do it here. The Chinese resturant is also very nice. The bus that runs between the park and the hotel is quick and easy or it's about a 15 stroll from the hotel down a dedicated walk way complete with disney piped music the whole way

Enjoy your planning

[PrincessInOz]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for your input. There are developments in the wind where accomodation is concerned and I'll share those once we have them sorted. Suffice to say....spanners and me? D-U-C-K!


(The question is who is ducking?? ME!!)

[PrincessInOz]

OT - Collingwood Children's Farm and otherwise!


This weekend, I headed to the Collingwood Children's Farm.





This farm is located within 3 - 5 km of the CBD. You wouldn't know it to look at pictures of the paddocks like this...





The Yarra River, which runs through the Melbourne CBD is where the trees are.



They have a kitchen garden at the farm.










Why did I head there? Well.....on the first Sunday of each month, it is Family Day at the CCF. And that means.....tractor Hay Rides! Yes, its a category for the Photography Scavenger Hunt and I'd been waiting patiently for the first Sunday to come round (couldn't make it last month and when next month comes round, the hunt will be over).

I got there early to look around the farm.













Kids were encouraged to help milk this cow...I couldn't get in the barn! But noticed this window on the side.












And I did get my hay ride shots!






I got into the second ride of the day....












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[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)

The CCF is located next to a-no-longer-used convent. You may have spotted the building in the background in the hay ride we went on.
The convent is now home to a variety of establishments and unbeknownst to me, I'd picked the prime day to visit the area.


It's spring in Melbourne....and lots of festivals and fairs are on. This one is at the neighbourhood Steiner school Spring Fair.


















The classrooms were all beautifully displayed with the children's works....like this.






They even had a wood-fired pizza there!





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[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)

The Steiner School wasn't the only festival happening at the Abbotsford Convent. Look what I found!






I'm sure you all know that I like quirky things....and this fair did NOT disappoint. Have a look at the activities happening at the World Vegan Day!





Yup! Speed Dating!

I was more attracted to these sorts of activities...









....then again, looking at the food demonstration topics....maybe NOT!


Here's what the WVD looked like...

























....complete with some more items that attracted me!









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[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)

Where there are Vegans, there is bound to be vegan food. And have a look at some of these!!


I headed straight for the Soy-A-lent Green place. The name just kept a-calling me!




The arancini...





...and the rice paper rolls.














And I was instantly also attracted to the Eggrolls/Spring Rolls.







These are all vegan gluten free.






This is a vegan soy cheesecake.




I saw this produce and wanted to take a picture. I loved the colours and it did suit a Scav hunt category.





The owner told me to take all the shots I wanted...





...because she wanted me to send them to her as well! So, I obliged with the mandatory promotional shots to make sure I got product placement right!

















When I moved to go, she gave me a couple of things. It's not much...but I got 'paid' in an organic banana and two organic strawberries. I figured I had about $4 worth right here!





Which reminds me....I need to send them to her.



I guess it was a pretty good day when you considered I was only heading out for a Hay Ride!

[usnuzuloose]

Nice pics, Oh the cow, looked like you disturbed his lunch?

[usnuzuloose]

I am sorry never been to that disney so I cant help you there. But I can enjoy reading it.

[dgbg100106]

looks like the Hay Ride panned out for you....

The pictures are awesome!

[franandaj]

Nice pictures! What I think is so funny is that you are so careful not to include pictures of people of whom you don't have permission from them, but then you post pictures of hundreds of strangers....Did you get their permission?

[Mum from oz]

Great photos, especially the vegan food porn. Who ever thought I'd be ogling vegan food!

[dgbg100106]

Originally Posted by Mum from oz

Great photos, especially the vegan food porn. Who ever thought I'd be ogling vegan food!

[skier_pete]

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

Don't do it...the vegans are tricking you...it's made from PEOPLE!!!!

Sorry...seventies Chuck Heston flashback there.

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by usnuzuloose

Nice pics, Oh the cow, looked like you disturbed his lunch?

Wasn't me.....might have been the people inside the barn....milking HER!!!

Originally Posted by usnuzuloose

I am sorry never been to that disney so I cant help you there. But I can enjoy reading it.

That's okay. Hang around for the hayride!

Originally Posted by dgbg100106

looks like the Hay Ride panned out for you....

The pictures are awesome!

Thanks! I have a habit of just falling into things when I go Disboard photo scav hunting. The festivals? Fell into the category of Fall (er...Spring) Fair.

Originally Posted by franandaj

Nice pictures! What I think is so funny is that you are so careful not to include pictures of people of whom you don't have permission from them, but then you post pictures of hundreds of strangers....Did you get their permission?

I know...crazy, right? Give me 10 years or so....I'm sure I'll get over the feeling!

Originally Posted by Mum from oz

Great photos, especially the vegan food porn. Who ever thought I'd be ogling vegan food!

Shhhh....don't tell anyone....but I still enjoy eating at the Hari Krishna restaurant in Melbourne (Gopal's). The vegetarian lasagne is just delicious!

Originally Posted by skier_pete

Don't do it...the vegans are tricking you...it's made from PEOPLE!!!!

Sorry...seventies Chuck Heston flashback there.

Yes...that was my first thought too!

[PrincessInOz]

”Get Your Phacts first, then you can DIStort them”…a little Mark Twain wisdom....It’s Disney Phirst!


“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as much as you please” Mark Twain


I'm taking inspiration from a little Mark Twain wisdom today.

It turns out that I should have checked some pertinent ‘phacts’ about my travel period. Turns out that Easter Sunday falls on the 8th April. I checked the public holiday list in Hong Kong and it would appear that holidays are planned for the 6th, 7th and 9th of April.
Plus it seems like Wednesday the 4th April will be the Ching Ming festival, the day for mourning the dead.


I figure that it may be worth staying AWAY from Disney on those days.

I totally agree with you all about Disney on day phat….but given the way the public holidays have panned out, I think its probably more prudent if we do Disney phirst.
And I have to keep telling DH that this is a holiday to Hong Kong; NOT a Disney holiday.


Our accommodation split stay will look something like this:

• March 31 – April 3: HK Disneyland Resort for 3 nights
• April 3 – April 11: HK hotel (possibly Kowloon) for 8 nights

I’ve contacted my TA at Small World Vacations….she does not book for Hong Kong. So I’m left to research and make the bookings myself.

I’ve followed Zaccy’s advice and looked at purchasing Magic Access. The lowest access provides me with 5% off accommodation; to a maximum of 25% discount. So, it’s definitely something that I’m considering.

Fuzzy Disney Maths (FDM) works out if I’m going to be using the 20% discount for 2 rooms.

• I would need to purchase the Gold Cover Magic Access in order to get the 20% off accommodation, which would translate to about AU$200.
• A two day ticket is AU$60; I’ve checked the block out dates for the Gold Cover and the two days that I’m planning on being in Disney are not blocked out.
• FDM works out even better when I start looking at food and merchandising discounts.

So, I would be paying an additional AU$150 to get the Gold Magic Access but would breakeven via accommodation discounting for two rooms. I would definitely be better off through additional food and merchandising purchases.


However, I’ve checked out the current offers on the HK Disneyland website. They are offering 20% off if you stay 3 nights or longer. This offer applies between now and December 15.

I’m hoping that either this offer is extended or a similar offer made to cover my travel period. If this happens, then I won't need to get the Magic Access because I'll get the 20% discount and buy my own 2 day ticket.

The $150 (and 20% discount on accommodation) would go a long way towards food and souvenirs. Don't you just love FDM???

Looks like I’ll be waiting a bit before confirming the Disney accommodation part.