Destination: HONG KONG

 "Great things never come from comfort zones."

OUR first-ever backpacking journey as a family was in Hong Kong -- with Paolo, Jaila and Neri – in 2005. To travel within our budget, we had to efficiently plan out our logistics (especially food). Instant noodles, canned tuna, sausage and pork and beans, hard-boiled eggs, chips, packed sandwiches and freshly-baked bread (bought from a quaint bakery near our hotel) sustained us all throughout the trip. Para-paraan lang...No rice. Rice (rhay-see as the Chinese vendors would pronounce) is gold in HK. The cost? For backpackers, you bleed for a cup.

We booked ourselves near the subway station (Jordan MTR) in the heart of the city for mobility and access. We mapped our itinerary before we hit the sack at night so everything would be trouble-free in the morning to maximize what we could cover within a very tight schedule. For four days, we ate “convenience” for breakfast -- McDonald’s it is. No rhay-see. Just hash browns. Jollibee was unheard of in Hong Kong then. Noodles nor congee isn’t a breakfast preference for us so we settled for the daily free coffee, burger and hash courtesy of our hotel at a basement McDonald’s a hundred meters from where we stayed.    

Day One. Arrival in the morning and checked in at Shamrock Hotel (in Yau Ma Tei). Rested for a while and then walked through Nathan Road. We rode the ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui (downtown Kowloon) to Central and Wan Chai -- the streets of which we explored (on foot) from afternoon until late evening.

Day Two.  We did the Avenue of Stars (and met Jackie Chan in stone); the Aberdeen Jewelry Factory; Sampan Park (Causeway Bay), Repulse Bay and Victoria Peak. Our afternoon destination was the Sik Sik Yuen and Wong Tai Sin Temple, a Taoist temple (built in 1925) where you seek the wisdom of the oracles -- (“what you request is what you get") through a practice called kau chim. The evening was, of course, reserved for haggling in Mongkok at the Ladies Market in Tung Choi and Fa Yuen and Temple Street Night Markets where, in the latter, we had a very late spicy crab and seafood specialty dinner over bottles of greenies (Tsing Tao Beer) by the roadside.

Day Three. The four of us then opted for a whole day Ocean Park adventure. Of course, the kids enjoyed the double decker and the train commute. Clean and efficient. 

Day Four. Dead-tired after three straight days of walking and exploring, we all stayed tucked-in bed for an extended sleep. After brunch, we visited the Kowloon Aviary Park -- a well-maintained haven for a wide array of exotic birds. The flowers were also all a-bloom making the place picture-perfect. In one area, a group of senior citizens where practicing tai-chi (inhale the energy-exhale the impurities) amidst the serenity of nature. Some old men were hunched over chess tables situated under a canopy of trees. It made me salivate and wish we had family-friendly parks like that here in the Philippines -- where man and nature can both co-exist in the same space and enjoy one another’s presence -- without fear nor threat of harm.

Soon we had to leave for Hong Kong International Airport (Chek Lap Kok Airport in Lantau Island). Time to go back home to the Philippines.