Going to Hongkong Disneyland for a family trip .𖥔 ݁ ˖! | 1: Lost tourists finding their way in Hongkong (aka my mum and I😅)

Hello everyone 😚!! We're officially in 2026, the brand new year has started, and... it's almost the end of January. I feel like the first 2 or 3 months of the year feel unbelievably quick, and it eventually starts to slow down after settling into the new year. And it won't feel like a new year anymore. Hopefully new year's resolutions have been written down, and you've already spent the holidays with your loved ones just last month. So with that, new year means new blogs waiting to be uploaded, and right now I'm highly motivated to make quality content~! 

{Slight change on uploading schedule: I'll be uploading blogs on Fridays, instead of Saturdays and Wednesdays}

So now about this family trip of mine. It's been one my parents had been stressing over the most during the holidays, endless and piling lists of flights, itineraries and accommodations to book. And it's not just 1 or 2 countries that need bookings to tend to. It's 5?! And this results them into being glued to their laptops and devices, double-checking, triple-checking that they hadn't missed a single booking to be booked, and discussing to themselves about meetups, times to check-in to our hotels, food, etc. But I knew I didn't have to worry, because my parents were methodical. If even possible, too methodical. They were both excellent accessors at hunting for a bargain, prices that were money-worth, not missing a single step. Occasionally, they forgot a few things from time to time, but then again, it was occasional. It would be a rare occurrence if they forgot to pack an essential item in their luggage. 

Days pass by, and the more days that flew by, the closer we were to hopping on a plane, and meeting our family in Hongkong, our first stop. And it came the day, luggage in both of our hands, wearing pre-planned outfits for the airport, Mum and I strolled out of our house. The plan was that Ninang would be left behind in Queenstown, while Mum and I head to Hongkong first. But, don't worry. Ninang will not be left out of the family trip. (After all, she's family. Why would she be left out on a family trip when she's family?) Ninang would be meeting us on the 26th of January, in Hongkong. 

So we split ways temporarily. Ninang sent us to the airport, Mum and I feeling the nervousness and excitement bubbling in our chests, while Ninang would feel quite normal, but still a tinge dejected being alone for a couple of days. 

One flight from Queenstown to Hongkong later...

"We're here!! Oh my goodness!!!" 

Astonished by my surroundings, my eyes glanced at the brightly lit billboards across the airport walls, beaming up. Mum had the same amount of enthusiasm as I did, because since it was such a long journey to Hongkong, we were both content to finally be able to step on sweet solid ground after being in the air for 9 or so hours straight. We stopped by to Fiji, since the flight we took wasn't a direct flight. So we had an opportunity to rest. But despite having a stop over, every single bit of energy I had recharged in Fiji were drained. And one out of two reasons why I was stoked was because here in Hongkong, there was a Filipino childhood fast food chain that I hadn't eaten for 3 years. Jollibee. 

Now, for those of you who don't know what Jollibee is, it's a Filipino fast food chain that's been a big part of my childhood. After I was born, I lived in the Philippines for 3 years and my relatives, who lived there, always treated me with Jollibee meals. So it eventually became a big part of my childhood. I'd made so much memories with Jollibee, and plus, the fried chicken is just divine. Not an unbiased opinion by the way because look at this. (just looking at this makes me hungry😅)

Since the redemption counter for transportation (such as buses or trains) cards only opens at 8am, the best thing Mum and I would do is to wait at a spot before the counter opens. So, pushing our carts filled with luggages, we both secure a spot to wait for the next hour. Mum's priority right now is searching up which bus to take to go to the hotel, and the nearest Jollibee to Nina Hotel, the accommodation we would be staying at. I'm just staring at tourists or locals walking, navigating their way through the enormous area, staring at their phones or chatting. I shut my eyes and try to wait the long hour out.

these are the Hong Kong Tourist Octopus Cards that we got from the airport

After a bus ride later to the hotel...

Hauling our luggages into the mall, I'm still a bit puzzled why we're dragging our luggages into a mall, not a hotel lobby. "Uh... Mum? Why are we going into a mall? I thought we were going to check in first."

Conveniently, 3 steps of stairs are laid in front of us, so one luggage at a time, we carry them down the 3 steps. And Mum seems a bit confused too. "The Google Maps said this is the hotel. Though where is it?..."

We look around in search of a hotel, only to find the answer was laid out right in front of us. The hotel lobby was actually a part of the mall this whole time. So we stare at it, connecting the dots. The mall we just entered was called Nina Mall 1 or something like that... so what's the name of the hotel again?? , I question to myself. "Mum, what's the name of the hotel that we're staying at?"

"Nina Hotel."

So the mall and the hotel are a part of the same company?? How rich is the owner of Nina???

"And I'm pretty sure there's another Nina Mall called "Nina Mall 2"..." Mum remarks.

No way. They have multiple malls??  How rich is this owner after all??

We enter the lobby, and the first thing I notice is a delicate, fragrant scent filing the lobby. A chandelier is hung above us, and honestly, the lobby is larger than the house that I live in. This is amazing...

Mum walks up to the front desk, and they suggest her to go to the concierge instead, since they manage storing luggages from hotel guests. I can't help but wonder what our room would be like, or more importantly, how expensive each night here is. Because did I really just see a chandelier in a lobby filled with a fragrant scent that smells really good? I'm secretly impressed.

Finally, with the luggage taken care of, all we have to do is check in. "So what time is the check in?" Mum asks the front desk. The man responds with "3pm." WHAT. But it's literally 12 right now. That's so long though... Can't we just go to our room already?... 

"Great. What are we gonna do for the next 3 hours now?" I dejectedly say.

"Well, we could find the nearest Jollibee..." Mum mindlessly states while searching for the nearest Jollibee in Google Maps, and there's a brief moment of silence. She looks stern as her index fingers do a series of scrolling before exclaiming "THERE'S ONE 3 MINUTES AWAY."

"Really?? WHERE?!" 

"It's in Tsuen Wan West... exactly where we are right now." We both stare at each other, then without a moment to waste, starving and desperate, head to the Jollibee. The automatic sliding doors move out of the way to reveal frigid air, sending goosebumps down my whole body. A step outside and we're both crossing our arms, shivering. But no pain no gain. We are hungry. We are freezing.

But we must push through.

So we power on through the cold which feels like we're inside of a fridge and we're just chilling away like ice cubes. At this point, I could actually turn into an ice cube if I stay outside for any longer. Frantically, we search and hunt for a bee with a red backdrop anywhere. We pass by McDonald's, KFC, a few more shops but... no luck. It wasn't until then that the map lead us into a tiny mall right after the fast food chains that we saw on the way. "Apparently Jollibee's supposed to be..." Mum slowly points to the tiny mall's direction. "There."

"Well what are waiting for them?? Let's go, I'm dying out here."

~ Thank you for reading! See you next week! ~