Overall, pretty much enjoyed the chance to get out of stifling Singapore, despite my not 100% constitution. Appetite issues and headaches did plague me sometimes in the trip, but they were fairly manageable, probably coz i was in or near my 2nd trimester. and yeah, maybe its psychological too ;P Nonetheless, we did get a chance to cover most of the places we liked to, although we really had to pace ourselves and take it easy.
Transport
We flew to HK via Jetstar, but booked too late and missed all the promos :( the final price difference was just about $100 from SQ. I find the airplane quite decent actually in terms of leg room, stability etc. But personally, I think SQ would have been a better bet, less hassle of taxing from airplane when landed to the HK airport. And with the limitation that fluids cannot be brought on the plane, $5 to fork out for a bottle of mineral water seemed a bit steep. Foodwise, it was about $10 for a plate of fried rice or nasi lemak. We refused to pay restaurant price for microwaved food however, so we gave the meals a miss.
HK MTR was very convenient though, connecting the airport directly to our destination in Kowloon station for about HK$140 for two tickets. Subsequently, we found the HK MTR very convenient for getting around HK, with simple to understand maps and instructions despite having many rail lines. Price-wise, a trip to the Disneyland station costs about HK$16+ pax, which is about $3+?Taxis were also fairly convenient and plentiful, and inexpensive too for areas inaccessible via MTR.
To get to Guangzhou, we took the train. I've never taken a train except for the New Zealand trans-atlantic was it called? So images of steam engines fed with coal and noisy wheels came to mind. The train to GZ was a pleasant surprise. Clean and comfortable, it was much more spacious than expected. Other passengers included many businessmen in suits.
Shopping
I couldn't seem to get much shopping done in HK or GZ. It would have been slightly better if I weren't expecting or if I had solid faith I could retain my figure after birth. As it was, I only got a couple of tops from HK ESPIRIT that could be worn during maternity. Ming managed to get some tops from there too.The very popular HK Ladies' Market yielded nothing for us though. Felt was quite 'pasar malam' type of goods that you could find pretty much many countries in SEA. Considered some soft toys but nothing too interesting.
Food
Surprisingly, the food wasn't as spectacular as I hoped (maybe with the exception of one classy dim sum restaurant our hosts introduced us to), with all the rumours of gastronomical delights available in HK. We tried dim sum, their cha chan ting, foodcourts, restaurants and fast food. Perhaps we just didn't know where to try? Pricewise however, mostly it was pretty much cheaper than back home though. I hunted high and low to no avail for my peanut paste though. But surprisingly found the wanton la mien in a foodcourt near the ulu Hong Hum station of very good standard. That was where we took the train to Guangzhou later in the trip. We had quite many meals at fast food joints though.Food in Guangzhou was also lackluster, but it was cheap. Cheaper than HK, and much cheaper than home. There were many rumours and cautions on their hygiene standard, but given I was pregnant and yet didn't encounter any tummy upsets, I conclude it was safer than rumoured.
Attractions
The highlight of the trip I have to admit was Disneyland. We were in 2 minds about going there given the bad reviews it suffered. I wasn't too impressed with the one I went in California so this one must have been worse I deduced, plus the fact I couldn't take the rides in my pregnant state. But since it was Ming's 1st trip to Disneyland, we thought to give it a shot anyway. We heard tonnes about its small size and how half a day was enough, so we went there only at 11am (opens at 10am) expecting a leisurely enjoyment of the park. We only managed 'leisurely' before lunch. Instead it was much rushing from ride to show to shopping to meals. We really didn't have the time to complete the tour of the entire Disneyland and had to forgo many rides we wanted to take, to our disappointment. We shouldn't have lingered in Main Street and taken our meals on the run because between the queuing and waiting, there just wasn't enough time. Very sad to miss the Winnie the Pooh ride Ming wanted to take :(
The Peak (Victoria, was it?) was another attraction we went to. Fairly nice, despite the long painful queue to board the tram. And we weren't prepared for the butt freezing cold at the Peak while we tried our best to snap photos while shivering. We really shouldn't have bought the ticket to the scenic viewing gallery as there were plenty of other places from which the view could be enjoyed. We didn't know that of course, so nevermind. Foodwise, the ribs there was fairly good, but guess we should have ordered the shrimp they were famous for.
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