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| Entrance to landmark "CHUNGKING MANSION " |
In Hongkong i was residing in "Singh Guest House" situated in "Chungking Mansion" and accommodated into a self contained/attached bath in room no 123 of the 7th floor lodging house."Chungking Mansion" was a skyscraper building housing various "Lodges" on most of its floors , each lodge belonging to owners of various nationalities and cultures, all existing harmoniously in a single building. The "Multi-cultural diversity" and "Economic Diversity" of Hongkong can be experienced by just visiting "Chungking Mansion", a tourist attraction due to its own peculiar strategic structure and multicultural ownerships.Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi's and Nepali's have their own small lodges in this historic edifice that has been included in movies .Got up early at approx 0500 hrs and decided to visit "Hongkong Disneyland" situated in distant Lantau island of Hong Kong. I had always fantasized as a child about "Disneyland" from a diet of literature and films .The original "Florida Disneyland" was a routine feature in numerous films during my youth and hence, decided to visit the "Hongkong Franchisee" of "Disneyworld". .After a quick bath, dressed up and walked down to "Tsim Tsa Tsui MTR( Tube train station)" which was only 5 to 10 minutes walking distance from my lodge in "Chungking House", a prime , cheap "Backpackers" and "Seafarers" lodge at 120Hk$'s/Day(Rs 768 approx) in "Downtown kowloon", walking distance from Victoria harbour ferry pier.Had to change two trains to reach "Hong Kong Disneyworld" from "Tsim Tsa Shui station", the first being at "Hongkong Station" and next at "Sunny Bay" station.From "Sunny Bay Station" there was a private train service directly to "Disneyworld" which was just a single station away, the train being excellently decorated with "Mickey Mouse caricatures" and Statuettes. The entrance ticket to "Disneyworld" was 350HK$'s(Rs2240 @1Hk$ = Rs 6.40p in 2005), slightly less for children and a little cheaper on weekdays.Saturday and Sunday being holiday weekends have the entrance ticket prices at their highest and so also the crowds, the entire "Disneyworld" being packed to capacity. I felt like a child at the age of 45 on entering the entrance grounds of "Disney World",being one of the first visitors at 0930 hrs when the gates to the park opened. Reminisces of "Tom & Jerry","Donald Duck","Mickey Mouse", "Mimmie & Goofy","Snow white & the seven dwarfs", all flashbacks of an age of innocence passed through my mind as i walked through the gates . Although, i still enjoy these cartoons, "Adult entertainment" seems to have diluted the innocent pleasures of childhood and a bygone era before the invention of the "Internet",where watching "Cartoon films" on the "Big Screen" was a grand occasion . The "Hongkong Disneyland" was inaugurated on Monday 12th September 2005 just three months before my visit to Hongkong and hence i was lucky at being at the right place at the right time.It .is an exact replica of the original built by Walt Disney in Florida and is the second "Disneyland" in Asia after Tokyo, being built just 2 years ago in 2003.The park was packed with a holiday crowd and there were serpentine queues for "joyrides", with a minimum waiting period of 20 to 30 minutes!The crowd consisted of grown-ups as well as kids, but, mostly grown-ups, proving that everyone loves innocent nostalgia, hence for a few hours, a person regains their childhood memories of fun and laughter.
As it was the "Christmas Festive Season", the entire park was decorated, with a tall Christmas tree at the entrance and a complete " American Western Frontier" set with "Buggy rides" and "Pistelero guns" on display on "Main Street". There is a "railroad" which gives you a tour of the entire Disneyland with a stop at "Fantasyland".There was also an "Old World Style Bakery" featuring delicious pastries and a variety of breads.
The entire park is divided into 4 entertainment zones,1)Main Street :- that resembles a mid-western U.S town. 2)Fantasy World:- which represents life-like characters for children from Disneys famous Cartoons.,3) Adventure World :-having "Jungle Theme" adventures and 4) Tomorrow Land :- which is a futuristic view of the World and space travel. Numerous "Copycats" in various country's, including "Essel World" in Mumbai have tried to emulate the "Disneyland" formula.It seems nothing comes close to the "Original", as i have also visited "Essel world" in Mumbai , hence my unbiased view, although an Indian. "Tomorrow Land" was totally based on "Science fiction and space travel", with rides like "Space Mountain","Orbitron" and "Buzz Lightyear Astro blasters" being the first of its kind in "Entertainment space travel".Some of the "Joy Rides" were frightening .A seasoned traveller and "seafarer" like myself felt "Claustrophobic" while doing the space ride in "Tomorrow Land", Definitely not for the "faint-hearted", with warnings for people with certain medical problems to not undertake these "Joy-Rides". The "Boat ride" in adventure Land was a visit into "Phantoms Denkali jungles" in Africa, complete with unexpected "water sprouts",large artificial crocodiles and native warrior music. There was also "Tarzan's tree-house" situated on an island which had to be crossed by boat and a visit to the top for a view of Tarzan's lifestyle . A visit to "Sleeping beauty castle" was an experience on the creation of "film sets" to depict screen reality, a real World of child-like innocence.
Later visited the "Disneyland concert hall" and was entertained with all the "Disney Characters" performing various skits,but, since the language was in "Cantonese" i just couldn't understand a word of the conversation, yet, their gimmicks and skits were humorous ,as are all "Disney Characters" irrespective of language, culture or religion. For the "Mickeys Philhar magic " show in a separate auditorium we were given "3-D goggles" and shown a "cartoon film" with the characters literally leaping onto your seat, just fantastic entertainment. Kids and adults can also pose and take photographs with various "Walt Disney animated characters" in the "Fantasy gardens", a memento of a once in a life-time experience for tourists. I roamed the entire breadth and width of the "Disney land" complex, trying out every ride available, even if it was the most childish and meant for "toddlers" let alone grown-ups. Tried out the local dim sum snacks which were reasonably priced compared to the "entrance fee", in all, a highly entertaining and educative day. At the onset of nightfall there was a grand display of fireworks at the illuminated "Sleeping beauty castle" which looked just marvelous from a distance at the "Wild west Land".The "Fireworks Display" was the grand finale to a memorable day at the World's most famous universal entertainment franchise address. I finally left "Disney world Park" at 2030 hrs just before closure of the park at 2100 hrs and had to return back to "Chungking House" in crowded trains, realizing that i was as familiar with Hong Kong as were the local population, the ultimate back-packer.
