It was our 1st anniversary and we were excited to make it a memorable one. After lot of discussion/exploration on the destination we zeroed to Hongkong and Macau. This is a place where anyone and everyone can enjoy – be it a kid, couple, family, senior citizen. It has something to offer for everyone.

We had booked a package for 5N6D in early December from Delhi. It is a best time to visit here, the entire country is in a festive mood. All the buildings, streets, markets, malls  were decorated with lights and Christmas trees. We were mesmerized with tall and beautifully decorated Christmas trees all over the city.

After lot of research on the things which the city can offer and also as to what we would like to do their, we finalized our itinerary.

Day 1 – We landed Hongkong airport by late morning/noon. Post immigration we reached our hotel by around One-One Thirty. We had kept rest of the day free/on our own, as it was our anniversary day. In the evening we went exploring the streets and later went on Harbour Cruise, which is one of the most amazing experience. We were super lucky to be the only two guests on the entire cruise. It gave a princess like feeling. The view was so beautiful. The entire city was glowing with lights. It made our anniversary evening even more special.

Day 2 – The day was well spent at the theme park Disney Land. It is a misconception that Disney land is for kids, but person at any age can enjoy here. It is difficult to see and enjoy everything in one day,but to our luck, we were able to see all the shows and we enjoyed all the rides. We had as good as no waiting time for rides and shows. Upon receiving the map, we studied where/and what we should do first. We first checked the timings of all the shows and accordingly planned the other rides in between the shows. All the shows are worth watching. We generally get tempted to visit the ride which comes first. And because of long queues, lot of time gets wasted waiting for our turn. Hence, one should study the map and target for shows first and then rides. The day was a super fun day. We really enjoyed at the theme park. Its light and sound shows is worth watching. It take place in the evening when the theme park is about to close. Hence, one should reach the exit point by the evening, so that the show is not missed.

Tip: Everything is quite far from each other shows-adventure land-tomorrow land-rides-restaurants…etc. One should study the map and plan first even if it takes half an hour. It will help to enjoy hassle free and one will not regret of missing anything. It will also help in saving time in standing in queues.

Day 3 – We started early post breakfast. Our first destination was Oceanic Park. It is a combination of animal theme park, mammal theme park and amusement park. It is a huge park. Both adults and kids can enjoy here. There are lot of activities as per the interest to do for everyone. We were more interested to watch animals and other shows compared to rides. The dolphin and seal performance is one of the highlight show. The other attraction is to see the giant panda. We were lucky to get a very close glimpse. The other interesting thing is to see Polar Adventure (Penguin), aqua life and Hot air balloon.

The park is divided into two parts waterfront and the summit. One needs to go either by train or by cable car from one part to another. We tried both.The time taken by train is just 3 min while cable car takes 8-10 mins. But view from cable car is awesome.

Later in the evening we visited Victoria Peak. The Peak as it is popularly known is a must go place. The view from here is just mesmerizing. One can spend hours here. The view of the Harbour from here is splendid. The journey to reach this place is also an experience in itself. One needs to take a tram to reach here. And the path of the tram is very steep but exciting. There are lot of restaurants and shopping market for visitors. The other attraction on the peak is Madam Tussads Museum. It has 100 odd wax statues of famous personalities from around the world.

Day 4 –  We went on a half day city tour which included:

• Repulse Bay– It is a beautiful beach with golden sand.
• Aberdeen Fishing Village – This place is mecca for sea food lovers.  A boat ride is available to reach these floating restaurants. We just stopped at a shore only as we are vegetarian.
• SL Workshop, Souvenir Shop, Avenue Of Star among other sightseeing spots

Post lunch we took a Ferry from Hongkong to Macau. The ferry frequency is every hour and it takes just 1-1.5hrs to reach Macau. The recommended transportation from Hongkong to Macau. The rest of the evening we spent exploring Macau streets and casinos on our own.

Day 5 – We went on a Macau city tour which started from Venetian Hotel It is the 7 star hotel and the most beautiful and biggest hotel I have ever seen. Generally people stay here but we chose to stay in a nearby 5*hotel which was more economical than Venetian. I feel staying in a Venetian is a waste of money if one is only going there to sleep. Venetian has all possible things. One must spend 2 days inside the hotel. the hotel has the biggest casino, 3 theaters, 5 restaurants and many other luxury things. If one is unable to experience then , then staying here is waste of money.

The other tourist spots we covered were:

• Fisherman’s Warf – It is a theme park divided into 3 parts which displays Chinese towers, tradition. It also has amphitheater, waterfall…etc

A-Ma Temple – It is one of the oldest temple. It has a typical Chinese architecture. It is believed that if you wish anything here, it gets fulfilled.

• Ruins of St Paul – It is a church. The architecture is very Chinese.There was a photo shoot happening  of a newly wed couple when we went here.
• The Old City  Walls,  Cake shop
• Casino’s– Traveling to Macau and not visiting a casino is a crime in itself. Each and every hotel here has a casino. We visited 3 big casinos out of 5-6 big casinos.One must visit if not for playing but to see the environment. Photography is not allowed inside the casinos.

The 5 day trip ended which was full of experience, excitement, rides etc… etc., a mix of everything.

One can combine China as well with this trip if you have 5-6 spare days.