Postday 2 - Hong Kong
Today we fly home. Our flight was around 11:30 am. Bags to be taken down at 8 and driver pickup at 8:30 as arranged by ABD. While going to breakfast I noticed one of our fellow adventurers, Peter sitting in a corner by himself. We hadn’t seen anyone, other than Steven, since our last night together. So, it was a nice surprise. We chatted for a bit. He was going with his family over to Macau for the day. I had strongly considered doing that as well, but with just a couple of post days, decided against it. It was a pleasure seeing him for a bit. Gavin and I were both sad and excited to be leaving. The drive to the airport was uneventful. As was check in/ security/ etc. We shopped around for a bit. I texted last min souvenir choices back home for opinions. My DW, Kate, really wanted a cool travel umbrella so that depleted the rest of our HK$.
Flight home was also uneventful. Gavin does very well flying long distances now. As do I, but certainly I was eyeing the business class cabin. Looks pretty nice. I may have look into miles or something for Australia. China is a long flight. Australia must feel like your living in the plane long term. United didn’t have in-seat entertainment or A/C plugs to plug in your iPad. Can you believe that?! 13.5 hrs?! Thankfully I did some research ahead of time and planned for this with battery packs and loaded iPads, but still. In 2014, that’s ridiculous.
Now that I’m home I’ve had some time to reflect. I know many have asked about this trip in comparison to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. They’re both amazing trips. You really can’t go wrong with either. China is a bit more amazing race style where you are squeezing in an extra flight and city. And China has no laid back days like SE Asia has (such as Hoi An). But there are more bucket list sites in China (Forbidden City, Great Wall, Pandas, Terracotta Warriors, Shanghai night skyline, Gumdrop Mountains). SE Asia, probably has more variety of cities from the big the Capitalistic Saigon, to the traditional Hanoi, to the Hawaii like Hoi An, to the jungles of Laos and Cambodia. In China, other than Guilin, all of the cities are huge. They do vary a lot in their style and atmosphere.
Food wise, I have to give it to SE Asia. The two standouts were the ABD paid for dinners in Hoi An and Hanoi where you get to choose where you eat and you select from a menu. Even the other restaurants were great to excellent. Cirrus in Saigon and the pool side barbecue in Laos come to mind. Other than M on the Bund and the Dim Sum restaurants in Shanghai, I’m not sure there were any major standouts. The Royal Restaurant with the Tea Ceremony in Beijing was nice. Lunch and dinner in Hong Kong were good, but not outstandingly good. I wouldn’t make a point to return to any of those. ABD China needs to add a higher end restaurant to Beijing. I suggest they contact Capital M as it is very nice, has a great view, they obviously have a relationship with M on the Bund, and there’s a fun evening touristy area right beside it. In Chengdu, they let you eat on your own at the buffet in the Ritz. It was good. Again, it didn’t blow my mind away. I think upgrading to eating at one of the sit down restaurants in the Ritz would have been a better choice (similar to what they do in Hanoi). Xi’an was a disaster in my book. I have zero doubt there are great lunch options there. (Research the top 20 or so restaurants on tripadvisor Xi’an to see who wants the business. Pick a few to visit to check cleanliness and atmosphere. I’m not sure what’s so difficult.)
Overall, China and SE Asia are pretty equal in my mind. I strongly recommend both. And if you’ve concentrated on US or European ABD’s, I highly recommend you giving one of these a try. Asia is just so cool. The people are so nice. The attractions are so different from anything you’ve ever seen. Is it intimidating? Maybe, but that’s why you’re doing an
Adventures by Disney. I would do either of these ABD’s again. For me, SE Asia may be more repeatable because a lot of it is just enjoying the atmosphere of the cities and different countries. It also seemed like there was more time on your own. China was a little faster paced. It’s amazing as is, but I’d be more likely to repeat it if there was there was an itinerary change to see some new places.
For those comparing Asian ABD’s, here’s my Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia trip report:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3127801
If you have any questions about either ABD, please let me know here or feel free to message me. If any of my fellow travelers or guides come across this, Gavin and I miss you all! I hope you’re doing well. Please feel free to give everyone your own opinions. Hope everyone has enjoyed it!
Kevin
Just after you cross the bridge from the hub to Adventureland, it's on your left.
