Sep 25, 2015

10 Things To Do at Hong Kong Disneyland

I've been to Hong Kong Disneyland 3 times in my life and I still feel that my trip to HK Disneyland is unfulfilled. There are so many things to do and each time I return, there are new attractions for me to explore. 


#1 - Meet the Characters
Meeting the Disney characters is much easier at the Character Dining area. At the park, you will need to queue up a long time and wrestle with kids around you to get to the queue. There are two places which features the character dining, which are Chef Mickey Restaurant and Enchanted Garden Restaurant. Check the characters' visiting time and make your booking at the restaurant so you won't miss them. The characters will go around the restaurant and stop-by every table, so there's no need to fight with the crowd to get a decent photo.



#2 - Watch the Flight of Fantasy Parade
Do not miss the Flight of Fantasy Parade happening daily at the Main Street at 3:30pm. This is when the entire park comes to the street to watch all the Disney characters dancing and singing as they march along the street. Be sure to gather at the Main Street half hour before the parade to get a good view.



#3 - Catch all the live shows
If time permits, catch all the live shows as much as you can. They are spectacular, entertaining and Broadway-quality such as Festival of the Lion King, Mickey Wondrous Book, Grizzly Gulch Welcome Wagon Show, and other seasonal stage show. Make sure you check the schedule of the show earlier.



#4 - Watch the 5D show
The Mickey Philharmagic 5D show is something entertaining and enjoyable by adult and kids. It is an orchestra with storyline. Since you will be seated the entire time, it is an activity which you can do when you're too tired of walking.



#5 - Take photos earlier before the crowd comes in
When you are taking photos, it can be irritating when there are kids running around and visitors photobombing your background. Be sure to be there extremely early if you wish to take nice photos. Spot the places where you want to take photos and rush there before the crowd comes in. The sleeping beauty castle is my favourite spot, but I've never gotten a chance to take a nice photo. This render an excuse for me to go there another time.



#6 - Buy souvenirs
Do not assume that all the souvenir shops selling the same thing. Although some stuff are generic and available everywhere, each shop have their own specialties. I love to browse the jewelries on the Main Street shops at Emporium. They have designer's grade jewelries but the price is expensive. My favourite souvenir to bring home is the Merlin's Hat.



#7 - Rides
In my honest opinion, the rides should not be on the top of your list to do. They're the same as other theme parks and can be missed. If you're there for a one-day trip, don't waste your time on the rides. The queue is usually very long. There are amazing live shows and you should go for that instead. Spot one or two rides that you are interested in and use the Fast Pass (comes with your ticket). The Fast Pass allows you to skip the queue for a specific time.



#8 - Stay at Disneyland
There are two hotels at Hong Kong Disneyland - The Disneyland Resort and Hollywood Hotel. I wanted to stay at the Disneyland Resort because it has a castle and princess-y feel to it. However, the rooms are fully booked almost throughout the year. Staying at the Hollywood Hotel is also convenient. Check out my Disneyland Hollywood Hotel stay.



#9 - Eating in Disneyland
There are a lot of fantastic restaurants at Disneyland and also at the hotels. It is not cliche to dine in there as the food are amazing and scrumptious. My favourite is the Crystal Lotus restaurant located in Disneyland Resort. In the morning the restaurant serves dim sum with really cute Disney characters. I will do a separate post on the food as there are too many restaurants there. Don't worry about getting hungry there.


#10 - Fireworks at Sleeping Beauty Castle
Plan your stay until end of the day. Around 8pm there is a Nighttime Spectacular Parade happening at Main Street. The show ends with a bang of fireworks at Sleeping Beauty Castle which also signify the closing of the park. The fireworks and musical is really magical.

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Sep 20, 2015

How to choose adult colouring book that suits you

I have been taking a back seat from updating my posts on this blog because I have stumbled upon a new hobby which is pretty addictive - colouring. The adult colouring book is a new phenomenal event in the publishing industry since its sales surpassed the Holy Bible and Quran for being the top selling books from the shelf. Psychologists around the world have been recommending colouring therapy to patients that suffering from stress and anxiety for many years. Not until recently, illustrator Johanna Basford is to be blamed for introducing the therapy to the public at large.



There is only one answer to why adult colouring books are selling like hot cakes - every adult is suffering from stress and anxiety. We are all facing it at different levels, be it severe or mild. And we have been seeking for therapy in every possible way. The adult colouring books is probably the most accessible therapy for all. It is cheap, safe, easy to use, and effective.



With so many options available, it is pretty hard to choose the adult colouring book that suits you best. If you choose the wrong book, it can add up to your stress. So before you purchase yourself one, ask yourself what is the purpose of you engaging in this activity?


To relieve stress/help on insomnia/relax your mind
Choose adult colouring books that have mandala patterns.When you start filling in the repetitive patterns, you will find yourself get drawn to the rhythm that puts you into a meditative state. The Mindfulness Mandalas is a recommended pick.


To make yourself happy
Find the colouring book that has the theme of your interest. If you are into tattoos, the Megamunden Tattoo Colouring Book will fit your personality. There are fashion colouring book for fashionistas, cats theme, or even colouring books for hipsters. In my case, I bought a colouring book that is filled with foods. I find myself giggling with excitement everytime I open the book.


To spark creativity
Not everyone is brave enough to create a piece of canvas with splashes of paint on it. However, you can be creative with a simple guide from your colouring book. For example, the Daria Song's colouring book encourages you to fill up your own thoughts on the pages. Some other books allow you to tear out the pages and turn your artwork into a postcard. There are so many different styles out there and you just have to choose the one that allows you to create something.




To bond with your children
Colouring is not just an activity for reducing stress. It can also be a bonding time for you and your kids. While accompanying them painting their colouring book, you can choose a design which you can relate to. It is really fun thing to do at home. Choose designs that your kids would love such as fairy tales colouring book. The top one is my baby's, and the bottom one is my work.



To fill in the gap
Do you have a deprived childhood? Do you love to travel but don't have the means to fulfill your dreams at this moment? Choose a design that can fill in the gap in your life. For example, go on a virtual travelling around the world's cities with the Steve McDonald's Fantastic Cities.




After you have found the purpose of you venturing into the adult colouring book, determine what are the colouring medium you would like to use - coloured pencils, watercolour, ink or crayon. If you will be using coloured pencils or crayon, you can pick up any book. However, if you are a watercolour or ink person, you will need thicker pages, or pages that has a blank sheet at the back of it to prevent colour bleeding.




Next is to evaluate the level of your patience. If you are extremely impatient person and can't stand even an hour of concentration, do not go for designs that are delicate, intricate and fine. Your level of motivation will drop off half way. Go for designs that are bold, sparse and easy to colour.




These are merely a guide. There is no right or wrong way to choose the adult colouring book as different people have a different preference. Of course, the artist do play a role in determining what style suits you. We also have our very own local illustrator that features colouring book with Malaysian touch. Her name is Emila Yusof. Do check out her style, it is super cute with some patriotism injected in her work.


I find that the Chinese publisher have better options, especially those from Taiwan. Do venture to the Chinese section in the bookstore if you are looking for more designs. The food colouring book I bought was the best so far and it is published by a Taiwanese company. I stumbled on it at the Chinese section in Popular. It has a lot of extra information regarding food.





The adult colouring book are available at all bookstores, newstand and some selected lifestyle boutiques. Prices range from RM20 to RM60. 
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