Hong Kong: Must-See Lantau Island

Lantau Island is the biggest island in Hong Kong.  It has been relatively obscure to tourists until recently when it became recognized because of the developments in the island such as the relocation of the new airport and Hong Kong Disneyland.

We spent our last 2 days in HK at Lantau Island where we booked an overnight stay at the Disney Hollywood Hotel.  We arrived in Disneyland mid-morning and quickly left all our luggage with the hotel concierge since check-in was still at 3 in the afternoon.  Since the kids had previously visited the park, the adults decided that a quick visit to the nearby Citygate outlet wouldn’t upset any of the kids.  We boarded the train going to Tung Chung and we all enjoyed riding the Disney train... complete with Mickey silhouette windows, and Mickey handrails.

The seats are more plush, too

Citygate Outlet is located right next to Tung Chung MTR Station and approximately just 10-minutes away from the HK International Airport.  It is the only outlet mall in the entire HK and the place boasts of offering up to 70% discount and its location makes it great for last minute shopping. 

Sorry, as it would seem that I only took photos of the Christmas display... R kept bugging me to "take a picture of that..."  They do look cute and cuddly, like giant sized marshmallows.

We got to the outlet just in time for a very early lunch and afterwards went in fast pursuit to see what this mall had to offer.  The mall has some designer brands like Burberry, Diane von Furstenberg. Ralph Lauren, DKNY and the Armani bridge line, Armani Exchange.  There are a lot of mid-priced brands, some of them being Kate Spade, Coach, Mango, Esprit, Giordano, Levi's, Quiksilver and Timberland.

There are a lot of athletic apparel stores, too.  It is a runner's heaven as there huge discounts on shoes and dri-fit shirts and compression shorts.   More than half of the SRP in Manila.

I would also like to share a new shopping find, which also has an outlet store in Citygate.  Dr Kong is a manufacturer of one of the most comfortable shoe insoles I have ever tried.  My mom discovered this on her HK trip a few years ago, and she swears by it.  They also sell shoes with their special insoles inserted in it, but the designs are not that great, so I suggest just buying the insoles to put in your traveling shoes.

 

We got back to Disneyland just in time for the Holiday Parade.   

Hong Kong Disneyland is, obviously, the city's No. 1 attraction for families with young kids, and I am sure the Disneyland franchise is familiar to almost everybody. It is the world's smallest Disney Park, but nonetheless, it is well recommended, most especially if your kids range from 3-9 years old.

There is also another attraction in Lantau Isalnd that I really wanted to visit, but we fell short of time so will have to do that next time around.  The Ngong Ping 360 is a dynamic new tourism experience, which combines a 5.7 km cable car journey with a cultural themed village and easy access to the Tian Tan Buddha Statue, the world’s largest, seated, outdoor, bronze Buddha statue.  You can know more about it here.

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Honeysuckle: 2011 Color of the Year

It has been decided!  Pantone, the color know-it-all, has dubbed Honeysuckle the color of the year.

This playful shade of pink, described by the Wall Street Journal as a "sherbety pink with a hint of red and orange zest,"is expected to be making numerous appearances in the clothes, accessories, and cosmetics on the runway;  at furniture and other home accessories; on industrial design; as a theme for weddings; and even on our nails. 

Liz Hurley is pretty in pink

Here is Paris Hilton showing us how NOT to do it

Mood Board for a honeysuckle themed wedding

You can also tone down the color when you pair it with silver and gray 

The Kitchen Aid stand mixer in this color is sold out at Amazon

A fresh take on the kitchen

A lovely room to wake up to

Charge in Style with the Visa® Platinum Rewards Card in Honeysuckle

James Mischka, one of the designers for the Badgley Mishcka designer line, says that the vibrant shade can fashionably be worn all year long, for casual and formal occasions.  He adds that the way to wear it is either against white or all on its own, noting it doesn't pair well with black.

image from the Badgley Mishka Spring 2011 collection

As for me, it is good thing that James Mishcka was nowhere near me as I venture out a couple of  months ago wearing my "honeysuckle" bag with a black dress. Di daw bagay di ba?  :)

Take note of the cousin rocking her sky-high pumps in the background

The bag is a Kate Spade, purchased this year by C as a gift for me.  Shempre, when I initially saw the color, I was shocked... eh kse hot pink.  To explain the strange choice of color, he says he bought it on sale.  He thought it was a good price for a bag that was made from genuine leather.  I am sure he bought it primarily because of the hugeness of the bag because he knows I put everything in my bag.  I am literally a travelling clinic and nursery with the various kid-related paraphernalia I have inside my bag...band-aids, nail-cutter, Victorinox mini multi purpose tool, medicine, citronella anti-mosquito spray - and that is not counting my own war-slash-vanity kit... oh well you get the drift...  

Who would ever have thought that my manang bag would fortuitously be "IN" next year.  hahahaha!



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