Lai Yuen Amusement Park

I would say that the best thing that Hong Kong has this summer is the Lai Yuen (Temporary) Amusement Park down in the Central Harbourfront Event Space.  The park is said to be open until early September 2015.  

The admission is FREE.

The only thing you pay for is EVERYTHING INSIDE:  Tokens for the games, tokens for the rides, and the food is just like normal (pay as you eat)!!!

One token is worth 10 HKD.

Most games are 2 - 3 tokens.

Most of the rides 3 - 8 tokens.

The awesome thing about the Lai Yuen Amusement Park is that there are free shows in the evenings that seem quite fun to view.

One of the main draws, for me, were the games.  I'd been to the AIA Great European Carnival and the games were also my highlight.  I just love winning stuff!

The games were also quite an attraction for me because they were taken from the original Lai Yuen Amusement Park, which was opened in Lai Chi Kok back in 1949.  It's always cool to relive history.  The Lai Yuen Amusement Park definitely felt like walking back into the past.

NOTE:  The local Hong Kong games were A LOT MORE CHALLENGING than the ones at the AIA Great European Festival.  Good thing?  Perhaps!!  Bad thing…sort of because I really did want to win myself a giant grey Tino elephant plush.

NOTE:  If you are hot and bothered by the Hong Kong heat, like myself, don't worry too much about spending the afternoon at the Lai Yuen (Temporary) Amusement Park.  The game booths had lots of fans around them.  Some booths even had water that spritzed down on us during the midday heat.

Because we went around lunch time, there seemed to be early bird prices at the attractions.  We got ONE TOKEN off for our entry into the balloon zoo, which was lovely and air conditioned!

The rides also had absolutely no lines.  Most rides were for the kiddos.  But one of the coolest (literally) "rides" or attractions was the haunted house.  The SPOOKY SCHOOL totally reminded me of the SCARY ASYLUM of the AIA Great European Carnival.  I LOVE these types of attractions for sure.  I'm not so much a roller coaster person, though there weren't any roller coasters at this amusement park…but, it was nice to have other activities besides the games to add to the day!

NOTE:  The Merry-Go-Round is fast!  If you are prone to motion sickness…like that queasy feeling you might get when riding a Hong Kong minibus, this ride might leave you with a similar dizzy feeling.

The last stop of the Lai Yuen Amusement Park is the food stalls!

There weren't a lot of options, but they did have a good variety of local Hong Kong snacks and also the usual burger/fries/pizza mix.

With a good few hours spent at the Lai Yuen Amusement Park, we ended the afternoon with a quick bite of a hot dog and burger mix.  Nothing fills my belly like a good burger.  We also got a durian shake, which is something I love about Hong Kong smoothie shops…UNIQUENESS.  I WILL TOTALLY drop by again when I'm in the area and in the mood to have some good ole fashion fun.  

I totally recommend visiting the Lai Yuen Amusement Park while it is here!!!!!  

A Day @ The Carnival

Has this winter been really warm for you?  For some reason, it feels like Spring, which is a great thing for us in Hong Kong because we get to do more outdoor activities than the usual.

This past weekend, my friends and I headed over to the AIA Great European Carnival, which is located at the Central Harbourfront Event Space.  I hadn't been down here since the late summer's Ukulele Festival.

But, over the past few months, I slowly saw the construction of the Hong Kong Ferris Wheel.  And then, over the Christmas holiday, I slowly saw the set up of the Carnival.  So, I've been wanting to check this out for a good month and this weekend, being so beautifully warm and sunny, was the perfect time.

The actual Ferris Wheel (sometimes referred to as the Hong Kong Observation Wheel) isn't apart of the Carnival, but some info on that (through just checking out the ticket booth whilst we were down there):

Adults cost $100 HKD
Children cost $70 HKD
8 - 10 people per carriage

NOTE:  You will probably be put in a carriage with strangers, which may or may not be to your liking.

As for the Carnival:

Adults cost $125 HKD

Children cost $90 HKD

This price included 10 tokens to be used on games or rides

Open from 11 am - 11 pm daily

I'm not sure when the Carnival is running until, but online it says that it is open until late February.

NOTE:  1 Token = $10 HKD

We got here around 1pm and it was nice and empty!  A few times, when I was just walking by, I saw huge crowds, which wouldn't make the Carnival such a great experience (LINES and all).  But, getting there early has its perks!

The games were around 2 Tokens for 2 - 4 tries.  They were probably one of the most fun things at the Carnival…besides the Haunted House.  I'm not so much a thrill-seeker when it comes to going on rides.

Anther draw, for the kiddies probably, was the ice skating rink.  There were more people on this than there were on the rides this day.

The Haunted House was probably my favorite part.  I feel like there were only two guys running the entire thing, but it was terrifying.  It was totally the dark and scary asylum of my nightmares.  I would say, if you are as easily scared as myself, bring a flashlight or download the flashlight app onto your phone.  I found myself too terrified at times to even pass through a room.  For some reason, I kept thinking that someone was going to jump out at me or bum rush me from behind…(I mean, how likely is that in a Haunted House???).  

Anyhow, I think a flashlight would have given me more courage!  

Overall, I had such a great time at the Carnival.  It's definitely something I'm going to go head out to again.  I do want to check it out in the evening next time, as the lights will all be a-blazing and there are also musical acts/bands that will be performing at night.  

The Weekend: Ukulele Festival

On one of the hottest days of the Fall, steps away from the Pro-Democratic Student Movement, a Ukulele Festival was setting up its booths and sound checking.  

The Ukulele Festival was held at the Central Harbourfront Event Space on Saturday from 3 - about 9 pm.  It was a great international festival with local ukulele artists and ukulele players from Taiwan, Shenzhen, Japan, the States, and more.

Ryo Natoyama sound checking.

Lang Lang chilling with his ukulele.

Give & Take practicing backstage.

Hong Kong International Hula Association booth and hula dancers.

At the end of the night, while a lot of the crowed started dispersing and heading over to support the student movement, there was a sort of bittersweet feeling in the air.  The Harbour was to our right, the lights of the surrounding buildings were twinkling magically, and the organizers were saying their final notes of thanks...it was all truly romantic, but then you could see the police cars lining up along the streets creating road blockades and the students starting to march in Tamar Park...it makes me wonder what this city will be like when I wake up tomorrow morning.