Liwanag Park has been a yearly attraction during the Christmas season which started 2006.  It's located in Meralco Compound in Ortigas, Pasig.  If coming from Ortigas Ave going to Robinson's Galleria, it would be on the right side.  One wouldn't miss it as it stands out due to the bright lights.

It normally starts toward the end of November and runs until the first week of January.  It is open from 6PM to 10PM daily.  Free parking is also available in the vicinity.  The park is full of lights and installations (houses and figures) made of copper.  They even have free train ride that goes around the big Christmas tree.

Here are some pictures at the park:

Park Map

Facade of Meralco Theater

Giant Christmas Tree

"Houses" beside the train tracks

The Nativity

Representation of the 3 kings

The gift

Meralco's lantern

Our flight back home won't be until late afternoon.  We did not want to go all the way back to the guesthouse later so we decided to take the airport express and check-in our bags before going elsewhere.

We went to Hong Kong Station and bought the Group of 2 - Single Journey Ticket set.  It's a promotion that Airport Express have for group of 2, 3 or 4 persons travelling together.  For more information on MTR/Airport Express promotions, click here.  We checked-in our bags at the station before doing some sight-seeing.  Not all airlines offer in-town check-in so please check here if your airline offers this service.

Airport Express Tickets

After check-in, we took the MTR to Causeway Bay.  It was raining so we weren't able to go out of Times Square.  But, they do have the Lego Village as part of their participation in HK Winterfest.  When the rain became a drizzle, we were able to go out for a bit.
 

View from the 2nd floor

After spending some time at Times Square we decided to go back to Central/HongKong Station and just stroll and at IFC Mall where there's a gate going Airport Express.

The Enchanted Forest at IFC Mall

When it's about time to go to the airport, we went down to the Airport Express Gate at IFC Mall and hopped on the train.  The third stop of this train would be the airport.  We don't have to worry about our bags as we already checked it in at Hong Kong Station.

Location indicator inside the Airport Express

When we got to the airport, we went straight to immigration as we already have our boarding passes.  Until next time HK.

Hong Kong International Airport Departure Area

Tung Chung


With no planned itinerary, we decided to go to Tung Chung.  We took the MTR to Tung Chung station.

We could take the Ngong Ping 360 cable car if the sky is clear.  The cable car station is about 2-5 minutes walk from the station's exit.  When we checked it out, it's too cloudy we wouldn't be able to get a good view from the cable car, so we decided to skip it.

View of NP360 cable car

Way to Ngong Ping 360 Tung Chung cable car station

City Gate Outlets can also be found here.  It's in the same building as the station's exit.  We strolled a bit and looked for some real bargains.  We ended up not buying anything (Haha! Quite some control), just some window shopping.



ICC / sky100 Observation Deck

After lunch, we took the MTR to Kowloon Station.  It would be my first time at sky100 since it only opened on the 1st half of 2011.  The observation deck is on 100/F but the entrance is on the 2/F near Elements - Metal Zone.

On the way to sky100, we passed by some Christmas displays so we stopped a bit to take pictures.


When we got to the ticket booth/entrance (which is a one or two sets of escalator below the entrance level), we were informed that there's a private event and they would only sell tickets for 2:00PM onwards.  It's already 1:00PM so it's not a long wait.  We bought tickets (cost: Adult HK$150, Senior HK105) and had some coffee while waiting.

sky100 Entrance

sky100 Tickets

Minutes before 2PM, we went back to the entrance and waited in line for us to be ushered in.

Welcome to sky100

The way to the elevator is a walk in memory lane

'sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck' is the highest indoor observation deck in Hong Kong! Soaring high above the city on the 100^th floor of the International Commerce Centre, the tallest building in town, 'sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck' offers visitors a magical bird's-eye sweep of this world-famous sight with an unbeatable 360^o panoramic view. (Source)

Information on the elevator

The glass floor as you step out of the elevator
has a miniature layout of Victoria Harbour
and the buildings surrounding it

At the observation deck

At the observation deck

View from the observation deck

View from the observation deck

View from the observation deck

There is no limit on how long one could stay at the observation deck and they have free wi-fi access there.  I think we stayed there for about 2 hours then we decided to go to Victoria Harbour/Avenue of Stars to watch the Symphony of Lights.




Tsim Sha Tsui, Symphony of Lights, 1881 Heritage 

We took the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui Station.  There is no direct MTR ride to Tsim Sha Tsui so we took the MTR back to Lai King station and transferred to Tsuen Wan line (red line) to get to Tsim Sha Tsui Station.  The other route could be via Hong Kong Station but the walk between Hong Kong and Central station is a long one.

We bought some perfume from pharmacies near Tsim Sha Tsui Station (yes, they do sell perfumes in pharmacies and you could even get a better deal), then walked to Harbour City in Canton Road to get something to eat and go window shopping.

We made our way to the promenade around 7:00PM.  The show starts 8:00PM everyday, weather permitting.

Passed by the Clock Tower
on the way to the promenade

Victoria Harbour view with
the Star Ferry passing by

Victoria Harbour panoramic view

Victoria Harbour view with the
Duk Ling Junk passing by

Victoria Harbour view

Symphony of Lights

Symphony of Lights

Symphony of Lights

Additional information on Symphony of Lights can be found here.

When the show has finished, it is time to head home but not quite yet.  On the way to the MTR station, we passed by 1881 Heritage and decided to take some pictures before heading back to the hotel.

1881 Heritage

1881 Heritage

1881 Heritage