travel by iphone: Hong Kong + Disneyland

hello, friends! for the past two weeks I've been busy playing tour guide around Taipei for one of our best friends who came for a visit to Taiwan. Luke and I decided to surprise him with a mini-vacation inside a vacation and sneakily bought us all tickets to Hong Kong.

and since our friend has never been to a Disney park - ever, anywhere - we decided that the surprise inside the surprise was going to be a day at Hong Kong Disneyland.

our trip started off well - Hello Kitty was on our plane and we were welcomed in Hong Kong with cute cartoons. we were only staying one night, so after our arrival we walked over from our hotel in SoHo to the peak tram terminal. things were a bit hazy and misty for us, but the views were still better than from inside our hotel room.

I have actually been to Victoria Peak every time I've visited Hong Kong - which made this my third visit. I've done the fancy 428 viewing deck, but we opted for free views and more exploring this time. the Lion's Pavillion area is not far from where you exit the tram. it's usually pretty crowded. but then, so is most of the peak area.

we also wandered down Lugard Road for a different perspective of the city. things were more quiet out that way, and professional-looking photographers waiting for sunset mark the best photo vantages. then we found a bar to enjoy some beverages while the sun went down and the buildings lit up.

I have some not great feelings about my last trip to Hong Kong. and I kindof hate that traveling with two men instead of wandering as a solo woman was a lot more comfortable for me. but no one demanded my photo then stalked me into a Starbucks this time so maybe that has more to do with my feelings.

anyway, it was nice to revisit and replace that experience with some better memories. especially since I FINALLY got to visit Hong Kong Disneyland.

it's pretty much impossible not to have fun at Disney. when you're surrounded by little kids alight with wonder, it's infectious. we spent the day being whisked away to a mystical manor full of enchanted antiquities, barreling through space in hyperdrive, floating down a crocodile-infested jungle river, blasting Emperor Zurg, hunting for character eggs, and giggling with delight at all the magical details they put into the park. and THEN we met Mickey.

I've been curious about Hong Kong Disney since our first visit to HK in 2013, and even more since we visited Tokyo Disney to celebrate my 29th birthday in 2014. [coincidentally, my first "travel by iphone" post was upon return from our Tokyo Disney trip.] and for the scoop on Tokyo, you can read my Tokyo Disney tips and tricks post which also links to more detailed info about various areas of the park, or just scroll through this post full of castle photos.

after visiting both parks, I have to admit I prefer Tokyo. the park is bigger and there's more rides, the castle is full-size and there is a whole second park [Disney Sea] to explore. Mystic Manor was fun in its own way, but it's no Haunted Mansion. that being said - all the attractions in Hong Kong were in English, and the park is small enough to easily see everything in one day. it's worth visiting and I'm glad we were able to go.

I think it's safe to say we had a magical time in Hong Kong 💕

Cappadocia, Turkey // balloon-filled sunrise skies

this morning when I sat down to blog, I opened up Lightroom and asked myself: where do you want to go today? it's been a rough week. and so the answer was somewhere magical and far away.

cue: sunrise in Cappadocia. specifically, a sunrise spent watching hot air balloons sail through the sky.

a word about photo integrity: if you've been on Pinterest for 5 minutes, you've probably seen photos of hot air balloons over Cappadocia. a lot of them involve blondes with perfect hair sitting on Turkish rugs sipping coffee, while the sky is brimming with colorful orbs. and a lot of them are photoshopped.

while I sometimes use photo editing programs to bring out colors, crop people out of the frame, fix weird shadows or remove blemishes... I always try to give an accurate representation of the place I am photographing. just like I try to give an honest telling of my experiences. [because misleading blog posts are a huge pet peeve of mine.] SO I promise you that all the photos you see here will not have any additional balloons, only what was actually in the skies. end of rant. back to the balloons.

riding in a hot air balloon in Turkey was one of the most magical experiences, ever. so much that my friend and I decided once was not enough. but rather than pay the fee to fly again, we woke up before sunrise to view the balloons from a bluff we spotted during our ride.

the night before, we hiked out to assess the situation. we got there early enough to watch the balloons fire up and take off, and stayed until they landed again. in between we took a lot of photos [ok, no rug but at least I brushed my hair] and even did some yoga on a giant rock.

after the first 15 or 20 minutes, we realized that the wind was not blowing in our direction. the day we flew, our balloon had passed directly over the bluff we were standing on. but on this day they almost went straight up and down... which is why all my photos are pretty much the same angle. at one point I just put my camera down because I was taking the same shot over and over. [though apparently it was so early I forgot I had my zoom lens and only took that one close shot? oops.]

even though the balloons didn't make it very close to us, we still had a beautiful sunrise. I think if I lived in Göreme I could become a morning person - if it meant starting every day with a thermos of coffee and a sunrise hike.

is this view worth waking up at 4am for? it was for me.

eventually, what goes up must come down. the magic ends and it's time for another cup [or three] of coffee before heading out to explore some cave villages and crazy rock formations. as one does in Cappadocia.

[ps: don't worry, I'll share photos from the actual balloon ride. it was just easier to sort through these first than the 500+ I took from the air.]

linking up with Lauren on Location, Snow in Tromso, The Sunny Side of This and What a Wonderful World for #wanderfulwednesday