Madame Tussauds & SkyTerrace 428, Hong Kong - A Review

This is actually a continuation of my previous post about Day 1 - Itinery in HongKong as I decided to split the post into several different posts due to the amount of photos for each place. Who hasn't heard of Madame Tussauds? It's a famous chain of wax museums which are available all over the world. This is however, my first time to one. Before we even went, the first thing I remembered when I think of wax museums is a horror/thriller flick a few years ago: House of Wax where a demented pysco killed his victims and made them into wax statues. Creepy right? :S

Anyway, back to Madame Tussauds. It was located on the Peak Tower which has a few other attractions all in a place. More on that later. As you can probably see for yourself, the crowd was unbelievable! Who says that summer time in Hong Kong is their low season? Hmph! Or is it possible that everyone is thinking that's their low season so everyone wanted to go during that time in a so-called bid to escape the crowd? *ponders*

 
We were stuffed like sardines into the impromptu waiting hall and people were pushing and trying to make their way to the front. It was crazy! And that's after another long wait outside the hall in the sun! OMG~ I was already sporting a mild sunburn by the time we reached the front doors. Again, you would probably notice my rather red sun-scorched skin as opposed to being just tanned. Oh, and we stocked up on lots of Vitamin water. It's us trying to convince ourselves that we are keeping ourselves healthy with our daily vitamin needs so we don't get sick on our trip. I think it has become a sort of tradition to just get them daily when we are on holidays. Heh!

Oh and the Peak Tram Historical Gallery? That's the place where they squeezed all of us in. If you happened to be squeezed towards the sides, you could probably read the plaques as you were waiting or sort of see them while being squeezed against them... Hahaha.

We decided to get the single-ride tram up to the wax museum and then getting the bus ride down later. According to my BF it's so we get the best of both in terms of the sights and experience. Smart, right? :) The tram ride was really good except for the heat during the wait and the amount of people. I guess that's the norm for all tourist attractions anywhere. The view of all the buildings along the track was definitely eye-opening. It felt like the buildings were just next to us and I read somewhere that the architecture of the tram was meant to make the passengers feel like that. It's called the Peak Tram Illusion. The wonders of architecture and design...

Uh, I was trying to capture the magnificence of the view but failed miserably. Ignore the uncle in the corner please :S

My initial plan was to post as many photos of us in Madame Tussauds as possible but somehow, some of the photos which I have already rotated showed differently once I upload so I did not bother anymore since my internet is not really the fastest here.

This is the Peak Tower

I enjoyed our Madame Tussauds experience, probably because we were doing all sort of crazy poses and laughing to our own jokes. However, to a normal tourist, I would say Madame Tussauds would warrant one visit but after that, maybe they would all look alike because according to their brochures, all their museums hold nearly the same wax characters except with new additions from time to time.

We then moved on to the next attraction at the same location, Sky Terrace 428. The name in itself probably lent hints already as to why. It was 428 metres from sea level, and is probably the highest area in Hong Kong where you can enjoy a panaromic view of the skylines of Hong Kong. And the have Hugo Boss here where you should buy their off-season if you liked them because the ones in town do not have the same promo.

Oh and you get to have free earphones with explanations on the sights up here and all. I was wearing the headphone below for the photo only. The dictation on the player was quite boring if you ask me.

Before I end this post, I would strongly suggest buying the tickets for all the rides and especially for Madame Tussauds' entrances ONLINE. Why? Not only you get to be somehow faster when they herded you inside the waiting area, but for Madame Tussauds' you get to enjoy discounted rates of up to 40% depending on their current promotion. That would be easier on your wallet as well as the rights for walking haughtily by all the others who are still queueing for their tickets. Heh! If you are adamant about not parking your money for a trip you would only be taking in months, then just go online a week before to purchase the tickets. Do note that sometimes the promotion would have ended so you might not be entitled to some of them. :)
 

 Madame Tussauds' Entrance Fees: