April 23: Leaving On a Jetplane
The flight wasn't until 7PM so I still had time to go to school to say goodbye to my friends and meet R. We went to Alabang to have lunch, then I went home so my family and I could go to the airport. The flight was only 45 minutes, but since it was already late, we settled in at Tito Michael's [a family friend] condominium in Tung Chung. It was on the 60th floor, overlooking the sea and the airport and needless to say, it was fabulous.
April 24: Hong Kong Disneyland: Here You Leave Today and Enter The World Of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy
Woke up early to go to Disneyland and I realized that Hong Kong is freezing cold. I didn't bring a jacket so I whipped out my 12-foot shopping list and wrote fur coat after 6-inch Manolo Blahnik heels.
Our mode of transport throughout our stay is the MTR [Mass Transit Railway]. Unlike the MRT and LRT here in the Philippines, this goes around the entire Hong Kong. Disney had its own line, so when we got down the Sunny Bay station, there was another train that brought us to Disneyland. The train was fantastic. And personalized.
I had a hard time enjoying Disneyland not only because it was big, but because there were so many fabulous things happening. Also, there were so many hot Hongkongese men [please take note that Honkie is very racial] prancing everywhere that I felt I broke my neck that day.
Walked around the entire park, watched both the theater performances [The Royal Philharmagic Orchestra's performance of the Golden Mickeys and The Festival Of The Lion King], took lots of pictures, rode almost all the rides, watched the High School Musical Live! performance and met and greeted Disney characters.
Went home late via the train. Riding the MTR was an experience because it was not uncommon to see men with Marc Jacobs glasses and girls with Gucci purses. You pay the fare with your Octopus card which is like an ATM. With it, you can pay the fare and your purchases in the grocery and 7-11.
April 25: Shopping and Not So Shopping: Not a Good Combination When You're In Hong Kong
Checked in at Novotel, a fabulous hotel connected to Citygate, a mall that houses Vivienne Tam, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Jill Stuart and Ralph Lauren. The mall is a five minute walk from La Rossa Condominium, where Tito Michael and his family live. I'm already missing the people in the Philippines, which is why I was happy that R has finally arrived in Hong Kong. Sadly, I forgot to activate my roaming so we couldn't contact each other.
Everybody knows that Hong Kong is shopping paradise. If Japan is known for its electronics and France for its fashion, Hong Kong definitely takes the Balenciaga bag for world-class bargain shopping.
It comes to no surprise then that on our second day, we went around Hong Kong and shopped like crazy. From Causeway Bay [think Times Square, Crawford Lane, Sogo, Windsor House, IKEA] to Mong Kok [and everything in between], I salivated over the fabulous finds that are not only easy on the pocket but great on quality.
If you look at certain photos carefully, you'd find it surprising that the prolific Mong Kok night market looks very similar to our very own Baclaran market. The only difference is, you wouldn't find redheads and blondes haggling like their lives depended on it.
I got into a fight with a saleslady while I was trying to buy a pair of boots. The pair that was on display was a 43 and it didn't fit. She was forcing us to buy it, claiming it fit, but my mom kept pressing her to get a 44. She was probably just lazy to get it from God knows where. When we finally convinced her, the 44 still didn't fit, and she was forcing us to get that pair. We asked for the next size but she got upset, claiming it fit. My mom decided to leave and the vendor threw a hissy fit, pushing me out of the stall. Of course I got pissed. Who was she to push me? I pointed at her and yelled at her not to fucking touch me. She yelled back in gibberish and my mom told her to shut up. I told her she was a bitch and she went crazy and yadi yadi yada. We left while she was screaming her head off. At the end of the day, I got a bag, two dress shirts, a jacket, Bvlgari cologne, and three shoelaces. It was sad I didn't get the boots, but what the hey.
You might also notice that a substantial amount of the photos in my Multiply are of designer boutiques and their windows. Hence, the not so shopping phrase in the title of this sub-entry. I just felt like taking pictures of their windows for the sake of posterity and to say: yeah, i've been there. Have you? Do forgive me that most of the designer pictures are blurry because I took them while I was walking. I was too embarrassed to stop and take the picture because I looked foreign enough, and I didn't want to prove that I was a tourist by whipping out my camera every 5 seconds and talking loudly in my native language.
When we got home, we walked a good half hour to the nearest 7-11 [convenience store my ass] and bought chips to eat in the hotel.
April 26: Have A Break, Have Quiksilver
After an exhausting day in Disneyland and Mong Kok, I felt it was appropriate that I take a day off from everything Hong Kong. So while my mom and Tita Rose [Tito Michael's wife] went to Tsim Sha Tsui to shop, my brother and I stayed at home with Derrick and Shaine [the kids]. While Yuji and Derrick played their console games [PS2 and Wii], Shaine and I spent the day playing Monopoly, Chinese style [we bought places like Beijing and Shanghai]. We were later joined by the boys. When our moms got back, we went to Citygate to walk around. I bought flip flops from Quiksilver.
April 27: Mother's Day: H&M and Sham Shui Po Style
I got back on the Hong Kong track on the 4th day, but we didn't do much. We had lunch with the Tin's at Essence, Novotel's restaurant, then walked around Citygate. Bought a shirt in Calvin Klein and a dress shirt in Armani. The kids went back to the condominium and my mom and I went back to Mong Kok. Bought shoes in Adidas.
We then went to H&M where she bought a couple of stuff and Sham Shui Po so she could buy dresses. It was Mother's Day, all right. H&M style. Fashionistas around the world would be proud. I wanted to buy glasses from H&M but I was embarrassed to ask my mom after buying me designer stuff. It was too bad because the price range of the glasses were the same as the ones in People Are People.
April 28: Finding Nemo
On our last day in Hong Kong, my mom, Yuji, and I rode the Ngong Ping Cable Car 360. I rode my fair share of cable cars, but this one takes the cake. It was terrifying because you could clearly see how high you are, and yeah. It was pretty high. There is even one photo where I look like I'm thrilled, but my hands were tightly gripping the sides. We rode to Ngong Ping Village, a peaceful little village in the mountains. I was not amused because there were not many guys there. Actually, there weren't any guys. Oh, joy.
We went back to Citygate and bought some stuff from Esprit. I loved the shirt I got but the one I wanted to get was the clerk, who fortunately, I was able to take pictures of while he was ringing up purchases. After paying for our clothes [we were assisted by someone else], we went to Ocean Park.
I enjoyed the exhibits even if a lot of them were scary [the stingrays, the sharks, the jellyfish, the frogs]. I liked the dolphin show, but I sort of felt bad because I felt the dolphins rights were being violated. Imagine having to perform to get food. However, I realized that they get fed whether they perform or not. And honestly, I was more interested in feeding the guys in tights.
I love Hong Kong. The shopping, the lifestyle, the economy, and of course, the men. I know I should be ending this entry by saying no matter how much I enjoyed Hong Kong, I would still remain loyal to the Philippines. I do love the Philippines, and I am proud to say I am half-suman, but I would rather live in Hong Kong. You might say, how about your life here? What about your friends? While on the plane ride home, I was already thinking of ways how I could stuff all my belongings and my friends into one Chanel suitcase to bring to Hong Kong and of course, live happily ever after.
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