Ni Hao 2008, Day 1

Fully awake and slight exhausted, Papa and I left the house to pick up Karina and Remedios. To Terminal 3 we went for our 8AM flight. Check in and immigration was a breeze.




To kill time (and in response to my grumbling stomach), we hung out at Seattle's Best. I had a ham and cheese panini and a cafe mocha. Karina and I, like the crazy girls that we are, started talking about Irving as if we wasn't in Kuwait:

Karina: Bakit ang tagal ni Remedios sa CR?
Schmenten: Ano ka ba Kar. Hinihintay pa nya si Irving matapos sa CR.

The flight to HK was ok. I was woozy for the most part.



The HK airport was pretty amazing! It's huge! We had to take a train to go to the arrival area. Immigration was a little tougher than expected. Remy had to endure a few repetitive questions from the immigration agent. But we all got through ok.



In keeping with the cost-efficient theme of our trip, we decided to take the City Flyer (the local bus) back to our hotel. We didn't realize how huge the airport was and how far the bus terminus was from the arrival hall. We had to walk for another 20 minutes. When we were finally seated on BusA21.



It was an hour to stop 14 (Tsim Sha Tsui, Nathan Road & Middle Road). After dragging our luggage fror two blocks, we finally arrived at The Salisbury YMCA. Cool, cool location!



The three of us got settled in, but we quickly left because we were starving! Our first HK meal was at the Spaghetti House, a classic HK institution. Kars and Remy ordered the chicken scalopini and I had the Risotto Combination which tasted a lot like fried rice. The fruit punch I ordered was nice.






We walked around TST (the nearby streets) to help digest our lunch. Our first stop was the Esprit Outlet. We were overwhelmed! So much nice stuff in one store. We vowed to return. After walking some more we went back to the hotel. Clearly exhausted from the day (sans sleep the evening before!). I took a shower and slept for a good hour.

Late into the afternoon, when we recharged with our siesta, we ventured Harbour city Mall and Ocean Terminal. Both Karina and i have vague memories of this mall.



So we ended up walking around the terminal (up and down, through the nooks and crannies). There weren't really a lot of stores we found particularly interesting. There was this nice paper store where I got a 2009 planner.

5 minutes before 8pm, we walked outside to the viewing deck for the Symphony of lights. The harbour view was a breath taking sight. The post cards do not lie. Hehe.





After a few photos here and there, we had dinner Cafe de Coral, another HK institution. Haha. I had very low expectations of Cafe de Coral, and I was pleasantly surprised that the resto has made several improvements! The price was still fair though.



Because our Sham Shui Po venture turned into a siesta, we decided to go to the Mongkok Ladies Bazaar in the evening. We took the MTR from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mongkok. I've been to this bazaar previously, and i was yet again pleasantly surprised to see the bright bright lights in Mongkok. It kinda felt like New York. The hustle and bustle.





We walked around for a good hour, bargaining and haggling with the local merchants. I got the mandatory magnets and chinese souvenirs. By the time we reached the end of the strip, I was dead tired! And frustrated. For the entire afternoon and the evening, I've been looking for the replacement charger. All the computer shops told me they didn't sell the charger separately. This other guy told me to visit the Apple Store, which to my dismay, is closed on Sundays. Pooohoo.

Dejected and tired, we trudged back to TST . BY some divine intervention, the small store right outside the TST MTR station had the new MacBook on display. I ventured into the store, slightly hopeful. And lo and behold! They sold the charger! Woooohooo. Out my frustration, I bought the charger anyway, even though it's priced the same as in Manila.

Poo. What a day this has been. 2 hours of sleep and still going. Not a lot of checks in my Christmas list. I'm still adjusting to HK, I think. I've been so to BKK for the past few years.

It's been hella-fun hanging out with Karina and Remy! Laugh trip!

Travel thought for today...
You can research about the place and the people to some extent prior to the trip. But there's also a thrill in discovering them yourself.