DAY 1

LEAVE OUR CARES BEHIND
AUGUST 1, 2007 1030 AM
CAUSEWAY BAY, HONG KONG

Landing was a non-barf event as well. Hopefully I’m overcoming my air nausea. Nikki texted Gene as soon as we landed, and Gene called us up assuming we had already arrived in our hotel. It really helps if one has a local SIM as one is more accessible to the locals. Globe apparently has a tie-up with CSL so calls are relatively cheaper than with other networks like PCCW.

Immigration was quick and efficient. I was a bit tense since I was fearful that HK immigration measures body temperatures and that my body heat would register in the charts as a SARS-risk. All paranoia of quarantine was unfounded anyway as we made it through without incident. Candy was offered in the immigration counter as well. Makes one feel like a real visitor and improves the generally dour expressions of the immigration officers, don’t you think?

Up until then, we really didn’t know how we going to get to Regal. We knew we had 3 options. First, take the A11 bus which costs only 65HKD roundtrip and was the cheapest option available. Problem was the bus would not be passing through Regal. We had to alight at Sugar Street, supposedly extremely near Regal. We disregarded this choice no matter how attractive the rate because we feared getting lost on our first day, no less. Second, take a taxi. Despite the presumably more expensive rate, we five are actually of the right number to ride a taxi. I’m just unsure how the luggage will go since HK taxis apparently have a luggage limit, and one simply cannot haul his luggage in with oneself like a baby. Finally, take the Airport Express. The Airport Express terminal is right within the arrivals hall. The train takes one all the way to Central where one switches to the MTR line (underground train) or waits for the buses which do a route along major Causeway Bay, Wanchai, and Admiralty hotels including Regal! How grand. Only the price was object. It costs 66HKD one-way for the whole train and bus. As testament to how unadventurous we truly are, we opted for the third choice.

The Airport Express ride was smooth and fast. It was with the buses that we had a minor snag. The claim was that the buses would arrive every 24 minutes. We waited bored to tears for double that before the H2 bus arrived. It could only sit a small amount of people, perhaps 30. Luckily, there were only a few of us waiting so we were all able to get a seat. Camie spent the whole time on the phone talking to people back in the Philippines or suppliers (Her Mandarin has improved greatly.) about business causing me to become quite stressed. Let’s enjoy our vacation please. I breathed a sigh of relief when she finally put her phone away.
We arrived in the hotel by 12 noon. Hong Kong was absolutely hot and humid! Franz and I checked in for us while the rest loitered outside. Since check-in time was at 2pm, we left our luggage with the concierge with the assurance that we would get a double-bed room in a non-smoking floor when we returned.

RETAIL THERAPY
AUGUST 1, 2007 12 PM
CAUSEWAY BAY AND CENTRAL, HONG KONG

We decided to go to Times Square to find a bite to eat. We rode the escalator up to the 11th floor to realize that all the restaurants there were quite fancy and beyond our price range. In the end, Nikki and I got tempted by the sale sign at Zara that we skipped lunch while the rest searched for authentic Chinese cuisine to satisfy their hunger pains. In what was going to be an easy and effective way to track each other, we simply decided to separate and meet in a designated spot at a certain time. Nikki and I went around Times Square from top down and didn’t get to see much. Quite a disappointment was Zara as HK and Philippine prices only had minor differences. Some shirts even had a measly P40 advantage. We were tempted in Lesportsac but realized that there were so many knockoffs that there was no point in getting the real one. There were also some cute specialty stores specializing in greeting cards, fancy toys, and other unique things. With nothing else to do, we decided to look for Royce Chocolates which is inside city’super, a supermarket in the Times Square basement. We went round and round in the first level trying to find an entrance to the supermarket to no avail. There were also no guards or information booth in sight. We ended up going down the escalator to the basement MTR station (Exit A) where we found plenty of affordable restaurants, chain stores like Bossini, and the much-sought after information booth. We were directed to city’super where we located Royce. Nikki and I got some free taste of heavenly chocolates and found the way out. Apparently, one has to enter Lane Crawford, a luxury department store and go down fancy, curved escalators to get to the basement where city’super is located. Our feet were so tired that we sat on the steps of Zara to rest for a while but were told to scoot by the saleslady. We resorted to going in the stores again to pretend to browse and to find an excuse to sit down. We did see a Ben and Jerry’s café though but neither of us wanted ice cream.

After meeting up with the others who ended up eating reliable and fine McDonald’s cuisine,we dropped by for a spell in Lee Theatre Plaza across to check out Espirt and Muji. We were able to use our expired Esprit discount cards which added a bonus 10% off sale items. Esprit was quite expensive so I only bought boy’s shirts. We also stopped by the new, sophisticated-looking Giordano, Giordano Concepts and Bossini where adorable and inexpensive striped and statement tees (only P240- 300 more or less!) were gobbled in the path of Super Shopper Franz.

We then headed back to the hotel to check in only to be told that there was no room available!!! As expected, I got all worked up but had to keep calm or else be known as shrewish tourist. After all the staff’s assurances that we could come back anytime and have our room ready, saying that they are out of rooms was not the brightest thing to tell people who had already paid the 2000HKD deposit. Eventually, we went up to the 26th floor and were greeted by our small-by- Philippine-standards hotel room. I say Philippine standards as Gene, our friend who lives in HK says that the room was already larger than most hotel rooms of the same 3- or 4-star caliber.

After settling down, we went to Wellcome Supermarket to buy essentials like water, milk, and juice. There’s always a promo going on somewhere in HK so why not the supermarket? Buy more than one and you always get to save a few dollars. There’s always a good deal for people in groups who are looking to split the tab so read the labels carefully. I was briefly tempted by the bakery goods where there was a Filipina exhorting people to buy bread in Cantonese. Nikki and Melissa went a little wild in the supermarket taking paparazzi-style shots.

Gene met up with us by 6:30 or so. I was adamant about going to H&M (Swedish fast-fashion chain), my main reason for wanting to go to HK, and so off we went to Central via the MTR.

There’s actually no need to buy the Tourist Octopus which costs around 300HKD for unlimited rides for a few days. Unless one is going to be riding the MTR every few hours, one can’t really maximize it. Best to get the regular Octopus which costs 150HKD and refill (only in denominations of 50) as needed. One can even get a refund of the unused value less 7HKD processing fee when one surrenders the card at the end of the trip. Just stick the card to a reader (even if inside the bag), and the value is automatically debited. The Octopus can also be used to pay in the supermarket and McDonalds.

H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is located in 68 Queen’s Road Central across Bossini and Giordano and beside Esprit. Queen’s Road is a major shopping avenue where the likes of Louis Vuitton, Marks & Spencer, and other popular stores in HK are located. The closest exit to H&M is D2 where you turn right on the main road and walk straight up to get there. The store is hard to miss with big bold red letters and a wide 3-storey building firmly establishing its presence. When H&M first opened its doors early this year as the first Asian branch, thousands lined up in the streets to get in. I read online that the first 10 entrants got a limited edition trench coat designed by Madonna. Lucky them. Like the much-publicized and very profitable Kate Moss-Topshop collaboration, H&M has partnered with Karl Lagerfeld, Viktor & Rolf, Stella McCartney and more recently, Madonna for capsule collections in accessible prices. Since then, they have opened another branch in Shanghai with plans to expand in China and Hong Kong. Please someone bring H&M to the Philippines! If only I had the capital and expertise…

H&M was literally a marketplace even though it was a Wednesday night. Only selected items were on sale. It had the same mess, scale, and frenzy of a Mango sale multiplied by ten. There was no way to get sizes as salespeople were hard to find and when one does find them, they’ll just say that everything is already laid out. It seems intimidating from the outside, but I wasn’t there not to brave the maddening shopping crowds. One with the mob, I say.

There’s something for everyone in H&M. Prices are cheaper than Mango and Zara with a much wider range. There’s athletic, trendy, professional, glam, quirky, sophisticated, mature, and in between. There are bags, jewelry, underwear, sunglasses, and shoes. Basement is the men’s section, 1st is trendy wear with bags and accessories, 2nd is sportswear, underwear, professional and more high-end attire, and 3rd is the kids’ section.

H&M was shopping heaven even though it was so tight and hard to navigate. There was barely any organization as clothes were strewn everywhere especially in the trendier 1st floor and quite a bit in the 2nd floor. Is the chaos due to girls having no dignity when it comes to looking for the great find? Clothes were decidedly in their proper locations and hangers in the men’s and children’s section. I stuffed all the things I wanted to buy in the bags.I went to the bag section because my arm was getting weary from carrying clothes, and I was just starting out. Good thing we weren’t carrying anything with us because shopping bags would’ve been cumbersome. The lines in the dressing rooms were long so I made sure I had all that I wanted before I lined up. Only 7 articles of clothing were allowed in at one time so I had to keep switching clothes with the salesgirl. There were plenty of great clothes, but I only came away with a few buys such as the 30HKD bag and pale pink long-sleeved polo. I vowed to come back before we left for home.

Melissa was planning to buy a Louis Vuitton Neverfull so we headed for their flagship store in the Landmark only to find it closed. Nowhere else to go then but eat. Nikki and I had our last meal in the airplane so we were truly famished. Gene recommended an organic fast food on the 4th floor of the Landmark which she regularly frequents so off we went. On the 3rd floor is the ThreeSixty grocery where organic food and environmentally-friendly products are available. The set-up is homey and I wish we could’ve browsed around. Unfortunately, we had to hurry as the fast food was about to close.

ThreeSixty is a self-service cafeteria serving international cuisine. Lots of Filipinas in the staff as mostly foreigners eat here. Food stations include Japanese, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, and more. We settled for a counter selling chicken, vegetable, and even kaldereta wrap! Wraps were filling enough for two. The better to split the 25HKD price tag! The cook was a Filipina so we had extra, extra fillings. Gene and I also ordered samosas and yummy potato salad in large servings. Franz also had a sorbet. Here is also where Melissa took the infamous color- something picture of Franz. We had truly delicious food in a refreshing food service concept. If we brought the concept in the Philippines, I’m sure the food will turn out to be very expensive with stingy portions. As organic food is not mass-produced, the price is regretfully at a premium. There were also some brochures available on organic diet and healthy living which I grabbed on the way out.

We went back to CWB to do more shopping. We went to Island Beverly beside MTR Exit E) (to check out super trendy HK fashion and Sasa where Camie went wild with buying beauty products her family asked her for. In Island Beverly, we saw a store where one can submit a picture and have it turned into ceramic figurines. It takes a week’s production to get a 3D image of your favorite photo. Great concept. Wonder if we can bring it here where people love immortalizing moments and collecting figurines. Just across, by the SOGO entrance, Nikki and Camie took a picture with a giant slab of meat.

Our first day in Hong Kong was good fun, a fitting prelude to all the shopping waiting for us in the next four and a half days. We went through so many places as though we were shopping-deprived. The first day was quite the Energizer Bunny moment. A good night’s rest was definitely imperative. Franz dragged down one of the bed cushions to the floor where he slept with a pathetic excuse for a blanket. He soon regretted his decision as he was victim to the extremely chilly air-conditioning, uselessly clutching the puny towel for warmth while the rest of us fidgeted in the beds. At least we had the comforters.

Everything in the first day sure was dandy save the sleeping arrangements.

posted by Travel Gang @ 11:47 PM Comments: 0