Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Top 30 things about Hong Kong (part 3)
22. It may sound bad but to some extent I have manifested a bit of racism. I hate racism. It's the worst thing anyone can do to me, to a Filipino. But on our first day of walking around, I purposely directed my and my friend's feet at the Chungking Mansions. I for one, who loves the Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, would love to visit the place where he shot and got the inspiration for the film Chungking Express. Chungking Express is a film that got me hooked on Asian cinema and it is one of those films that made me want to become a filmmaker. But I couldn't even get past the telltale signage because I was scared of the Arabs and Indians outside! I should've poked myself. I should've known that it's not so bad.
23. I love walking on HK streets. I like walking in general but when you walk in a strange place and everyone looks nice and fashionable and you feel like you belong. Something like that.
24. There are so many Filipinos in Hong Kong. On the plane, the one beside me is a domestic helper from Causeway Bay. She said that I am lucky because I can visit Hong Kong and not to actually work like them. She's really nice and offered to let me use her cellphone when I had to call my friend about the exact address of our hotel since stupid me wasn't able to activate my roaming service. Too bad I wasn't able to get her name and contact number.
2uel Beer makes Filipinos proud. The bar owner at Mes a Mes bar in Tsim Sha Tsu said: :"You're Filipinos? We like your beer!" But what's weird is that the variant they happen to love is the Pale Pilsen variety which I and probably a lot of kids my age do not touch. I like the San Miguel Light variety. But anyhow it's nice! Another thing that made me proud.
26. This is my ONLY regret. I wasn't able get to go to Lantau island and immerse to the old world Hong Kong. Maybe next time.
7. My favorite part of the trip was going to Avenue of the Stars, shopping, and meeting other travelers...and of course a night out in Lan Kwai Fong!!! The place to have bar-hop and to party!
28. This trip is my FIRST TIME to ride a plane and FIRST international flight.
29. This is also my FIRST TIME to be so inebriated I couldn't walk. Three pints beer, one glass of bailey's, two flutes of champagne, two tequila sunrises and three tequila shots all in one night and one sitting?! and in a foreign land at that.
30. Hong Kong is a place to release your inhibitions. No one will probably care about a Filipina drinking and flirting with foreigners in Sticky Fingers. Unless you do something extremely bad, illegal, dangerous or something to be deported-worthy. But for what it's worth Hong Kong is fairly safe and it's a foreign country, so let go. And for that alone, I'm dying to step foot in Hong Kong again.
Top 30 things about Hong Kong (part 2)
11. Hong Kong people are soooo fashionable. If you think you look crazy, lo and behold there’s someone wearing crazier outfit than you do! So it was ok! The Hong Kong locals seem to just wear what they want to wear and then voila, it instantly looks good on them. They don't seem to appear too fashion conscious. Plus the attire they wear is like a season advance than what our masses wear here in the country (of course not counting the uber fashionistas). I like what they wear, especially the teens' fashion which is very Japanese in my opinion.
12. I'm really a smoker. I'm an addict to nicotine. I am not proud of it. As a television writer I don't know why but a drag clears the mind and allows creative juices to flow. So even if I were trying to be frugal about the trip, I still bought cigarettes in a 7/11 in Hong Kong even if they are more than 150 pesos a pack.
13. I learned that I am still a finicky prissy urbanite. I've always thought I can rough it but there's always this glamour side of me who wants things luxurious sometimes. SOMETIMES being the operative word.sometimes meaning when i was in Hong Kong.
14. I look like an Indian/Thai etc. I guess every morena (brown-skinned) Filipino are. And the Chinese stare at me and look at me admiringly. This is just another proof that opposites attract. Beauty is strangeness.
14. I look like an Indian/Thai etc. I guess every morena (brown-skinned) Filipino are. And the Chinese stare at me and look at me admiringly. This is just another proof that opposites attract. Beauty is strangeness.
15.Chinese food is amazing. We all know that. But when you wake up and smell jasmine and ginseng every single day...well that is just saying too much. And I am not exaggerating. The hotel that I am staying in called The Bridal Tea House Hotel is in front, right smack across a Chinese eatery that you see in the photo above. And every day we step out of the hotel we smell like Peking Duck!
16. My friend and I due to unavoidable circumstances, wasted a good whole day trying to find each other. And so we only had six days to go to explore our side of Hong Kong, which was the Kowloon side. So we opted to forego the Disney land trip and just go to Macau instead. I think we made a good choice. There are lot of things to do in Hong Kong. Lots of family and wholesome things to do. So for all those fun place I think I would love to go back.
18. 7/11 is everywhere! And in Hong Kong 7/11 sells really good dimsum! On my first night, tired to haunt for food, we just attacked the nearby 7/11 and feasted on shrimp dimsums and yang chow rice! Sooo good!
19. The taxis are efficient. The drivers give back exact change
20. Shopping is the main sport in Hong Kong! Or at least, to everyone who visit there. Especially if you're in Kowloon. Mongkok, Granville Road even IFC mall are so near, you'll be tempted to shop shop shop!
Click for the Top 30 things about Hong Kong part 1
Click for the Top 30 things about Hong Kong part 3
Top 30 things about Hong Kong (part 1)
a capsule of what I have experienced during my 7 day stay in Hongkong last November 2008.
It was one fun stressful but fun and adventurous trip! EVENTFUL being an understatement!Here are things I will never forget about this trip:
1. Come prepared whenever traveling abroad. My friend and I opted to stay in Kowloon, Hong Kong. He was the one who arranged the trip - from the Cebu Pacific flight to our residence in Bridal Tea House in Yau Ma Tei even to the itinerary. I know I was a bit of a brat or really busy (I was writing for a TV series during this time) that I was totally unprepared. I was not able to activate the roaming service and I did not have an address or a copy of receipts for the hotel where I was supposed to be staying. Why am I harping on this? It's because I should ...
2. Never be late…at all times, especially during flights. Our flight is seven in the morning and I came from a writing lock-in at Linden Suites in Ortigas Philippines. The writers went home at two am...so naturally, I overslept! I promised my friend that I'll be at our meeting place at four am for the flight but I woke up at exactly seven am, saw my mobile phone which had 40 plus messages and missed calls!
3. The Hong Kong MTR is oh so efficient! People don't care that much about each other so if you're a lone traveler, the MTR and Hong Kong won't put you out of place.
4. I loved H and M. I heard of the brand before because of the unique and quirky-cool accessories. Perfect! I made a promise to myself to shop for finds that are cheap and cannot be bought in the Philippines.
5. In Hong Kong, you have wake up early because you'll have time to do a lot of stuff and travel and see more places! Because there are a lot to see in Hong Kong!
6. Be friendly to the locals and to other foreigners. Traveling is about meeting people and knowing each and everyone's background. Traveling is enriching the soul. On our third night we met Mimi, a Cyprus-ian. Here's what happened. It was in Mes a Mes bar in Tsim Sha Tsu. My friend got a pint of beer from the bar and I got a champagne flute...just like what this white girl who is sitting on the bar ordered. So she looked at us and then voila! conversation sparked! My friend and I learned a lot from her. She introduced us and me in particular with the concept of TRAVELING er, BACKPACKING ALONE...which was a scary scary thought at the time (November 2008). She used to think money over matter until she traveled to Goa, India alone where she was able to soul search...and where she found her center and real purpose...which is to travel!
7. Whatever you feel like, just do it. At the end of the day, whatever your choice it’s your decision, so you couldn't really blame anyone.
8. Take a lot of pictures, every step of the way! Since it's my first time abroad I took a picture of anything and everything! And why not? Traveling is about making memories.
8. Take a lot of pictures, every step of the way! Since it's my first time abroad I took a picture of anything and everything! And why not? Traveling is about making memories.
9. Always think: it could get worse.really. This was what i was thinking my first night in HK =) Really. Crappy things happened which made me appreciate good things! keep 'em coming! I realized too that I can survive Hong Kong, even alone, for a day at least .I learned that in Hong Kong, the city feels for you. It will comfort you. Like when I was in New King's Hotel in Yau Ma Tei alone. The place looks familiar yet strange. But somehow, traveling gives one perspective...that it's not so bad, that Hong Kong is not too far from home =)
10. Chinese guys can be cute too! Chinitos (Chinese guys) aren't my type. but there's this one guy at Mc Donald's Admiralty Branch (after our shopping session in H and M) who looked really cute. I bet he was a college dude. I never mustered a breath in trying to talk to him. I just gawked. Damn.
11-20 things about Hong Kong on my next post!
Click for the top 30 things about Hong Kong (part 2)
Click for the top 30 things about Hong Kong (part 3)
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