Monday, November 24, 2008

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Nov22-24,2008


3 days of Hong kong has left me extremely tired and exhausted but happy. Our company just had our annual company outing in HK last Nov 22-24,2008. Armed with 1 medium and 1 small luggage (which i placed inside the medium luggage) and an extra bag, I went to HK with the intention to shop as much as I can :D

Day 1: The day started quite well with some of us upgraded to the business class area. What a coincidence when the one in the check-in counter is a cousin of my cousin. Since I'm with couples (Roy, Joy, Joseph and Francia), and there were no more 2 seats beside each other that are free, she upgraded us (thanks Sharon!). We left Manila at 8:00AM and arrived at 10:00AM. After passing through the immigration and getting our luggages, we met the travel agency representative at the arrival area. While waiting for the others to arrive, Sue and I went to purchase Octopus tickets for everyone and discounted Ocean Park ($172 instead of $209) and The Peak 3 in 1 combo ticket ($138 instead of $170) at the China Travel Ltd booth just beside the customer service booth at the Arrival B hall. Then we proceeded to board the bus going to the hotel. Good thing, we're the first stop because it took a while for everyone to check in. We stayed at Wing Sing hotel in Yau Ma Tei which has the tiniest hotel room I've ever seen! Well, that's what you get when you're on a budget.

Afterwards, we left for Central while the others left for Ocean Park. We went to Worldwide Plaza's Trvaleeasy Ltd where we bought discounted Disney tickets ($320 instead of $350) for everyone and bought People's Kabayan Sim card ($38) as well. People's Kabayan is a good option for those traveling in groups as the intra-network text messaging is free.

We met at H&M in Central. When the 2nd batch arrived, some proceeded to Wanchai while we went to Causeway Bay. I went to Sogo and we all met up at Ikea afterwards. Then we all went to ride the Peak Tram which had a very long line! I was so looking forward to going to the Madame Tussaud Wax Museum but unfortunately time didn't permit me to go as I need to meet my Uncle and Auntie so after taking a few pictures at the Sky Terrace, I hurriedly went back down.

On the way down, there was a commotion because a lady tour guide with some Japanese was leading her group towards the front with the intention of getting in the line. Apparently one of the ladies in front told her companion about this and referred to the tour guide as "son of a bitch" and unfortunately the lady guide heard it. The lady guide went into hysterics shouting at the other girl, while the companion of the other girl was acting as mediator stepping in the middle of the 2 warring girls. The other girl kept asking the guide to calm down but that just made the guide even angrier, telling the other girl to F--- you. This didn't stop even when a station officer tried to calm the guide down and continued inside the tram. Me and the other passengers were just laughing the scene off because the guide was staring to look like a lunatic.

My Uncle Poon, Auntie Ale and I met at my hotel and went to have some dimsum at a nearby restaurant. Fortunately, the restaurant was near Bossini so I had some time to shop afterwards. There was a small store called In and Out where I also got to buy some clothes for myself. Afterwards, I went back to the hotel to get some rest.

Day 2: We spent the whole day in Disneyland where I got the chance to take photos with Woody, Jessie and Stitch. I didn't get the chance to have my photo taken with the Disney princesses but I caught them while they were on their way back to the dressing room. I also got to see some of my favorite attractions like Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters and Festival of the Lion King. Unfortunately I missed the High School Musical show and didn't get to try Autopia because of the long line.

We had lunch at Chef Mickey at the Hollywood Hotel. They had great food so the $158 fee +10% service charge was so worth it. There were even Mickey pancakes and Mickey shaped cookies. I especially loved the shrimps, seafood stew, the Mickey pancakes, roats goose and the chocolate fountain and the cakes. Then we went to the back of the hotel where there are several vintage looking cars specially parked for picture taking purposes and a big Hollywood Hotel sign behind it. Even the benches were Mickey-shaped. There was a small hill there where I got to take pre-nup looking photos of the couples in our group. We also had our group photo by the hotel.

The shopping group went to Tung Chung Citygate outlet by 6:00pm while the others stayed behind to watch the fireworks. Citygate is shopping haven but sadly I missed the Bossini and Baleno shop so I ended up buying just a couple of pants for Meng at Giordano and a hat for my sister, May Ann at Esprit.

We then had dinner as a group at Steak house inside Food Republic. Their set meals were quite good and very very filling. Afterwards, we're off to Tsim Sha Tsui for more shopping at Granville Road.

We finished shopping past midnight with very very sore feet. We almost didn't make it to the MTR!

Day 3: Instead of taking the airport transfer provided by our travel agency, we opted for the airport express since the airport transfer is too early! We used the in-town check-in facility of the Airport Express in Kowloon and shopped at the Elements for a while. Then we headed to Harbour city via the Airport Express shuttle bus to have lunch at City Super(yum yum Thai food) and bought Royce Nama chocolates. Afterwards, we made it back to Jordan to buy some cha siu (asado) to bring home. Stan and I went back to the hotel to get my hand carry baggage and proceeded to the Airport Express station in Kowloon. When we got there, I was already feeling dizzy and extremely tired. I just bought some pastries from Wing Wan for my mom and proceeded to the boarding area.

When I found my seat, I strapped myself and slept till it was eating time. I found myself feeling cold so I asked for a blanket. After a while, still no blanket, so I asked another stewardess again. It took me 2 more times to ask and I still didn't get any blanket till we landed. PAL's service is getting lousier. I even buzzed the attendant button several times.

I was so glad when we landed but Meng thought I'm arriving at 8:30pm instead of 8:00pm! So I had to wait for half an hour till he arrives from his office.

By the time we got home, I was already throwing up everything I ate in the plane. Austin was too engrossed in the toy I gave him, while David went to see me and quickly grabbed some tissue and said "Mommy tissue". Such a sweet kid! He didn't even need prompting.

After all the throwing up, I went to bed and slept so soundly till the next day. Good thing, my headache was gone but my feet still hurt from all the walking. All of us had the same problem when we got to the office that we were thinking of hiring masseurs to give us some foot massage while working..hahaha!

2 comments:

Liza said...

wow! napagod ako pagkabasa sa mga pinuntahan ninyo. lol! glad you and evryone else enjoyed the hk trip. well-deserved break mo yan!

Maybelle said...

Sarap mo, April! Hubby & I are mulling over whether or not we should go this Xmas. he-he...