Hong Kong 2013: Day 1

On the last three days of my semestral break, my family and I went on a little trip to Hong Kong, and I honestly can’t tell you guys just how long I’ve waited to come back there since we last visited a good 5 years ago! It’s been so long that it was till that time when I had almost zero interest in shopping and dressing up which is immensely sad because that’s one of the things that makes HK so freaking famous around the world!

So I’m sure you could only imagine how excited I was just to LAND. LOL I didn’t even mind that I had to get up at 1 in the morning to catch our flight. I mean, it’s FREAKING Hong Kong! :D

Everything felt new to me, except for the train that you ride on your way to immigration. I guess that’s what happens when you go somewhere so young, you barely remember anything when you go abroad. :(

Double-decker buses, I’ve missed. We waited a good 20 minutes before the right bus came to take us to Causeway Bay.

My mom and sister having somewhat of a K-Drama moment here. LOL.

We got off at a station near Sogo, the Japanese department store. We didn’t go in to explore anymore as it was only going to be filled with high-end stuff we couldn’t afford. Haha! Also, we were on our way to meet my dad’s friends and get settled into our flat.

Yep, that’s right, a flat! Hotels can get really pricey and, to be honest, a bit of a waste of money when you’re in a place like Hong Kong. For less than half the price of a hotel, you can stay in one of the many apartment buildings that offer lodging to foreigners! It’s really quite worth it since you could just spend the money you would’ve used for hotels and use to shop and dine! It’s also a million times more convenient and trust me when I say: the place is not bad at all! :)

I love Causeway Bay’s city vibe. Everything is so modern and sleek and orderly, which is sadly in great contrast with Manila. *Sigh*

After we were settled in, we headed out to lunch at the Marriott Hotel in Admiralty. (Review soon!) MTRs are a fantastic way to get around. Almost every station is either incredibly near or already connected to the place you plan on going to, it’s almost unreal. This is probably the thing I miss most about Hong Kong: the city planning and the total convenience!

The Admiralty station is connected to Pacific Place which is where we hung around a little because we were around an hour early for our scheduled lunch. Here, you’ll find mostly high-end brands as seen on the image above. And that’s just for cosmetics! :O

Lovely store display from their in-house department store which sells equally extravagant goodies as the stores outside it.

My first Ted Baker store to visit! To this day, I’m so sad that I didn’t come back for the gorgeous satchels! I’ve developed an admiration for the brand ever since I discovered it on Asos, and it was so cool to see the bags in person as compared to seeing them on my computer screen. LOL

Ted Baker’s incredibly eccentric London-inspired interiors. Other than really really dapper bags for men, they also have a lot of city chic bags for ladies! Definitely a store to check out. #Biased Haha!

Hong Kong’s Zara is surprisingly a bit pricier than here in the Philippines; when it comes to the basics line, anyway. I didn’t bother to look at their winter clothes because of the impracticality of them. Huhuhu I wish it wasn’t.

Because I dream of owning an Intrecciato messenger someday, but Bottega Veneta has prices that literally knock your socks off so I’ll just have to pass. For now. Hehehehe

Not long after, we had our lunch at the Marriott which is, no surprise there, connected to Pacific Place. So. Cool.

Unfortunately though, our entire afternoon was wasted in Central because first, my dad encountered problems with finding a good bank to change money at, and secondly, we were aimlessly wandering Central trying to find a decent mall to do a little shopping, but as it turns out, Central is the last place you’d want to be for that kind of thing. Though there are shops and malls, you’re better off at places like Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui, which I would’ve gladly suggested had I realized it sooner. :(

Before we knew it, an entire afternoon had passed and we had to move on to our next destination: The Peak. To get there, you had to ride a tram that goes up the mountain at an angle that feels like you’re being launched into the air. Definitely not for people with motion sickness.

Once you get off the tram, you’ll find yourself at a little mall of sorts. I stopped by a Giordano store there and bought matching backpacks for me and my friend, Mariah. I couldn’t say no to a good deal, plus I’m in the market for the perfectly-sized backpack so it was a win-win.

Anywho, the famous Madame Tussaud’s is also located in the same mall. At the second floor, if I’m not mistaken. I have totally separate post for Madame Tussaud’s as I took too many photos for it to fit in this post. LOL

If you follow the escalators leading up, you’ll finally get to the main attraction in Victoria Peak, other than Madame Tussaud’s, which is the view of the cityscape. Tons of people were there at night, for all the obvious reasons. I was in a bit of a bad mood at the time, because of what had happened in the afternoon but seeing this made it somehow all okay.

We checked out Madame Tussaud’s and headed home which was a shockingly short trip via taxi. We got out directly in front of our apartment at Causeway Bay and called it a day.

Stay tuned for my numerous HK travel posts! :D