I survived Hong Kong
WARNING! THIS WILL BE AN EXTREMELY LONG ENTRY
Well I'm back in the office after a 3 day/2 night visit to Hong Kong! For the first time my firm's annual trip (apparently it will now be every 2 years) was to Hong Kong - we normally go to Bangkok. I was pretty excited about going cos I haven't been back since I left there in 1995 - I lived/worked in HK for a year. So here's the play by play of the last few days:FridayUp at 4.30 am to get ready to go to the airport...needed to catch the 5.30 am bus so that I could get to the airport by 6.30 for the group check in. Left my house at about 5.10 am cos I needed to take a 10-15 mins walk to the bus stop - the bus doesn't stop near my house and this was the nearest stop that it did go to. After a 45 mins bus ride (thank goodness I had my mp3 player with me), I got to the airport at about 6.15 am and met up with colleagues/friends so that we could check in. Once we were all checked in, it was off to the gate – with a stop or two at duty free and the loo (thanks to all the coffee in the morning). Left Singapore at 8.05 am and spent the almost 4 hr flight watching a movie (Miss Congeniality 2), listening to mp3 and playing Sudoku. Had breakfast on the plane and well it was your typical airline food but then I’ve never been a person who always had to have gourmet food, especially when it comes to airline food – as long as it’s edible and I’m not allergic I’m good. We landed in HK at noon but it took forever for the tour guides to arrange the group to go to the coaches (there was about 100+ of us in this batch – another 100+ were arriving 2 hrs later) and didn’t get to the hotel till about 2.30 pm! We were staying at the Conrad Hotel (over at Admiralty on Hong Kong Island), which I must say was a really nice hotel. Weather was not the greatest though – it rained the entire trip but luckily I was prepared, I brought my raincoat along and I made full use of it while I was there.Here’s the funny thing about the way this trip was organized…my group of buddies that I was going to be shopping with were all on the later flight so I had like a 2 hr wait for them so instead of hanging around the hotel for them, I went of to the Hard Rock Café in Tsim Sha Tsui to pick up some stuff my sis wanted. Cos I knew the area I wasn’t too concerned about being on my own, and as I knew what I had to get I managed to go there and back within 30 mins so I managed to kill some time while waiting for them. Didn’t really have to wait too long for them because by the time we had arrived at the hotel they had just gotten through immigration and were getting on the coach so they finally showed up at the hotel at about 4 pm. After getting their room keys and dropping off their luggage we all headed out. Our first target was Tsim Sha Tsui. The rain had started to get a bit heavier – it had only be drizzling earlier – and my friends hadn’t brought along any raincoats and only one of them brought an umbrella – I’d warned them but I guess they didn’t really believe me. Lucky for them we managed to go to one of the shops there which was like a Giordano but cheaper and they managed to get raincoat/windbreakers each for S$16. We each had different coloured raincoats so we became the four musketeers :)We endured the rain and walked around the TST area but then started to get hungry so the search was on for this place that I used to go to from time to time (hopefully it was still here) and believe it or not we managed to find it. The food was great and cheap. I ordered diced chicken in corn sauce with rice, which was basically this cream corn kind of sauce that totally smothered the serving of rice. It was a pretty big portion and it cost me all of HK$28 (about S$5.60). Once our tummies were filled we headed over to Mongkok to go to the Ladies Night Market. It was about 7 pm when we got there and we managed to spend about 3 hrs there alone…yes even in the heavy downpour. Actually the rain worked to our advantage, there was hardly anyone there even though the shops were opened. Each shop had it’s own sort of tentage area and only the path in the middle was open to the rain. Because there were hardly any shoppers and the store keepers were in need of sales we were able to get some really great bargains – of course it helps to speak Cantonese because you can try and strike up a rapport with them. Only my friend Jessica and I could speak Cantonese but they were able to tell that she was a Singaporean because of her accent but they weren’t too sure with me. It seems my Cantonese accent was more on the Hong Kong side. I managed to get my dad a “I’m Lost in Hong Kong” tee (HK$25/S$5), got a few “swatch-like” watches, for me and my friend, Terena. They were being sold 6 for HK$100 (S$20) so Vivien and I bought 3 each. Also bought a pair of Chinese-style embroidered slippers for HK$70 (S$14) and a tee for another friend.Though it was a wet day and we had gotten soaked (from below our raincoats down) it was definitely fun filled. 
This was taken back at the hotel after our first day of shopping
(l to r) Me, Julie, Jessica, Marianne and VivienSaturdayStarted the day off bright and early at 8 am with breakfast in the hotel and then it was off to Wan Chai to find Tai Yuen Street. Tai Yuen Street is supposed to be like a street filled with toy stores and some of them wanted to buy toys for their kids. The toys there were so cheap it was unbelievable. I got a couple of Spiderman stuff for my nephew, cost me about HK$30 (S$6)!!! I also got a couple of little cat statues/toys for my friends Sharon and Siew Ying. They had decided not to come for the trip and were staying in the office. There was also this clothing shop there that was selling some branded clothes really cheap just with the labels cut. Got a Burberry shirt for my mom for HK$70 (S$14) and a Tommy Hilfiger knitted vest for Yass for HK$80 (S$16). After Tai Yuen Street we headed back to the hotel to drop off the toys. By then it was time for lunch so the hunt was on for another cheap but good place. We ended up eating at Maxim Express which is in a way similar to Hans here. Had chicken stroganoff with rice – yet again it only cost me about HK$30 (S$6), and that’s inclusive of a drink. Refueled, we headed over to Central to catch the MTR (their version of the MRT) to go to Kowloon station – target destination: Dickson Warehouse. Heard about it from my sis and even checked it out on the internet. It’s supposed to be like this huge place that sold branded goods at like discount prices but we were sadly disappointed because there really wasn’t much there and it was out of the way – oh well it was something different. We didn’t stay there long and went back to TST to do a bit of shopping before heading back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner & dance. And that’s when I had my little “accident”.
While travelling on the MTR
(l to r Julie, Vivien, Jessica and Marianne)The Accident
Well cos it had been raining all day the floors at the MTR stations get quite slippery. Now I had been wearing my sneakers the day before but cos it had been raining so heavily they had gotten all wet and were still damp when I woke up in the morning. So didn’t want to wear damp sneakers so had no choice but to wear my slippers i.e. flip flops. I figured it would probably be better given the wet weather but I didn’t have my better pair with me and the ones I had didn’t have that great a grip so every now and then they would slip a little. Anyway we were heading back to the hotel and while I was walking down the stairs to the MTR my feet slipped out from under me and I fell down a few steps. Basically I sat down and slid down a few steps. Luckily I lent forward so I didn’t scrap my back on the back of the steps but I did rub my left forearm on the steps as I slid down so now I have a slight bruise on the side of my left thigh and nearly one side of my left forearm is bruised…basically my left arm looks a bit like the inside of an eggplant! Other than the bruise and the shock of the slip I’m ok. During the dinner I got hold of a towel with some ice for my arm because it was starting to swell. 
Not sure if you can it clearly or not but here's a pic of my huge bruise.
At the dinner (back row) Jo, Lelia, Alice, Jessica, Sally, Deon, Cyndy (seated) Corinna, Julie, Me, VivienMy friends and I left the dinner a little early – it was supposed to be a 12 course meal but we left after the 4th course – to head back to the night market for some more shopping…neither rain nor bruised arm was going to stop me from shopping hehehe. Managed to do a little bit more shopping. Got myself this “Emily the Strange” sling bag for like HK$50 (S$10). I saw something similar in Singapore going for S$15 so I reckon that’s not a bad deal. We ended up back at the hotel just a little past midnight. Had a shower and packed up my stuff.SundayThe day started off at 8 am again with breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast I went to “deposit” my luggage at the concierge and passed my room key to my roommate because we were supposed to check out by noon but didn’t have to get on the coach till 1 pm. At least by doing that I was free to go and do some last minute shopping with my friends who didn’t have to check out till 1 pm and their coach wasn’t leaving the hotel till 5 pm because they were on the 8 pm flight while I was on the 4 pm flight. After I had my luggage all settled, we headed out to Causeway Bay to go to Times Square and Sogo. We didn’t stay too long at Times Square but we did wander around the supermarket that was there (basically cos we had to wait for most of the shops to open). I actually bought something from the supermarket…they had Pop Tarts!!! I love Pop Tarts but they’re kind of hard to find here in Singapore and when you do, they’re usually the blueberry or strawberry filling types which are a major no-no for me given my food allergy. Occasionally I can find the chocolate fudge one but not that often. Anyway this supermarket had the chocolate chip one which I had never seen or tasted before so I happily bought a box.After walking around Times Square a bit, we headed on over to Sogo. We wander around there for a while and then went on a food hunt again. We ended up eating a Café De Coral which is kind of like Maxim Express – cheap but good food. Ended up having pork chop with onion and rice – yet another dish where the rice is smothered in some meat sauce/stew like dish. By the time we were done eating it was about 12.30 pm, time for me to head back to the hotel to catch my coach. Good job Causeway Bay is like 5 – 10 mins away. Once we were at the hotel my friends went up to get their stuff to check out and I got ready to board the coach to leave. While waiting to board the plane, a couple of my colleagues and I checked out the Disneyland store in the duty free area. I still had like HK$65 so I bought myself a pin for HK$45 (S$9), I know it’s a bit expensive but hey it was Disneyland!!! I’ve never been to Disneyland…would like to go to the one in HK but I think I’ll wait a bit, won’t go till they’ve been open for at least 6 months, that way they’d have time to work out all the kinks which I’m sure there will be.Watched “Kingdom of Heaven” on the way home. Pretty good movie and what was even better was that it was like 2 ½ hrs long so that really kept me occupied during the 3 ½ hr flight. Landed at about 7.30 pm (slightly early) and got a lift from my friend, Raziz. Given that it was still early, I had a shower and then unpacked. Sorted out all my stuff so that I knew what was my stuff and what I had bought for family and friends. Chatted with my mom for a while and crashed early. Boy was I tired.The office is pretty quite today given that half of the office is coming back from Hong Kong today and everyone is feeling pretty much stoned, especially those who were on the 8 pm flight because they didn’t arrive back till about 11.30 pm. So that was my HK adventure…quite a bit of shopping, plenty of food, skilled bargaining, miles and miles of walking, dramatic incidents resulting in injury, and some major water retention! Now I need a holiday to recover from the holiday hehehe.There are a few more pics and you can find them here
This was taken back at the hotel after our first day of shopping
