Hong Kong. The former British Crown Colony may be the quintessential quick getaway for Filipinos since it's just an hour and a half away yet this shopping paradise is oh-so cosmopolitan so I never get tired of going there. I've always said that it's a microcosm of the fast-paced life of the western world and it is. Life here sort of prepped me for NYC a couple of years ago.
Going to Hong Kong was our reward for nailing a plum video assignment for our alma mater Ateneo De Manila. And the four days and three nights there were some of our best times. And since this vacation was in the middle of the FIFA World Cup, the atmosphere was even more electric. You just have to read my account on the World Cup fever that gripped this island nation.
It's been years since I've been here and the changes especially on the waterfront that separates Kowloon and Hong Kong Island are magnificent. We enjoyed hanging out at the Avenue of the Stars outside the New World Hotel. We tried out different cuisine: Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Thai. There were the usual Italian and American fast foods as well.
The night market in Jordan and Mongkok is always fun. Ocean Park -- I always love the dolphin and seal shows. But that's about it. I'm a party pooper when it comes to park rides coz my acrophobia makes me too chicken to get on anything outside the world's longest escalator. So I tend to enjoy stuff like the aquarium, the jellyfish display, and the games. The cable car is something I have never gotten used to. I still ride it with my eyes closed and my hands gripping the steel bars ever so-tightly.
I felt bad that the three-story HMV along Sands St and Haiphong Road has shrunk. Arrghhh! I used to spend hours and hours there just browsing that people thought I was an employee! And the Toys R Us at Harbour City isn't as lively and big as it used to be. But shopping here is always fun.
Hong Kong is just one of my favorite places in the world.
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