Monday February 18, 2013 HK
On the day of my departure from Hongkong, I just spent my morning relaxed. The hotel had extended to me a late check-out privilege until 4 pm although my plan was to leave the hotel at 3 pm.
I no longer ventured out except to the IKEA bistro on the basement. I had Swedish meetballs and a sundae cone for a late lunch. It was a monday and mid-day at that– there were a lot less people in Ikea which meant some quiet moment while eating.
The Hongkong airport express check in counter was only 5 minutes away from Park Lane Hotel.
I did not want to wait 15 – 20 minutes for the next shuttle so I just took a cab from the hotel.
I came to HK with only one small carry on luggage. Now I have two.
Weight limit was 20 kgs. Mine was only 16.6 kgs. Mabigat yung pomegranates.
The PAL check-in crew said that many Chinese spent the Chinese New Year holiday in the Philippines so flights coming back to HK were overbooked. But less people were booked going back to Manila.
By 4 pm, I was already at Terminal 1. I still had plenty of time to walk-around the expansive airport terminal.
Several people were waiting for these two women to finish their photo shoots so they could also take pictures,
pero ang tagal naman nila, so umalis na rin ako.
The Muji shop sold HK$10 goodies from Japan. I bought one pack.
Tie Rack London is memorable to me. 18 – 20 years ago when I frequented London (once a year), Tie Rack was one of my favorite stores.
I found their stuff very expensive, well until now. I wouldspent an hour inside their small stores, touched their silk scarves and shawls but I think I had only purchased one piece kasi nga mahal. I bought Edmund one or two neckties, wala na rin yun, napunta na sa recycling box.
Even at 70% off, these scarves would still come out to $100+
I went to the airport’s second floor where the food section was:
I was too full to eat.
I brought home 2 orders of White chicken rice.
PR307 was scheduled for take-off at 6:10 pm but was delayed by an hour
because the plane coming from Manila arrived late and was still being cleaned.
Had more time to window shop.
I went inside Shanghai Tang. How nice naman this plates pero ang mahal naman more than one hundred US dollars each. Okay na okay ito for Chinese New Year family dinner namin. Hindi sya okay pag nabasag.
I couldn’t resist bringing this home. This rare copper and ceramic tea set now adorns my office.
I found it at one of the duty free shops for HK$500 no discount. It looks elegant in actual.
My second time to patronize this espressamente illy coffee shop
He said today was their last day. Tomorrow they close for good.
I bought a mini sandwich for HK22 to tide me over
i sat away from the crowd so I could eat without distraction.
While waiting at the gate, I met several passengers at the airport and we sort of
bonded together like we’ve known each other for a long time. We had instant
connection.
Lisa and a fan (another passenger traveling back to Manila with her foreigner husband who spoke fluent Tagalog).
I met 4 passengers:
One was Mike del Mundo, who came from Israel where he worked
as a caregiver. He’s complaining that he would miss his connecting flight to
Iloilo scheduled at 8 pm. He would end up spending the night and sleeping
uncomfortably at the airport while waiting for the morning flight to Iloilo. I
noticed he didn’t have a slightest Ilonggo accent. Yun pala kasi he’s originally
from Taytay Rizal. He’s wife is the one from Iloilo.
Second was Gemma Dumlao, a domestic helper who’s going home because her
employment contract had expired. She’s one curious lady to put it mildly.
Third was Khriszel Isio who worked in HK as domestic helper for 2 months.
Sinubukan lang daw nya.
And last but certainly not the least was Lisa Dean. She’s coming home from
Europe. She spent a one month vacation in Dusseldorf, Germany, one day in
Paris, a few days in Russia, Spain, etc. She’s very pretty and I couldn’t believe
how gorgeous she was when I saw her photos fully made-up. Men would go crazy
over her. She, Mike and I became instant friends when we discovered that we all
hailed from Rizal. Mike- Taytay, Lisa -Antipolo and yours truly- United Kingdom of
Binangonan.
Mike was so curious about how she started looking like that and was pointing at her boobsies.
She became an instant celebrity when other passengers beamed at how pretty
she was. What’s the fuzz?
Because according to Lisa, she used to be a he.
And how did she become a she?
