I found myself back in Hong Kong after 22 years. It has changed a lot. The airport was huge, we even had to take a train to get to the immigration counters. I was with Anthony and Carlos. We were all stunned  with everything that was going on around us. Everybody seemed to be in a hurry. And most of them weren't nice. Heheh! Or maybe I'm just comparing them to the Thai people. I still love Bangkok. I guess, no other place on earth can replace it in my heart. Anyway back to our HK escapade.. We stayed at BP Int'l House along Austin Road at Kowloon Side. The one who brought us there made us cross the street! Imagine that!?! There was no parking infront of the hotel daw kasi. Duhh? EH meron naman. I tried to ask him to drop us infront of the hotel since it was raining, but he was acting as if he couldn't understand english. Haay, we had no choice but to drag our luggages across the street under the rain. Nabasa tuloy my bag, kawawa naman, I don't even allow it to be checked in, then nabasa lang.  Oh well!!! Next stop was the front desk of the hotel. Nope they weren't nice either. Wahh! but at least our room was nice. Small but nice. 

Our first purchase was an umbrella from Bosinni, 80 HK$ = Php 448. Hmm? If you ask me, that's too much for an umbrella. What do you think?  Since we already had protection from the rain, we walked to the MTR Station to get a ride to the Money Changer at Mirador Mansion at the Tsim Sha Tsui Area. Of course we each got our Octopus Cards first. I was so impressed with myself when I got passed the iron spinning thingy with just a tap of my card. Hahaha! I've only gone on a train twice. Once on our MRT when it just opened and the other time was in Bangkok. Both trains were above the streets. The MTR wasn't. No views at all, but it wasn't really necessary since it only took a few minutes to get to the next stop.

Our first meal in Hong Kong was at ... KFC! Hahahah! Like Bangkok they didn't serve gravy with the chicken. Pero ok lang, I was so hungry that time, it didn't matter. For dessert I had egg tarts. Yummy! We went around Harbour City, then walked by the harbour to take pictures. We weren't able to see The Symphony of Lights bec it was cancelled,  I think it was their mourning day for the Beijing earthquake victims. 

Next day was our Disneyland day ..and it was still raining. But of course, since we were in a tour, we had to go to different shops first. In the bus our tour guide sold us stuff that we couldn't refuse. Haay..annoying talaga mga yun. Same company sila as our airport transfer. Ohh..but as soon as I saw the Disney Hollywood Hotel, I was sooo excited! It had hidden Mickeys everywhere! And our room was really nice, although all the tv shows were Disney. Hehehe..poor Tonio.

The rain didn't stop us from going to Disneyland. It was everything I expected it to be! The following day, we had buffet breakfast at the hotel, yummm! Then back to Disneyland again. The weather cooperated with us on that day, for the first time since we arrived I saw the sun!  We had our pix taken with the characters. Sige, kahit afraid ako, picture pa rin. Except lang talaga for Goofy and Pluto. They're big, creepy talaga sila, kaya only Tonio and Carlos had pictures taken with them.  I was so excited to see the Princesses and most especially Alice! I couldn't take my eyes off her. 

The stuff at the gift shops were all nice. I wanted them all, mahal lang kasi eh. I'll never forget a particular gift shop, it's the one beside Astro Blasters, on our 2nd day at Disneyland, I found 20$ Disney cellphone charms there, I went gaga over them. Hahaha! And when I was about to pay, I realized that my bag was gone! My money, my cellphone,  my octopus card (yes, my octopus card. I had a weird feeling of attachment to it when we were there). Thoughts of them raced through my head. Ayun, I was so frustrated  I didn't want to do anything anymore, I missed the High School Musical Show and I didn't get to go around the park anymore. So are you wondering if I got it back? Yepp. I did. In one piece, untouched, not even a cent was mising. Miracles really happen.

I did get my bag back, but it was already time to go back to the hotel for our transfer back to BP Int'l House. Guess what they did this time? They left us. And we were only 5 minutes late! Haaay. Those people. Oh well! We took a cab to our Kowloon hotel, it cost us 230 HK$ = Php 1,288.00. Phew! But it's ok, the cab driver was nice. he's one of the very few nice people I bumped into in HK.

As soon as we got a room, we headed for Mong Kok. Bought Carlos rubber shoes at Fa Yuen street. Checked out the Ladies Market, bought cutie passport jackets at the side shops. Tonio bought a tripod too. We also dropped by the strip of airsoft shops and model car shops. The guns and the Tamiya models were soo cheap. Tonio wanted a lot, and soon decided not to get any. Hahah! The Tokyo Marui pistols were cheap too, but we weren't sure if we could get them passed the HK Airport, kaya we didn't buy na rin.

We had dinner at Pepper Lunch at Langham Place. Nah, Pepper Lunch in Bangkok and at Poweplant tastes so much better. I never got to taste any of their specialty foods there. Not even their dimsum. Not even our complimentary breakfast at Shamrock Hotel. Tonio didn't want the smell kasi. We ate at Mc Donald's twice, I imagined it to be oily and smelly..but it wasn't. Yummy, not so dry like ours. And you can even use your octopus card to pay! Hahahah! I know, I know..I'm so obsessed with the octopus card. It's really a very handy tool kasi.

On our second to the last day, we went to Ocean Park. Ngeh. Ugly. Nakakpagod maglakad. The Atoll Reef wasn't so impressive. I still prefer Ocean World at Siam Paragon.  Though, the pandas were cute, and the cable car ride was a great experience. We were so tired that we didn't even take time out to look around the malls at Hong Kong side. Instead we went to The Avenue of the Stars to take pictures. Aside from Disneyland, the harbour is one of the places I want to go back to. And of course..the Esprit Outlet shop at the TST area. I really don't know what street it's on, but on our last day, my feet brought me to that place. I left my boys at the hotel around 9am while they were still asleep, I just walked til I saw the Giordano and Bossini shops next to each other, and at the next corner was the Esprit outlet shop.  It was huge. Bigger than the one in Mong Kok. Everything was cheap compared to the Esprit shops here in Manila, but who likes Esprit? It wasn't worth it. Not until I went to the basement. The jackets were sooo cheap. And they were good quality ha. I had doubts of buying that time. Haay, now I want to go back, just to buy a jacket or two. Oh well so that's about it, "my Hong Kong experience". And also, i will definitely go back to eat more egg tarts.

Click here for our pictures!

It took me awhile to make this blog entry. Well aside from so wasted pa kami, inantay ko pang maderecho ng unti yung english ko. Heheh! I got used to using singular nouns only and in the present tense lagi. Lam mo naman Bangkok, it's the land of twisted tongues and nasal tones! Hahahah! But other than that, what can I say...I really adore the place. Mikka also fell inlove with it instantly! Carlos had fun too. We had doubts if he could keep up with the walking and the late nights and the street foods...but to our surprise..kami pa ang sumuko. Siya pa nga ang nagyaya magwalk instead of taking a cab. Addict pa sa tuktuk. Lagi na lang "Mama, trike! Trike!" Hahaha! And Carlos ate a lot! He was hungry most of the time. Like his dad, he loves the food in Bangkok. Sobrang kain nang kain.

The new airport was a great welcome to us. Ang laki and ang ganda talaga. Then we couldn't find our sundo, Anurak, but no worries, we decided to take a cab. Aba ang Tonio! He went to the airport counter rather than go out and get a cab. He got a Camry..the new one ha, just to bring us to our hotel. Tsk tsk! Para daw feel niya na tourist sya. Oh whatever. Hahaha! Pero okay na nga yun, kasi he was supposed to get the new Benz ba yun, buti na lang sinundan ko sya..haay or else...sayang 1,500 baht! That's one of the pinag sayangan namin ng baht...but it was worth it naman, the ride was great. The other waste of baht was my perm! Haay! Should've just had my hair done at MBK. Early kasi kami nakabalik sa hotel nun, kaya nagyaya ako magpa-parlor. Ayunn..it was a disaster! Ndi kami nagkaintindihan noh, we were communicating with the use of a Thai-English dictionary. I didn't want to argue naman, so okay na...i thought na paayos ko na lang when I get back in Manila. Oh well...yun lang naman. The rest of our vacation was great.

Safari world was fun. There were new attractions,  giraffe feeding  and the aviary where you can also feed the birds. It was really such an experience. Ocean World was really awesome. I've been to Ocean Park when I was young, but it's nothing compared to this. The sharks were amazing. The giant aquariums were mesmerizing talaga. And there were real penguins!!! Tonio loves penguins, kaya I was so happy to be there watching them with him. What else..the malls are nice. Lahat newly-renovated. Central World is really different now compared to before when it was still the World Trade Center. Parang they demolished the whole building and built a new one. Ganun kalaki ang difference, it's really nice already. But, Siam Paragon is the BEST. Really nice. Nice. Nice. Nice. Super ganda talaga. Well almost everything in Bangkok was  eye candy when we were there because they were preparing for their King's birthday. Aside from  dressing up the streets and buildings with ribbons and lights, most of the Thais were wearing yellow, it's the color for Tuesday daw kasi, which was the day their King was born. Ang ganda nilang tignan, nakakatuwa.

And lastly, let me talk about the food. The fried rice was as yummy as I expected it to be. I ate it as planned...with sweet mango and chicken ass. Sarapp! Shabushi was also as yummy as ever..we only ate there once, kaya medyo bitin pa ako. Breakfast at the hotel..of course, I still couldn't get enough of it. (Kaya I gained so much weight!! Wahh!) And in this trip..may nadagdag sa foodtrip list ko. That's Blizzard at Dairy Queen. They have chocolate extreme, which is a mix of choco chips and brownies. Yumm talaga! And their blizzard is not as sweet as ours ha. 25 baht lang smallest size, dito 65 pesos. Duhh?!?! And..Pepper Lunch! I think that resto is from Singapore. Ang sarappp! I had the salmon, grabeh sarap talaga. I heard that magkakaroon dito sa atin, sure hope it's true. Ano pa ba? Yun lang..ah, iced tea in supot with crushed ice, sarap pa rin, best drink in Pratunam. Ah also..the McDonald's cheesy fries! Yummy ha..unlike Jollibee's, the cheese wasn't salty. And of course my inihaw na fish na I buy at the night market in Pratunam, with 5 baht na yummy rice. Haaay. I'm getting hungry! Infact I haven't enjoyed any meal I've had since we got back, ndi naman, I enjoyed our dinner last Sunday at Pho Hoa..pero yun lang. I'm still craving for the food in Bangkok. But it's okay, I know I have to start losing weight again! Wahh!!

So that's about it. Bangkok never fails to amaze me. It's not just me and Tonio now, also Carlos and Mikka. Hehehe! They already can't wait to go back. (Click here for our pix)

got this from likka's friendster profile... kids these days. what's with being 'emo"? i tried to make him commit suicide though...ayaw naman niya.

Bangkok here I come!! It has been 2 years!!! Carlos and Mikka will be joining us in this trip, it will be their first time. Our tickets are already with me. Passports na lang nila Myx and Carlos ang kulang..Kainis nga Tues. pa makukuha, then our flight is on Wednesday at 8pm. Oh well..I'm sure nothing will go wrong, rebooking fee is $50 noh, kaya nothing should really go wrong.  Hehehe! I bought a new luggage bag for this trip, ewan ko ba what got into me. It's really nice, it's a capuccino-colored Delsey. I couldn't stop myself from buying it. Medyo nag object nga si Tonio, kasi ndi ko naman daw magagmit lagi, but I really wanted it... so agree na rin siya. As of today, I'm 90% done with the packing of our clothes and stuff. Meds na lang, chargers, toiletries and slippers. Ooooh can't wait!

I have to really make the most out of this trip na, yaya will be leaving in May to get married!!! Wahhh. I know! It's really terrible! I don't know how it'll be like without her, she has been around since Carlos was a year old. Oh well, I guess it's just about time na talaga for me to become a housewife --- for real. Eeew.  Hahahaha! So I guess I have to shop for housewife stuff in Bangkok na di ba? A pretty apron, happy housewife outfits, gloves, makeup, gardening stuff, cooking stuff and what else...ah, I can get a housewife's best friend too! Maybe a golden retriever from the Chatuchak Market will do? Hihihihi!!! Yoohoo Bee Bee!?! (I guess it'll be cheaper for him to get new yayas and maids rather than keep me at home!) Hehehe!

Aside from being busy with my little rascals... Tonio and I have been busy gardening. Yepp, that's right..gardening. I realized that plants don't make me itch after all. I've been planting for the past weeks, and all of them are alive and healthy! Isn't that amazing? Back in Grade 2, none of my mongo seeds grew! Everything is different now..I learned that it takes love and affection to make a plant grow. Hahahah! They really have feelings too I guess. Oh no!! I'm so housewife material na talaga!!! hahahah! NOT.

My JM is one! His party was a success. The preparation took up a lot of time and energy, and everything was over in just one day!  Among the 3, JM's party is the most tiring and stressing..Heheh! Bunso kasi, kaya I really wanted to do most of the things myself. Venue pa lang, I went from one place to another just to check out the possible venues. Same with the church. Called every party shop, just to find a good party host - magician (And i did, thanks Wizzo! The kids, and even the adults loved him). Birthday banner, I made the layout myself and just had it printed out on tarpaulin. Invites, of course, layout and printing by me. What else? Even went to Rustan's for the baby registry, did the listing down myself (with Tonio), I didn't want a saleslady following me around kasi. Heheh! Loot bags and prizes, I went to Divi Mall, 168 and Tutuban Mall for these. Also got some stuff from SM, Tiendesitas  and Cherry. I even had to replace the paper bags I bought at SM. When I got home, I realized that they didn't look appealing to kids, that's why I replaced them with plastic baskets the following day. Good thing SM's system for exchange of items is well organized, sanay na sila, kaya I didn't have a hard time. Having three li'l rascals, even if it was only JM who was celebrating his b-day, all 3 of them had to buy new clothes. Shangri-la for me is the best place to shop for their clothes, ang daming choices kasi. Got Carlos pants from Spin. Didn't need to get him a polo, cause his Lola just bought him a Lacoste polo the week before. Bought JM beige pants and a cute polo at Gingersnaps. Also bought Sammi skinny jeans at Gingersnaps and an off shoulder blouse at Kids of Bayo. Shoes pala at SM, Shang was closing by the time I was done kasi. And JM's barong for his baptism, guess where I bought it? Heheh! Kamuning Market! I wanted him to look like a big boy, so I wanted a long-sleeved barong paired with beige pants. Ayun! But when I found it, it looked 'cheap' to me kasi siguro I knew where it's from, kaya I bought gold-rimmed buttons to replace the ones on it. The buttons on his cuffs were gold-rimmed too, but with a small diamond in the center. The buttons made the barong really look different, mukha nang expensive talaga. Since it was a costume party, JM just wore Carlos' race car driver costume which he also wore on his 1st birthday, Carlos naman wore his bdu for airsoft (I just bought him a dog tag to complete his soldier look). The off shoulder blouse I got Sammi had "music is my life" written on it, so  I got her a toy electric guitar at Tiendesitas to complete her rock star look, she was so cute.  I rented Barney styro standees also and got someone to decorate the place with a few balloons. And I just asked a friend to make the cake (thanks Hac!). I printed out Barney coloring pages and activities and placed them on the kiddie tables with cups of crayons. The kids seemed to enjoy the party naman. JM did, so with Sam and Carlos. Well that's what's important to me. All of my hardwork paid off.

Click here for more pix!