Hong Kong Trip - Day 1

So I'm finally reviving my blog after a year's worth of hiatus and starting it fresh with the regurgitation of my 3-week HK trip.

It has been 10+ years since I last returned, and things have sure changed. However, the first thing I recognized is the distinct smell. It was 6am when we landed... we took a one-stop subway (built into the airport...!) to the main arrivals area where we picked up our baggage and went through customs. Customs offered fruity gummy candy on the counter, in which I gladly picked one up for the trip. When we got out, the first thing I noticed was an Ajisen! So that's where our local Ajisen comes from! We grabbed ourselves some newly loaded Octopus cards for the MTR and then grabbed a car service provided by our travel agency to our hotel at Prince Edward.

After we dropped off our stuff, the first order of business was visiting the Immigration Office for our citizenship applications (for me and my bro). We first arrived at what we thought was the right building to realize that we had to head to the main office instead. When we arrived at the main office, we climbed up a few dozen levels, grabbed some apps, saw a vending machine that sold applications, and then decided we needed some grub. It was around ~10ish, so we decided that dim sum was appropriate. We headed to Times Square at Causeway, and looked over the list of restaurants. At that time, only one restaurant (Chung's) just opened so we didn't exactly have a choice. However, it wasn't a bad choice at all. We got to see their open kitchen and enjoy some good food. It was also the beginning of the tissueless journey in Asia.

None of the stores were open yet so we returned to our hotel and got our rooms. Took a break and then headed out again and started wandering in the area. We checked out a building that sold computer and electronics at pretty good prices. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find that building ever again the next time I tried looking for it. After about a dozen blocks, we somehow wandered our way to a mall called Langham Place. We shopped at the Snoopy (!) store, and I got my first (out of the many that are to come) bag there. We took a break at the food court and enjoyed some afternoon dessert at Honeymoon Dessert which is a popular dessert place that has opened up many franchises. After going up 8ish floors, we took the express elevator that brought you straight down to the first floor. We left Langham and made our way into Ladies' Street and Flower Street where the cheap bargaining happens, which was our original destination. My mom attacked the video stand here.

Later that night, we met up with my aunt Maime and uncle Jacky and had bloody clams at this shady back alley restaurant. Clams that were not fully cooked and were gushing out blood. There was also this disgusting-looking bowl of chicken that tasted really good. Don't let barf-worthy-looking food deceive you. It may indeed be barf-inducing, and if it really is then it's not my fault.

After the surprisingly great dinner my bro left us to tend his own matters while the rest of us taxi'd to the back street of Stanford Hotel where it was filled with foreign gourmet cuisine. It was crowded by foreigners and the like, and didn't feel a bit cheap at all. Thus, the dessert meal that went with a nice girly drink was mighty pricey but good nonetheless.

It was around this time, I started taking up 2nd hand smoking.