Day 2: Hong Kong-Macau-China Trip (Hong Kong)

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

          Our alarm clock was set off at exactly 7:30 A.M. Both my brother and I are still dozed off in bed. His hand searched for the snooze button and slammed it. It took us four more snoozes before we finally were awaken by a crowd of Chinese tourists outside making a lot of noises. I went to the door and looked through the peak-hole. Two ladies and a kid was there talking loudly. I banged on my door and they reacted. I headed for the bathroom to shower. 

      By 9:00, almost everyone was already gathered downstairs. My aunt and my cousins were still absent, though. The rest of us decided to head for the breakfast place first. Cafe de Coral became our choice because it has a special breakfast menu and it’s close by, anyway. I took a picture of my breakfast and later posted it on Instagram. 

         After breakfast, we headed for the train station to ride to Causeway Bay (my grandpa decided to go Shenzhen first because he had business to do there; therefore, he wasn’t with us shopping today). There was a little misunderstanding before we boarded. Apparently, we got separated to two groups unintentionally and didn’t know where the other group is. After about fifteen minutes of searching, my second sister (Adelene) received a text message from my aunt saying that they were already in front of the trains waiting. With that, we dashed down the stairs and ran toward the trains. It was just in time too! In less than a minute, the train arrived and we were off to Causeway Bay...which is only one stop away...

        Causeway Bay! Downtown of Hong Kong! Unfortunately, it was raining again today. We had our umbrellas but it wasn’t enough for each of us to hold one. Because of this, we had to group two by two in one umbrella with the exception of my two cousins who were under one umbrella with their mom. Our first stop was a jewelry store owned by one of my grandmother’s friends from Jakarta. I was so bored of waiting that I took out my iTouch and started to play my “Bebot” app to the tune of Jennifer Lopez’s “On the Floor”. That song became the “theme song” sung repeatedly throughout the day.

A half hour passed when we finally decided to go to our next destination: my great-granduncle’s apartment. My grandma chose to stay to just catch up with her friend and will meet us at 12:30 around the area. We arrived in the apartment and met with our 87 year old great granduncle. We took a few pictures at the end of our visit and we headed to the rendezvous point to join my grandmother. We had lunch at a local restaurant that has both local and western cuisines. 

        Once lunch was over, our shopping mode is on. Giordano was our first real shopping stop of the day. We completed all the payments and headed towards the next shop: G2000. We were separated again from the others. This time, my parents, my sister Adelene, and my brother Jonathan were with me. We agreed to meet up in Times Square as soon as we’re done. We walked on to search for the big building. It was quite a long walk too, so we decided to stop by a shop and ask for directions. The man told us to “go straight and turn right when you see the ‘IT’ sign and from there you can see the tallest building.” It took us about twenty minutes of crossing the roads, walking on the sidewalks, and going around buildings before we finally entered the Times Square itself. By then, it was 4 o’clock. We met the others in Ben & Jerry’s. We all split up and agreed to meet back there an hour later. 

One hour was over. In that time, I was able to buy my brother’s birthday present. My brother and I was back at Ben & Jerry’s with my cousins and my grandma, but everyone else was still missing. A few minutes later, my aunt and my parents came. By then, I was already searching for Internet access. Thankfully, I was able to reply a few messages to my friends in FB and chat with another one of my friends in Skype. After a half hour or so, my sisters finally arrived and we headed for another store. Once that’s done, we headed for our last stop: Sogo. 

Our shopping finally ended and we all were quite exhausted. We got home and dropped our bags in the room and departed again to find our dinner. The stores nearby were mostly closed already. We had no other choice but to cross the bridge and ate in the other side. The only decent restaurant there was Cafe de Coral. There was a McDonald’s in the next floor, but none of the others agreed to eat there except for my cousins and me. 

After a filling meal, we walked back to the hotel while discussing J. Lo’s song all the way back. The hotel lobby was a like a haven for my brother and me. Yes, we immediately connected to the WiFi there. I get to post pictures in Instagram and chat for quite a while with my friend. Finally, we had to go back to our rooms. 

A refreshing shower was just what I needed after a long, tiring day. I stepped out of the bathroom afterwards and noticed the curtain half open. I walked over to the window and pulled it fully open, unveiling a night view of Hong Kong Central. It was amazing. If there’s something good about urban civilizations, it would be these magnificent lights in the city at night. I immediately moved everything away from the window and placed my brother’s camera tripod close to the window. I adjusted my camera and fixed the settings. I turned off all the lights and took several shots of the nightlife. Amazing...truly amazing...

Our last activity was a game of DotA among my siblings and me. I was paired with my brother and we won the round. Satisfied with the results, I sat in my bed and began typing about my day today. So here I am... 

     What do I have to say about the day? Well, time becomes a precious memory when they are spent with those whom you love. Never ever hesitate to spend time with your family. There is no loss in it. I enjoyed my day today because I spent it with my family. I can say that today is a day that I treasure so much...all because I spent it with the people I love. God bless you all!

Day 1: Hong Kong-Macau-China Trip (Hong Kong)

     Safely landed at Hong Kong International Airport after a bumpy ride in the air for 3 hours. I was pretty tired especially when I had to wake up at 3 to leave for Jakarta’s airport. At 3:30, my grandparents, my parents, my brother and I left for the airport. Our flight left at about 5:30. I was able to chat with one of my friends during the wait in the lounge. Our journey took a transit at Singapore first where we met my uncle unexpectedly at the exit gate. He kindly escorted us to the skytrain to Terminal 3 where we parted. We did quite a workout in walking through the terminal, especially when I was carrying 3 bags at once! The security check was the usual in Singapore: detailed and complex. We got into the airplane (which was quite huge) and met with my two sisters, my aunt, and my two cousins. Our seats were located on the upper deck of the plane. It might be because of this that I feel quite nauseated mid-flight. The turbulence was crazy. Although I slept most of the way, I was quite disturbed with the frequent turbulence that occurred. Overall, the flight was just fine. Hey, at least we arrived in our destination safely, right?

       We took 3 taxis to travel to our hotel. We arrived in a hotel called “Renaissance Hotel Harbourview”. However, only two of the taxis arrived in this destination. The cab with my aunt, cousins, and brother were not there. “Well we’ll wait a while,” I thought. My dad asked me to watch our luggages while he checks in our rooms. The porter stacked our bags on his trolley and was ready bring it upstairs. However, my dad went back to the front door and stopped the porter. “We’re in the wrong hotel,” my dad sighed. Apparently, the taxi driver dropped us at the wrong “Harbourview Hotel”. We were made to walk two blocks down while pulling our luggages through the streets before finally arriving at the right hotel. My brother and the others were already there waiting. I sat and whipped out my iPod to connect with the WiFi in the lobby. Fortunately for me, internet was available. I was able to post pictures in Instagram and chat for a while in Skype. It was a bummer because the message was often pending. We went up to our rooms and quickly freshened up. 

       After everyone was gathered in the lobby, we walked for ten meters or so to a restaurant called “Cafe De Coral”. The food was very delectable, or it might have been our rumbling tummies talking. Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed the meal. 

Our next plan was to head for the Central, a shopping district with a lot of office buildings as well. We walked on the bridge to cross the street and took a tram. On the way there, I suggested to my siblings and cousins that we adopt the “Hong Kong way of speaking” (which my grandmother also practice at times). So I started speaking with a loud voice for no reason. No one seemed to mind at all. I guess this will be a fun experience, after all! 

    Our tram arrived in the shopping area and our first stop was the one and only H&M clothing store. I never really enjoyed shopping for clothes, unlike my brother and sisters. However, today was an exception, I guess. I ended up purchasing more than my brother did! For me, this is amazing... 

          After a couple hours, we decided to find a place to have a final meal of the day. I was still quite full from the last afternoon meal, but I followed along anyway. Our search for an available yet descent restaurant was quite an adventure too. We walked uphill for two blocks and all the eating places there were crowded. we had to walk downhill from there for two blocks or so before settling in a local restaurant in one of the buildings. After our meal, we decided we were too tired to continue walking. This is the point of another adventure: going home....IN THE RAIN. 

Yes, it was raining quite hard after we finished our eating. We couldn’t hail a cab over because all of them that passed by were occupied. We had to go back uphill and stop by a 7/11 store to buy umbrellas before continuing to retrace our steps back downhill. We finally were able to hail two taxis and head home. There, I thank God for finally giving us this taxi.  After a long search in the rain, we finally obtained it. Right then, God also reminded me that we might not be the only ones who had to walk in the rain to find a ride back. So, I prayed for those still in the rain that God would provide for them hastily too. 

         Back to the hotel, at last! I took another picture of the hotel and posted it in IG. At 23:00, my brother and I wanted to connect to an internet service. However, little did we know that the service was shut off by that time. Disappointed, we returned to our room. It is amazing what randomness can do for you. I aimlessly connected to a random WiFi network and it actually worked! I was able to send a message or two in Facebook before the connection was cut. I had actually planned to post this as soon as I finish writing, but that does not seem possible now. It’s 00:18 at the moment and I’m typing on my bed right now. I really need my rest for the following day. In conclusion, Day One in our trip is quite exciting, and I can’t wait what other things God had planned for us for tomorrow!