Shops at Causeway open at 10 AM. We had planned on buying Mama a coat/jacket and buying Tessie a wallet. Thing is, I didn't really find the jackets or wallets I had in mind in Mongkok. Jon said that compared to Causeway, it's easier to shop in Mongkok where every shop is on one street. But Mongkok stalls open AFTER office hours. If we want to make it back in time to check out of the hotel by 12:00 noon and check in our baggages at the IFC 2 terminal of the Airport express, we would have to rush our shopping once we got to Causeway.
It was 8AM and we were still full from our McDonald's midnight snack and didn't want to stay in the hotel till it was time to go to Causeway. Jon had always wanted to ride the tram since we got there, so we decided to go to the Peak. Looking at the map of Hong Kong we got from the airport, we figured that the Tram station was near the hotel but didn't know what way to take to get there. We decided to ask directions at the lobby where the concierge pulled out a map and highlighted a path through the Hong Kong Gardens. Once we got to a fork, I was already heading left when Jon told me the map says we turn right. After a few blocks we figured we took the wrong road and we should really have turned left.
When we did get to the Tram station, we realized that a shorter route would be to go through the MTR tunnels. Which ofcourse made us wonder if the concierge just wanted us to pass through - and see - the Hong Kong gardens. At the tram station, we bought the tourist tickets but were told the tour also starts at 10AM. It was 9:30AM, so instead of waiting for the 10AM tour, we hopped on to the next tram.
At the Peak Tower, most of the shops were still closed, so we went outside and went to the viewing deck I saw from the Cafe Deco Balcony the other night. We took a lot of pictures there:
We then decided to check the Peak Galleria. Two busloads of schoolchildren lined up outside the Galleria as we were getting in, and we ran into the kids now and then.
More pictures taken on the Peak in these albums:
Note: The last picture in the second album was taken from the Hong Kong International Airport.
We browsed the stores at the Galleria and were happy to find that souvenir items there were more than half-price cheaper than similar items being peddled in Mongkok. I bought some stuff I could give my officemates and a baseball cap embroidered with a dragon and the words Hong Kong on it. Papa actually wanted us to buy an umbrella that could be converted into a walking stick. Couldn't find anything like it. Almost considered buying him a wooden cane but decided a hat is easier to bring home than a cane ... and he collects caps just as much as he collects canes.
At the Baleno shop, we saw a nice jacket which we bought for Mama. Jon saw some slacks and bought two. Our total purchases at Baleno were enough to earn us a free tote bag worth more than HK$100, which we decided later was just the right kind of bag that Tessie prefers.
We were delighted to find that we had bought everything on our list and we didn't have to go to Causeway. We planned to go back to the hotel around 11:30AM and it was past 11AM when I saw the 9:18 AM text message from Milette that we should check out of the hotel just in time to catch the 11:30AM shuttle to IFC2. I totally forgot that we had a lunch meeting with Societe Generale guys at Harlan's.
Since Jon and I were still at the Peak, there was no way we could make it to the 11:30AM shuttle and so I told Milette to go ahead. She texted back that she would wait for us ... which made me remember that with the amount of shopping she has done, her total baggage exceeds the 20kg ceiling and the only way to circumvent paying extra for that was to share with her with my baggage limit - as the total weight of the luggages carried by the three of us would not exceed 60kg. But that meant checking in the baggages together. Told Jon we should hurry back to the hotel, and we almost made it to the 11:15 tram trip if we didn't go to the wrong platform. We had to wait for about 15 - 20 minutes for the Tram to return.
Back in the Tram
Other tourists were having fun taking pictures of the city while standing on a tram that's tilted 45 degrees:
Going dooooown from the Peak:
Jon and I were almost running the moment we got off the Tram and we sped to the Pacific Place via the MTR tunnels. Jon was heading down towards the Marriott entrance near the Zen Restaurant when I told him there's another entrance at the 3rd level. Once we got to our rooms, we slammed our shopping bags into our luggages, made sure we didn't leave anything (we already packed most of our stuff last night), then ran out to the elevator to get to the lobby. We were already checked out by the time the 12:15 PM shuttle was ready to leave.
On the trip to the Airport Express terminal, I mentioned to Milette that my brother and I did end up eating McDonald's last night, or rather, early this morning. Milette told me she was hungry last night and was wishing we would call up to suggest eating at McDo even if it was midnight. I sheepishly told her that I didn't think she'd want another midnight call. When I began telling her which food can be bought at McDo HK but not at McDo Phils., she told me to shut up. She didn't want to hear I was munching potato wedges and eating sundae while she was making do with the complimentary fruits on the side table. Ha ha ha!
It was 12:40 when we checked into the IFC2 terminal of the airport, and 1:00 PM when we finally got to Harlan's. Ofcourse, Milette pointe to as the cause of the delay because I forgot we had a lunch meeting... but contrary to what she told them, I did not get lost ... I was just missing from the hotel when she was looking for me.
Lunch was over by 2:30 PM. We got onto the Airport express and were in the airport by 3:30. Odd how I was waved through immigration fast while Milette was stopped for a body search. I guess they do body searches randomly. In a few minutes we were at the Duty Free area, shopping - again. Milette separated from us and we agreed to just meet at the gate where we are supposed to board the plane.
I bought additional items from the Disney store, two pairs of health balls, and a package of teabags for Sam. Milette was looking for Polo cologne for her husband when we ran into her ... we pointed her to the section selling fragrances but she told us she only saw women's perfume/cologne there. Jon and I agreed to go back and help her find her Polo. By some stroke of luck, I ended up stopping on the aisle where the Polo colognes were displayed. Happy that she finally got something for her husband, Milette waved goodbye and we didn't see her again till boarding time. We were sitting at the boarding gate by 5PM and it wasn't long before passengers were told to start lining up. We were in line but got out when it was apparent that Milette wasn't yet in sight. At 5:30Pm she was running to the boarding area with the DBP traders ... all of them lugging huge shopping bags. They probably wouldn't know it's boarding time if I hadn't texted Milette.
To Milette's relief, we weren't the last to board the plane... Ymae was. She got on the plane when just about every passenger had already settled in their seats.
We flew out of Hong Kong at 6PM and were in NAIA Philippines at 8PM. Milette was going to be picked up by her husband Fred and she offered to drop us off at SM South Mall which was near her house. Fred was coming from PNB where their eldest daughter also works (for Philippine Airlines). Traffic was heavy since it was Wednesday (devotees flock to Baclaran church on this day), so we were standing outside the airport for quite a long time.
We passed by Fred and Milette's house first to drop off their daughter and Milette's luggages, before the couple dropped us off at the FX Terminal at SM South Mall.
After giving our thanks for the lift and saying goodbye, Jon and I got onto a van headed for Pacita... home sweet home.
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