Hong Kong used to be one of our favorite places for family vacations. Before Anna left for the US to study in 2000, we went to HK almost every year between Christmas and New Year to go shopping and bond with the children. They were in their teens then and the only way to get them away from their friends and their pagers (no cellphones then) was to leave the country. We gave them a shopping allowance and did they shop! We would invariably go home with bulging suitcases.
Not this time. Manny, Jog, Tif and I went to HK last week from 20 to 23 May. We had a large suitcase, a medium suitcase and 2 hand-carry sized suitcases, 1 of which was inside the large suitcase. When we came home, we still had the same 4 suitcases, and 1 still inside the other. Not that we didn't shop. Or tried to. We went to Mongkok (3x), Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui (2x), Harbor City (2x) and the computer center near our hotel, and all we bought were: 1 camera for me, 2 laptops for Jog and Tif, 7 shirts for Manny anf the boys, 3 pairs of shoes for Jog and Tif, 3 pairs of flipflops for their girlfriends, educational cards for Joey, and small items for the household help. For the first time in my life, I didn't buy any clothes, shoes or bags. Right after my retirement, I went to 168 to shop for capris and ballroom dancing gear, and then to an outlet store in Bulacan during their semi-annual sale to buy casual tops. So I was all set and didn't see any need to buy any more stuff. Which is gratifying since it only means that I now have everything I need.
So I'm glad we had those sightseeing trips to The Peak and the new Madame Trussaud's wax museum (the figures were extremely life-like as you will see in the pictures) on the second day, and to Macau, which was the best part of the trip, on the third day. Though we didn't get to see the Heritage Site in Macau (the bus driver forgot to signal to us where we would get off and so we ended up at the bus terminal, very close to where we took the bus!), we got to see the new casino hotels – MGM Grand and the Venetian. I don't know what the Venetian is doing, but their casino was 80% full, while MGM Grand was almost empty! The Venetian in Macau is bigger than in Vegas and is very similar with the European architecture, the canals and the sky ceiling. We got to ride the gondola which we weren't able to do when we went to Vegas for Christmas with Anna and James in 2006 because of the long queues. Our gondolier was a very pretty half Italian, half American girl. She sang O Sole Mio and Santa Lucia with her sweet voice. She also said that she moved from the Venetian in Vegas to Macau, and 2 weeks ago, she holidayed in Manila and got to see Pagsanjan, Taal, and Mall of Asia. She will be going to Thailand in July. She added that all the gondoliers in the Venetian are either Italian or half Italian. Very authentic. Unlike in Tokyo Disneyland where the performers are chinky-eyed blonds! Probably the same thing in HK Disneyland which we didn't visit anymore with no kids in tow. And yes, our best meal was a Southeast Asian buffet at the Bambu in the Venetian (cheaper than the buffets in the hotels in Manila), where many of the attendants were Filipinos. And they all looked happy. One attendant there said that in that restaurant alone, there were 20 Filipinos, but she didn't know how many Filipinos there are in the Venetian. Probably in the hundreds. The developments in Macau are truly amazing. So many hotels are coming up, and the viaducts over the ocean are awesome. Tif said that the next time we go to HK, we reverse the order. We stay in Macau and just take a day trip to HK. Sounds like a plan. One last word. In our previous trips to HK, we would invariably be with many domestic helpers and viajeras. This time, we were so happy to see families flying to HK. In fact, on the return flight, it was so noisy with many kids on board. Indeed, thanks to Cebu Pacific, every Juan is flying!
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