stuff from hong kong

1 - H&M White Long sleeve Polo

2 - Giordono socks for friends and teammates - around 15 pairs

3 - H&M Beanie

4 - H&M Green Plaid Long sleeve Polo

5 - Giordano Black, Gray and White Polo shirt

6 - H&M Black Plaid Polo for the twins

7 - Western Digital 1 TB Desktop Harddrive

8 - DLink Wireless Router

9 - H&M Slim Fit Gray Denim Pants

10 - Giordano WWS Shirts for some friends

11 - H&M Socks

12 - Bossini Gray Pants

13 - 32gb iPhone 4

the iphone 4 saga

ever since the iphone 4 was announce, i have been drooling to have one or to even touch one; and since the us iphone won't be sold as unlock units, the only chance i have was to wait for globe telecoms to bring it here or i get one from gray market. i made reservations already with globe, but my frustration for globe's not getting back to me took its toll; and i decided to just risk it and get a unit from hong kong if i can get one given the scarcity of units all over the world.

i searched around on how to scout for an iphone 4 from authorized apple resellers via blogs and forums. i printed out a 2-page list of stores and their addresses - this is how i prepared to this calvary to find that elusive jesus-phone.

oct 16 - 1st day in hong kong. even though we have strict schedule, i took every chance i get to check out the stores i have in the. i have checked out different fortress stores (around 5 i guess) to no avail. we carried on to what we were supposed to do in the city - that is to visit disneyland. seeing lotsa people around playing with their iphone 4 made me feel sad and frustrated. even my brothers know how affected i am. that's how serious i was about getting an iphone there. day 1 done with no iphone and i slept with sadness within me.

oct 17 - day 2 and we really have dedicated the morning for shopping and my search for the iphone. my brothers were really supportive, and i appreciate them on cheering me up. the whole morning, while we were shopping i was checking out around if there were fortress or broadway or any apple store around. I believed we were able to check out around 20 authorized apple reseller just for that elusive phone. I gave up already and and prepared myself to go home empty handed until my brother checked out 1 store and he asked him to go back after 3 hours, they are waiting for the shipment. i rejoiced, really, that time. and even if the shipment won't happen, i held to that string of hope. we decided to go to mongkok to check out that computer center and the sneaker street. went back before 6 pm (before that 3 hours we spared) and viola, the very kind chinese guy reserved a 32gb unit for me! i was really thankful to him and also to my brother who checked out that store.

hong kong trip with the brothers

there are lotsa stories to tell about this hong kong trip with my brothers ; so i'll start on how it happened. but if you wan't to learn my calvary on the search for that iphone 4, hit the link now for no iphone 4 story will be told on this post.

one early morning, i was shaken up from sleep by my brother to book a promo flight to hong kong. i was like hypnotized by his command and took my credit card without hesitations; and booked the flight in minutes.

with very little planning, we found ourselves in the airport come oct. 15. we arrived in the city at around 11:00pm; roamed around and searched for 30 mins for that inn I booked online; roamed around at midnight to see what's around the hotel then back to the room to rest and prepare for Day 1.

day 1 - the plan: big buddha via cable car and disneyland hong kong. what carried out: city outlet, disneyland and night market. well, due to that 1.5 hour queue to ride the cable car + 20 mins travel to big buddha, we decided to just check out that city outlet mall - the first mall in hk we have visited. i bought nothing while my brothers shop to death (ok, that one was exaggerated). ate at this japanese restaurant that made us smell like fried meat in olive oil. planning to take a shot; but i was told it is not allowed.

the disneyland - the major, well 2nd major, reason why i decided to go to hong kong. great experience. tiring. caters to kids and kids at heart. lotsa people there, and when i say lotsa i mean LOTSA. the most exciting part was the halloween parade. still, it'll be the best halloween celebration i had so far, and the best kuya geno's birthday celebration he had so far.

day 2 - the plan: shopping in the morning and the peak in the evening. what carried out: shopping in the morning, mongkok in the afternoon and the peak in the evening. the shopping was very tiring not for me or my younger brother, ken, but for the eldest brother. shopping around hong kong is really fun - the place to be! mongkok on the other hand was too much crowded for me; but hey, was able to score a 1tb hardrive and wireless routers for a bargain price. then the victoria peak was.. i dunno. we just enjoyed the madame tussaud's wax museum, while the peak itself was too cold and we decided to go back to the inn.

it was basically a short stint in hk; 2-day-trip packed with amazing race adventure since 'twas our first time there. but hey, i survived it and had a good wekend bonding with the siblings.