Best Buy

I know it's been long overdue, I should have written about this a long time ago but it's better late than never right?

So, 3 months ago, in our FGL in HongKong, it was a shopping rendezvous and the 4 days we stayed there wasn't really enough to cover all of HK's shopping districts (and a good thing too because I had already depleted most of my life's savings on this trip). But of all the things that we had bought, this one, a kaleidoscope, stands out as the best buy. Actually, I wasn't very sold out on this at first. I mean, I've had kaleidoscopes before when I was little. We can always buy one in good ol' Philippines. But Joy insisted we should all get one as it's the best one of the lot. In the end, I did bought one, except Esmot who wasn't really swayed (she bought Buddha's instead--LOL).

And the satisfaction was irreplaceable. Right after a tiring day of sight-seeing ang shopping,
there's no better bonding moment than sitting in the park and observing the city lights under the minute lens of the kaleidoscope, the quiet night ringing with our peals of laughter. Thanks girls!

Patient-Doctor 3: Case Presentation

Our exposure to this patient was first met with apprehension. Afterall, the patient has a potentially infectious disease eventhough she is undergoing treatment. But when I first saw Cathrina, I thought she is beautiful and it is unfortunate how she had acquired pulmonary tuberculosis. She was reserved around us, but became more sociable in our subsequent visit to her home.

In our first visit to their house, we interviewed the mother underneath a guava tree outside their door. It was near dusk and the house didn't have any electricity. Cat-Cat was playing with the neighborhood children, who are also her relatives. However, she shied away from us, so we contented with getting information from her mother about their family.

The family's sole breadwinner is the father, whom, unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to interview. He is a welder and doesn't have a permanent employer. He is constantly out of the house for work. With 4 children, his daily wage often is just enough to get the family through the next day. And the mother is strictly a housewife. It would have been better if she found ways to augment the family income, and improve their living condition.

On our second visit, we were able to observe inside their house, which consisted of a living room, one bedroom, where they all sleep beside each other, a kitchen and a small toilet. It was very pitiful to see, especially since it was raining hard that day and their roof, made of nipa had holes in it.

I'm not sure if they are contented with their way of life, or has simply accepted that they were not blessed financially. The children are also still young to help, although the eldest, being 15 years old, can already help out. They have a pitiful condition, but not one which they cannot overcome if they really want to.

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words - Part 2

This is on the bus A21 to our stop, the 6th, Mongkok. Even on the way to downtown Kowloon, we're already exhausting our cameras. Little did we know we'd have problems recharging. They have weird sockets. (By weird, I mean different from what we're used to here. And who can blame us? We are consumed by our excitement!)

Know what these tall buildings are? Residential buildings, probably housing thousands of apartments. You know a place is really heavily populated when they have buildings like these. (The most that can fit in my camera. That's not including the other buildings along the sides, and those that are still in the construction works. Do the math!)

I don't know what they call this bridge, it's definitely a long one. We got this picture while we were on the bus A21 from the airport to Mongkok. (I think we passed this way on our way back, from Mongkok to the Airport)

"Itadakimasu!" My first time to eat roast duck. (Honto ni oishii desu!). Good thing I practiced using chopsticks when I was younger. I knew it would come in handy someday.

The busy streets of Hong Kong. I've been to many places but not this densely populated, so I was amazed that their pedestrian crossing actually encompasses the entire intersection. And the people are kind-of psychic--they can tell that the lights are changing to green about 5 seconds before it actually did. (Hmm, there's a red sun by the horizon unfortunately my cam wasn't able to capture it unless zoomed in)

"wala pa gihapon ni sink in?"

It's exactly 4 weeks now since I've set foot on foreign soil for the first time in HongKong, and still, there's that feeling of surrealness about it. Despite the hard-rock evidences of being there, our own memories also serve to concretize the experience. Now as I recall those memories, I'm really filled with a longing to be there once again with my bestfriends. It's bittersweet...even recalling the bloopers almost brings tears from my eyes. Almost? Well, I was laughing as if it just happened yesterday, so it could probably be due to "tears of laughter" as well.

For most of the times we were there, we kept saying to each other "wala pa gihapon ni sink-in nga naa na ta diri". Maybe it's because time went by so fast, we hardly had time to breathe in the fact that the six of us finally got together after more than 6 years. For me, the reason is really simple. WE WERE TOGETHER. It's as if time and place becomes irrelevant and we become immersed in our own little world. Here's a tribute to this amazing friendship.

then...and now

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

Aboard Cebu Pacific Airlines
Destination: Hong Kong International Airport







Touchdown: We have arrived!
(ni sink in na? niabot na lagi ta Hong Kong!)

Alaine, the reason we were late for our scheduled 8:00 to 8:30 meeting in the airport was not the Immigration
(sure, it took us about 15 minutes in line)





but the many "pix stops" along the way for picture taking!
I guess any airport would look the same but still, this is HK!






Look at the Chinese characters and everything. You don't find anything like that in the Phils. We actually arrived 15 minutes ahead of our scheduled 7:40
but spent around 35 minutes posing here and there)

Our meeting place:
Burger King, right side of Arrival A, 5th floor, Hong Kong Airport
(first HKD expense: HK$ 34 for breakfast)






We're finally complete!
After a hearty breakfast at Burger King, we finally stepped out of the airport.





But first, another "pix stop"
at a uniquely designed trunk
of an ornamental plant.
Go Laine!

To be continued.......