After 10 years Ida has risen from the ashes of her blog to share something with you once again...
Seriously though, it's been a loooong while since I've posted something on here. To be truly honest with you guys, I've just not been that inspired to actually blog lately. In fact, I'm wayyyy more hyped to create videos these past few weeks. I plan to commit to the latter.
It's not that I don't like to write anymore. Writing isn't really my absolute strength in my skill list but I do enjoy it, and being an introvert, it gives me less anxiety sitting in a quiet space, writing the words running through my head, probably in my PJs vs. talking to a camera, saying the things I want to say out loud, and probably all made up to look at least decent for the camera. Do you guys know I get a sort of stage fright feeling whenever I try to record sit down videos? It's crazy.
A huge reason of my lack of excitement with blogging lately is this platform itself. If you guys don't know, my blogging platform is Wordpress. Let me tell you, it's been a huge pain in the a** as of late.
While the rest of our apps, and websites, and whatever is on the internet is right now is continuously evolving, Wordpress remains archaic and clunky ASF. It's honestly such a huge hassle to start a post, everything in this site is just so unintegrated and cluttered. I don't think it's the right time to get into the technical nitty gritty details, but an example: you have to download a plug-in just to get freakin' columns in your freakin' post. What the actual f*ckery.
Excuse my language, I'm just so obviously done with this platform.
Anyway, back to the actual content that I want to share with you guys but it ain't an Ida Anduyan blog post without the unnecessary and irrelevant introduction, right? Kidding, I think that introduction was absolutely important 'cause it's just been such a long time since I spoke to you guys via my blog and I've missed you all so much.
Okay back to the Hong Kong films for real.
Last November 10, the whole family (including Miguel. He's family) went on a trip to Hong Kong. It was the family's first ever trip abroad, it was my brothers' first time out of the country, and it was Miguel and I's first trip abroad together too. Prior to this trip we were suuuuuuper excited and we absolutely looked forward to it everyday.
I want to say that the trip went smooth, blissful, and happy, but unfortunately it didn't. Well, it wasn't all bad... but it definitely would have went wayyy better. I still enjoyed it though, it was still fun.
Now I had three options in writing this post: (1) lie and say it went well, that we were all so happy, that it was soooo fun. All the while reinforcing the stereotype that people in my industry are fake and filter tf out of their lives so it'll appear perfect asf (HAHAHA TOO MUCH?). (2) I could just not mention it and talk about the fun bits instead, I mean, there were a lot of fun bits. Or (3) be real with you guys and just casually say it. Nothing wrong with having a less than perfect trip anyway, that's real life.
First day was spent just exploring the city. We looked for our airbnb in Tsim Sha Tsui, the parents and Udo decided to rest and stay in the apartment while the rest of us went ahead and traveled to Choi Hung Estate.
I'm not kidding you guys, when we arrived in Choi Hung Estate, I was like a kid in Disneyland, a toddler in a playground, I was so excited and couldn't wait to talk lots of pictures of the area.
The place was a pastel wonderland, all the while we were there I kept thinking how could such a magical place exist. It wasn't just the court that looked like that too, it was the whole general area, the colorful court was just one spot. The school nearby even had the same color palette too. Heck, even when you arrive in Choi Hung Station, the pastel colors are already there too! I wonder why they made this place like this.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take film photos for each day. I was extremely picky on what to shoot and I now regret it. I did try to take a photo when we were in Disneyland, but I sort of forgot to take one when it was still bright out. I took one at night and it was sort of a fail, you couldn't see anything in the photo. Of course, I've posted pics on my Instagram too so you can check those out.
So like I said, second day we went to Disneyland. I was super excited, mainly because I want my brothers to experience the place while they're still young (I didn't get that chance). I was happy they were happy. Though there was a lot of conflict that day, I wasted so much time sulking in one corner alone. Why? Let's not talk about it. Haha.
Third day was spent on riding the Peak Tram and seeing the supposed Victoria Harbour view. We booked our tickets in advanced through the Klook app and let me tell you it's an absolutely must especially if it's your first time. You'll have a guide who'll meet up with you at the Central station and will guide you going to the Peak tram station. You'll also be lining up in the express lane so less waiting times in line.
Unfortunately for us, it was a rainy, foggy, and windy day... so we basically saw nothing at the top. Literally nothing. The day's tour was obviously a fail, but everyone just tried to keep their cool. There are lots of restaurants, desert places, and souvenir shops in the area too, so that made it better. Be sure to check the weather when deciding when to go to the Peak tram. If it's going to be rainy, it's best not to go anymore, you literally won't see any view.
The evening was spent on shopping. We visited the stores in Mongkok and Tsim Sha Tsui. My dad got himself these rare Adidas shoes, my mom got herself some designer stuff at ISA Boutique. If you're looking for designer stuff that's on sale when you're in Hong Kong, ISA Boutique is the place to be.
The photos pictured above was from our last day in the city. Me and Miguel woke up super early to take pictures in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Choi Hung Estate again ('cause I mysteriously lost all the photos from the first day but we ended up not going back again 'cause of the lack of time. Thankfully, I was able to recover them when we got back home).
We found this cute cafe while strolling around Causeway Bay and luckily their food was super good too. It was a really nice breakfast. Afterwards we went back to our apartment to rejoin the family and started our way to the airport. It was time to go home.
So highlights of the trip:
Disneyland - I'm so happy my brothers were able to experience it and that they had a great time, especially in Space Mountain. Udo wouldn't stop screaming literally the entire ride. I really hope we get to go to other theme parks again soon!
Late night walks with Miguel - every night, no matter how exhausted we were, Miguel and I would always take walks around Tsim Sha Tsui. Walking around at night in an unfamiliar city with the love of your life and best friend. We ate street food and drank convenience store Milk Tea... it's amazing.
Basically the trip - It was a trip of many firsts, and no matter how chaotic it was, I supposed this will be the most memorable one.
Some tips:
Purchase all the essentials in advance, before the tip - I'm talking about airport express tickets, octopus cards, theme park cards, food stubs for theme parks... all that can be bought online prior to your trip, go and get it. It made the trip smoother, less waiting in line and more exploring, especially in the train stations. The Klook app was a huge help for this, and I know they sell their stuff at discounted prices, be sure to take a look at it for your next trip.
Check the weather - A bit of a no-brainer I know, but we totally failed to do this for our Peak Tram tour. If we checked the weather beforehand, we might have actually seen the amazing view. It also helps you to decide what clothes to bring of course!
Be ready to be versatile and remember the trip will always have a few humps, just laugh it off - One of the huge causes of the conflicts of this trip was because some of us did the opposite of this. Take it easy, chill, we're all here to have a good time.
All of the photos of this entry was taken with a Fujicolor disposable film camera. If you want to see pictures from my digital camera, head on over to my Instagram. Or better yet, watch my vlogs below:
How about you guys? Have you been to Hong Kong? If yes, what were your favorite things about the city? What did you enjoy the most? If no, do you want to? What are you most excited to try? Do you have any tips or experiences to share? Share them in the comments below!