so the days before and after hong kong disneyland we went walking.

hong kong is a crazy, colorful city lit with bright neon lights and panaflex signages. while a lot of the shops have moved on to LED billboards, the city still generally  retains that chaotic beauty it is known for. and i had to wonder if electricity in hong kong is cheap because the commercial district is insane with the lights haha

the gallery/avenue of stars is confusing because it was supposed to be under construction and in the works but this installation in its “temporary location” seems to be in order and not temporary at all. and i couldnt help not taking a photo with maggie cheung with her baonan of noodles.

kunyari stolen. it was a rather hot time in hong kong so we took to short mall breaks to cool off. egressing to peking road, i realized we were in the chungking mansions area, famously put on film by local director, wong kar-wai, and his australian dop, christopher doyle, in the aptly titled chunking express. the film was said to have been shot in doyle’s chungking apartment, so the legend goes (sorry, too lazy to google fact check this).

i booked airbnb a total of 4 days 3 nights stay in hong kong. understanding that carlo and i would then be flying off to europe from hong kong, we did a bit of laundry first. the weather was, as i said, hot, so drying clothes was no problem at all. the airbnb was also equipped with a kitchen so we bought some rice (very good rice) and luncheon meat in some supermarket while walking around. cost efficient breakfast for 5. there was leftover uncooked rice so i brought that to europe. lol. asians.

i think i got over lamenting about how efficient public transport and commuting is in other countries and the philippines remain 3rd worldly in that aspect. yet we walk most of the time when in other countries. better local view and experience than being in cabs or double decker tourist buses. also known as pagtitipid. bow.

the full facebook photodump album of my hong kong pics are here.

hong kong gives off that warm, frantic vibe of an advanced yet backward asian city. i marvel always at the use of bamboo and netting for scaffolding in a city made up of steel and glass skyrise buildings. the chinese characters on posted flyers and signages complete the image of a slightly worn out city that dont necessarily try to be anything else. however, the hong kong i met in 2004 was different from the hong kong in 2016. or maybe i was the one changed, eyes weary of superficial gloss and facade. i see a much more realistic picture of hong kong now. or of myself. maybe both.

charaught.

back in january, i suddenly had a crazy urge to celebrate my 38th birthday in hong kong disneyland. yes, disneyland. im not embarrassed to say i grew up with disney animated classics and the fondness continues to this day. ive been to hk disneyland before in 2004 but still. this time, it would be my name day. and this time i got to celebrate it with my mom, sisters, and carlo. wohoo!

wakey-wakey, it’s disneyland day!

no lechon this year! my birthday lunch was burger, fries, and fried chicken!

got a little bit emotional posing with this stand-alone dumbo. i remember my dad’s photos of disneyland in the US from the 80s and there was a photo of the dumbo ride in that album. and the postcards he sent us from disneyland said he promised to bring us 3 kids to disneyland. ayun. ok lang, payong. sabi nga ni phil collins sa tarzan, you’ll be in my heart always.

baby mine, don’t you cry…

we had a fun time in disneyland. first and foremost, im glad to be able to bring my mom around and see the temples in angkor wat two years ago and cinderella’s castle this year. the things my dad and mom couldnt do early in their lives because we needed to be reared in a comfortable house and educated in good schools. this is my way of giving back. travel. relax. enjoy each other’s company. i do admit this trip was too short. so we might have to plan another trip soon. char.

more photos in my sister’s fb album. happy birthday to me.

this year, carlo and i had only planned to go to batanes for our annual vacacion. that changed with an impromptu decision to celebrate my birthday in hong kong disneyland once i turn 38 in june instead of the usual pilgrimage to cagayan de oro. little did we know we would also make it to macao, china in march for an awards show…

and then kuala lumpur, malaysia for a film workshop.

but maybe the biggest thing that happened to us this year was a chance to fly to europe right after hong kong so we could attend the international premiere of a film, kapatiran, we worked on with director pepe diokno and producer bianca balbuena.

so hongkong happened.

and karlovy vary, in the czech republic, happened.

and dubrovnik, croatia, happened.

and budapest, hungary, happened.

and prague, czech republic, happened.

and i have tons of pictures i dont know where to start. bear with me. jetlag. excitement. need for sleep. all that jazz. everything needs to be processed emotionally and photographically.

love traveling. thankfully that has been satiated. but carlo and i still have 2 more trips to go this year. ohmy. soo excited!