Hong Kong! (With Exclamation Point!)
It IS possible to appreciate Hong Kong! You just shouldn't visit Tokyo for 2 weeks first.
Last week's trip was very, mind-opening, and eventful... in more ways than one. Our Friday night departure from Manila lived up to expectations--and made me see how futile it was to depend on Murphy's law keeping its distance--when our flight out was delayed for TWO HOURS. We were supposed to leave at around 7pm but left at around 9pm instead. I was slightly worried about our accommodations, since leaving late meant arriving late. I crossed my fingers that since I had already paid the deposit through the internet beforehand and informed them about our flight details, the hostel would have no other choice but to wait up for us.
The Arrival
We called these "Walkalators". Very convenient for big airports.
We touched down at HK International Airport around 12mn. We were all tired, but ecstatic. Hori was very excited since it was his first time out of the country. Paul and I were happy we got to be in HK again, and for longer. We regaled Hori with stories about our trip last year, and marveled at how different the terminal we were in was from the terminal we left behind. These were all accomplished while rushing through the exit gates and figuring out which bus to to take to the hostel. I had printed out all pertinent material the night before--Cebu Pacific etickets, hostel reservations, and concert ticket reservations--which Paul and I browsed through on the plane to figure out what our next steps would be.
We found our bus... only to realize that we needed to buy tickets before boarding. (I should have pressed harder to buy the ride-all-you-can card.) After we did board, we ended up seated on the top deck... which immediately filled with returning HK citizens. I shall leave out any details, except that I had Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown's single "No Air" looping in my head the entire day and I found it funny that the lyrics were apt for that time...
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air... can't live can't breathe with no air... no air no air...
Home for the Next Few Days
We stayed at the 5th floor of the Golden Crown Court building along Nathan Road, at a place called the Golden Crown Guesthouse. It was run by a nice gentleman named Mr. Tai, who, fortunately, did wait up for us. (I realize this because a few minutes after he showed us to our room, the door to the main guesthouse office was closed.) Our room was a small, long one, with a double bed and a twin and a TV and a tiny bathroom with space for just a water closet and sink. It was even smaller than the portable bathroom we had in Tokyo; it also leaked when we were taking showers, but we had a bed and a decent, clean bathroom, plus it was cheap--350HK a night for three people--so it was fine.
Concert Saturday!
Saturday morning we took the MTR to Causeway Bay to meet up with Rotch. I found out I can't read maps. (And I take such pride in being able to read the ones here in Manila, too! But I guess that's only because I already know most of the areas. When we were in Tokyo, Paul turned out to be the smart cartographer. Haha.) I wanted to get our concert tickets before doing anything else, so we looked for the Tom Lee Music Store. We wandered in the wrong direction for a while until Rotch pointed us in the right one.
When we got the tix, they were like Golden Tickets the way Hori and I reverently looked at them... I could almost swear they shone! Afterwards, it was off to lunch, plus a short trip to the Japanese bookstore, Asahiya, to ogle all the artbooks and manga. Didn't find any Japanese Twilight (Bummer!) But did get a new ish of COSMODE, yeyness! Around 2pm we headed to Central Station for the connecting train ride to Asia World Expo and a stopover at the OkashiLand store Rotch showed us. Japanese sweets! Meiji galore!
Mga singit sa picture! This was on the Airport Express train.
We arrived at the Expo at about 3pm, and fell in line with a group of OS peeps for tour goods and merchandise. We were a riotous Filipino group that managed to catch the attention once or twice of a few of the Japanese crew. (At least I think it was one of the production crew.) A guy with a videocam taped us with the OS banner. Rotch proudly declared to visit their website, a hub for Filipino Jrock fans.
It was about an hour later when the line started moving and an hour or so or more before we finally got our stuff. I think most of the money we brought to Hong Kong was just spent on L'arc merchandise! We got the whole set, which consisted of two shirts, a wristband, a set of pins with the tour logo (which I'm going to have framed), a poster (also heading for framesville), and a souvenir pamphlet. They ran out of the latter though. Sad. I wanted that so much more than the other stuff since I collect souvenir books.
By the time we had gotten through, it was almost seven! The concert would be starting at 8pm and most of the attendees were slowly filling the expo, waiting for friends who had gone to the goods line, or just standing around waiting for the arena doors to open. Hori and I separated from Rotch and the other Ongaku peeps since their seats were on the opposite side. We were in for a pretty long tiring night, so we decided to grab bites to eat before entering the arena. I only managed to wolf down half of my sandwich though, which was a shame--didn't realize the sandwiches would be SO big! If we only knew, Hori and I would have shared just one. It was with a big amount of regret (for the money I knew I just spent) that I left the other half on the table... I did eat the filling though so it wasn't completely wasted.
LARUKU!
Don't know them? They're only, like, THE coolest Jrock band ever?! [From L-R: Ken (rhythm), Yuki (drums), Hyde (vocals), Tetsu (bass)]
I find myself totally inadequate in describing the experience of watching L'arc en Ciel, LIVE, for the very first (and hopefully not the last) time in my life. So, besides pointing you out to blog entries of friends of mine, I'll instead resort to using one of my favorite words: Surreal. Yes, it was SURREAL.
Yuki was adorable. It was a pity he stayed behind with the drums most of the time.
Ken was funny! When he spoke in Cantonese, his monologue had accompanying pictures on the monitors and you could see he was flustered. Unfortunately, I didn't get what he was saying. Rotch said, according to the photos, Ken did nothing but eat since they landed? I'm not sure.
Tetsu. Ah, Tetsu. You were wearing what looked to me like a schoolgirl uniform--black cardigan, vest, white long-sleeved shirt, tie AND black pleated mini-skirt--with red pants. I adore you. It's a shame you didn't seem to be as pumped as in your concerts at the time.
Hyde was... is... GORGEOUS. I do not have any other word to describe him. I kept looking through the binoculars at him, and staring at the monitors which focused on him often! Gah! It should be a crime to look that good AND be that talented. (He also strangely reminded me of a cross between a vampire--blame it on Twilight--and a Japanese Jack Sparrow/Johnny Depp. Probably because Hori kept commenting on his outfit.)
TEH STAGE!
*fangirl shriek*
This was after the concert. Hori and I are sitting in front of our seats with a view of the stage. I had thought we would be so far up, but it turns out, we were only three blocks away from the corner! Still not near enough to spazz out when Hyde or Tet-chan came over, but closer than we thought possible. Awesome! XD
The energy that night was HIGH. L'arc performed close to twenty songs with few breaks in between and only a short 10-minute intermission, when people did the wave again and again and again and again...
As soon as the concert started, everyone stood up and STAYED that way, at least from what I could see of the arena. Hori and I didn't care as we jumped up and down with everybody else when the band started in on Ready Steady Go. We "FLASH'ed" and "CRASH'ed" during Driver's High, and waved our arms wildly in the air during Revelation and Seventh Heaven. Hyde was so cool and sexy when he did Kasou, Forbidden Lover and Anata. There was a bit of a mix-up with Stay Away--usually, that's the song where they switch places--and Tetsu had a momentary look of confusion when Hyde picked up a guitar and didn't sing the first stanza with a look and a nod at him to sing. Ken and Yuki's parts went smoothly though. I swear. The group sounds even better LIVE than on CD!
I hope I'll be able to go to one of their concerts again. Maybe one of the Japan ones. I'm gonna cross my fingers they don't disband til that happens!
*For the Disney part of our trip, check it out in the Photos section! :)
Last week's trip was very, mind-opening, and eventful... in more ways than one. Our Friday night departure from Manila lived up to expectations--and made me see how futile it was to depend on Murphy's law keeping its distance--when our flight out was delayed for TWO HOURS. We were supposed to leave at around 7pm but left at around 9pm instead. I was slightly worried about our accommodations, since leaving late meant arriving late. I crossed my fingers that since I had already paid the deposit through the internet beforehand and informed them about our flight details, the hostel would have no other choice but to wait up for us.
The Arrival
We called these "Walkalators". Very convenient for big airports.We touched down at HK International Airport around 12mn. We were all tired, but ecstatic. Hori was very excited since it was his first time out of the country. Paul and I were happy we got to be in HK again, and for longer. We regaled Hori with stories about our trip last year, and marveled at how different the terminal we were in was from the terminal we left behind. These were all accomplished while rushing through the exit gates and figuring out which bus to to take to the hostel. I had printed out all pertinent material the night before--Cebu Pacific etickets, hostel reservations, and concert ticket reservations--which Paul and I browsed through on the plane to figure out what our next steps would be.
We found our bus... only to realize that we needed to buy tickets before boarding. (I should have pressed harder to buy the ride-all-you-can card.) After we did board, we ended up seated on the top deck... which immediately filled with returning HK citizens. I shall leave out any details, except that I had Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown's single "No Air" looping in my head the entire day and I found it funny that the lyrics were apt for that time...
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air... can't live can't breathe with no air... no air no air...
Home for the Next Few Days
We stayed at the 5th floor of the Golden Crown Court building along Nathan Road, at a place called the Golden Crown Guesthouse. It was run by a nice gentleman named Mr. Tai, who, fortunately, did wait up for us. (I realize this because a few minutes after he showed us to our room, the door to the main guesthouse office was closed.) Our room was a small, long one, with a double bed and a twin and a TV and a tiny bathroom with space for just a water closet and sink. It was even smaller than the portable bathroom we had in Tokyo; it also leaked when we were taking showers, but we had a bed and a decent, clean bathroom, plus it was cheap--350HK a night for three people--so it was fine.
Concert Saturday!
Saturday morning we took the MTR to Causeway Bay to meet up with Rotch. I found out I can't read maps. (And I take such pride in being able to read the ones here in Manila, too! But I guess that's only because I already know most of the areas. When we were in Tokyo, Paul turned out to be the smart cartographer. Haha.) I wanted to get our concert tickets before doing anything else, so we looked for the Tom Lee Music Store. We wandered in the wrong direction for a while until Rotch pointed us in the right one.
When we got the tix, they were like Golden Tickets the way Hori and I reverently looked at them... I could almost swear they shone! Afterwards, it was off to lunch, plus a short trip to the Japanese bookstore, Asahiya, to ogle all the artbooks and manga. Didn't find any Japanese Twilight (Bummer!) But did get a new ish of COSMODE, yeyness! Around 2pm we headed to Central Station for the connecting train ride to Asia World Expo and a stopover at the OkashiLand store Rotch showed us. Japanese sweets! Meiji galore!Mga singit sa picture! This was on the Airport Express train.We arrived at the Expo at about 3pm, and fell in line with a group of OS peeps for tour goods and merchandise. We were a riotous Filipino group that managed to catch the attention once or twice of a few of the Japanese crew. (At least I think it was one of the production crew.) A guy with a videocam taped us with the OS banner. Rotch proudly declared to visit their website, a hub for Filipino Jrock fans.
It was about an hour later when the line started moving and an hour or so or more before we finally got our stuff. I think most of the money we brought to Hong Kong was just spent on L'arc merchandise! We got the whole set, which consisted of two shirts, a wristband, a set of pins with the tour logo (which I'm going to have framed), a poster (also heading for framesville), and a souvenir pamphlet. They ran out of the latter though. Sad. I wanted that so much more than the other stuff since I collect souvenir books.
By the time we had gotten through, it was almost seven! The concert would be starting at 8pm and most of the attendees were slowly filling the expo, waiting for friends who had gone to the goods line, or just standing around waiting for the arena doors to open. Hori and I separated from Rotch and the other Ongaku peeps since their seats were on the opposite side. We were in for a pretty long tiring night, so we decided to grab bites to eat before entering the arena. I only managed to wolf down half of my sandwich though, which was a shame--didn't realize the sandwiches would be SO big! If we only knew, Hori and I would have shared just one. It was with a big amount of regret (for the money I knew I just spent) that I left the other half on the table... I did eat the filling though so it wasn't completely wasted.
LARUKU!
Don't know them? They're only, like, THE coolest Jrock band ever?! [From L-R: Ken (rhythm), Yuki (drums), Hyde (vocals), Tetsu (bass)]I find myself totally inadequate in describing the experience of watching L'arc en Ciel, LIVE, for the very first (and hopefully not the last) time in my life. So, besides pointing you out to blog entries of friends of mine, I'll instead resort to using one of my favorite words: Surreal. Yes, it was SURREAL.
Yuki was adorable. It was a pity he stayed behind with the drums most of the time.
Ken was funny! When he spoke in Cantonese, his monologue had accompanying pictures on the monitors and you could see he was flustered. Unfortunately, I didn't get what he was saying. Rotch said, according to the photos, Ken did nothing but eat since they landed? I'm not sure.
Tetsu. Ah, Tetsu. You were wearing what looked to me like a schoolgirl uniform--black cardigan, vest, white long-sleeved shirt, tie AND black pleated mini-skirt--with red pants. I adore you. It's a shame you didn't seem to be as pumped as in your concerts at the time.
Hyde was... is... GORGEOUS. I do not have any other word to describe him. I kept looking through the binoculars at him, and staring at the monitors which focused on him often! Gah! It should be a crime to look that good AND be that talented. (He also strangely reminded me of a cross between a vampire--blame it on Twilight--and a Japanese Jack Sparrow/Johnny Depp. Probably because Hori kept commenting on his outfit.)
TEH STAGE! *fangirl shriek*
This was after the concert. Hori and I are sitting in front of our seats with a view of the stage. I had thought we would be so far up, but it turns out, we were only three blocks away from the corner! Still not near enough to spazz out when Hyde or Tet-chan came over, but closer than we thought possible. Awesome! XDThe energy that night was HIGH. L'arc performed close to twenty songs with few breaks in between and only a short 10-minute intermission, when people did the wave again and again and again and again...
As soon as the concert started, everyone stood up and STAYED that way, at least from what I could see of the arena. Hori and I didn't care as we jumped up and down with everybody else when the band started in on Ready Steady Go. We "FLASH'ed" and "CRASH'ed" during Driver's High, and waved our arms wildly in the air during Revelation and Seventh Heaven. Hyde was so cool and sexy when he did Kasou, Forbidden Lover and Anata. There was a bit of a mix-up with Stay Away--usually, that's the song where they switch places--and Tetsu had a momentary look of confusion when Hyde picked up a guitar and didn't sing the first stanza with a look and a nod at him to sing. Ken and Yuki's parts went smoothly though. I swear. The group sounds even better LIVE than on CD!
I hope I'll be able to go to one of their concerts again. Maybe one of the Japan ones. I'm gonna cross my fingers they don't disband til that happens!
*For the Disney part of our trip, check it out in the Photos section! :)
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