A Surprise Flight To Hong Kong Day 1

I know! This is so long overdue now but there's no stopping me from posting this one. After all, this trip in particular sparked the idea of finally starting my own blog. Haha!

It all started last March 12. It was a Monday so I was at work, doing what I do normally on a regular working day, when suddenly our big boss approached me and asked me to report to his office. As I was trained by my boss, the first thing I did was to grab a pen and paper in case things need to be jotted down but he advised me not to bring anything. And that actually made my heart skip. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I tried recalling if I had done anything wrong recently while running a mental list of my urgent tasks. In short, I was bracing myself to hearing the worst news from him.

And it was good news! Apparently, I got handpicked to attend a digital branding seminar in Hong Kong. I was like, Okay! So when's my flight? Then he told me that it's gonna be on March 14! It came to me as a shock, my jaw dropped. That meant I only had one day to prepare all my stuff for my trip. Afterwards, I found myself smiling all day long.

This trip to Hong Kong was by no means my first time. It was actually already my 3rd time in Hong Kong so by now, I know how to navigate around the city's vibrant streets. Nevertheless, it's still an opportunity that I had to maximize so I got to Hong Kong just as excited as my first.

Day 1

My colleague, Wilby, and I left Manila for Hong Kong by 10am. When we arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at around 12nn, we went straight to get our round trip Airport Express tickets to Hong Kong station (HK$ 180 each) and octopus cards (HK$ 150 each).

We then took the train and alighted at Hong Kong station and made our way to the shuttle terminal. We waited for the free shuttle at H2 gate, which covers the route that goes to our hotel, Regal Hong Kong Hotel, in Causeway Bay. For those bound to Wanchai, there's H1 gate with shuttles that cover the Wanchai-based  hotels. Shuttles come and go on 20 minute-intervals regardless of the number of passengers. After about 15 minutes, we took the shuttle and apparently, we were the only passengers.

When we arrived at the hotel, I was awe-stricken! Regal Hong Kong Hotel is one fancy hotel. Honestly, I've never personally book a fancy hotel for all my trips abroad so this one's a brand new experience for me.

Once we got settled in, we made our way to Tsim Sha Tsui or commonly known as TST via subway to have our USDs changed to HKDs in Wing Hoi money changer. Apparently, it's the most popular money changer in Hong Kong for Filipinos because of its good rates. Now that we had our HKDs, we decided to split up to cover more grounds.

It's our free day so we took this time to go around, do some errands and indulge in some retail therapy.

My first stop was the Citygate Outlets in Tung Chung. I was first introduced to Citygate Outlets during my first time to Hong Kong for another business trip. It is home to the widely popular Giordano and Esprit outlet stores (where I bought few items) apart from several other popular apparel and designer brands.

 

I had late lunch at Food Republic. It was already 4pm so I got myself the biggest serving around in all of the counters - rice with scrambled egg and shrimps, plus naicha for HK$ 49.00. It wasn't overly good but given the price and the amount of serving, I guess it tasted fine.

I then went off to Nespresso located at IFC mall in Central to do an errand for our big boss.

After buying coffee capsules from Nespresso, I strolled around Central when I suddenly saw a very familiar logo - Jollibee! Finally! It's right smacked at a very narrow alley beside World Wide Plaza in Central, a popular meet-up place among working Filipinos in Hong Kong. I wasn't homesick (not reasonable at all) or something but I just felt like I had to try it out. It's past dinner time anyway so I had Jolly Hotdog with fries and Coke for HK$ 35.50. I know, it was quite more expensive compared to any Jollibee store in the Philippines but all the Filipinos inside that small nook didn't mind the price either. Plus, there were a lot of locals, too! And I have heard about major food chains having differences in taste from one region to another - fortunately, my Jollibee tasted THE SAME! Whew!

After having a taste of the Filipino food icon in Hong Kong, I went straight back to our hotel and called it a day.

To follow: Days 2 and 3

My First TOSH Experience

photo courtesy of Google Images

So it's probably surprising that I haven't eaten in this pasta-based restaurant until last month. More fondly called as TOSH, The Old Spaghetti House is something I have been seeing around and hearing good things about, but I plainly haven't had the opportunity to try out.

Luckily, my place is just a stone's throw away from Robinsons Pioneer so I decided to try it out. Right after stepping in, I instantly felt the restaurant's warmth. In fact, it's so cozy that it appeared too couple-ish for my taste.

So my best buddy and I ordered Trio 3 (P585.00), a best seller comprised of an appetizer sampler, spaghetti pesto with grilled chicken, and of course 5-cheese pizza (apparently, this is the only reason we ordered this menu). I also got myself a mango shake (P70.00) for refreshment.

Appetizer sampler

The appetizer sampler (fried calamares and breaded chicken tenders) was too dry for my liking. The dip's is just plain and simple ordinary. We hardly wanted to finish it but since I was raised and taught not to leave food on the plate, we somehow managed to get everything down in an hour's time. Grade: 4/10

Pesto

The pesto was alright. I could only complain on the amount of serving (I like it big all the time), but overall, it's good. Grade: 7/10

5-cheese pizza

But the winner of the set is the 5-cheese pizza! I'm such a cheese junkie so this one's just great! I think it has mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar and probably romano and provolone. It's not by any means ground-breaking but I enjoyed it a lot. Grade: 8/10

Thick mango shake

As for the mango shake, I guess it's fine, just a bit too thick, which gave me trouble sipping through the straw. Not too sweet, which I like.

Overall, my first TOSH experience was good. The place is comfortable, with good food and service. The Old Spaghetti House has several branches that operate across numerous cities in Metro Manila.

Looking forward to tasting everything TOSH has to offer!

BREAKING NEWS: The Hunger Games Reality Show Being Developed Secretly

Okay, I'm probably going to be one of the first people to blog about this so I'm not pretty certain on the truth behind it although this story came from a very reliable source:

Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger Games arena

With the likely goal of milking the cash cow, and that is the soon-to-be franchised The Hunger Games, rumors have been going around in the US (of course) that several TV networks and producers have created a coalition in secretly developing its reality show version.

Apparently, they've already pinned down their timelines and as it looks now, it is slated to premiere in 2013 for at least 8 weeks on, read this - Fox, ABC, CBS, TLC, MTV, and ABC Family. Those are big-time networks working collectively to produce probably what's going to be the biggest reality show in history. I've got to ask though, so have the networks teamed up to somehow represent themselves as the united districts of Panem (Oops, that I think is a spoiler! Sorry.)? Not sure about that, but why is NBC not included?

The Hunger Games tributes

Wait! In the book, the teenage tributes fight for their life, killing their co-tributes to emerge as the lone victor. So does this mean we're in for some killing spree then? Probably not. It was reported that the reality show version will let the 'tributes' "fight violently until they knock their opponents unconscious for at least an hour using weapons such as tasers, blow darts with poison tips, and knives designed to create superficial wounds".

Wheels are seriously turning in my head now. I initially love the idea of doing a reality show inspired by The Hunger Games but to promote violence, only loonies would think of it as a great show. Wait until you read this and I quote:

"Early discussions focused on whether or not to let contestants actually kill one another. While the graphic violence wasn’t a concern, networks were concerned that the budget required to dispose of bodies was too much in this era of cost-cutting. Medical teams will be on standby to prevent death from blood loss. For live broadcasts, there will be a 10-second delay in case a contestant swears while stabbing another one in the neck."

What has gotten to their heads? Do they even have a functioning thing between their ears? I just can't swallow the idea of them even contemplating on whether or not to allow the contestants kill each other. That is just freaking crazy! Not even WWE and UFC would approve of it. And if it's any consolation (and I'm sure it is for those hungry for cash), the victor will receive $1 million.

This potentially great idea stemmed from a realization by the networks that the popular trilogy actually satirizes the reality shows - contestants wanting fame and fortune no matter what they do, how stupid they look, how people perceive them, etc. And along the process of it all, the audiences get entertained.

Survivor's Immunity Challenge (photo courtesy of Fanpop)

Survivor Challenge (photo courtesy of Reality TV Magazine)

Now, this is where it becomes interesting.

With its reputation of producing high quality, TV-worthy obstacles, producers from the show that started it all, Survivor, will serve as the 'gamemakers'. It has also been reported that an arena is now being built north of Los Angeles that will resemble the one used at the 75th Hunger Games or Quarter Quell as featured in the second book, Catching Fire. There will be 12 zones (it wasn't reported whether it resembled a clock as in the book) and there will be booby traps per zone like hallucinogenic chemicals and others.

The Games will broadcast simultaneously in all 6 networks a 3-hour primetime episode every night.

Wondering who will the tributes be? Well, casting has actually begun as per my source. Just like in the book, there will be 12 pairs of teenagers ages 10-18 from different states in the US. TLC is in charge of casting. It's been said that the network has a knack for finding parents who are willing to volunteer their kids in exchange of fame and cash. Not cool!

 

Again, I can't vouch for the truth on The Hunger Games reality mumbo jumbo. So let's just see how this pans out in the coming months.

Source: Reality Blurred

Rafa steps down as VP of ATP Player Council

Photo courtesy of elnuevoherald.com

Wait! So ATP has a player council, much like more of a board? Well that's... uhm, new!

Apparently, it has been reported that the great Rafael Nadal has stepped down as the Vice President of the ATP Player Council, citing lack of time as the main reason for his resignation.

"I don't have enough energy," Nadal said after winning his 4th round match against Kei Nishikori of Japan, 64 64 at the Sony Ericsson Open. "I cannot still put in my 100 percent there."


Rumors have been going around about Rafa's frustration regarding lack of support from other players - one of the more popular ones being the President Roger Federer. Several months ago, they had a very well-documented disagreement over issues on several pressing matters such as having a 2-year ranking system, tournament schedules, and time violations.


As of late, no news yet as to who will Rafa's successor be.

What The Flick?!: What Didn't Work For The Hunger Games

So we're done with the good stuff. Now, on to the other end of the spectrum - the ugly truth, at least in my book.

We know that The Hunger Games has continued to make history. It raked $155 million in US and Canada during its opening debut, making it the 3rd best debut of all time behind Harry Potter Potter and the Deathy Hallows Part 2 ($169.2 million) and The Dark Knight ($158.4 million) while surpassing highly successful films such as Spiderman 3 ($151.1 million), The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($142.8 million) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 ($138.1 million).

Despite these record-breaking feats, I weigh in on the things that just didn't work for The Hunger Games:

Cast

Publicity photo of The Hunger Games

Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne was just... okaaaaay. His exposure (or lack thereof) in the movie stayed true to what's in the book though, contrary to what went around about him getting more airtime for the love triangle's sake. But that's not to say he was in any way lesser of a character than say, Cato. Just by hearing the girls scream in the cinema, you know they're enjoying his very little movie exposure, even if it only includes moping to Katniss and Peeta kissing in the arena. Grade: D

Amandla Stenberg's (Rue) case was different. She had one of the most anticipated scenes in the movie and again, she did okaaaaay. Sadly, doing okay for this scene doesn't cut it in my book. She could have done way better. Grade:D

Cinna and Katniss at the tribute's holding area
Photo courtesy of www.digitalspy.co.uk

I was most intrigued to know about Lenny Kravitz doing Cinna. After watching it, Cinna was  great... as a wallpaper and was highly forgettable, more like Portia (which in her case was fine, she wasn't a big character anyway). Not sure if Lenny Kravitz was perfect for the role. Grade: D

PG-13 (not R-18)

Generally, I was looking for the graphic scenes that were ingrained in my mind while reading the book. It was obvious that the producers went for the quantity of movie-goers when they decided to soften the violent scenes. On second thought, it seemed to be a great decision because the movie wouldn't have achieved what it did on its opening weekend worldwide (read this: $214 million worldwide) had it stayed true to how the book narrated it. Just not my cup of tea.

Musical Scoring and Direction

What do you make of the slow-motioned approach on the blood bath? Blah! Big downer for me!
The musical score didn't help either. What about the Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-esque scoring while Katniss was looking for Peeta? These were the funny moments for me.

Worst Scenes

Bloodbath at the Cornucopia
Photo courtesy of popspoken.com

• Bloodbath at the Cornucopia - The prime example of anti-climax. Before this scene, the movie managed to make my heart beat so fast  as the tributes ascend the arena. I was even partly covering my eyes (no kidding there) only to find my biggest surprise of the movie. I was expecting some graphic stuff and I didn't see anything at all, not even one. I wouldn't even call this scene a bloodbath - how about blood stain? That's how this scene disappointed me. It's probably best that I stop here since I can go over and over with my all my frustrations with it.
• Rue's Death - I honestly couldn't pinpoint my problem with this scene but it appeared to be underwhelming for me. This part in the book is overly emotional, I just didn't get the same from the movie. Could be the musical score, the poorly sang song, the acting, could be everything.
• The Tributes' Parade - To be honest, I didn't expect much of this scene. But that's the problem. The fact that my expectations weren't particularly high and it didn't even cut it, there's certainly a problem with it. I sense that it lacked drama that should come along the grandness of the event. On the brighter side, I like District 12's costume.

Overall grade: 7 snaps out of 10 

I'm so looking forward to the sequel, "Catching Fire". Rumors have been going around that it's slated to be shown by November 2013. I can't wait!

P.S. I'm glad that I watched this movie again. The movie seemed so much better the second time around, probably because I didn't have high expectations anymore. So do I change the movie's overall grade? Maybe not. It's the first time of watching it that matters more.


By the way, on second thought, I hope the producers allot more budget for the 2nd book. Some scenes in this movie looked somewhat amateurish. Haha!

What The Flick?!: The Hunger Games Hits Bullseye

Photo courtesy of collider.com

Did I ever think this weekend would come by as ordinarily as the rest of the other weekends? Hell no, and I say that because of this reason alone: it's the premiere of the most-anticipated movie of 2012, "The Hunger Games".

Okay, I admit. I was one of the most thrilled just to see even the first 5 minutes of The Hunger Games. I was waiting for March 2012 to come since November 2011. Quite honestly, I haven't looked forward this much to a movie until this one. The book from which the movie was inspired turned out to be my sweet escape (well, maybe sweet's not the right word) from all the stress around me.

And then came the premiere, March 22. Good thing, we got our tickets couple of days before the first day of screening because as we heard, seats were fast running out. Thanks to the lady staff at Greenbelt's ticketing booth for giving us the best seats out of the very few vacant ones that time. Ha!

So, was the movie a pleasant surprise? Or a potentially-great-movie gone haywire just like the Disney's infamous John Carter? Let's weigh in on what worked and what didn't for "The Hunger Games":

What worked:

Photo courtesy of Vanity Fair

Let's start with the cast, shall we? 

Grade: Overall, great ensemble. B+

Katniss Everdeen at the training
Publicity photo for "The Hunger Games"

The sexy Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence, who played the lead as the brave Katniss Everdeen, was uh-mazing in the movie. She played the part, dressed the part. At the end, she appeared to be charming without even trying. Probably not an Oscar-worthy performance but her role as Katniss will surely propel her career even more. An A-Lister in the making? Definitely!  Grade: A-

As expected, Elizabeth Banks a.k.a. Effie Trinket managed to exceed my expectations. I've heard really good reviews of her acting for this movie and after seeing it, she was just up there on my list. Grade:B+

What do I make of Woody Harrelson as the drunkard Haymitch Abernathy? Just perfect! I've seen him in Zombieland and I'm guessing that he works best when he plays a lunatic. For the record, he looks a gazillion times better with long locks. Grade:B-

Peeta Mellark: The boy with the bread
Publicity photo for "The Hunger Games"

How about Josh Hutcherson, who played the other half of the star-crossed relationship as Peeta Mellark? I felt like he was successful at doing what Gary Ross wanted him to do. However, his acting chops (as his experience tells us) wasn't showcased enough because of the path the movie has taken. In the book where Katniss and Peeta shared probably 65%-35% of the time, I felt that it was lopsided to Katniss' favor in the movie, roughly around 90%-10%. Grade:C

So what about the famous tributes?

I felt Alexander Ludwig (Cato) was able to make the most out of his short airtime. Grade: B-

Isabelle Fuhrman was effective as Clove. I'm probably having memories of her as Esther in The Orphan. Grade: C+

What about the rest?

Donald Sutherland as President Snow - Started weak but he got more intriguing at the end. Grade: C+

Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman - How can you forget that big smile? Grade: C+

Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane - Fine beard . Grade: C-

Scene Selection. Grade: Well-thought of. B

The movie reasonably showcased the best scenes it could capture from the book in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Although in my opinion, it still can actually be great without some of the scenes like the Avox-hovercraft scene and Mr. Everdeen's death.

3 Best Scenes:

Katniss and Peeta at the rooftop
Photo courtesy of everyboutany.blogspot.com

• The Feast - It was a heart-pumping scene that you don't want to end. Grade: A-
• The Reaping - It's what set the mood at the cinema. Great visuals to match what's in the book. Grade: B
• The Rooftop - You will feel how genuine the lines were. It's the first scene that established Katniss' and Peeta's chemistry as star-crossed lovers. Grade: B
• Bubbling under: When Katniss found Peeta camouflaged at the river, near the cave. I remember hearing everyone gasp during this scene.

So that's it for the good points (is it time to duck from flying tomatoes?). Sure you'll tell me there are lots of other good stuff from the movie and I agree. These are just the details that I felt were most worth-mentioning and therefore, were on top of my list. 

For my next post, read here as I run down the list of things that sadly didn't work for "The Hunger Games". Click away!

Video Bucket: Novak Djokovic - From Zero to Hero

Photo courtesy of The Official Website of Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is arguably one of the hottest wheels in ATP today. He won the Australian Open last January and he's done quite well on his succeeding tournaments - both semifinal showings in Dubai and Indian Wells, losing to Andy Murray and John Isner, respectively. Nothing beats his legendary 43-match streak last year, though. If it weren't for a guy named Roger Federer, we would have seen the greatest winning streak ever in tennis history. Despite the loss, Nole pushed through to win 2 more Grand Slams last year, Wimbledon and the US Open.

In his exclusive interview with Bob Simon on 60 minutes, we were treated to a rollercoaster ride, that is Nole's life. He talks about his life growing up in war-torn Serbia, his ambition of becoming the world #1 (obviously he was spot-on with that), his first Wimbledon win, and the funny impersonations he's widely known for.

Check out this video (credits to CBS): 

Hungry for "The Hunger Games"

It all started with a mere suggestion. My friend and colleague, Joyce, asked me to read this surprisingly short but awfully addicting book. I gave in and almost instantly, I fell in love with it. The book is called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Photo courtesy of Ish Barundia

I got hooked right away the moment I started reading the book. It is written in the voice of Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old hunter whose life experiences forced her to become the provider for her mother and little sister. The book breathes in a post-apocalyptic world of Panem, a nation comprised of 12-districts and a Capitol that's situated where North America once existed.

In commemoration of the citizens' uprising against the Capitol in which the 13th district was annihilated in the process, 1 boy and 1 girl between ages 12 to 18 from each remaining districts are selected as "tributes" by lottery. They participate in the televised Hunger Games, an annual event in which the tributes go into the Capitol-controlled arena and fight for their lives until one 1 remains.

The book follows the story of Katniss who volunteered in place of her sister. She is joined by her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark, who was born in the wealthier part of District 12 to a baker. Together, they beat the odds and came through as the victors.

Whew, that was a mouthful. I won't go into the details anymore, that's for you to find out. Check out these sequels, too.

Photo courtesy of Cat's Critters, Garden, etc.

I enjoyed every minute of reading these books. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Of the 3 books, The Hunger Games was best in my opinion but that's not to say the other 2 were lame sequels. All 3 books are great! All I can say now is, "I'm hungry for more Hunger Games!"

This is it!

Today is just weird!

When I finally decided this morning to publish all my noteworthy thoughts (well, I don't know how to qualify them, I leave it up to you), I instantly weighed in on possibly the best name to give my blog. My plan is to write about my travels, love for food (this one's obvious), passion for tennis, and a whole lot more. So with my varied interests, things are not looking up. After hours of thinking, several names came up but they weren't 'perfect', I thought. And then luckily, my iTunes was working on my playlist and Elliott Yamin's version of Sir Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" was playing. And there, I got the phrase I was looking for - The Wide-eyed Wanderer. So that's my weird thing #1.

On to weird thing #2: Now that I pinned down my blog's name, I logged in to blogger and found out that I already have an account. I kept racking my brains out and tried recalling but to no avail. Apparently, I made a blog back in college for a requirement on our internet marketing subject. Ha! So I deleted it now and I'm moving on with this new blog.

So, this is it! It's already about 15 past midnight now so I'll hit on this again later for my first official entry. :-)