Hong Kong Trip Day 1: Marco Polo HK Hotel

This is the first of what I plan to be a series of posts highlighting our Family Christmas get-together at Hong Kong. Here I go:

We got up at around four o'clock am (my parents probably woke up earlier though), left my aunt's complex at five, and reached the airport sometime after that. It felt more relaxed compared to our other to-the-airport travels- which usually involve a lot of rushing, yelling, leaving things behind, and stress.  Plenty of stress.

The plane ride was kind of crappy. The airline service didn't include free snacks, our seats were cramped up and we barely had enough legroom. Moreso, my eye popped when I was asleep. I spent most of the plane ride asleep, and pressure started building up in my ears. My theory is that pressure first builds up in your ears and nose, and then it goes to your eyes. That's probably what happened. I woke up with a horrible ache in the internal part of my right eye, and it hasn't been the same since. I just hope it'll be gone tomorrow.

We met up with my relatives (from the mother's side) and spent the rest of the day walking around places, checking out some stores as we waited for the check-in hour for the hotel we booked at. There was this really beautiful park we stayed at for quite some time. It's a shame I couldn't get a picture of it. The architecture was amazing.

Speaking of that, the architecture in Hong Kong is spectacular. Compared to my own country, you can really feel that the citizens pay attention to the external structure of their buildings. Most of the structures in Hong Kong are carefully planned out and well-maintained. 

The weather, meanwhile, was chilly, but not too cold. Or not as cold as I thought it'd be (but perhaps that's because of my thick sweater). The heat of the sun and cold air make a wonderful combination.

When we finally had access our hotel room, it was like the cherry on top of what is (for now) a very fun and relaxing vacation. I think choosing a highclass hotel, though somewhat expensive, really pays off because the quality is very different.

(I'll post more pics when I get home)

The room was sufficiently spacious, had beautiful decorations and a great feel. The best part about choosing to stay at Marco Polo HK Hotel, however, is the jaw-dropping view of the ocean/harbor outside our room. You are able to watch the sunset (which is what I'm doing at this very moment) while relaxing in your bed and listening to calming instrumental music.

One thing that can be improved, though, is the bathroom- which is tinier and less grand that what you'd expect. Of course, that's the only flaw of this otherwise perfect room.

(Extra note: the wifi speed is really fast!)

That's it for now. My family and I might go to The Peak later. I'm not really sure.

Future destinations:

Hong Kong Disneyland

Ocean Park

 

Xoxo

Bea

Post- Catching Fire Thoughts

THE ODDS ARE NEVER IN OUR FAVOR.

I just got home from watching Catching Fire, and wow... everyone really outdid themselves this time. How do I even begin to explain this? The movie was perfect, A++, would watch again, wouldn't change a thing. Fans will definitely not be disappointed. This movie got everything right. It was so good that it gave me the urge to reread the entire series, and I'm not the only one who's planning to.

All key events were present. The movie stayed very, very true to the book right up to the dialogue. I have to say, I wasn't very excited to watch it. The first movie was alright, but it wasn't spectacular. This one was at a whole new level. What I loved the most was the how much attention they paid to including little things from the book- tiny details that were hard to translate from text to action. An example of this would be when Peeta hits the force field and almost dies. Katniss panics. Then, we get a subtle close-up of Finnick as he watches her, and only those who've read the books will understand what he's thinking of at that moment. Another one is Prim. She seems more mature somehow... definitely less fragile. We realize that she isn't the little kid we saw in the first movie anymore.

The actors were superb. The scenery and sets were magnificent. The costumes were beautiful. The story and dialogue flowed smoothly. All of these little bits fell into place and made for a compelling movie.

Now, maybe it's because I used to be emotionally invested in the book series, but I almost cried over some of the more dramatic scenes. There were times I had to look away from the screen because they were too overwhelming and I was in danger of bursting into tears (*cough* Rue *cough*). My friends cried a lot of times. This movie just gave me so many feels.

Finnick came as the best surprise to me. I was kind of disappointed the first time I saw a promotional picture of him. The actor just didn't look the part, and I admit, he didn't look hot enough. But like most actors, I warmed up to him and while I'm not completely sold yet, I'm excited to see Finnick's sensitive and darker side in Mockingjay.

Overall, the movie was awesome. Like, mindbogglingly I-want-to-watch-it-again-as-soon-as-possible-y so. I won't be talking about anything but Catching Fire for the rest of the week and- who knows- the month. I'll be rereading the books as soon as I can too, and buy myself a Mockingjay pin while I'm at it.

Kudos to everyone who helped make this story come to life. They deserve all the awards.

"Nasty Habits" Review

I just finished watching Once Upon a Time 3x04 "Nasty Habits" after downloading the video file for eleven hours (yes, my internet connection speed can get crappy at times) only to find out that it was infected and had gotten deleted by my antivirus. I settled on streaming the video online, and it took a while for my internet speed to pick up so I had to wait some more. Needless to say, by the time I actually got to watch it, I was in need of a good, satisfactory episode.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert at reviewing films or shows; this is actually my first time doing something like this. This isn't going to be a formal review; it's an assessment from someone who enjoys watching the show. Okay. Here I go.

Nasty Habits
While I enjoyed last week's episode (Quite a Common Fairy) more, this one wasn't too far behind. It was much less eventful. I thought that the flashback was very simple compared to what the show usually offers, but I'll take it. Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire-centric episodes are always nice to watch (or maybe just Rumple-centric episodes in general). It wasn't too thrilling, plot wise, but an episode with character development as the focus as opposed to a plot-driven one is refreshing. Rumplestiltskin's house and the village looked visually appealing. I wish they made the boys-dancing-around-the-fire scenes a bit more flashy, because it really just looked like a bunch of people dancing around a bonfire, and not euphoric boys possessed by the pipe magic which I would've enjoyed more.

Overall, this feels more like a filler episode meant to set the stage for next week's 'Good Form'.

Okay. Now I'll proceed to write about what I thought of the individual characters. (This is going to be a lot less formal).