100% Kelly

I made sure that I get to spend at least one day of shopping during our trip to Hong Kong. You may remember that during our Singapore trip last year, I barely got to go around and spend quality shopping time for myself . I (and Gats) knew that with a toddler in tow, shopping will never be the same again (since in earlier travels, both of us get to spend all of our vacation days shopping). So during this trip, I planned ahead and set my sight on these three targets:

1. Citygate Outlets

20 Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung, Lantau

It was a close friend who told me about this mall, where everything is marked down by at least 3o% off. The discount wasn’t the convincing factor for me (I don’t easily get swayed by sales you see) — it was the shops that made me want to take the 30 minute MTR ride and chance upon the goodies. Here are some of the stores located inside the mall:

• Burberry
• Calvin Klein Jeans
• Bally Outlet
• Armani Exchange Outlet
• Adidas Factory Outlet
• Kate Spade
• Lanvin
• Michael’s ~ Thomas and Friends ~
• Nike Factory Outlet
• Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store
• PUMA Outlet

I must admit that some of the items in some of the shops were just okay (these are outlet stores so what do you expect?), but we were able to buy a few items from Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma (porma shoes for Manu ), Adidas, Michael’s (of course, we wouldn’t pass the chance to buy discounted Thomas and Friends stuff) that I was happy about.

I wasn’t able to take pictures while we were at Citygate (syempre, busy mag-ikot ), but we were able to take a couple of pictures of Manu with his Chinese playmates at one of the coffee shops.

:magkasundo kahit hindi sila nagkakaintindihan:

“hoy, hindi ikaw ang pini-picture-an ng daddy ko.”

2. Louis Vuitton

Harbour City, Canton Road, Kowloon

Who would pass a chance to drop by the 2nd largest LV store in the world? Certainly not me! I was finally able to buy that Damier Speedy I’ve been meaning to purchase since 5 months ago. The other bag was not available so I was just able to bring home one. I’ve been lugging this bag around a few days after I got it so no need to take a pic, you’ve seen it on my previous posts

3. H&M

Queen’s Road 68, Central

Two hours inside and I was nowhere near fitting my clothes. Need I explain further?

[Photo: nitrolicious.com]

I absolutely love love love this store! The items were very chic, and very affordable (read: a cool green men’s shirt for just PhP250!) I went crazy over the kids and mens department (and in fact purchased more items here than the ladies’) like I went gaga over the ladies’ department. This store is an absolute must if you’re shopping at Hong Kong.

*I hear that H&M will soon be coming to Manila. I just hope that prices are comparable to that of Hong Kong’s

Nowadays, my preferred way to shop is to check prices on-line 1^st before heading out to the malls to go window-shopping. Because it’s now just as easy to order online and have items delivered vis-à-vis going to the mall and buying wherein you just get your purchase instantaneously but not necessarily cheaper, I’d rather check for items on sale 1^st before heading out. Its just a way of “researching” prices of course, since I usually end up buying from mall stores anyway

In an age where everything is almost available I’m still having a hard time getting gifts for special occasions. Maybe I’m being ideal because I don’t want to be repetitive or that I want each time to be unique, but I feel that gifts should be that way. Gifts should be personal yet be very simple to decide on – though I’m having difficulty thinking both at the same time during gift giving. At the moment I’m thinking about upcoming Birthday gifts for my immediate family – some members I can already pinpoint what to get but to most I’m not yet decided. It’s because I know they might get it themselves or that is not something that they like a few weeks or months from now. I prefer giving something useful, every time. The problem is you can only give someone a coffee mug or Swiss Army knife a number of times before it becomes boring. I tried compiling a list once (for select family members only), though I couldn’t get as far as number three since their preference would always change. This is why most of the time it comes down to a “spur of the moment” decision though I personally hate rushing for gifts since I get harassed when shopping on a deadline. The only consolation is that gift giving only happens on select months (again, if you limit it to family). Well, either I rattle my brains out thinking of a nice gift or just end up getting a coffee mug or a Swiss Army knife as upcoming Father’s Day Gifts for my husband and my dad.

I am online most of the day, reading one blog after another or checking out what’s new and on sale on several online stores. I just love how easy it is to buy an item through the internet as most online merchants offer Visa and Mastercard Payment Solutions to their customers. They will immediately Process Visa Cards or mastercards once customers completely fill up the needed info, and in just a few days, the items are sent. Some online stores don’t accept these cards still, so customers have to make sure that the item they wish to buy is from a Credit Card Accepting merchant.