Ika 5 ng Abril 2009: HK on Palm Sunday

Being a Sunday, the sked would have to revolve around our obligation to God. This has been arranged way ahead of time. I asked Dayap to find a Catholic Church we could go to on Sunday. Being a Palm Sunday, I wanted to ensure that we would have our blessings on this day. Back home, we would always have three palms for the three kids which the priest will bless along with the throngs of people waving their palms reminiscent of the crowd welcoming Jesus as He entered Jerusalem......

Late morning, we had brunch of veggies salad, breaded squid, salted egg with sliced tomato and an assortment of leftover from the party and last night's dinner. Like yesterday, we took turns in the bathroom. Time was of the essence as Dayap's service is set at 1:00 pm. We are to leave at 11:30am as it takes one and a half hour to reach Tsim Sat Tsui where their church is located. The Catholic Church is also within the area.

We arrived at Calvary Church where Dayap and family go for their church service every Sunday at around 1:00pm. Their church is a full bible ministry run by Pastor J......and his wife V........ The kids were in a separate room and that was where MS and Dayap's son would have their service. The rest of us will be in the main hall. ED, MD, and I would be acknowledged as being new to the church. It was a two and a half hour service with singing of praise songs and bible reading. When the service was over, we bade Dayap's churchmates goodbye.

First, we went to the adjacent Peninsula Hotel for some picture-taking. Posing by the Peninsula fountain proved to be trying especially with hungry kids. I told ED and MD that they already posed in this spot the first time they were in HK. They said they couldn't remember. I made sure they remember this time.

We were supposed to go to Mariner's Club for our visit to the Church but the kids were starving and tempers were getting hot. So we made a little adjustment and had a very late lunch at Hang Heung Kitchen. Dayap ordered HK style fried noodles, suckling pig, roast duck, chicken, and pork dish similar to tocino that already come with rice and chinese pechay with oyster sauce. Dayap brought us here because ED wanted to taste authentic HK style stir fried noodles. And my, my..... everything served was gone in the blink of an eye. Dayap said I should have taken pictures of the food.... "How could I?", I said, "..... the food didn't have enough time to pose for the cam...."

After lunch, we went to nearby Avenue of Stars located at the Ocean Terminal. The HK side separated from Kowloon by Victoria Hatbor provides a very nice backdrop. That is why this is indeed the tourists' real life photography studio. We had our kodak moments there posing with HK famous celebrities' stars like those in Hollywood. We posed by Bruce Lee statue. We sought the stars of other famous celebrities. We would soon find Jackie Chan's.... We headed off to the clock tower stopping at some nice spots to get more pics. Finally, we arrived at the clock tower.

After mingling with the stars, we went to Mariner's Club where the Catholic Church is located. It is right across the street and walked going there. MS would buy an ice cream cone from a roadside vendor using an octopus card..... really cool. Once at Mariner's, there were a handful of Pinoys who might have lingered behind after the mass. A burly local would meet us giving direction to the church. We went there and said our prayers. As we were leaving, the priest would greet us saying we missed the mass. I said next time, we know better.

We went home riding a bus. Because Dayap promised her son a Mcdonald's egg sausage mcmuffin, we had to pass by one before going home. Tired as he was, the Mcdo treat brought a smile to a weary boy. He craves for this treat because it is not served all day long in P.I. Luckily, there is a McDonald's right inside the building where Dayap's apartment is located. Everybody took a bite. After dinner, we told the kids to go ahead as Dayap, her elder son, and I went to the supermarket to buy food stuff . I bought sesame salad dressing and honey citron tea to bring home. After shopping, we went home.

MS already cleaned up by the time we arrived home. Tonight, we had to sleep early. MS did..... but the two girls still watched Jodie Foster's Flight Plan. After the movie, they all went to bed. I lingered a while before finally retiring...

Tomorrow, we're going to Disneyland! Yehey!