Even my laundry is Made in China.
Yes. My dirty and distressed clothes have traveled all the way to China to be laundered.
I have 4 pairs of jeans that need an extreme amount of TLC. They CAN'T be dry cleaned and CAN'T be tumble dried! This wouldn't be a problem if I were in Manila. After all, I have Joann and Flor who lovingly launders my precious jeans so they look all spankingly clean in no time. But in Hong Kong, I only have Angel Laundry Cleaning Service - the laundromat below my flat.
At times, I feel the name is a misnomer. They're no Angels, because they've wrecked a couple of my clothes! They ruined a couple of white shirts and my favorite white towel by mixing in that red throw pillow case with my precious whiteys! This despite my continued instruction not to. Grrr... but I digress.
Since I have no idea how to handwash, the only option I have is to have it laundered via washing machine, then hung dry. I asked Angel Laundry if they could do that, but no deal. If they wash it, they tumble dry it. As simple as that.
My second option was to go to Gigi's place and use her laundromat. But alas, she's in Manila.
Then the thought of Shenzhen came like a bright light bulb on a gloomy day. I've been planning to visit Melvin again for quite sometime, and he told me that the weather was warm and sunny - perfect washing machine weather. So this morning, I packed my bags, my 4 precious jeans, and went off to China!
I woke up at 5:30am so I could catch the early train and avoid the plethora of Hongkies crossing over to Shenzhen on weekends. Thankfully, that strategy worked. Part of the plan was to sleep on the train, but that went down the drain when, just as I was drifting off to la la land, a booming voice woke me up...
WHERE IS HUNG HOM! WHERE IS HUNG HOM!
A 200-pound african woman was standing in front of me, and talking to me as if I were:
A. Hard of hearing
B. the Patron of the Desperately Lost
C. 20 feet away
D. A non-English Speaker
I think it was a combination of B and D. Anyway, I calmly instructed her which station to alight, and she smiled and gave a appreciative pat on my shoulders. Man! Her arms are as strong as her voice. My right arm is still reeling from her pat/punch 18 hours ago.
Anyway, when she went down, the prospect of sleeping was gone since her booming voice was embedded in my mind. So the whole 30 minute journey to Shenzhen was spent listening to S Club 7!
Don't stop, never give up
Hold your head high and reach the top
Show the whole world what you have got
Bring it all back to you!
Arrived in China before 7:30, met up with Melvin, had awesome grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast (Melvin's toaster is a miracle worker! Unlike mine...), then he had to work. So while I was alone in his flat, I went on a washing machine frenzy, and slept in between.
In less than 90 minutes, my jeans were all hanging to dry! And there I was, a happy, happy man.
Later in the afternoon, we went to Mix-C and there was a shocking revelation:
SPRINGFIELD IS CLOSED!
That was the other reason for my China trip. Biboy loved the SPF shirt I gave him last Christmas, and he asked me to get him more. Hong Kong doesn't carry Springfield, but Shenzhen does. Better yet, Shenzhen did, until now. Our theory is that SPF was too cool for the mainlanders. And believe me, that place is a fashion disaster waiting to happen.
Oh well, i'm going home this weekend. I'm sure to find Springfield in Manila since they've got about 3 or 4 stores there.
Later on, after checking out all the shops, we decided to go to the Shenzhen version of Divisoria. It was a let down. I'll take Market! Market! or Tutuban or Chatuchak anytime.
By 5pm, Melvin and I decided to go to that place which again further proves that everything the world can offer can be made in China. And that place is called:
Shenzhen's Windows of the World!
But I have to write about that a bit later. I'm beat!
2 comments:
hey there! went to zhuhai meixi (i guess it's in the guangdong province) in china for a side trip, too. i was so shocked by this swarm of people crossing the zhuahai and macau border and never in my entire life had i seen such rout in an immigration queue...nevertheless i had a blast.
we spent about 12 hours in the city, where my sister and i had fun haggling for bargains..hehehe! there were nice looking pairs of jeans, but i didn't buy any because those are just way too rugged for me.
we'll probably set for hongkong tomorrow or wednesday depending on my brother's schedule. =)
Hey! Yup, the borders to and from China do get a bit crowded come weekends. The border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong last Sunday was swarming with people -- and this was just 10am. I guess everyone from HK and Macau wants a piece of the cheap shopping pie that the Mainland has to offer.
It's hard to bargain in Shenzhen unless you can really speak Cantonese. I think they have this logic that: foreigner = lots of moolah = shouldn't be given a big discount. And besides, the stuff they have aren't too snazzy anyway.
Enjoy your trip to Hong Kong. There's a lot to see in terms of shopping, but the prices are still a bit steep nowadays since the sales haven't kicked in yet. Your best bet would be to go to Kowloon and check out Temple Street Market, Mong Kok and Granville. They've got loads of good stuff there.
And, you should spend more than 12 hours in HK. Consider staying a day or 2 because that's when you really get to appreciate the place.
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