Wha…?

Whampoa.

I’ve heard of this place twice already. First was from a flight attendant who Tanya introduced to me in one of our dinners together. She asked: “You want to live in Kowloon? Have you tried looking for a flat at Whampoa?” Second was from one of the wedding coordinators during Joannah’s wedding. He said: “Nag-stay ako before sa Whampoa. Punta ka ‘don, masaya!”

Despite those 2 mentions, there was no grand desire on my part to actually be interested in, much less look for, that mysterious place called Whampoa.

Until today…

When I was buying bread downstairs this morning, it occurred to me that in front of our flat building was a mini bus stop. And where does it go?

Whampoa!

So, today became another “Let’s go anywhere day.” I grabbed by trusty digicam, my favorite Delsey travel bag, (the one given by Marite and has traveled with me from Europe to the US to Mexico to all around Asia), and rode the 6A mini-bus. Finally, it was time to see what this Whampoa was all about.

After 10 minutes, I was face to face with it. And Whampoa is…


A boat! Better yet, it’s a department store housed in a building shaped like a boat. This is probably one of the supremely tackiest things I’ve seen in a while. But like those Jolina dolls that they sold in Manila in the late 90s, it was SO tacky, it’s actually fun!

I went inside and it was the usual Jusco Department store, and there was a big Jumpin’ Gym outlet inside as well. Needless to say, it was quite a non-event. My mind was telling me: “I skipped reading the latest issue of GQ for THIS?”

But in the spirit of adventurism, I decided to see the environs and check out what else Whampoa has to offer. After a few minutes of walking, it dawned on me that the area was called Worlds of Whampoa and a community was actually built around the tacky, white ship. There was a Home World, Treasure World, Food World, and of course, this…


Now that’s a world worth visiting.

Alas, there’s nothing to see inside. Just a cat.


Ok, there was more than a cat. The usual local brands that can be found in Granville, and to make matters worse, the Esprit Outlet store closed down – not a good sign. There was a shop that sold imported Energie Jeans, though they were a bit pricey – US$350! Heck, I can buy Burberry Prorsum with that amount! (Well, maybe not Burberry Prorsum, but definitely Ermenegildo Zegna.)

Not one to give up easily, I decided to just keep on walking and walking and walking until this sign caught me eye:


Two things made this really interesting:
1. A food district named Sungkit? So, susungkitin mo ba lahat ng kailangan mong kainin?
2. A FACTORY OUTLET! Now ‘yer talkin’!

Following the signs to the “promised land” led me to an empty subway. This is a tad bit unusual for Hong Kong since this country is notorious for finding throngs of people just about everywhere. But it was such a nice and empty subway that I had to take a photo:


This is the subway, and this is me in the subway:


Surprise, surprise! The factory outlets are for jewelries, and most of them have either closed down, or are simply closed. I wouldn’t be surprised because this area is so deserted, and there are no buyers within a mile’s radius. It was so bereft of people, that it looked like a ghost town.


A sight like this is very unusual for Hong Kong, especially on a Sunday. Empty roads, no pedestrians on sidewalks, just peace and quiet. This is such a welcome change that I liked it. When you live in such a frenetic place such as Tsim Sha Tsui, a sight like this is as refreshing as a tall glass of sago’t gulaman in a hot summer day.

After this, there really isn’t much to see in Whampoa. So it’s really just a big, tacky boat, an unfashionable Fashion World and some empty factory outlets and deserted streets.

Thus, to the flight attendant who asked: “Have you tried looking for a flat at Whampoa?” I say: “Nope, and it was a mighty good decision.” And to the guy who said: “Punta ka ‘don, masaya!” I can only say: “I’ll just stay at home and trim my moustache. That would definitely be more fun.”