Having interviewed the Yankees' brass and gotten my photo ops the day before, I had done what I needed to do. So on my third day, I spent nearly the whole morning in bed. Well, I did chat with some hotel guests at the coffee shop. The couple are from Norway and they were in HK for four days and three nights. He noted that I was reading the sports section of the South China Morning Post and he asked about the football results. So that's how it all got started. We chatted for about an hour at the lobby, they were going to Ocean Park and to Macau while I was headed back to bed. Needed some sleep and to check email. When the tour bus arrived, we shook hands and said we'd see if we can hook up for some brews at the Night Market.
Back in my room, I'm lying down half snoozing and half re-reading Michael Lewis' The Blind Side. I've only read two of his books, this one and Moneyball and IMHO, they are plenty amazing. I'd say he's the best sports writer out there right now. He's got an amazing eye for stats, trends, and analysis that runs deeper than most. He can research with the best of them and isn't shy about traveling just to get revealing interviews. The plus here is. -- he sure can recreate a story.
Around 1pm, I head on out first to Wan Chai then Stanley. But before I could get anywhere, I decide I'm hungry. I ate at this Chinese restaurant but the food tastes so unappetizing that I don't finish it and instead move to a Lebanese resto. Wasted the money but no way could I hold the food down without hurling. It was plain awful. Nothing like Middle Eastern flava to take the bad taste in my mouth. Yes, that and a can of Diet Pepsi.
On shopping: the trick about buying is to hold off as long as you could because you'll always find the same thing elsewhere at a cheaper price. Case in point: the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. If you get it at HMV, Page One, or Dymocks, it'll cost HK $65. At Relay, it's -- HK $35! And the Real Madrid movie DVD -- it's HK $50! At the other store (hey, I'm not saying where except that it's in Mong Kok), it fetches for HK $170. Same material and it's no fake. Just gotta know where to look.
The hottest sports apparel now? The NBA All-Star gear. I'm not into NBA jerseys much nowadays except for completing my Michael Jordan collection and every Kobe Bryant jersey but this one I want to have except that no dinero. Once the NBA season's done, then there's the upcoming World Cup. The stores will be fully stocked by then. Same with the DVD shops. But this year's NBA All-Star stuff look cool.
When I bought my Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid jersey, it was at the Royal Sports Club along Nathan Road. But if you go the adidas stores they didn't carry it. RSC is one of two stores in HK (then) to carry authentic jerseys with names. If you stick to the main stores here, you don't know what you're missing. In Causeway Bay, they have PSV Eindhoven (Nike), Olympique Marseille (adidas), and Ajax Amsterdam (adidas). In RSC, they have the LFC long-sleeved jersey for HK $500. Kinda pricey though. In the night/street markets, they're all knock-offs if that's your cuppa coffee. Not mine though. I buy original.
I'm tired. The adrenaline surge of yesterday has left me spent and tired. Once I return, I just order for take out and head back to the room. Toss my shoes in a corner and plop down to bed.
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