Pampering & Shopping

I had a really nice weekend hanging out with friends. Saturday was a lazy day, slept in, went swimming, and watched the Olympics before meeting with friends. I had made plans with several friends to go out for drinks and sushi at the same place I went to before leaving for the US. There were 5 of us who met at 8 and walked to an Irish Pub for a cocktail before dinner. The pub was packed with soccer fans so the 5 of us hung out back in the corner to chat. After drinks we headed to Sushi One and enjoyed 1/2 price sushi. Our bill was $302HK which equates to $40US, so amazingly cheap!!! After dinner we strolled for dessert and found "Sugar" which we choose two ice cream desserts, one with waffles which I guess is suppose to be a favorite.

On Sunday one of the girls and I had made plans to go to Shenzhen for a day of pampering and shopping. We met at HungHom Station (4 blocks from my apartment) and took the train to Shenzhen which you get out and clear Hong Kong Immigration and go through China Immigration. It was a total of an hour for us from HungHom to clear Immigration and cost us $46HK which is around $6.50US. Right outside the train station is a large mall, in the mall are tons of small shops and massage/manicure shops. The plan was to set our appointment for a facial, manicure/pedicure which we had to wait an hour so we decided to shop. I purchased a couple t-shirts for my nephews (Kung Fu Panda) for $80HK which is $10US, a cool purse $50HK ($6.50US), and bed sheets/pillow cases $180HK ($23US). I wanted to buy some shoes but they do not carry size 10 which is a bummer because they had some cute shoes really cheap ($5). My friend Rani purchased RL polo shirts for about $8US each. After shopping we headed for our facials, Rani wanted a 90 minute facial which was a little too long for me so I opted for a basic facial and a hour oil body massage. I was in heaven, it felt sooooooooooooo good and hurt soooooooooooooooo bad at times but was worth the pain. After an hour it was time to flip over and begin the facial. I must say I've never had a facial so this was going to be a new experience for me. At the beginning it was really relaxing and then she started plucking my eye brows which was a different experience from the US, not painful, no that would come later.... So back to getting my face massaged, they had turned on a steam machine which blew warm steam on my face and I am relaxed and enjoying the massage and then I hear her spraying/misting something away from my face and I begin to feel something scraping my face. Next thing I know she is digging a sharp instrument into my forehead at several different spots which I was getting a little uncomfortable but thought to myself, no pain no gain (blah, blah, blah). Next she started digging, scrapping my nose (on top of my nose, not inside) and that is when I almost grabbed her hands as tears ran down my face. She said something in Chinese to the other lady which I think translated into "holy crap, has this lady never had a facial before? I can't believe how many blackheads I am scrapping and digging out of her face." I believe there was blood involved just not sure how much as she dabbed my face with tissue. She also said in Chinese to her co-worker, "take a look at how red her face is especially her nose" which was translated to me. She was nice enough to wipe the tears from my eyes with sympathy. After the torture she massaged my face, neck, head, shoulders, and chest which was wonderful. My friend Rani couldn't believe this was my first facial as they typically go for a treatment once a month. The cost for relaxation and a little torture? I paid $180HK ($23US) for almost 120 minutes of fun. Next was a mani/pedi, we ordered and ate fried noodles while our feet were pampered, cost for mani/pedi $55HK ($7US). I pay $35 in Mankato. We did a little more shopping and headed for the train back to Hong Kong. I arrived back around 7 pm and was able to catch the US women's volleyball team winning over Poland, another close match.
My face is so smooth and I'm sure the red nose will go away in the morning.
I hope to make a monthly visit to Shenzhen but I'm not sure if I'll do the facial every time. I would assume it will be easier next time, I'll keep you posted.