Fangirling in Hong Kong

It’s like a whirlwind romance (with Koryan boys, of course).

I learned about the KPOP Festival: Music Bank in Hong Kong last May and in less than a week, Haszelle and I ordered our concert tickets online. But we couldn’t immediately buy plane tickets and had to wait about two weeks before we could book our flight. After about two more weeks, we made a reservation for a hostel in Tsim Sha Tsui. So on June 22, I jumped on a plane that will take me to where the love of my life for 8 years would hold a concert.

Before I say more of my weekend affair at Hong Kong, let me explain how this came to be. I just got back from Korea when I heard about the concert. A part of me was happy that I finally went to the land of the oppas, but another part was incredibly sad that I didn’t get to see any oppa. So despite being almost broke, I made an impulsive decision to watch this concert. And I’m glad that Haszelle is as impulsive and as in love with DBSK as I am. It’s also lucky that she’s YunHo biased and I’m ChangMin biased so seeing TVXQ (despite JYJ no longer in the group) felt as if it’s the right thing to do.

A lot of people were against my decision. A lot of people were telling me to think about it long and hard before I do anything rash. But it’s not a rash decision, you see. I had been waiting for that opportunity for the past 8 years and I felt as if I’d have to do it then. I don’t think I’ll ever see the 5 of them at the same stage in this lifetime, but I’d be fine to see ChangMin and YunHo perform live. Though of course, I’d love to see JaeChunSu in concert, too.

But once I explained that it’s something that I’ve wanted for a long, long time and that I promise to not grow old without savings, friends and family had been supportive. I can never thank them enough.

It was an exciting and nerve-wracking experience. It was Haszelle’s first time to leave the country so it made me feel all grown-up and responsible. But it was weird because responsible is a word that people won’t use to describe me. But I had no one older to depend on the way I used to, so I had to act a bit more independent.

It was also the first time I went out of the country without my sister. She’s often the one who holds our pocket money and keeps the passports. Her not being there made me all paranoid. Heh. I really wanted her to be there for tons of reasons, actually. First, she’s my travel buddy! But I did not (and do not) have enough resources to fund for us both. Second, she’s the first person I fangirled with over DBSK! We both wanted to see them live but she said she’d be more bitter if YooChun was there. Ha! And third, well, she’s my sister.

I’m pretty sure there’ll be a next time, though, and by that time, I’m pretty sure my sister will be rich enough to treat me. Hohoho.

We just didn’t just watch the concert in HK, though. Haszelle and I spent most of our days there being tourists and going to all the tourist-y places. We were only planning to watch the concert at first but we realized that since we’re already there, then we should at least make the most out of it.

It was my second time in Hong Kong but most of the places we went to were still new to me. Since we’re in a budget and had spent quite a lot of our savings already (HUHU), we didn’t get any tour packages and just made our own itinerary. Haszelle did most of the research, though, since she has more free time than I do. Haha.

It was refreshing to be with someone who’s incredibly prepared and had researched how and how much to get from one place to another. It’s quite amazing. We didn’t get lost once and that’s all thanks to her!

There’s no doubt that the highlight of the trip was the concert. I’ll save the whole story for another post because that one needs a painfully detailed story-telling. All I can is that I’m incredibly happy to see ChangMin in person. I am glad that my 8 years of liking him isn’t wasted. He’s as dark in person as he is on TV. Heehee. His stage presence is also as intense. I will give my limbs to see another live performance from TVXQ (DBSK’s international name, haha). They may only be a duo now but they’re still the kings of KPOP for me.

I have watched very few concerts in my life and I think Music Bank in Hong Kong will be pretty hard to top, unless I’d see another concert from DBSK, of course! Besides, it’s not just DBSK, too. I also got to see CNBLUE in person! I’m a new fan and it’s overwhelming that I already saw them live. I’m feeling incredibly blessed, indeed.  I am happy that I made that whirlwind decision. I may be bankrupt but at least I have a story to tell my future children who, hopefully, won’t be embarrassed to learn that their mother fangirled hard.

I cannot explain enough how much this experience means to me. I know that some fans see the boys’ concerts on a regular basis, and going overseas just to see a concert is nothing extraordinary. But it’s something that I’ve done for the first time, and I’m not even sure if I’d be able to do it again. Oh, I’d love to do it again but I don’t know if I’d be given another opportunity. But I’m glad that I have done this now that I’m still young and still doesn’t carry the world on her shoulders.

My dSLR broke on the third day of our trip. It simply refused to take more pictures. This is why I don’t have much photos from the trip, save for the concert, thankfully. As few as my Hong Kong photos may be, this trip will still be quite difficult to forget. I don’t have that many photos to prove it but I did have fun.

I’d love to do this again. I wish I could do it again. I’d love to impulsively book a flight somewhere far and explore a new place by myself. My parents are still opposed on my idea of traveling in another country alone but I hope I’d get to try it someday.

I’m not sure if I learned anything from my Hong Kong escapade. I sometimes think that doing something like this should stir something inside me, or at least make me be eloquent about things the trip made me realize. But I have none of that right now.

All I know is that I’m still floating in fangirl heaven. From time to time, I remember my first meeting with ChangMin and YunHo and realized that I was too blinded with tears to properly see them. Well, I promise to do better next time. There will be a next time, I’ll make sure of that.