Border Crossings and Teddy Bear Kingdoms...or lack thereof

I woke up this morning in eager anticipation for my long-awaited shopping trip into Shenzhen. Consumer goods were waiting for me across the border, and I was ready. I had my fanny pack on, my passport ready, my knock-off northface glued to my back, and pictures of my soon-to-be tailored suits printed and ready for action. After the 25 minute MTR ride, followed by another 30 minute KCR ride...Jess, Jacqui and I eagerly arrived at the borders. SZ and the glorious shopping in store were only a few short feet away.

One slight problem: my visa expired YESTERDAY.

I sat staring at my passport in disbelief. How the fuck did it get to be May 7th?! Three months have passed since I was in Shenzhen? I asked if there was anything I could do. Nope. I asked if they gave visas at the border. Yeah, unless you're from the good ol' US of A. Fucking A man, Fucking A. So, after I proceed to beat myself up over my idiocy, I had to turn my ass around as the girls proceeded on an epic shopping adventure without me. It took about another half hour in between the SZ and HK borders as I waited to be cleared to go back into Hong Kong. I cried. A nice man gave me a napkin. That helped a bit.

after a rather disappointing start to my morning, I decided there was only one thing to do with the rest of my day to make me feel better...find Teddy Bear Kingdom. For the longest time, I have heard tall tales of the mystic lands of Teddy Bear Kingdom located somewhere in the heart of Hong Kong. I was told I would encounter it on one of my HK endeavors. A certain person got lost in the midst of the land of the Teddy Bears, and his eerie retelling of the events only escalated my anticipation of the adventures I would encounter when I made the discovery.

I was given no clues as to location before journeying to Hong Kong...only that it was inevitable I would stumble upon it. I came to Hong Kong confident in the certainty of finding it..but as my time here progressed, I began to second-guess myself. What if I was never to discover the magical place? What untouched part of Hong Kong did it consume? If I can't find this place, how much of the rest of HK am I missing out on?

I finally asked for a hint. HK museum of art. Noted.

My search was temporarily forgotten through the excitement of travels and the daunting week of school work which followed (yea, I actually take classes). But, today, after my piss-poor morning, I was determined to find it once and for all. I took the MTR to the TST stop, speed walked down Nathan road, under the subway to the upscale mall SOGO. I then began to ask questions...people pointed left, they pointed right, looked at me funny and shook their heads. you know, the usual.

Finally, I get the answer to the puzzle: This is it. SOGO. Teddy Bear Kingdom was replaced by the mall one year ago.

NOOOOOO!