Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Of course

There are two main supermarket chains in Hong Kong - Wellcome and Park 'N Shop. They generally carry the same stuff so there's no reason to choose one over the other, right?  WRONG.  Wellcome is almost always running a program where for every certain dollar amount you spend, you get a stamp.  Collect enough of these stamps and you can redeem them for various food- and kitchen-related things.  Over the years I've gotten a great chopping knife, some bowls, and a large soup pot.  Free stuff - nice!

The current promotion, however, is not exactly food related.  What is it?  The Angry Birds Happy Stamp Programme, of course!  That's correct - collect sixty stamps and receive one of these:




Yes.  An Angry Birds plushie.  

It also means that sometimes your husband will be out of town, you'll be too lazy to cook so you'll stop in to grab some sashimi and you'll find these guys blocking the entire sushi counter:



So you'll just grab a frozen pizza and a bottle of wine.  A couple of bottles of wine.  Whatever.


I have three of these so far.  I plan to collect all eight because I need more crap to take up space in my house.  

Now I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "But how can I collect them all?  These would go great with my Hello Kitty throw pillows and Doraemon bedsheets, but I don't spend enough to get all those stamps!" *sniff*

Two tips to get more stamps:

Tip # 1 - Spend over $350 on the weekends and get double stamps!  Buy all of your cheese and wine on Saturday or Sunday and come away with more stamps than you can count!  Saturdays and Sundays are also a good day to shop because that's when a lot of white tourists come to Sai Kung to picnic on the islands and they're all doing their shopping then.  Which leads me to the next tip...

Tip # 2 -  If you're behind a gweilo who (a) didn't bring his own cloth bag, (b) doesn't have an Octopus Rewards card, and (c) doesn't speak any Canto, he's probably a tourist.  When the cashier hands him his change, receipt, and stamps he'll take them, stare at everything blankly, and shove it all in his wallet.  Act quickly!  He has no idea what these stamps are and will simply throw them out when he gets home.  So ask if you can have them.  He's so overwhelmed with the intense pressure of trying to get everything packed up and out of there before too many people pile up behind him that he'll look relieved, shove them at you, and scurry away clutching his baguette and 4-pack of Heineken.  More stamps for you!

You're welcome and happy birding.



No comments:

Post a Comment