HK - China Trip (Part 2)

Oh, I forgot to mention that I've gotten myself a new phone in Malaysia before I went for CSP8. It's a brown K800i. Was kinda turned off when the salesperson told me she only had brown left but I realised it actually looks sleek so I bought it (or rather, my mom bought it). And this is the camera phone that I've taken all my CSP8 photos with.

Now, on with the HK - China trip...
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Day 1

Went downstairs at 9 plus to meet Ping Gee but saw another girl instead. Anyway after Ping Gee came down, I realised that she was the Malaysian girl who was supposed to meet us yesterday, Jing Pei.

Someone suggested to Jing Pei that we should register first so we decided to do that, so that we could come back later. As the queue was rather long, we had time to get acquainted to other people. My worst nightmare came true… they gave us freakin’ PURPLE blazers! Ahhhhh!!! Oh well, nevermind, nothing I can do about it anyway. I was just hoping that it could be a more usual colour so that I could probably use it for other occasions next time.

After settling the registration and placing the stuff back, I met Ping Gee and Jing Pei and we met with 2 Canadians (Alena and Stacey, both from Toronto) and an American (Phillip from Florida). Did the initial intro and chit chat and then we decided to go to "Wong Tai Sin" (黄大仙) to pray.

(l-r) Stacey and Alena, in front of the entrance to the temple

It was drizzling and really really windy! Unbelievable. Anyway, we bought some joss sticks and stuff to pray… the incense smoke was really choking and making us teary-eyed. Anyway, we also had other stuff that we bought that was supposed to be burnt, but apparently there was no place to do that and somebody there told us just to throw it into a bin which I supposed is just a rubbish bin.

After that we decided to "see our fate" by doing the....whachacallit... where you kneel, pray, ask a question and shake this cylindrical can filled with sticks until one stick drops to the floor. A number is stated on top, and we can bring this to the many shops near there that will decipher the answer to your question.

Anyway, realised that this new bunch of people really liked to take photos… Went to Tai Ka Lok (大家乐) to eat lunch.

Fooling around in the MTR train... 7 hands on the bar representing the 7 of us...

Lunch at 大家乐 - Quite a lot for a relatively cheap price!

Later met with Jing Pei again, this time with her roommate, Kay, from Canada as well. After that we went to Mong Kok (旺角), specifically Ladies' Market (女人街 / also known as 通菜街). Lots of stalls there that kinda reminded me of Petaling Street. Seems like a lot of pirated stuff around too… saw this pair of Onitzuka Tiger (well, actually “AsicsTigers” was written on the shoe) but it felt that it was fake one when I held it in my hand. After walking for some time it started raining, and when it rains it is really havoc everywhere. In the midst of this mess we managed to buy an umbrella for Alena and we made our way back to the residence.

Me and Phillip...

...a view down 女人街

Came back, realised I had a roommate liao. Jan from Deutschland. Sehr interessant! There were only 2 delegates from Germany and one happens to be my roommate. Maybe it’s because I stated in my application that I had basic German skills? Anyway, after drying up and some chit chatting we all had to gather in a hall.

CSP8 Starts!

We went into our respective groups and my group is 1A. Had some brief introduction and simple chit chat with the other people in my group. We then went to a lecture theater at CityU to listen to some briefings about the trip. It was about some basic stuff like things to take note, and the general itinerary of the programme. After that we went to watch some performances by some university clubs… 2 band performances (horrigible. I was thinking if they were tone deaf. I was also thinking of William Hung) and a magic performance.

I'm not kidding... they really zao yam (走音) quite bad...

After that we finally could eat our buffet dinner. The food was so-so. Met up with a few more Malaysians. Think my Cantonese is improving! =)

Day 2

Had an early wake up call.

Went to Pao Ma Dei (跑马地) to attend the HKSAR 10th Anniversary celebration activities. Nothing much… some parachuters came down which became boring after some time. Also saw a performance a la 女子十二乐坊, and also a performance by the military. Didn’t get to see the other performances, and it started raining.

A view of the venue...

Me and 家宏, my best Taiwan friend

Army performance...

Parachuters, carrying the flags of China, HKSAR and... forgot what le

For the “be a HK citizen” part, all the groups split up. The group that I joined went to Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀), looked around, took a ferry back...

A view of the bustling city, so uniquely HK. (just like HK dramas eh?)

Poor Phillip who got sick on the ferry...

We had dinner on a cruise ship. It was buffet style and there was a lot of nice food. Unfortunately my slight seasickness caused a lack of appetite. Every group had to perform in front once. I was called by one of the senior organizers, as well as another girl Monica, as we were chosen to represent the delegation to receive a medal during the commissioning ceremony which was to take part the next day.

We got to see the fireworks on the cruise ship. Sounds really interesting but it was very disappointing. There were 2 reasons: one, there wasn’t an open deck where we could glance directly to the sky; and two, we were too far away from the “action”, and this made the whole thing rather lacklustre.

A view from our ferry

I didn’t join my group mates in playing games at night, and I went to sleep as soon as I could.

Day 3

We had breakfast an then we went to listen to some talks at City University by 2 speakers, one who is a former secretary of justice of Hong Kong, and the other the president of HKUST. The talks felt... somewhat motive-laden. Haha. Coz the speakers kept praising HK's return to China and the success of 一国两制 (one nation two systems), and also some other subtle things. Dunno lar, maybe I think too much.

Our first talk. Even so, people were starting to doze off...

Had lunch on-the-go (a sandwich, an apple and a packet of juice). We arrived at HK uni, wearing our total formal dressing. There was some (cai3 pai2) for quite some time. I got to meet up with the other 4 people that were chosen to go on stage. Me and Monica were to wear the medals, 2 were asked to hold up a flag (the Chinese type, always given as an appreciation for someone who graces an event etc.) and 2 were asked to give a souvenir.

So I got my first taste of going on stage in such a huge event. Oh well, it was fine. We were ushered into a room afterwards where reporters were supposed to interview us. In the end only the print media people came and no one interviewed me. I guess that was probably because there’s not really anything interesting about Singapore and also because I can’t speak Cantonese well.

Too bad I had to return the medal afterward... sheesh...

We had dinner at HK uni and it wasn’t enough for most of us. But there wasn’t anymore food left and we had to make our way to The Peak. The view was OK but I couldn’t really capture the essence in my camera phone. It was nice and breezy up there too. The mall there looked exactly like what was drawn in McDull. It is definitely a must-visit in HK. Unfortunately we didn’t have much time to walk around.

The shopping centre atop Victoria Peak / The Peak

A view of Hong Kong city from The Peak

Later that night we went out to Lam Kwai Fong （蘭桂坊), which is a popular club/bar area in Hong Kong, also known to Hong Kongers as "Lou Lan". The first bar we went to kinda like chased us out coz me and Jia Hong couldn’t produce proof that we were above 18. So we went to another bar nearby and we kinda could bluff our way to drink alcoholic drinks.

I ended up drinking this non-alcoholic cocktail (mocktail) though

Part 3, coming soon!

Dunno why I feel like blogging so often nowadays. Anyway, went to the Germany embassy on Tuesday morning to settle my Germany Student Visa. Thank goodness everything went smoothly and I could complete the application in one go. There were many documents they required... passport, specific type of photos, a letter from the bank certifying that my parents can support me, letter from NTU, letter from TUM... *phew* now all I have to do is wait...

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Went for supper the other day with my roomie Eric. Had Roti Canai aka Roti Prata + Horlick Beng (Iced Horlicks). To be more precise I had 1 Roti Telur (Egg) and 1 Roti Telur Bawang (Egg Onion). I'm blogging this coz I'm really glad I finally get to eat these stuff after coming back from China! And when I go to Germany I'll have to say goodbye to them again... *sob*

Roti Canai Telur + Kuah (sauce) + Horlick Beng

Curry!!!! Yum yum. How am I ever gonna survive in Germany??!!

Bought a "green" bag the other day at NTUC... hope I'll remember to bring it along when I do shopping next time, especially when I stock up on my supplies when I go to the supermarket. Too bad if I'm shopping on impulse =P

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Ate at IKEA after the 10km run last Sunday. I like their Swedish meatballs... they have interesting 3-tier tray trolleys too:


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I became rather sick of Chinese food after (and during) the China-HK trip... it was rather monotonous to eat almost the same type of food day in day out, plus it was usually either very salty or very oily or both. So I was rather glad that I finally had Laksa for dinner yesterday! Ok, it's still not a healthy choice but it was definitely a "refreshing" moment for my tastebuds...

HK - China Trip (Part 1)

As you all who read my blog know, I managed to be a participant for the 8th China Synergy Programme for Outstanding Youth (CSP8), which I think is a platform for overseas Chinese to learn more about their roots and about China today (although, there are also participants from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan).

This will be my first blog entry from a series of blog entries. The original version of my "notes" are more detailed as I have been writing the events of everyday into my computer at the end of each day. But I'll try to keep it simpler here... So… here it starts:

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Pre-CSP:

Day -1

My plane to Hong Kong, at Changi Airport

After lunch at Jurong Point I took a cab to Changi Airport. I was nervous and scared and excited at the same moment, because this is the first time I was traveling overseas on my own (Singapore not included lah…). Moreover, it was to a place where they speak a language I’m not proficient in (my Canto sux… big time).

Arrived at the airport, saw a 麦兜 (McDull) advert at the luggage collection area. Got my luggage and eventually found the Ground Transportation Terminal. A guy asked me (in Canto of course), where to take bus E21. Shucks. Told him ngo1 ge1 gwong2 dong4 wa2 m3 hai3 gei2 hou2 yet he still talked to me in Canto. Oh well. My first taste of what I will encounter daily here.

My room in CityU

Took a bus to City University of Hong Kong. After “settling down”, wanted to go up to the 8th floor to meet Ping Gee but at the same moment I saw a lift coming down from the 8th floor so I decided to wait. Sure enough it was Ping Gee. Anyway, went to her room and chatted awhile and discussed plans for tomorrow. Anyway, Ping Gee had these sweet biscuits from 奇趣饼家 (Ki Tsui Cake Shop) and she gave them to me for my dinner. Thank you so much!

Day 0

I bought my Octopus card (八达通). Took the Tung Chung line to Tung Chung station on Lantau Island (大屿山) where tourists usually take the "skytrain" cable car to go to the Great Buddha statue. Unfortunately, recently an incident occurred (a cable car fell down!) and it was closed for maintenance and checks until further notification. We ended up taking bus 23 (I think).

The bus ride (HK$30 return ticket) from (Ngong Ping) itself was interesting. It went up steep slopes and down into valleys, passed by some villages and even a prison before reaching the final destination. Lots of upgrading works were being done along the way.

Vegetarian lunch!! Not bad =)

Ngong Ping village was very misty when we arrived. We decided to eat some vegetarian fried noodles and desserts for lunch (mango stuff, beancurd). Apparently the beancurd up there is a must-try. It tasted rather normal, except that I could sense something different which my taste buds eventually discovered to be—ginger. Walked around and prayed around the temple. Handphone giving me problems coz the indoor pictures were all rather dark and I couldn’t do anything. Eventually learnt how to set it =P haha… I’m (techno-illiterate 科技白痴). Gave some donation and also read that 千手观音 is the protector for those 肖鼠 (born in the Year of the Rat) one. Eventually the mist started to clear up and we walked up the many stairs to the Great Buddha.

Some murals outside a temple

Outside a temple, 大雄宝殿

The flight(s) of stairs up to the Great Buddha statue

It was difficult to get this photo... had to wait for the mist to disperse...

On the way back to the city we took a detour to Hong Kong Disneyland. We walked around and took some photos outside of Disneyland. From what I heard (from KV, HK friends etc.) it isn't very worth it to go in there.

On the train from Sunny Bay station to Disneyland station

Gateway into Hong Kong Disneyland

Disneyland station

Went to Central (Zhong Wan 中环) and travelled on this elevator-connector-walk thingy to Soho. Now I kinda finally went into the bustling cramped city area. The tourist guide says that this place is a blend of old and new but what I think of it is that it is… messy. And it is damn hilly… also, the general feel… grey and gloomy. Lots of gweilo here though. Then went to Lam Kwai Fong – more gweilo). Walk walk see see only. But we went to eat some toast etc. at a local "fast food" chain (forgot the name le... sorry)

奶浆土司 lai zheong toast (peanut butter and condensed milk on a thick toast)

Was supposed to meet Ping Gee’s HK friend at (Tong Loh Wan) at 6.45pm but it was still too early. So instead we purposely took the MTR to 天后 (Tin Hau) so that I could hear the announcement (Ha3 Yat4 Zam3 Tin4 Hao3- which is also a Twins song). Lol. Tried to record it but it was too noisy.

Anyway, met up with Ping Gee’s friend Natalie and her bf Ah Hang/Heng 阿恒. We had dinner somewhere near Times Square. It was OK but my appetite problem is affecting me. Took a ferry afterwards from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui. Then took a city tram, which is the cheapest public transport around. Saw black people and gweilo who speak Canto with no problem. Walked to 星光大道 after that. Only knew most of the actors nearer to the centre of the walk (which is very long).

Dinner... lai cha 奶茶 is very popular here

Hong Kong is really brightly lit and beautiful. Too bad Malaysia doesn’t really have a big metropolis beside the sea. Singapore is beside the sea but they don’t allow flamboyant neon lights to flood the city so it looks rather boring at night. After that we went back by KCR to Kowloon Tong and came back to the residence.

view of Hong Kong island from 星光大道

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Mizuno Wave 10km Run

Thanks Sam for fetching me to the event venue and back!

Anyway, we were late and it was rather hard to gain momentum during the run coz there were many bottlenecks and there were simply too many people! As it rained earlier in the morning, the whole route was wet and the track around Bedok Reservoir was especially muddy. There goes my white socks... haha...

At many points during the first 5km it seemed like I was jumping around to avoid the puddles of mud as much I was jogging. The serious competitive runners didn't bother though -- they ran right into the puddles and got everyone else dirty. Things went wrong for me when I missed the turn for 10km-runners (there was also a 5km "fun" run going on). Blame it on the lousy signage... So nevermind, I ran around the reservoir again. So probably I didn't run a full 10km. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to prove myself during the 12km Sheares Bridge Run instead.

My Asics shoes are breaking apart... I liked them a lot as they are really tailored for joggers/runners. I was previously using Nike shoes but they seem to "disintegrate" rather quickly. Unfortunately there is no Asics shoe sale now... hmm...

Back

Took a cab back from Changi this morning at 12+am.

Everything seems so surreal all of a sudden. It is as if my whole trip to China was merely a dream... I feel like I'm kicked back into reality.

Yet it really did happen, the 8th China Synergy Programme. The theme song is still stuck in my head.

Akan datang... my HK-China trip blog series...