joy
child of God
worshipper of Christ





daily essential +
my daily dosage +
my flickr shutter bug +


March 2008 +
April 2008 +
May 2008 +
June 2008 +
July 2008 +
August 2008 +
October 2008 +
December 2008 +
January 2009 +
February 2009 +
March 2009 +
April 2009 +
May 2009 +


Font: Dafont
Host: Blogger
Image: Dodoy
Base: chique-lilie ©
Layout: Mei Ting

I am officially back for 10 days, and so have lived past my quarantine period.

Not that I was booked by the authorities or dragged against my will to Aloha Loyang, or me exercising self-discipline by staying in and avoiding crowds, but it was the end of paranoid hands-sanitizing and the freedom to rub my nose and eyes.

If you ask me, nothing's changed, yet everything's different. Furniture re-arrangements, new shopping mall in Tampines, extra TWO stations on the green line, a roundabout line opened, minor changes in ministry, EXTENDED widescreen screen in Woodlands sanctuary, Pam's gone and the soft toys on my piano are banished to the plastic bags.

It's nothing much, yet everything piled up at once.

I'm still living in denial, like the "I don't think I have ever left" denial. Trying to get some control and system back into my life instead of heading out or bumming around everyday. Other than that, God has been good and so life is good too.

Oh, and I'm moving back to wordpress (http://hislovingkindness.wordpress.com). I mean, this place will still be left open, but I think I will lack the discipline to update. Yup, that's all for now. I hope I can be back with more pictures of hong kong!

Labels: home, rants

memories brings back happy moments
In my last 12 hours here in this land, I count my blessings:

Thank God for His omnipresence.
You have been here from the start; You have been with me since the start; You have kept watch over me; You have never left me; And You'll bring me home.

Thank God for awesome parents.
Who learnt how to use skype to talk to me. Who are so supportive of me. Who came over despite scares from H1N1 virus.

Thank God for awesome friends here in Hong Kong.
For May, Sheryl, Sara-Jean, Chi Hei, Sihui, Passion & Han. Who eat, play, act crazy and be with me all through these months. Cheers to friendship.

Thank God for Jun Yue.
Who accompanied me through the nights. Who heard all my rants and put up with my absence when I went out to gallivant.

Thank God for besties who are in different parts of the world.
For Chang Yang and Pamela who try their best to keep in touch. For birthday calls and skype calls and long emails.

Thank God for Jerelyn.
Who played around with skype and webcams. Who sent letter and present.

Thank God for awesome friends back home who msn me ever so often.
For Shu Hui, Sherilyn, Tzi Yun and Alicia.

Thank You my Alpha & Omega.
Home is where I'll spend eternity with You.
Home is where I'm called to do Your work.
Home is where You've set my heart to me.

Labels: exchange, home

memories brings back happy moments
I've probably mentioned before, Hong Kong is separated into 4 main sections: Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, New Territories and the outer-lying islands. Most of us will be more acquainted with Kowloon since it's where the most awesome and cheapest shopping will be (read: Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui). In contrast, Hong Kong Island boasts more as the business district of the city. It also appears more atas and more crisp and clean.

Central is the REAL business district of Hong Kong. With many banks and office buildings around, it's not surprising to see so many people in black power suits strutting down the streets. But it does not mean that there are no fun things there! For one, it boasts of Lan Kwai Fong, the party district of the city. Then there are nice food to be found such as:


This 牛腩 noodles is awesome! The broth is clear soup and you're given the choice of vermicelli, rice noodles, thin noodles or even mee pok noodles and they are really generous with their beef. You're also given the choice of curry broth which is another makan experience.

How to: The nearest MTR is actually Sheung Wan, the final stop of the Island line. Walk out from Exit E2 and head towards Queen's Road Central. The shop is called 九记牛腩 and is located on Gough Street. The best landmark is actually Central District Health Centre, which isn't considered as much help. If lost, just ask any local on the street. Most of them would know where this place is.

If you're out to do some electronics shopping, Wan Chai is the place for you. But before you lose yourself in the Wan Chai Computer Centre, take some time to walk the street opposite the computer centre.


The street isn't very long but you can find treasures here. Browse through the makeshift carts and also the shops by the side. Don't miss out the teahouses by the side! It's where we found our level 9 milk tea. And beware of the snake soup shop if you're terrified of the reptile.


How to: Exit from Wan Chai Station Exit A3. The street is directly opposite the MTR exit.

After you have eaten your fill, head over to Wan Chai Computer Centre for your electronics shopping. They sell camera equipment, PSP, DS lite, computer parts and every computer accessory you need. It's like Sim Lim Square but in cantonese.


How to: Exit from Wan Chai Exit A4.

The Island line designs their stations slightly differently. For instant, most of their more "famous" stations show the station names in Chinese calligraphy.


Other than that, Hong Kong Island boasts of tourist attractions like the Peak (Central), Central Piers to bring you to the outer-lying islands and Happy Valley (Causeway Bay). Not much of a shopping and eating paradise. For more information, you can always ask me personally. I'll be glad to help.

Next up: Mongkok

Labels: hk101

memories brings back happy moments
Hello to one and all! True to my promise, here is my own view of what to do and where to go in Hong Kong. It's not comprehensive, but it suffices for me in these 5 months here.

Facts titbits:
Hong Kong is one of the 2 Special Administration Regions of China. With 7 million inhabitants, it consists of 4 main parts - Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, New Territories as well as the outer-lying islands.


You can't do without the trusty MTR map. It helps you to plan your route more efficiently and effectively. For more information on fares and travelling time, you can always go to http://www.mtr.com.hk.

From the map, you can see that Kowloon Tong is the interchange station between the Kwun Tong line (Green) and the East Railway line (Light blue). The significance is in how Kowloon Tong links you with east of Kowloon and also up north into New Territories and Shenzhen. It only takes around 25 minutes for a train ride on the East Railway line to reach Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau. It is also one stop shy from Hung Hom where you can travel to other parts of Mainland China by ferry or railway.

Kowloon Tong also boasts of many education institutions, mainly the Australian International School, City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University.

It only has one shopping mall: Festival Walk.
How to: Exit from Exit C if you're travelling on the Kwun Tong line or Exit H if you come from the East Railway line


It's nothing fancy, yet everything fancy. Which is to say that it's your extraordinary atas mall. To name a few, there's Coach, Vivienne Westwood, Calvin Klein, MAX & Co., Montblanc and more. Of course, what attracts me most is the H&M store. It's two storeys big but is still not the largest H&M store in Hong Kong. The largest H&M store is located in ELEMENTS shopping mall, Hong Kong's largest mega-mall.

ELEMENTS is located directly above the Kowloon MTR station. Kowloon station is yet another interchange station, this time for the Tung Chung line and the Airport Express line. The funny thing is that although it's relatively near Jordon (Tseun Wan line), you'll either need to take the Tseun Wan line down to Hong Kong Island to change to the Tung Chung line or travel up to Lai King to change to Tung Chung line. So in my opinion, if you're heading to ELEMENTS from places like Mongkok or Tsim Sha Tsui, try taking the free shuttle bus from Hankow Road (YMCA Salisbury) or Peking Road (Outside DFS). Or if you're feeling adventurous, alight at Jordon and attempt walking in the direction of Baoling Street. I wish you luck.

Next up: Hong Kong Island

Labels: hk101

memories brings back happy moments
As I have mentioned in my earlier post, we visited the Hong Kong Heritage Cultural Museum last Saturday. You must be wondering why the 4 of us urban city-dwellers girls decided to grace the museum with our presence. As what my friends would say, sometimes it just so happens that you start feeling arty-farty and ache for an "indie" experience.

The museum is situated at the outskirts of Shatin and is relatively near to where we live. It only took a 10 minute bus ride on service 85M from Kowloon Tong Bus Terminal.


Shatin looks and feels like Seng Kang or Punggol new towns with its planted greenery and man-made structures.


It's really quite amazing. There's like a creative pictorial photography exhibition, cantonese opera exhibition, some stuff on 山水画 and ceramics, a walk through Hong Kong's geographical history as well as a toy museum.




This is really interesting. It documents the transformation and growth of cantonese opera from its days in travelling opera troupes who performed on boats and then eventually in opera houses, to how it made its way into mainstream early Hong Kong cinema. They have loads of artifacts, props, costumes and photos from the glory days of cantonese opera. The most interesting thing is virtual make-up where they take a picture of you on the spot and attempts to transform you into an opera character. The results were hilarious. It was also where we had the most fun.



We dressed up! It felt hilarious! Alas, May gave us the scoot.



This is where May enjoyed herself the most.

All in all, it was quite an eye-opener (as well as raised eyebrows from those who know me). Not the kind of activity you expect us to do in 买东西，吃东西 Hong Kong, but you need to break out of the norm once in a while.

No?

Labels: exchange

memories brings back happy moments