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!
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, TziYun 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.
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.
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.
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.
What a beautiful day to visit the museum!
Shatin looks and feels like Seng Kang or Punggol new towns with its planted greenery and man-made structures.
Exterior of the museum
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.
Brochure and ticket
The verve of lights and shadow: 光影神韵
Cantonese opera exhibition
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.
Development of Hong Kong's geography
We dressed up! It felt hilarious! Alas, May gave us the scoot.
Why so serious?
Toy museum
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.
Welcome to my humble abode (for the past 4 months!)
12:27 AM
Hello hello and welcome welcome to Hong Kong Baptist University!
Situated in the bustling and exciting Kowloon Tong (which also happens to be rich people's land), it first opened its doors to knowledge-thirsty students in 1956. Now it is an established institution in Hong Kong, encompassing of a wide variety of disciplines and of course boasts of the most famous communications programme in Hong Kong!
Now as I'm about to end my exchange here, let me bring you to my humble corner of the city. It is where I called home for the past 4 months: the Hong Kong Baptist University Residence Hall!
This is the road, or should I say deadly roundabout, that leads to our university residences. It is treacherous to navigate but necessary to overcome in order to get to the other side. Not to mention the onslaught of crazy drivers and possible-drifters mini bus drivers.
View of the residences buildings
The very first sight that greets you upon walking through the gates/barricades
The walkway right outside the lift lobby. I live directly above this walkway and it irritates me loads whenever people gather in the wee hours of the morning and make a din.
South Tower lift lobby, where I reside in
The North and South towers are basically linked by the common area in 1/F. HK flooring system works slightly different. They start counting from Ground level (G/F), followed by the numbered levels. So in essence, both towers are connected by the second level.
I usually climb the stairs since I stay on 2/F.
The corridor which leads to my door
My room is actually the 2nd door on the left and so is really near the lift and pantry/lounge.
Welcome to room 210. As you can see, my roommate and I attempt to personalise our doors.
Joy is in Room S210!
So walk right in to see...... a mess! HAHA! My side is on the right, as per tradition since my ntu hall days. (Can you see gui gui?)
Just my side of the room
Before I fail to remember, we have a mini- bar fridge in every room, as well as a common refrigerator in every level's pantry. NTU should provide such awesome facilities.
My organised mess
No, you're not allowed to comment on HOW messy it actually is.
This is my attached bathroom. It's similar to Hall 1 & 2 where 2 rooms share one bathroom. The difference is that we do not actually have to clean it ourselves. Cleaning aunties come in once a week to clean it for us. Cool right?
And so we end our little tour of my tiny humble abode. It's currently in lesser mess after I had cleared my notes and other non-essentials as well as pack some stuff into my not-so-huge suitcase.
All in all, the room has been a safe haven and a source of private space for me. Can't say I thoroughly enjoyed staying in HKBU hall, but can't say that I'll fare better without it too.
You must have been wondering where the heck I disappeared to.
I was one of the rare people who finish exams so early, and a good thing to be rid of them too. I think I'm too well Singapore-trained to not not study for them. Anyway, as I was saying, my exams finished last Thursday and it was immediately non-stop mega hits! Had dim sum lunch, karaoke in the afternoon and caught Wolverine on screens that day. First reason it being the end of my exams, another is to celebrate my friend May's birthday.
Happy 22nd birthday May May!
Slightly more than 12 hours later, I met the 3 of them to head out for non-stop shopping. Where else, but our favourite shopping haven!
Welcome to Mongkok!
I am planning to do up a document/entry/file on places to go/shop/eat based on MTR stations. I should just stop procrastinating and start doing it before I fly home and sit longer on it. Though I don't think it'll be anything special or different from what you would have perceived hk to be, it'll still be nice to draw up a list of to-dos for anyone who's planning a future hk getaway.
We spent Saturday visiting the Hong Kong Heritage Cultural Museum. Yup, you read me right, but I shall leave it for another entry.
My first 2 years of existence were spent in this small HDB area called Jalan Batu, or the more famously-known region called Tanjong Rhu. My grandfather's barber shop was neighbour with this coffee shop which sells excellent wanton mee as well as house to the first outlet of the famous Tanjong Rhu Bao. In fact, my dad was working as bao-maker for this bao store, which was, I suspect, how he met my mother. So, as what my parents told me, the uncles and aunties would always present me with siew mai and char siew bao whenever I came down to play. Even up till now, my dad still frequents that store and buy back boxes and boxes of char siew baos (Which costs $0.70 for one bao that is just big enough to finish in one mouthful).
It's no wonder why I love char siew bao so much.
hk char siew baos. cantonese char siew baos are different coz they have an opening in the middle where you can peel
the fillings
Other dim sum
char siew su
sara-jean's love: pigeon, which I shun like mad
pan-fried carrot cake
siew mai, black-peppered beef and yam pork ribs
another example of 杨枝甘露
mango pudding in the form of fishes. huat ah!
This entry is dedicated to all you souls who are unable to fly to the land of dim sum and spoil your taste buds.
PS: all pork in the making is processed over 71 degrees and thus is safe to eat.
Exams have officially started for me, having finished my first paper this morning. Next paper is tomorrow morning, which I'm struggling to finish my revision, and my final paper will take place on Thursday morning. Not much to call as "exam period" but there's the urging in me to study as well as the rebellious streak in me that just wants to break free and do what I want.
Add on to the blahness knowledge that the Tiongs are not coming over this Friday! I was so looking forward to touring HK with them. Sigh, what can be done? This whole hype over swine flu and also fear of being quarantined just spoils everyone's holidays. Heard from my friends here that their friends and family might not be coming over too. I think my parents are the only brave souls who are still planning on continuing their itinerary. It really feels depressing that this incident has to happen so close to going home. It dampens my mood and takes away the anticipation of airport pick-ups.
I shall upload food photos soon to make myself feel better.
I so want to watch "My Sister's Keeper" although... the trailer does not look very promising. It just seems too far-fetched from what the book has created for us. Urgh.
Thank God for other better summer chick-flicks!
Me love Katherine Heigl and Gerald Butler!! Me love Irish accent! I think I rave enough about his accent ever since "PS I love you".
It looks like fun! But it looks like Proposal Daisakusen too, just a little more on the comedy side.
Ah summer, how I love you.
I'm a click-flick girl. I'm a click-flick girl. I'm a click-flick girl.
And so I'm currently in a region where there's a confirmed case of A(H1N1) flu virus.
Despite the fact that he's non-local, his case only became full-blown sickness when he's here in Hong Kong. Due to the nature of the virus being able to be contagious without visible symptoms, it meant anything and everything can happen.
I came to realise how often I rub my eyes when the conscious effort is being made NOT to. Blah. And I bought face masks coz they're compulsory in order for me to enter exam halls. You'd think hk is paranoid, but I think they're just more cautious after SARS in 2003.
You'd also think that I'll stay in to avoid public areas and to mug for my upcoming exciting exams. Well, you think wrongly! Chi Hei recommended going to Shek-o (石澳) since we're nearing the end of our exchange and we have been exploring the same old places. Not to mention that Sheryl has been wanting to visit a hong kong beach. So, we set off to the eastern part of Hong Kong island to see the waves and to soak up the sun!
Welcome to the beach!
It really felt like summer is here! Sun, beach and crowds! (Although I'm supposed to avoid them) The beach is awesome! I mean AWESOME! More awesome than Palawan or Siloso Beach anytime! The waves are so strong that you can wind surf anytime!
check out the waters!!
So you see, we're trying to live life as per normal. Like study for exams and explore on weekends. Just more cautious in terms of personal hygiene, and more paranoid over sneezes and coughs. Not to mention us bickering over the issue of quarantine. Blahness.
What a beautiful day to visit the museum!
Exterior of the museum
Brochure and ticket
The verve of lights and shadow: 光影神韵
Cantonese opera exhibition
Development of Hong Kong's geography
Why so serious?
Toy museum
View of the residences buildings 
The very first sight that greets you upon walking through the gates/barricades 
South Tower lift lobby, where I reside in
The corridor which leads to my door
Joy is in Room S210!
Just my side of the room
My organised mess
Happy 22nd birthday May May!
Welcome to Mongkok!
hk char siew baos. cantonese char siew baos are different coz they have an opening in the middle where you can peel
the fillings
char siew su
sara-jean's love: pigeon, which I shun like mad
pan-fried carrot cake
siew mai, black-peppered beef and yam pork ribs
another example of 杨枝甘露
mango pudding in the form of fishes. huat ah!
Welcome to the beach!
check out the waters!!