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.
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.
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.
I couldn't help myself! The colour are so bright and pretty in the shop, and it has been beckoning me to enter in since January! Now that I've done it, I feel no remorse at all. Despite having spent around SGD$60 for 1 dress and 1 cap (what a bomb, considering how cheap shopping can be at Mongkok), I console myself by telling myself H&M is a good brand, the dress is pretty and made with good materials.
Not to mention it's my pre-exams incentive and also my birthday present.
If you're interested in knowing the follow-up action after the student demonstration...
The school administration hastily put together a dialogue session to reach a resolution. Even as this entry is being churned out, they are still engaged in deliberation (something I learnt from my ethics module hur) and dialogue.
If you ask me, I actually salute the school administration for their prompt reaction to the student's demands. It took them only 4 days to organise this whole session and they're so open about it! Seriously, in Singapore's context, the ringleaders would have been caught and executed in the dark. Okay, I'm exaggerating.
At least WKWSCI had an open discussion after the chronicle incident.
I find Hong Kong more open to different opinions and also more open to discussion. Despite the fact that they only can elect 50% of their legislative council, the people are more vocal about the issues that surround them, (as compared to singapore bo chap attitudes or just a selected few vested parties) and the fact that they actively participate in such discussions show how much more democratic and concerned they are.
But the fact that they speak in rapid cantonese means I can't follow their disucssion so for all I know, they're just sprouting crap. Hur.
Still, it's a generalisation since I'm always stuck here in HKBU. Things may be different elsewhere, somewhere.
So exciting!! Tell me huh, when do you get things like this back home? The only thing we're allowed to do and will do is to hold "peaceful" demonstrations in Hong Lim park. (read: the chronicle incident)
Let me give you an overview: It was the same matter of discontent as we had last semester. The uni administration is introducing the 1 room-3 residents policy. The rationale for the move is to accommodate more mainland students. The school administration is promising definite hall room for mainland and foreigner students, but overlooking the needs of local student. So these local students are unhappy that they have been "sacrificed" as a result of the uni wanting to attract more business from up north.
It started peacefully (or should I say quietly) yesterday. They gathered outside the main library and just sat there. Today, however, they made their pilgrimage to the halls and ask for some big figure to step down.
NTU only saw the hall presidents and clubs presidents gathering to hold talks with the school administration, and also some proposed "wear-black" day which didn't come through. It's amazing what Hong Kong students are capable of.
Quite interesting to end my study semester here. Hur hur. Btw, today is the official last day of class.
There is this awesome Hong Kong mango dessert that my mum raves about and has me slurping it up happily. Considering how much I don't really like mango, it's amazing that I always head to the same dessert store to have it. It's called 杨枝甘露 and it's really just mango, pomelo, ice and some milk stuff which I deduce to be condensed milk or coconut milk.
And they're into mango, sticky rice and black glutinous rice. I had it once in thai style and my friends have tried it thai-style and hong kong-style! Oooo lala!
Desserts here in Hong Kong make me happy by default. They make me grin and pat happily on my bulging tummy. They make me forget about the cold or the heat or the hole I've burnt in my pocket after shopping. Sugar sure does release the endorphins to make me happy!
And why am I raving about awesome sweet stuff?
Because although they cannot be in my mouth now, thinking about them helps to release some endorphins to make me less unhappy about last minute work bombs and ambiguous project instruction and blahness in life.
Plus my looping praise and worship songlist on itunes = all-surround calmness.
Today marks the turning point of my return. As of tomorrow, I will not be able to enjoy the same numbered day in the next month. Because by May 21, I'll be on home soil. And we're having a farewell party for exchange students tomorrow. How timely can it be, right? It seems a tad too early to be saying goodbye but since it's the last week of school and we'll be scooting off once the curtain falls on this stage of life, it's better to catch us when we're still loitering around.
Oh, and today is cranky day. So much bad emotions accumulated ended the day in frustration and tears. Blah. I just need to unleash.
Here in Hong Kong, my friends and I will try to reward ourselves once in a while. Like for instant the expensive dim sum treat at Serenade Restaurant that overlooks the waters, seafood at cheung chau and our already-twice dim sum treat at awesome New Star. (Note how I'm sprouting out restaurant names easily rather than just referring to "this" or "that" restaurant. hur)
Although these treats are really occasional, usually once a month unless there's a special celebration that particular month, we still feel the pinch on our wallets when we sum up our accounting every month. I think it's a foreign-student syndrome - the i-need-to-watch-over-my-expenses streak in us. Seriously, who ever thought of doing accounting back home? Then again, it makes me reconsider my spending ways back home and perhaps even start a habit of keeping track of my expenses.
The point is, today we had our spurge of the month! Except that we didn't pay a single cent. We met some Singaporeans in the church we had been attending since Jan but only got to know them last week. Their hospitality overwhelmed us immediately. They offered to bring us out to lunch today, which they did. We went to this atas Shanghai restaurant for lunch which had never ending supply of food. I lost count of the number of courses that were served one after the other.
And the most priceless thing (other than dining with big names in SG and HK universities and the occasional awkward silences and the umpteen times we introduced ourselves): the bill.
A roaring total of $7777 HKD which amounts to more than $1500 SGD.
I have: 1) European film paper - 2000 words minimum 2) Intercultural paper - 1200-1500 words 3) Ethics deliberation report (group effort) - 3000 words 4) Persuasion project - at least 14 pages long 5) Asian cinema essays - YET TO BE RELEASED
And people say that exchange students can afford to slack off. Seriously speaking, do you really think that students who have been trained under the iron fist regime of Singapore education will slack one bit even when they're away from local soil?
Unlike NTU, we do not have recess week here. And rightly so, if you ask me, considering how they give out holidays like WATER. They had one whole week off to celebrate cny and now another week off to celebrate Easter. I realise something, other than these 2 week-long holidays, there were no other public holidays that interfered with school days. So in other words, for every public holiday that coincides with classes, they just give the whole week off. How cool can that be huh?
Anyway, some happy moments in the past week; we went to ocean park! In some sense, you won't feel as kiddy as you would if you're in Disneyland but it was still scream-able and enjoyable fun. There were the rides that you can find in Genting's theme park and of course the fishes and dolphins.
I laughed my heads off, the usual way I always do when I'm in scary rides.
the beautiful ticket. and you don't need to guess whose ticket that will become.
What other great ways to start my second last week of class than having a surprise test!
Yup you read me right. It wasn't supposed to be a surprise. The test was scheduled for Wednesday but apparently the date got changed on the day we decided to skip class. And no one had the courtesy to pass the message to us.
So we 4 blur exchange students were still exclaiming out innocently why she gave out empty OAS sheets when Prof dropped the bomb on us. We thought they were used to do teaching evaluation or something. Poor Sara-Jean and May didn't bring their books to class (it's an open-book test) and they had to run all the way back to hall!
As Sheryl said, it's an angry day. Totally blah-ness.
I wonder if You knew what it would be like 5 days later?
You do, don't You? That beyond the triumphant entry, the faces of people, the palm leaves and them supposedly shouting "Hosanna Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord", eventually they would reject and despise you 5 days later.
Yet You chose to enter into the Holy City, knowing what it held for You; knowing that it was going to be the last week of Your ministry here on earth.
"I will run to the Hiding place Draw me ever closer to look upon Your face"
We celebrated Palm Sunday in church today, with songs of victory and triumph and also with little children waving palm leaves. It was so special, coz we've never really celebrate Palm Sunday back in LE. Truly one of the memories I'll bring home with me.
The answer is NO! In comparison, I'm more insane right here! Our justification is that no one knows us here so no one will remember our crazy moments. Though I think some locals we see along the street may get fascinated at times when we students/tourists act too nuts at public places. (i suspect someone was taping us down when we went a tad too crazy talking while waiting for the mtr!)
Oh, and of course we have photos to document down any evidence of madness.
As far as we all know, Hong Kong is a food paradise as much as Singapore is. But of course, we hail of different delicacies. While Singapore boasts of really awesome fatty goodness usually unseen (that is the oil and the lard in chay kuey tiao and what not), Hong Kong proudly presents authentic localised food like dim sum and the stall side eatery places that sells all parts of a pig. Of course, who can forget the ever famous milk tea and their creation of yuan yang by mixing coffee and tea together.
Yesterday, we four courageous girls embarked on our journey for good authentic food. Armed with recommendations from our local group mates, we made our way to Central, the business district of Hong Kong, rumoured to be really expensive with no possibility of dingy goodness. Or so they say. Then again, we learnt a lesson: do not trust every recommendation.
Our first stop is a small and dingy tea house place or more commonly known as 茶餐厅. It was highly recommended by our group mates who thought that the milk tea is awesome. We added our Singaporean critique to it and decided that it's not worth the walk and the price.
This average-looking cup of milk tea costs HKD$13 and HKD$15 (approximately SGD$3) for ice to be added into it. But then the tea house has a rule, which is that each person has to order a least HKD$20 worth of food or drinks. Which translates to HKD$80 since there were 4 of us. Alas we weren't able to just enjoy a cup of nice milk tea after walking such long distance. In order to appease that rule, we order french toast with kaya in them (contrary to the peanut butter filling available elsewhere).
The oily good french toast that could help us keep the price quota (HKD$14). After that expensive and unfulfilled episode, we decided to trust our local group mates once more and prodded to the second place of recommendation: 九记牛腩. As the name suggests, it's a place that sells only noodles with 牛腩.
Now this is a good recommendation! Although the bowl looks small but the portions are generous; the 牛腩 is really tender and the clear soup is super tasty. They gave you the choice of 米线，河粉 and noodles. I got the mee pok-looking noodles and it made me really happy (HKD$25).
Of course, what else to complete a satisfying food trip other than hk dessert?
So we travelled a few stops down to Causeway bay to taste this steamed egg and milk dessert. It tasted real good but you may get a little sick of it if you have too much of it (HKD$20). Again this shop has a weird rule: if you do not order anything, you still have to pay HKD$10 for sitting in there, which means if you cannot not eat in that place.
And so we ended our food day at Hong Kong Island. It also explains why I feel so bloated.
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!! 
I couldn't help myself! The colour are so bright and pretty in the shop, and it has been beckoning me to enter in since January! Now that I've done it, I feel no remorse at all. Despite having spent around SGD$60 for 1 dress and 1 cap (what a bomb, considering how cheap shopping can be at Mongkok), I console myself by telling myself H&M is a good brand, the dress is pretty and made with good materials.
the beautiful ticket. and you don't need to guess whose ticket that will become.
welcome to ocean park!
hello little jellyfish
us with Whiskers, ocean park's mascot
see how much i love wan chai
the lol signs in hk
remnant sign of doing work
