Hong Kong, looking back..

i thought i should get to it before i completely get lazy and decide to store all memories in the not so reliable soft disc of mine.
i'll make it short and sweet. just a few takes on my recent trip to Hong Kong with my girl buddies Pei Sun and Pik Sien. :)

if u ever plan to travel to Hong Kong, it's very self-navigatory-possible. yeah i just created that word. umm on the account that u can read chinese words. a plus point if u speak cantonese. if u don't but can speak mandarin, just as long as u have thick skin and good observation skills, u'll do fine. :) but be very ready to be thought of as a tourist from Mainland China.

1. Point One, once at the airport, equip urself with maps, maps and more maps. zoomed in and zoomed out view, tourism board's recommendations on places to tour, bus schedules, all. it is very possible to survive by taking the MTR and then walking to wherever u wana go through map navigation cz the street signs are reliable. :) that says all about how well planned the city is with great road sign-age and all. :D

2. Hong Kong has a fast paced lifestyle. they walk fast, cross roads fast, eat fast, board the train fast, train also comes fast (1 train every 1-2 minutes can u believe that?? WOW), whip out umbrellas fast, talk fast, weather changes fast - kidding, but yeah it rained on n off in all the 5 days i was there. u get my point. hehe. thank God pei sun talks at jet speed and we managed to survive the food-order-at-the-table scenario. no time to look through menu and think what u wana order. u just gotta spill it all out the moment the waiter comes. (random note: the trains going to disneyland have mickey windows!)

3. Hong Kong public toilets grade A. they're super dry, clean and well maintained. *level up*

4. Macau is super different from Hong Kong. It has loads of Portugese influence. (which i didnt know til a day prior looking at the road maps, all the street names are 'Avenida '. super long street and building names wow. the buildings there have Portugese architecture. makes u feel like u're in Europe. :P







5. Shopping in Hong Kong is pretty good! i used to think the things thr are superrr expensive, but heck, no! nice places to shop at Jordan Street, Wong Kok and Tsim Sa Tsui (pronounced Zhim Sa Zhui in canton, and Chim Sa Chui in English) hehe.

6. Before going to Hong Kong, plan out ur trip first. micro-plan to the point u know the exact address for the breakfast shops u wana go. i mean, if u dont it's not going to destroy ur trip, bt if u've got limited time like mine-just a 5 day trip, u wana make sure it's maximized. :)

7. Accomodation- staying at Tsim Sa Tsui is ok. it is still pretty safe. it has kind of a Chow Kit Road environment. slightly better in fact. so if u're from KL, u're well trained for it already, no worries. hehe. we stayed at Carlton Guesthouse in the Chung King mansion. the room for 70HKD per night was 10 times better than i expected. there was aircon, tv, hot water, water supply provided. very happy. :)

8. walking all around hong kong and macau gave me the feeling of the apostles back in those ancient days after Jesus ascended. we walked n walked n walked like no one's business. our sandals got wet in the rain, dried, then wet again, soaked, dried, vicious cycle. dear sandals, u have served me well. dear purple umbrerra, u served me well too. i got a little taste of how the apostles felt, minus the fact i had maps, street signs, an umbrella and money. salutations...!

so here's my itinary for my 5 day trip. it might help u if u plan to go HKong in future. super duper credits goes to Pei Sun and Pik Sien. i was like a protected species going ard with them. xD i cant speak canton or mandarin well enough. so i just smiled at ppl throughout the whole trip. lol.

Day 1 - from airport took the airport express bus 21A from outside the airport to our guesthouse.
lunched Dim Sum at a shop near the Central Station.
then took the multi level escalator pass Soho.
worked our way to the Medical Science History museum but unfortunately it was closed..

walked up to the Peak tram station. dinner-ed the wanton mee up thr. springy noodle!



watched the Symphony of Lights. pretty cool.

back with supper -Pork Burger at the Woodhouse beside our hostel.


Day 2 - breakfast at Cafe de Coral. it's a franchise so u see loads of it ard HKong.


Disneyland!
The Lion King Musical is truly spectacular :D this picture shows a float carrying timon and pumba :D forgive th

*i just realised my post got cut right here. either my blog was hacked or some random thing happened while editing =( there was a day3-5 account but its gone nw n i cant exactly rmb what i wrote. sorry folks.. *hearbroken.

Growing Discoveries

This year end holidays, being the longest of all my uni break so far i think :P gave me the liberty of going back kuching for 6 weeks =D officially have 9 weeks of hols, 2 i spent in uni to collect data for a research module, 1 to a coming trip to hongkong. :D

while stil in kl, bumped into a long lost sister! hehe.

and went to a hot air balloon fair in putrajaya. thanks Alisa! :)
such cute balloons. my 1st time seeing a kiwi bird, bday cake and tree shaped balloon.

Along the way, I had the fun of discovering the little things in Kuching that even for the past years of bringing friends touring ard did not reveal to me. had the opportunity to bring Ai Jing and her 3 friends -Amy, Elaine, Alex up and around town. i didnt think i could discover anything newer (if u dont count the new buildings under construction around town - Cue: new shopping malls coming up! hehe. hopefully by next year).

1. We went to the Semmongoh Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. I've visited this place quite a number of times and had the oppor to see some cool climbing gymnastic routines -kidding. no sommersaults. - by middle age orang utans (ok i dunno how old they are but i think they're equivalent to our middle age. or young adult?? ok. maybe adolescent. ok nvm i hav no idea how to judge an orang utan's age). they were medium sized. xP and a mother orang utan dubbed Hot Mama (such a cute diva name) whom i was looking for this time but she wasnt at the centre anymore. maybe they shifted her to the Matang Wildlife Centre. and her baby. and a grandmother.

this time, I saw Ritchie. a male orang utan with super duper giant cheekpads of machoness. I never failed to be wow-ed when coming here!

2. ok better cut down on the rant. holidays has made me over-ranty.
Found out that Kuching has a river kayaking package that brings u kayaking up to 11km in the wilderness?? ok maybe not wilderness. through the pristine rainforests of Kuching. :) the one my friends took up was RM188 per pax, day trip n all, food, transport included. i didnt go, but from the photos it looked like a tonne of fun. :)

3. Discovered Sunny Hill ice cream parlour has a schedule for the ice cream flavours they make for a particular day. (sorry! i think this i ought to have known earlier than just now) lol

4. n that the ikan bakar place beside McD in Central Park doesnt open til maybe 8pm. and that the foodcourt at Jalan Song is called Peach Garden. had my first try at the 101 Avenue food court (didnt know it existed). and umm.. owh. the Hui Sing pasar malam with the famous White Lady n Metahon closes on Wednesdays. (so weird i didnt know that. but it wasnt like the 1st/15th of the month pun).

5. just realised that there was a reason the Fairy Caves was named that. my friends found a fairy. hehe.

5. more photography tricks

had lots of fun. :)

Back in Kuching I joined the Lifeguards & Watchmen for life group under Johnson and Lina. Have been really blessed by the brothers n sisters here. the 1st life group itself witnessed my car breaking down (alamak. yes another car crisis by xu vin driving the Proton Wira - hv never been short of stories on this) n who but them came to my rescue! *hooray? !* =P
They take a group shot after every Life Group. such a cute 2012 resolution. (so yay i get to be in a group photo) lol =P

Have had a guitar in my room since KTSN days in Year 2 but have been neglecting it (guilty of having an awesome guitar but not making full use of it). this holidays is a time i challenge myself to practise playing it properly b4 going back to kl. hehe. found a guitar sifu @Johnson. thousand thanks. :D

Been reading some books as well. and as I read, I somehow found back the love for reading (I stopped reading for fun since secondary school days n never really had the habit of reading since.)
A book that i found most inspiring was Divine Mentors by Wayne Cordeiro. Check out his books. the way he writes made me just wana keep turning the pages. really amazing book. I rediscovered the joy and excitement of hearing from God daily through the Bible. and it daunted to me the urgency to build my foundation strong in His words.

I found myself growing more n more (thumbs up to homecooked food. :P and also to good guidance from Christian leaders)

Heading back to KL for the wkend on the way to Hong Kong next week with 2 other friends. =D