hopping into hongkong 2

Since Carlos wanted to get a memorabilia to add to his collection, we took a brief stop at Hard Rock Cafe. Some of the guys bought a t-shirt each for keepsake while I put on one for the camera. I still liked the Hard Rock at Bali where it was bigger and they had a whole lot more merchandise than the one at Tsim Sha Tsui.


Since HK is such a small island, it's pretty much easy to hop off the train station and walk around the area and see lots of stuff. So after HRC, we walked towards the Central area at Wanchai. I'm not sure if this was normal, but HK seemed to be foggy/hazy all the time. Must be the tall buildings causing the stuffiness, coz I don't remember Tokyo being like that.


There were many people that time who were there to take pictures too. I'm not sure if they were HK-ites but I saw this middle-aged lady dressed quite elegantly with her little black dress with lace and strands of pearls around her neck smiling for the camera. Her hair coiffed up, and with matching accessories, she looked kinda out of place. But since everyone else were taking pictures, I decided to get the guys to pose for one too.


On the way back, we passed by the Hong Kong Museum of History and saw this banner with a rather interesting title. Running from late March till early June, the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Gallery displayed works of art depicting the distinctive language which is affectionally known as "Chinglish".


I can personally relate to that as Malaysians speak Manglish just like the Singaporeans with their Singlish. Owing to their British colonial backgrounds, these countries are a place of mixed identities where people are caught between the "East" and the "West". Even though we are taught the Queen's English at school, spoken English is commonly mixed up with the local language, ending up as a form of English foreigners find hard to understand.


At 8pm every night, the buildings across the harbour light up in synchrony with background music, resulting in the famous Symphony of Lights. This multimedia light and sound show which involves buildings such as Central Plaza, IFC Tower, Bank of China Tower and HSBC main building is a popular tourism attraction.


From there we walked through the Avenue of Stars, which is modelled after Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Located along the Victoria Harbour waterfront, it honours celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry. Stars whose names I've never heard of have their palm prints immortalised on the pavement along with those who are more internationally recognised. So we tried to match our palm size with actors like Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, and Chow Yun Fat.

hopping into hong kong

I'm back in Urasa, and spring has arrived. It was still cold when I came back. But being in HK for the transit sorta cushioned the change. Reached here on Sunday evening and was immediately depressed coz the very next day school started! Was beginning to miss the warmth of home and Malaysia.

So for the whole of last week, I was in holiday mood. Everything that the lecturers said went in the left ear and came out the right. Almost. Only managed to get myself organised last weekend. Still some stuff to sort out, like last term's papers to file and getting a big file to put them all in so that I can move on for this term.

Here are some pictures from HK. It was a shopping+eating trip, as many of those who've been there can readily testify. Here are some shots for your viewing pleasure :


Didn't know the Coca steamboat restaurant had a branch in Tokyo. They had really fancy ethnic looking decor and so were the prices! Food was oishikatta but such small portions.


Our first meal in HK. Had some noodles at the Crystal Jade restaurant in the Times Square near Causeway Bay. Within walking distance from our hostel.


That night we went walking near the Arena of Stars and watched the Symphony of Lights. Many "tongkang" passed by, and this bright crimson junk caught my eye.


The New Zealand Rugby Sevens Team were in town coincidentally when we visited the local Adidas store. Even though I've only seen rugby played on TV, I've never had much interest in this male adrenaline-charged sports. But I joined the crowd and got their signature!


Dim sum is a must in HK. We went to one of the most expensivve place to stuff ourselves for brunch at Maxim Palace. Think it's one of the largest chain of food outlets in HK as they have other variants of the Maxim brand wherever we went.


More eating throughout the trip. This time at another small outlet near the Mid Escalators area where many foreign restaurants can be seen. We had our king prawn wan tan mee here. (I'm craving for some authentic Chinese food even as I write this!)


We went up Victoria's Peak and visited Madamme Tussaud's Wax Museum. For a total fee of HKD125 which includes a tram ride, I got to hug Bae Yong Joon and get close and intimate with many other movie stars.

home sweet home 2

Can't believe I'm typing this at 2am in the morning. I am still a night owl after all. Have so much to do! Need to settle some stuff with my bank accounts. Think they deactivated my account after not having used them for such a long period of time. Also need to see the doctor. Caught a cold from HK coz of the weather and the pollution!

People are beginning to know I'm back. Not good Lovely to know that I'm still remembered hehe. But alas, I only have limited time. Mum's only coming back tomorrow, so the remaining days I'd like to reserve for family time. That's why I tell people I'm only free for breakfast/tea/lunch/afternoon tea/supper. Don't worry, I will be back again by the end of this year. I hope. If all goes well :)

I will be missing out on some weddings. Can save money haha I guess I'll have to send a little Japanese angpow as a little token. They have really nice packages with ribbons and origami-like paper which are carefully arranged, and these are given for weddings or special ocassions. Too bad I'm not the one getting married and having a friend who's living in Japan!

Had many gatherings and catchup sessions already, was good seeing familiar faces and stuffing myself with typical Malaysian food. But it's killing my throat. Should I sacrifice and deprive myself of assam laksa, tomyam and nasi lemak?