The land of Language Barriers

早安! 请问你要吃什么?
For 6 days, I have been listening to lots and lots of cantonese.
So thankful that I do know a little Canto here and there. Well, it was indeed a challenge to read the mandarin words and trying to understand what they are trying to tell me.

Ok.. I think I accidentally published the post yesterday so I shall continue today but without photos.

Yups! I went to HongKong last Sunday and came back to Sunny and Wet Singapore yesterday. For a moment, I REALLY missed Singapore.

DAY 1

HongKong - A bustling country!
Indeed, when we (me, sister and Janice) touched down at 8+pm, the airport was super bustling. We had to take a City Flyer bus cause the train ride's WAY too expensive! A whopping S$20!! Along the way on the bus towards Tsim Sha Tsui, the streets were still brightly lighted and with many people walking. It was almost already 9+pm and I wonder - Ain't these people tired?
Because it was a hostel that we stayed in, it wasn't prominent in the map so I wasn't really sure where to alight too! So thankful that with that tad knowledge of Cantonese, I managed to get the bus driver to direct me on where to alight. THANKFULLY, when we alighted, we were pleasantly surprised by a staff at the hostel. (Apparently, we were late for check in.)

We ended the day with "鱼蛋"(Fishballs) & Yong Tau Hu! Man...!! The saying "A hungry man is an angry man"... For me, I will say "A satisfied Sandra is a Sandra who can sleep well!" Day One ended. =)



Catch you guys tomorrow!

DAY 2

Are you guys still with me?
Well, Day 2 is basically just shopping and NOTHING much!
We started with a good breakfast - 公仔面.. and I had 奶茶 and it's VERY milky!! It was REALLY amazing how 3 gals TRIED to interpret the CHINESE menu...
After which, we walked from Tsim Sha Tsui to Jordan (Relative of Orchard CK Tangs to Somerset perhaps) then we gave up and took a MTR (Train) to Mongkok.
Hmm... I marvelled at the flats in HK. It looks really messy and er.. Dirty from the outside. But when I had the chance to peer into one flat, it does really look clean, neat and tidy. Looks are deceiving heh!
Stopped by a signboard that said "一夜情". Can't help to stop and snap it down.
Well... It was reeaaaallly lots of walking in HK. I was beginning to feel that those living in HK has very strong feet and butt! Gosh! There's lots of stairs to climb and LOTS of streets to walk! But then again, I am speaking from a very tourist point of view. I seriously do wonder what's it like staying there.
That day, I was the greatest shopper. I just had to take the opportunity to get some necessity clothes! I have er.. grown slightly fatter and can't fit into quite a bit of my clothes. Not forgetting also that I have moved to another job that requires me to dress real casual. At my previous job, I need to be formal. Didn't overbuy. Just nice. =)

This day left me feeling OVER-WALKED!!! That night, got lovebites from bedbugs!! ARGH!



Catcha!

DAY 3

Day 3 is ESPECIALLY dedicated to Disneyland.
Many asked me - "So how's Disney?"
When my reply was "Good!", the counter reply was "Really meh?"
Hmm.. honestly, that made me wonder - Is it really that bad? I guess for me, I just made a decision to enjoy myself no matter how bad it is. Cause it's DISNEY!
Ok ok.. I REALLY love Walt Disney cartoons. I MISS those classic cartoons... I dun understand why cartoons now are so "violent". Why can't they remain that innocent and classic as it was?
For those who knows me will roughly guess that I am not really those kind who love rides alot alot that kind.. neither am I those who love to queue up to take photos with mascots..
BUT, for this trip, I really enjoyed doing all these. Fussing over photos, fussing over the mascots on how cute they are, etc. Enjoying the rides, the carousal...
Hey man.. I told myself - I am young ONLY once and I am here ONLY once... and, it's Disney.. HAHA!!
I guess, ultimately, I enjoyed the company I was with.. =)







See ya tmr!!

DAY 4

I didn't manage to do my blog yesterday cause firstly, I was too tired. Secondly, I was preparing other things. Hopefully, I can complete my HongKong trip today. Been taking too long *smile* My memory is starting to get a little fazzy (NO SUCH WORD). If there isn't photos to back up, I DOUBT I can remember what I did on Day 4!

Well, we made our way to the very famous Victoria Peak. For those who love heights, will probably love it. I love heights but hmm.. Personally, I dun really like Victoria Peak. It has become too commercialized. I do not enjoy it though I do enjoy the HEIGHT!



After which, we went back to HongKong island and we scouted like nearly half an hour to find a place for DimSum! 3 of us just refuse to give up! We simply can't believe that it's so hard to find a DimSum place in Hong Kong.. Come on man.. I thought Hong Kong was famous for its DimSum! Because three of us were on budget, we could only go for DimSum ONE time.. Well, what's the verdict? It was a GREAT DimSum!! Gosh.. We were so BOWLED over the food that we just went "Oooh... Ah... WOW...!"

Well, did I mention above that HongKong is like a SHOPPING paradize? Well, we shopped till we felt that our legs/feet just didn't belong to us! Gosh.. I was so so tired! HongKongers seemed to walk so much.. By the time, I reach the MTR stairs, I was nearly pulling myself UP the stairs!

We couldn't make it any further so we went back to rest.

Evening, we went to this place called the Avenue of Stars 星光大道! Eh.. Well, since there is even a title for it already, I felt that the place sort of lost its "flavour" in being authentic and quiet... It became very commercialized!! (Hmm.. at this point of time during my travel, I felt I have AGED!! I need that kind of holiday where it's just scenic. Less commercialized things and more nature)



We made our way to the Cultural Centre and coincidentally, it was Film Fest! Gosh!! We saw Daniel Wu!! Man... *faintz* He is handsome!! Can't help myself but to snap the poster of Maggie Cheung.. Wish I was able to take some photos with some stars.. That will be SO memorable of the whole trip.. *smile*

Day 4 ended with cheap Fishballs and cuttlefish.. *YUM*



Day 5

Up for our daily breakfast and by this day, HONESTLY, we were exhausted and we really just wanted to rest. Guess, three of us just wanted a holiday out of Singapore so we were pretty ok if there's no shopping and just rest. Therefore, Day5 has NO agenda.

Because it has NO agenda, we decided to pop in a saloon and have a haircut and highlight!
Man.. it cost me only $40 in total...! Poor sister and Janice... Waited for me patiently reading the gossip magazines! Hmm.. What's my experience like? Fantastic! It feels different being a tourist having a haircut! Personally, I love the treatment that they gave. Very customized. If I were living there, I will go back!



Hum... honestly, by now, even as I write this blog, I am left with no more story to tell.. Other than shopping and eating, we slept. So, after haircut, after a short while of shopping, we went back to Hostel to sleep! Went out in the evening to buy food to eat again! That evening, we had a feast! We bought dumplings, yong tau hu, veg, etc etc etc... In order to commemmorate our last dinner in HK, we video down the process! Gosh!! We DID enjoy eating SO much!

When we were all done with our eating, we watched TV, relaxed and had a friend over for a chat... =) It's nice seeing old friends again... We chatted and laughed... Sometimes, I wonder - What will things be like if it were Brisbane days again? :)



Hmmmm.. What I like most about this trip?
I love the time I spent with my sister the most... But not forgetting, I love the feeling of being in a foreign land. I love looking at maps and navigating (though not much in HK la).. I LOVE travelling. I love to know the culture. It's so amazing to know how similar humans are YET so different!

In all honesty, all the time when I was there, I can't help but think - What will life be like if I were to work in HK as a Social Worker? Gosh.. Other than the Language Barrier, the societal issues is really another headache... I have read a book before that states the similarity of the societal issues of Singapore and HK. In a geez, it speaks mainly on the youth and delinquency issues. Personally, it is an area which I am interested to explore. Well, I will just see how God leads! For now, I am just very happy in my current work place!

Anyway, and so, I came back from HK on Fri and Sat, I caught West Side Story with my family. We went for a hearty dinner and my sis and myself brought my parents to walk the Esplanade Walk and went to the roof top. We took photos after photos! The scenario was so beautiful that for a moment, I really wished that time will stop..

As for the show, my heart melts when the singers sang... I am more in amazed of the conductor! Everything has to be precise. Every step that the actor made, every snap that the finger went, the conductor has to know it inside out and conduct the WHOLE orchestra. Next to the beautiful songs and actors and performance, my applause really went to the conductor!