Hong Kong City Tour

Time to count down... 15 Days...

2007-12-20T23:35:00.000+08:00

Firstly to all who's coming to CityU... Do not take Financial Management... It sux... Been there done that, and now I just hope I don't 肥佬 (slang in Cantonese which means fail) this course... One more exam upcoming and that's about it... and so I shall start my grand countdown till 4th Jan 2008 and sianly I will be back in Singapore... where I belong... 好灰啊 (slang in Cantonese which means sian)... Again for the observant ones I'm acting quoting Canto slangs so that I can remember next time when i'm back to using Cheena and England... anyway I shall start planning programs for the remaining days to come so that I don't have to be 折 (slang for 宅男)... So for those reading can skip the next part... hehe...

21Dec07 - Mug for Strategy and Policy (NO LIFE.............)
22Dec07 - Strategy and Policy Exam (It's a Saturday for God's sake) but thereafter I'm off to Gundam Fair 2007!!! @ http://expo07.bandai-asia.com/index.htm...
23Dec07 - Hong Kong Game Fair (Finally got a chance to use camera again)
24Dec07 - It's Christmas Eve!!! Celebration for the Singles...
25Dec07 - Christmas!!! Christmas time is once a year... PLEASE DO SOMETHING HERE
26Dec07 - Souvenir Consolidation Day!!! Shop till I drop... and then must pack up liao :(
27Dec07 - Exchange Graduation Trip (where ah where ah where I don't know)
28Dec07 - Exchange Graduation Trip
29Dec07 - Exchange Graduation Trip
30Dec07 - Exchange Graduation Trip
31Dec07 - Exchange Graduation Trip
01Jan08 - Bye bye CityU... It's time to go HongKongU... Welcome my friend to HK...
02Jan08 - PLEASE DO SOMETHING HERE (hopefully not checking out CORS...)
03Jan08 - PLEASE DO SOMETHING HERE before packing again >:(
04Jan08 - Food Consolidation Day!!! Must bring lots of food back to Singapore!!!
05Jan08 - Mari kita rakyat Singapura sama-sama... Rez day of my wife!!!!!!

OMG... I only have 15 days left... For those who miss me yes I'll be back... for those who don't too bad... haha and yes I've realised that I don't really show alot of things about Hong Kong... so I shall try to work hard and take more photos to upload... and oh ya I've to write some s*** about my exchange life in Hong Kong when I go back... 灰啊灰啊... kk till then it's time for bed...

Day 17/12/07 Monday...

2007-12-17T15:37:00.000+08:00

Today is a good day because firstly... It's my gay bro Chingsan's Birthday!!! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you... you sux...

And secondly... I've succeeded in being a complete Zai Nan by completing Legend of Zelda: Phantom's Hourglass on my nds... clap clap clap... The must play game on nds...

And thirdly... I've completed my plans for Christmas Eve... which cost me a bomb so fellow friends celebrating with me please do remember to donate to CK's Charity for a bigger, more loserish Zai Nan :)

And lastly... I've not started on my mugging for Financial Management Exam on Thursday... which proves that I'm no mugger... all in all today is a good day... Good Day!

One Wednesday...

2007-12-17T14:59:00.000+08:00

Ever since my laptop is dead I've not been updating my diary so I have forgotten which Wednesday was this...

To Snoopy World :)

Then to one random park...

Then to a museum...

And finally to see horseracing!!!

One horse symbolizing Singapore...

And my favorite horse...

Well horseracing isn't really that exciting... which explains why I never go to Singapore's at Kranji even though I'm always passing that station... All in all a day well spent considering the countless lifeless days I spend in hall...

Countless Fridays...

2007-12-17T14:53:00.000+08:00

Second group photo from my Marketing Research class... nice knowing you all... come visit me in Singapore :)

So formal...

PS: For those who are very alert, yes I'm wearing the same shirt again... haha only that it's in a lighter shade now that I've continually wash it...

Countless Thursdays

2007-12-04T13:19:00.000+08:00

Well since my laptop's dead I've not really been updating my blog. Then again there's really nothing much to update with no more public holidays and events... Oh well I guess I can still blog abit about my teammates in Hong Kong... before anyone thinks that I'm soloing all the way... haha... here are the photos taken after our Services Marketing presentation... a pity not all the members are present... but then again life's never perfect...

Taken at the estate near my school...

The map of my school!!! Which is really small (both the map and CityU)...

Stairways to CityU...

Day 61

2007-10-29T14:41:00.000+08:00

It's a day at the Halloween Party in Ocean Park!

The Side Gate of Ocean Park...

Fellow Singaporeans in CityU (I'm obviously the extra here)

The Coolest Monster IMO...

To be continued...

Day 53

2007-10-22T19:26:00.000+08:00

I went clubbing with two of my friends today (from 12am to 4am!) and my conclusion: absolutely tired (but not drunk) after the whole thing, but still it's an eye opener to me, seeing lots of weird behaviors as well as lots of PDAs. Will I club again? Let's just say I prefer sleeping during this period of time... haha...

The impromptu clubbing night...

Day 48

2007-10-22T16:47:00.000+08:00

My friends should be complaining by now since I'm always wearing the same 7 clothes and 4 long pants that I've brought to Hong Kong. Although I've explained to them that I've no money for new clothes, I guess I can still spare some money for... a NDS!!! Seriously no matter how trendy you are with all the fanciful clothes, you are outdated without a NDS! Furthermore, my (actually I bought it for my friend but currently it's mine :)) NDS is one unique beauty (see for yourself), and it costs only 1330 HKD (if you are not as particular as me in dressing it up and giving it extra protection which cost another 160 HKD). For all gadget geeks out there, it's a highly recommended gaming device!

My (for now) NDS with self designed brower skin!!!

Day 40

2007-10-06T18:02:00.001+08:00

One reason I'm craving to go Japan is because of the anime/manga popularity in Japan. So when CityU has her own anime/manga fair I'm more than happy to attend :) I went in once at 12.30pm but I'm abit disappointed at the things available :( However, I heard from my friend who went with me that there's a performance at 3.30pm and so I've decided to go again then with another friend of mine.

Just look at the crowd...

The performance wasn't that fascinating, with only three groups performing. Their dance... need some improvement I guess... so we didn't finish the show and decided to go see people who are cosplaying.

The three groups performing...

To my surprise there are many cosplayers around, and I had a nice time trying to identify the anime/manga characters they are cosplaying.

Cosplay alert!!!

My friend and I decided that we should take some photos with these cosplayers as it's a rare opportuntiy. So, armed with my Sony Camera and blessed with the "thick skin" aura we went around looking for our targets :) Oh in case any one is wondering why the first one is not collaged, it's because I think she's the prettiest I've seen there :)

Well this is probably the most interesting photo I've taken for the day :o Sorry grad cosplayers only like otaku :)

Day 38

2007-10-05T13:08:00.000+08:00

One thing interesting about Hong Kong is that she celebrates Halloween even though it's not really a festival in Hong Kong, e.g Halloween Bash in Ocean Park (one of my upcoming event), Halloween Party in Disneyland Hong Kong etc. Even shopping centres are decorated with Halloween figurines. Well I personally feel that Hong Kong should have a Hungry Ghost event in Hong Kong, so that the Asian good bros won't feel so irritated by what globalisation have done to even the nether world.

It's Halloween!!! In Hong Kong???

Day 35

2007-10-04T14:24:00.000+08:00

It's the birthday of Hong Kong! Being told that the fireworks at Tsim Sa Tsui is a must see on this joyous occasion, I reached there at 6.45pm when the start of the fireworks was at 9.15pm. Great so after patiently standing with the crowd for 2 plus hours, the show finally began...

Look at the crowd...

The whole fireworks process, starting with the messy ones...

then the flowery ones...

To the impactful ones...

Well can't say it's the best fireworks I've seen, but then again if you are in Hong Kong on the 1st Oct, you should experience it yourself :)

Day 29 - Mid Autumn Festival

2007-09-26T01:09:00.001+08:00

Full moon...

Celebration at Causeway Bay :)

They may not have magnificent lanterns, but they do have lots of supporters, including me, who don't even attend any Mid Autumn Festival celebration in Singapore. Maybe I will one day, when Singapore declares the day after Mid Autumn Festival a public holiday!

Day 28

2007-09-24T23:12:00.000+08:00

Pre Mid Autumn Festival Celebration below my hostel

Moon cakes I got for myself :)

PS: It's gold you see on top of the moon cakes!!!

Day 19

2007-09-17T00:23:00.000+08:00

The magnificent Buddha at Lan Tau Island

Day 13

2007-09-16T23:54:00.000+08:00

Statue at Victoria Harbour

Scene of Victoria Harbour

Me :)

Fellow Singaporeans in Hong Kong

Day 12

2007-09-16T23:47:00.000+08:00

Eating at Dim Sum Restaurant

Day 7

2007-09-16T12:55:00.000+08:00

Meeting fellow friends in Causeway Bay

Day 4 - Day 6

2007-09-06T00:40:00.001+08:00

My dear "Tigger" group!

Day 3

2007-09-05T22:51:00.000+08:00

Well I realise that it takes lots of discipline to update my blog everyday and obviously I'm lacking that but I will try my utmost best to update as soon as possible. The usual wake up procedures and the usual walk to campus to Festival Walk to campus once again, just in time to attend the Student Exchange Club Talk.

I must say I'm not exactly the super friendly kind who "yo" and "hi" to every exchange student but at least I chit chat with those who said hi to me and those near me. The usual introduction of the club and thereafter the usual ice-breaking session with the usual batch of exchange students, but still I went through the process without any complaint. Thereafter we were told to form groups with people from the same country and discuss about the things that we can introduce from our country to fellow exchange students. I must confess that Singapore isn't really that fun to convince people to visit, except for the rich variety of food she offers. Anyway I volunteered a fellow SMU student to do the introduction which is taking place at a later date (my most sincere apologies to him but I personally feel that he is so charming and good looking people will be glad to have him as the speaker) and since then I've withdraw myself from the task altogether.

Thereafter it's back to boring administration stuff (mapping of modules) which made me walk all over the campus and upon completion I still have to wait outside their office because it's their lunch break. So I made used of that time to blog on Day 2 (see I'm trying my best already).

After lunch with fellow NUS friends (Jason and Mel) I went Sham Shui Po with Jason. I must say it's the Sim Lim of Hong Kong and therefore I had a pleasant time window shopping there. There's a flea market there as well and I managed to get my bolster at 45HKD which is quite cheap, right?

A street at Sham Shui Po

Anyway we went back to campus to attend the Cantonese Corner (no I did not intend to show off my Cantonese but I just want to see how it is conducted). Well it's like a primary school lesson where the in-charge teached and repeated every Cantonese phrases but it's interesting anyway (I had a free drink too).

Thereafter it's another round at Festival Walk to purchase my breadfast and some fruits and Day 3 is over. I must say it's getting kind of boring already but I still have high expectation of the upcoming orientation (actually it's over already but I'm pretending I'm writing this blog entry on Day 3 itself).

Day 2

2007-08-30T13:26:00.000+08:00

Things to do:

Attend the University Welcoming Ceremony of Faculty of Business
Attend the free lunch (if your faculty offers that)
Buy necessities (you will always have things to buy actually)

Probably because I did not sleep for 36 hours, I had a sound one all the way till 8am in the morning. After a bit of lazing around in my cosy room I've decided to attend the University Welcoming Ceremony of Faculty of Business.

So down the tedious stairway I went and straight to Multi-purpose Hall, but unfortunately I've reached much earlier than expected. This means another round of mindless walking around the campus until the ceremony began. Like all ceremonies there were many Guest-of-Honours who will give long and boring speeches. However, the robe-ing ceremony was interesting where everyone, including me has to put on robes for a pledge (it's been a long time since I said a pledge). Thereafter we sing the song of CityU (which is quite patriotic) but I guess they call it motivating.

The whole ceremony lasted an hour or so and there's still time left before going for the lunch prepared by the Business Department, so I went to Festival Walk (again). This time round I managed to find a supermarket named "Taste" and therefore decided to get for myself the following necessities:

AAA sized batteries for shaver
Tissue
Magiclean Wiper (I know I'm a tidy freak)

These sums up to 142.20HKD (the Magiclean Wiper alone costs 106.90HKD which is so expensive), but I guess that's fine since lunch is free.

So with all these stuffs in my bag, I hurried to the restaurant since I'm almost late and to my disbelief my name is not registered because I didn't attend their first meeting session on Tuesday. Luckily they still let me in taking up the "extra" seats, and I really enjoyed the 10 course lunch, as well as the chit-chatting session with the exchange students.

Thereafter I went back to hostel again (feeling fitter by the day climbing up the stairs) to put down my stuff, rested and headed back to the main campus (yet again) to attend a briefing session by INSO. The briefing was boring as usual but at least I met fellow NUS students (end of solo shopping).

So together with my NUS friends we walked back to hostel (for the nth + 1 time) and I magic-mopped the floor (yes I know I'm a tidy freak), thereafter slacking until 6.30pm where me and my NUS friends met for dinner. I suggested going to Luo Fu again since my friend needed a fan and I needed a water bottle that can contain hot water.

On our way there my friend described her unpleasant encounters with her room mate and seriously I'm so glad I'm staying alone. Faram. Before getting our stuff we went to eat at a local restaurant and again the food cmi so I'm not going to introduce (it's expensive too being priced at 21HKD). Thereafter we got our stuff and took a cab back to our hostel (it's cheaper than MTR fare combined and we do not have to walk the dreaded stairways for the first time). MSN and blogging as usual throughout the night thereafter and it's been a pretty relaxing day after a hectic day but still the excitement continues!

Day 1

2007-08-19T10:43:00.000+08:00

ThInGs To Do:

Get Octopus Card
Get Key to Accommodation
Get Student Identity Card
Get Internet Connection
Get Welcoming Folder
Get Debit Card
Get Pre-paid Card for Handphone
Get Necessities

After 4 hours of "bus" feel ride on board Jetstar Asia, my friends and I arrived at the sunny and warm Hong Kong International Airport (it was 30 Degrees Celsius at the time we landed). The first obstacle we faced was a long and taunting wait for our luggage, but luckily our luggage did not fall into the wrong hands. Upon reaching the arrival hall you must get your adult octopus card here:It is especially crucial if you intend to take bus E22 to Student's Residence at City University of Hong Kong. Obviously this does not apply to rich folks who can afford the taxi fare of 350HKD. However, I personally feel that the 18HKD bus trip is definitely more worthwhile since it's just a little extra effort carrying the load to the bus stop. The bus ride was also accompanied by a peculiar view never seen in Singapore: civilisation within nature. Here I mean buildings on top of hills and valleys (it's something like a 15 storey building on top of Bukit Timah Hill).

Upon reaching the Student's Residence at Cornwell Street, I'm greeted with signboards guiding me towards the registration area. I must say I'm impressed by the efficiency of CityU because they actually allocated a place to handle the exchange students. Without much trouble I got the key that allows access to my hall which is Hall 4 Jockey Club Academy Hall and it's also the place where I first interacted with the local students (if you do not count the endless times whereby I asked for directions). Honestly speaking if you can speak Cantonese do so as it's easier for them to communicate using that language. If not English should do with little difficulty. After a chit chat session with them I went up to my room, which upon seeing I feel that it's like any other hostel room when you first get hold of one (except that it's got air conditioner and a lack of fan which means you really need one unless you are willing to on your air-con even at night at 1HKD per hour approximately).

After leaving my luggage behind, it's time to get to the main campus, in particular to the Amenities Building to do some enrollment stuff and get the welcoming folder. If you've not been exercising this may prove to be a strenuous activity because the Student's Residence is on top of a hill and the main campus right at the bottom. But no worries I've made it so can you. Thereafter, it's time to get your debit card at Hang Seng Bank, which is within the campus. Expect to wait an hour or more for the application since it's the peak season with many exchange students coming from all over the world. Another advice is that you must withdraw your money from your credit card first if you are using masters/visa before queuing up so that you wouldn't waste another 15 minutes doing so after queuing up and thereafter return to the person in charge to complete your application process. After checking the debit card and perhaps use it immediately like I do to make sure everything's doing fine, I now move on to the next task, which is to get my student identity card. Do remember to touch up if you see a need to because they will take a photo of you on the spot. I didn't and after a long day I have no energy left to look nice so in the end I look like a convict, but i prefer to call it an attitude look. The LASSI test is up next which is actually a personality test (the results suppose to guide you on what attributes you are lacking and on the courses that you can attend to improve on such attributes). According to the test I have low motivation in terms of studies (well I'm on exchange) and my attitude towards studies is also bad (well I'm on exchange!). However it's an interesting test so maybe NUS can have similar ones too.

With this I'm finally done with admin stuff for the day so I headed back to hostel before going shopping! The lovely local students are still trying their best to convince people to join their orientation camp and I fall "victim" to their empathetic persuasion (it costs 250HKD so it's my first major expense). Anyway destination Luo Fu up next after seeking guidance from the ever loving local students and I finally get to shop at Festival Walk for the first time. I must say it's like the Paragon in Singapore and thus gives me no reason to stay there. It's also a good time to enquire about the student's octopus card at the Kowloon Tong MTR station since you're there. I'm told to return on 1st September to get the application form so that means three more days of expensive adult fare.

Luo Fu is only one station away and you can get your pre-paid card at the convenience store inside the MTR station. The shopping complex at Luo Fu is near as well, however it's really a complex shopping area with weird layout and thus it took me a long while to explore the area. For the more observant ones you may be thinking I've mentioned no food throughout. Yes I've not had anything till now and so I settled at the food court there for a not so impressive meal which still costs 18HKD. I manage to find a shop named "Japan City" which offers products at a decent price and got myself the following:

A pillow at 45HKD
A basket bin at 23HKD
A fan at 110HKD

It's getting late by the time I'm done with my shopping and I've not done any cleaning up for my hostel! So back to hostel at 8pm and mission room cleaning began. After an hour of thorough cleaning up I'm finally done for the day (done for as well).

Before :(

After :)

So of course it's finally time for self cleaning up. Lucky me that my neighbour is also staying alone so that leaves the toilet to the luxury of us only. A warm shower is the best medicine after a tiring day and thereafter it's relaxation time on msn. Thanks to all who have shown their concern to me. I really appreciated that. The last activity for the night is to get water when I realise I've not been hydrating myself. Thus I hurried to the nearby store since it's already 11.30pm and got 2 1.5 litres bottle of mineral water at only 12HKD. Finally it's time for bed and this marks the end of day 1. Wow I've had such a long day! However, I'm still looking forward to Day 2!

The Story Begins

2007-08-18T15:51:00.001+08:00

Here is the entire map of Hong Kong, and where my journey begins. The layout of this guide is copied to the best of my abilities from the layout you will see in an official guide book for any rpg. Without doubt I am now in my own rpg and what awaits me I do not know. I've been preparing myself since months ago: getting the SEP grant, my visa, accommodation, insurance, mapped modules and other essentials for survival throughout my stay there. Now I'm all set to go and each day in Hong Kong will be documented with as much details as possible so that anyone who is concerned about me will know how I'm doing. This may be my last chance there, and I will cherish my moments in this unfamiliar ground. Shall I return safely I hope this guide can be of use to future brave travellers as well. May God bless me and may my friends wish me luck on this upcoming adventure. Faram.