Lamma Island 070804

Fion and AJ kindly invited me to join them for a day of hiking/basking under the sun 0n Lamma Island. =)

BRIEF INTRO:
Lamma Island (南丫島), is also known as Pok Liu Chau (博寮洲). It is the third largest island in Hong Kong and part of the Islands District, Hong Kong. Situated at the southwest of Hong Kong Island, it has a total area of 13.55 square kilometres and an estimated population of 6,000.

And it is NOT the island where the Lammas stay, Miss Zee.

It's actually the hometown of Mr Chow Yun Fat.

(He grew up in the village of Tung O in Yung Shue Wan.

His family still operates a seafood/pigeon restaurant called "Shau Kee" in the main village, but we didn't go there.)

Took a bus to Aberdeen (香港仔) to catch the ferry to Yung Shue Wan

The weather was perfect - Blue skies white clouds. As the boat sped towards Yung Shue Wan, I felt as if my thoughts/worries were left in the trail of water and gone within seconds. Fion said she enjoys going back to nature instead of hustling bustling with the crowds at Causeway Bay during weekends. I couldn't agree more - the shopping crowd here on weekends is MADNESS (though you'd probably feel more accomplished if you managed to find a good bargain).

My 'job' for the day was to take arty farty pictures. Here are some of my favourites:
As with any island, the main form of transportation is by foot or bicycles.
Sun-dried fish-I-don't-know-the-name-of
Veiled view of the pier
Sun down
The island restaurants and holiday houses "渡假屋"

These 3 has got to be my favourites:

THIRD

SECOND

I'm not quite the 'sunset' person but this was beautiful. =)

FIRST

SHADOWS

Perhaps how the old lady carried on and walked the path alone made me love this picture even more.

Apart from fishes and bicycles, this island has also A LOT of:
GREENS

DOGS

And it's also littered with tiny retail stores

The statues of the mini buddhas are actually candles... but we were thinking... HOW BLASPHEMOUS! You start by burning ITS head off!

Conveniently located halfway through the nature walk is this 豆腐花 stall - tended by this granny and her love.

HK people have a habit of putting the orangey sugar on top - it actually gives some texture to the silky smooth 豆腐花. YUM.

Their mosquitoes are also commando-trained... can still stick to your skin and suck your blood even when you're walking! I've got ... one.. two.. three... four.. bites even though I've got this!

Mosquitoes are not the only dangerous creatures on the island....

At the end of the day... tired and sticky...wanted to snap the man behind me in this pic....

He was bouncing like Tigger.

I love this pic Fion took for me!

Very got the 'FEEL' ah.....

Dinner was at Aberdeen - with more ferry rides.

Don't you think their public housing look like our HDB flats too?

Can't wait for the '出海' trip on 25th! Yay!

I love pretty boys

When I was ten,

I loved him

followed by him after watching Meteor Garden....

and him...

and then him....
and more recently him... (watched 男儿本色 in Hong Kong - damn nice show)

Been on a movie/drama serial marathon til late nights every night - the current one I'm watching made me want to go back to school again

And made me fall in love.... with Quan



How can there be such pretty boys on Earth??

MR GOH: NO! THERE CAN'T BE SUCH PRETTY BOYS ON EARTH!!


I'm starting to see the pattern of the 'type' of boys I love - pretty, si wen/gentlemanly, specky, sunshine smile and makes me want to 'mother' them.

They all fall under the same mould.

So if you're a pretty boy, I might just fall in love with you! =)

time for bed!

Rubbed the wrong way....

As if the super enthusiastic male at the bodycombat class wasn't scary enough (he was there again tonight), other things severely grossed/freaked me out.

okay, so the super enthu guy was matched with a super enthu girl tonight. Both punching so hard, they can kill each other on the spot. And the super enthu girl knew ALL the steps... so much so she can be the instructor herself. Scary girl.

And then, halfway through the class, I thought I saw the instructor have a hard-on. HOW CAN LIKE THAT?!?!?!
And he'll say things like, oh, oh, give me one more, give me a hug, urgh urgh urgh... those kinda stuff.
TA MA DE UNPRO!

Okay, I know my J back in SG does make noises too, but it DOES NOT sound SE QING okay...

And after class... the other H-O guy was working out at the weights area again, same painful-going-through-hell expression as he pulled with all his might.

And... when I went into the sauna, this lady was rubbing and rubbing herself and arching and making tiny moans. I really buay tahan, and just as I was going to walk out, this obasan walked in and man... gravity takes a heavy toll on women!!!

And to end my hair-raising experience tonight, the white FF towel was stained red patches here and there after I tossed my hair with it.

so PAI SAY.

I wish I won't have nightmares tonight.

the red head on a grey day

It finally rained today. =)


and I finally got my red head and a new crop. =)

Such an exciting chapter has begun!

I remember when I first heard the news of Miss Xie getting past the interviews at the Jap embassy and the position to work in JPN for a year, I was so excited!!! In fact, excited is an understatement. I was exhilarated, and my heart raced so fast that my tears uncontrollably rolled down my cheeks. And they felt warm.

That was during the steamboat dinner at mich's place.

So the big day has finally arrived. All the luggages packed... but feelings?

Heard from the sweeties that this morning's send off at the airport was a teary one. Wish I was there, but..nonetheless, hope my presence was felt!

Distance is indeed a barrier. It was not until this HK secondment that I slowly learnt to let go... of certain things/persons. My previous trips hadn't been this long and hadn't made me miss so many precious moments with the ones I love.

You cannot participate in the lives of others if you're not physically there, if you can't share the same experience at the same time. Even as you retold each other's experience, something will still be missing? So you just learn to let go and let the other person(s) enjoy doing something else and wish they have a good time. I guess the ones at home now would be feeling the same about me too.

We can only look very much forward to the times we'll spend together again, and smile as we think about such thoughts.

=) Miss Xie, Ganbatte!!

FF - here and there

The couch potato lifestyle is not doing good.

When I've got nothing to do after work/dinner, I get glued to the couch with a whole bag of snacks within an arm's reach. I realised how much I miss eating potato chips (BBQ, spicy, tomato, even got Mongkok Sausage flavour!). I can eat a pack every night. A true blue potato eating potatoes.

The feeling when I hit the gym after a month of stagnation felt good.

And the guys in the combat class today were two extremes.

This pair of guy friends (Asian and caucasian) were first timers to the class, standing behind me. And their combat stance/moves were hilarious. Machiam monkeys learning how to punch. Keke.

And then there was this group of guys (late 30s, early 40s) who were punching SO HARD they look like they were going to kill somebody. Is it that stressful at work in HK???

and when I was at the weights corner, this guy was using the cable weights machine. Each time he pulled the weights, his face squeezed damn damn tight and he grinded his teeth. I wanted to laugh but thought it'd be mean... he's probably pulling half his body weight. And... I thought I noticed he had a hard-on =_= Guys should NOT wear tiny shorts to workout.

Anyway, obviously my fitness level fell (again) - don't know how I'm gonna manage to complete the SHAPE run in early sept.

Noticed a few differences btn the FF in SG, and the FF in HK.

1) obviously... the HK instructors were not as entertaining as the one at home.
2) they refused to let me take another towel - "one person one set only." =_= So I didn't cover myself in the sauna today. Muahahahaaaaa
3) No mirrors in the changing rooms!
4) No plastic bags for the dirty workout attire - environmentally friendly, which is good.
5) Instead of encouraging members to workout and use the stairs, they have elevators and escalators (the club is 3-storeys high)
6) A lot more workout equipment, but the studio is not big.
7) Much much bigger beverage/resting area.

Going to Lamma Island for some hiking adventure tmr!

Simpsonize yourself

Everyone's been telling me to go watch the simpsons.

but maybe they should come and watch me?

Insomnia ... and the window with a view

Have been sleeping past 2am for the past week and struggling to wake up at 730.

I have to stop myself from imagining things every time i close my eyes.

I'm seriously THANKFUL that when I opened the scary mail, Miss Poon was with me and it was broad daylight. =) I'll never forget how we both SCREEEEEEEAMMMMMMMED and SLAMMED back onto the couch.

The last time I received such a mail was when I was still staying in Hall One. My heart leapt out of my mouth and i cried and cried and cried. Can't remember if Mr Goh was with me then.

but now, no one else is with me.

Came home last night and saw the most beautiful sky.
The photo really doesn't do justice to the evening sky.

And since I can't go to sleep, I shall introduce my HK nest.

This is what I see everyday when I open my eyes (while still in bed).


The view from .... the extreme left bottom (the pool-by Day and Night):



.... the left (Tsing Ma bridge-by Day and Night):



... the middle (another suspension bridge):


.... and the right (Lido pier/beach, and further the HK Gold Coast-can't be seen from here):


...and a fast frame video (observe the clouds):


It's nice to be staying in the true blue residential/neighbourhood area in the New Territories.

And I love the view from the apartment. Mr Goh said it'll be nice if we can have a similar view in the future. =) I agree too.

Extended

The plants in the apartment are going to DIE if I don't water them for another month.

But I just did. I'm not sure if I should 'pluck out' the yellow leaves?

Called home a while earlier and spoke to mum.

Mum: I was just asking your brother if he misses you.
Me: (Right, sure he does) Ma, Boss wants me to stay another month.
Mum: Huh?! what.... I was just telling him you'll be back in 5 days' time! Eh, got help me buy Sally Yeh Concert DVD not?

I miss home already.

Toasted

According to the Hong Kong Observatory: The weather is VERY (sibei) HOT - until there is a red hot warning sign.

Although it is indicated the temp is only 29deg C, it felt close to 50deg C. =faint=

One can easily get dehydrated in this weather and indeed there was a recent news report which noted that this construction worker was found unconscious at his work site - died of heat stroke.

The beads of sweat trinkling down my forehead, onto my neck and my spine and quickly finding their way through to my bum were endless.

I really wanted to jump into an ice pool. The heat was unbearable.

I feel...toasted.

'Yes Mum?'

Miss Poon's on her way back to the sunny island, carrying most of my buys from HK for me. I was worried that my luggage would be overweight with all the new items. THANKS Miss Ang AND Miss Poon for carrying my stuff home~~

Had a hearty breakfast this morning before Miss Poon left.

The owner of the cafe (and probably everyone else) thought that Miss Poon is going back to her home town (the philippines), bringing with her loads of things to distribute to her various family members.

It was HILARIOUS. I couldn't stop laughing.

and Miss Poon played along and called me 'Mum'. Hurhur.

I've sorta indicated to boss that I wouldn't mind visiting Manila... although he was slightly concerned about the safety issue... Mr Goh wasn't very keen to let me go too ("Tell boss that he cannot have you all the time, I need you too.").. but I thought it's a good chance for me to visit the place...

if any of you know any friends in manila (preferably conversant in english) and wouldn't mind spending 2-3 days doing street interviews, do let me know =) remuneration amount to be confirmed.

yawn. the cycle of sleeping for 2 hours each night is not doing my eyes and brain good.

Visitors come and go...

It's been a crazy work week, with impossible deadlines to meet and the ultimate rush to churn out a report which I personally felt was very weak.

yea, so i suffered under a different working style from the HK boss, but i survived (i guess).

It's been a week since Mr. Goh came and left. It feels surreal to see Mr. Goh and go eat and shop with him, as if we're enjoying another weekend in Singapore.

but when i sent him off at the airport, I bawled my eyes out. I thought i've got used to travelling and leaving people behind. I thought i had learnt to be independent enough to live on my own.

but that's not the case, apparently. I didn't think I could love Mr. Goh any further, but I already did. I wonder if i'd have the courage/determination/independence to nab any job which would require me to work long term overseas. -more of this thought later-

Now that the sweeties (yun and hwee) are here (again, the surreal feeling), the weekend's gonna be a blast again.

Spend 4+ hours in Mongkok new town and Argyle centre with yun this afternoon. We bought so many things that the plastic bags we were carrying gave us terrible looking marks -- as if we've been caned several times on our arms.

I haven't had such a great time shopping with yun. And on the bus ride home, we came to the conclusion that 'circumstances shape ideals'. I like the way how our conversations about people, things, led us to this conclusion. And i think it's a sensible one.

If I weren't in this circumstance, I probably would 'want' different things. more about this later.

It's great that the girls are here. We'll try to wake up in time for morning dim sum later.

baoz - aching arms, legs and eyes.

Pearl of the Orient - Hong Kong

Many comparisons between the two cities - Singapore and Hong Kong - were made previously; economically, socially, even the land/skyscape.. and now, we're gonna have a casino when macau's casinos made more bucks than those in las vegas combined.

A new colleague from Sydney joined us recently and will be relocated here for some time. She told me she loves Singapore and between the two cities, would prefer to stay here. She said it's the 'space' problem. Hong Kong appears to be too crowded for her.

And I get a taste of crowded Hong Kong everyday, from the moment I get off the bus, along the way to work..... and the nightmare of all nightmares, taking the MTR during peak hours. It's SO crowded, you feel like you're stuck in a billion people concert. Even the mrt crowd after national day can't be compared to this. Or perhaps it's the smaller MTR they have here...

I asked Coode (HK colleague Fion's brother) if Honkies is a derogatory term for HK people and he does not think so, though I think it's still better to stick with 'Hong Kong people'.

And Hong Kong people seem to have the misconception that Singaporeans can't speak Mandarin, or are Chinese people. A few I've spoken to were surprised that I'm a Chinese from Singapore, who can speak Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin and English. When I speak English (after failed attempts to communicate in Cantonese), they asked me if I'm a Hong Kong-er back from studies in Canada/Australia.

So, I've decided to not talk very much on the streets, and just blend in. Or gesticulate. Or just say, ZOU SAN (good morning), UM GOI (excuse me), DOR XHEH (thanks), ZOI KIN (bye) and GEI DOR QIN (how much). =)

Fion and Coode are such good hosts; they invited me to join them for dinner at their apartment tonight to have a taste of Hong Kong living.
And we watched HK serials back to back. :D Their place (at Tsing Yi - near airport) is a 15 min public light bus (or mini bus) ride from mine, BUT the mini bus took 30 min to come.

I think all the travelling (and the people travelling) made me feel very tired.

but I'm enjoying every moment of this.

Of unpacking and packing

It's been less than two weeks since I returned from Sydney.

and what a crazy two weeks indeed.

Had to finish up the project I did in Guangzhou and some other miscellaneous stuff.

Felt the super duper inertia to bring myself back to gym-ing, but I'm glad I did. =) Though my stamina is like shit now. Barely halfway through the class and I'm like swinging my lifeless limbs with however little energy I have left.

And I actually thought I heard him call my name - but Mr Goh said I must be so tired hallucinating... and the girls thought so too.. :( Oh well.

My luggage is still waiting at the corner of the room, waiting to be unpacked and packed.

I'm gonna live (or try to live) like a true blue HongKonger for the next one month. =))