"Enter the Dragon" - Shantou and HK trip

As promised, I shall document my 6-day trip to Shantou, ChaoZhou province and Hong Kong:
(However, I've chosen to upload all my photos in the Facebook album because I dunno how to upload pics. lol. u can visit it at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71979&l=253d4&id=561870022)

The trip was initially meant to be a short trip to Shantou, ChaoZhou province to visit my aged grandmother, aged 91/92, who left Singapore 7/8 years ago and return to her hometown to "retire". Eventually, it included another segment in Hong Kong because it was the most interesting inbound/outbound stop we could contemplate, since Shantou City was like equidistant from Xiamen, GuangDong and HK. I think this point is quite obvious :p

So in the wee hours of the morning of 23 Nov, my elder sister and I took a cab down to Changi Airport and thus began our little vacation. We were on a return flight with Jetstar, and I swear if finances allow, I would never ever take budget airlines or stay in hostels ever again. Not that both were particularly bad, buut somehow, it still feels better to travel in style, right? (this seems to further strengthen my resolve to look for a rich woman to marry. lol)

I shall talk about our Shantou phase first (which was supposedly the main point for this trip in the first place), and then the Hong Kong phase.

Phase 1: Shantou, ChaoZhou.

It is a 5 to 7 hours ride from Hong Kong to Shantou, In case you are wondering why there's such a difference, it is because of things like customs clearence, traffic conditions, whether the bus needs to refill petrol during peak hours etc etc. Anyway, the trip there was 7 hours in all! So u can imagine how ardous the journey was (okok i admit the bus is air-conditioned). There was also "entertainment" along the way. Some time during the really boring bus journey, we "spotted" one auntie a few rows in front cutting a guava and happily eating away. And kindly offering to people around her. I mean, it was really hilarious because there's only that many people who would cut up fruits in a bus and consume them. We half expected her to take out a durian next.

Furthermore, we were getting quite worried over the bus trip, because reliable sources have confirmed our China relatives' assurance that Shantou was highly developed etc etc, but along the whole journey, all we saw was mountains, rocks, rivers and tombs. There was nothing particularly resembling a skyscraper. Naturally, we began to suspect we had been conned by some human trafficking organisation or something.

So to our utter surprise, suddenly, a city just loomed in front of us in the last kilometres of the bus ride. Yes. Just like that. A city in the middle of nowhere. Like an oasis in a desert kinda stuff. In any case, we barely had time to rest in our hotel before our really hospitable "biao ge" (cousin), (and i sincerely mean it, not sarcastically) came to fetch us to our grandma's place.

His house was just two storeys above my grandma's place, who was staying together with her son (known as "ah gu") (a.k.a my uncle, i.e. my mum's elder brother), who was 70+, and his wife (a.k.a . "ah kim"). My biao ge and his wife (a.k.a. "biao sao") and daughter (my niece) lived in an apartment on the 4th floor.

My sis and I thought we would just have a simple dinner and grandma's house and we would be able to rest in the hotel. But No... we were shoved into a car, and sped away to ChaoZhou proper, which was about 100km away 9about an hour's car ride away). Over there, we met our "biao jie", and her daughter (who was also my niece). Now, this presented a very strange situation. If you look at my family tree, it was really weird, because it looked like this:

1. Top: My Grandma (aged 90+)
2. Next level: My Mum (aged 50) and my uncle (aged 70+)
3. My generation: Me (20), My sisters (20+s), Biao Jie and Biao Ge (30+s)
4. The youngest generation: My nieces, aged 9 and 17. (which means to say I could, theoretically, become a grand-uncle in the next few years or so)

So it was all very strange, indeed.

They brought us on an accelerated ChaoZhou tour, and I must say I was very impressed by my cousins vast knowledge about the local conditions, as well as economics, religion, culture, etc etc. Come on, can you even tell people what is the newest development in Singapore? (and I'm not referring to the IRs.). they somehow managed to squeeze in a lavish dinner at a restaurant that night.

The next morning was an equally rushed affair, because our bus back to Hong Kong was at 12.45pm. We went back to grandma's place, had some tea, then we all went to have brunch at an even more lavish restaurant (it even had a separate washroom in the room itself. ) with the family.

So in that 20 hours or so, we accomplished the objectives of the trip, somehow, and was laden with all the local produce and tea which we dutifully lugged back to Singapore. An impressive feat, because there really was alot of it...

Phase 2: Hong Kong

We had arrived at Hong Kong International Airport in the late morning, via Jetstar, and there were lots to settle. Most prominently was securing the bus tickets to Shantou the next day. But first, we had to fill our stomachs. Somehow, we couldn't find a decent eatery in that part of Tsiam Sha Tsui which we were in. So we succumbed to Globalisation and went to... Macdonalds -.- Still, we were thankful to Ronald Macdonalds for allowing us not to have starved. It was akin to walking in to a UN meeting; you see like at least 10 different races and nationalities inside one Mac outlet. Having encountered some shocks (like the ticketing company had somewhat disappeared), we managed to eventually find the place to book the bus tickets , with blessings from the directions given by the hotel YMCA @ Salisbury Road. Btw, we just walked in and asked, since we didn't know what to do. lol.

Having done that, we went to Yoshinoya (ok, Globalisation at work again) and discussed what to do at 4pm in Hong Kong, knowing that we had a 7am bus to catch the following morning. (no, we didn't eat there. but the grilled fish smelt really nice). Impromptu, we settled on heading south and catch the Star Ferry to Central, and go up Victoria Peak. We were rewarded by the sight of tons of tourist and locals (unsurprisngly), but with some luck, we managed to reach the peak, and it was freezing cold. Took some tourist-y photos and we concluded the day.

No prizes for guessing what we ate for breakfast the next morning. Yes, Globalisation and Macdonalds -.- But we really couldn't find any eateries at 6am. So we thought. As we were walking to the Bus Terminal, we saw an aunty carrying lots of takeaways. Had we walked ten steps mroe, we would have a local breakfast. Moral of the story: Perseverance is a virtue...

Oh wait, something must be mentioned about the accommodation. Hotels are priced at at least 3 to 4 times the rate of hostels, and the latter cost at least $20+/pax/night. Reason being the lack of space, I guess. If you though Singapore was crowded, wait till you go Hong Kong. Claustrophobic is no exaggeration. And the hostel we stayed for the first night (and thankfully, one night only), was "highly recommended" by my sis's bf's brother. So we thought it a safe bet. But, we later on found out that it was really more a "shit-hole", in my sis's most colourful language. Earlier on, we had bought a local SIM card coz her hp was somehow not working, and she eagerly used her new SIM card to call back to Singapore and launched into a thesis on why the hostel was really not suitable for humans to stay in >.<>

***

We reached Hong Kong (from Shantou) at around 7pm. This time, we stayed in Mong Kok ("Wang Jiao") which was by far more interesting, in our opinion. There was some night streets to tour, but really not much to buy. Seriously, transport and food, together with accommodation, can really strain your finances. So there's really not much to spent, and yes, this is an excuse for not having bought souvenirs for all of you :) The following day, we visited Po Lin Monastry on Lantau island, to see the Statue of Big Buddha. And had a really fantastic vegetarian lunch. It took a good part of the day, and we were left with enough time to tour a not-yet-fully-opened Temple Street, as well as a closed Tian Hou Temple :(

The following morning, we went to Wong Tai Shin Temple, which was rather crowded, and against my sister's judgment, I dragged her to the nearby Chi Lin Nunnery in "Diamond Hill", and we were rewarded by the sight of a really serene religious ground that has yet to be despoiled by maddening tourist crowds. While located along a busy road, yet, upon entering the temple grounds proper, it was like another world of it own. Sure, the sights included the towering flats and buildings nearby, but you can't help but be absorbed by the sights in this place. We actually spent more time here than at Wong Tai Shin temple, which was really just crowd after crowd of people with lots and lots of incense to burn. It was truly a serene, refreshing place where you just walked around and all, looking at the occasional religious statues that are as intricately carved as most places elsewhere. A must-see actually.

And, having a good half of the day (but not enough to tour Macau), we went to Ocean Park, took many touristy photos and felt really intelligent. Why? because we had ended on the "side" entrance of the Park, not the main entrance, and this actually resulted in us touring the more "correct part" of the Park first. And we could take the cable car down back to the main entrance, where we saw hundreds (maybe thousands) of tourists queuing in line to take the cable car ride up to the "correct part" of the Park. So in essence, we skipped the crowds and left just as all the crowds were swarming in.

So that was about it. Not a particularly thrilling itenary, i admit, but lots of surprises and lessons learnt. And I actually know my relatives residing in China now, no longer vague hazy images that I couldn't relate to.

***

It is, however, with a rather heavy heart to learn about Wei Zheng's (my upper sec classmate) mishap in the Cambodia Dragon boat incident upon my arrival back in Singapore.

He will be remembered.

unexpected changes

I had touched down in Singapore in the late afternoon after my trip to HK/Shantou for the past week. Unexpectedly, when I looked at my handphone, I saw several messages from several RV friends bearing news of our fellow schoolmate (classmate), Wei Zheng's, unexpected demise in the recent tragic Dragon-boating incident overseas.

I did remember watching part of the CNA news in Hong Kong regarding this incident, but somehow the details was not reported then. Never did I expect that it would actually affect me, too. This is the second death this year which concerned someone that I knew, the first one being the Taiwan incident months ago when an aircraft had crashed into a few SAF personnel in Taiwan back in April.

At this point in time, I'm truly at a loss of what to say. While we were classmates a couple of years ago in RV, I didn't get to know him that well, but he was clearly a person who struck me as jovial and generous. I would like to extend my condolences and sympathies to the victims in this disaster. This accident has been most unexpected. Several lives at the best years of life snuffed out just like this. It is with a heavy heart and at a loss of words to express my thoughts that I pen down these few words.

Just before I fly off...

Ok, actually the title is not correct because it implies that I'm gonna fly off to China in like the next few hours. Which, of course, isn't the case. My Jetstar flight is like on Fri, at like 6am that kind of thing. Which also means to say that I gotta tau pao my own breakfast onto the plane. Sigh; being poor means saving on such frills and thrills...

Anyway, as I've said a couple of times before, I'm going China to visit my really old grandmother (whom I hope still recognizes this grandson of hers who somehow managed the feat of doubling in height since the last time she saw me) and do a little sightseeing in HK. Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly the rich, post-ORD, nothing-to-do vacationing young traveller that I envisaged. More like the poor traveller who is on a budgeting trip. Come on man... I'm not even putting up at hotels la (except 1N in china, coz its dirt-cheap)!

And my crazy two work weeks is finally (almost) over. I'm still working half day tomorrow (poor-me). I haven't packed my luggage (so i dunno what to bring), and i need to go sleep because I'm like super tired after working for six straight days, and then waking up at 6am today to go back to school for some meeting (shan't elaborate). And oh, I went down to Raffles place today (no, not city hall or raffles city. its the Business district there) Some choir group caroling below UOB plaza, and while it was all fun and merry with lots of food laid out buffet styled, still, they could really tune down the microphones a little. And unfortunately, I didn't manage to secretly sneak a bite of food or sth.

So I signed up for my course @ FP today, and costs a whopping figure. hmmm. I guess it'll make me study hard for it >.< high time to utilise the Maths and Econs departments in school at my next workplace lol.

And ya work has been crazy. And I'm freaking tired from my 15km walk-and-run session with some friends. oh god. I think I'm going to die for Standard Chartered marathon next Sunday. God bless.

oh, and to the CLDDS pple who received that strange mail. erm. I'm seriously not particularly keen on it. though, y not we meet up on the same day? lol.

and yup, had an unplanned MSN session earlier on, with a friend whom I've known for 8 years. I thought I would just drop-in coz she was apparently sick and all la. didn't expect to end up having such a hilarious time. lol.

Flying off,
eejun


p.s. I think "lol" is overused.

My first day-off...

First, I've gotta apologise to all my fans out there who has been losing sleep, unable to eat or drink properly, or has been walking aimlessly around because I haven't posted any new posts these few days! lol. But really, I have been a little more busy recently so please pardon me.

In any case, today was the first off-day from my job (i work 6 days/wk), so there was naturally lots of things to sort out. And then I realise after today, I'll be working for 1 more week, then I'll be flying off to China for almost a week! that's scary, because apart from calling up mindef and informing them about the trip, I haven't really been giving much thought to the trip. like what to do, what to wear, etc etc.

Furthermore, I still got lots of things to do on my next (wed) off-day, like trying to attend a dept planning day in school, enroll for courses, maybe go back camp to collect some pieces of paper that ought to have been given to us long ago, somehow finish a 20+km run with superhuman effort @ ECP, rush home to pack my luggage, go to work the next day, rush home, grab my stuff, and rush to the airport. I think I need a chauffeur on wed -.- *grimaces*

Today was spent rather lazily, managing only to finish a little of my notes. But yah I managed to finish my 1-n-a-half hour jogging training. And, at least having jump-started my end-of-year-gatherings'-planner-mechanism yesterday night. So many gatherings to look forward to in Dec, its overwhelming. But we'll take one step at a time and see.

Back to my job. I had my hand at taking a (horrible) class on Monday, and hopefully I will never see them again in my entire life. God bless. The second day's clinic session was far more successful. Gee. So interesting. In any case, the past 6 days have been spent learning alot of stuff. But while the job is quite stressful, doesn't pay alot, have really strange hours, but at least it is good working experience. Somehow Im seeing the plus points and deliberately side-stepping the downside heh. Then work 1 more crazy month in Dec and thats that. I wonder if I'll manage. Hmmm. Hopefully. So till then, I shall "relish" my job and the challanges posed!

Oh. and to my overwhelmingly female-fan-base who are revising for exams, good luck! hah.

just an update

eh I didn't manage to run my 15km today. hmmm. too tired today I guess. and like sine my whole family waited for me to start dinner, then abit dotz to go jog right? so ya. But Im not going to berate myself, punch myself, scold myself whatsoever. Nope. I've just postponed my little run, so tts all. eh ya and nothing very interesting happened at work today. so nothing much today. yah.

eejun

2nd day of work

Ok so 2nd day was much for interesting. interesting not as in the job became more fun (duhz), but lots of funny situations happened, which the almighty super office boy - me - have to go and save the world.

So it happened that i started to learn more of the operations so can start to look less "blur" and do a little bit more stuff. I mean, its not that helpful being a help-desk customer service personnel who doesn't know what in the world is happening, right? Then there were situations that happened that I think u would never believed. eh, I'm not sure if i can say it here, but suffice to say, it was a good test of me loh. i think i managed to pass la. haha. maybe if i was working there 2 years ago i will quit on the spot (or get sacked haha). I still don't like children (those noisy little brats! errr. i mean bubbling and forever-happy little angels), but I managed to put on that customer service plastic smile. yeah score point again. Then there were funny kids with funny requests at funny times that almost left me fumbling. (it rhymes, i think). But being the almighty one, I saved the day again by a spark of brilliance. lol.

Oh and Im begining to get to know some of the staff and tutors there better too. And some of these tutors got some really interesting stories and tales to share (they always do). 1 particular topic we discussed about was rather interesting and incredulous (which, unfortunately, is a bit strange to share here), and I guess its because I've been staying in the army for too long that some "normal" things are actually not so "normal" outside now. Oh, and i didn't realise it yesterday, but today I realise that all my colleagues wear makeup and dresses. haha which is kind of different then in the past. no wonder it felt a bit strange.

Eh so I guess lots more to learn for the next few days la. My first weekend-day went quite exciting but at least no mishap. Not a major one anyway (I think), I think I screwed up a little at the cashier thingy but, errr... it was fine I guess. (keeps fingers crossed). Hey its only my 2nd day!

And I actually managed to squeeze in my short personal physiotherapy session and a short few km run after work before dinner in order to warm up for my 15km (gasp) run tmr after work (which i hope would materialise). I mean, its not exactly my idea of ending up in A&E after (or during) the marathon. Or putting my life insurance coverage to good use a few days after it starts. tts terrible. And ya being so popular there are people who actually supporting the runner and in the race also. so i shall not disgrace myself on 2nd Dec la. aiyoh.

Till then,
eejun

My first day at work

It was ok.

What else did u expect me to write about? lol. feeling cheated? haha... ok ok ishall write a bit more for the benefit of all my loyal fans! :P

Eh seriously first day of work can't be THAT interesting. I mean, its not like I've even been there before loh. In any case, it was rather uneventful, doing some repetitive work, walking around looking busy (hey! im not chao-kenging k?), consciously taking the effort to learn (oei! stop giggling in your chair. its true!), etc etc. Well, Im really just waiting for end of this mth's little sort-of vacation, and then Jan 2008. Seriously this job thingy didnt really factor in much, I guess. (Maybe the money part? its always good to have a little bit of spare cash).

In any case, I shall make the most out of it, since I'm already here, right? At least, how long u work (and u can't be working for 8.5hrs straight) is how much u get paid. Besides, i think its a far better job than I was doing between Dec '06 - May '07 (I decline to comment). About the only thing is i gotta spent $ on transport and food. hmm. I shall think of some creative solutions soon. like buy a bicycle? or eat lots of cornflakes? or sth like tt). How about throwing some bright ideas, people?

Smile!,
ej

so it all began last night

So yesterday night I found myself getting a little bored. I decided to browse through some ancient history, so out came that nice black little box that contained the lots and lots of well wishes, motivational notes and little notes written during class when the lessons are really boring. So I began ploughing through 8 years-worth of the little notes. It took me nearly 2 hours to go through every little big note, small note, letters, cards, etc etc. I made some realisations...

1. I am popular. (ok stop sniggering there. its true lol) Ha I took 2 hours to go through them not because I'm a slow reader (come on, Im an Arts student, for heaven's sake!) but because all the notes added up into the hundreds. So to all of you out there.. really, thanks for all that effort taken into writing. I preserve them really well! Whether they are exquisite works of art, or horribly-handwritten notes on foolscap paper (I even have scraps of papers) , I do keep all of them, you know! On the other hand, I know you are thinking of something else. No, you shall NOT sacrifice my birthday presents and write last-min on foolscap paper and expect to "smoke" me with that plastic smile! NO! REJECTED!
2. Secondly, it really overwhelms me even after so long. I mean all the events and activity groups I've participated in; my classes (2g class, 4C class, A14, 32/04), Social, HuangCheng, AB Camp, knicks-and-knacks-here-n-there, army (yes...) etc etc. Somethings that I've really forgotten about I suddenly remembered. Some notes and letters I swear I don't recall reading before. But there they are, having withstood the test of time (and my really good memory). Strangely, I dunno why I reacted in a certain way, or took part in something, etc etc. But many people have really given me lots and lots of support there and there. More strangely enough, I've lost contact with some of these people eventually. WHY? There's always the convenient excuse of "everyone's so busy these days", but... what am I, or all of us, really busy with?
3. Im really glad I preserved all of these little "souvenirs" of time. Every note evokes some kind of feeling, even after so long. I really didnt know I had such a small/big impact on some of the people around me. Only after reading several notes of similar content, either by the same person or group of people, did it really struck me as such.

So that are some of my little thoughts that went through my mind as I ploughed through them. The point is not to say how popular I am (but yes, I am haha), but that realisation that I (and maybe you people out there too) should pay a little bit more time keeping in touch with your friends. Its really not so difficult for good friends (I mean, you're likely to meet these people anyway), but how about your other friends and the more distant-contacts? Should we judge the "effort" made based on how "useful" such a continued association would potentially be? Or whether someone is "worth" that effort? Wouldn't the world be such a miserable place to live in if these was true? So spend some time re-contacting people! I've started to. Have you?

***

And then I had a meal with an old friend of mine. It wasn't particularly long, but good enough. Talked about lots of stuff, and gossiped about pple (oops. I mean showing care and concern for others behind their backs :p) Thanks pal! Ha my idol!

***

Life is great! Starting work tomorrow so to all my fans out there (I am popular, once again), I apologise in advance if my blog and all gets a little stagnated at times. So please bear with it!

Cheers,
ej

The way ahead.

Woah, its nice being a Civilian. haha. You feel powerful! ok, I exaggerate. Anyway, some updates:

1. Oh my secondary school tutors are actually on Facebook! amazing! don't you just love the Internet sometimes (but I really hate it when the Property Agents and buyers keep calling me up. People are still calling me up today thanks to Internet listings!)
2. I ran non-stop for one hour today! haha. So I managed to get my lazy ass moving in preparation for Standard Chartered Marathon thats less than 4 weeks away. Oh god how am I going to complete it? In any case, its a good way to trim of all that flabby fats.
3. Slacking away. My history stuff has been lying there for quite some time. I haven't gotten around to reading it for a while haha.
4. Waiting for my part-time job to start, go to China Shantou City/HK/Macau, complete marathon, continue part-time, and then start my relief teaching stint in AJC in 2008! really looking forward to it.

Signing off,
ej

Recap...

For dear KQ's sake, I shall do some turning back of time...
on 3rd october I wrote this...

"... I had a minor op a fortnight ago. Its recovering fine I guess, so don't get all worried (not like you would, really. I know. heh)..."

Does this answer your question?

Cheers,
Ej

p.s. ORD lo! its MR Teo liao...

my last post as an NSF!

日盼夜盼﹐終于還是盼到了這一天的到來。不知為什麼心裡總是有一種莫名的感覺﹐忽而心情感覺不踏實﹐忽而有點百感交集﹐互相矛盾。生活也好似存有一種說不出的空虛。也許我想得太多太多了。但願這只不過是暫時的感觸﹐會有如過眼雲煙般﹐稍蹤跡釋。

有時覺得生活忙忙碌碌﹐對於周遭的事物視而不見﹐聽而不聞。為了追求理想﹐夢想﹐卻往往忽略了其他的人和事。這樣的想法是被動﹐悲觀﹐消極的嗎﹖算是自我安慰嗎﹖我不知到。或許是吧。

這兩年一路走來﹐我覺得我成長了不少。當然﹐我不能用‘判若兩人’來形容自己的轉變﹐也不會用‘坎坷’二字來描繪這些時日。太誇張了。但不能否認的﹐卻是我所看到的﹐許許多多的人與事。我看見了一丁點人的醜陋﹐但我也同時看見了人的善良。

兩年走過﹐看東西似乎敏銳了一些些。我發現許多的事情﹐真的沒有所謂‘對與錯’。存在的不是黑色白色﹐而是難以形容的灰色﹔有時暗淡﹐有時卻稍微亮眼些。苛刻的批判﹐其實真的未必是件好事。而有時包容也不見得就是上上之策。

一切的一切﹐真的由自己來裁決。

oh so tired

ok have been on my feet for extended periods of time today. it feels like its going to give way any time. thank god its almost time to sleep. I need sleep!

Anyway, I went back camp today coz its my cohort's ORD parade! haha finally after soooo long. feels like an eternity. In any case, you can view the photos on my photo album on facebook. I shall not upload it here coz that will be too much work. (ok, i lied. Actually its because I dunno how to. lol) For the guys out there, yes go ahead to tag or grab the photo...for the uninitiated, here's the album http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64893&l=c6494&id=561870022

For my desperate female friends out there (yes I know there are some of u out there, lol), if u see any cute faces out there u can tell me discreetly. lol. I am also available. haha. ok i'm begining to ramble rubbish. a sign for me to catch up on my sleep!

Signing off,
ej

prospects

ha life seems a little more promising nowadays! while I haven't ORD-ed and there are still some stuff thats going to be potentially nagging at the back of my mind, I shall try to banish these trivialities away! Job offers and educational opportunities abound!

Oh, and my room's back into its more-or-less normal state. haha. I AM neat, after all.

Hah and I've finally figured out how to tag to other people's blog. Muahaha. Such intelligence :) If i've missed out anyone, its because I really dunno the address. Please update me so I can add on! Thanks!