today marks the first day of my work after a hiatus of two years. Quite a lot of changes and advancement.. 1) using handphone - even the handphone is of the newer model 2) electronic ordering of investigations 3) portable laptop/workstation to bring around during ward rounds (this is good! we can trace results on the spot without looking blank when we can't remember)
but some things dun change. 1) the IT support still sucks. we receive our new user id and password today and it doesn't work!!! So have to call the ITD-helpdesk so many times because everything dun work. the access to the mailbox, the login to windows, the login in to CPSS. 2) still have to fight for case files who PT/OT/ST/nurses/dietician/ah ma/other teams, etc. 3) more additional work to be done. To order investigations, we have to a) write on the main casenotes; b) write on the "treatment and progress" form in the imr (inpatient medical records); c) type and order online!!
it can be quite overwhelming at times cos i can't seem to remember the changes nowadays! will really need some time to re-adapt to this working environment. but i am glad that the cons and reg in the team are nice, though we will be switching wards AGAIN after 3 days on the actual day of MOPEX. strange.. why they dun let us continuing staying in the ward.. hmmm.
i dun usually like shopping, unless i really got things to buy or things i really need. so my trip these two days have been rather purposeful and fruitful. i went to hello shop at causeway point today to purchase my new handphone, and u would have guessed it (since this item has been imprinted on my "wishlist" on the left sidebar for almost 3 months), it is the Nokia N95! yup that really costs me quite a bomb - my most expensive procurement of the month. In addition to that, i subscribe to the Mio plan which cost around 70 dollars a month. i have sort of calculated, if i were to add the subscription plan of my existing hp, my broadband and the home line, i would have to pay an extra 10 bucks. probably not too much, and if not for the fact that i wanted to upgrade my 4-yr classic plan to iOne plus plan, i wouldn't really bother to get the Mio plan (plus the fact that in the Mio plan, i would have to "downgrade" my boardband speed from 3.5MBps to 3 MBps - not too much of a difference really). Ok maybe that's too technical.
Apparently, singtel will need to come to my house to do some installation before i can use the Mio plan! that's quite troublesome esp when i won't be so free subsequently now that REAL work is starting. i have asked for a saturday 24 oct instead, so hopefully i won't be on call that day.
Handphone. In case people start criticising how dumb i am to get the N95 series instead of the N95 8GB series (the latest upgrade model of N95 released on 18 Oct)...well, i have made some research, and these are the reasons why i choose the older version: 1) Cost! it is 200 bucks cheaper... 2) Although the newer one has more internal memory (8GB), that only applies to storage of certain files, namely the multimedia stuff. that is useful, but not entirely mandatory for me. 3) the newer one has 100 MB of RAM compared to the older one which has 128MB. 4) i probably won't be changing my phone so soon, and i can live with the normal N95, ie, i dun need to be the first one to get the newest gadgets.
Spent the last 2 hours trying to experience and experiment my new found toy till it ran out of battery. haven't fully explored all the functions yet, but at least i have transferred my phonebook over.
Other than the handphone, i also bought myself a new, decent bag to bring to the wards! cos i dun think it is too appropriate for me to bring the billabong bag as a last attempt to act young hurhur. And in other words, u will see me in the new package in the ward in 8 hours time!
As part of the preparation to work tomorrow, i also went to take passport photos because the department needs to have them. And i haven't been taking such photos for ages cos i always use the old negatives i have for developing. So i tot it is probably time for a change.
so... am i really to face the real world out there?
guess like all typical singaporeans, we enjoy discount no matter how big or small it is, so long as we have something to gain. but this one is slightly different bcos i didn't know that there was a discount to begin with.
my last "free" weekend before i go back to work officially tomorrow. so i spent my saturday in town, hoping to get some new business shirts, and to get a new handphone.
HP wise- we went to taka Hello branch to look around. i didn't get eventually bcos i wanted the Mio plan and they insist that i need to have my father's ic since the home telephone line was under his name. and btw, i didn't know that nowadays, u have to queue to get a queue number! i.e. there is double queue! The queue machine (where u press to get a ticket containing your queue number) was situated at the information counter, where the counter lady will press for you instead. and like all information counter, it is always flooded with people having minor or major queries, so i dun comprehend why they want the queue station to be at the info counter.
apparently taka was having some 14th anniversary sale and G2000 is having 14% discount! G2000 is one of my favourite shops cos the clothes are affordable and the cutting suits the asian population since it originates from hong kong. the discount was a pleasant surprise for me, and that made me day heh. Sunday is the last day of the sale btw.
i promised myself to write an entry on the day i ORD to serve 2 aims- firstly becos it is one of the most significant events this year and it marks the day i got reunited with my pink ic after two looonnnng years; secondly i want to sum up what i have been through throughout these years in this organisation, my thoughts and feelings. this is gonna be a long entry, and i will probably add in stuff every time i remember something. Anyway i have tried to proofread this cos i can't reveal restricted info heh.
*
The end. 26 oct 07. 1030 h.
I went back to nee soon camp for the very last time during my NSF liability period at around 1030am to complete my clearance form and obtain my ic and certificate of service. the hqmc building does look a bit different - they repainted it; there are construction sites around the compounds; there are new parking lots. Somehow not a lot of people are around bcos of some activities. Even the CBRD office looks different and smells different. (BTW i wasn't away for very long.. probably around one to two weeks since i last stepped in). There are more people in the office now as compared to when i first joined CBRD. it's nice to see familiar faces like justin and aaron, the only difference now is that i am in civilian wear! I did my last clear-up of my email (yup, i "deleted the mail without being read"). I did my last transport claims. I wrote a farewell email to my bosses, colleagues, friends and people i have worked with (and i realised that i missed out quite a lot of people... sorry dudes, it was quite a haste for me esp when greg was beside me and kept rushing me.. but anyway, YOU are part of the recipients so long as we worked together before and fostered friendship).
Finally managed to collect all the signatures, except the branch head (aka my direct boss) bcos he was in MINDEF. SMSO, the head of dept (aka my big big boss) was kind enuff to help me sign that box. That marks the end of my national service after receiving my certificate and plaque from my big big boss. I have surrendered all my passes too, which means that i can't come into camp as and when i like it already.
The finale was lunch! lunch with friends from HQMC (justin, don, andrew, cj, cs, tim, greg, cr, sy) at the duck rice stall along upp thomson rd that we frequent. it wasn't ideal though, cos i was thinking of having it at some grand place to commemorate the event heh.
*
The beginning. 27 Feb 06. 0800 h. Project branch office. Project branch office is equivalent to CBRD branch office, just to mask the actual name bcos of its restricted content. anyway it all began after mocc when we (my buddy and i) were posted to the same branch - as if the 4mths in mocc weren't enuff haha...
Working in HQMC main building is like a double-edged sword, that's what we were told and that's what we learnt too. u meet the bosses so very often, be it in the lifts, in the cookhouse, along the corridor, in conference rooms, etc. there are politics - this is no surprise as it happens everywhere when there is people involvement. u either under-perform, perform just well or over-perform; and this is very subjective. I shan't dwell too much into it now that i am out of service. But some things are rather apparent. and u will be surprised to see walking dartboards (aka US!).
Of course, besides the bosses, u meet a lot of people too; they are the fellow colleagues, ranging from DXO, other regulars, other NSFs, to fellow staff officers. I am glad to have make friends along the way (from healthcare, prev med, GS, CBRD, paces and transformers! branches) and this really contributes a lot to the happiness working here. This is perhaps the top reason why i will not regret working here. this probably sounds weird; but sometimes i actually look forward to going to office!
Together with my buddy and i, there was a third staff officer loi in CBRD branch and we really learn quite a fair bit from him, who was in service for a year before us. we have a very good boss who had to juggle between three appointments. things were really smooth-sailing initially. i had the best cubicle in the office (the only cubicle with windows heh..). it has become my second home literally with my toiletries, cup, food in place.
*
The in-between.
In all organisations, there is no surprise regarding reshuffling of manpower. we have seen the change of appointment of the heads in almost all the departments! This includes the change of appointment of the biggest 4 in SAF medical corps! Quite eventful, isn't it? With new bosses come new responsibilities and new changes.
we cover major exercises and ops; we did our own share of work (mine was mainly dealing with R and D); we did calls; we talked about RP/bad lunches/people; we took care of the fish tank; we saw the death of the fish; we ran; we wormed; we complained; we lunched around. there were reorganisations and shift in manpower. there were more people in the department; we have new bosses; and i am glad that at the end of the day, i was left untouched in the office till the day i ORD.
My friend asked me what significant personal achievement i have made throughout my two years of service. Unfortunately, i have under-accomplished. Quite a lot of personal gain i must say- i bought a PDA, a car and a laptop. Education wise, i took my internal medicine part 1. Leisure wise, i went to malaysia, taiwan, new zealand and hong kong. I haven't learnt a musical instrument; i haven't really planned my finances; i haven't learnt cooking. I guess i will have to make them my new year goals already!
*
The conclusion. 27 oct 07. 0000 h.
I don't think i will forget what i have learnt through these two years; some skills eg: paper writing and dealing with admin stuff will probably come in handy in time to come. and of course, how to deal with politics (that adds to the life experiences, isn't it!). I would like to take this opportunity to thank all people whom i have worked with, and to apologise to those whom i may have offended inevitably in my course of work. Special gratitude to my bosses, namely smso, past and present hd cbrd, my cbrd/mrf colleagues-cum-friends. i will miss the times really.
everytime when we are leaving a place after working for a long while, there will be nostalgia no matter how tough or how bad it was in the beginning. there will also be mixed feelings; on one hand, i wanted to brave the world outside asap when i was in the service; on the other hand, i know i will miss these moments. sighzzz.
and yes, when the clock strikes twelve tonight, i will be operationally ready!
had a meetup with st (or better known as irving nowadays) today and one seventh of the class turned up... well the five of us knew one another since secondary 3 and a long way more to go! we went to wild rocket at mount emily for dinner.
The place. secluded, quiet, cosy and peaceful, 15 mins walk away from the bustling town of orchard road. nice ambience, but i would recommend driving or cabbing there. a few parking lots but so long u can find a space along the road, parking shouldn't be a problem and i dun think fatimah or ali will come all the way up the hill to give u a summon.
The food. we ordered spaghetti for our main course. it tasted satisfactory and ordinary, though i feel that the serving can be bigger with more meat. the dessert is tasty - in fact this would be what i recommend. we had a round of different kind that they can offer, from chocolate lava cake, strawberry cheesecake, champagne jelly, etc. my personal fave is the chocolate lava. the smell alone is intoxicating and the sight of chocolate fillings oozing out from the cake is salivatating.
worth recommending. visit the website for more details.
well not really, just that "student" is the living noun of "study", so if i study, that makes me a student! =) i have dedicated today as my study day of the week, cos i strongly feel that i need to revise the management of some of the common diseases seen in the wards, and it doesn't reflect very well if i keep calling my registrar.
studying can be fulfillng at times especially if u realise how much u can absorb from the book instead of spending the time checking out facebook. so for the record, i only checked my facebook once today! that's an accomplishment haha!
so being in the mood to study, i headed down to the medical library with cj and to my immense surprise, the library was defunct! it was undergoing some renovation apparently, and so we studied at those benches outside the seminar rooms instead. i can't help but feeling a bit old reading my books there. people around me look so young (like i was 8 years ago, although i seriously/wishfully hope that right now i can still easily pass off as a i-am-learning-anatomy-now kinda year 1 student). hmm are they still using snell's anatomy text? dun think so cos i dun see anyone holding. the tutor remains very much the same though; i saw this professor (which i can't remember the name now off-hand) who is infatuated with alfa-romeos.
at the same time, i bought a couple of texts too, which are likely to be useful for my subsequent self-study. the science canteen food tastes roughly the same; the pig liver from the chinese rice stall still tastes fabulous (i like this nua-nua, slightly uncooked kinda taste) and most importantly, it costs the same!
and the car-park fee was horrendous! there used to be a free carpark somewhere near KE VII hall, but it has been converted to be a paying ERP carpark! damn, the university shouldn't be charging STUDENTS for using the car-parks right... or at least let it be the cheapest rate in town!
i have changed the blog theme! and with that, i have retired the previous blog (ver 4.1), which has the background theme of the decisive force (ARMY) - with the primary colour of green and brown, backdrop of camo leaves, helicopter in the heading and a disclaimer that all i have written is labelled as fictional, in case down the road, people start to accuse me of revealing restricted information. so let me emphasize that whatever i have written from dec 2005 to oct 2007 are FICTIONAL! u can choose to believe or not heh.
number of times i have changed the blogskin: ver 1 was the default green-white background. ver 2.0 was the one with a black backdrop and a car as the theme (that was when i am yearning for a car =p ver 2.1 was similar to the previous one, but i change the car to a ferrari. ver 3 was something under a starry sky. ver 4.0 was the army theme with a medic truck as the header. ver 4.1 was the latest as below.
i have shifted the countdown clock from the sidebar to become a post by itself, bcos this is gonna be a thing of the past eventually. the day I ord also marks the day i start my official work.
somehow, as u advance more (in terms of age), u tend to get more letters everyday and it has come to a point where i.. well.. tend to ignore some of them, or rather, i will just pile them up at a corner of my table and open them up when i am free. anyway i dun really have the habit of opening the letterbox (unless i am expecting something important), so it is usually my mother who will leave them on the table. these include mainly:
1) bills (hp, internet, credit card, subscriptions...) 2) advertisements and newsletters (SMA, MOH, NUS, SAF, SAFRA, etc) 3) personal mails and govt letters
i was looking through the pile of mails recently and notice a mail which hadn't been opened (those that require u to tear along the dotted lines for 3 edges). it was a letter from NLB (national library board), and it is urging me to pay them the fines that i owed them ten years ago!
i know they distributed all these fine reminders in bulk.. but imagine the amount spent in order to make this mail delivered to me. definitely more than 10 cents!
just wanna share some of the video clips that people have uploaded in youtube on sammi's concert in singapore last saturday. i didn't go this time round unfortunately, although i should, since yanzi was the guest performer and i used to like sammi cheng way back in 1996 when she first released her chinese album 值得. in fact, she is one of my favorite cos i find her cool with character heh. I went to her first concert in singapore and enjoyed it, though 3/4 of her songs were cantonese and she appeared like the size of my finger from afar.
here's sammi. hong kong's cantopop one-and-only diva this century.
duet with yanzi- 遇见
终生美丽
出界- who can forget this song man... it reminds me of my earlier days in army 8 years ago cos i kept listening everytime i booked out!
duet with yanzi again - greenlight (without the tap dance though..)
this is kinda late, but i only managed to watch jay chow's "secret" today. i bought the vcd while i was in hong kong a couple of weeks ago and it has been lying on the coffee table since then... and since i am recuperating at home today, i have decided to spend some time on it, and discover what secret lies beneath. i tried not to let myself know earlier (yup most people around me have watched it..) so that adds to the thrill.
i like it! it is not the typical passionate lovey-dovey kinda romance story; on the contrary, it is simple, touching, puppy-love style, yet not overstretched. the twist, though not too surprising, was splendid in its own way. that's the theme of the whole story and i like this kind of "sixth sense" style of twist... and well the cuteness of the female lead does add to the appeal heh. The later part of the show answers all the doubts we have initially, eg: how rain (the female lead) arrive to the present from the past; how she returned back; how the other girl can see her at one instance; why jay can't see her most of the times; how the misunderstanding happened... one last query that i have was whether the mother was insane at the end of the day cos she claimed that her daughter was sick at home, which logicially she shouldn't be around anymore.
the other value-added parts of the show are of course the songs and the piano-playing. sigh how i wish i know how to play the piano...
i will give it 4 out of 5 stars. the official website.
met up with wq, a junior that i have known when i was doing my GRM posting in AH 2 years ago before i was re-enlisted and now it is his turn! had japanese food at tonkichi @ taka. mainly fried food which i dun really fancy too much, especially when i was down with flu. but anyway, the food is secondary cos the main objective is to catch up and exchange experience!
it is quite a shame that after staying in this neighbourhood for so long, i have yet to explore what lies beneath it. when i look at the map, there are actually quite a lot of interesting hideouts worth visiting. up in the north towards sungei tengah, there are Qian Hu Fishfarm, Farmart, some orchid gardens, vegetable farms, etc. Turning up into the other end of sungei tengah road, there houses a number of cemeteries (muslim, chinese, christian, etc), army camps (keat hong, tengah airbase, HOME academy, army logistics base, and far up into lim chu kang lies sungei gedong camp). Travelling further up, u will reach lim chu kang and kranji reservoir.
since today is my freeday, i have decided to make a trip to farm-mart and drive around that region for the sake of exploration. it wasn't what i have imagined though... and as the name implies, it is really some sort of a mart. the "farm" part was quite disappointing. there are 2 goats (which refuse to eat my grass), some rabbits which look excited at the sight of human beings, fish in the man-made ponds under the "no fishing" sign, some hamsters which probably deserve some nice bath soon. On the periphery lies quite a number of shops selling food ranging from seafood, honey, eggs and titbits.
being a weekday, there weren't a lot of people and that's good cos i hate crowds. it is probably an alternative to spend half a morning with family and kids.
i had the MiO subscription done today for free. it is some sort of promotion to encourage more people to have it installed so as to boost sales in the long run. anyway i got a call from singtel the other day asking whether i am interested to install the MiO TV or not for free, and bundled with it include: 1) the MiO TV control 2) a wireless modem
since i dun have to pay anything, and i can have the modem, i have to agree to it. basically u only need to pay when u subscribe to the new channels, rent the movies or buy the movies to watch.
quite cool! at least my mum can watch those stuff if she is really bored at home. must teach her how to use the control.
now i have an extra router and an extra wired modem. anyone interested? the router is branded one (LINKSYS) and is almost brand new; the modem is also in working condition.
i think facebook deserves an entry in my blog, given the fact that i have been spent so much time on it.. the number of times i checked my facebook is equivalent to the number of times i have meals. and i am beginning to wonder whether i will have time once i hit the wards or not..
yes it is quite addictive, simply because it is more fun and intriguing than other such web-based programs like friendster, msn, myspace, etc. There are a lot of applications which u can add that increases the excitement and anticipation everytime u log in to your account. for example, u can add the vampire/werewolves/zombie program and fight against your friends online (it's kinda dumb, but isn't it man's intention to be the winner always?); u can create an aquarium or a graveyard for people to decorate it; u can adopt a pet; u can add imeem and play music while u surf; and u can make more friends! It is basically everything under one account.
I applaud for the guy who created it (some 23 y/o who is probably a millionaire now, and who apparently rejected microsoft's offer to purchase it). Anyway, the craze will likely to last for some time.. so join facebook now!
the HQMC SOs have decided to have another trip to our friendly neighbour up north over the weekend as part of the pre-ORD -R&R-greg's bdae celeb package. the bdae boy has kindly agreed to be the driver for the 5 of us (cr, theo, don, greg and me) up to malacca. We left quite early on saturday.. quite a long drive, probably around 3 hours if the traffic is smooth and if u keep to the speed limit of 110km/h.
As some of u would know, our neighbours' traffic police are very sharp and easy to please. "Sharp" in spotting the fast SG cars and "easy to please" so long as they have private monetary gain. enuff said.
Reached malacca at around 10+am and checked in at Hotel Puri, which, much to my surprise, wasn't what i had expected earlier (i tot it would be a decent standalone hotel building. From the outside, it looks like some shophouses situated along one side of a narrow one-way road! but can't judge from the cover eh... the interior is quite nice and rooms are quite comfortable. Decent price too, so can't complain too much.
Spent the day walking around the shopping malls and checking out the famous and delicious food in the vicinity, which includes the 1) laksa - sorta spicy, esp when i dun really take hot food, but i wouldn't mind trying again! 2) chendol - probably the best i have eaten so far! 3) fried oysters - this was during the night market; it tastes quite different from the usual ones we ate back in sg
the one-way road was closed and converted into the night market, selling various pasarmalam stuff ranging from food to the usables. apparently quite crowded and popular..
spent the night in the hotel playing some mind-intriguing card game that theo introduced called citadel. it may take a while to learn the essence but fun! i like this kind of strategy game =) check out the site for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
think malacca is quite a decent place to visit, and should be one of the much safer states in malaysia. somemore there are more chinese and communication will be less of a problem. the environment is cleaner than other states too. a nice getaway over the weekend.
CBRD and MRF have a pre-ORD lunch today for the ORDing personnel and the turnout was quite big! essentially those who are in the department are around. initially i tot it would be just a few of us, like the lunch we had previously when my ex-boss left. Somehow this department seems to be growing; we have more staff officers in CBRD, more PCs in MRF, and i am glad that the two sub-branches are finally getting more and more cohesive under the same roof. in fact, when the 61 batch became the most lao-jiao ones, we are getting closer.
Had japanese food at AMK hub.. quite filling, and somemore i had my breakfast not too long ago (cos i woke up late lah... isn't that what we always do when we are not working early in the morning?!!).
Thanks for everything guys, one of the most appreciated gifts that i have got in this organisation is knowing the whole bunch of friends and colleagues. will definitely miss those lunch times together!
I have shopped, ate and slept around for 5 days...
I am back from Hong Kong! Here's the update on what happened over the past 5 days, and once again, it may sound quite narrative, so read at your own risk! This time round i have brought my PDA and keyboard along so that i can type along the way. easier and more vivid =)
Day 1 (26/9/07 Wednesday): Kowloon - Lamma Island
We reached Changi Airport Terminal 1 at around 6 am; yup it was that early cos our flight is at 8.05 am CX710 Cathay Airlines. The flight was around 3.75 hours, and we reached HK airport at around 1145 h. On board, I slept, ate a meal (seafood noodle), tried to watch Monsters but was really very tired (i only slept 3hours earlier..). They gave us the centre seats sobzz and the plane was rather packed so can't shift around.
Hong Kong International Airport - quite comparable to Changi, but more complicated as the journey from the plane to the arrival hall is a long and tedious one. And gosh... the queue was damn long. The female crowd controller seemed stressed and about to collapse. Hmmm... I still prefer Changi Airport, and proud of it!
BTW, it is one day post-mooncake festival and an official public holiday in HK. How envious!
I thought Chan brothers is supposed to be quite established in tour packaging. Unfortunately, the first impression wasn't too good. The tour guide over in HK was late; he didn't even take attendance before leading us to the tour coach. It was a damn big crowd. 27 in total; of which there was a family of 11 people, a family of 3, 2 families of 4, a group of 3 friends and a couple. That shouldn't be the case rite.. the tour leader wouldn't and shouldn't be managing such a huge crowd. And there is bound to be a lot of waiting. i hate waiting for people manz.
Anyway our first destination was to travel along this Tsing Ma bridge towards our hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui 尖沙咀, Kowloon. To be more precise, the hotel, Shamrock hotel (4 stars) is along Nathan road, just outside Jordan MTR station. Quite strategically located, but sighzzz the room was not ready when we were there!!! (Although they tried to compensate by giving us a bigger room). We got 2 rooms - 606 and 619 (can't even give us side-by-side rooms!!)
Lunch was OTOT, so we decided to walk around first before settling for some supposedly famous wanton noodle stall near the hotel. I think it is overrated. and the serving is so small! We have about 2 hours left before meeting up for dinner, so we continued to walk along nathan road which led us to Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station. Quite a lot of shops.. reminds me of walking along Orchard road outside Wisma and Taka.
Dinner was a highlight of the day. We took a cruise to Lamma Island 南丫岛 for some seafood. Not too bad, just a bit troublesome to spend one hour to travel to-and-fro.
It was already 8.40pm after dinner and my camera ran out of battery! We proceeded to Women's street for some window shopping for an hour, and nothing really caught my attention. It is bugis street in disguise, the difference is that the stall keeper will actually ask blatantly "want copy bags" and they have a catalogue of real stuff for u to choose - LV, gucci.. u name it, they have it...fake. We didn't really buy anything.. Back to hotel at 10pm.
this zhou sheng sheng is probably one of the richest in HK cos i have seen so many of such jewellery shops around!
Day 2 (27/9/07 Thursday): Disneyland
Woke up 7.30am and had breakfast at 8.30am. Breakfast was not included in the package so we have to fork out our own money. The tour guide offered to help us book a chinese affiliated dim sum restaurant for breakfast for 50 HKD each. The table was quite small for us though the food was satisfactory. We then set off at 10am.
We spent the whole day at Disneyland (from 1030am to 830pm)! It was actually quite big and probably can't finish touring if u were to try out all the attractions there. And must really consider the crowd and the waiting time.
HK Disneyland is divided boardly into one main street and three "land"s (adventureland, fantasyland and tomorrowland). It was so damn hot there!! We visited "the disneyland story" which showcased various characters and the creation of this place. Next we took the HK disneyland railroad which took us round disneyland at a glance. Souvenir shopping was next on the list along main street, where we bought some shirts, key chains, etc. Also took photos with Donald duck and Mickey and Minnie Mouse!
fantasyland!
Lunch time - initially wanted to try food at Tahitian Terrace which sells asian delights but it was closed for no apparent reason! Settled at Plaza Inn instead which serves cantonese cuisine. We ordered a set lunch which was quite expensve. Somemore, it took them ages to serve drinks! (in retrospect, I realized that they forgot (we forgot too) to serve the last dish of dessert!)
The second part of the tour was to explore adventureland. We took the Jungle River Cruise (20 min wait and 10 min ride) which provides narration for 3 different languages for 3 individual cruises and u can choose which language u want. Some fake animals along the way and probably should appear fun to most children and young adults. But i must say that i am quite impressed with some of the animals which looked quite real; and burning fire on water. After this, we proceeded to take the "rafts to Tarzan's Treehouse" (0 min wait and 1 min ride), which brought us to another island that houses a treehouse.
tarzan's treehouse
After finishing with adventureland, we went to the main street haunted hotel which was very popular! We wanted to take earlier but the queue was always so long. We waited for 20 mins and the walk was around 10 mins. It was quite scary, especially when the house was very dark and u had to turn around hidden corners with hidden ghosts that spoke Cantonese (which is good cos I dun really understand whatever daunting words they exclaimed). We travelled in groups of 8 to 10 and it so happened that i was the first one in my group! There were female ghosts, zombies, etc etc, some i dun even remember what they were, except that they screamed and thumped your heart. There was one part where they placed an exit sign but there was still a long way to go! It is like a fear of impending doom.
Following this, we moved on to Tomorrowland. As the name implies, it contains the futuristic entertainment, such as UFO, flying saucers, etc. We took a couple of rides, and the first on the list was thrilling ride at Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy. This was really fun!! something like a roller coaster ride. Probably the most adventurous ride in Disneyland. My parents didn't take this, and i was glad they didn't. We tried the Obitron, which is like those merry-go-round except that it is in the form of flying saucer. After this was the Autopia ride, which is something like the luge ride, but a smoother and easier form.
It was almost 5 pm already and we continued to Fantasyland. Apparently the crowd had dispersed and most of the wait now took around 5 mins each. The first attraction here was to walk through the sleeping beauty castle gate. We took the revolving horses, or more specifically the "Cinderalla Carousel". This is the first time i am on this (ya i am that childhood-deprived)... feels young again haha... Also went for other rides such as the "mad hatter tea cups"- where u sit in a tea cup and it will turn round and round; "dumbo the flying elephant" - similar to the flying saucer. We also walked into the "Fantasy Garden" where u can take photos with various mascots such as mickey, winnie, goofie, chip and dale. But the queues were relatively long and some mascots had decided to take a break for the day. After this, we went to watch a 3D animation at "Mickey's PhilhaMagic" and the story goes like donald duck supposed to be in a performance but somehow ended up in an adventure of his own, where he met people like the little mermaid, pinnochio, aladdin, etc. The interesting part was, other than the 3D image (which appears so real when they fly towards u, threw things at u), that they made u of your five senses! U can smell the food, u can feel water splashing at u, etc. Cool! Our last ride was "the many adventures of winie the pooh" where we sat in carriages that looked like hunny pots into a storyland.
It was around 7 pm, where the finale began. There was a major parade/possession by many floats and dancers. something like the Chingay and those in lotte world in korea. 8 pm was the grand finale where fireworks were displayed and lasted for 10 mins. Nice! Managed to capture some fantastic video clips.
ghost approaching...
We settled our dinner at a shop near our hotel. Took porridge, fishball soup, wanton soup, large intestines. Quite tasty heh.
On the whole, a tiring but fun day! both the sun and the walk are major contributors to the exhaustion. Perhaps inferior to the real one in US, but it was all worth it.
Day 3 (28/9/07 Friday): Hong Kong Tour
Woke up early today at 6.30am and checked out of Shamrock Hotel as 10 of us are going to Shenzhen 深圳 tonight. The coach took us to some restaurant at Wang Jiao 旺角 for breakfast - the usual HK dimsum style: prawn dumplings, paos, carrot cake, yam puff, bamboo shoot roll and it was very filling surprisingly.
Our first destination was Repulse Bay 浅水湾 which was around 20 minutes drive away. Situated here is a temple for us to take some photos and pray pray - pray for wealth, love, etc. Along with us was a cameraman (as usual with most tour groups, he will take some photos using his "professional camera" and also a group photo). Jackie Chan stays in one of the apartments across the bay.
see the brick-coloured building on the top? yup jackie chan stays there.
anyone getting married and longing to be loved? pray before this!
Second stop was to take a sampan around Aberdeen Fishing Village 香港仔渔村 that costs 50 HKD at our own expenses. Well dun think it is very worth it... the only interesting part that caught my eyes was Jumbo floating restaurant in the midst. Hmm they should at least let us try some sample seafood heh.
floating jumbo restaurant!! yum yum!
Third stop was at Victoria Peak which was located in Hong Kong island. Apparently people staying in this island are richer, and that includes governors and some prominent actors. Travelling to this island requires us to pass through a paying tunnel which is very expensive! Much more than our ERP... think it is around 8 sing bucks one-way. According to the tour guide, only Lydia Sum doesn't need to pay cos she is the one who officiated the opening ceremony. Hong Kong island, as compared to other islands in Hong Kong comprises more high-rise buildings and some are even on hills. The tallest building in HK is located here.
skyline view from Victoria peak.
Up to the peak, we visited Madame Tussaud wax museum and took hell lot of photos with the celebrities. Jackie Chan is probably the most real-looking one, but u will have to pay if u want to take with him. Other people include foreign and chinese stars such as Brad and Angelina, Michael Jackson, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Jay Chow (whom i can't even recognise if they didn't play his songs...) Anita Mui; political figures such as MM Lee, Deng xiaoping, Ghandi; historical figures like Hitler; sportsmen like Yao Ming and beckham. This was my second time visiting the wax museum (the first time in SG) and this one is smaller.
bruce lee!
Fourth destination was Golden Bauhinia Square 金紫荆, which i believe is HK national flower. Nothing too impressive except for a gigantic golden flower in the central square.
Next was lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Ate roasted goose and other dishes. After this we visited some jewellery factory for them to earn some profits, and for the ladies to spend some money. The next visit was to some shops selling local products but we can't be bothered to alight.
Next highlight was to visit the famous Wong Tai Sin 黄大仙 temple for more praying for blessing, followed by a walk along the Avenue of Stars 星光大道to see handprints of famous celebrities, and a figurine of Bruce Lee. For the ten of us, we hopped onto the coach which took us to the Hong Kum 红勘 railway station around 5.45pm to take a train to Shenzhen. 红勘 has one of the biggest stadium where famous celebrities have their concerts in.
the famous temple
maggie cheung's handprint
The shock began here... The train wasn't really a train. It was like the MRT in Singapore. Can u imagine carrying the luggage up the MRT and travel for 45 mins … I thought it would be something more decent, or at least more spacious for us to sit and put lugguage. But it was so damn crowded! Arrggghh if we know earlier, we would have packed something light to bring to Shenzhen for one night rather than the whole lugguage. To make matter worse, there wasn't any escalator or lift in the shenzhen station!! Maybe we shouldn’t even opt for Shenzhen in the first place...
Apparently a lot of people travelled from Shenzhen to Hong Kong for work cos it was really very packed at the station. Imagine the hassle and checking in and out so many times. Our tour guide didn't accompany us to Shenzhen, instead there was another one waiting over the other end.
Dinner was next and we have some Hekka food in a restaurant. The food was okay, but the service sucked. The waitresses actually spilled the tea and soup on two occasions!! how clumsy can that be! Checked in to Hong Feng Hotel in Shenzhen central, a four star hotel but much more spacious and comfortable.
Day 4 (29/9/07 Saturday): Shenzhen
We have another tour guide at Shenzhen. We had breakfast in the hotel itself, buffet style. Not much variety for us to choose from, mainly porridge, sausages, etc.
Our first stop was at this so-called museum, which later turned out to be some profitable visit on jewellery and jade. not my cup of tea; and i am glad my parents didn't fall for the trap.
Second stop was to explore "Window of the World", which contain 118 vivid replicas of the world's wonders, historical heritages and famous scenic sites such as the Grand Canyon, the Alps, Eiffel Tower, Pisa, the Sphinx, etc. It was scorching and my shades came in handy, but we were all perspiring like mad. We first took a carriage which brought us round this place, stopping on and off for photo taking. We also entered the Alps for some pseudo-skiing adventure and cool enjoyment physically. Also dropped by the Jurassic Park.
the name says it all.
the great falls; but small.
Lunch was next at this restaurant which served roasted goose as a speciality; followed by yet another visit to some cheena herbs-selling medicinal hall like lingzhi etc. Damn i really hated this kind of visits - all the salespeople looking at you earnestly, trying so hard to sell you their products, talking their lungs out. I am even more peeved when people (ie customers) start to be convinced by them and start buying. And that includes my parents!!
Well my parents, particularly my mum is typically the kind of person whom u can't really correct her thoughts; cos she will either forget on the next occasion, or she will start arguing and end up quarrelling. So gradually i have given up trying to justify my point of view to her. Or at least i will try till the point when i know that an argument will result.
Anyway, at the medicinal hall, there was this chinese physician offering to diagnose our problems by looking and cursory palpation. (PS- before i continue, i am not trying to say that i am against all TCM - my stand is clear, so long as it is not harmful, there is no harm trying, and that's what i told the patients too). But i detest the fact that some TCM physicians tend to make it sound that their herbs are more superior, and that western medicine can't cure the root of the problems etc etc. Well i believe in evidence-based medicine, and if u can show me some clinical trials demonstrating the effectiveness or efficacy of whatever wild grass, then i might be convinced. But that's not the case most of the times, eg in this case, the physician would say some vague problems u have (eg: u are too heaty). This worst thing was she kept asking us to buy three month supply, and when i said no money, she will say buy two month supply, and when i said really no money, she will say buy one month!!! Is that money-hungry or what… Nonetheless, i am quite impressed with the physician cum salesgirl's tougue. I tried not to be too hostile towards her anyway.
We visited Splenidid China next, or better known as 小人国 the world's largest miniature theme park featuring over 80 well known scenic spots and historical sites of China, including 紫禁城, great wall of china, etc. We also watched 3 cultural shows, which were 1) some folk dance in an aircon theatre which i fell asleep; 2) show at turf ground which protrays a war with soldiers running about in horses and performing some stunts. Impressive! 3) a chinese folk cultural show in a bigger auditorium, but the seats are very close to one another... kinda claustrophobic. This show was very entertaining too, which incorporates and makes full use of the lightings, clothings and music for the amazing effects. The stage is also specially constructed with moving platforms and hidden fountains.
Splendid China
horse about to jump over fire.
One of the best cultural shows that i have seen so far. and what are those two heads doing there?!
Dinner at another restaurant which is actually a branch of the one we had for lunch. But this time got cereal crabs and drunken prawns! Quite delicious. We then proceeded back to the train station to return back to Hong Kong. Another shock - the tour guide didn't provide us with the boarding pass to HK and we had to fill up at the train station itself! So poorly organised and expected us to pay them tips... Checked back in at Shamrock room 916.
My concluding statement regarding my one-day tour in Shenzhen - well urbanised, peppered with scenic attractions and some persistent beggars. Probably not too safe to travel alone if you dun look street-wise enough.
Day 5 (30/9/07 Sunday): Singapore
Checked out hotel at 9.15am after waking up at 8am. We have the whole day to ourselves today as our flight was at 8pm. We first had breakfast at this renowned eating place called xiang gang zai, which has a lot of other branches as we later found out. We ate their specialty dish which is fishball horfun. Quite nice, especially when i like eating fishball to begin with.
We took the MTR from Jordan station to 旺角 2 stops away. Cost 4 HKD, comparable to Singapore. This is supposed to be one of the favourite spots for shoppers, and the woman street is located here as well. We walked and shopped along the various streets, from Nathan road to other junctional streets. Nothing much actually, although somehow i feel that we didn't really explore this area well enough. Stopped by MacDonald for a pee break cum rest and ate their sundae and yam pie. Finally brought some shirts along the way, and they have special offers as it is China's national day! In fact, they have one week of holiday... how good is that!!
We walked along Nathan Street towards You Ma Ding MTR station. Yup it is actually walkable from station to station. Stopped by a famous desert stall 许留山 for a rest and some cooling pomelo sago with coconut ice-cream. Continued walking and soon we were back in Jordan MTR station.
We eventually stopped by a Chinese restaurant for lunch at around 2 pm. It is something like Crystal Jade, except that it is cheaper. So like what i always ordered in Crystal Jade, i had some pig intestine porridge. Contuned to shop for what it was worth and walk towards Jian Sha Jui station. Finally bought some bread for us to eat in airport in case we are hungry. Met up with the rest at the hotel lobby at 5pm and took the bus back to HK airport.
Another shock began - first, the tour guide was late, and next, all our seats in the plane are jumbled up!! In fact, right now as i was typing this on the plane, i am sitting beside somebody else from the tour group whom i have never spoken to before! Anyway being the friendly me, we managed to make some small talk lah..
Took CX715 back and had some gross pepper fish rice on board. Reached Singapore at around 11.33pm. Home sweet home at about 1 am. Damn tiring… I missed my bed.
need to show some food in this paradise! 1) famous hong kong zai fishball soup. they called fish ball "fish egg".
2) famous dessert! xu liu shan
The Aftermath.
I can’t really say that I have enjoyed this trip to the fullest, due to the following reasons: 1) It seems incomplete. I dun think I have fully explored the significant areas of HK yet. Should have visited Central 中环 if time permits. 2) The tour guide from HK Freedom tour agency was quite jia lat… firstly he was late for a couple of occasions; secondly he gave us haphazard seating arrangement on the plane; thirdly he earned quite a lot of profit from us yet didn’t fulfill his terms of reference and job scope; fourthly he didn’t give us the boarding pass on our way back to HK from Shenzhen. Though he does know the background of HK quite well, which is a must for all tour guides anyway. 3) I haven’t bought and eaten enough!! 4) The climate was not really suitable. So I believe a backpacking trip or free-and-easy one will solve problems 1-3. If I were to give feedback, I will give Chan Brothers a D. They shouldn’t overlook the details, and should ensure that their sister tour agency in HK/Shenzhen to be efficient and effective too.
Nonetheless, it’s the time spent together with the whole family that counts, although there were some minor squabbles along the way. Money wise, I have lost count of how much I have spent in total, but definitely a deficit from my September pay sighz.
holidae.
singapore.
lefty left-brainer.
leo.
9 Aug.
selective procrastinator.
paladin by day and nite.
Chatters
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play a new musical instrument
lasik op
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clear exit
Fav food
chilli crab
fried kway teow
fried carrot cake @ upp bt timah, bt merah, bt merah view, clementi
fried dang hoon
pig kidney/liver/small intestine/large intestine/organ soup/pig blood
kway chap from sembawang hills
hainan chicken rice with gien3
century egg porridge
fried oyster
BBQ stingray
clams and lala
chicken soup and all sorts of soups my mum cooks
fried fishballs
fish soup from han jee @ amoy
fried chicken wings
salmon belly sashimi
hairy gourd
lotus root
szechuan veg
prawn mee esp from old airport rd, zion rd, adam rd, sembawang hills and hong lim
chwee kueh from tiong bahru, jurong west, clementi, queens st
kueh tutu
coffee/bread toast/egg from sembawang hills, ah kun
prawn cracker
strawberry sundae @ macs
hotcakes @ macs
rum and raisin
duck's tongue
indocafe coffee
water chestnut juice
sugar cane juice
marigold lemon barley
