Was rushing to meet my girlfriend for lunch near my place today. A very old man with clutch stopped me along the road, asking me in Mandarin if i could help him.
Initially, I thought he said he needed help to get over the overhead bridge to catch a bus so I obliged. However when I was going to help him, he said that he needed to know how he could get to NUS hospital. He didnt know what bus to take. So then, he launch his "pitiful" story on me about his road accident resulting in the loss of one leg and he now have to go to NUS hospital for therapy sessions.
He claimed that he couldnt take MRT because the staff at MRT declined due to his injuries. very suspicious. I have never heard of public transport declining an physically challenged person. His story progressed with his bitching about the govenment not helping the poor, the welfare group inability to help him as he has money in the bank. Honestly, the more he talked, the more suspicious I was of him. So he claimed he needed money to get to the hospital and said he needed exactly $28.20 for the journey.
I didnt want to give him the money. So I told him that I will hail a cab for him and pay for the cab instead. He tried to refuse the cab because he said he need to "breathe" and was very tiring. I knew then he was a trickster, trying to cheat money. So I refuse to give me the requested amount. Instead, I just gave him $5 as "charity" and I left. If he decide to cheat more people with all this ill gotten money, I am sure he will suffer retribution. As for me $5 is nothing. I always believe in karma.
Just as I got along and went to the bus stop, leaving the suspicious old man behind. Hold and behold, another injured old man straight ahead. I was thinking to myself, why are all these injured people popping before me today? However, this case was truly genuine. I didnt have time to accompany the person on cab so I got a cab to send the person to the nearest hospital/clinic instead. I was truly late for my appointment if I got held back any further.
I sms my friend thatI will be delayed a little. She teased me for being such a good samaritan. I didnt think I was doing anything that a human being wont do. If it had been my parent in the same situation, I would have hoped some stranger would lent a help as well. It really wasnt a big deal.
However, what did cross my mind that old people shouldnt try to act pitiful and cheat people of money. Their selfish actions would only result in public being distrustful and stop lending aid to people who genuinely needed help. I guess being helpful is one thing, being "smart" in not being exploited of your good will is another.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Hot, so hot...
I am so desperately trying to climatise to the singapore weather but its really hard. I am sweating like a thawing frozen meat in the heat.
It was totally impossible for me to wear jeans out now. My legs will be endlessly perspiring till I am back in the airconditioned room. It is impossible for me to wear even cotton T-shirt and walked to the bus-stop of 5mins walk away, without breaking into sweat. I cannot remember when was the last time I was so drenched in my own sweat from walking alone. The humidity is scarily haunting me.
Dying. Totally dying in this heat.
I craved for sunset every single day so that I could chill in the nice breeze. However thankfully, at least the air is clean here, so I didnt have to put up with a layer of settled dust on my skin despite the sweat.
Saw the news that Sydney suffered a day's snow recently. I was shocked. Apart from blue mountain, I cannot rem when was the last time Sydney had a "snowfall". The winter has never been THAT cold to get snow. Talk about freak weather.
It was totally impossible for me to wear jeans out now. My legs will be endlessly perspiring till I am back in the airconditioned room. It is impossible for me to wear even cotton T-shirt and walked to the bus-stop of 5mins walk away, without breaking into sweat. I cannot remember when was the last time I was so drenched in my own sweat from walking alone. The humidity is scarily haunting me.
Dying. Totally dying in this heat.
I craved for sunset every single day so that I could chill in the nice breeze. However thankfully, at least the air is clean here, so I didnt have to put up with a layer of settled dust on my skin despite the sweat.
Saw the news that Sydney suffered a day's snow recently. I was shocked. Apart from blue mountain, I cannot rem when was the last time Sydney had a "snowfall". The winter has never been THAT cold to get snow. Talk about freak weather.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Great wedding day
Have been trying to take it easy on this trip back but still have a lot of catching up to do. Instead of Dinner, most days I am only meeting people for lunch so that I can have a good rest at night.
Old age is catching up.... late nights are simply out of the question now....
Had a super enjoyable Sat on E's wedding. It was singularly the easiest, and most "profitable" Jie mei session I have ever done! Of course I didnt do it for the money and was thankful that I had prepared a big red packet for the lunch reception. Otherwise, I would have have ended up earning more money than the couple instead!
The big day was easy breezy and we had a blast. It was so funny when the groom walked to the gate and gave us Jie Mei the red packet before we even opened our mouth to start the game! It was hilarious because he totally had us stumped and speechless. We looked at each other for a split second not knowing how to proceed next. We had a long history of bantering with groom and his best men gang, but never such an excited groom who is so eager to stuff money over. Haaa haaa. The best part was when he started his singing hokkien song. He had the whole house laughing so hard!
The fun didnt end till 6pm. I was dead beat but I thoroughly enjoyed the moment. It was so funny when the groom and I started recalling the old times when we all hung out together. Its amazing how 17years of friendship goes by with my and my gf, and 6 years with the groom and I. It was a lovely day and I am glad I was part of this beautiful union.
Old age is catching up.... late nights are simply out of the question now....
Had a super enjoyable Sat on E's wedding. It was singularly the easiest, and most "profitable" Jie mei session I have ever done! Of course I didnt do it for the money and was thankful that I had prepared a big red packet for the lunch reception. Otherwise, I would have have ended up earning more money than the couple instead!
The big day was easy breezy and we had a blast. It was so funny when the groom walked to the gate and gave us Jie Mei the red packet before we even opened our mouth to start the game! It was hilarious because he totally had us stumped and speechless. We looked at each other for a split second not knowing how to proceed next. We had a long history of bantering with groom and his best men gang, but never such an excited groom who is so eager to stuff money over. Haaa haaa. The best part was when he started his singing hokkien song. He had the whole house laughing so hard!
The fun didnt end till 6pm. I was dead beat but I thoroughly enjoyed the moment. It was so funny when the groom and I started recalling the old times when we all hung out together. Its amazing how 17years of friendship goes by with my and my gf, and 6 years with the groom and I. It was a lovely day and I am glad I was part of this beautiful union.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A muddled headed me
What happened when you keep jumping on and off planes for the month. You get confused.
I lost a day coming back from Vancouver to HK. And immediately the next morning I had to jump on another plane to return to Singapore.
At the HK airport, groggily I stood in line at the cathay pacific check in and started to load my luaggae onto the conveyor weight for check in. I passed my passport to the staff and told her I was heading to Singapore. I noticed there was no one else in the queue which was a little strange. Then she asked me for the departure time and gave me a puzzled look after my reply. She told me they didnt have a flight at that time. I paused and realisation hit me. I was standing in line for the wrong airline! I was supposed to be at Singapore airlines! So i unload my bag and made a dash for the other counters. When I saw the crowd, I knew I couldnt be wrong this time!
After passing through the immigration, I was still thinking about heading to the lounge. Then I stood there and flip through wondering why there wasnt a lounge pass. 30secs lapsed before I realised again I was flying with SQ and I only had lounge pass with Cathay. I smacked my head.
Moral of the story.
Sleep deprevation and jetlag are both lethal combination.
I lost a day coming back from Vancouver to HK. And immediately the next morning I had to jump on another plane to return to Singapore.
At the HK airport, groggily I stood in line at the cathay pacific check in and started to load my luaggae onto the conveyor weight for check in. I passed my passport to the staff and told her I was heading to Singapore. I noticed there was no one else in the queue which was a little strange. Then she asked me for the departure time and gave me a puzzled look after my reply. She told me they didnt have a flight at that time. I paused and realisation hit me. I was standing in line for the wrong airline! I was supposed to be at Singapore airlines! So i unload my bag and made a dash for the other counters. When I saw the crowd, I knew I couldnt be wrong this time!
After passing through the immigration, I was still thinking about heading to the lounge. Then I stood there and flip through wondering why there wasnt a lounge pass. 30secs lapsed before I realised again I was flying with SQ and I only had lounge pass with Cathay. I smacked my head.
Moral of the story.
Sleep deprevation and jetlag are both lethal combination.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Dinner at Cin Cin (Vancouver)
First night in Vancouver and we decided to head to this highly rated Italian restaurant "Cin Cin" down in Robson street. It does not disappoint. Truth be told, I was having jetlag and wasnt expecting any meal to entice me.Looked like hell, felt like sh*t but turned out dinner location was a good choice to up the bets.
I think the greatest surprise was the size of huge scallops served here. Of course it isnt cheap but what the hell, I'm having hols and every bite of the sweet meat is worth its penny! And the lobster linguini...oh sweet lobster.. absolute freshness. It wasnt miserable few pieces one usually gotten use to (in asia especially), they served you proper portion here as one rightfully expect. It was a sign of good meals to come in vancouver....
The rum and raisin icecream also caught me offguard since it normally is not my usual "cup of tea". Its plesantly great here. No words to describe further, one just have to taste it.
Vancouver aquarium: Begula whales short clips
Grandma Begula is seperated from the new mum and baby to give the pair some bonding time.
So she is placed in a seperate smaller enclosure. Pay attention to the high pitch squeeking sound from the whale.
Checking out the newborn Begula whale with her mummy in a small enclosed tank...
Knocked off Alage spoiling the view... sigh... what luck. But i find it sadder when i see them circling round and round non stop...
So she is placed in a seperate smaller enclosure. Pay attention to the high pitch squeeking sound from the whale.
Checking out the newborn Begula whale with her mummy in a small enclosed tank...
Knocked off Alage spoiling the view... sigh... what luck. But i find it sadder when i see them circling round and round non stop...
Vancouver aquarium: Jelly Fish
The Vancouver aquarium has a nice collection of jelly fishes that looked so ghostly yet enthralling... I was totally mesmerised and captivated by the languid flow of their movements.
Like I said earlier, my camera went flat so I only have 2 shots.
First trip to Vancouver
Actually managed to catch a few winks on the flight to Vancouver night before. I was surprised to see the sky so bright at 9pm. I had mistakenly thought it was crack of dawn until I checked the flight screen detailing the time.
Have never been to Canada before and so was quite looking forward to this short 2 weeks trip. One of the reason that we picked here over others is the idea of whale watching, though we would have much prefer to kayaked with it but time was contraint since we were thinking of popping over to seattle to visit our friend.
The vancouver airport was a little surprising.... it wasnt very tourists friendly in the sense I couldnt find a visitor information counter to enquire details of getting to downtown since we completely did not bother to research on this place before we came. Didnt have the time...
So we jumped onto the cab and thankfully, it only cost Cad$30 to get to our hotel.
Morning was a surprise since it was so bright and cheery at 6am! Christ! I thought it was 9am and jumped off the bed. Summer is cool here and while it was probably about 22 degrees in the morn, it got a little warm about 25degrees by late noon in the sun. I love being in Vancouver. The place is beautiful, not too laid back but neither is it too hectic like HK. The sky is blue, the air is cool, and the water is blue. It's grid block like new york layout so its easy to navigate. I could actually imagine one to retire here happily. We saw some new condos up at the coal harbour. WOW. I was fasincated. Waterfront living with distant mountain view and with city sort of convenience behind withing walking distance. Who can complain?!
Started the day at the visitor center.I marked a few hot places I wanted to go and vancouver aquarium was my first spot today. i LOVED IT.
We did the costal boardwalk from downtown to stanley park where the aquarium is located. It was a short plesant stroll for about 20mins. In the aquarium itself, we spent about over 4hours looking at every exhibit and display and that is considering we didnt have to Q much. It was good reaching early about 10am since it was relatively less crowded and the major children groups came in after noon and then it got abit cramped at certain displays. However I was pretty lucky as I caught evey single feeding time slot by chance just as I wandered randomly from one place to another.
The first place was the Begula nursery tank without doubt...to watch the new mum and newly born baby calf! Qila,well done! Unfortunately, they chosed today to clean the tanks to knock off the algae so we had lotsa floating bits that spoiled the shots but it was still spectacular. However, once I got past the "wow" factor, I felt a little sad. I felt the enclosure was too small. The poor whale was contantly swimming in a loop circle non stop. That is all they could do and I felt sorry for their lost of magnificient magnitude of infinite space in the sea. Being born in enclosed habitat, they can never be released into the sea it seemed.... I found it abit cruel to keep them in such a small place where they can only do circles.
Even if they try to tell me it was ok, yeah, its ok now that the baby is small. Imagine when it grows, including the dad, mum and grandma begula whale, that will be four adult whales cramming in that fixed space...I pity the baby for never ever able to witness the clear blue depth of the ocean out there....Anycase, I will leavethe aquarium trip as another seperate post after I download the pictures. There were so much to see especially the frogs displays but unfortunately my battery ran out. Stupid me forgot to charge the battery so I couldnt take alot of shots. But at least I had the Begula whales:P
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Finally watched "Wanted"
Did I happen to mention I caught the movie "Wanted" on Sunday night?
It was one movie I was highly anticipating, primarily because of A.Jolie. In summary, the movie was good although I have to say if you have seen both the trailers, then you probably have seen about most of the action pack that comes with the actual movie.
There is nothing surprising in the movie. There wasnt much surprise element as far as I am concern but I do like the effects. The Russian directo style in this movie is very similar to the other vampire film "Daywatch", except that it is better executed and the storyline slightly better. At least this movie didnt leave wondering what the hell just happen. Most things were accounted for except a few weak glaringly missing gaps which I wont spoil it for those who are waiting for the movie to screen.
Much to my disappointment, A.Jolie role was smaller than I had expected. I wished the ending was a little bit different but oh well. At least I do not think there will be a sequel, will be pretty hard sell to try a sequel for this based on how it ended.
The show mainly revolved around the character Wesley played by actor James McAvory and A.jolie and Morgan Freeman played his mentor... The show had some tickling point that brought couple of smiles to my face but mostly it was suppose to be action thriller. I like some of the effects but I cannot say I was WOW by it. But i love one scene when A.jolie was watching James leaving the training ground and she had those cute smile which both my husband and I laughed over it. She looked adorable there. I know, hard to imagine sexy her having a cute smile but she did. Also, they tried to reprised 30sec version of her naked back walking away from the bath water here, similar to the animated flick she did earlier as the half monster with a tail. (I cannot remember the title).
I was hoping for sme innovation here in this movie but sorely missing. I feel that the director is trying too much to impress with the graphics effects copying the success of Matrix but somehow it doesnt quite meet the mark as far as I can tell. But hey, that's just me.
Its still a good entertaining flick no matter. I would rate it 6.5/10 for entertainment value.
It was one movie I was highly anticipating, primarily because of A.Jolie. In summary, the movie was good although I have to say if you have seen both the trailers, then you probably have seen about most of the action pack that comes with the actual movie.
There is nothing surprising in the movie. There wasnt much surprise element as far as I am concern but I do like the effects. The Russian directo style in this movie is very similar to the other vampire film "Daywatch", except that it is better executed and the storyline slightly better. At least this movie didnt leave wondering what the hell just happen. Most things were accounted for except a few weak glaringly missing gaps which I wont spoil it for those who are waiting for the movie to screen.
Much to my disappointment, A.Jolie role was smaller than I had expected. I wished the ending was a little bit different but oh well. At least I do not think there will be a sequel, will be pretty hard sell to try a sequel for this based on how it ended.
The show mainly revolved around the character Wesley played by actor James McAvory and A.jolie and Morgan Freeman played his mentor... The show had some tickling point that brought couple of smiles to my face but mostly it was suppose to be action thriller. I like some of the effects but I cannot say I was WOW by it. But i love one scene when A.jolie was watching James leaving the training ground and she had those cute smile which both my husband and I laughed over it. She looked adorable there. I know, hard to imagine sexy her having a cute smile but she did. Also, they tried to reprised 30sec version of her naked back walking away from the bath water here, similar to the animated flick she did earlier as the half monster with a tail. (I cannot remember the title).
I was hoping for sme innovation here in this movie but sorely missing. I feel that the director is trying too much to impress with the graphics effects copying the success of Matrix but somehow it doesnt quite meet the mark as far as I can tell. But hey, that's just me.
Its still a good entertaining flick no matter. I would rate it 6.5/10 for entertainment value.
Monday, July 7, 2008
JIA Boutique Hotel (HK)
I really liked staying at JIA boutique hotel in causeway bay (No. 1-5 Irving Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. ), especially the fact that the place comes with washing machine and that saves me a bundle with all the dirty washing. And so many complimentary stuff and free broadband internet plus local calls. Got a good rate as a friend is working there so it was a great gift.
I love the suite because it really has a feeling of "home" as the name impiled. It is also the first boutique hotel designed by Philippe Starck. The building and concept was given birth by this Singaporean Entreprenuer Yenn Wong whose family owned PC Asia. Apart from this boutique hotel in Hk, they too have one in Shanghai, as well as owning the Australian Graze restaurant in Rochestor Park in Singapore.
Even though this is a service apartment, it comes with service like a proper hotel where they will change my towels and sheet and clean up everyday. The wooden floor actually is mopped everyday and feels clean without having to wear any shoes. The toilet amentities are actually pretty good and non drying too and not those cheap hotel instituitiona crap we would normally get. In Sydney, sadly even the best service apartment doesnt come with all that especially the changing and cleaning. Any change in towels will require additional charges each item etc and sorry, no washer. And the Meriton one I stayed in at Bondi, I even have to throw all the garbage away and wash all the cups myself otherwise I will be fined A$100 for them to clean it up. In chinese saying "So money face!" Crazy right?
I was testing my camera and took a few shots of my now messy "room".
I love the suite because it really has a feeling of "home" as the name impiled. It is also the first boutique hotel designed by Philippe Starck. The building and concept was given birth by this Singaporean Entreprenuer Yenn Wong whose family owned PC Asia. Apart from this boutique hotel in Hk, they too have one in Shanghai, as well as owning the Australian Graze restaurant in Rochestor Park in Singapore.
Even though this is a service apartment, it comes with service like a proper hotel where they will change my towels and sheet and clean up everyday. The wooden floor actually is mopped everyday and feels clean without having to wear any shoes. The toilet amentities are actually pretty good and non drying too and not those cheap hotel instituitiona crap we would normally get. In Sydney, sadly even the best service apartment doesnt come with all that especially the changing and cleaning. Any change in towels will require additional charges each item etc and sorry, no washer. And the Meriton one I stayed in at Bondi, I even have to throw all the garbage away and wash all the cups myself otherwise I will be fined A$100 for them to clean it up. In chinese saying "So money face!" Crazy right?
I was testing my camera and took a few shots of my now messy "room".
Getting a new Olympus Camera
Wanted to get a new Olympus digital camera which is shock proof and also water resistant to a depth of 10m. We have decided not to get those camera with water housing anymore since th price of the housing is as expensive as one camera itself.
We went to Mong Kok at Sai Yeung Choi St around shop 66 area. The first stop we made was at the Fortress shop just aroad cross the station exit. The sales guy Ivan who served us was pretty good. And he was pretty upfrnt about all the things that the shop is throwing in with the purchase which includes a original 2GB xpcard, camera casing, a long tripod stand, and a screen protector, all for the price of HK$3190 from the original HK$3290. I laughed when i saw the tripod and commented on its long size as I thought it would be the small one which came with my Fuji camera.
We ponder for a while since that was the first street although personally I didnt think the rest of the street will be anymore cheaper except a couple of hundreds Hk dollars which doesnt amount to much after u convert to Aussie dollars. As we both stood there in silence solemnly considering, Ivan decided to offer us to HK$3110 even though we didnt bargain once. I looked at my husband and I told Ivan we would think about it and come back once we decided.
The next stop we went was the camera shop Wing Shing Camera. The staff was so disinterested and even though the retail was showing HK$3100 even before negotiating, his whole attitude was in dismayal. He didnt even bother to explain the specs or tell us upfront about the freebies. When I asked, he only mentioned the XPcard and the casing, which incidentally wasnt even original from Olympus. My husband and I walked out. No way we will be buying from here even if its HK hundreds cheaper.
We walked across to Broadway and this time even though the sales guy is friendlier and again doing his job, the price was much more expensive at Hk$3190. No discount was mentioned. And the casing was not original as well which is very strange. So I looked at my husband and we agreed that we would go back to fortress since Ivan did such a good job for us earlier.
When we went back, we told Ivan we would take the deal, not before I told Ivan that we return even if they are not the cheapest. He asked me what price the other shop offer. My husband just throw a number at HK$3000 and Ivan seriously called his boss to check and he gave it to us. Best of all, Ivan even threw in a small tripod stand for me to my pleasant surprise as I had not asked for it. However, he remembered my earlier comment and joke about the big tripod and I was impressed at that. He BOTHERED to listen to his customers even though it wasnt a request. This is something we will never get in Sydney. Not to mention in Sydney, the retail price after negotiation is at least A$200++ more compared to the prediscounted HK price, and oh, without all the freebies too.
Ivan did the screen protector cover for us and he did it so professionally. He took the pains to clean the screen and sticker to remove every single bits of dust. It wasnt just a stick it on and be gone attitude. He made the effort as if the camera was his own. I honestly wanted to give him a hug after being away so long from attentive service. I stand by my statement, western countries don't know sh*t about customer service and what it really means. Its not just about doing the transaction, it's about making the customer remember what you did and come back to you.
Anycase, we happily went home. I am sure if we looked far and hard enough, we could find another shop with cheaper price for we really couldnt be bothered. This stress free shopping is good enough for us.
We went to Mong Kok at Sai Yeung Choi St around shop 66 area. The first stop we made was at the Fortress shop just aroad cross the station exit. The sales guy Ivan who served us was pretty good. And he was pretty upfrnt about all the things that the shop is throwing in with the purchase which includes a original 2GB xpcard, camera casing, a long tripod stand, and a screen protector, all for the price of HK$3190 from the original HK$3290. I laughed when i saw the tripod and commented on its long size as I thought it would be the small one which came with my Fuji camera.
We ponder for a while since that was the first street although personally I didnt think the rest of the street will be anymore cheaper except a couple of hundreds Hk dollars which doesnt amount to much after u convert to Aussie dollars. As we both stood there in silence solemnly considering, Ivan decided to offer us to HK$3110 even though we didnt bargain once. I looked at my husband and I told Ivan we would think about it and come back once we decided.
The next stop we went was the camera shop Wing Shing Camera. The staff was so disinterested and even though the retail was showing HK$3100 even before negotiating, his whole attitude was in dismayal. He didnt even bother to explain the specs or tell us upfront about the freebies. When I asked, he only mentioned the XPcard and the casing, which incidentally wasnt even original from Olympus. My husband and I walked out. No way we will be buying from here even if its HK hundreds cheaper.
We walked across to Broadway and this time even though the sales guy is friendlier and again doing his job, the price was much more expensive at Hk$3190. No discount was mentioned. And the casing was not original as well which is very strange. So I looked at my husband and we agreed that we would go back to fortress since Ivan did such a good job for us earlier.
When we went back, we told Ivan we would take the deal, not before I told Ivan that we return even if they are not the cheapest. He asked me what price the other shop offer. My husband just throw a number at HK$3000 and Ivan seriously called his boss to check and he gave it to us. Best of all, Ivan even threw in a small tripod stand for me to my pleasant surprise as I had not asked for it. However, he remembered my earlier comment and joke about the big tripod and I was impressed at that. He BOTHERED to listen to his customers even though it wasnt a request. This is something we will never get in Sydney. Not to mention in Sydney, the retail price after negotiation is at least A$200++ more compared to the prediscounted HK price, and oh, without all the freebies too.
Ivan did the screen protector cover for us and he did it so professionally. He took the pains to clean the screen and sticker to remove every single bits of dust. It wasnt just a stick it on and be gone attitude. He made the effort as if the camera was his own. I honestly wanted to give him a hug after being away so long from attentive service. I stand by my statement, western countries don't know sh*t about customer service and what it really means. Its not just about doing the transaction, it's about making the customer remember what you did and come back to you.
Anycase, we happily went home. I am sure if we looked far and hard enough, we could find another shop with cheaper price for we really couldnt be bothered. This stress free shopping is good enough for us.
Being back, and all the bits and pieces I missed
I really really really cannot emphasis how much happier I have been the last day or so after being back in Asia -HK.
It's a good thing too that I am familiar with HK now and so its like a fish in water sort of feeling. Especially with such an efficient transport, I get to everywhere in a jiffy. No more lousy 10-15mins wait for the train as in Sydney. With the 1-2mins wait, I can now time my appointments accurately and plan my day activities in my head like clockwork since every thing runs efficiently.
Despite the wet weather, I no longer bear grudges about the HK small walking pavements where 50 over people squeeze with you at one time in a stretch. Even the tons of "murderous" umbrellas constantly poking at my face didnt faze me today. I was feeling chirpy being back, back to the land of civilization, high technology. Like I told my husband, I do not know how long this feeling of euphoria will last but I am relishing every single moment of it. It felt like a VIP upgrade being back in HK and far away from Sydney. I do not loathe Sydney, I just wasnt terribly impressed with the city which is really not very metropolitan no matter what they claim.
Even as i open the can of coke in the fridge from the hotel freezer, I didnt even blink or think its expensive. I was telling my husband. What is HK$20 as a hotel price for a bottle of coke when i have to pay more in Sydney on a normal days anyway. When we finished a huge meal of 3 main dishes at the thai restaurant last night, the bill came up to less than A$50 for the 2 of us. That is half the price of what we normally pay just for take away without service charge.
Today I headed out to my favourite Mi.Ne sushi at Causeway Bay. I LOVE and MISS my big fried oyster and foe grais sushi (menu) . Even my husband has to admit it was good. This is by far the best sushi place I have found in HK island. Funnily, i forgot Hk lunch hour is 1pm instead of the usual 12pm and so i made my husband appear at 11.45am because I wanted to avoid the Q. heee heeeee.
Mine Sushi.
address: 12 Pak Sha Road, Causeway Bay,HK
Business hours: 11:30～0:00 Last orders 23:30
Another funny thing to adapt very quickly was being back to using "Tap" card for the train. After having been forced to use the retard primitive paper train ticket in Sydney, I forgot for a minute that I didnt have to take the MTR Optopus train card out of my wallet. I smacked myself in the head when I was fumbling to take the card out of my wallet (like when i use to in sydney while on the escalator) when I remembered I am back in the land of technology. Haaa haaa. And the best is that both Sg and HK train station has a local map located at around the station to guide tourists or someone new to the area. We never figured out why Sydney train stations are so cheap and lazy that they cannot even do that. They do not fucking care if you get lost. They just assume u take the train because you know where you are heading.
My husband described it best today while we were riding the train to Mongkok to buy a camera. He said "In Australia, they pay heaps of money on tourism advertisment beautifying and drawing you to Australia. but once you get suckered into the country, they leave you high and dry with no guide or help to the tourists whatsoever."
I once told my friend that living in Sydney is like signing a contract with a bank offfering house mortage. The tourism board is akin to bank that is making a loan. They create a mirage of paradise and colourful promises but once you sign the deal to take up their offer (living there), suddenly the wool over your eyes is being pulled away. No more paradise baby. While its not a hell hole, but it sure isnt far from it leeching you dry bit by bit over time.
I went to citysuper supermarket last night to see how much my Hokkaido milk is now. Well HK$32. I was laughed when I saw the price tag. My husband asked me what happened? I said, "Its only $32 from $28previously a year ago. If you didnt tell me its inflation, I would just assume it was the supermarket trying to make a larger profit with its annual price adjustment"
It's terrible coming back from Sydney. because everything still seemed so cheap in comparison, you do not watch your spending EXCEPT the rental prices. In HK, its the rental price that EATS up a HUGE portion of your pay more than anything else.
A fruitful 2 days. Did many things, bought many things.
I'm feeling like paradise!
It's a good thing too that I am familiar with HK now and so its like a fish in water sort of feeling. Especially with such an efficient transport, I get to everywhere in a jiffy. No more lousy 10-15mins wait for the train as in Sydney. With the 1-2mins wait, I can now time my appointments accurately and plan my day activities in my head like clockwork since every thing runs efficiently.
Despite the wet weather, I no longer bear grudges about the HK small walking pavements where 50 over people squeeze with you at one time in a stretch. Even the tons of "murderous" umbrellas constantly poking at my face didnt faze me today. I was feeling chirpy being back, back to the land of civilization, high technology. Like I told my husband, I do not know how long this feeling of euphoria will last but I am relishing every single moment of it. It felt like a VIP upgrade being back in HK and far away from Sydney. I do not loathe Sydney, I just wasnt terribly impressed with the city which is really not very metropolitan no matter what they claim.
Even as i open the can of coke in the fridge from the hotel freezer, I didnt even blink or think its expensive. I was telling my husband. What is HK$20 as a hotel price for a bottle of coke when i have to pay more in Sydney on a normal days anyway. When we finished a huge meal of 3 main dishes at the thai restaurant last night, the bill came up to less than A$50 for the 2 of us. That is half the price of what we normally pay just for take away without service charge.
Today I headed out to my favourite Mi.Ne sushi at Causeway Bay. I LOVE and MISS my big fried oyster and foe grais sushi (menu) . Even my husband has to admit it was good. This is by far the best sushi place I have found in HK island. Funnily, i forgot Hk lunch hour is 1pm instead of the usual 12pm and so i made my husband appear at 11.45am because I wanted to avoid the Q. heee heeeee.
Mine Sushi.
address: 12 Pak Sha Road, Causeway Bay,HK
Business hours: 11:30～0:00 Last orders 23:30
Another funny thing to adapt very quickly was being back to using "Tap" card for the train. After having been forced to use the retard primitive paper train ticket in Sydney, I forgot for a minute that I didnt have to take the MTR Optopus train card out of my wallet. I smacked myself in the head when I was fumbling to take the card out of my wallet (like when i use to in sydney while on the escalator) when I remembered I am back in the land of technology. Haaa haaa. And the best is that both Sg and HK train station has a local map located at around the station to guide tourists or someone new to the area. We never figured out why Sydney train stations are so cheap and lazy that they cannot even do that. They do not fucking care if you get lost. They just assume u take the train because you know where you are heading.
My husband described it best today while we were riding the train to Mongkok to buy a camera. He said "In Australia, they pay heaps of money on tourism advertisment beautifying and drawing you to Australia. but once you get suckered into the country, they leave you high and dry with no guide or help to the tourists whatsoever."
I once told my friend that living in Sydney is like signing a contract with a bank offfering house mortage. The tourism board is akin to bank that is making a loan. They create a mirage of paradise and colourful promises but once you sign the deal to take up their offer (living there), suddenly the wool over your eyes is being pulled away. No more paradise baby. While its not a hell hole, but it sure isnt far from it leeching you dry bit by bit over time.
I went to citysuper supermarket last night to see how much my Hokkaido milk is now. Well HK$32. I was laughed when I saw the price tag. My husband asked me what happened? I said, "Its only $32 from $28previously a year ago. If you didnt tell me its inflation, I would just assume it was the supermarket trying to make a larger profit with its annual price adjustment"
It's terrible coming back from Sydney. because everything still seemed so cheap in comparison, you do not watch your spending EXCEPT the rental prices. In HK, its the rental price that EATS up a HUGE portion of your pay more than anything else.
A fruitful 2 days. Did many things, bought many things.
I'm feeling like paradise!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Finally, Out and In again.
After much grief and fatigue, by friday eve, all the nitemare was almost over and behind us with the major relocation. Of course it has to rain on the day we were moving our furniture into the truck. No surprise. It always had to rain on the day I moved in and out of Sydney. I'm pretty sure the mood is mutual....
We couldnt fit everything into one container and so my study table had to come in another shipment. The only reason is that the lazy movers didnt bother to disassemble the stands and so it was sticking out. Then again, the moves didnt even bring their OWN tools and used ours! How slack is that?! Like i said, service in Sydney is virtually non existent when it comes to the crunch.
We stayed at Meriton Bondi the last 2 nites in sydney and I did a little shopping to grab a couple of flannel PJ and finally finished up my Meyers gift card. Also met up with stan for a late lunch and chats (more than sharing my gripes). He too was getting sick of oz and looking forward to heading back to sg but he had to rough t out another year due to work. He also complained about the ridiculous high pricing of everything and especially lousy jackets that is as expensive as A$150-200 that wont even keep you warm! He was certainly looking fwd to visiting me in HK later and get back to serious shopping.
On sat morn, we headed to Luxe, the BEST cafe in Bondi junction (and i reckon the eastern suburb too). I love this cafe because of its poached chicken sandwich which is an absolute delight. Evryone i brought here loved it. The serving has shrunk a little and it isnt cheap but at least this little haven has very good staff and very polite and sweet. They are a cool bunch too and they trust you to come pay after your meal even though the tables are out of their sight. Anyone who thinks of cheating them of a meal will be in my opinion complete assholes. It's small niches like this that made me forget how horrendous the rest of the country can get when it comes to big corporate led services.
We had a noon flight and I was crossing my fingers they wont charge us for overweight cargo. We had a 30kg limit each and I was pretty sure we exceeded that. Luckily for us (for once everything was going smoothly that morning without a hitch), we had a lovely chinese girl at the cathay check in counter and she didnt even blinked when we both had about 40kg each. My husband causually explained that we are shifting home and she went "Oh that explains the heavy lugguage" and she didnt try to charge us. Phew! We assume it wasnt a full flight, early check in and flying business had some contributing factors to it...
I liked the cathay new business class because it offers lots of privacy. Depending on which plane u are on, the one i had which offered only 3 rows of business seats, take the window K row. People seated at the A and D will be staring at each other's feet but K row was facing the back panel of the seat infront. I love the cathay inflight TV. It's huge and non reflective. Its like having a large laptop screen before you, I loved it. Not to mention the small quilt blanket... nice. After u get use to the idea of high panel, you will love the quiet cornering high panel like your own office cubicle. But i think the seat is not meant for big people because it felt just nice for me and I have a small frame....I havent try the A380 business so no comparison yet.
Fortunately, there was no storm when we landed in HK last night. Everything about the flight was smooth although the flight was still showing JUNE TV program which I had already saw everything on my last flight. They announced that they did not have time to load the program. I wonder which airport was slack about that. It is the 5th of July and they still havent load the new shows. Damn. So i missed the movie 21 and flawless on flight.
After having landed to getting to our pre booked car, my husband commented "You wont get this sort of service in Sydney" as the guy took over pushing the FREE trolley lugguage service with a smile. I looked at my husband and said "Are you crazy? This would never happen in Sydney airport." So back to good old Asian service. It's not perfect, but sorry to say, it is at least a thousand times better. I am now crossing my fingers with the crown service in HK.
We couldnt fit everything into one container and so my study table had to come in another shipment. The only reason is that the lazy movers didnt bother to disassemble the stands and so it was sticking out. Then again, the moves didnt even bring their OWN tools and used ours! How slack is that?! Like i said, service in Sydney is virtually non existent when it comes to the crunch.
We stayed at Meriton Bondi the last 2 nites in sydney and I did a little shopping to grab a couple of flannel PJ and finally finished up my Meyers gift card. Also met up with stan for a late lunch and chats (more than sharing my gripes). He too was getting sick of oz and looking forward to heading back to sg but he had to rough t out another year due to work. He also complained about the ridiculous high pricing of everything and especially lousy jackets that is as expensive as A$150-200 that wont even keep you warm! He was certainly looking fwd to visiting me in HK later and get back to serious shopping.
On sat morn, we headed to Luxe, the BEST cafe in Bondi junction (and i reckon the eastern suburb too). I love this cafe because of its poached chicken sandwich which is an absolute delight. Evryone i brought here loved it. The serving has shrunk a little and it isnt cheap but at least this little haven has very good staff and very polite and sweet. They are a cool bunch too and they trust you to come pay after your meal even though the tables are out of their sight. Anyone who thinks of cheating them of a meal will be in my opinion complete assholes. It's small niches like this that made me forget how horrendous the rest of the country can get when it comes to big corporate led services.
We had a noon flight and I was crossing my fingers they wont charge us for overweight cargo. We had a 30kg limit each and I was pretty sure we exceeded that. Luckily for us (for once everything was going smoothly that morning without a hitch), we had a lovely chinese girl at the cathay check in counter and she didnt even blinked when we both had about 40kg each. My husband causually explained that we are shifting home and she went "Oh that explains the heavy lugguage" and she didnt try to charge us. Phew! We assume it wasnt a full flight, early check in and flying business had some contributing factors to it...
I liked the cathay new business class because it offers lots of privacy. Depending on which plane u are on, the one i had which offered only 3 rows of business seats, take the window K row. People seated at the A and D will be staring at each other's feet but K row was facing the back panel of the seat infront. I love the cathay inflight TV. It's huge and non reflective. Its like having a large laptop screen before you, I loved it. Not to mention the small quilt blanket... nice. After u get use to the idea of high panel, you will love the quiet cornering high panel like your own office cubicle. But i think the seat is not meant for big people because it felt just nice for me and I have a small frame....I havent try the A380 business so no comparison yet.
Fortunately, there was no storm when we landed in HK last night. Everything about the flight was smooth although the flight was still showing JUNE TV program which I had already saw everything on my last flight. They announced that they did not have time to load the program. I wonder which airport was slack about that. It is the 5th of July and they still havent load the new shows. Damn. So i missed the movie 21 and flawless on flight.
After having landed to getting to our pre booked car, my husband commented "You wont get this sort of service in Sydney" as the guy took over pushing the FREE trolley lugguage service with a smile. I looked at my husband and said "Are you crazy? This would never happen in Sydney airport." So back to good old Asian service. It's not perfect, but sorry to say, it is at least a thousand times better. I am now crossing my fingers with the crown service in HK.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Sydney crap service
Christ! Today is packing day for the move and there is sooo much to bitch about. Australia is seriously a crap country for service across any industry. It is seriously fuck up. They charge you an arm and legs and make you pay through the nose for the crappest shittiest worse service I have ever seen. If you think China service is bad, welcome to Sydney.
Imagine paying premium price for Crown and guess how many people came to pack?
ONE. ONE single young chap who had to pack my whole 2000ft apartment. If I had not helped to pack, startin from from 9am till 6pm. That chap would NEVER be able to leave by 7pm. I bet my ass that by 6pm he would still be packing! I packed the whole toilet, 3 bedroom and half a kitchen and all the glass ornaments. I was so afriad he will wreak my precious cargo. The thing that piss me off was there couldnt even deliver free boxes to my place. They expect me to pay $45 for courrier for the boxes delivered. crazy. No fking way. So I just have to rough it out today and my back is break and feet hurting from standing on my feet almost 2 long days....
I didnt even dare to see how he packed my plasma. In HK santa fe, they had 2 people with a dedicated box crate to contain the screen. Today, I think he just wrap it in some international wrap before crate. I asked him about it and he said he had marked to be crated. I cannot imagine how a single guy managed to wrap and move the plasma TV all on his own. I am crossing my fingers and toes it stays alright......
Anycase, I have all given up expecting any decent service from this land of colour and gold. At least I hope and pray back in HK i will be getting back my decent quality standard. I think and hope it will be a long while before i have to return to this very very expensive country where service is almost non existence.
And all they rem was to keep chasing me to pay when my goods are not even loaded into container. They havent even given me my tracking ID, they havent even given me answers to all the queries I had asked for the last week.
Oh well, too late to worry and I can only hope everythin fits into the container. Wish me luck....
Imagine paying premium price for Crown and guess how many people came to pack?
ONE. ONE single young chap who had to pack my whole 2000ft apartment. If I had not helped to pack, startin from from 9am till 6pm. That chap would NEVER be able to leave by 7pm. I bet my ass that by 6pm he would still be packing! I packed the whole toilet, 3 bedroom and half a kitchen and all the glass ornaments. I was so afriad he will wreak my precious cargo. The thing that piss me off was there couldnt even deliver free boxes to my place. They expect me to pay $45 for courrier for the boxes delivered. crazy. No fking way. So I just have to rough it out today and my back is break and feet hurting from standing on my feet almost 2 long days....
I didnt even dare to see how he packed my plasma. In HK santa fe, they had 2 people with a dedicated box crate to contain the screen. Today, I think he just wrap it in some international wrap before crate. I asked him about it and he said he had marked to be crated. I cannot imagine how a single guy managed to wrap and move the plasma TV all on his own. I am crossing my fingers and toes it stays alright......
Anycase, I have all given up expecting any decent service from this land of colour and gold. At least I hope and pray back in HK i will be getting back my decent quality standard. I think and hope it will be a long while before i have to return to this very very expensive country where service is almost non existence.
And all they rem was to keep chasing me to pay when my goods are not even loaded into container. They havent even given me my tracking ID, they havent even given me answers to all the queries I had asked for the last week.
Oh well, too late to worry and I can only hope everythin fits into the container. Wish me luck....
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Dark Knight Trailer
After "Wanted" (Angeline new flick), the next movie on my radar of "must watch" kist is the new Batman movie. Apparently it has rave reviews despite the 3hrs duration and everyone loved it. I could only hope its not an overhype due to poor H.L's death.
I saw the trailer and H.L looked really good there as the role of joker. He actually looked kinda scary.
You know, I think the movie industry should stop playing roles where actors have to paint their face all white and gordy because 2 actors who have done that are dead. The first freak death was Bruce Lee's son acting in Crow many years back and he too had the similar eerie ghostly white face and funny eyepaint job. Same for H.L who died for the most unknown reasons...I see no reason for a loving father to kill himself and also when work is going so well for him. I wont speculate.
If I am any superstitious, the chinese saying would be the living soul couldnt recognise the body and the evil spirits took possession. That is why all our asian scary movies have spirits with white face and funny eyes...
I saw the trailer and H.L looked really good there as the role of joker. He actually looked kinda scary.
You know, I think the movie industry should stop playing roles where actors have to paint their face all white and gordy because 2 actors who have done that are dead. The first freak death was Bruce Lee's son acting in Crow many years back and he too had the similar eerie ghostly white face and funny eyepaint job. Same for H.L who died for the most unknown reasons...I see no reason for a loving father to kill himself and also when work is going so well for him. I wont speculate.
If I am any superstitious, the chinese saying would be the living soul couldnt recognise the body and the evil spirits took possession. That is why all our asian scary movies have spirits with white face and funny eyes...
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Fantastic dinner @ The 3 Weeds Restaurant
Had dinner at The restaurent at 3 weeds Hotel. OMG, dinner was really really fantastic!! One of the great ones I have had in Sydney for a while and strongly recommend for any sydneysiders or people in town with days to spare. This is one of the few restaurants that deserved the chef hat. I was so busy chatting and eating that I forgot to grab pictures until it was dessert time....
For entree, I had the pork belly with cider and apple and it was wonderfully done. The top skin was crispy and meat tender. Unlike the pork belly I had in canberra which was reeking horribly with salt, what I had tonight was tasty, and the natural meat sweetnes was enhanced somehow throught the cooking.
For the main, I had the special for the night which was Pan fried Barrumundi served with red cabbage in red wine jus. Oh wow! I normally do not like specials for the night but I was completely impressed and so was steve who had the same main as I did. The skin was perfectly crispy and meat cooked to perfection. The red cabbage was fantastic and has a twang to it that complimented the fish sooooooo well! There was no room to find fault with!
My companions had the scallops for entree which also looked divine and the blue eye fillet was also beautifully done.
As for dessert, it was a perfect round up to the night. Steve and I again had the flourless choc oudding served with chestnut icecream. While the icecream was average, but the choc pud was divine especially for any choc fan addict. It has the soft lava center and served delightfully warm with a light fluffy top. The mergine too was nice but a little bit creamy and rich if you are already too full.
All in all a perfect night, with a wonderful white french wine recommendation that went very well with our meal with its fruit aroma and clean finish. I couldnt ask for a more perfect dinner even though its without a view. However who cares when u have great company for the night, not to mention polite, prompt and non instrusive serving staff!
Farewell Lunch
Met some friends at "The loft" at King's Wharf for late lunch last friday. We had spectacular view and so we "basked" in the sun sitting in the large sofa outdoor. It was a beautiful day as well. I am so going to miss this clear blue sunny sky once I head to live in HK. Back to grey gloomy days, not to mention bloody rain storms this year now.
The Loft had beautiful and very pretty interior decor. It's hip and funky and I heard the place is often booked out and full at night for drinks. The stretch of outdoor is also lined with comfy large sofas as well. Perfect for chilling out with friends at night.
Since its a wine place, I wasnt expecting great food but surprise surprise, my meal tasted better than I had thought, and even better than most of the "upmarketish" restauarants surrounding the darling harbour.I had the panfried atlantic salmon while my gf had the fish and chips. We decided to share the salt and pepper szechuan squid. I really like the squid as it was a good chucky piece and was a tinge spicy to boot which goes fantastically with wine.
We hung out for about 2 hours since the whole place was pretty quiet at noon, before heading to Lindtt cafe (again) at darling harbour to meet another Jap friend Rei who was leaving for Japan on Sunday.
By 6pm, I was completely stuffed from food and dessert and hot chocloate. Well I figured I might as well enjoy every drop since I am not getting any once I am in HK....Yeah, I think I was pretty satisfied by night fall..... :P