Hong Kong Trip: Hong Kong Day 5 (Part 1)

It's Christmas Eve! We woke up quite late at around 9.30 am (as we had a tiring day yesterday) and left for breakfast at around 10.15 am. We walked around Mongkok area and went into one of the numerous 'cha chan ting'. Gs was not feeling too well and had some 'merlion' syndromes. We decided to take it easy today and have a relax day visiting places.

Before having our breakfast

We proceeded to take the train to Tsim Sha Tsui to take the Star Ferry across the Victoria Harbour. Star Pier had been operating for a long time in Tsim Sha Tsui and is considered one of the historic landmarks there. The ride across the channel of water is very cheap at around 1 to 2 dollars.

Many people taking the Star Ferry at the pier


In the ferry


The view of Tsim Sha Tsui from the ferry


The view of Hong Kong Island from the ferry

Upon arrival, we toured around the vicinity for a while. Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Hall is very near and we decided to check it out.

Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre


Golden Bauhinia Flower in Hong Kong (A symbol of reunification with China)


Another monument behind the Golden Bauhinia Flower

We walked around to find a bus terminal to no avail. We wanted to catch a bus to Repulse Bay as no MTR goes directly to the beach. After asking many people for directions, we finally found a bus stop that has the bus that goes to Repulse Bay.

The 9 Dragons as Kowloon is "Jiu3 Long2" in Mandarin that we found while walking around

We took the bus and arrived at Repulse Bay after around 15 minutes. Not that impressive at first sight though.

The sun is quite scorching although it's winter there


Did you know that Repulse Bay is a man-made beach?


Gs and me with another view of the beach

We walked along the stretch of the beach and were sweating a little. Further down the beach is a temple with huge statues of Tin Hau and Kwun Yum. We decided to take some photos before heading for lunch.

In front of the temple


In front of the temple shot 2

To be continued...

End of Part 1 (9.30 am to 2 pm)

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Bridge to Terabithia

Watched Bridge to Terabithia with Derrick at Ps in the evening after school today. The show was almost sold out and we were lucky to get the seats.

Anyway, Bridge to Terabithia was my literature text in secondary school and i felt that i should catch the movie adaptation. However, i had forgotten most of the contents in the book except that it contains some fantasy elements in it. While watching the movie, the bits and pieces of the book came back into my memory.

Ok back to the show. Bridge to Terabithia is about a boy who had few friends in school and he got to know a new girl who just moved into his neighbourhood. They wander into the woods after school and cross a creek into a place which they called Terabithia. Both of them forge a new bond which gradually become stronger as they spend more time together in the world they created. There, they reign as king and queen of Terabithia with dark characters attacking their treehouse and Terabithians fighting alongside with them to ward off the evil characters.

The movie boosts fine acting from the young actors in the movie, namely Josh Hutcherson and Annasophia Robb. They are wonderfully natural in their roles, one being the rational and quiet guy who doesn't show much of his feelings while the other being a vivacious and outdoor-loving girl who opens up her world to experience the fantasy within. This movie is a faithful adaptation of the famous children's novel and the movie does not stray away from the storybook to create more dramatic effects. On the whole, the plot seems a little too tame and tepid for a movie adaptation. The transition from reality to fantasy seems a bit too sudden, but it's hard to fuse both reality and fantasy into the same realm. The actors in the movie are an absolute joy to watch though.

Ps: It is hard to leave the theatre with a dry eye indeed.

***

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Fully Recovered

Finally completed my part for the business plan. Did the charts, graphs and tables for cashflow statements, profit and loss statements, sales forecasts, start-up costs and balance sheets. Took me quite a while to get the entire document into place.

Went out with my sec sch friends yesterday and played basketball for a while near Weiming's house. It has been a really really long time since i last exercised and my muscles were aching for a while today. Anyway, after that we went to his house to play some ps2 games for some time before heading out for dinner.

The past week has been very slack and i had been playing computer games at home for the entire days when i was sick. Time for me to catch up on movies this week.

Time to get my lazy ass up for more exercises. I don't wanna get sick for so long in a very long time.

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Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End

Watched this show with a whole bunch of aero ppl at The Cathay. Basically for me, Pirates 1 was not bad, Pirates 2 was quite lousy, and Pirates 3 is a whole bunch of crap. Pirates 3 is purely a money making machine that churns out swashbuckling action mindlessly. People who missed Pirates 2 will be scratching their heads during certain parts of the movie.

The story is about some pirates wanting to save Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones locker and they travel to the far reaching ends of the world to rescue him. After freeing him from his world full of illusions, they then fight against Davy Jones, his crew and the British from East India Trading Company. Put it simply, this whole movie is half a rescue mission and half a fighting show. The special effects are mind boggling and the action is brash, loud and chaotic. This movie lacks something which is essential for a decent show, a good storyline. Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley couldn't save the show from sinking and Orlando Bloom is just the male version of the 'vase'. Some parts of the movie was rather exciting but the action gets a tad too repetitive. After watching the show, i felt neither entertained nor satisfied. It's one of the shows which we ask ourselves, what's the whole point about it?

**

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Road to Recovery

It had been an entirely sick week for me as my sore throat generated flu and cough which seem to be extremely resilient against my medication. My illness was made worse by a constant headache which popped up since friday night. Went to see a doctor on saturday afternoon as the headache won't subside after taking panadol. I'm glad i did as the illness had caused "bi2 mo2 yan2" which is infection in the upper cavity of the nasal passageway which resulted in the constant headache.

The bill was a whopping $106 as the antibiotics given to me is more powerful than klacid (the yellow coloured antibiotic pill), which is augmentin (white coloured pill) that costs $4 a pill.

Anyway, my parent just traded in their old Mercedes for a new one. The cool thing about it is the GPS system. We can key in places or road names into the system and it will give instructions (turn left, turn right, etc) on how to go to the place.

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Sick

Sick from sore throat, cough, a little flu and feverish. Dragged myself to school today as there are quizzes which i just completed. Screwed up one and got full marks for the other quiz.

The assignments are starting to pile up. I better complete some over the weekend or else it would be a mad rush at the end of this month.

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Hong Kong Trip: Hong Kong Day 4 (Part 5)

After we sat on the cable car back to Tung Chung, we decided to go to the shopping centre for dinner. Upon entry, we found that there are so many factory outlet stores there. There are Nike factory outlet, Adidas factory outlet, Fila factory outlet, etc. We decided to shop around for a while since the prices in the shopping centre should be cheaper compared to others.

We browsed from store to store at a quick pace as we had to catch the fireworks at Disneyland at 9 pm. Since there were mostly restaurants there, we decided to have MacDonalds takeaway to save the time eating. Took the MTR to Disneyland Resort station after buying our dinner.

We were all tired from the traveling, running and climbing (we captured this shot to display our tiredness)


Back at Disneyland Resort at night


The beautiful whale fountain which changes colour from time to time


The lovely tram station


Me and Gs in the ancient car


It was the Christmas season and foam (acting as snow) was dispensed on the main street


The symbolic Disney tower again


All the buildings were brightly lit and a gigantic Christmas tree lies in the background


Me and Ed wearing dorky cartoony caps

At 9 pm sharp, the fireworks started and a phenomenally huge crowd had gathered at the main roundabout to catch the fireworks in full view.

The tower bursting into life with rotating swirls of fireworks


The tower erupting with loads of fireworks


Check out the amount of smoke in the background


The colours of the tower were changing constantly to generate a more magical effect


Another shot of the fireworks

After the fireworks ended in about 20 minutes later and we all unanimously agreed that the fireworks were fantastic. The fireworks display is the best i ever watched and there is so much choreography involved in the timing, the shape, the size, the type, and the colour of the fireworks. There is also a story along with the fireworks display which is read out to the audience and the lighting of the tower emulated the mood of the story as it progresses. The amount of fireworks used were more than the number of 2 NDP parades fireworks combined.

It was an excellent conclusion to our full day's trip and we agreed that the fireworks had made it the Disneyland ticket price worth its price after the rather disappointing rides. Anyway, for people who want to visit HK Disneyland, i think the Saturday fireworks display (which is the day we went) is more than regular days and i believe that's why the ticket prices are more expensive on Saturdays. The main disadvantage of visiting on Saturday is that the crowds are overwhelming and it would be time consuming to queue up for the popular rides.

We took the bus back to Mongkok as we imagined the trains to be packed like sardines after hundreds of people left the resort the same time as us after the fireworks display ended. Also, we did not want the hassle of transferring trains at 2 interchanges.

A tiring but enjoyable 4th day indeed.

End of Part 5 (7 to 10.30 pm)

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28 Weeks Later!

Watched 28 Weeks Later with Ed and Jim at The Cathay just now. It's damn bloody and it's damn good. I thought that 28 Days Later would be superior to this sequel as Danny Boyle, one of my favourite directors, is not helming this sequel but he is the executive producer for this movie. The director for 28 Weeks Later is newcomer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and i feel that it is as good as its predecessor.

The story uses the main storyline from 28 Days Later but does not continue from the characters in part 1. So for those who missed part 1, you guys don't have to worry as the characters in this sequel are all new. Britain has been ravaged by the "Rage" virus and the zombies are all dead as they have died of starvation after 28 weeks. The survivors from the epidemic are protected by the US Nato forces in a special quarantine zone called District 1. They will start the reconstruction work soon to revive London, which is totally deserted and littered with dead bodies.

Unexpectedly, an outbreak occurs in District 1 and mass hysteria ensued. Snipers were employed to shoot anyone as containment had failed and the next step was extermination. This movie is really an exciting movie and it fuses morality themes as well. The story had a few loopholes but it kept audiences constantly at the edge of the seats. There were many moments of intense fear, moments of tragic consequences, moments of cowardice, and moments of self-sacrificial glory. One particular scene reminded me of Pitch Black and it gave me the creeps to be unable to see what lies ahead. Gritty, dark, violent, and existential, this sequel delivers its goods and churns out scary moments from start to end. Love the apocalyptic soundtrack and the aerial and span shots of deserted London as well. Can't hardly wait for the next sequel. (La France est prochaine)

****

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The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Me and some of my coursemates went to The Cathay to watch The Wind That Shakes the Barley after school today. The movie is the grand prize winner at Cannes Film Festival last year and the story is about a group of Irish young men who wanted to break free from the control of the British back in the year 1916. The group had suffered the loss of a close friend who had been killed after defying the instructions of a British military commander. They formed the IRA or the Irish Republican Army and trained themselves to protect against British forces as well as killing some of the soldiers.

Violence begets more violence and vengeance is the catalyst. The story focuses more on the political aspect of the 2 countries than the actual war between the IRA and the British forces. It also serves as a reminder of the injustice that Ireland had endured in the past. However, this film is incredibly slow-moving and i dozed off several times throughout the movie. Luckily, i only fell asleep for a few seconds and did not miss any important portions of the movie. The thick British and Irish accent didn't help much either, especially hard to decipher when the dialogue is softer. What this film does exactly opposite from mainstream cinema is that it does not compromise to the expectations of the audience and succumb to over-dramatization. I admire the director Ken Loach's well intentions for making this movie but i was wishing that the movie would end faster so that i don't have to try so hard by stretching my neck, drinking my water, shifting my rest position, etc, to stay awake.

**1/2

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Summer Palace

Watched Summer Palace just now with Derrick at The Cathay. This movie is banned in China as the director had submitted the film to overseas film festivals without the government's approval. It had stirred up quite a controversy due to its explicit sexuality and probably the usage of actual footage from the Tiananmen incident. The story is about a disillusioned female teen, Yu Hong, who is accepted into Beiqing University. Brought up by only one parent, she relies a lot on her boyfriend and she becomes rather emotionally unstable as she leaves her hometown to Beijing for studies. She is not really social around people and her loneliness brings her to seek a physical relationship with a guy her friend had introduced. Turmoil starts to surface within the relationship as time progresses and their mutual trust begins to fall apart. The Tiananmen incident followed closely after and cemented the feeling of loss and isolation that Yu Hong is going through.

Tons of stuff followed suit and the director makes the story immensely engaging as well as capturing the mood and atmosphere that he wants to achieve. It is a downright depressing but pensive and reflective movie with the narration of the protagonist's thoughts and feelings. The lead actress and actor does a superb job in portraying the characters in the film even with very little dialogue involved. The sombre atmosphere makes us feel sad about the love lost, the downward spiral of their lives, and their desires and aspirations unfulfilled. My only gripe is that the dramatisation can be toned down for more subtlety and realism.

***1/2

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Hong Kong Trip: Hong Kong Day 4 (Part 4)

Fortunately, the sun set behind the mountains. That means the sun actually had not officially gone down yet. The cable car was actually quite fast but the distance between Ngong Ping and Tung Chung is quite significant. It took us 20 minutes to reach the other side. The line stretches 5.7 km according to Wikipedia and it is one of the world's longest cable car.

Picturesque view of the sunset + cable car tower


Me and Edwin in the cable car (can't fit everyone into the picture)


The vast mountain range and people trekking on the mountain trails


Can you spot the Big Buddha?


In closer view of the Big Buddha

We reached the cable car terminal at Ngong Ping Village and checked the time, 5.30 pm, 30 minutes before it starts to get dark! We quickly snapped a group photo near the terminal before rushing to the top of the Big Buddha.

A quick snapshot

Running........... Running........ Panting........ Running........

We were seriously running and try to catch our breath and Ed and i were leading the pack behind. We ran like around 1 - 2 km before finally reaching the foot of Big Buddha. We braced ourselves for sore thighs and ascended 268 of steps before reaching the summit.

At the midway of stairs towards Big Buddha and hiding my tired look


5 of us plus 10 tired legs


Finally at the summit of Big Buddha with Buddhistic statues praising the Tian Tan Buddha


We had to take more photos for our exhausting efforts


Me and the view from the summit

We walked around the Big Buddha for about 10 minutes and the security guards started asking people to get down the Big Buddha. I guess it's due to safety reasons as ample light is vital to prevent anyone from falling down the super long flight of stairs.

Giant joss sticks at the foot of Big Buddha and in front of Po Lin Monastery

We had a slow walk back to Ngong Ping Village and visited some of the souvenir shops there.

Ngong Ping Village with its rather expensive souvenirs


The sky is simply beautiful.......

We queued up to take the cable car back to Tung Chung Skyrail Terminal and waited for around 40 minutes as a lot of people were heading back at the same time. We were tired and exhausted but we were still going back to Disneyland for the fireworks display which starts at 9 pm.

To be continued....

End of Part 4 (5 to 7 pm)

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1st Day of EID

It was the first day of EID and there was even an orientation and welcome ceremony to the intersem module. It's a total waste of our time when we hear comments supposedly extracted from students of previous batches saying stuff like "It's a meaningful way to spend our holidays by making something innovative." Please, not all of us are nerds.

We will be having assignments and reports on top of the main automated model and the lengthy business plan. Since this is just the first week, i guess i should be taking it easy while i still have the chance to do so. I predict we will be working until the night every weekday from the 3rd week onwards since there are so much stuff that needs to be done.

Anyway, i've been teaching tuition for 7 hours yesterday and 5 hours today as my cousin is having his mid year exams. Hope that he will improve his grades.

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Hong Kong Trip: Hong Kong Day 4 (Part 3)

After the boat ride, we decided that it's about time we go to Ngong Ping to see the Big Buddha. Disneyland allows people to go out of the theme park and come back within the day. We had planned the day earlier to go both Disneyland and Big Buddha on the same day as they are both in Lantau Island and only 3 MTR stops apart.

We walked around in Disneyland for a short while before leaving and we would be coming back at night for the fireworks display.

Check out the Mickey Mouse ice-cream (bought by Shiqi)


5 of us plus the Mickey mouse statue


Winnie the Pooh!

While walking towards the exit along Main Street, there were many floats and a huge crowd had gathered to see the gigantic floats at the big area near the entrance.

Reminder of Chingay?


Me and the floats


The lovely whale fountain near the entrance


They had to thank us because the ticket prices are expensive! Ha.....


Even the MTR station is Disneylike


The spanking new MTR train which only serves Sunny Bay and Disneyland Resort station

We reached Tung Chung Station at around 4.30 pm and were not sure how to get to the Big Buddha from there. After asking around, we got to the cable car station adjacent to the MTR and time was ticking away as we waited in the queue to purchase tickets to go up to Ngong Ping where Tian Tan Buddha is located. It is the world's tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha.

We were worried that it will be dark by the time we reach there and it would be a wasted trip if we buy the cable car tickets. Anyway, we decided to proceed since we were already there. We rushed to take the cable car after buying the tickets and luckily, the queue was very short.

A view of Tung Chung area from the cable car


The sunset with the mountains


The sun is setting!


Opps, can't see much of the sun already

To be continued....

End of Part 3 (4 to 5 pm)

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