Journal of Life (2006 - 2008)

Blog Moving Notice

2008-06-25T22:58:00.002+08:00

Please be noted I had moved to this new blog, effective from 26-Jun-2008.

You may find the link to my new blog Journal of Life for your viewing pleasure.

See you there.

Anonymous Beach

2008-06-18T22:55:00.008+08:00

It's been raining like a never ending story since 2 weeks ago.

Yellow, red, black rainstorm signal had all been hoisted already. When is it going to stop?

Anyway, last Sunday was a fine day. Although still raining on and off, but at least there was time when we could see the lovely sun shinning up there. After a simple lunch, scared it would rain anytime soon, we couldn't wait but to pack some water and go for a walk outside. First, we went to the library to return and borrow some books, then we drove to one of our favorite playgrounds nearby.

Whitehead Club is a park with facilities for various recreational activities. Its golf facilities include 160 real grass chipping bays and a 4-hole green field. Golf instruction courses for beginners and advanced learners are offered on a regular basis. The club also has 2 BBQ areas, a seaside BBQ area facing the attractive Tolo Harbour, and a covered BBQ area. This is also the place where people can come to bike, walk, have picnic, and enjoy other outdoor recreational activities.

Nevertheless, Whitehead Club is not our favorite, the beach in front of it is. I introduce the club a little bit as a token of appreciation for its generosity to let us park our car there FOC, and allow us to use its washroom to clean ourselves after playing at the beach.

Yes, this is our playground, a remote beach that not too many people will come.

Looking left...

Looking right...

People come here for their purposes.

Some people were fishing there...One day we would want to try that out too.

Some were teaching their dogs to swim...Thought dogs are natural swimmer? Well, now I know they aren't.

We have our purposes too, you'll see...

Basically, we just walk along this sea shore, see what we can find and play with over there...

This time, they were very happy to find a "giant stick" there. I have no idea where this log came from. Anyway, who cares?

It took both of them to lift it up...

and carry it around...

If we didn't stop them, they planned to throw their 'giant stick' into the sea. Luckily, there isn't any police around.

The good thing about this place is, it serves a playground not just to the kids, but to us as well. For example, we can flipped the rocks around, and there are lots of sea creatures down there to see.

We like to catch baby crabs and put them into a transparent container for fun. Yes, we are truly a monster.

While I was busy digging on the sand, KS called me to show his discovery under the rock. Boy, at first glance, this thing really look like an African penis.

KS said its length is twice the size we saw here when he just found it. Yucks, such an eerie ugly thing. We throw it back to the water after a while, didn't even bother to put it in our container. Think at the positive side, being ugly can be a blessing in disguise, isn't it?

I was busy digging on the sand to look for clams. Just push the sand away, and we can find many big and small clams there. Once start to dig, it's become addicted to want to dig more, hoping to get a bigger clam each time.

When my mom was here last time, she like to dig for the clams too. When we heard a woman said those clams are safe to eat, we brought them home to try. My mom used it to make soup with ginger and tomatoes. The first time, only my mom and I drank it, for the fear of getting food poisoning. The second time, KS took some too, then we also let the boys to take a very portion. We all are safe. Anyway, I am worried about its heavy metal content. So we never eat it anymore since my mom had gone.

Many shell creatures stick themselves on the rocks. Some had become fossils, I wonder if they had stuck too long there until they couldn't move back to the sea?

William is more brave now to touch and remove small animals compared to last time.

He removed the 'snail' from the rock and showed it to me.

Due to raining season, the water level is higher. In normal days, we can walk to the rocks there. Some people like to pick clams and oysters around that area.

He was showing off one of his captive to me.

Feels that he is a big boy now.

Last time, when I squat down like this, I'm not the shortest, but not anymore lo.

It's very hot to expose ourselves under the hot sun. So, we left the place an hour later.

Before we left, I asked them to set free our captive. Although they would love to take them home, they let them go after I repeat the same old story : those baby crabs must be very scared if they can't go home to see their daddy and mommy. I guess this can be one of the biggest night mare for every kids.

Oh yes, those flowers are blossom all along the sea shore.

He likes to study the road map to see where we are and where we are about to go. But I'm not not good in reading intricate map, so I can't couch him well enough in it. I will leave this to his daddy then.

I Will Always Return

2008-06-12T16:00:00.009+08:00

Sitting still in front of the computer to work on the sensible and non-sensible inquiries from my customers can be very very boring at times.

In order to beat the boredom and keep my emotional stable, I normally plug an ear phone into my right ear and listen to the songs that some good people had uploaded in the YouTube.

This morning, I happenned to bump into a song that make my fingers stop but listen to the song with my whole heart. It's really a nice song. Check it out...

I Will Always Return (Byran Adams)

I hear the wind call my name
The sound that leads me home again
It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns
To you I'll always return
I know the road is long but where you are is home
Wherever you stay - I'll find the way
I'll run like the river - I'll follow the sun
I'll fly like an eagle - to where I belong

I can't stand the distance - I can't dream alone
I can't wait to see you - Yes I'm on my way home

Now I know it's true
My every road leads to you
And in the hour of darkness
Your light gets me through

You run like the river - you shine like the sun
You fly like an eagle
You are the one
I've seen every sunset
And with all that I've learned
Oh it's to you - I will always...always return

A very touching song it is ....
*

*

Star Wars Expo

2008-06-01T09:41:00.004+08:00

When I conducted a house-keeping on the photo albums lately, I notice I had neglected this one somehow. It was taken 6 months ago. Funny, I think we all look a bit younger in the photos. Boy, we are growing old that fast huh?

Since I have nothing special to post these days, I decided to take a little effort to upload the photos and published it. Also, as a remembrance of our 'younger face' ...

Plaza Hollywood is one of the most visited shopping mall to us. It's quite near to our house. Anyway, the most important thing is we can enjoy free parking very easily. For example, lady driver who wore skirt that day can entitle 3 hours free parking, easy, right? So, we just love this plaza for its generosity.

That day, we happened to bump into the Star War Expo. The boys were so fascinated about the Jedi's Sword. Even though we got to donate 20 bucks in order to touch it and take some photos with the models, we didn't complain. The mall has been generous to us all this time, and we don't mind to return its generosity too.

Actually, we can get the pretty good effect with the background image too, just that without the cool models and their sword and gun.

Those display models were not made with cheap plastic material. Hence, it worth my admiration.

I am not a Star Wars fan. So, I absolutely can't remember the name of some of the characters. Is that robot called R2-D2?

And this?

Anyway, I remember this drawf. He is Master Yoda, right?

Vincent like the robots a lot. When he really likes something, he will stand properly and ask me to take some photos for him.

Lucas, the skywalker.

Princess Lela, as indicated in the label below the statue.

forgot...

forgot..

no idea who this is...

no idea...

And I still think Master Yoda is the cutest among the all.

Looks scary huh? haha...

He kept bugging me to buy that helmet for him. Sigh...

I really think we (especially me) look younger 6 months ago.

When I read the chart, I have some re-collection of who-is-who. After some time, I know I will forget them. 6 months had passed since then, and it proofs how right I am.

Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay

2008-05-12T09:50:00.003+08:00

I have no doubt Olympic Game is such a big event to the world. However, its torch relay simply isn't big enough to get my particular attention until ....until I find out the torch relay would actually pass by my residential area. Hey, not many people will get to see the Olympic Torch's flame passing by just in front of their house, right? Probably not even once in our life time. Thinking of this has made the event a special one now.

The 'Journey of Harmony' will be carried through 19 cities of the 5 continents around the globe. The HK Torch Relay took place on 2 May 2008. The Olympic flame will be carried by 120 torchbearers to places throughout the territory on HK Island, Kowloon and the New Territories to spread the Olympic spirit by running or by using various modes of transportation such as cars, dragon boat and launch.

Just a week before the big day, I saw those Olympic mascots were set up at two of the main entrances to my place.

Each of the Beijing Olympic mascots has a rhyming two-syllable name - a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan antelope and Nini is the Swallow.

The run began at 10.30am at Tsim Tsai Tsui, scheduled to reach Shatin around 12.30 noon. Knowing there would be too many people gathered along the road, we better be early if want to get a good spot. So, I took my mom out at around 11 am. A man was kind enough to give us a flag to wave with.

We could have just stand along this road side to see the torch bearer ran by. But since the pier where the flame would be transported by dragon boat is not too far away. I decided to walk a bit further from here.

The dragon boat that carried the torch would pass by this river.

Majority of the spectators are students, or elderly people. Working people who took a day off, like me, are not many.

The crowds had started to gather along the river that can see the dragon boat passed by.

Despite of the weather was not good, the mood of the spectators was very good. They raised the banners, shouted the slogans...i don't think we can feel that if we just sat at home and watched the live broadcast.

The torch would be carried to the Shatin Horse Racing Court after getting off the dragon boat.

Everything seems to be ready when we reached this pier at around 11.30am.

The journalists and reporters were all set too. And they had blocked the best view for us to see the historical interchanging moment between the torch bearers. Well, we groaned inside but couldn't complain about it, they got a job to carry out mah.

Amongst all the reporters, she is the most prettiest one. Anyway, I don't know her name nor which TV channel she represents. In view of her physical appearance, maybe she is going to be famous one day.

While we all were waiting patiently for the torch to arrive, out of a sudden, the crowds shoved and cheered. We thought the torch bearer had finally arrived...wait, this man-in-black and his torch was a fake one. Really want to throw spoilt eggs on him lah, haha...

We waited some more time, so did the dragon dance team.

Finally, we heard the crowds cheered very loudly from every direction. The torch had arrived the pier. The time was 1.15pm.

Not long later, we saw the dragon boat that carried the torch. The woman in white shirt is the torch bearer. I forgot her name, just remembered she represents HK swimming team. Should this stop's bearer is Andy Lau or Jacky Cheung, I think someone would jump into the river to swim with him.

The gang that accompanied the main boat. The whole thing was like watching a live dragon boat competition.

The spectators watched till the gang gone far away, then we dismissed.

The crowds dismissed in peace.

Vincent's school teachers took them to see the relay somewhere along the road too. He was very happy to tell me this when he returned home that day.

If I said Mickey and Minnie looks more lovely than that 5 Olmypic mascots, I think the China patriot will throw me spoilt eggs lo.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-10T16:17:00.004+08:00

When I reached home yesterday evening, I rang the door bell as usual.

Surprise surprise, the little one came to open the door for me. His hands were put at his back, said he got something for me. Before I started to guess what it is, he couldn't wait to hand me a pink carnation wrapped in a see-through paper. Then, he hugged me real tight, gave me a big kiss, and he said : I LOVE YOU, mom.

Haha, I believe he did exactly what his teacher taught him to do. What a charm act !!!

Happy Mother's Day to all.

Po Toi Island

2008-04-10T22:29:00.009+08:00

We have heard of this Po Toi island (蒲台島) for many years, but couldn't make it to visit there before. This is because the boys are still small that time and not fit for a long distance hiking trip. As they are getting bigger, we have less consideration now. So, this is the year we finally made it to Po Toi island. Boy, 7 years we have been waiting for! I'm glad my parents could join us too.

The ferry schedule is not frequent. We departed from Stanley Pier at 11.30am. It said the boat journey will take around 30min.

There are some cushion seats inside the boat. But we rather sit at the upper front deck, simply to enjoy the cooler breeze and unblocked view.

Condo that built along the coastal line (with sea view) are very expensive property, but they worth the investment. I heard their price had upgraded N times.

The boat started to sail towards the vast open sea.

The visibility was poor that day. Most of the time, we saw nothing, but mist surrounded us.

Some of the time, we could see a small island's tip shrouded in mist. The scene is very very mysterious, like a movie.

How nice if we can see a little mermaid lying on the rocks there and waving to the people that is passing by...

We almost there...

getting closer and closer...

Po Toi island is a small, granite island with hulking hills ringed by a stark yet dramatic coastline with an old fishing hamlet clinging to the one sheltered cove. There are trails to hilltops, and to the tip of the dramatic southern headland.

Tin Hou Temple is in maintenance. Really, no matter how small or how remote the island it is, temple is for sure one of the construction there.

Tai Wan bay (大灣) is the one-and-only-one township of Po Toi island.

Finally we reached the pier at around 12pm.

Just want my parents to remember what is the place we have taken them to this time.

Actually, we didn't know which way to go. When we saw this sign board, naturally we walked straight to the way it points us to.

This tree looks so cool. I guess it must be older than my great grandparents.

oh, bamboo trees, it's not normal to see them in HK.

The trail starts from here, doesn't seem too difficult.

Po Toi island lies 3km off the southeastern tip of HK. It is famous for its rock formations.

You got to look at the rocks with your imagination flying, as it boasts Turtle Rock, Monk Rock, Supine Monk, and Palm Rock.

Some people had hired a private boat and stopped over this bay for partying. KS loves the idea. He said he wants to organize this trip and invite his colleague to join.

The further we walked, the scenery is getting more spectacular too.

After walking for 25min, we saw a sign board pointing us to go downstairs to see the rock carving. I wonder what it is? Some Kung-Fu master carved their words on the rock by sword?

Well, no. Apparently, there had long been a local legend among the fisherfolk of the existence of several rock carvings. Finally, groups of carvings were found at the southern part of Po Toi in the 1960's. They are of different motifs and separated by a rock fracture 70cm wide.

The group on the left consists of lines resembling stylized animal and fish patterns. I stared at it real hard, but didn't get it. Sigh, where has my imagination gone?

While the group on the right is composed of spirals in an inter-locking arrangement.

We crossed from one hill to the others by following the steps near the coastal line. Although the road seems not tough, there is no shelter at all. So, we felt pretty tired walking like this under the relatively hot sun.

Vincent said he saw giant crabs down there, I said I saw a gigantic whale splashing in the ocean there.

Although my imagination seems to have remained well grounded, as I've only seen Monk Rock. But even if rocks look only like rocks, this is a fine place to visit.

There is a light house at the end of the cape there, but it still seems like a long way to go. By then, we have walked 45 min to get to this point.

Po Toi island is also famous for its sea weeds. The boys wanted to go down to the beach there to pick the sea weeds. Of course, their mean parents won't allow them to do so.

While most of the hills are covered with brownish short grass, this part of the hill look especially greenery.

As we continued the walk, William started to protest. He said he was too tired to continue anymore. Only when we promised we would buy him coke and ice cream, then he got up and moved on.

Besides William, my parents were getting very tired too. So, we decided to stop at this point and turn back. Seeing the long trail ahead of us, I wonder how's the scenery like over there? Sigh, too bad we couldn't walk any further. We will come back again next time, and we will complete the whole trail.

So, we all sat there and rested for some time before heading back.

The scenery at this bay is so beautiful and peaceful.

After resting for 10 min, we headed back by following the same path. Actually, we hate to take the same road to return to the origin. But in view of the condition of the team members, we have to give up trying out new route.

Anyway, looking backwards can be another way of experiencing too...

He was really tired by then. But we couldn't carry him too long either. It's tough to carry a 18kg boy to walk on the road like this too.

So, we walk-stop-walk-stop-walk, until we finally went back to where we have started.

On the way back, William spotted his favourite - wild mushroom. I take this as a good opportunity to lecture him not to simply pluck the wild mushroom and put into his mouth.

Those fruits are not mango, but Pei-Par. Chinese doctors believe they are good ingredient to cure caughing.

This tree is commonly seen in HK and Malaysia too. But it's the 1st time I see the fruits. The shape is 3D-star, like the 'lucky paper-star' we used to fold when we were teenagers.

After walking for 1.5 hours, finally we went back to the starting point.

My body immediately felt so cool when see the green trees and under their shelters.

The trees here look so old yet healthy. They are lucky for not treated as 'wishing tree', nicked name 'make-money-tree'. Its buddy , the famous Lam Tsue Wishing Tree (林村許願樹) is not that lucky though. In fact, it is near death now, after getting excessive worship and attention from the people all around the world.

Just 3 decades ago, Po Toi was home to around a thousand people, most of whom lived around this cove. But, drawn by the booming city and driven out by mainland marauders, all but a handful have left. There are ruined buildings amongst trees by the pier; others are scattered nearby, and many more must have long since vanished, smothered by shrubs and climbers.

The one-and-the-only-one store that sell local stuffs.

This old couple was not chopping ordinary woods, but a kind of medicine roots. That's what they told Vincent after he squated there and chatted with them.

That is the only seafood restaurant on the island. We have no other choice but to take our lunch there.

When the boys saw the beach, they were very eager to run over there without any push.

An old lady were pulling out the sea weeds from the water.

It's over the busy lunch hour, anyway, we still got to wait to be served. Boy, we all were so hungry by then.

While waiting for the foods to come, we took the kids to a nearby jetty. First, we had to cross this narrow bridge. It really tested our balance.

He was so proud that he could cross the bridge without any assistance. Then, he crossed it again and again.

They looked at the water for a very long time, hoping to see something extraordinary special. Too bad, no water monster was seen there.

We gobbled the delicious seafoods very quicky and then, rush to the pier to catch the ferry. Should we missed it, we would need to wait for another 1.5 hours for the next round.

Again, we didn't sit in the comfort zone, but stayed at outside. Don't know why the boys like to glaze at the water for so long?

So I went down the deck to see what they were seing. Then I know why they were like so hypnotized? The water surface is very smooth and surreal, like a piece of silk fabric moving by gentle wind. Your mind would be easily drifted away if you stare at the surface for long. Also, there are quite a lot of jelly fish floated on the surface too. End up, I stared at the water a long time myself too.

30 minutes later, we returned to the Stanley's pier.

This place is not as quiet and peaceful as it looks here. Most of the time, the place is very crowded and it's hard to find a parking lot.

Besides Stanley's Market, this is the most famous landmark in Stanley.

They are many restaurants in there. It's a good choice if one is looking for a romantic place for dining.

Coincidentally, there was a street puppet show in the amphitheater nearby this square. We stood there to watch the show for 20min. They boys enjoyed watching the show a lot, but my parents were getting very tired by then. So, we got to pull the boys to leave. They were so upset for couldn't watch the show till its end. Sorry. As a punishment, I were forced to make a puppet for them when we got home.

Magic Egg

2008-04-05T12:08:00.001+08:00

During the Easter holiday, we were given 2 small boxes as gift for spending enough in a shopping mall. It's called Magic Egg.

Well, this Magic Egg has nothing to do with Magic nor Egg...

Seems that a bean sprout would grow out from an egg case. The cutest thing is, some words had been carved on the bean itself.

Ok, the bean will sprout in about 6-9 days, said here.

Simple instruction on how to treat the bean.

There was an egg case inside the box. The boys couldn't wait to open the box and hold it in hand when they just got it. On the way back to car park, William had dropped his egg on the ground. And thus, the egg case broken. He was pretty upset about it. Anyway, I collected the bean and the sands, and consoled him that his bean would grow alright.

The bean is very big size if compare to normal beans.

"Thank You" was carved on Vincent's bean.

"Me too" was carved on William's bean.

This is the sands.

Since William's egg case had broken, I had to put the bean inside a plastic container.

7 days later, it grew up like this.

8 days later, it grew 2 cm longer, in just 1 day time.

10 days later, it already grew that tall. Amazing.

Leaves came out too.

2 weeks later, it had already grown up that tall. Totally amazing.

I want to see how far it can grow. So I changed to use a bigger flower pot, and added more soil inside it.

While William's bean grows in an amazing fast speed, Vincent's bean, on the contrary, still haven't sprouted. It's obvious by now, that the small egg case has restricted its growth. So, I decided to transfer it to a same plastic container. 3 days later, it started to sprout.

The moral behind all this : sometimes you think you lose, you win.

Tai O

2008-03-29T22:28:00.115+08:00

My parents came to HK to visit us on last Thursday after they finished their trip in Taiwan. In order to stop them from sleeping on our couch the whole day, we got to take them out somewhere. So, we decided to go for more sight seeing trip. Initially, we wanted to go to Po Toi Island which we heard is a very beautiful place. However, the ferry's schedule was not suitable so we decided to go to Tai O first.

It was a quick decision. After we checked some basic tips and the transportation information from the internet, we departed immediately.

Tai O (大澳) is one of the outlying islands west of HK, located southwest of Lantau Island. Nicknamed ‘The Venice of Hong Kong’, it is one of the most famous outlying islands in HK. It is special not only in being a fishing village, but also not being polluted by urban life yet.

For 50 years, people crossed the water on a rope ferry pulled by two villagers. Then on October 1996, a steel pedestrian bridge across the creek was opened. It connected Tai O, which was originally divided into two parts by a river, together. The transportation in Tai O has become more and more convenient.

There is a very small population in Tai O, most are fishermen. In the past, they earned their money mainly by fishing and salt industry, such as salted fish, shrimps, and squids. One of the most famous products of Tai O fishing industry was salted shrimp sauce.

The traditional salted fish and shrimp paste storefront at Tai O.

Currently the fishing lifestyle is dying out, it barely provides a subsistence income.

Among all the stores, this one is the most interesting. They hang a whole dried shark there, cool!

They also hang another dried shark at the front of the shop. It's taller than me. The cost is startling high! HKD6500 per catty. But besides the shark fins, I don't know what's the use of the other part of the body?

There are lots of street snacks everywhere too. For example, different kinds of dried squids. Unfortunately, they are not my cup of tea.

Some stores are selling souvenir, made of all sorts of sea shells.

At the end of the street, that's the only hotel we see on the island. I think not many people is willing to stay in this kind of traditional hotel now a days. Beat me !

We walked further, into a narrow street...

This man is making a delicate snack, called 'kai-tan-chai'. Its shape is like many chicken eggs sticked together, very cruchy outside and soft inside. It's one of my favourite. Unfortunately, his production speed is like a snail crawls for 10m. In view of the long queue, I had to forget about it.

This house is like a cardboard paper house. Anyway, I think it was made of tin plate.

The boys took a rest sitting on the chair that put along the street.

And he quenched his thirst in front of the salted fish.

Truly, home made salted fish can be seen everywhere....

Some was hang...

Some was laid down, serves as food to the flies too.

Home made salted egg-yolk..

From the outlook, you can never guess what is the thing that they sell there.

This is called Cha Ko (茶果), glutinous rice dumpling stuffed with different ingredients inside. Although oily, it's quite delicious. Cheap too, HKD10 / 3pcs

I don't know what it is. But seeing the way it was processed, I have no appetite already.

The ambience around the square are is very relaxing.

Just when we turned into another narrow street, this old shop that displayed wooden face masks had captured my attention.

Apparently, Standard press had interviewed its owner, the man behind the masks, some time ago.

Some of his masterpieces. Not bad.

In modern days, the people in Tai O earn their income mainly by tourism instead of fishing. They have discovered that more and more tourists from both HK and overseas, visit Tai O during weekends; plus, tourism earns more income than fishing.

For a small fee, some residents will take tourists out on their boats along the river and for short jaunts into the sea. In fact, many tourists come to Tai O specifically to take these trips to see Chinese White Dolphins. We simply choose the one who offered us HKD20 per adult, FOC for children.

We took this boat to sail to the open sea, with a pray that we would see the dolphins.

There we go. I prayed real hard : Pleaseee... let us see the dolphins.

The boat moved on fast and it's very windy and bumpy. This William squatted on the seat without fasten seat belt. The driver warned us to watch out the children, but he didn't let me to hold him in whatever way, sigh. He is in the rebellious age to declare his independency.

At first, we passed by some hills...

The arch over there is called 'General Rock'. Ah, whatever.

Then, the hills slowly faded away as we sailed further away from the shore.

Finally, we were drifted on the vast open sea.

Like some other people on the other boat, we were focusing on the surface of the sea, waiting for the dolphins to show up.

Not too long later, we saw this dolphin jumping up from the sea...we all exclaimed in thrill.

It's not just 1 dolphin we saw, but in fact, quite many. It's absolutely fantastic to spot them in their nature habitat, somemore, in a near distance.

While many people claimed they couldn't see any, we, saw more than 10 heads. Boy, we must be extremely lucky then.

It's not easy to capture their picture as they move real fast. Got to have a lot of chances to do so. Well, this is my best shot.

Our captain started to leave the place about 15min later, though we hope he could have let us stayed longer. Anyway, I understand. With that small fee they charged, just HKD80 for all of us (4 adult + 2 children), they earned little only.

We left the place with total satisfaction and a happy heart.

This dolphin trip is definitely super-worth-it. It's more worthy than the expensive whale-watching trip we had had in Australia several years ago.

The driver used a different route to bring us back. So, we could see the island in a wider coverage.

Slowly, we entered the narrow channel, where the pang uk (棚屋), a kind of stilt house, built at both side of the waterway.

The stilted structures are an important part of the history and fishing village character of Tai O. On 2 July 2000, a fire broke out destroying some 90 stilted structures at Sam Chung and Sha Tsai Min. The Government has agreed in-principle to allow the fire victims to rebuild the stilted structures in-situ.

This is the fire-blazed stilted structure area. Some have been rebuilt. Some never.

There are 2 steel pedestrial bridges connecting both side of the land. This is one of them.

Some stilt houses was left in ruin.

Some was taken good care of.

This one is being used as a slaughter house to make roasted-pork.

Finally, the boat ride was ended. We went back to the place where we departed.

See this Venice Seafood Restaurant right in front of us. There are several this kind of seafood restaurant on the island.

Those too, are small seafood restaurants. So, no worries that you can't find any good foods here.

The attraction of Tai O lies in its tranquil natural setting and tremendous cultural resources. The overall planning concept remains one of the balancing nature and heritage conservation with appropriate new development.

Tai O is planned to become a theme park as a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong. However, the project is facing much opposition from the local people in Tai O, as they think that if the project is adopted to run, it will greatly affect their living habits and traditions that have lasted for centuries. The Government and residents of Tai O are still discussing on the solution, and how to balance the benefits of both sides.

It is definitely worth the trip to Tai O during the holidays, especially for those who want to know HK better. Life can be so simple over here.

It costs much less time to get to Tai O in recent years because of the construction of the Tsing Ma Bridge and MTR. To get to Tai O, you can take a ferry to Mui Wu. An alternative is to take a bus or the MTR to Tung Chung, then hop on a bus to Tai O. On public holidays, there are also ferries from Tuen Mun to Tai O.

While waiting in the bus, William wanted to play with the camera. That's what he shot.

He would be happy when I show him some of his masterpiece in my blog later.

Well, I want to believe he will only shot for the objects that look either interesting or pretty to him (cough cough).

6 Non Important Things To Me

2008-03-28T11:03:00.021+08:00

First of all, thanks CY (http://tangcyee.com/), for tagging me.

I think this is a pretty interesting topic.

These are the rules: -
1. Link to the person that tagged you.

2.Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

And here are 6 non-important things to me:

1. Eating Meat has become unimportant to me. In fact, I consider myself a 90% vegetarian now. I didn't change my eating habit on purpose. I didn't even remember how and why I start it either. I think it just evolved.

2. Branded and expensive personal items are unimportant to me. I don't want to worry and get upset about losing an expensive hand phone, scratch an expensive handbag, mess an expensive dress...NoNoNo...

3. Whether my sons would score straight A in their studies is unimportant. Of course, if they do score A, this will make me and their dad very happy.

4. Whether I would get credits from my boss has become less important now. I am more concern about the salary increment. Hehe...

5. Some time ago, I'd determined to learn 'Hak-Kar' dialect to please my in-laws family, but it's become unimportant now too.

6. I have tried to make more things to become less important to me. But this effort, has become unimportant now too. Some of the time, I just let intuition to lead my way.

Lastly, I would like to tag Gargies and Fishman, (http://www.tsyoon.blogspot.com/) (http://www.fishmandiary.blogspot.com/)

Pardon me, I don't know any blogger besides you guys. But I'm sure you two will be able to tag more people after me. No obligation, ok.

Sharp Island

2008-03-23T23:13:00.053+08:00

After being idle in the house for several days, the boys are getting increasingly bored. So, we have decided to take them for an outing on last Sunday. They were so happy about it, like a bird finally escaped from its cage.

This time, we went to Sharp Island, or more commonly called Kiu Tsui Chau (橋咀洲). This is another mosquito size islet offshore Sai Kung.

Around 1pm, we got on board a Boat at Sai Kung Pier. The return ticket for adult : HKD20, children : FOC.

That's how the boat looks like. There is no proper seat, nor we were given any life jacket, or what-so-ever. So, I assumed there is no insurance coverage for the passengers as well. One just got to ignore the possibility of accident-does-happen if he/she ever want to take this boat, ok.

Well, we just got to relax and pray this 15-min-boat-ride was a safe sailing one. Before the boated departed, the 'captain' would shout to the passenger to hold tight of their kids so they won't fall into the sea. Emm...In view of the open-design of the boat, that's possible hoh?

Anyway, we just relaxed and took some photos along the sea road.

My formulation in taking photos with the boys - 1st : grabbed them in arms so they can't run away. 2nd : tickle them to make them laugh or give funny faces.

There we are.

There are several different 'company' operates their private boat to commute between Sai Kung and Kiu Tsui Chau. We got to remember which boat it is so we can take the same boat to return later on. Otherwise, the return ticket is not valid.

The water is very clear though. I heard there was a recreational water sport center here some time ago, but it's closed out. Wonder why?

Those people were fishing there. If we have the fishing rods, we would do the same too. One day ah...when the boys are big enough to carry those fishing rods, baits etc...we will do.

One of the boys' favorite activities - throwing stone to the sea. They are not content to throw small stones now, but big stone. See how far Vincent can throw...haha..

It's William's turn. He too, likes to pick the big stone. But all he can throw with this size of stone was merely 1 ft from him. I got to shout at him from time to time so that he won't wet his pant.

After 20min, they still haven't quited. Don't know why they like to throw stones so much? Are they hunter in previous life? KS got to drag them away.

Still, they felt so reluctant to leave the sand and stone at the beach there. Only when they saw us start to walk away, then they chased us from behind.

The beach at the other side is sandy, less stones. So, they played sand instead.

As told by a man at Sai Kung Pier, one can walk across to the other islet over there when the water level is low enough. Actually, that's our main purpose to go to Kiu Tsui Chau. But, too bad..we don't have that luck.

This island has nothing much to offer, so we just spent as much time as we wanted at this beach.

Those people too, spent as much time as they wanted in fishing....

The water is cold. But to the children who just like to play-play-play all the time, it's definitely not a problem to them.

When they finally got their pants wet, we have to stripped it. Luckily, we brought some backup pants in our backpack.

While KS was watching them on the beach, I continued the walk a bit further to see if there is anything worth to see.

I walked for 10 minutes, but the scenery is pretty much the same like this. I started to wonder if that is it? So, I asked a man who walked back from this path. He confirmed my thinking.

So, I just walked for another few minutes until I reached this rugged beach. Then turned back. Don't think it's suitable to take the kids to walk on it.

By the time we returned to Sai Kung Pier, we saw this giant dog.

See how big its size if compare to the normal pet dog...

When it stands up, it almost as tall as its master who's wearing the sun glasses. It sure had captured many attention over there. We, like the rest of many people, stood there and watched the man and its dog play for quite some time.

Then, the boys ran to the nearby playground and queue for the swing.

We let them played until they look tired. Then, we took a simple tea-break before driving home.

Gloomy Days

2008-03-18T16:21:00.000+08:00

The sentiment for this past few weeks is not good.

There is this influenza outbreak that had claimed three children's life (2, 3 and 7 year-old) since mid-Feb until now. As the investigation report reveal, the cause of death show positive to normal flu strain, but not bird flu. Therefore, the public is bizarre to hear the seemingly normal flu virus can be so deadly harmful to young children. What's up?

It's really scary to hear the ordeal of the 3 year-old girl, who died in just 24 hours after her flu-like symptoms got serious. http://hk.news.yahoo.com/080304/318/2py8h.html

When the 3rd victim died last week, it stir the public's fear of epidemic.

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/080310/318/2qbe7.html

The day after the boy's death, near midnight time, the Health & Food Department made an urgent announcement : all the kindergarten and primary schools will be suspended for 2 weeks (13th - 27 Mar). Many parents and teachers who slept early that night didn't get to know the news in time. So, you can imagine how chaotic the situation is on the next morning. http://hk.news.yahoo.com/080313/318/2qk4a.html

Parents are advised :-

1. to consult the family doctor first instead of taking their sick child to the hospital's emergency ward in fear of the risk of cross infection or secondary infection.

2. avoid taking the children to over crowded places.

3. do not feed the sick child with instant medicine that bought from pharmacy for fear of inducing some deadly complication. Content of Aspirin, Salicylamided and methyl salicylate related medicine can cause Reye's syndrome which is fatal to children.

Since then, there isn't any major breakthrough news. The deaths of three children with flu-like symptoms did not mean Hong Kong was facing a deadly influenza outbreak, an expert panel investigating the cases revealed yesterday. Well, that's certainly the HOPE of everyone now!

Way Out of a Baby

2008-03-04T15:46:00.007+08:00

These days, KS are very busy transferring the video clips from the original tape to hard disc drive by using our newly bought DVD player. Those video tapes were made since the 1st day our elder son was born. As most of the modern parents do, we are very enthusiastic in recording our children's early life in daily basis. Their every little development, I have also recorded them in a great lengthy detail. So, that's how we have around 40 tapes (each 60 min) awaiting for KS to handle now.

We haven't watched most of the tapes after we recorded it but now. And it's truly awesome to see the boys when they were still very babies. Even the boys, they feel so funny and amused to see their baby self.

After watching several tapes, our elder son, like finally discover a great piece of land, said : I have grown up now, huh? While our younger son, kept asking why he wasn't there? I have to repeatedly remind him that he was still living in my tummy at that time.

In tape #20 something, finally we saw William's appearance. I said it casually : Aha..William had came out from my tummy lo. Suddenly Vincent, like strike by a lighting, pointed at my mouth and said : Yeah, look...mommy have puked William out lo. (What? That's the only WAY OUT he can think of?) His conclusion had left his brother in disbelieved state.

KS and I laughed till the tears almost burst out. When I caught my breathe, I've tried to explain to them how woman gives birth a baby. But I tell you ah, it's not easy to describe it. End up, I have to tell them in a very disgusting way : NO, baby is not thrown up from his mommy's mouth. It's more like...emm...I pass motion real hard, and then you came out lo...

They gave me a disgusting look and giggled like the sweetest angels in this world.

New Year Flower - Part 2

2008-02-21T13:14:00.018+08:00

Besides WoChe flower market, we also went to Victoria Park flower market. This is the largest flower market in HK.

Queen Victoria statue, a famous landmark of Victoria Park.

This flower market offered more variety of flowers. Traffic is heavy every year.

My favourite, Tulip. The owner told me it can open flower for once only, then the plant will die. Why all the pretties things can't live long?

This flower is simple and nice too.

This stall had attracted many people for the pretties flower pots they display. The price was much cheaper too, HKD25 / pot compared to HKD48 / pot in WoChe flower market. Should I bought my flowers here, I have saved at least HKD30 / 2 pots. Should I negotiate the price some more, I might even saved HKD40 / 2 pots. DAMN !!

Some of the flowers they sold here.

Flower (1)

Flower (2)
At the 1st glance, Flower (1) = Flower (2). But not exactly.

Flower (3), like a group of sunny happy faces.

Emm...Flower (3) can best represent this little boy.

Heard some of the trees cost around HKD10K this year. Bloody expensive!! Anyway, normal people won't have that big house to contain it, but company. As usual, my company bought 1 tree this year.

In previous years, those flowers have opened to their fullest already. But they were not the same this year due to the prolong cold temperature. 95% of them were not open this year. Kind of a disaster to the shop owner, I guess.

That's another stall with zero-flowers on the plants.

This is the only pot we see with flowers, in one of the stalls there.

This spinning-KUMKAT-tree looks so cool.

As usual, orchard remain the most popular New Year flower in HK.

The price of Orchard flowers had rised 25-30% this year. However, due to good economy for the past 2007, people is more willing to spend money though it's expensive.

This pot cost HKD1888.

By then, the boys were very tired walking in the crowds of people. They kept bugging to leave the place. But we haven't covered half of the area yet. So, we got to play with them from time to time to distract their attention of wanting to leave. Sigh.

Other stalls that sell MISC flowers and plants.

This stall sold small fishes. The colorful fishes were kept in the small glass tank. Very cute. This is the only stall that could capture the attention of the boys for the longest. We have to drag them to leave instead.

They looked so motionless sitting on a bench outside the park.

Boy, are you really that tired?

Anyway, as soon as they saw this branch that they could climb up and play, their energy was all back. Kids...

GONG XI FAT CHAI !!

New Year Flower - Part 1

2008-02-19T12:57:00.001+08:00

Ok, finally we are back from Malaysia after the long CNY break.

Life seems to get back to its own track after several days busy settling down.

Now, I would like to clear my "backlog" as fast as possible. Hehe...

We went to this WoChe Flower market that nearby our house before going back to Malaysia. Although it was very cold that day, it's a sunny day. To the people who loves to take pictures of everything, the weather is just nice to take pretty pictures of the pretty flowers.

Due to the weather is especially cold this year, many flowers haven't been able to blossom to its fullest up to this final moment. Guess the hawker might suffer a great loss.

I like this Japanese 'tou-hua' very much. Unforturnately, most of the flowers haven't openned yet. Otherwise, I would carry 1 pot home for sure.

Look how pretty the flower when it opens.

Besides Mandarin orange, I think this is the fruit that best represent Lunar New Year.

Somehow, the orchard flowers can't attract me this year.

I prefer this kind of flowers instead.

This year, we let the boys select their favorite flowers...

Vincent selected the pink flowers (hoi-tong rose)

And William selected the orange flowers. I think they had very good taste (cough cough).

I put the 2 flowers pot on top of the piano, and we admired the flowers everyday till the day we flied back to Malaysia.

Those flowers are not too expensive. Somemore, I managed to cut the price to HKD80 / 2 pots (original price : HKD48 / pot). I thought I was very good in price negotiation already, until ah...I'll let you know in my next entry later.

Personally, I like this hoi-tong rose more. So, I snapped many photos of it while it's still beautiful.

Really get obsess about it hoh?

Before we left, I asked the maid to MUST remember to watering the flowers every 3 days. Although I didn't expect the flowers to keep in this good condition by the time we return home, I surprise to see that the flowers were as pretty as it was before. Guess the cold weather has helped to preserve it well.

One Student, One Flower

2008-01-26T23:06:00.000+08:00

Two months ago, the kindergarten participated in the Leisure and Cultural Services Department 'One Student, One Flower' competition. This year, the flower called 'Scarlet Sage' was picked.

The students who participated in this competition is invited to bring their flower back to school on next Tuesday. And prizes will be awarded for the most beautiful, healthy flowers.

After the competition, flowers will be distributed to the local elderly day care center, as well as being on display at school.

Frankly speaking, I don't have much faith in planting flowers. I have tried many times but not yet succeeded. This year, finally the flower we plant have growth big and strong! When William told me the flower has blossom a few days ago, I was as equally happy and excited as him.

In special days, I will buy flowers too. However, the instant flower can never compare to the flower we plant it from the seed. This flower, it's like our baby.

Regardless the competition result, this flower had become the champion in my heart.

This is the owner of the flowers. He watering it consistently, check on the new leaves and report its status to me.

Tap Mun Island Walk

2008-01-18T23:16:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since we last go for a hiking. Last week, we finally made time to go to Tap Mun Island.

Tap Mun (塔門), or Grass Island is a small island located in the north part of the Sai Kung Penisula. It's really a tiny island, with an area just 1.69 km². Administratively, it is part of Tai Po district.

Tap Mun can be reached by ferry from Wong Shek Pier in Sai Kung or Ma Liu Shui Pier, near to to our place. Since we didn't want to spend too long time in the ferry, we drove to Sai Kung. Too bad private vehicles are not allowed to enter the restricted zone. So, we had to park our car before the line. Then took a bus to get to Wong Shek Pier. This road journey takes about 1 hour, including the waiting time for bus.

By the time we reached Wong Shek Pier, the ferry had just gone 15 minute ago. We have to wait 45 minutes for the next ferry to come. In order to kill time, we wandered around this BBQ site to watch people sailed their boat and surfing. The weather was cloudy and windy that day, pretty cold too, I don't even want to wash my hands. So I really respect those people who is not afraid to get their whole body wet in that kind of weather.

Finally, the ferry came on time. We quickly get on board. Despite of a strong gasoline smell, it's warm sitting in the lower deck. Fare is not expensive, HKD12 for a single journey.

This is the upper deck, it's more open air compared to the lower deck. We would like to sit there if the day was not that windy and cold.

The ferry stopped over this small fishery village. Some people got off there, but we didn't.

We just let the ferry take us to our destination, Tap Mun. It only takes 20 min from Wong Shek Pier to Tap Mun.

My first impressive about this remote island : Wow, how come this place is so underdeveloped? Has the government forgotten about it?

Later on, I find out there are only 100 people living on the island. The original residents seem to abandon this place and migrate elsewhere a long time ago. This place has no bank, no post office, no groceries store, no market...They don't even have the basic here, don't mention about other facilities...I wonder how modern people can live in this kind of environment?

Anyway, the serenity of this island had captured my heart very quickly. Unlike other places out there, this place is all so quiet.

This is the only main street in the island.

Some fishermen of Tap Mun make a living by selling their sun-dried catch. Sun-dried fish and shrimp are popular amongst local tourists.

The lady seller of this stall is very friendly though I show no interest in her products. She didn't mind I take photos of her things, just asked me not to include her in the photos.

She didn't mind the boys played with her handy made wood toys too. She pestered me to buy it for them, said it's only cost HKD30 mah. However, knowing the boys will only play it for 1 day, I better leave this piece of art to the people who really appreciate for its beauty.

This is the only stall selling sea-shell souvenir.

This is the only seafood restaurant. We saw a small tea restaurants nearby too, selling the well known 'ice-less' ice-cold milk tea. Unfortunately, we had taken a heavy breakfast that morning. Otherwise, we would really like to eat something here.

Most of the houses here are old and not well maintained. I simply see no development here, guess it had stopped since 20-30 years ago.

Demolished houses and the debris can be seen everywhere along this main street.

The only well-maintained concrete structure in this island is the Tin Hou Temple. Superstitious or not, this show how Chinese people respect their Gods.

Unlike the street down there, this place is kept pretty clean.

My mother used to teach me when I was young : you must greet the people when you enter someone's house, and you must greet the Gods when you enter the temple, too. I agree, so we entered the temple and greeted the God statues and donated some money too.

I guess that yellow building next to the temple is the village's 'municipal center'.

We walked further away from the pier. Besides that 4 hawkers and a few tourists, we saw no body else. No motel was seen too. So, I suppose no tourist would put a night here. I can imagine this place will look like a ghost town at night time.

Hello, anybody home? Judging from the condition of the house (an air-conditioned was installed), I guess some one is living in this house, but the door wasn't closed properly. The tenant seem to believe no evil people in this world.

This 2 houses are like twins. I think some one must be staying there too, though we saw nobody around.

This is the most beautiful house in the island. I felt so itchy that I wanted to knock on the door and interview its owner lo. I want to know why he / she wants to live in this not-conducive place. Of course I didn't lah.

Against all odds, this place is absolutely serene and beautiful. What a pity the development had been stopped here.

Should it was a sunny day, I believe the blue sky and emerald sea must look astonishing beautiful. In cloudy day, it looks mysterious though.

This place is so beautiful, so I asked KS to take a solo picture for me.

After walking for 30 min, we took a short break here. KS was getting tension again, he got to ensure the boys won't fall into the cold sea.

The water is surprisingly clear. But we saw no fishes around. WTH, even the fishes also migrate to else where?

After resting for a while, we continue walking further away. Actually we didn't know what to expect ahead of us. We just heard people said there are some kind of rock formation somewhere in this island. They said we just got to follow this path.

Along this stretch of road, no more broken houses are seen. Instead, big black hole that is made of intricate exposed-roots can been seen.

We didn't stray a bit, we just walked straight on this nice road.

I'm kind of surprise to see a school here. But I think this school had been shut down already.

Just when we were about to cross a small bridge, we saw this cattle heading to us out of a turn. Automatically, we all move aside to let this beast pass by the bridge first.

Look what the cattle had done !

From here, we started to see piles of faeces scattered everywhere. William was getting particular again. He refused to walk by his own because he didn't want to step on the faeces. Sigh.

Not very long later, we reached the hill top. It's bizarre to see what we saw in front of us. We totally didn't expect such a panoramic views of the surrounding sea. Thought we would only see some strange rocks on the beach? Too bad my camera can't capture the scenery any wider.

The scene at our left hand side.

Tap Mun is renowned for the contrast in temperature and the wind conditions between day and night. Temperature drops and wind soars during the night time but die down when the dawn marks the beginning of a temperature rise.

The very gentle slopes of the hilltops are a favourite campsite amongst campers, although there is the danger of the bordering cliffs. Adventurous campers seem to enjoy precarious hikes along the dirt path that is very close to the cliff edges. , and so provides a brief escape away from the busy city life.

However, hygiene-conscious campers tend to stay away from Tap Mun as the island is home to cattle, resulting in hilltops dotted with many piles of dried faeces. Luckily, it's not smelly at all. Otherwise, it really spoil the good environment here.

After taking a short break at the hill top, we continue our walk some more.

Don't know what this fruit is called? I have never seen it before either.

It's very windy and cold, William bugged us to carry him again. I felt guilty for not bringing thicker clothes for them.

The beautiful scenery along the way is very rewarding. As we go further away, we can see the cape behind in a full picture now.

We reached another hilltop.

Facing the vast ocean, I feel that my mind and my heart was getting vast too.

Just that the wind is really too strong for us to sit there any longer.

So, we continue walking some more...

There are quite some people here, guess this is the famous place to see the strange rocks.

We walked to the edge slowly and look down...

aha...this is called balance rock. Although slanted a bit to the left, the rock on top strike its balance not to fall down. Cool.

Later on, that 4 young men risk their life to go down to the rock to take some pictures at near distance.

For me, I'm only dare to go that near to the edge.

See some rock-climbers over there too.

I can see that this part is not too difficult, good for the beginner to practice the climbing skills.

The beautiful rugged coastal line.

Another short break.

OMG, is this the blueberries that I have been paying HKD480 each month to consume its extracted essence to keep my eyes from aging fast?

Standing at this junction, we have hesitated for a long time. Should we walked further along to the new fisherman's village, or should we head back to Tin Hau Temple? Certainly, we would like to continue the journey to the new fisherman's village. But if we couldn't go back to the pier by that direction, the kids would be too exhausted to walk back by then . We have asked the people around, but nobody could gave us the answer as they are just the visitors, like us.

So, we made a decision to turn back to Tin Hou Temple. When we reached the pier, we catch the ferry just in time. So, we got on board in a hury. Didn't really look around the island for the second time.

We went home by the same route. As expected, the boys fell asleep in the car. We put them in bed when we reached home. Then, we snugged in our warm bed and slept like a dead pig ourself too.

Eternal Sunset

2008-01-15T09:52:00.000+08:00

I happen to come across this website in a magazine while I was taking lunch in a restaurant yesterday.

It reminds me of a friend, CY, who said he is crazy for sunset scene. So, I would like to share this website with him and all the sunset lovers as well. Hope you enjoy watching the sunset live when 275 webcam chasing the sunset around the globe!

http://www.eternalsunset.net/

Hey, I've just watched the sunset in Antarctica and Alaska this morning. I could see the penguin too. Cool !!

45 minutes

2008-01-11T10:35:00.000+08:00

This 45 minutes is the travelling time from my house to my company, by bus.

I have been taking this same bus 5 days a week, for 6 years. It can be converted into some interesting figures like, I have been travelling this same bus for 3168 times in this 6 years time; or I have spent at least 2376 hours in this bus; or I have paid HKD17424 for its bus fare.

Taking a public bus and driving a private car to work is totally a different experience. The biggest difference is of course the passenger can sleep in the bus, but the driver can't.

Most of the time, I choose to shut down myself from the outside world by plugging my ears with headphone, let only the music come in. When I don't, there are actually quite some stuffs I see and hear in the bus on every working day.

I sort of get acquaintance with some interesting passengers who take the bus for the same purpose like me. For example, there is this old mother and her mentally retarded daughter who behave like a 7-year-old aggressive kid though she is actually 40 something. Also, there is this young lady who put on her headphone and sing aloud like she is in a karaoke room. Also, there is this humble fat man who normally can't find a right place to sit in, but stand patiently the whole journey. Also, there is this pale, sad looking woman I see for many years, from flat tummy to bulging tummy, disappear forever one day. Also, there is this man I hate at 1st sight for no reason, that I will not sit next to him no matter what.

Yes, 6 years is really long enough for me to see the changes of many little things even though I don't look for it deliberately.

For instance, I notice a particular tree in a particular place when all of its branches are full with and without leaves every year this time, when the season change. Also, I finally get to know why a place was covered so long for one day. I even notice the changes of the flower pots owned by a 2nd floor old-apartment when the bus get so close to it at a turn.

When I look out the window, sometimes I see the scene that moves my heart so much. Like a crying toddler chasing after her angry mom at the zebra crossing; like a young loving dad carry a new born baby in crummy way; like an old couple holding hands together while crossing a street slowly; like a man squat there to feed his dog; like a pretty-sexy girl walking down the street...

This bus is also the place for me to read some books and all sort of fly-sheets; check my bank statement; listen to my iPod; close my eyes and cry; do some thinking; chat with friends occasionally; and of course, sleep.

Although the bus takes many detours instead of taking me straight home, it's not too bad to sit 45 minutes motionless in a bus. As long as the passengers who sit around me is not talking out loud and long, or he/she smells stinky, this 45 minutes is a pleasant private moment for myself. After all, the subtle feelings when I discover how little things change and grow as time pass is pretty amazing.

My friend, you got to stick that long in the same bus, same route to understand how I feel (eye-winking).

Hello 2008

2008-01-01T22:33:00.001+08:00

Today is the 1st day in year 2008. Weather is dry cold at 10C.

We were feeling tired since we slept very late the night before. So, I would like to just stay at home. However, the boys get restless again. They just can't stay home at peace. So, we got to take them out somewhere.

Going to shopping mall with young children is never my choice of outing. This is because I can't even do my window shopping when they run around and touch everything in the mall like they are in their own house. Instead, we have to keep an eyes on them, for the sake not to pay for the things they might break or damage. How pathetic!

But in a cold weather like this, we don't have much choices here. All we could do is to pick a shopping mall that we don't normally go, so that we us feel more 'excited'.

Nope, you two is not allowed to climb in the car there. And nope, we won't buy this Mini Cooper. Although mini, it's not a toy car. And it's bloody expensive.

Luckily, the Christmas decoration is still there to keep us occupied for some time.

I think this Christmas Tree is at least 35 ft tall. Back to 2-3 years ago, they hung over 60K pieces Swarovski Crystals all over the tree. Really glamorous! Where have all those crystals gone this year?

Ok, it's very obvious the sponsor this year is Timberland, not Swarovski. That's why the crystals gone. Thank God they didn't hang 60K pcs Timeberland socks on the tree.

See those mannequins in Timberland's outfit from head-to-toe everywhere.

Really, I don't understand the boys. They must think they look so cute with those eyes-squinting look. Come on, give me a break.

This transparent piano is so cool. I totally admire it.

This fake chapel is actually litting with different colors of light (purple, red, blue, green) alternatively.

Despite I told my camera man to snap photos when the chapel is lighted with different colors, but he is only sensitive to very limited light wavelenght. He only see blue & purple color.

My camera man was not in good form. My kid-model was not cooperative as well. Great !

Fine, I just leave him alone.

As long as I don't see him breaking things, I just leave him.

I've tried to take more pictures in solo. But that's the only one I took. Well, I wasn't in good condition myself too. Very sleepy, slept too late the night before.

Yes, darling...you look so cute when you don't squint your eyes and make silly faces. Keep that on, ok?

Really want to pinch your cute chubby cheek.

I tell you ah, one day I'm going to dispose my camera man for his color-vision-defectiveness. Anyway, since he captured this 'romantic' scene (though I think it's quite by accident), I'm going to spare him some more time for improvement. After all, it's not easy to get another camera man for FOC.

Another reason why we go to this shopping mall is because of the Delifrance restaurant. I was so craving for its crunchy-outside-soft-inside french bread. After dinner, we dragged our tired body home. I almost fell asleep on the way home.

Farewell 2007

2008-01-01T22:11:00.001+08:00

Today is the last Day of year 2007.

After 12 midnight, the world have to say good bye to 2007 forever.

Probably because of this reason, I always feel special about this very unique moment. But hubby who used to fly away for the past several new-year-eve always tried to console me that this moment is actually nothing special. He said it's just a few seconds apart, just like every second that moved away every now and then. So, rationally thinking, it's nothing special wo.

Anyway, the last minute of the old year and the first minute of the new year still represent a very special moment to me. No one can convince me when I don't want to think rationally.

Luckily this year, we could spend this special time all together. I have no complaint then.

Although not a very good one, this family photo is a special one. Well, it's special because it was taken a few hours before 2007 ended, ok.

The weather was very cold that night, around 10C. However, I had promised the boys to take them out to watch some performances. So, I got to keep my promise.

To us, the nearest place to take part in the new year celebration is Shatin Park. There is the place.

I believe 2008 is a big year to HK people. For the first time in history, HK will be the host for one of the Olympic games events, i.e. Equestrian Events.

There are 2 competition venues. The core venue for jumping and dressage will be held in Sha Tin. And the cross country venue is in Sheung Shui.

Yes, this year is going to be a big year. We'll see.

There are 2 amphitheaters in Shatin Park. This is one of it. The show has begun when we reached there around 9pm.

The quality of the show this year is obviously better than the previous year. Guess the organizer had spent considerable amount of money to make it an interesting one. For instance, they had hired this foreigner performers, Zahara and Freebies to perform acrobatics.

Even the local dancers deserved some big applause.

Vincent enjoyed watching the hot dance very much. Virtually, he was dancing with the dancers all the time. It's so amused to see him dance so enthusiastically. An old lady who sat next to me said she like to see him dance than the real dancers on the stage. Haha...I took her words a compliment.

To be honest, we think he dance pretty good too. He just got that good sense of rhythm.

I think I should look for some dancing courses for him.

As for William, he sat comfortably on my lap throughout the show time. Boy, my legs are so numb after that. We tried to hang until midnight, but weather was really too cold to stay any longer. We left at around 11pm.

Happy New Year to everyone !

Remember to laugh everyday, ok.

Guess Who?

2007-12-24T23:02:00.000+08:00

Guess who made this drawing?

Guess before you scroll down, ok?

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OK, you probably have guess it right...but sorry, no prize.

* for details, please visit http://vincent-pcchin.blogspot.com/

Taiwanese Butterflies

2007-12-12T15:50:00.000+08:00

This Taiwanese Butterflies is not an insert, but a restaurant nearby my company that sell Taiwanese foods.

I came across this small restaurant about a year ago. Since then, I have become its regular patron. Actually the restaurant isn't that near to my company for I need to walk 15 minutes to go there. Due to this reason, I've never bumped into any colleagues over there before.

(Anyway, I will not bring any colleague to go there cause I want to keep it as a secret place where I can have a quiet lunch for myself. I wonder if my colleauge had kept a secret place for themself too? Haha...)

At least once in a week, I will walk a long way to this restaurant. I like to sit at that particular corner near the window, where I don't have to share table with any stranger. While waitig for my food to come, I like to flip the magazines that the restaurant offer to their customers and listen to the nostalgic mandarin songs that were pretty hit back in the years of 80 s. That's a quiet, peaceful moment I enjoy every much in the middle of a busy day.

That is my favourite dish, soyed egg & beancurd vermicelli + milk tea with wheat germ.

Just 2 months ago, this dish cost only HKD25, but it cost HKD30 now. Boy, 20% price increament, what an inflation!

But what to do? It's all so delicious....I just got to go back again and again.

Coffee Language

2007-12-12T10:35:00.000+08:00

My boss and I went to South China region on last Thursday to visit some long-time-no-see customers. Our schedule was to visit 2 customers in Dongguan District and 2 customers in Shenzhen District.

At noon time, we stopped over a shopping mall that located just opposite to the 3rd customer's site. Although we were not particular hungry, it's the lunch time for our customer. So, boss said we should take a break first. When boss saw that cafe, immediately he said we should go there. Well, he is the boss. Driver and I just have to follow.

The cafe has a very special name, Coffee Language (名典咖啡语系). It is originated from Taiwan. Boss said this chain restaurant is getting famous in China region these days. OK, I'm interested.

When I first saw the interior design of the cafe, I like the place instantly. Not many customer was there at that time. So, the place is very quiet and peaceful. There is a piano put at the main entrance there. Don't know if it's just for decoration or what? Anyway, the ambience is very good.

The renovation is not luxurious, but very comfortable. Also, the space is spacious enough. Even some high class restaurants in HK can't afford to provide such a spacious place to their customers. I especially like those big, soft fabric couch. It is that kind : once you sit in, you won't want to leave it.

This object is something like a roulette, except the slots inside are not marked with numbers, but statement like : thanks for your treat, what's your wish, etc. Its purpose is pretty clear, right?

The view outside is nothing spectacular.

Funny though..Boss said the coffee here is no good. Seeing the price of every coffee, gee...they are more expensive than the coffee sold in HK Starbucks, i.e. minimum RMB38 per cup. So, none of the boss, driver or I ordered coffee.

The food menu is very attractive, but its price is very expensive. A simple lunch set will cost RMB55 or above.

I ordered a kid's meal, that come with a ice-lemon-coke, chicken wing + potato chips, and ice cream. The main reason I choose the kid meal is because I wanted to eat ice cream very much at that moment.

The chicken wing is very yummy.

Too bad they didn't put ice cube in the Ice-lemon-coke. I don't like to drink warm soft-drink.

After we finished our meal, the time was still early. So, I half lie myself on the sofa and read a magazine provided by the restaurant, while boss and the driver went outside for smoking.

The couch is so comfy that I almost doze off when my boss came back to say it's time to leave. This is the place I would like to spend a few hours time alone or with hubby. Too bad I can't find any good place like this in HK. Most of the places are either noisy or crowded.

Missing You

2007-12-03T16:39:00.000+08:00

I'd made a very negligence move this morning.

I didn't wake up William before I went off to work. I thought since Vincent's school was off today, William would be ok to stay home with his brother for a short time interval before he went to school.

It proves how wrong I was. Vincent called me when I was dozing off in the bus. He said William was crying. Boy, he didn't have to tell me, I could hear him crying like the sky has fallen down.

Why he cried? It's because he didn't see me when he open his eyes lo. See, he would walk me to take my bus every morning before he goes to school. To be precise, our routine is like this every

morning...at 7.45am, we will walk to the bus station together, chatting while waiting for my bus to come. Then, we say good-bye and the maid will take him home after my bus leaves. Then, he will take his breakfast, change his uniform and go off to school.

Nothing I said over the phone could pacify him. He cried and cried like he would never going to see me again. He begged me to go home to see him immediately. That really broke my heart into pieces.

After talking for 15min but to no avail, I finally had to show off my Queen's card. I asked him what did he want? As expected, he said he didn't want to go to school. He wanted to play at home with Vincent. Sigh, if that could make him happy, I gave in lo. Furthermore, he has been crying that long that he had missed his school bus already.

Finally he stopped crying and we hung up the phone. I told him he can call me whenever he want to talk to me. Since then, I received many calls from him. Here, I summarize the conversation.

9.30am

Mummy, I have finished my pasta already. Can we watch DoreAmon VCD?

(Sure, darling)

10.30am

Mummy, I'm hungry. Can I eat cake? 1pcs is enough.

(Sure, darling)

11.00am

(Crying...) Mummy, Vincent punched my back just now...it's very painful..(heard Vincent's protest over the phone).

Time to go out for some fresh air. So I asked the maid to take them to the downstairs playground.

12.15am

Mummy, we're back. Now we are eating fried rice. When are you coming back?

1.00pm

Mummy, Vincent hide all of the toys. He didn't want to share with me lo (heard Vincent's protest over the phone again). When are you coming back wo? (start weeping)

1.30pm

Mummy, can we watch DVD? You must come home fast ok?

2.30pm

Mummy, I have made 2 ships for you. 1 big and 1 small, they are made of diamond wo.

When are you coming back to see it?

(diamond ship? really make my heart melted)

3.00pm

Mummy, Vincent scolded me just now (weeping). Are you coming home now? You must come home now...

(They refused to take a nap, so I said they can watch another movie)

4.30pm

Mummy, where are you now? I've been waiting for you very long lo...Are you coming home very soon?

5.00pm

Mummy, I'm hungry. I want to eat that "Kinder Surprise Egg" that is kept in the fridge, ok?

It's getting dark now, when will you come home?

5.30pm

Mummy, I'm so missing you. I want you to come home now. I want I want...(weeping). I'll be ok if you are here now.

(Sigh, it's time to take some fresh air again)

6.15pm

Mummy, where are you now? Are you taking the lift now? Why you still haven't come home? I want you to come home now. Mummy, come home fast...I want mummy (crying)

(I told him I was on the way home now. Promised I would call him when I almost home, and bought him some chocolate biscuit)

6.45pm

(I called him. He was happy to know that I was almost reach home by then)

I can't see you from the window wo. Are you taking the lift now? Don't forget to buy the chocolate biscuit, ok? Bye bye.

Feeling disturbed by all those calls? Yes, especially when I was engrossed at work. But when I put my feet into his shoes, it's not hard to feel how frustrated he was. Poor him, he just want to see his mummy, why he need to wait for that long wo?

If I ask him if he want the bread or mummy, I'm pretty sure he will pick mummy. Son, I'm really sorry for I can't be a 24-hour-stand-by mum. I hope you will understand it one day.

Whenever I see him cries like this, I always wonder if his tear will make up to 10 ml each time? I also have a freaking idea. What if I collect all his tears in a 1L bottle and give it to him when he grow up later?

Tag : Autograph Book

2007-11-21T11:31:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I last log in my blog. Feel busy tired for the past 2 weeks.

Anyway, I've promised Homemaker I will tag in accordance to her questions posted in her autograph. Well, here I am...though extremely late.

#1 : What is your favourite movie?

Forest Gump ; Shawsham Redemption

I've watched the movies many times, yet they still touch my heart every time I see it. See the similarity between the movies? Watching people to survive under the worst condition and been able to make resilience that moves my heart so much. Good movie with great storyline is everlasting.

#2 : Who is your favourite singer?

No particular favourite singer. I think I admire good songs than good singers. In my opinion, many singers are having a great vocal. However, to make them outstanding, they have to be complimented with good song too. It's a kind of waste to see some talented singers sang a crap song.

#3 : Which song gets you grooving in the morning?

Morning time is usually such a rush, so I have no time to listen to any music. But I do listen to my MP3 on my way home after work. I have around 50 songs stored in my top rated files. Again, no particular favourite song.

#4 : What is your favourite fruit?

Lately, my favourite fruit is pineapple. Its sweet-and-sour (just a bit) juice is very soothing. Basically I like all the fruits that contains a lot of juice, like grapes, kiwi fruit etc.

#5 : Who is your best friend (excluding your family)?

Definitely is Homemaker.

#6 : Name on activity you would like to indulge in, in your free time.

Do some shopping and eating, without checking my watch regularly.

#7. When was the last time you laughed so hard till your sides hurt?

Quite often. For example, watching my boys make-believe play can always make me laughed wholeheartedly. A few days ago, I watched them make-believe play the DoreAmon & Pei-Pei-the-Dinosour. Vin be the DoreAmon, and Wil be the baby dinosaur. It's very funny to see the part when DoreAmon was feeding "sashimi" to baby Pei-Pei.

#8. Do you recall your last dream?

I seldom dream. In fact, I don't recall I had had any dreams for the past 3 months. As KS described, I can fall asleep as fast as he just came out from the toilet, and I do sleep like a pig the whole night.

#9. What is your all-time favourite hobby?

That's a very scary question, I don't have any particular all-time favourite hobby anymore.

#10. When was your last holiday without the children?

About 7 years ago. We left 3-month-old Vin to his grandmum. And we flew to Johannesburg-Cape Town for a long vacation. Boy, I really missed him so much. Since then, I feel so reluctant to go on a holiday without the children. Although we plan to go for a holiday without the kids these years, we never materialize it.

Wishing Upon the Falling Stars

2007-11-01T14:02:00.000+08:00

The fireworks display is one of the events that I most look forward to in Disneyland.

We didn't get the good spot to view the fireworks. I guess the people who stood at the first few rows must be there at least 30min before the show time. Anyway, it doesn't really matter cause we can still see the beautiful fireworks from far. It just that the people who held their video camera way high above their head to shot the whole program that's irritating.

5 mins to go...we all jam around the sleeping beauty castle and wait for it.

Ok, finally it starts. At first glance, the sleeping beauty castle is like caught in a fire...

Poor Vin and Wil, we have to carry them so that they can breath the fresh air and have a better view of the fireworks.

Accompany with the music "The Whole New World" in the air, I gave this fireworks display 9 marks (out of 10).

We looked at the sky until this last flash of light disappeared...they look like some twinkle-twinkle little stars to me.

A Day in Disneyland - Part 3

2007-10-31T13:04:00.000+08:00

While we were taking our dinner at the fast food restaurant, the boys were only interested in playing under a rocket ship. From time to time, they came to take some french fries and sip some coke, then ran back to their base camp, the rocket ship.

They were begging the ET : TAKE ME, TAKE ME...

Tomorrow Land.

Heroism is inborn? They probably think they can save the whole world?

The window display looks prettier at night time...

The Disneystore is one of the most crowded place in Disneyland. I have to say I like most of the items that sold there too. But I manage to remain a calm spectator.

I just look and admire each of the masterpiece, I didn't intend to buy any of them.

This one is BUZZ-Woody save-box, very lovely. Cost HKD98/pcs.

Forget it son, we just took some photos, ok?

There are many different character's save-box, all equally lovely.

A photo frame

A photo frame with music box. Just turn Winnie the Pooh to start the music.

item not for sold (1)

item not for sold (2)

item not for sold (3)

Window display (1)

Window display (2)

Window display (3)

Window display (4)

American Main Street

Those people who sat along the street there are like hunger-ghosts..

The train station

There were more people came in after 6.30pm, buying the night ticket which is 50% cheaper than the daytime ticket. Since then, we could see long queue everywhere.

This fountain looks prettier at night time.

We drgged our exhausted body and left the place at around 10pm. All of us slept in the car on the way home, except the poor driver.

Though tired, we were happy because mission was accomplished.

Disney on Parade

2007-10-29T22:40:00.000+08:00

3.30pm, it's parade time.

Watching a parade is fun. It can create that kind of joyful atmosphere when I can only feel it in the big festive season.

Coincidentally, Vincent was learning a new word "Parade" in school. It just the right time for him to experience what parade is. Seeing it by himself for 1X is far more effective than telling him 10X.

Now Vincent knows what marching band is.

I remember her. She is the same Ms. Cinderella I saw 2 years ago.

Ok, I think to be a Disneyland's performer is fun. Besides the good paid (presumably), most importantly the job can bring him/her a sense of importance. Imagine, so many people is cheering and waving to him/her like they are a superstar...

A Day in Disneyland - Part 2

2007-10-26T19:59:00.000+08:00

When we got out from the AdventureLand, the time was around 1.30pm. Just right to go for a stage performance in the Storybook Theater.

The audiences have to queue for around 15 min to be seated in the theater. It's a kind of torture to keep the boys waiting patiently in a very limited space. 15 min seems a very long time to me.

No doubt, The Golden Mickey Show is very entertaining. However, everything is almost exactly the same like 2 years ago. Even the lady who dressed in white is the same lady we saw 2 years ago.

Woody and Jessie. "Where is Buzz Lightyear?" Wil asked.

Personally, I like the Tarzan's performance the most.

When Tarzan swing and whirl by a rope up there, it's the best part.

Lilo and Stitch.

Little Mermaid. The stage decoration and the costume design is very pretty and colourful.

Beauty and the Beast...

Beauty and her price charming...

Before the show end, all the characters show up before the audiences.

In summary, it's really unbelievable they didn't even change the show a bit. If everything remain unchanged, how can they expect people to visit Disneyland again?

Anyway, my mom enjoyed watching the show very much. I'm so glad to hear that she likes this 20 min show. Wish it can be longer.

We were so hungry after the show finished. Without thinking too much, we walked to a nearby restaurant to order a few set-lunch to fill the groaning tummy. Foods in Disneyland is as expensive and low quality as ever.

But we were really hungry, that we finished all the foods like they are the most yummy foods we have ever eat.

The waiter who dressed like Beast, came to clear our table before we left. He didn't asked us if it's ok for him to take away all the bowl and plates. In fact, he didn't even look at us and smile a bit. His face look so black. Maybe what the press said is not totally nonsense? HK Disneyland had been criticized as one of the most MEAN employer in HK. See the face of their workers, you'll know.

We sat in the restaurant for another 15 minutes before we walked to find a good spot to watch the parade that take place at 3.30pm everyday. See the parade photos in another entry.

Just when the parade was over, we had to half-walk-half-run to the AdventureLand to catch its 4pm show - The Lion King. If we missed this round, we have to wait till 6pm then. In order to keep up with our schedule, 4pm was the best time.

In fact, many audiences were rushing to the theater almost the same pace, same time, like us. Sigh...Luckily HK Disneyland is so small that we can travel from one place to another within 10 min time, by half-walk-half-run.

The stage is just a few feet away from the audiences. It would be a great disco deck for partying, if Disneyland ever think about it.

Same like the Golden Mickey show, the Lion King show is same like 2 years before. Wonder what's the feeling of the performers who has done the same things a few thousand times by now?

I still remember that fat lady who held a stick in arm. Boy, she has to keep that shape forever huh?

Anyway, the performers were very dedicating, like it's their 1st performance.

A very big applause to all of the performers, for their dedication.

Giant display model.

The time was around 4.35pm after the Lion King Show was over. We walked slowly to the TomorrowLand. This is the entrance to one of the restaurants. We had had our dinner here later that evening because of this rocket ship. This is the place we have to choose so that we can relax and enjoy the foods. Got my meaning?

Space Mountain is the most challenging ride in Disneyland. Basically, there is an indoor roller coaster inside it. People with heart disease and high blood pressure is not advised to participate.

My mom and Wil dared not try it, so I have to take care of them outside. Only KS and Vin went for it. When Vin came out, he said he will never want to play that again. Why? because he was so scared to fall down and nobody could find him in darkness.

Astro Blaster is another place the boys kept nagging about for the past 2 years. Now then, how can we miss it? We had used the ticket to get the fast pass a few hours ago. So, we could skip the long queue and just walked in straight at the appointed time stated in our fast pass.

This is totally a kid's version point-and-shot game. We sit in the train that travel us along the tunnel, and we were equipped with a laser-pointer gun. Every here and there, when we see the objects with a small "Z", we point the gun at it and shot it. No prize will be given whether you shot it successfully or not.

Totally meet the kids' fantasy.

This is a newly added playground. They push the button, and be sprayed by water.

The orbitron.

Before we got on that spaceship, Wil had strongly demanded my mom and I should sit at the back seat, and he would be the driver. Ok, whatever.

Same to Vin, he sat in front, KS at the back. They totally rejected us when we said we want to sit next to them in the front seat.

A Day in Disneyland - Part 1

2007-10-25T22:46:00.001+08:00

My mom had never visited Disneyland before. When she get to know how expensive the entry ticket is, she said she prefer to spend that money in good foods.

Thousand dollars for a meal? I don't quite agree with her. On the contrary, I prefer she at least take that experience once in her life time. So, the stubborn daughter insist to bring her to Disneyland anyway.

We have been to Disneyland 2 years ago. I wonder what are the changes they've made in this 2 years time? Basically, I was looking for changes the whole trip.

We arrived Disneyland around 11.30 am. The direction of the sun and the bronze color of the statue make the photos look so dull.

We wandered around the main entrance while waiting for KS to buy the tickets.

This hat is cute. The boys like it a lot. Unfortunately, the stingy mom won't want to buy it cause it cost almost HK100 each. 2 hats means HKD 200, no way.

Just took picture with it, ok?

Somebody got to take photos with grandma. Vincent is more willing to take this role.

Poor daddy, have to line up under the afternoon sun to buy the tickets. Luckily, it's not too hot these days. Also, as a staff of CP, he can buy 4 tickets with half price. End up, we paid total HKD 800 for 2 adults, 2 children and 1 elder after discounted.

My My, they still put guides at the checkpoint to search the visitors' bags. Thank God they allow us to take in water now. Well, I consider this as an improvement.

The train station, definitely one of the landmark in Disneyland.

America Main Street. We didn't see too many visitors there, though it's a public holiday that day. Good !

Aha, no wonder. Most of the visitors were lining up at the designated area to take photo with Goofy & Pluto, Donald & Daisy, Mickey & Minnie.

Seeing the long queue, I think the waiting time would be at least 20 min. So we decided not to waste time in that. This Red Indian statue is so 'free', we are his only 'admirer' at that moment.

There got this Pin Trading game. To participate in it, one needs to find all the pin distributed in 12 different location. We found one, but it's a sticker instead. Really so much different from the kind of cute metal pin that I expected. Feeling cheated, I was not interested to play this game anymore.

The Sleeping Beauty Castle is forever one of the most beautiful building in this world.

Halloween is around the corner. So, we can see this kind of decoration everywhere in Disneyland. Funny, some people would want to queue up long at the 3 o'clock direction just to take a particular photo.

Actually we have taken a few shots here, but not even once they looked at the camera by our request. Like they have been hypnotized by the pumpkin head.

The first place we went is AdventureLand. This is because the boys had mentioned about the 'adventurous' cruise ride for about hundred times since the last time they rode it 2 years ago.

I think this giant statue's head is a newly added item?

Meet a live band on the way to the cruise ride. This guy is so friendly to the visitors.

Finally, we reached the 'Amazon River' bank. Thank God the queue was not long. We only waited for about 10min for our turn.

The 'cruise' that take us to venture along the 'Amazon River'.

From the pier, we can see the Tarzan's tree house at the opposite side of the river.

Why the boys like this ride? Well, actually they like many things. Although this is nothing too special to the adults, it means a lot to the kids.

The kids know these are fake animals, still, they were thrill seeing them.

Only this part can I call it 'exciting' a bit. Smokes come out from the cave, then the water caught in fire...

a few seconds later, water rush out from the cave and put the fire out...that's all for the cruise ride. Truely not fascinating to ride a 2nd time.

A dracula had kidnapped a small boy to his coffin...

he turned him to a kid dracula...

Even a coffin like this can serve a fun place for them...how nice to be kids.

Waiting for the raft to take us to the Tarzan's tree house.

2 years ago, we didn't make it across the river to the Tarzan's house because there were too many people. Luckily this time, we just need to wait a few minutes for our turn.

Unfortunately, the Tarzan is never at home to greet and welcome his visitors.

We have to make our own way to his cool house.

Meet the cheetah that killed Tarzan's parents. Just want to amuse the cameraman, haha..

Heard a baby's cries over the cot there. Vincent said he want to climb up to look at the baby. Silly boy.

With this kind of view, isn't this house so cool?

Baby Tarzan and his step Gorilla mom, Kala.

If they put someone to pretend Tarzan and Jane, I'm sure this place will be lots more interesting.

I really think this is a very cool house.

Vin likes this house a lot too...

This boy is almost 4 years old now, but he still likes me to carry him all the time. Although I complained a lot, secretly, I like to carry him. I like the way he put his little arms around my neck, and his little legs around my waist. I guess both of us just get so used to each other like this.

The apparatus behind reminds me of the time when my fellow course-mate and I did some weird chemistry experiments in the laboratory back in the university days.

The difference between a person without musical training and with musical training...this boy simply hit the xylophone with no meaningful notes.

while this boy could hit a song out from it.

As for Vin, this is the level he could go up all by himself.

As for Wil, this is the level where his daddy could hold him up to.

Though slow, my mom managed to keep with our pace from walking down to up, and up to down.

So far for the AdventureLand. We went back to the Disneyland's center, FantasyLand.

(To be Continued)

A Farewell Lunch

2007-10-18T14:25:00.000+08:00

It's a norm when a colleague leaves the company, the remaining will treat him/her a farewell lunch.

This afternoon, we had had another farewell lunch again. This time, JC is going to leave and today is his last day. Well, I can't remember JC is number-what colleague that leave this year. People come and go so fast, I have lost count and sort of get used of it already.

Same like many other previous farewell lunch, we walked to that same Chinese tim-sum restaurant that is located just opposite our office in order to save time. On the way to the restaurant, people start recap JC's history in our company. Question like : How long has he been working here? Has he got married? Does he has any kid? Then we realized no body actually know him well though he has been working here for 3 years. Sigh, I don't even know what's JC Chinese name?

After we were seated, we tossed to JC and wished him all the best in his future undertaking. As usual, we don't ask people his whereabout after the resignation. Anyway, someone envy him for leaving the company finally. Then, someone tossed to the remaining and wished us to leave the company asap too. It sounded like a joke? Maybe, maybe not. Of course, people said that only when the boss is absence.

Out of a sudden, someone asked me why I stay that long? Good question, I have been asking myself this question for many times too. So, I don't need to think a second before I said "I think working everywhere also got pros and cons. As long as the job still meet my requirement, I'll stay". There is a long lapse of silence before some one commented how true it is. I didn't know how other people actually feel about it cause we ended our conversation right here. As usual, we didn't go deep talking any serious topic at lunch time.

Next week, there will be another colleague leaving the company. Also, there will be a new boss reporting duty next month. Things and people move increasingly fast these days. Maybe this is a sign of a terrible storms?

Mark Six Dream

2007-10-17T22:36:00.000+08:00

I had a day dream again, this time I will win 33 mil dollars ...

My mind flys high away fantasizing the things I want to do with that huge amount of money. But, my dream burst and everything went back to normal after the draw result came out 9pm last night. No matter how hard I pray before the draw took place, my dream never come true. Well, maybe, not yet. (Sigh)

Draw result of 07/121 : 6, 10, 11, 14, 31, 40 Special no : 49

I've triple checked my lottery ticket, I strike 2 no this time (14 & 31, in the 4th set)

The best result I've got so far is to strike 4 no in a set. I won HKD320 as a consolation prize. That was back in year 2003, just a week before I found myself pregnant carrying my 2nd son. What's that suppose to mean?

The Mark 6 Lottery is a 6 out of 49 lotto game which is conducted by HKJC Lotteries Limited, a subsidiary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Everyone wants to win the 1st prize, some unknown genius have tried to answer the frequent-ask question as below :-

Question : What is the probability to win the 1st prize ?

Answer : 1 in 13983816 chances.

Mathematic work out : 1 /(49! ÷43! ÷6!) = 1 /13983816

Question : How many draws are needed to draw 7 consecutive numbers ?

Answer : 2045252 draws.

Mathematic work out : There are 49 numbers in Mark Six. If each draw draws out 7 numbers, then 42 numbers won't be drawn. That means there are 49! ÷ 7! ÷42! = 85900584 different draws in Mark Six. Since there are 42 different combinations of consecutive numbers in Mark Six, the probability of picking out one of them will be (1 x 42) / 85900584 = 1 / 2045252 .

Question : How long does it take to draw one of them out in Mark Six?

Answer : at least 13050 years if Mark Six is still held on every Tue, Thu and Sat.

(Well, I don't think there will be Mark Six after 10 thousand years)

In summary, if anyone wants to be rich by betting in Mark Six, it's only possible if one is extremely lucky. Seems silly to continue betting in those silly numbers, right?

Yet, people will continue putting their bet in Mark Six, for many reasons. For sure, the biggest reason is to get rich over night. How to define rich? My definition is : I can buy things without thinking of budget.

Apocalypto

2007-10-03T11:39:00.000+08:00

Watching a movie at home can always end up sleeping on the couch for me.

There are many many times, as frequent as 8 out of 10, I couldn't stay awake before the movie half ends. Not to say 80% of the movies I watched are bored, but they simply not pinching my nerves to keep me awake.

TV programs at last Saturday night sucks again. As usual, KS simply picked 1 pirated DVD that he bought and turned it on. I have no high expectation on the movie he played, I didn't even ask what movie was that? I was tired, and I thought I would have slept on the couch very fast, again.

The movie has no opening credits and begins with a quotation...

"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it is destroyed from within" - W.Durant

In ancient Mayan civilization, a peaceful tribe is brutally attacked by warriors seeking slaves and human beings for sacrifice for their gods. Jaguar Paw hides his pregnant wife and his son in a deep hole nearby their tribe and is captured while fighting with his people. An eclipse spares his life from the sacrifice and later he has to fight to survive and save his beloved family.

Jaguar Paw and his father, Flint Sky

To my surprise, even though the whole movie is conducted in foreign language and we could only get the meaning by chasing the subtitles, I didn't close my eyes even for a second through out the 2.5 hours show time.

This compelling action movie with not only adrenaline, but also brains and heart. Its bizarre and fascinating anthropological backdrop, fast paced old fashioned struggle between good guys and bad guys is really something extraordinary to me. The movie does have a lot of violence. Indeed, it's very brutally violence. But the violence is woven into a story with the characters we care about.

I'm not a Mayan scholar, I don't know much about the famous Mayan civilization. From the internet, I get to know that :-

Maya civilization in the Central Area reached its full glory in the early eighth century, but it must have contained the seeds of its own destruction, for in the century and a half that followed all its magnificent cities had fallen into decline and ultimately suffered abandonment. This was surely one of the most profound social and demographic catastrophes of all human history. -Michael Coe, The Maya

This movie "Apocalypto" didn't convey heavy information about ancient Mayan civilization in depth. In view of the simple storyline, don't expect to get to know much about Maya people after finish watching the movie. To a simple minded audience like me, the moral behind the movie is :-

1. True fear is the fear "when the end comes, not everyone is ready to go."

2. Don't simply run away from fears, but stop for a while and use the brain to think of ways to fight back.

3. This kind of movie will always keep me awake. Bravo Mel Gibson.

Memoir of Katathani

2007-09-13T19:52:00.000+08:00

Katathani hotel had provided more than a comfortable accomodation to us. At here, we have experienced the total relaxation and satisfaction that worth all the money we've spent. This place has left us with many valuable memories that I will remember for a long time.

If there is anything to complain about this hotel, it's the toilet paper they put in the guestroom. The paper is very low quality type. Even though we folded it to 4-6 plies , it would still smear into many small pieces when rubbed. Anyway, this is so negligible if compare to all of the good things that the hotel had given us.

Chom Talaj Restaurant, one of the 6 restaurants in this hotel. Every morning, we took breakfast in this same restaurant.

The variety of the food is good enough for me. I especially like the very fresh and juicy local fruits they served, like pineapple, Thai pomelo, rambutan, mango, tangerine..etc They all are sold pretty expensive in HK, over here, I can eat-all-I-can. How great !!

After practicing buffet style dining for consecutive 5 days, they basically knew buffet is about eat-all-they-can now.

Saw this giant grass hopper somewhere in the hotel. Its length is about 7 inch. Just when I wanted to approach it, it flied away very fast. Boy, it can fly very high, like a bird.

There are many cocunut trees aound, so the workers would need to carry out a routine precaution measures to ensure the safety of the guests. For example, the worker will climb up the coconut tree and chop off some of the the branches / nuts to prevent it fell on somebody' head.

In front of the restaurant, there is a small lotus pond. Apparently, this is the good habitate for tadpoles. For the 1st two days, the boys just stood there and looked.

After that, they upgraded their action. Vincent started to bring his sand spade along when we went for the breakfast. At first, I didn't pay attention to his purpose. When I saw he used that to catch the tadpoles, then I know.

On the last day, they even brought this small pail along when we went for breakfast. They quickly finished up their foods, then ran straight to this pond and began their big project.

No one had ever tried to stop them from doing this. A restaurant's waiter, who supposed to do that, casually chatted with them while watching all this. Seems like he was trying to make friend with hem though...funny.

When we went to check them out after finished our breakfast, they have already caught that many tadpoles and kept them in the pail. We ordered the boys to free them. Hopefully, they would continue to grow up and survive all right after the trauma.

Besides tadpoles, they also like to collect many other things everywhere, anytime. If we didn't make them to move away, they would just stick to this kind of activity for a very long time.

Absolutely beatiful. I'm going to miss this place for a very very long time.

Just want to take more photos at this beatiful place...

The pool at the other side.

This place is really so beautiful that make us want to take more and more photos...

See how tanned they became...

Ever since the tsunami tragedy, this sign board can been seen everywhere in Phuket Island.

The other phase of Katathani Hotel, separated from the beach front by a street. The atmostphere is ok too, though need to walk around 500m to reach the beach.

The Chang Noi Kids Club is located in this phase of the hotel.

Heard that those boys had been sitting there since 8am to play the PSP game. Really addicted.

The spacious lobby is quiet and calm at night time.

When we came back from dinner one night, we sat here for a while to wait the boys to finish up their ice-cream. They really ate too much ice-cream in Phuket. Sigh.

A night market in front of the lobby. Well, hardly see anyone to check out the things there. Really not a good place to do business.

This restaurant is called Fisherman Wharf, nickname "Sunset Restaurant". How romantic to watch the sunset while chewing up the foods, only when no kids are tagging along.

He looks so grown up in this photo. Anyway, he is a pretty mature 3.5 years old boy.

This is our room, 2036.

The night view, looking out from the room's balcony.

Finally, it's time to fly back HK. The hotel people was very kind to extend our check-out time to 2.30pm. We took our lunch at this restaurant for the last time. This is the kid's meal. Basically the portion is almost the same like normal adult's meal, but the price is 50% less. How lovely.

My favourite dish, Bai-Thai (Thai fried noddle). I love to squeeze the lime juice and then mix the noddle with the bean sprout together. The natural sweet and sour taste, and the crunchy texture, really make my saliva drooling.

We left for the Phuket International Airport around 3pm. After checking in, I quickly shop for some local snacks to treat my colleagues before we get into the plane. The plane took off at scheduled time, i.e. 6pm, though we heard that typhoon was approaching HK that night. We arrived home around 12 midnight. Feel so exhausted that we all slept sound that night.

That's all for the Phuket's trip.
*

Just when everyone thought the typhoon won't hit HK cause the trajectory show that it had passed HK safe zone, this typhoon suddenly made a U turn. And it moved back to HK in a very fast speed. Within 2 hours, no.8 typhoon was hoisted in a hurry. It had created such a mess that the HK government was condemned by the public again, haha...