remembering 2007am not out at any countdowns as usual so taking a moment to recall wat i've done in 2007 datz worth remembering:
JAN 07:
1)ANNUAL BANGKOK TRIP
went to bkk as "usual", tis time round with rachel (ps: cycy refuse to go coz scared i "abuse" her with all my shopping ;p) may be missing my annual pilgrimage there next yr coz saving up for japan trip in spring~~ will miss all the shopping esp since we over shot the baggage limit by 6kgs tis yr but luckily didnt get fined for it :P
2) JAP CLASS
continued taking jap classes @ jcs after a break of 2 yrs. so surprised i could still understand the classes, h/r coz the class is way too big, itz vrey diff to interact n didnt make any new friends to date ;p
FEB 07:
CNY
cny was spent back in kalumpang with grandma after ard 10yrs dat we didnt go back for cny. though some days its kinda bored n terribly warm in the hse, nice to experience the kampong spirit again esp all the fireworks n crackers there :)
APR 07:
FINALLY QUIT MY ACCTS JOB N FOUND A NEW JOB!
one of the most significant events in 2007! finally left my horrid accts job of 3 yrs plus. nvr thot i wld tahan so long, during which i've had a change of accts, 4 in total, 3 diff sets of colleagues in the same dept. itz great finally not hving to stay to do OT 3/4 of the mth n going hm on time all the and no worries abt nobody doing my work when i'm on holidays n going during mth ends, no audits etc etc. YEAH~~
MAY 07:
KAREN'S WEDDING
was one of the "sisters" during karen's wedding n coz it's a christian church wedding, got to experience something new too.
JUL 07:
JAP CULTURAL EXCHANGE
signed up for those voluntary "tour guide" stuff at my jap school. turned out all the japs were working adults n not the usual students so was quite stressed thru' out the whole trip esp since i had to take care of 6 of them by myself!
SEP 07:
TPJC 97C05 10YR ANNIVERSARY GATHERING
since i was not as busy as back (& lazy) in my accts days, decided to organise a jc class gathering since it was 10 YEARS since out JC days. ARH~~~~ was quite happy with the turnout, tink more than half? its was nice esp since it felt like sch days n we cld talk abt anything even though we havent met some in years.
OCT 07:
MAY'S WEDDING
was the little translator for cycy's sis-in-law's wedding. she married a jap *so envious* ;p n since she juz started out learning it, they needed someone to "entertain" the mil during the wedding. got to practice my spoken jap n looking forward to visiting in our jap trip next yr!
NOV 07:
HK/MACAU TRIP
finally got to go hk with mum n dad, was there for 5d4n n spent a day in macau. loved the weather n food there n it was really like a sight seeing trip rather than a shopping one to bkk :P
OTHERS:
YOGA CLASSES
took up yoga classes to do some exercise datz besides shopping n to make sure i leave long enough to get the annuity when i'm 80/85 :P am doing one in a pte class opp my workplace n another at our cc. tinking of taking up pilates as well?
hong kong trip 2007
day 1 (sg - hk)
woke up @ 3plus so dat we wld reach the airport by 4plus for our flight at 6plus. were greeted by a relatively newly n bigger hk airport where the meeting points for tour groups were much more easier to locate n less chaotic than the new bangkok airport. there were ard 20 of singaporeans, presumably all signed up for the f&e package at the same agency but staying at different hotels.
greeted by heavy downpour
our hotel room was really tiny so couldnt take any picz at all. weren't any walking space after fitting the double bed n my xtra bed, which was on floor. i was fine with it coz roughly researched how it was but dad was shocked ;p anyways no time to waste, must keep to itinerary. food was relatively easy to find ard the hotel but not too much shopping in the day coz mostly shops selling pots n pans??
temple right next to our hotel. apparently some tourist attraction too.
popped over to the tian huo temple nearby after lunch b4 venturing to find the mtr stn which luckily werent too far away. h/r they didn't have much escalators so poor mum n dad had to climb up n down.
retro park in front of the temple
went off to wong tai sin temple but the weather was horrid coz there were monsoon rain predicted the 1st 2 days we reached. temple was too commercialize compared to those in sg n the main temple wasn't even accessible to visitors so we couldnt see how the deity looked like. worst part was the rain n strong winds make it hard for us to actually pray.
wong tai sin temple
tink streets in hk harder to navigate (or is it coz i go bangkok too often) ;p anyways took off to ladies street to shop shop. but eventually realise the street which we shopped at was fa yuen street, where things were much cheaper than ladies street. shopping was difficult due to the rain too but loved the weather. was ard 20degree n hardly sweat, so happy~~
fa yuen street
ice cream van we kept seeing everywhere
found lotsa food ard the area n even effortlessly found the steamed milk dessert that was highly recommended in the guidebooks.
famous fishballs (which tasted just like normal fishballs dipped in diluted curry water)
famous steamed milk restuarant
steamed milk which looks like beancurb but melts in the mouth. warm n great for the weather
there's a little nite market just behind our hotel (which was at temple st). think our part was more famous for food coz had those malaysian styled food stalls n a couple of claypot rice stalls. the nite market stretched much further but dun tink much to buy coz too "touristsy"
nite market behind our hotel
day 2 woke up amazingly early when i was over in hk. ard 6 or 7 pluz each day without alarm :P
mido cha chan teng where we had our breakfast most of the time (retro style hk cha chan teng which sold great food)
famous boluo yao (boluo bun with butter) n milk tea
baked pork ribs rice (which we ate at least 3 times)
1st stop was hong kong industrial centre for shopping. the whole place was huge n it took us half a day to cover the 1st floor only. great place for ladies fashion but guys had nothing to shop for at all so dad was pretty bored. the season wasnt really right too coz all autumn clothings but lotsa unique clothings which were not singapore fashion style.
hong kong industrial centre (wholesale cum retail centre)
lunched nearby at yet another cha chan teng where the food was great n portions huge as always.
yummy smoked duck rice~~
back to the hotel to rest abit b4 set off once again for sight seeing at the peak. the walk there on foot was really far unlike on the map n there weren't any clear instructions. on top of which not many locals spoke english so had trouble asking for directions. had to climb up a slope to get to the tram stn.
met miffy on my way there
madame tussauds @ the peak
bought a package for the return tram rides, madame tussauds n the viewing gallery at the tram stn which was cheaper than purchasing separately. luckily we went early coz by the time we left later on, it was freaking crowded. but the trip up there was really worth it coz great nite scenery paired with the strong winds n cool temperature of ard 17-19 (mum was already freezing). really envious of those rich pple who actually lived in bungalows at the same hill as the peak.
took lotsa picz at madame tussauds though it was pretty small n the celebrities were mostly asianz. some of my favourite picz below:
me with ayumi
bow to me!! heheheh~~
must practise hard to be president next time :P
petite kylie
day 3 (hk - macau)
quite chaotic coz we didnt know where the main tick counters were so ended up purchasing expensive ones from an agency at the basement n only managed to catch a 11plus ferry to macau. the waters at the terminal were really choppy so u literally had to hold on for ur life. an hr boat ride there with nothing much to see in the open waters.
our ferry there
it was the wkends so lotsa locals popping over to macau too esp the elderly. the buses were quite convenient over in macau so u actually didnt need a guide (but they could b better labelled coz we ended up taking a bus round n round later on :P) the main historical sites were at one area n felt very much like malacca (coz both under portugese rule)
fountain @ senado sq
the trademark wavy tiles @ senado sq
the famous portugese egg tarts
was great to be able to see the ruins of st pauls in real life after seeing it millions of times on tv but realise it was really one slab of wall n nothing much to see around except for the fort but mum was bored n more interested in all the shops selling local pdts (n crowded with china tourist who were out in full force crowding every shop they see)
ruins of st pauls
view of the town from top of st pauls
didnt managed to go to the venetian as planned due to time constraints n were afraid that we may miss our ferry back so chose the casino closest to the terminal which was the sands. was quite tempted to jump on one of those shutter buses which went thru n fro from the sands to the venetian but fraid it was too far away~~ sobs~~
mum n dad outside the sands casino
was bored at the casino n could nvr understand why mum likes the jackpot. ended up wondering ard n drinking loads of free drinks heheh~~ nothing to shop n cant take picz so veri sianz~~~ but their casinos are really big compared to genting (the only other casino which i've been to) n they had live shows at the central stage to entertain guests.
day 4
visit to the big buddha @ lantau island began with an hr long bus journey winding round hills after hills to reach the temple which was kinda far in. the ngong ping cable car was not in operation so the only way in was the bus n the cabs.
vegetarian food court at the temple grounds
weather up in the hills was great. though it was all sunny, i didnt sweat @ all. there were nice n cheap vegetarian food up there so gotta hv some b4 we embarked on the 168 steps up to the buddha. dad didnt attempt the climb coz we werent sure whether he could take it. mum n me had a "hard" time climbing up too but the weather helped abit.
the 168 steps up
the view up there was worth it n i dont tink we wld go there again so had to climb up. btw there is a chamber under the statue for pple to place their ancestral tablets n am amazed how those pple have to climb up every qing ming to sweep the tomb ;p. also saw anita mui's tablet there with flowers n gifts from her fans but could take picz there lah, siaoz
nice shot of the buddha statue
ave of stars
spent more than 3/4 of the day travelling to lantau island so didnt have time to shop in the town area as planned neither return to hotel for rest coz had to rush to the ave of stars to catch the symphony of lights (which turned out to be a big disappointment n not worth the time n effort)
one of the clearer shots taken from a wall coz didnt bring my tripod
the effects werent that nice n it was highly overated. had problem even trying to catch a cab back coz couldnt find a proper taxi stand.
day 5 (hk - sg)
last day was spent catching up with shopping at ladies market n fa yuen market which were not too far n accessible via bus n mtr b4 returning to the tiny hotel lobby to rot b4 pick up arrives.
lotsa food at hk airport
met ex-colleague at hk airport n posing outside newslink outlet in hk ;p
overall shopping is still better in bangkok but love the weather n food in hk. looking forward to my next trip to JAPAN!! yeah~~
