Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
新年快乐，心想事成！Travel Diary: HK, Shenzhen, Macau
Just to wish my dear friends reading this blog a very happy Lunar New Year!
The New Year is a very different one this year as it is the first that I spent overseas. Relatives were surprised to hear that I was off to Jakarta on the first day...right after downing our family's customary longevity noodles. The reason, besides, the long weekend, was because my nuclear family decided to embark on the sponsored trip to Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau.
This being my 3rd trip to Hong Kong in 1 year, I was not particularly enthusiastic. But Hong Kong proved able to surprise still! Well, for one, I finally realised my childhood dream of going to Dysneyland. Understandably, I am already past the age for the dream land...many of the rides are less than thrilling. But it was still a really cute place which managed to resurrect many of the childhood images to reality. I especially liked the fountain at the entrance, which had a whale with Mickey riding a wakeboard atop the water it blew out. Mickey actually bobbed up and down, adding to the realistic effect! And I loved the fireworks at Sleeping Beauty's castle that marks the theme park's closing time every night. Oh, and I think everyone should try out the 4D attraction...you can actually feel as well as smell! It would have been much, much better to go to such theme parks with friends, but oh well.
But the trip was kinda marred by the herald of the coldest winter in China, which affected the three regions we visited. Hong Kong normally only experiences minus 10 degrees for about two days in the year. But this time round, it stretched for more than a week! Needless to say, Shenzhen and Macau were more affected. I fell sick after an entire day out in the cold in Shenzhen. Not exactly a pleasant experience for a holiday. Delicious Hong Kong food became less flavourful as the result...sigh.
I liked the performance reenacting the battle between Genghis Khan and the Ming dynasty in Shenzhen. It involved a lot of horse riding and the performers were all excellent riders, showing acrobatic feats atop the horses. Have always wanted to learn horse riding.
I bought my Apple notebook in Hong Kong! The prices were much lower than those in Singapore. But there was no free gift...I only got an optical mouse and a normal laptop case. But anyway, here is to a new beginning with Apple! And, as usual I couldn't resist popping down to H&M, but the only great buy was a lace-trimmed black umbrella, which was cheap and lovely. Shopping is difficult when you were out with two men who complained incessantly about shopping being a huge waste of time and asking you to hurry it up. We vowed to organize an all-girls shopping trip next time.
Anyhow we managed to lug all that heavy purchases of food and notebook back to Jakarta, where I slept like a log till about 11 am, wishing I did not have to come back to work, ever. Planning a volunteer trip this year. Anyone in?
The New Year is a very different one this year as it is the first that I spent overseas. Relatives were surprised to hear that I was off to Jakarta on the first day...right after downing our family's customary longevity noodles. The reason, besides, the long weekend, was because my nuclear family decided to embark on the sponsored trip to Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau.
This being my 3rd trip to Hong Kong in 1 year, I was not particularly enthusiastic. But Hong Kong proved able to surprise still! Well, for one, I finally realised my childhood dream of going to Dysneyland. Understandably, I am already past the age for the dream land...many of the rides are less than thrilling. But it was still a really cute place which managed to resurrect many of the childhood images to reality. I especially liked the fountain at the entrance, which had a whale with Mickey riding a wakeboard atop the water it blew out. Mickey actually bobbed up and down, adding to the realistic effect! And I loved the fireworks at Sleeping Beauty's castle that marks the theme park's closing time every night. Oh, and I think everyone should try out the 4D attraction...you can actually feel as well as smell! It would have been much, much better to go to such theme parks with friends, but oh well.
But the trip was kinda marred by the herald of the coldest winter in China, which affected the three regions we visited. Hong Kong normally only experiences minus 10 degrees for about two days in the year. But this time round, it stretched for more than a week! Needless to say, Shenzhen and Macau were more affected. I fell sick after an entire day out in the cold in Shenzhen. Not exactly a pleasant experience for a holiday. Delicious Hong Kong food became less flavourful as the result...sigh.
I liked the performance reenacting the battle between Genghis Khan and the Ming dynasty in Shenzhen. It involved a lot of horse riding and the performers were all excellent riders, showing acrobatic feats atop the horses. Have always wanted to learn horse riding.
I bought my Apple notebook in Hong Kong! The prices were much lower than those in Singapore. But there was no free gift...I only got an optical mouse and a normal laptop case. But anyway, here is to a new beginning with Apple! And, as usual I couldn't resist popping down to H&M, but the only great buy was a lace-trimmed black umbrella, which was cheap and lovely. Shopping is difficult when you were out with two men who complained incessantly about shopping being a huge waste of time and asking you to hurry it up. We vowed to organize an all-girls shopping trip next time.
Anyhow we managed to lug all that heavy purchases of food and notebook back to Jakarta, where I slept like a log till about 11 am, wishing I did not have to come back to work, ever. Planning a volunteer trip this year. Anyone in?
Labels: Travel Diary
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