It's the first week of school and I am slowly adjusting back to the life of a student who needs to keep up with her readings, deadlines, and the daily routine of taking the long bus and train rides. Every time when I return to school, I will always realize how small a fish I am in this big ocean. But sometimes, maybe it's just fine being who you are.

I guess I am getting older and my metabolism is getting slower. The local night life scene doesn't excite me anymore..or rather there's this feeling that it doesn't sort of have the similar zest or excitement as in LKF. Ahh..I should just stop comparing all together..it's bad! Eating a little too much fried or high carbo food will end up with a bigger tummy or slight weight increase. No longer is it the times when I can binge on my favorite food without bothering about its after-effects. I have always admired Sammi Cheng for her fit body and strong drive to work out at the gym. Perhaps I should sign up for a gym aerobic package next time..when I have the money though haha.

It has been an eventful week. Met up with sec friends whom I have not met for 5 years. Can you imagine 5 years? Had a sumptuous and fun dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and they even attempted to "sabo" me by asking the live band to sing a birthday song to me. In the end, I broadcasted my thoughts through the microphone. Over the weekends, met up with poly friends for an expensive dinner treat at Brewerkz and had a great chillout session with all of them. Then had a simple and closely-knitted lunch with YJ and LH where we all had a heart-to-heart talk today.

It is the end of the summer break and the start of school again. Each semester has different challenges and the mad cycles of rushing for meetings and deadlines continue. As each semester progresses and being part of human nature, I will reflect upon myself and compare myself to other peers on setbacks, achievements and experiences. The route to learning and gaining new experiences is never ending and as compare to many of my other peers, my achievements and experiences are considered mediocre.

As everyone will soon enter the new phase of their lives - career, what differentiates myself from the rest, what will make employers hire me and what value-added capabilities do I have in order to serve the organization? I guess these are all strong and pending questions that loom in my head constantly and something that I should correct on. I know that many of them will be receiving a higher pay checks or even bonuses than me. With only me supporting my parents and myself, the tipping scale on my attitude towards work-life balance and financial freedom needs to be tuned optimally.

Overall, this summer vacation has being fruitful. I believe that I could have achieved much more, especially in terms of earning more money, but money is not everything and gaining traveling or cultural experiences is also important. I am still in the post-travel syndrome/mood and adapting to the less bustling and energetic lifestyle that I am currently in haha. I guess it will soon wear off though.

I am back in my home country. It has been a fruitful and exciting summer study trip to Hong Kong and I believe that I would visit this bustling and fast-paced city soon.

I miss the noisy hostel while I gossiped and had pillow fights with my girlfriends till wee hours in the morning, climbing steep slopes just to get to my lecture halls, enjoying the spectacular sea view, greenery and cheerful bird chirping sounds when I returned to my hostel in the evenings, trying different and unique food everywhere, sitting the various transportation (ferry, MTR, buses, trams, railways, etc)...and so much more! Perhaps, if I have no attachments in Singapore in the future, I might foresee myself migrating or even working in Hong Kong either permanently or for a long period of time.

Well, truth to speak, things have not been totally perfect and enjoyable through out the whole summer study. Despite me knowing 1 of the 4 girls through a previous module that I took and the fact that all 4 are from same school as me, our relationship is as good as the ladies in Beyond the Realm of Conscience(宮心計). Superficial and prone to back-stabbing. Sometimes, totally blunt that they just stabbed a knife right in front of me.

But thanks to them, I grew to realize that my trip is meant to be enjoyable and not an agony of constant dependence or tolerance of their nonsenses. I met new friends along the way, travel around the city or islands without tagging along with the 4 girls, and even managed to have random chats with the salespeople or waiters along the streets. And strangely, become part of the huge NTU family at my campus/hostel.

Went to Shenzhen for the second time for better shopping bargains and massage. Explored Disneyland to retrieve my long-lost childhood. Then traveled to Macau and Zhuhai. Later, resided at Metropark Hotel located at Waterloo road. And finally, had a memorable last day with time spent at Lamma Island, followed by eating Pen Cai (Basin of food) and delicious desserts with with my friends and his HK family at Yuen Long.

View from my campus. Romantic spot right?

Walking down the slope every evening


Scenic view just below my hostel


HK Disneyland!


Mickey Mouse in his magical cloak


The magical castle

Macau - Portuguese influenced region


The famous Ruins of St. Paul Church


Chilling at Darling's Seafood restaurant to watch the sunset


Lan Kwai Fong


LKF - Clubbing and pub paradise


Bustling wet market along the streets of LKF


Welcome to Lamma Island! The best trekking place to burn extra calories.


Laid-back Lamma where you see dogs taking a cooling swim from the hot weather

Finally, a pavilion to rest after trekking for 45 mins


Trekked for 90mins just to eat this famous Ah Po's Beancurd Jelly. Simply rewarding.


Houses along the coast


Sitting ferry from Lamma back to HK


Last day feast of Pen Cai


Cold mango chee cheong fun. Love the texture.


B仔涼粉 - Ah Bee's Grass Jelly Dessert


Till we meet again

This week was my first time experiencing traveling alone to explore other parts of Hong Kong. Took the shuttle bus then train to meet my other friend, who just flew from Canada with her boyfriend to have her vacation here. I am kind of a traveling noob to the extent that I had to relied on my MTR map guide to change trains. We went to Wong Tai Sin, Mongkok for more shopping and eating, and to Tsim Sha Tsui to view the symphony of lights. It's really fascinating to see the city skyscrapers synchronizing with the music, colorful lights and laser beams. My friend reckons that it would be even more spectacular during the Christmas festive season. Sat the night shuttle bus back to campus and it was kind of soothing to stroll amidst the park while enjoying the cool night breeze.

Oh well, the previous hiccups ended up to be a bigger hiccup..to the extent that it has become a matter of bothersome "indigestion". I received assurances from my friends back in Singapore, yet being alone in a foreign country, I need to constantly remind myself to be happy and mindful in handling this situation. I guess traveling to places with other new group of friends or alone do help sometimes.

Over the weekends, I went to Ocean Park with another friend. It was an enjoyable experience, especially viewing the jelly fish in their aquariums. I am an animal person, so rather than seeing how chefs slaughter live animals and feasting on them (a huge no-no for me), I will prefer to see happy animals living harmoniously with people. We got to witness amazing fireworks and lighting towards that evening..and balls of flaming fire shooting up in the night sky.

Entrance to Wong Tai Sin Temple

Night view of Symphony of Lights

Famous Michelin's recommended Wanton Noodle. Yummy noodle with chewy texture.

Roasted goose meat


Mango dessert


Are they gigantic wantons?


No haha!! They are cold mango pancakes.


Ocean Park at Aberdeen


Oh gosh! I laughed really hard after I took this photo. Goldfish says, "What's up man?"


Nice looking jelly fish


Translucent jelly fish that changes color with the color lighting. I can spent hours just amazing such serenity.


Paranormal view of the sunset from the Ocean Tower


Fountain that shoots water at such force. Super pump at work.


Silky milk pudding at Yau Ma Tei's Yee Shun Milk Company

What are weekends and resting breaks for? Well, for me, at least now..is to do housework and tidying up my room. I do not know when I become such a hygiene freak, but I have being diligently mopping floor, wiping and cleaning stuffs and disinfecting the room once in a while. At this rate, perhaps I am becoming a "wifey" material.

A call from my parents and knowing the I have friends back home who are still concern about my well-being were the greatest comfort I have recieved amidst some of the conflicting matters I am facing right now. Truth to speak, not everything will be perfect to start off with, so it's only through being optimistic that I learn or gather experience from.

It has been raining non-stop for this whole week and coupled with the pollution or dry air, people are falling sick. I sort of caught a cold earlier this week too. It's amazing there there are so many medical halls and outlets, such as Hoi Tin Tong, around Hong Kong.

Wanted to go to Ocean Park yesterday, but due to the rain, we headed to a Japanese buffet lunch at Isari Kiya which is located at Tsuen Wan instead. Recommended by the famous OpenRice, it's really a value-for-money buffet as we spent an average of SGD25 per person and got to enjoy superb Japanese cuisine (especially the Sashimi).

We sang K at Neway and yes..I got to sing my Cantonese ballads.

Clouds or mist at campus from the non-stop downpours

Cha Siew Ramen at Isari Kiya

Wholesome plate of sushi

Seriously, the sashimi is a must-have

I want my Mcdull..yet to find this cute soft toy though!

Gathering of dark clouds at Tsuen Wan

KTV-ing at Neway