Archive - 2003
4th January 2004
The Trip is over - back to Melbourne
I guess the trip ended last Monday, when I flew back to Melbourne with my dad via Malaysia. I have to say that I really miss Hong Kong - especially the Hawker food in Tai Cheong House and atmosphere there. One thing that I really enjoyed while in Hong Kong was the hiking in the mountains of Hong Kong island. The views of the mountains decending towards Tai Long Wan (Big Wave Bay) were magnificent. Hiking up the mountain can be very tiring - especially for people who are unfit (like me). However, when you reach the top of the mountain, you would see the most beautiful scenery - its all worth it.
Another thing that I really liked about Hong Kong was its transportation. The transportation in Hong Kong is so efficient that many locals chose to go on public transport in preference to driving. The octopus card is a convienent smart card that you take with you no matter which type of public transport you go on. You load credits on it and it will deduct credits from you card on each trip. Very Handy.
Now that I am back home - I will have to deal with the dull and boring life of Melbourne
12th December 2003
Plunging Temperatures.....
The temperatures in Hong Kong have been plunging recently.. It was 27 degrees Celsius when I got here about a month ago. Now its on 13 degrees.. - Thank god I have prepared for the coldest in Hong Kong....
Stanley...
On Tuesday, I went to one of the most magnificent places in Hong Kong Island – Stanley. The best place was the Stanley market – full of Hong Kong souvenirs (although again, made in China) and popular brands. But the prices that they put up was a bit too expensive for the locals. Again, as in other street markets in Hong Kong, you will just have to bargin hard to get the price as low as possible. Stanley Bay was also really nice – its a must for visitors to Hong Kong.5th December 2003
Results yes!
My results were finally released on Wednesday evening and surprisingly, I was really pleased. I won't list what I got here but they were good.Chinese visas – Apparently there is a special visa – a card that Hong Kong residents get as a pass to China and its meant to be valid for 10 years. I had to get a new one (due to the fact I'm 18 this year). Anyway, I went to Sau Kei Wan this morning to get an application form – ok here is the problem:
1) The form is all in Chinese – so I can read it.. - they better put english there for Hong Kong residents who can't read it..
2) They didn't tell us that they needed a white background only and to take glasses off when taking an ID photo – this confuses many people
3) I need to pay $280 HK for the application. If dad wasn't there... then I wouldn't get the application done.2nd December 2003
Building Anxiety ...NOOO!!!!!
Hey its deja vu for me once again. I don't think I can sleep tonight as I will get my results tomorrow. Hopefully, I will get a near pass for all 4 of my subjects otherwise an N in my results will give me 1st year hell again. I still don't know why, but every time I tell my friends not to worry about it, I never can do it myself. Anyway, I think its time for me to reconsider my first year subjects... : (((30th November – Sunday
Hong Kong – Nice, Cool and Relaxed
The Tai Tam Country Park was one of the best national parks I've been to in a while. Despite the steepness of the path (which nearly made me collapse) the environment there was the one of the best in Hong Kong. Its pretty cool today – so mountain walking (in other words – Hiking) was very relaxing and refreshing today. Today, we went along the Wilson Trail and the Hong Kong trail and stopped at the Tai Tam Reservoir before heading back up to Wong Nai Chung Gap and catching the bus home.. We've taken a few shots during our hike - http://community.webshots.com/user/winza83
24th November – Monday
ID Cards – Smart and Convenient
I went to register for my new Hong Kong permanent resident ID card today at Wan Chai Immigration tower. Everything there was digitalized – I booked the appointment on the Internet two weeks ago (in Melbourne) from the website: http://www.esd.gov.hk/ga/id/eng/default.asp and the whole process (when i got there) took only less than an hour. Even the fingerprints were digitally scanned rather than the traditional finger stamping. Thanks to the technology revolution! ~ It only takes 2 weeks for them to process and make the ID cards. These cards are smart cards, there is a chip embedded inside and with it, you can borrow library books and later on, it can act as driving licenses (in 2006 anyway). I remembered that it took 6 hours to apply for my juvenile ID card in 1994 – I had to wait 4 and a half hours between the two processes (first I had to submit an application form and secondly, I had to stamp my fingerprints and take photos). .Smart cards are already in use in HK – the octopus card (http://www.octopuscards.com/eng) – you can use it for transportation and even shopping in the wellcome (I don't know about Park n Shop). Whow! - seems that the technology here is even more advanced than in Australia. I'd prefer to use smart cards for transport than to use the ugly paper Metcards that they use in melbourne.
20th November – Thursday 1950 HK time
Some places in Hong Kong has certainly improved – at least “some” public toilets and streets are cleaner, BUT some ugly stuff is still polluting the city. People are still spitting in public (not on the floor), smoking – its a disgrace!. No wonder why the pollution levels are so high in HK. Overall, i should say that there has been a major improvement in hong kong since 2.5 years ago, but there is still a long way to go...
15th November - Saturday..2056 hk time
I arrived in hong kong yesterday after endless hours of flying. So, what was my first impression of hong kong? Well, its a lot more cleaner than the city in 2001. (the public toilets, at least are cleaner and have toilet paper provided). The city is crowded as usual, but i'll get used to it sooner or later. Another major noticeable change was the MTR (subway). Its got a new line going to Tswan Kwan O (can't spell it properly) and the Kwun Tong line cuts off at Yau Ma Tei instead of ending at Admiralty, also, they've got doors installed at the platform. Everything is cheaper compared to Melbourne - an ice tea costs about HK$8 (AUD$1.5) compared to $3.50 at a chinese style cafe in melbourne.
Hopeless trains..Hopeless transportation
The public transport system in melbourne is f***ed! Security is already poor at the stations and the the trains are not even on time!!... Now...??? two days before, a crash has occured at Platform 6 in Spencer Street and now in NW of melbourne....- hopeless...!!! to see the aftermath of the crash at spencer's street - go to www.theage.com.au2nd November - Sunday..2056
There is so much going on for the next two weeks...
1) My exam starts tomorrow and i have chemistry first up @ 9:30... What a great start to my four exams! (not), but in 15:30 hours time, i won't have to do chem for the next 12 months.. (although i might choose environmental chem as a subject)....Other exams include physical geography (my fav. subject), physics and biology (what i hate the most)2) On the 13th of November (that's in 11 days), i will be (a) finishing my exam (bio is my last exam) and (b) i will be off to the airport for my nice holiday trip to hong kong.
...I wonder how much Hong Kong's changed since i was there in 2001.....but hey, at least they will have a greater sense of hygiene since the SARS epidemic in march... I hope restaurants and toilets will be cleaner than they were last time and i wish NOT to see any spitting around in public.
Besides for my trip to Hong Kong, there are other plans as well during my 3 month-and a half break. First, when i get back to melb, hopefully my friends would have postponed "the trip" until January, so I could go as well. Secondly, i will have to start taking driving lessons again so i could shut my _ _ _ up.. She keeps telling me to get my Probationary license. So when i have taken my driving test and passed, hopefully she will stop bugging me. and Thirdly, i want to get myself a tutoring job. I hate working in fast food and retailing chains and tutoring is a less active job (i am lazy.). Hopefully, rates will be good and i could get $$$ to spend.
But unfortunately, i always change my plans ... so maybe none of these things will happen :)Class of 2002
On Monday, i received an invitation letter from w##### to a reunion. I really wanted to go because its the only time i get to see all my friends from high school. But it is on 28/11. I will be in hong kong for the next two months.. I am unhappy about it : ( ... Anyway, I will just have to enjoy my trip at Hong Kong and see my friends when i get back...if not wait for another five years for another reunion..18th October
2300
Today's weather was warm and sunny - it was 28 degrees Celsius for the first time this season - yes! . I was planning to go to the state library today to study and then go to starbucks afterwards, but then i realised how much traveling i would have to do. So i stayed home instead. Although i got lots of revision down (well, not really, only a 2 chapters of chem.), every time i looked outside, my thoughts switched into daydream mode - funny is it. - its like a week or to two till my exam starts and i am still lying here procrastinating.... concentration is hard ~Today i daydreamed two things
1) I was playing with my cat for some reason and i was speaking in cat-language - how weird...
2) I moved out of home to work in the Amazon forest as a conservationist. Another weird thought since I'd never be able to survive in the middle of nowhere and I wouldn't be able to hook up to the Internet, which is basically the thing i live on besides the air, food and the water.. - another weird thought of the day..2100
さぱぱ蒩琌热 - 常Τ. セ来и稱City图书馆温习, 琌, и来觉眔Г车び陈烦, ┮и產温习. 虽礛иさぱ温眔, 琌–Ωи边, и碞梦稱ии猫园., и两个琍戳璶σ睫. и稱场ヘ程ぶ眔个Credit. 琌иσminiquizΘ绩眔20%τи產说и琌个镍矹, ┮ии这个Semester场常琌Fail. ..sigh...
12th October - 21:00 AEST
Procrastinating as usual
hmmm.. Really i should put my head down these holidays, but i am really procrastinating - just like a typical uni student. There will be a uni strike - (hopefully in all facilities at monash) on 16/10/03. I am actually happy about it cos i can do bit of revision - its better when you have one full day free rather than to have just a few hours spare....
Dancing in the rain - Yeh! - Its great that melbourne has been raining a lot for the past 2 weeks, because according to www.melbournewater.com.au, the water level in melbourne's reservoirs has tipped over the 50% mark and it is now at 52.9% - hopefully there will be enough water during the hot and dry summer so no restrictions are needed during the summer - its sad to see our gardens dying because of the water restrictions..
Tutoring
I've been think of tutoring people VCE Methods, Chem and Geog, because I hate working in the retailing industry and the food industry.. The only thing is that I will be in hong kong for a month during summer and I don't know if i can teach..
I just wanna tutor to get some income + experience ... : (
Saturday, 6th September @ 10 pm
Well, its still the same at the train stations in melbourne... Nothing different. I went to Ormond station in the south eastern suburbs tonight at 11 pm... The station has improved only a tiny bit - there are lighting everywhere, but what the commuters want on the station is a sense of security... There is no use just having lighting at the stations because gangsters will keep rocking up there. Public transport is probably a lot safer in hong kong, where there is staffing from the first to the last train... If they as in the public government, connex, mtrains whatever don't do anything about it. I will boycott the whole system and tell people to bike or drive instead : )
September 1, 2003 my photo?? i don't look any different from two years ago... Finally, at last, the government is proposing some effective tactics to combat smoking....but this should be implemented ASAP.. By the time it gets to mid 2004, thousands of people would have taken up smoking.
One more thing...graphics (such as the one with the cancerous gums) should also be put up in places where teenagers go to such as schools, outside clubs, universities, etc, because these are where this issue is the most affected..When I am outside a lecture theater, more than ten people have to endure the toxic chemicals released by just one smoker...
Yeah yeah yeah... say what u want... if u smoke, i don't care!.. but PLEASE! don't smoke in front of a group of non-smokers... its not cool!..
31/8/03
Well, here i am... Many people reckon that I don't have a life... Well, I do, but is just that I been getting really busy with work from university...(Thats my typical excuse)
Its September tomorrow... I can't believe that time is whizzing so fast.. It seems that i had just finished high school three months ago.. ... (by the way, i hope to put up some year 12 photos soon ...but i won't be doing that for a long time, seeing that i am very busy)...
Opps.. i forgot to introduce myself for those that don't know me.. By the way... my cybername is Winza, but ppl call me Wins, Winnie, Wan Ling, chun dang (=stupid egg) ..
Many of u may think why i am making a webpage (and why the hell i am using geocities?). I am writing a webpage so that my friends know how f****** bored i am (cos i am doing phys, chem and bio - hell subjects). I am using geocities cos i am a pov who don't even have the money to own a domain.
© Winnie So (2003 - 2004)