The Dawn is Breaking...

"The dawn is breaking, a light shining through...

Even the best fall down sometimes, even the stars refuse to shine,

Out of the back you fall in time, I somehow find you and I collide..."

The gorgeous and peaceful picture of dawn reminds me of this song, "Collide" by Howie Day. It's one of my favourite songs. It blends in to the ambience perfectly...

I was staying up "early" the entire night, finishing up a drama series that I've been watching the past week or two. By the time I was ready for bed, I realized that the dawn was breaking. Hmm... it has been awhile since I last enjoyed the sunrise. The experience I had at the top of Mount. Kinabalu was an awesome one. Watching the sunset is great too. I'd still prefer the beach though, where you can observe the position of the sun so clearly and closely on the horizon. This time, however, I'm doing it by the river. The famous Saint John river in Fredericton.

In the dark, I was biking along the walking trail which led me to the walking bridge. Then, I realized that I could actually stay on the south side to watch the sunrise. Below is the view of university campus from the walking bridge.

The serenity of that moment was beyond descriptions. The hustle and bustle of a big city living sets the busy pace, which brings me come alive. The calm and gentle rhythm of this wonderful piece of "art", however, allows the moment of silence to search deeper in heart and give thanks to everything, including every single breathe I take. I surely enjoy a fine balance of both :)

Bulgogi

The newly opened Korean/Japanese restaurant in town, the Bulgogi on King St.! Hooray!! A Japanese restaurant in town. Are they offering sashimi? Hmm... Korean food, how about Korean BBQ? I later found out that this restaurant is more like a take-out counter, and they offer sushi for Japanese food, and some Korean dishes. They open for lunch and early supper (or rather, till they run out of food). I've heard some good comments about their food and apparently, the staffs are friendly too.

I probably don't have much luck visiting them on a weekday for supper. I decided to pay a visit for my lunch on Saturday instead. I had the lunch combo ($7.99). Barbeque pork as my main dish and two other side dishes, rice sticks in sweet sauce and stir-fry peppers.

A very generous serving, as shown in the pictures, nicely placed in a styrofoam lunch box. Tastewise, it's great too. It's savoury with yummy spices. However, I'd have enjoyed a Korean BBQ more, and definitely, sashimi for my Japanese fix!!

Sailing

I always wonder what's sailing all about. I've heard wonderful stories about it, and often amazed how sailing can be a passion of someone's life. Here is my chance, when I found out that the Small Craft Aquatic Centre in Fredericton offers an eight-week sailing lessons in the summer. "Never try, never know" is my philosophy. Who knows, maybe sailing can be my passion too :) These are pictures taken during my last lesson:

With a personal floating device (PFD) with an attached whistle, and a pair of aqua socks, off I went sailing! First and foremost, we had to set up the main sail and jib sail (which can be a challenge) before hitting the Saint John River!

Off I went sailing with my fellow classmates and two instructors (one of them on a motor boat in case of emergency).

That's me as a skipper ;) Steering the boat with the tiller on my left, and ensuring a smooth sailing by grabbing on the mainsheet on my right.

The river view from the front of our sailboat. The water was calm at this moment.

Who would have imagined our boat to be a few inches away from being capsized a few minutes later?! I was controlling the boat direction by holding on the tiller and mainsheet with all my might, while Alison was pulling hard on the jib sheet. We were in a similar situation at least three or four times in one windy evening! A good practice though. I wouldn't mind getting into the water, except that the water was really chilly and I had my camera with me!!

Alison, my sailing buddy has been a wonderful companion. We've been helping each other out a lot.

What a gorgeous dusk! Overlooking the Westmorland Bridge from the south side of the city.

Sailing, is definitely more than sailing itself. It does not only requires experience of controlling a sailboat, but also knowledge of the wind and wave conditions. Depending on the points of sail, we'll have to steer the boat appropriately by either pulling in or letting out the main sail, as well as bearing off (pulling on the tiller) or heading up (pushing away the tiller). If we want to change the course of the boat, we'll have to either tack (heading into wind) or gybe (away from wind). Under most circumstances, we want to avoid the sheets from luffing.

There are lots of terminology involved. Sailing on a river was a challenge for us who were in White Sail I, I could barely imagine myself out in the unpredictable ocean. Sailing safely is one thing, sailing with speed is another level of the sport. I'm sure one will have to be determined and passionate, to be an awesome sailer. Maybe I'll be one, one day. You never know...

Skydiving

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

~ by Gil Bailie

No source of information is 100% trustworthy. It was already 8:40 a.m., and I was still searching for Skydive Moncton, in a residential area! Apparently, MapQuest has given me the wrong direction. I still can't figure out why.

Now listen, drive along Elmwood Drive, go pass the Trans Canada Highway overpass, Irving gas station, Tim Horton's, till you see a big sign on your right that says "Skydive Moncton." I was lucky to be given directions from a guy in the neighbourhood, who was scraping off paints from his fence at that moment.

"Skydive Moncton, here I come!"

I felt a sense of relief to find out that the class has not started when I arrived. A piece of advice: "always check for method of payment, don't just assume that they accept credit card." I had to drive into town during lunch hour to get cash, certainly not a good idea if I'd have known better.

I attended a 5-hour course before my IAD (Instructor Assisted Deployment) jump. The first half of the course, we learned about the different steps, from when we were getting dressed up in a diving suit, boarding the plane, getting off the plane and hanging onto the wing, leaving the plane, making sure that the canopy is deployed properly, and finally, how to do the landing at a designated spot. Everything sounded great up to this point.

The second half of the course, we learned about "what if something goes wrong?" That sounds horrible, doesn't it? As a matter of fact, we had to face the reality that things might not turn out as well as what we expected them to be.

"The few seconds after leaving the plane, the canopy should deploy itself, with the assistance of the instructor. If this doesn't happen after six seconds, we should cut away the main canopy and pull out the reserve canopy instead. Assuming everything goes well, we want to check if we could stall, since we'll need it for landing. We grab on the toggles with both hands and pull them all the way down. We should experience a moment of free fall if it works right. Next, we want to steer to make sure that we're in control of the direction we're moving into. We hold on to the toggles; pulling the right toggle allows us to turn right, and vice versa. Subsequently, we want to recognize the landing spot and the wind direction. Landing into the wind is what we aim for. Last but not least, when we're about 12 to 15 ft above the ground, we want to pull the toggles from the top to bottom to completely stall the canopy, with our knees bend and put together, and get ready to roll if we need to."

At the end of the course, we had to write a test to make sure that we understood what we learned in class, and hopefully, we'd apply them during the jump. It was raining cats and dogs around 3 p.m. No jump was allowed, especially if it was overcast, because we couldn't tell where we were supposed to land! Oh no... please stop the rain, I'm gonna have to come back another day, which means renting a car and driving for 2 hours to get here...It was 4 p.m. There was nothing much we could do, but to wait for the sky to clear up. I took the opportunity to wander around town, went to the Champlain Place and had a meal at the Arby's (knew it from the TV commercial but never get around to trying it). Here comes my meal...

Meanwhile, I was praying hard for nice weather before dark. Finally, the sun was out around 7 p.m. I waited for another 20 minutes before checking with Skydive Moncton if they're planning on jumps. Whoo...whoo...they were sending experienced skydivers to check it out! It was 8 p.m. when I got there. Since we had limited daylight hours, I was in a hurry to get dressed up and be ready for the jump. My heart was pumping hard. Johnny, the instructor who went with us, was taking video of me on the ground. That helped to ease my tension a bit.

The final practice on the ground before the actual jump.

At 8:30 p.m., six of us (an instructor, a pilot, and four students) were on our way to 3,000 ft above sea level. I was the first one to jump. The moment the door popped open, I felt the rush of wind through the plane. I first extended my right foot onto the step, but could hardly positioned it due to the strong wind. You'll be amazed how strong the wind could be at a high elevation even though it was calm on the ground. Next, my right arm reached out for the wing, followed by my left arm. Subsequently, I had both feet on the step, and slowly moved my way out, towards the tip of the wing. Soon enough, I was hanging onto the wing with just both arms. Once I received the signal from Johnny to let go, I experienced a few seconds of free fall before the canopy was fully deployed. My mind went blank at the very instant. However, keeping in mind that I had to practice what I've learned from class, I did the procedure checking my canopy at the sixth second. I saw a gorgeous canopy above me, wow... I was actually floating... in the sky!

I was pumped and nervous at the same time, as the plane took off.

Here we were, 3,000 ft above sea level for NO REASON!! The rush of wind and the bird's-eye view of the city left me speechless...

Urgghh... I couldn't position my foot well because of the strong wind.

"Leave the plane when it's time to leave, to ensure a safe landing," said Jim, our classroom instructor. Here I was, waiting for the signal to let go both arms, with my feet dangling in the air. I was literally living on the edge!

I was pretty certain that I screamed for one to two seconds, before performing the procedures checking my canopy. "Arch one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand, five thousand, check canopy (while turning right and looking to the top)."

The serenity in the sky was beyond descriptions. It reminded me of the tranquility I experienced in the underwater world when I scuba dived. I was overwhelmed by the awesomeness of the Mother Nature. God's creations are simply fantastic!

One of the best part of skydiving was to flare in the sky, just to make sure that stalling would work during landing. The few seconds of free fall was marvelous... The 5-minute landing seemed to pass very quickly. I was kind of worried that I would end up landing on top of the roof! Hehe... thanks to the instructions I received from the ground, I was able to land smoothly on the field beside the runway, while looking out at the horizon! I didn't even have to roll over :P Well done!

I was surprised how quick the dark kicked in. When I was ready to leave, it was about 9:30 p.m. I felt a bit sketchy having to drive in the dark alone. Oh well, what can I do? It was a safe journey home that took me only one and a half hours. I was exhausted at the end of the day, with a joyful heart!

When you're in a state of helplessness, you'll learn to appreciate what's the most important thing in life. Even at the very last breath of your life, you just wouldn't let it go, because of the faith you live by. It was a thrilling and unforgettable event in my life. I was overjoyed and self-contented that my dream came true.

Moncton

This is my first time going on a road trip alone. I finally decided that "today is the DAY!" I left Fredericton around 6 a.m., hoping wishfully that I could stop by the market before my IAD (Instructor Assisted Deployment jump) course at 8:30 a.m. About half-way down the journey, I saw a creature standing in the middle of the road. Having heard of stories about mooses jumping onto the highway, first thing that came into mind: "Stop the car! That could be a moose!" It turned out to be a deer instead. I've seen them on the walking trail twice this summer, but not on the highway. What a shock!

Finally, I made it to the market at 8 a.m.

Guess what he's selling at the market? Foie gras!! Both fresh and preserved. I thought I'll have to visit a French restaurant in Quebec city to try it. I bought a can of preserved foie gras ($29.50) to bring home. Yumm... it's ever so good!

For breakfast, I bought a piece of blueberry tart and a Middle Eastern square. Hmm... sweets for breakfast. You got it! You know what I'm after ;)

Arby's

Two sandwiches, curly fries, a turnover, a drink, with three different sauces to choose from: tomato ketchup, BBQ sauce, and horseradish sauce.

Crispy curly fries. The texture & taste is just right!

The signature Arby's Melt. Thin sliced roast beef with tangy cheddar cheese sauce. Yumm...

The Ham Melt. Roasted ham, top with melted Swiss cheese. A simple yet delicious sandwich!

The blueberry turnover with crispy and flaky pastry and sweet icing (find it too sweet though).

Take your pick, for a limited time offer. Hmm... wouldn't it be nice to try them all? Oh well, only if I've a second stomach!

SWeetS

My "hearty" breakfast from the market in Moncton:


The bluerry tart ($2.50) is loaded with fresh blueberries! Crispy tart shell and sweet custard. It's simply irresistable!


The Middle Eastern square ($1.50). The flaky pastry is delicious!

Wild at Heart

Before this summer, I've been involved in different sports, such as mountain climbing, scuba diving, whitewater rafting etc. Nevertheless, it simply takes my breath away when I imagine myself floating in the sky. I always enjoy the bird's-eye view of a city whenever I'm on a flight. The idea of reaching the sky and embracing it, is bizarre!

I've to admit that this has been an awesome summer, not only did I try bungee jumping (160ft) in Whistler, BC, but I also went for skydiving (3,000ft) in Moncton, NB! Skydiving has been in my mind for two and a half years. I was not able to do it sooner, due to unforeseen circumstances (transportation, skydive buddy etc.).

Have you ever experienced a strong urge to do or achieve something that you always wanted? You yearn for the day to come, day and night. There's something missing in life if you don't go for it. That was exactly how I felt, after putting the plan aside for two years, I started pondering: "it's now or NEVER!" Live life to the fullest while you can. If you know you're going to regret for not doing or achieving something in life, then by all means, run after your goals and be responsible for yourself! How many days do you have left on earth? Only God knows. Hence, lead your everyday life as if it's the very last day on earth, prioritize things that have to be done... One fine day, you'll tell yourself: "I've fully utilized my days on earth and fulfilled my dreams, for the glory of God who has given me this precious life."

Chee Cheong Fun

I was absolutely inspired by the Chee Cheong Fun (a.k.a. rice noodle roll) prepared by Lily that she had it on her blog (http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2008/07/chee-cheong-fun-iii.html). The preparation process was fascinating and I was so eager to try it out myself!

Ingredients:
(A)
60g rice flour
20g tapioca flour
2 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil

(B)
1 1/2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tsp water
1 tbsp sesame seed

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients from (A) and leave it aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour a thin layer of batter into the pan and heat until a thin layer of the the batter solidifies at the bottom. Pour back any excess batter.
3. Place a lid on the pan and cook on low heat.
4. The noodle is cooked when it turns translucent. Remove pan from the heat source.
5. Roll the sheet of noodle carefully (not to break it) with a wooden spatula on the pan. Place the rice noodle roll on a greased plate.
6. Continue cooking with the remaining batter.
7. Dilute the Hoisin sauce with water. Pour the sauce on the noodles and garnish noodles with sesame seed. Savour the chee cheong fun while hot!

p/s: It takes some practice to yield smooth texture cheong fun. I appreciate those hawkers who cook fine and tasty chee cheong fun!

Strawberry Blossom Doughnut

If Dunkin' Donut is part of the American culture, then the Tim Hortons (a.k.a. Tim's) is a must in the Canadian culture, especially for the Maritimers.

I'm fascinated with this brand new creation--Strawberry Blossom Doughnut! It's shaped into a flower with six petals, topped with pink and white sprinkles, and strawberry jam in the middle. As you might have expected, it's rather sweet. Well, you don't get such a treat all the time. Enjoy while you can! It's for limited time only.

Strawberry Picking

Posing with the bright red, juicy strawberries!

The strawberry plants.

Come on, let's pick some berries from the field. What a great outing in the summer!

I always look forward to the strawberry season in the summer, which usually takes place in early July, after Canada Day. Previously, I've organized strawberry picking trips for friends who were new to Freddy and they truly enjoyed it ;) Strawberries....I'm excited for it! I rode on my bike to the strawberry farm, Sunset U-Pick on Ferris St. off Sunset Drive, located on the north side of the city. It was a 30-minute bike ride. What a gorgeous day! Warm sunshine, summer breeze...

Apparently, the hot weather will bring a more rapid end to the season, and residual moisture from the rain will shorten the shelf life of strawberries. The weather certainly plays a major role in the growth of berries. This is the second week of the picking season and will probably go on for another week or so.

Strawberries are yummy just on its own. My favourite however, is the strawberry+kiwi+banana smoothie. A refreshing treat on a hot summer day!

Steak Feast II

The carrot was cut into a unique shape, very creative :)

I've been craving for steaks these days and hence prepared myself a Grade A striploin and salad for supper. Besides the similar ingredients used to prepare the first steak that I had (refer to the post "Steak Feast I"), I added some Moroccan harissa spice (1 1/2 tsp) for marinating the meat. It was merely a 15-20 minutes of cooking time with the toaster oven set at 400F, for a medium rare steak. With the steak topped with mushroom sauce, and salad as side dish, I indulged myself in this delicious meal ^v^

Salad

Ingredients:
1 cherry tomato
1/2 medium green pepper
1 small carrot
2 stalks celery
2 leaves iceberg lettuce
2 leaves romaine lettuce

Directions:
Creativity + Passion + Patience = Awesomeness

How did I come out with this idea? Well, I had these ingredients sitting in the refrigerator that I needed to prepare for tomorrow's lunch. Instead of a boring dish of salad, I wanted something that's more presentable, and more appetizing! And here I am, combining the salad with some canned salmon for a meal *wink*

St. Andrews

A weekend trip to St. Andrews and St. Stephen.

Asian Beef Noodle House

A tofu salad dish, with a large serving of vegetables and fried rice vermicelli.

The chicken pho (noodle soup). It tasted great with hoisin sauce and hot sauce :)

The one and only Vietnamese restaurant in Fredericton. It has been around for more than two years now. They serve a few Thai dishes too. It's a great place (or rather, the only) place to get your Vietnamese/Thai fix, but for the serving size and price that you're paying for, you could get way better deals in bigger cities. Thus, I'm too big of a fan of this restaurant. Please don't get me wrong, they offer good service and complimentary chinese tea, but I'd rather spend my budget on restaurants I haven't been in town.

There's a Vietnamese restaurant in the Chinatown of Montreal that I really enjoyed, and certainly looking forward to my next visit.

Steak Feast I

Hmm...what am I gonna have for today's supper? I found this sirloin tip steak from the meat market for a good deal. Without second thought, I've decided my supper menu--sirloin steak, salad, mashed potatoes, and my favourite Campbell cream of mushroom soup.

It was an absolutely random recipe. A good try!

First of all, let's prepare the steak.

Ingredients:
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp cooking wine
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Keep the marinated steak aside for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the toaster oven to 400F.
3. Cook the steak for about 10 minutes on each side.

It was a well-done steak before I managed to stop it from being cooked further. I was anticipating a medium rare. Oops! Too bad...try again next time ;P

Next, we have mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes
1 small onion
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tsp dried basil
Dash of red chili powder
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp whipped dressing or mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Prepare a pot of boiling water.
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes.
3. Dice the onion into small pieces.
4. Cook the potatoes in boiling water on high heat for 15 minutes. Add onion into the boiling water and cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat.
5. Drain water from the pot. Mash the potatoes and onion efficiently with a hamburger press (use a spatula if you don't have one).
6. Add light soya sauce, salt, margarine, and whipped dressing according to taste (adding some milk will give a richer taste too). Mix thoroughly.
7. Add black and white pepper, dried basil and red chili powder.
8. Ready to serve.

Umm...what else are we missing? The gravy! Again, a simply random recipe for gravy.

Ingredients:
1/2 small onion
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
3/4 cup water
1/2 beaten egg
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp light soya sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1. Dice the onion into small pieces. Fry the onion in a sauce pan on medium heat till brown.
2. Dissolve the corn starch in water. Pour in the corn starch mixture. Let it boil on high heat, while stirring it occasionally.
3. Keep it on medium heat once it's boiled. Add the beaten egg, oyster sauce, salt, dark and light soya sauce. Stir well and cook the egg.
4. Add salt, cooking wine, white and black pepper according to taste.
5. Let the gravy simmer on low heat till thicken.
6. Serve it on the steak.

* The above recipes serve as a reference. The amount of ingredients used may not be exactly the same. So how? Try it out according to personal taste!

Last but not least, the creamy mushroom soup! It's quite self-explanatory. Simply refer to the directions on the can. You can either add a can of water or milk (gives creamier texture) to cook with it. Mushroom soup was a nice treat in the family for either supper or just a late night "snack" when I was little. Dad used to prepare it during a few occasions. Once it's cooked, stir in with dash of Maggie seasoning and white pepper. It's the best soup ever that will warm your heart! And not to mention, fog up your glass too with its hot steam! Yumm.... a memorable taste from childhood. *What a little girl I am*

Nasi Paprik

What is nasi paprik (a.k.a. paprik rice)? Also referred to as nasi pad prik, it is a fried rice dish with paprika sauce which is known to be of Thai origin.

Ingredients:
1 sachet Maggie Nasi Paprik
2 cups uncooked rice
1/2 lb ground pork
10 stalks green beans
1 medium carrot
1 beaten egg
1 medium onion
1 tsp light soya sauce
Dashed of white pepper
Sliced cucumbers
Tomato ketchup (according to taste)

Directions:
1. Cook the rice and let cool.
2. Marinate ground pork with dashed of pepper and light soya sauce. Leave it aside.
3. Cut the onion and carrot into small cubes.
4. Saute the onions till brown on medium heat. Add the ground pork and cook.
5. Pour in the cooked rice and mix in Maggie Nasi Paprik seasoning. Add dashes of white pepper.
6. Fry the rice until fragrant. Add the egg and cook.
7. Serve with sliced cucumbers.

One thing is missing here-tomatoes! Additionally, nasi paprik is usually served with sliced chicken meat as opposed to ground pork. It's just my little modification to come out with something different, as I always do ;)

The Junk Yard

Junk yard? Well, I wish it fills up my yard ;) Typically known as the "junk food", this brings back my *sweet* memories as a little kid. I used to save up my pocket money to purchase these yummy treats (in secret, shhh....)!

(From top left) Tomato-flavoured Twisties, flavourful dried fish fillet, cheesy Cheezels, prawn-flavoured Mi-mi snacks, candy-coated chocolates in the shape of an "8", creamy chocolate sticks, crunchy Apollo chocolate wafers, colourful jellies, chewy "rabbit" candies, "black & white" bubble gums, Cloud 9 and Crispy chocolate bars, as well as assorted candies (lemon candy sticks, Hudson, Hacks etc.)

Proudly presenting to you, my yummies harvested from home! They look tempting, eh? Stop drolling :)

Supper at Diplomat Restaurant

A full order of Chow Hoi Shin ($20.99) served with a bowl of fried rice. Generous serving of lobster meat, scallops, shrimps and vegetables. I shared this with Mom.

Guess what? The famous Diplomat special fried rice! Shrimps, lobster meat, char siew etc. yumm... My recommendation to Dad who liked to try a special dish. $11.99 for a full-order. The serving was so big that Dad can't even finish it and we had to request for a doggy bag.

The Diplomat special fried rice is best served with hot sauce. It's thus far my favourite Chinese dish in Fredericton ;)

Dave had this Chicken Caesar Salad for $10.99. It served with toasted garlic bread. The chicken stripes looked delicious...

I'd certainly recommend the Diplomat Restaurant to anyone in Fredericton who opts for great Chinese/Canadian cuisine.

*Note: I just noticed that they've marked up the price by a dollar or two while updating this blog :(

Trip to Hong Kong - Day 1

The next morning after my last exam, I left for the Pear of the East-Hong Kong. For the first time, I didn't get much sleep on the flight. I was probably too tired to even shut my eyes, and anticipated for the upcoming days in HK! I was woken up by the passenger who was sitting beside me, saying "I'm dizzy, I'm dizzy..." just before she lost her consciousness. After making sure that I wasn't in my dream, I quickly rang the bell for assistance from the air stewardess. Luckily, she was alright after getting attention from a doctor on board. In the end, I had only about 4 to 5 hours of rest in two days...

Hooray! Here I am in HK, a place I wanted to visit since my first year of University. Hey, I'm back to civilization (those of you in Freddy, you know what I mean)! Without a visitor's visa, I'm allowed to stay in HK for 90 days! Carrying a backpack, a laptop, a purse, and dragging a suitcase, I got myself some HK dollars at the airport (not advisable because they often offer a lower rate than in the city), since I needed some cash for my bus fare to the city centre. Here is what I've got - an Octopus card - which only cash purchase is accepted.


"As a tourist, you will find Octopus indispensable for getting around Hong Kong's sights and shops as you won't need to buy individual tickets for different transport systems or carry coins either.

Octopus is also widely accepted at retail outlets including fast food chains, cake, bakery and convenience stores, supermarkets, personal care stores, vending machines, photobooths, pay phones, cinemas and leisure facilities. Just buy a Sold Octopus and look for the Octopus sign, and you can enjoy the convenience of "touch and go" payment during your stay in Hong Kong."

-- Image and text adapted from http://www.octopuscards.com/consumer/help/tourists/en/index.jsp

Almost everyone in HK owns an Octopus card. The serial number printed behind the card is an identification code. Some schools even rely on the card to monitor attendance. How smart! Anyway, I got one for HK$150 (a value of HK$100 and HK$50 for deposit). There is also a Refund Handling Fee of HK$7 if you return within 3 months from the date of issue.

I took the express bus to Tsim Sha Tsui, where my hostel is located. With a decent bus fare of HKD 33, I was offered an approximately 45-minute bus ride in a comfy air-conditioned bus. I'm so glad to be back to Asia! I had to walk pass a few blocks of buildings before I found my hostel. It was quite a challenge because of my heavy suitcase. Anyway, the "best" has yet to come. As I was going to check-in my dorm room which I've reserved awhile go, I was told that there was no lockers available!! What? No locker in the room, where am I going to place my valuables? "There is a single room available, it comes with attached bathroom, phone, internet access, TV, air-conditioner. You can have the room all to yourself, and it's only HKD350 (CAD 46) a night," said the lady at the reception. The HKD 350 offer was given after I explained that I'm a student on a budget trip and can't afford to spend too much on accommodation. That was more than double of what I expected to pay for my dorm room!! Oh well, I didn't want to lose any of my valuables by leaving them out while I explore the city, I reluctantly accepted the offer. I'll have to keep in mind that not all hostels offer lockers!

Here is the building which I'm at, even though I tried to avoid staying in this building because of its "not so peaceful" reputation acknowledged by the locals. It turned out that this hostel owner runs a few hostels at various locations, and the single room happens to be in this building......

The Chung King Mansions on Nathan Road.

My lovely room. Attached bathroom with hot shower, desk, TV, phone, and power outlet which doesn't require a converter, amazing...(oh well, I use the converter for my battery charger to prove that a converter comes in handy, lol). I'm exhausted and can smile no more...

Busy traffic on Nathan Road, with Jackie Chan on the huge poster. This building reminds me of the Empire State Building in NYC (or perhaps I'm imagining?)

Despite my tiredness, I was so pumped that I wanted to explore the city as soon as possible! I walked to the Avenue of Stars for the spectacular "A Symphony of Lights". The Avenue of Stars offers Hong Kong's famous scenes of Victoria Harbour. This is a hot spot for film shooting, which we often see it on drama series or movies: a loving couple holding hands in a breezy night, overlooking the harbour (just as I did, so romantic...)

A stunning "Symphony of Lights" performance at 8 p.m. every evening.

A cute vendor stall with "Avenue of Stars" on it, Beijing Olympics posters along the harbour, and guess what I found? Andy Lau's handprint!

Okie, I'm on a tight budget now, after having to pay so much for accommodation. What should I have for supper? Chinese bakeries sound wonderful, I haven't had them for ages... As I was strolling along Nathan Road, I found a Chinese bakery store and got myself a Mexican bun, a polo bun, and a cocktail bun (a.k.a. gei mei bao in cantonese), yumm... *Sniff sniff* something smells delicious as I continued walking along the road. There is a line up in front of a stall, what's that all about? Ohh... the little chicken egg waffles (a.k.a. gei dan zai in cantonese)! I've heard so much about it but never gotten a chance to try it. Here is my chance :)

Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps. Karaoke bars, pubs, and clubs are luring the passersby with their unique, striking neon signs. It was close to midnight and stores were still open for business, including a luggage store that's besides my building. Night shopping, or rather, midnight shopping, how neat!

The night life in Hong Kong.

Anyway, I was extremely exhausted by the end of the day and can't wait getting to the bed after a nice shower...