By the time I got home from JJ’s and showered, it was about 1230am. Spent some time paying off some bills (two had outstanding balance and one of them is nearly RM300 to pay!) and doing some other banking matters.

It’s really difficult to let go of Phoebe because she’s my first very own, big commitment. I’ve JUST settled the last payment and have to go collect the release letter from KL. I feel like it’s a shame to let her go but if one is to take a pragmatic approach, it’s the best thing because I’m hardly here.

It’s just a number plate, FeR…let it go. You can get personalized plates in NZ, so it’s not difficult to get the same “number”. Same goes to your things in your room. And it’s just a room with four walls, you can get a room anywhere. Bring you books, it’ll be okay. The piano is a bit trickier because it belongs to both you and her – of course you wouldn’t want to see it go but if there is no choice, it’s better to let it go than to let it rot at home when you know Malaysia is notorious for having high humidity.

Why must I be so sentimental and FEEEEEEEEELING.
*sigh*

It’s the festive season and I’m depressing myself. I’d better pack my bag for Penang now.

Phoebe is looking quite sad. It makes me upset to hear her creaking and rattling. I don’t think the reason is “poor quality make”, I think it’s because she was not taken care of (properly) when I was away. The way she is handled would also make her fall apart easier. Quite sakit hati to see my first big purchase coming to this. Maybe I should just let her go so that she could have a better life. I’m still thinking.

I feel sad for you, despite being angry when I was far away. It’s inevitable, I guess.
I look around and see the mess, I sigh and wonder why are you still blind. If you care at all, it’s the weirdest way to show it and if you don’t, why do I still feel compelled to care?
It’s a time of confusion for me. I don’t know if I’m made to handle this big rubber band ball of feelings. Different colours, different elasticity, intensity…

Why do some people get suffocated by guilt and yet some do not even know the meaning of it? Why would some people feel so guilty by doing/not doing something that are expected of them and yet some do not know what it means by putting themselves into other people’s shoes?

It’s okay if I don’t make sense to you. Like I said, it’s a time of confusion.

Hazel showed me her scrapbooking stash and also asked me to write something in their guestbook (guestbook weiii! Don’t play play! *hehe*). I thought I would look into her sticker collection and nip one or two but didn’t really dare to lah! So sayang. Anyway, I did steal a few coloured hearts.

The lovely couple!

That’s supposed to be the CookieMonster t-shirt.

I took a taxi to Kowloon station and checked my luggage in there. I was very early for check-in but they took my luggage anyway (which was good because I didn’t want to be lugging it around).

Another “funny” story.
I walked to the waiting area for the airport express. When the train finally arrived, I got into one of the front carriage and made sure I was sitting in the right direction. I looked up at the indicator and sort of panicked, “Hey! I’m NOT going to HK – did I walk to the wrong side??”

See that Kowloon—>HongKong at the top?

I hurried out of the train and stood outside puzzled. I nearly wanted to ask the guard at the counter if I have walked into the opposite side of the tracks…then it dawned upon me. I was too embarrassed to run for the train again so I sat on the seat outside, trying to confirm my thoughts. The blue line indicates the train’s journey so far, not where it’s going to. I realised that the red arrow wasn’t lighted. The other end’s red arrow was.

I waited for the next train. Good thing that I had PLENTY of time to kill

Trolleys are your service.

HKIA.

“You’re most welcome.”

CNY decoration at HKIA.

Met Hazel for lunch at Crystal Jade.

Still looking a bit pale here.

Yummy noodles!
Pork chop LaMian.

Bye-bye HongKong!

Hello home!

Hello Malaysia!

Outside the concierge.

CNY decoration.

The last view from the room that was my space for the past few days.

Random – plum flowers lining the sides of escalators.

And the sun came out for a while, too!

Blue skies WERE there…but the clouds quickly covered it as I got out of bed and reached for the camera.

Times Square

I didn’t have a plan for my last day – just wandered around with the trusty map that Hazel gave to me on my first night in HK. I just know I wanted to get something for mom, go check the CNY fair out, have a 燒味(siew mei) meal and go on the ferry between HK island and Tsim Sha Tsui.

Two pieces of toast and a cup of coffee, I set out to do those few things…or at least, I tried.

Very tempted to get this but they didn’t have it in white gold – cartoony Chinese zodiac bracelet. It’s good that I only had funds to get one item.

The kind people at ChowTaiFook pointed me to the right direction to get to the new year fair (got lost, went in there and came out with a purchase!).

New year fair.
They say it’ll be more interesting to go at 6pm onwards but I don’t really feel like being squeezed in a crowd.

A fair in the middle of the city.

Anyone wants one? Only $50.

Plenty of 柑 (kat) to you this year!

桃花 – peach blossoms.

Walking to the ferry pier.

This is it. Cheapest thing ever in HK – HKD2!

Very handy back rest – you can push it to the other side so that you could sit facing forward when the ferry comes back from Tsim Sha Tsui. Does that make sense?

The sea was a bit choppy.
*shake shake blur*

The infamous HK skyline. It’s a real shame that the clear skies didn’t last long.

What to do? Sendiri mari lah!

Slightly better when the lights came on.

I walked the wrong way and couldn’t find the bus stop that Hazel mentioned (this time, no detailed instructions in black and white). I thought of taking the ferry back to HK island and hopping on the MTR (I still had a phobia of taking the mini bus) but at the last minute I decided, “Oh! Why not?!” I also figured it sounds really silly to go back to the island when my final destination is south of where I was at the moment (walkable, too, if gung ho enough) – on the SAME connected land area.

I walked back to where I started (mind you, instead of 30 minutes, I ended up taking about 1.5 hours to meet Hazel) and re-read Hazel’s text. I finally found the bus stop and I saw an older man waiting for the same bus. I thought to myself, “Ah! At least someone would know what they’re doing.”

By this time, it was dark and if you know me well enough, I have astigmatism. I can’t see for nuts with all the headlights shining towards me. I was happily waiting thinking I have a tongkat to help me see the minibus…until when I saw minibus #78 pass me by.

Then the man walked away from the bus stop!!! Turned out he was just there finishing his cigarette (why didn’t I notice the rubbish bin there earlier?!). Great! I had to rely on my wonky eyes. I thought I saw another #78 coming but it stopped in the middle lane at the traffic light (right before the bus stop) so I thought perhaps it’s not a #78 (it sort of looked like a #76 to me at that point). I was standing right by the bus stop and when the bus passed by, it was a #78…

I found out from Hazel I HAVE to stick my hand out (I didn’t really dare to because I can’t see the numbers clearly and am afraid I flag the wrong bus) – even if I stood with the bus stop sign on my head, the bus wouldn’t stop for me. Okay. After that reply from Hazel (not exact words lah), I thought to myself, “Die die lah!”

I thought I saw #78 again so I stuck my hand out…only to realise it was #73.
*shy*

I tried once more and it was a #78! I shook my head slightly in disbelief that I FINALLY got the right bus but the driver thought I didn’t want to get on the bus and moved off! I almost had to run after it! Thank goodness he stopped and that was when he told me that he thought he saw me 擰頭. Phew! It would be baaaaaad if I had to run after the bus and the bus didn’t stop. I think I would go back to the ferry pier and follow my first plan.

Dinner time!
I was very hungry by the time I met Hazel. In the quest of getting a 燒味 meal, I had a self destructive plan. It was that or nothing…and I had nothing. I WASTED a meal time in HK!
*gasp!*

Dinner at 金滿庭 Modern China Restaurant, just opposite Poreiz’s place (the mall that the restaurant was in, not the restaurant itself)

招牌炒飯
Fried rice – simple but very goooooood.

The 小籠包 is a must, of course.
Maybe it’s the lack of it for the past year or maybe it’s really THAT good. *slurps*

What is this again, Hazel? Tofu, right?

Full, happy and contented.

Typical lah – when Paul said, “Eh you all DON’T put peace sign up” – OF COURSE we had to do it.

“GARRGGGHHHH!”
No one was looking…I think.

One for the road!

A world of their own.

I call it the mucous-y thing.

Hazel wasn’t feeling too well so no cold dessert for her.

Mango+Pomelo sago for Paul and myself. Yay!

“My! What a big head you have!”

Purchase of the day for mom.

Egg tarts for dessert.

Scattergories as our “nightcap”.

Even if you love listing things, this would be quite a hoot.

Thank you Poreiz! It’s been really nice to see you two and spending time together.
Ah! Didn’t get my 燒味 but Paul comforted (I think he was!) me by saying that it’s not that big a deal – don’t anyone DARE tell me otherwise at this very moment okay! Sad enough about missing one meal opportunity.

Hope to come see you two again and hope there would be more (lasting) blue skies then!

He said I could spot him easily because he had a backpack and (at that time I didn’t understand what he meant) a nasal inhaler (because he was unwell) – it took me a while, especially when I can’t see clearly (neither can he because he’s unwell)…and even when I THOUGHT I saw him, I had to walk (almost) right into his face before I could go, “HELLO!”

Hong said it is their favourite restaurant and the mall was ChoiFong’s favourite haunt when they were staying in the old apartment.

He was surprised there was a long queue even though we arrived earlier than normal dinner time.

Serving #150. What was our ticket? #162?

The lovely couple I’ve not met since before I left for NZ! 2 years now!

Ah! Sake sashimi!

Maguro sushi…but I still prefer straight-up sashimi!
*salivates*

Ebi uramaki(?)
Yummm!!!

Soft shell crab temaki.
Somehow I think of Surt everytime I have soft shell crab temaki. *hehe*

*jaw drop*
“My first chawan mushi in years!”
Okay, I exaggerate. It’s actually just been months but it did feel like years!

Sweet tamago.

Synchronized.

Group photo! The waitress was very obliging.

Happiest person I’ve ever seen footing the bill.
Thanks for dinner again!

I felt like I had quite a bit to eat – it was mainly repetitive but you can’t go wrong with your favourites, right? Sake sashimi all the way!!!!

The lovely couple again – we were on our way back to their place because I wanted to kepoh.

Vitasoy+ginger! Especially when it was a little cooler and drizzling outside.

Obviously a posed picture. *hehe*

I thought Poreiz’s place was high up…

“Welcome, welcome!”

Waiting for me to finish wandering around.

Black sesame dessert – so good ah! But I never knew that it had “bowel cleansing” properties, I just thought it’s nice to eat. *heh!*

Future product ambassador?

We were talking about skin care products as I contemplated getting some in HK. Who to ask but the one who possesses the porcelain complexion? Uhm…I meant CF lor, hopefully someone won’t perasan.

They were “selling” this Korean skin care brand to me called Sulwhasoo boasting natural herbal ingredients. I think ginseng is used in most of them because CF told me the products smelt like it and I took a whiff of it myself. I don’t like the smell of ginseng but if it works, I don’t mind pinching my nose while using their products!

They gave me a small tub (quite a bit in there!) of the Overnight Vitalizing Treatment to try and if I wanted any of the products, they could get it for me before they fly back for CNY. Woohoo!

Side note: Left their place at 11pm or so and I’m really impressed with the public transport here in HK. To top that off, I felt safe.

[Next day: I tried the cream but I think it may be a bit too much for my skin because I seem to have developed two tiny bumps on my upper lip and on my right cheek. No go for the product, then! The search is still on.]

Yes, I woke up to aches and pains.

Over doing the “pretending to not know her photo is being taken”.

I was perspiring in service, too.

We were reminded in the service that our PRIMARY duty before God is to LOVE Him.

“Let’s go back this way.”
Hazel had a meeting after service and Paul continued playing drums for the next service – I went exploring a little but stopped short when it started raining. I went back to Délifrance to have something to eat (I didn’t think I could last till 點心) and to have a place to kill a bit of time.

Are the buildings really high up or the clouds down low?

Watching life in HK – this was at about 1230pm but it was raining, so the sky looked gloomy.

I was on this overhead bridge for a long time. I was contemplating whether to ask these bunch of ladies picnicking along the bridge, if I could take their photo. I see more and more ladies coming up the bridge, placing cardboards boxes or cloth or plastic sheets on the side of the bridge. Selamba ajer. I guessed that they were foreign maids and it was their day off – Hazel confirmed that but didn’t want to be part of my “ask and take photo” plan.

What’s the fuss? What’s the queue about?
To get to the elevators…

Screens to inform you of the elevators status and position. Smartly dressed people (in suits, no less!) to make sure that every elevator is maximised to reduce waiting time.

Even though we had reservations, we had to wait. We were also late for our reservation lah. I told you, I couldn’t really walk any faster…

Super Star!

Lovey dovey…

…there seem to always be a “hmmph” photo as the second snap one lor, I also don’t know why. This one is as if they were hand-fighting to see who can get to the fried mini ikan bilis first.

Very posh looking place.

My toilet experience killed my first impression – all toilets were down. The lady manning the toilet had to flush them manually.
Wooohooo! What a way to start the posting of 點心 photos. *haha*

Por and FeR

Mini-ish 蛋撻. Just nice that each one of us had one.

“My favourite!” and a squeak.

Yummy 炸俩 (it’s called char leung, right?)

蘿蔔糕 (err…right? Fried turnip cake?)

She already had something in her mouth but look at how she’s looking at the 燒賣.

Granted, we were all hungry!

My favourite! *squeak!*
I told them both that it’s either the lack of 燒賣 in Hastings that’s making me feel that it was the BEST 燒賣 ever or it was really that the 燒賣 in HK is better. They told me it was the latter.

菠蘿叉燒包

Now this, I don’t remember the name. Dessert with dark sesame paste in it.
Look at Hazel’s expression…*hehe*

After 點心, we left for the street that sells dried stuff. No idea what’s the name because I followed Hazel only. Had to walk in the rain for a bit because it was either then or never.

See? This is proof that Paul was there.
The boss asked Hazel, “Hey, your husband didn’t come with you this time?”

Happy to get some dried scallop – I have no idea how to choose them so I refrained from taking any samples.

Jars of dried abalone and sea cucumbers.

The bill for everything came out to thousands of dollars!
*pengsan*

Home time!

You have cemented walk ways but it’s the never ending (felt like it) uphill climb that killed me. Yes, I do walk in NZ (okay, considerably less now since I’ve got my car) but Hastings is quite flat, okay?

All of them (Hazel, Paul and Yue Li) ended the hike without looking like they walked through rain/water…except yours truly, of course! It’s disgusting to announce it but my hair was completely soaked through because I was perspiring THAT much! Ugh! Didn’t lose any weight or inches, though.
To top it all up, I ended up with a headache/migraine because I didn’t have coffee. My head was throbbing throughout the last part of the hike. I didn’t have coffee in the morning because I thought I didn’t want to risk taking that much milk before a 4-hour hike! I ordered Ovaltine and realised that it had milk, too (and I didn’t get diarrhoea) – should’ve had that coffee!

Paul looked like he was very geram at Hazel here. Not the angry geram but the you-so-cute-I-want-to-bite-you kind.

“Hey, bite bite one cannot ah! Pain one you know.”

She didn’t say that, I thought it would be something she may say if she heard my previous comment. *hehe*

Come all the way to HK and eat bread?!!
1. I’ve not had WHITE bread in a long time.
2. Their bread here very thick and fluffy!
3. I didn’t want to be looking for a toilet for #2 during our hike – I’m paranoid!

It was a set meal and I shared with Hazel because I only wanted toast – Hazel took the noodles.

“Hmmm?”

My first minibus ride!

Then we hopped on the MTR to Diamond Hill to meet Yue Li.

Yue Li was there already, waving to us when we were getting out. If only you could see that man’s expression.

Then the double decker bus to Sai Kung.

Then a taxi to the starting point. The road leading up to here was so winding and narrow – yet the taxi driver drove like he was on an open highway. I thought I was going to be sick in the taxi if we were going to take much longer to get here.

Yes, lots of travel today – that’s why I’m paranoid to eat or drink…takut no toilet.

“This is where we get the 豆腐花 (tau foo far) and this is where we get the fried squid.”
That’s how we planned the hike – food incentive. *hehe*

Ada gaya.

Still can take photos, smile…

Are we there yet?

Got fish ah?

“We’re here!”

Taking photos of the old buildings/houses.
I meant that was what Hazel was doing, not that she was an old building/house.

豆腐花 just by the beach!

The shops we passed would display signs of 山水豆腐花 (water from the mountain) – I’m guessing it makes the 豆腐花 nicer/smoother?

Oooo! Dark brown sugar syrup and ginger infused sugar for us to add to our own taste.
*slurps*

Could not resist. I is the pig. Eat two bowls but jalan paling lambat…tsk tsk!

By the beach – it was just a tad windy.
“Hazel, don’t worry! I’ve got you!”

I thought this was heaven…because I felt like I was not going to make it!
This was incentive number 2 – fried squid!

I know the put together looks like a tacky food flyer but I don’t know how to work PSE to its full potential, okay?

Fried rice, sweet sour pork, fried udon and of course, fried squid!

While we were at this restaurant, there were a group of people with their dogs. MANY MANY DOGS! Soooooooo cute! It started to rain when we stopped for lunch (fantastic timing – thank you, God!) so with it being wet, there were wet doggy smell at the place. I guess those dogs love the beaches when they hike with their owners.

See? Steep climb, no stop/level area.
Whenever we start ascending, you hear nothing from me because I’m trying to conserve energy to continue walking.

死頂…die die must tahan. No other way out!

No more photos in between…

Happy Hazel!

Fatigued FeR.

Waiting for the bus to take us out.

The bus we took broke down half way but another was just at the back to pick all passengers up. Very efficient!
My headache refused to go away and seeing that the air was cooler, I wanted to have a hot cup of coffee. Couldn’t see any and I didn’t want to hang about looking (want to go home and sleeeeeep). The ride in the minibus proved painful – I was willing to walk from MongKok back to Poreiz’s place just to avoid that lurching in the bus that was making my headache worse.

I somehow survived – got back to take some paracetamol and down a mug of coffee! *hehe*
Yes, I’m a drama queen.

Hazel was so sweet to even THINK of cooking and she went off to get fresh ingredients from the market! We thought of eating out or have takeaways but she insisted. I guessed that she’d make 老鼠粉 because I’ve mentioned it plenty of times (tak tau malu!) about how I have missed that dish of hers and she said she’d cook it for me when I come to visit.

Cooking in progress.

Full of ingredients!

Thanks Hazel! You were still so semangat to cook – I would probably just crash into bed without dinner. *hehe*
Looking back, there are no regrets going for the hike. It was a good day spent with friends, seeing another part of HK and enjoying God’s creation!

The only problem was my fitness level…okay, the non existence of a level.

Following the leader!
Leader say hor, in order to get the private room, our bill must be a minimum HKD3000. When I did the calculation and converted it to RM hor, I almost pengsan-ed wor.

I’ve been told not to convert prices of food.
Actually, the only sakit hati thing I have about buying/paying things in HK is the Skinfood BB cream – I paid HKD290 and it’s only RM79 in Malaysia.

Your personal straining ladle, personal and public/uncooked food chopsticks.
HK people are particular personal food hygiene. No putting chopsticks in your mouth and using the same one to pick up food that is for sharing! We are Malaysian, so bantai only lah.

I thought we were late but we were the first to arrive.

Eiz and FeR

Assorted condiments to choose from.

Concentrating on the menu to see what to order for dinner.

Gold medal yunno!

At least I’m not the only one taking photos…

Food and friends!

What we’ve ordered…so far.

Very smokey. Can’t even see the person opposite of you clearly.
*hehe*

Group photo

When I see this, I feel very bad.
I thought the orange would be stuck to the skin…so when Hazel asked Paul to help us two take a picture with the oranges, I thought it’d be funny to have one below Hazel’s face (the one she was holding) and one above her head but upside down. Well, it fell on her head. I was MORTIFIED! I was super paiseh because I didn’t know that the orange wasn’t stuck to the skin and it’s as if I was so mean to do that on purpose.

Sorry Hazel!

After dinner, we went back home. We planned to go hiking at Sai Kung, so better get to bed early (I was still jet lagging). I asked, “How are we going back? Walk ah?”
Forgot that public transport runs till quite late in HK (we took the bus home).

Actually, despite not being a morning person, I love breakfast! To be specific, breakfast-type meals. I’m happy that someone came up with “All-day breakfast” term in the food industry.
I know it’s not healthy to start the day without any breakfast but I’d rather snooze away that precious few minutes than to spend it eating.

So, I headed out for breakfast…after 930am. It was pretty late but I had no plans and I wasn’t rushing anywhere. My goal is just to stay out of people’s way if I were to take my own sweet time.

This is Poreiz’s place. Gives meaning to high-rise buildings.
I didn’t need a map or directions to get to CongeeOne because we walked by it yesterday night.

I had the century egg+pork porridge/congee, of course!

When you eat alone, you have time and concentration to savour your food. Though it looks kind of watery, I can assure you it’s not. It’s smooth, “gummy” and full of flavour – thinking about it now makes me salivate! I wonder do they soak the rice overnight or do they boil the rice with broth instead of just water (then add seasoning)…how do they make porridge like that?

Going for HKD22, it is well worth it. Some places in Malaysia probably give you a sliver of egg in their “century egg porridge” but this one – I think they probably dumped one whole egg in the bowl!

I noticed that the few young girls that were in the shop were very si man with their porridge – just a tiny parting of the lips to slurp their porridge. Yours truly went at it like the sharks in Jaws, of course.

Hazel wrote a list of things I could do/see/eat for the day and I was to meet her back at home so that she could bring me to the hotpot place for dinner.

Her directions were precise. You wouldn’t be able to see it but I was nearing the overhead bridge, exactly like how she said I’d find/see it.

The very connected overhead bridge.
I think this was where I accidentally bumped into an older lady’s shopping cart (I had a bruise from it, too!) and she turned to look at me like she was going to give me the shelling of my life. At the very moment I bumped into her, the split second before she turned to look at me – I panicked and couldn’t think of the word “sorry” in Cantonese. When she did look at me, I just lifted my hand, lightly tapped my temple and managed to mutter, “Mm hou yi si.” Phew!

The very wide zebra crossing.

I think this is Sai Yeung Choi Street – Hazel mentioned a shop that she goes to for her gear(s).
I did think of browsing for a bit but when I got there, I decided not to. It’s dangerous to go in when I’m not quite prepared to spend any money. I may spend money I don’t have!

HSBC – people standing right outside the bank, looking at the share market updates.
I remember movies about people in HK spending all their money on shares and ended up penniless.

I was supposed to walking along PrinceEdward Road – have no idea when I go onto the parallel road, which is FlowerMarket Road. No wonder so many flower shops! D’oh!

Had to cross the road before I could get to Royal Plaza.

The story of how I got here started from Langham Place. I was slightly hungry then but didn’t dare to go into any shops because it was lunch time. So I went jalan-jalan. While walking around I saw ThomasSabo – I thought, “Hey! I could get Sze-Mien a present here.”
They didn’t have the credit card charm but the staff was very kind to point me to Royal Plaza. She even told me that they were having a sale on selected items. That’s how I walked all the way there (glad it wasn’t scorching hot!) – but the charm that I wanted to get wasn’t on sale. That’s when I texted LiMay to ask if she wanted to share!

End of my adventure. I’m tired, thirsty and hungry – and with all that, the walk home seemed so long!

Okay! Stop by Langham again for dessert!

The escalator enticed me sampai ended up on the wrong floor and have to walk a few floors down to the place Hazel suggested.

Finally!
I think it was past 230pm so the place was pretty empty.

Mango+Pomelo Sago dessert.
The presentation wasn’t too impressive so I didn’t bother to take a “before” – it was yummy, though!

Construction/repairs at most corners of the roads.

See that trolley? Common sight at MongKok.

Main road also got.

The tumpang culture in HK – to save space/time, I guess. I was told it was because of the rent – so they had to make sure they serve enough people, have enough table turnovers during peak hours.
C’est la vie!

Hungry mah, remember? So went to get this from 7-11.
Steamed rice (the rice very nice leh!) with XO sauce pork spareribs.

415pm eat one BIG bowl of rice…how to go for dinner later?