The annoying sound of Mr. D's alarm clock woke us up (and yes, Mr. D is in the t***** and he left the clock to snooze mode, much to our dismay).
The weather wasn't on our side; it's raining. Hopefully by the time we reach The Peak, the weather is going to be OK.
The tour starts at 9.00 a.m and we were supposed to rendezvous at Kowloon Hotel at Tsim Tsa Tsui.
Aberdeen Fishing Village - The 'floating' village where lies a community several boathouses. There were also yachts which belonged to Hong Kong's billionaires tucked safely in the typhoon shelter.
HK Jewellery - A place where tourists are lured into buying the jewelleries but it is worth going if you have money. FYI, the gold is controlled and backed by the government therefore ensuring the highest quality of jewellery.
Repulse Bay - Also known as the Beverly Hills of HK where most of HK superstars and tycoons live.
The Peak - Similar to Bukit Bendera in Malaysia. It offers a magnificent view of the HK skyline. Madame Tussauds HK is also situated here. Me and Faisal spent around 20 minutes running around and taking pictures with some of the world's most famous faces.
At around 1 o'clock we descended from The Peak and headed back to Kowloon. By the time, we arrived at Kowloon Hotel, it was almost 3 p.m.
Sunday, 24 June 2007 - Months of arduous have paid off as 'me school' has emerged as the winner of the recently concluded SBP Competition. The 3rd consecutive win was made sweeter when the conductor also received the best conductor award. Congratulations to all of you!
My comments:
The first school played the western (The Pioneers) and Malay (Pesta Menuai) pieces flawlessly, as usual their trumpets are strong. But, I think their overall performance was bland - flat with no dynamics.
'Me school' played a song written by our previous instructor titled Jauh-jauh (an old song recently being recorded again by a new singer). There were mistakes everywhere; clarinets were squeaking, trumpets couldn't reach the high note and the French horn didn't hit the correct notes. Luckily, they recovered afterwards and managed to finish the rest of the piece.
The second piece (Russian Christmas) was supposed to be our killer piece and also the harder of the two pieces (Believe me, the score is full of running notes and tricky movements). I particularly like the French horn which roared and gave a strong character to the song. All in all, they played the song perfectly and I believe at par with Tokyo Kosei. The majestic ending with the ritard along with the thunderous sound of the gong and chimes was nailed perfectly!
The next school played two songs by Phillip Sparke (Postcards from Singapore - translated as Khabar dari Temasek and Starflash). This year, I must say that they have improved a lot and I felt that we're not going to get first place. Luckily, this school got second... >:)
Fourth school - the most improved school of the lot, played Alvamar Overture. Verdict : they can be a great contender if given the right coaching. By the way, they got third.
Fifth school - OK, this one is surely going to get fifth place! Though, kudos must be given to them as they managed to get into the finals and beating some of the more established schools.
The judges include one American guy and The National Symphony Orchestra concertmaster, 2 representatives from Malaysia and a judge from Singapore (if I'm not mistaken).
Oh, yeah! I heard that they'll be going to Italy next year for winning first prize ....
It's been a while since I updated the blog... ;)
The trip went well and it was worth the money spent. Thanks to you guys...
The trip this time was different in a sense we didn't actually make any prior planning on our trip (where to go, what to do). Everything was scheduled when we were in HK. Nevertheless, we managed to 'finish' the trip and covered HK pretty well.
It nearly became a two-person trip after one of us that decided to cancel it at the eleventh hour changed his mind and decided to follow (Yes... YOU!!).
On the night before our departure, Faisal came to get his ticket and we made some last minute food-supply shopping. After that, it's packing time.
I woke up at 5 in the morning as we need to be at KLIA around 7.30-ish. Although, it was still early (Dan's going to pick me up at 6.15 a.m), I got up and surfed the internet. Although I can get at least half-an-hour more sleep, I dreaded that I might over dozed and eventually getting a call from Dan saying he's in front of the gate. That would spoil the mood of the trip wouldn't it? Getting lectured in the wee hours of the morning...
Dan arrived, we parked at the office and headed to KL Sentral to check in. On our way to KLIA via the ERL, Dan was practising with his camera, experimenting with shutter speeds etc. (Like I said before, I have high expectations on your photo-taking skills....!)
I made prior bookings for the seat and thus I got the spacious seat. The food was okay but I enjoyed the movies and shows aired for the in-flight entertainment.
We arrived at the Chek Lap Kok Airport at around 1.30 p.m the descent was a bit scary as you see only the sea beneath you. It is no surprise as the airport is built on a reclaimed land. The airport is very big and bustled with people and activity.
Our airport transfer to YMCA International House had been arranged in Malaysia and we searched for the travel agent counter located at the right of the arrival exit as per instruction at Cathay Pacific Malaysia. We booked the half-day city tour at the counter as well.
On our way to the hotel, the bus made a few stops including to Disneyland Hotel and passed trough the Lantau Link (a series of roadways and bridges linking the islands in HK). One of the famous bridges is the Tsing Ma Bridge which is the 6th longest suspension bridge and the longest suspension bridge that carries both road and rail traffic (upper and lower decks). It is tall - huge ships and tankers can pass through underneath the bridge. Probably the second Penang Bridge could emulate this bridge's design especially the MTR part. The plus point is people can commute to and fro from Penang to mainland using the LRT.
We arrived at the hotel and checked in. After we have had our complimentary drinks, we decided to go to Mongkok, which is the heart of Kowloon, by walking along Nathan Road. If you want to see lots of neon signs, Nathan Road is the place to go.
It's too early for us to do shopping at Mongkok and therefore we decided to head to Tsim Tsa Tsui for the Avenue of the Stars. Avenue of Stars is located at the southernmost point of the Kowloon Peninsula.
The MTR stations in HK is huge, but the signage is very well placed for you to locate your exits. But beware, your exits which is marked by alphabets can suddenly branch out from D to F, and subsequently to F1, F2 and F3. What I like the most about the MTR trains is that when the train moves, there is a strong gust of wind coming from the air-conditioners as if the train windows were open.
It was already dark when we arrived at The Avenue of Stars. The Avenue of Stars which is similar to Hollywood's Walk of Fame, honours Hong Kong stars by placing terrazo 'stars' along the sidewalk. The view from there is breathtaking. We could see the Central District that lines well-lit tall HK skyscrapers from afar. Central District which is situated in Hong Kong island is HK's financial and business centre.
View from The Avenue of StarsWe took pictures and strolled along the pier. At 8.00 p.m, the lights along the pier were dimmed the fabulous Symphony of Lights started with a bang! A red Chinese junk sailed from Kowloon towards HK island, symbolizing HK's transformation from a shipping village to the world-renowned city. The lights were dancing to the tune of the accompanying music - superb pyrotechnics effect!!
The show lasted for about 20 minutes, and I must tell you that it is an experience of a lifetime. Did you know that Symphony of Lights has been awarded the world's 'Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show' by Guinness World Records?
We later met up with Dan's friend which took us for dinner at one of the Chinese restaurants nearby. We accidentally found HK Hard Rock Cafe (mental note: must go and buy shot glasses!).
The dinner was awesome - seafood and vegetable steamboat. It took quite a while for us to finish up everything (Tu laa... order banyak sangat). The fun part is making your own fish noodle, which eventually turned up to be large intestine-like noodle. People at the other tables were staring at us as we were snapping pictures and laughing.
The dinner ended as we decided to make a move to the Central District and Lan Kwai Fong area. Clara, which had just arrived from Shenzen (China) earlier, took us around the area (that's what I call great hospitality - walking with her work shoes and heavy bag on her back) while Sunny headed home.
I found out that Central District was not only the Business District of HK, but also the fashion capital of HK. Huge designer label boutiques (Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Armani) were dotted along the area and I didn't mean 1 LV shop in HK but several LV boutiques in one area!
We arrived at the HSBC building, a simple yet magnificent building with two bronze lions statues at the entrance (The lions were also depicted in HK dollar notes). There is a void ground floor area and you have to take the escalators to the reception area. It is believed that the empty space would allow the dragon to pass through the building and therefore bringing good Feng Shui. The main characteristic of the building is that the structure is supported by external trusses. It is believed that the building could be dismantled and moved elsewhere should there be a problem during HK's handover to China.
Lan Kwai Fong is a spot for night life and meeting place for foreigners. We explored Lan Kwai Fong's narrow streets and sloped gradients and settled into one of the bar. Somebody had fun here but me and Faisal were knackered and yawning every few minutes (Mind you, the next morning, we need to wake up early in order to catch the half-day tour of the city). We left the place and took a coaster which was destined for Mongkok area, luckily the driver agreed to go to Tsim Tsa Tsui and dropped us not far from our hotel.
Everyone was tired and after a nice hot shower as well as prayer we went to sleep... Looking forward for a nice trip around the city tomorrow!
While waiting for me to blog about my recent trip, lets have a quiz ;)
1. Who's the owner of the bag?
2. Guess what's in the bag that is fragile
3. Where did I went?
Insert your comments below the entry...
It was a bright sunny day and we were passing through rows of cafes along the river. The gondola oarsman (known as a la valesàna), gave detailed description on the history behind the rows of building which lined the river banks.
Along the canal are various piazzas, churches and monasteries, which presents impressive architecture. Hordes of tourists where busy posing and taking pictures with their digital SLR (exaggerating here.... Dan, I have high expectations on your newfound skill ;) .. )
People were sitting at the terrace having their proper cup of coffees, enjoying the therapeutic view. Bright-coloured flowers adorn the riverbanks; birds chirping happily on top of the shady trees.
When we reached the end of the trip, we got out of the boat and strolled along the winding streets. All of a sudden, a young boy nipped my friend's wallet with sleuth of hand (Recall: scene from Bourne Identity). Everything was fast but I managed to catch the boy and took back the wallet.
-END-
Wow, was that a bad sign on the advent of our planned trip tomorrow? Or, am I thinking too much about the trip. People say that what is unsubconsciously in you mind is manifested into your dream. But the two places, one in the dream and the planned location resides on two different parts of the world. Well, looking forward to the trip. Fingers-crossed and hope that everything goes well.
I'll write, or rather 'blog' about the trip when I get back....
My first time writing for a public blog (Yes, I've blogged ;), but not for you guys to read... hehe)
A few friends convinced me to write a blog a few months back. So I guess, this is it. Need some tips from you guys tho'.
Nothing much to write. Just enjoy the trailer for the Pirates of the Carribbean 3 (Click on the title). Hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
This morning, a lady handed me a brochure on Yoga while I was resting at the park. She explained on what is generally Yoga and gave me a taste of how to unleash the Chakras. I must tell you that I'm impressed. I can actually feel cool breeze coming out from my head and felt serene. When I opened out my right palm, she said that I should feel hot tingling sensation but instead I felt cool. She said that indicates that my inner-self is good. ;). Hahah..
To you people out there who wants to try out Yoga, try it! I know I'm contemplating to attend the Yoga class...
Yoga - referring to "technologies or disciplines of asceticism and meditation which are thought to lead to spiritual experience and profound understanding or insight into the nature of existence."
