I just drank what must be the foulest thing ever.

It tasted so disgusting I double checked the label just to make sure I was supposed to be drinking it and not applying it externally. It smells exactly like how that medical ointment people use on their bruises smells, and tastes exactly how I would imagine it would taste. It literally burned my throat on its way down my esophagus, and the pungent smell refused to leave my finger even after I had washed it with soap about five times.

Argh.

Well the reason behind this masochism is Moon (love how HK has the weirdest names), one of my masseuses. I had been bitching about how bloated I had been feeling of late and my period wasn't even anywhere remotely due. In fact, it was just over and I should be feeling about as light as a feather and retaining as much water as one too. My back hurt and so did my hamstrings and the side of my thighs. Moon promptly proceeded to inform me that those areas hurt because of indigestion and poor lymphatic drainage blah blah, and sucker that I am for TCM decided to try the liquid herbal supplement she gave me (free, out of empathy and kindness of her heart, bless).

Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Shui

Anyway just to make sure I wasn't ingesting poison I went home and Googled it. This is what I found :

 Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui (simplified Chinese: 藿香正气水; traditional Chinese: 藿香正氣水) is a liquid herbal formula used in Traditional Chinese medicine to "induce diaphoresis and clear away summer-heat, to resolve damp and regulate the function of the spleen and stomach". ^[1] It tastes bitter and pungent. About 5ml to 10ml of this liquid formula is applied twice a day to symptoms such as "colds with accumulation of damp in the interior and summer-heat and dampness marked by headache, dizziness and feeling of heaviness in the head, sensation of stuffiness in the chest, distending pain in the epigastrium and abdomen, vomiting and diarrhea".

 I'm not sure how effective it is but I've taken to buying the sugar coated pill instead. Definitely easier on the palate. 

Bleah.

The apartments in HK are pretty tiny and mine especially so since it's only a wee 250 sf. Also, although I uber love my neighbourhood, it's nice to get out of the city once in a while.

I'd been wanting to go Ngong Ping for quite a while to check out the Tian Tan Buddha, so it was fortuitous that my Canadian Chinese friend K was in town and was up for a day trip out. We checked out Ngong Ping Village, Ngong Ping Piazza as well as Po Lin Monastery.

According to the website,

"The Tian Tan Buddha Statue is the world's largest, seated, outdoor, bronze Big Buddha statue. It is constructed from 202 bronze pieces, the Tian Tan Buddha Statue weighs over 250 tonnes and soars 34 metres into the air. Sitting atop 268 steps, the Tian Tan Buddha Statue is positioned on a lotus throne, surrounded by eight smaller bronze statues representative of the gods, or immortals. The statue is so named as its base is a model of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. 


The Buddha Statue's right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction; his left hand rests on his knee, signifying human happiness. While most Buddha statues face South, Tian Tan casts his serene gaze towards the North, making this statue unique amongst its peers."

 Tian Tan Buddha

 268 steps to Buddha

Po Lin Monastery

 Ceiling of Po Lin Monastery

 Wisdom Path constructed of Heart Sutra etched on individual stone tablets

Wish Mum could have come with, I think she would have liked it. :)

It's been a spectacular week!

Mum, Aunt and Chewy (the cousin, long story) came to visit and all we did was shop and eat and do lots of mother-daughter bonding. I took Mum to Lan Fong Yuen for French toast and milk tea, Tai Cheong for egg tarts and Chinese donuts, Wong Chi Kei and Sang Kee for congee, Tsim Chai Kee for wanton noodles, Tim Ho Wan for dim sum, Yat Lok for roast goose and Him Kee for hot pot.

 French toast and milk tea from Lan Fong Yuen

Assorted roast meats from Yat Lok

Char siu bo lo bao from Tim Ho Wan

Hot pot at Him Kee

Disgusting beef offal courtesy of my cousin

I think I put on more weight in the last five days than the last two months I've been here, despite prolly also doing much more walking than ever. We went to TST, Mongkok, Wanchai, Causeway Bay, etc ... places I usually avoid because of the mad crowds. It's nice to check out these places with tourists, but I really wouldn't make them a habit.

It was nice to spend some quality time with Mum though. It sounds odd but I've had to share her affections with the dog for the last 12 years and trust me when I say it hasn't been easy. It's worse than the typical case of sibling rivalry, because I'm not even competing with a fellow human being I can talk to and hang out with, but a mere animal. It really does suck and I hate to say it, but I'm just a teensy weensy bit glad the dog is going the way of doggy heaven soon. It's about time I got my mother all to myself!

We went to The Peak, Madame Tussaud's, LKF, etc ... just wished we had more time to go Ngong Ping or someplace a bit more interesting. I really hope I get something in HK soon so Mum can come visit often and make this place her second home! :)

So after quite a fair bit of procrastination, I've finally gotten round to getting some hiking done in HK. The first time we arranged to go hiking, I overslept but woke up in time for brunch (I know my priorities) with B and K. The second time saw me down with flu, so I figured it was third time now or never. That and the fact I gave myself a good internal rousing and telling self rather sternly that a bit of a workout outdoors would do me good instead of being cooped up at home being lazy and feeling sorry for myself.

Anyway I'm pretty glad I did as I ended up having quite a blast. Met up with P and K and two other girls to hike up HK's famous Dragon's Back trail (best urban hike in Asia apparently) over at Shek O and although it was blazing hot, it was really awesome fun. It felt good to get out of the urban landscape and sort of get a bit dusty and dirty in the countryside. And the good thing about Dragon's Back is that there's no cop-out route halfway so it was either we did it from start to finish or not at all.

 Spectacular view of the islands and the South China Sea with Clear Water Bay and Stanley on either side of the trail at the top, with occasional bamboo groves providing much needed reprieve from the harsh glares of the sun.

There were several times I felt like giving up but then I thought of what I had learnt and reminded self to stay with the moment, and that that too, would pass. Just one tiny step at a time and sooner or later, one would reach the top (or the bottom in our case!).

Hiking's a good parallel for life philosophy I think. :)

Ended up at a beach front shack where everyone had a a laugh while watching a dog swim out to join his owner on a canoe. This, I think, is how weekends and holidays should be spent. Simple pleasures with good company.

Best Saturday in HK ever. :)

OMG.

Apparently, I almost had a close lesbian encounter without even knowing it.

OK what happened was this :

I was really tired of meeting guys in HK (most of them are players and/or general fuckwitted pervs) so I really wanted to meet some nice female friends for a change. So when I bumped into my lovely friend N at Taz with a bevy of gorgeous women, I thought it might well be the beginning of some beautiful (pun unintended) friendships. What I had not bargained for however, was that one of them would have what I'm now beginning to suspect, bisexual tendencies.

P had been very friendly when we were first introduced and I didn't suspect a thing as everyone had been really friendly in HK so far. Besides, sometimes girls tend to bond quickly and rather easily over something as frivolous as similar tastes in shoes ... in the beginning anyway. We arranged to do dinner the following week followed by clubbing with a few boys ... and everything was OK until it was time to go home. She insisted on showing me " ... something really cool only two minutes away", and wouldn't tell me what it was. I didn't want to because I was really tired, but she was really persistent and I didn't want to piss her off so I thought, why not ... figuring it was prolly some after hours bar or supper place.

Well lo and behold, she brought me to her apartment, and kept making pointless conversation until I lost all patience and said I really had to go, whereupon she reluctantly saw me to the lobby.

Cue next day dinner with the crew :

Me : (after relating story) ... I cannot believe she lied to get me to walk her back to her apartment! That sneaky biatch! I mean, why couldn't she have been upfront and just SAID so?!
Friends : Er sweetie ... we think she wasn't lying to get you to walk her back ... we think she was trying to get into your pants.


Well well.

FML.

I can't feel my fingers.

The weather report says it's 20 deg out, but I am what I would call, fucking cold.

There hasn't been any hot water since last night because I haven't any clue how to work the damn water heater. It doesn't appear to be the idiot-proof twist-right-for-cold-twist-left-for-hot type of shower apparatus it pretends to be, and I somehow feel like I'm failing some test in bathroom logistics while trying in vain to figure it out. There's a dial for adjusting the temperature of the water, and right now I've already turned it to the level that perhaps even Hephaestus might have found unbearable, but still the water that comes merrily out of the faucet remains stubbornly ice cold.

I don't care what F says, cold water does NOT build character.

It does however, numb the senses.

(The super later informs me that the pipes have been wrongly labelled, and that hot = cold and vice versa. But I still have to shower damn fast to maximise limited hot water available)

Oh I've moved into my new apartment! I love how cosy it is and I love my neighbourhood. It's got all the amenities I need from a supermarket to convenience stores to laundromats, an MTR station and cheap good food. In fact, Sang Kee is just around the corner so I'm pretty happy.

I kinda feel like I'm back in college again, having to figure things out on my own and realising that I've been taking simple basic things like laundry and even mail for granted. I learnt cute little nuggets of information all the time ... like how the mini-buses don't have specific stops, you just shout out where you wanna stop and they do ... and that the more money you add to your booking fee, the faster you get a cab.

I'm happy.

It's like my comfort zone made me uncomfortable, and now that I'm thrown into the deep(ish) end, I'm learning how to swim and live again.

I had an absolute BLAST at the Happy Valley Race Course!

Was having dinner with N at Wang Fu and then tong shui at Hang Fa Lau when she asked if I wanted to check out the races at Happy Valley ... and of course I said yes! I had actually been thinking of going to check it out some time so I was glad she asked! And I was surprised that it was actually filled with young yuppie types like us having fun drinking beer/wine and having kebabs instead of the dodgy old punters I've come to associate with horse racing back home. The girls (i.e. N, L and myself) went to place bets just for the heck of it (being girls, we just picked the horses based on how much we liked their names) ... they won some money but the horse I picked didn't come in. :(

However, the horse I picked to win in the second race won first place! But I didn't place a bet. Ah well, c'est la merde vie. I think it's pretty obvious I have arse gambling luck. Anyway, it was all in good fun. I had never been to horse races before this so I'm glad I had fun with some really ... well, fun people.

 Beijing dumplings filled with tomato, egg and chives

It's getting pretty chilly in HK, in the 15-19 deg range. I so regret not bringing a coat ... thought I wouldn't need it since C told me it was really hot the week before I got here. Well, at least I'm getting my trench coat from S (who's in town from SG) tomorrow, so I won't have to suffer too much. Looks like maybe I brought my summer clothing in vain ... and I really shoulda brought my boots and my other pair of jeans!

Moving out of the lovely Sohotel into a serviced apartment tomorrow. Will miss the cosy plushness of Sohotel ... think I made a really good choice with this place. I mean, yeah I did extensive research before picking this place but one never really can tell from reviews because it can be subjective and really sometimes, it's the luck of the draw. But yeah I really lucked out with Sohotel. I highly recommend it to people who are here for a short vacay. But if you happen to surf upon this and hate Sohotel, don't message me 'cos I don't give a flying fuck, so there.

Really looking forward to my new place! It's really convenient and it's in a neighbourhood filled with amenities (i.e food and convenience stores and the MTR) so I'm pretty psyched. I only hope it doesn't get too cold because there isn't a heater in there. I really love this neighbourhood ... it's walking distance to Central but it's not too bustling so I like it. I don't think I'd like staying in someplace like Soho (too many bars and nightlife) or Causeway Bay (too far).

Going SZ with N and J this Saturday for spa (apparently only 160 RMB for the works) and seafood.

Woo! :)

"If there were no God, it would have been necessary to invent him." - Voltaire

I've always had an on-off relationship with God.

OK when I say God, I don't mean a particular god like ... say maybe Jesus Christ or Buddha or Muhammad or Vishnu ... but like an all encompassing transcendent Divine Being overseeing everyone and everything that goes on in the universe and beyond.

I guess if you want to be pedantic about it, then agnostic theism would probably come to mind.

Bit of perspective here :

I went to a Catholic, a secular then a Methodist school. Mum goes to the temple to pray to Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy every week while Dad is a bit of an agnostic as well. The rest of the people in our extended family on both sides are a motley mix of Christians, Buddhists, agnostics and couldn't-give-a-fucks. So I kinda grew up being friendly with Mary and flirting a tad with JC but never really committing anything beyond sporadic visits to a church or three.

In the last year or two though, I've been doing a bit of reading and thinking. And a book I really like is The Art of Happiness, a fascinating collaboration between the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler. Buddhism seems to agree with my metaphysical palate more than the rest, if only because it's not so much a religion but more a way of life and thought. It also appears to advocate peace and harmony, to live and let live and basically just be a good person with compassion and kindness. It seeks to unite more than to divide and to find common ground more so than differences. Somehow too, it also gave me a sense of Zen when before, it had always eluded me.

All my life I'd been surrounded by so many Christians that expressing a preference for a different religion seemed almost treason, so I was gratified when two of my favourite people J and D were of a similar mindset.

Anyway J and I got to talking and in a nutshell, I was persuaded to offer a prayer and obtain a divination lot at the Kuan Yin temple for peace of mind. Now, I had done this divination lot thing before at Wong Tai Sin in Hong Kong, so imagine my boo boo moment when I realised I had been doing it wrong. Anyhow, I got one on Thursday and it was a 上千, i.e. a good lot. So yeah although some might say it's a bit silly to pin one's hopes on something as random as a stick falling out of an urn coupled with the probability of the runes falling on opposite sides, I guess one could say I was praying for peace of mind. :)

"L'enfer, c'est les autres." - Jean-Paul Sartre

Whoever said bookstores are a good place to meet decent men is a liar. J and I spent 45 minutes wandering around Borders pointing out books that would make good presents for each other and the only decent chap we found was Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.

Anyway.

I should have said so earlier, but the reason for the title of this blog is such because yours truly is headed to HK to look for a job. Yes that's right, I'm sick and tired of Singapore with its passive aggressive policies and ridiculous campaigns and bloody immigrants and rude people with appalling social graces. I mean, Singaporeans are the only wankers I know who have the audacity to look appalled when they step on your foot as if it was your fault.

Also a lot of nosy types who poke their noses where it's not wanted. Case in point, I boarded the bus with a half eaten croissant, fully intending to discreetly finish it as quickly as I could. Granted, there was a no eating/drinking rule on public transport, but I was friggin' starving and it's not like a bowl of laksa or something that could potentially create some form of nuclear nasal assault now, is it? Anyhow, some moronic middle aged woman tapped me on the shoulder and informed me in a supremely bossy manner that I was not supposed to be eating on the bus. I mean, seriously, WTF? And it wasn't even the first time this has happened, and it's always some bloody kaypoh middle aged woman without authority doing the policing. I almost wanted to tell her being nosy is considered an offense too but decided not to sink to her level.

Anyway that pretty much set the mood for the day so I was really getting the GTFO of Singapore vibes.

Well not too long to wait I suppose. One more day and I'll be off. Woo! :)

Hanging out with my good friend D always guarantees we both have an absolute blast. We first met in 2009 during S's birthday at House but he was way too inebriated (as usual) to remember a darn thing. Then we met again in Butter sometime last year during some random party and he was drunk (again) so he clearly didn't remember what he said to me the night before when I reminded him the next morning.

A typical conversation between us would go like this:

Me : You know, you said XYZ last night ... hahaha hilarious
D : No waaaaaaay, I said no such thing!
Me : You did too! You said XYZ etc
D : Ohhhhh yes now that you mention it, that does sound like something I would say ...

Anyway we were at Din Tai Fung and talking about love over xiao long baos. Not just any random many splendoured rose tinted soppy kind of love, but more specifically the five languages of love. We both agreed gifts were a terrible idea. D and I are both horrible people to buy gifts for, because we're both so darn picky and specific in the stuff we like, and would have no qualms throwing/giving them away instead of leaving them to take up space or collect dust. The only exception we have towards gifts is if they are books or holidays, because they are kinda like experiences in their own ways. One would have to know the other pretty damn well to give a book that the other person would like, or if they even liked reading in the first place.

I gave V Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist for her birthday and she loved it. I gave M Essays in Love by Alain de Botton and he loved it so much he gave me two books he loved in return (which I unfortunately found terribly pedantic and dry). Exchanging books is like timidly sharing a piece of one's heart, mind and soul, hoping for reciprocation in kind. But like in love, one does get terribly disappointed when one doesn't get a book / gift one had hoped to receive, often resulting in doubt in the giver (how well does he/she know me??) and ourselves (is this how we come across??).


I say stick to the other four : quality time, physical touch, acts of service and words of affirmation.

"Etiquette means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential." - Will Cuppy

Good Lord.

Some people really haven't got the etiquette tango bit right.

I had brunch with this chap J (cute-ish, bit short, somewhat colloquial, quiet) who insisted on buying even though I offered to pay my share. So I thought OK, I'll buy coffee later then right? Anyhoo, we ended up at Starbucks and I was waiting for him to take out his wallet so I could say "no it's OK, I'll get it" ... but instead he stared blankly at me with both his hands in his pockets and blurted, "You have money right? You have money to pay for my coffee right?"

Obviously, this made me NOT at all willing to pay for his coffee even though I totally intended to do in the first place.

And then he followed this up much later with some rather annoying intrusive questions about my personal life coupled with a really long and convoluted story about his family, which I honestly think he could make into one of those long running TVB dramas.

Anyway it got me thinking : I don't want to spend time with and on people who bring more cons than pros to the friendship. I mean, OK fine we all have our issues and baggage and we all whine to one another now and then, but I think the people who are entitled to that with me, i.e. the inner circle is pretty damn full already. So unless someone is pretty bloody amazingly awesome, sorry I ain't giving a shit.

Let's face it, some people are late night intense conversations-laughs over dinner-invite to stay-travel together types and some are just shut-up-and-watch-the-damn-movie types.

You are the weakest link J.

Goodbye.

Omg.

I promised myself I'd start scribbling more in 2011 to polish up my writing skills, but it's now nearing the third week of Jan and I've written fuckall except for a halfhearted slightly melancholic draft on NYE, which I'm still debating whether or not to post.

Anyway.

Just back from very late lunch at Hediard with K, who's back for a vacay from Melbourne. K and I went to college together and we were on the same sports team, but we never really spoke much. Fast forward a decade later, we found each other on Facebook and as one would say, the rest is history. Pity he's gay, because he's simply adorable.

Oh and Hediard is simply awesome. It was my first time there and the moment I walked in, it felt like walking into a place where it was eternally Christmas. I knew I would like it straightaway, you know, the same way people feel when they walk into a building or a place and fall in love. There were all these pretty packages and jars of gastronomic ambrosia on dark wooden shelves, and there was jazz music in the background.

Was a wee bit disappointed that they had stopped serving their breakfast offerings, because I had had a craving for Eggs Norwegian, essentially poached eggs with smoked salmon on grilled bread. Instead I settled for country soup i.e. vegetable soup with bacon drizzled with truffle oil and Croq' Germaine i.e. grilled bread with Parma Ham, gruyere cheese, mornay sauce topped with a fried egg. The soup was really tasty and the Croq' Germaine was hands down the best open faced sandwich I've had ever. I've had variations of it before, i.e. Croque Monsieurs and Madams both in SG, New York and Paris, but dang, this was in a league of its own. The combination of the different ingredients made it come together so nicely, yet one could taste the quality of the individual ingredients on their own.

Croq' Germaine at Hediard

Inevitable that my favourite brunch place would be French really. I've always liked the approach the French take to their food, i.e. quality food and slow relaxed dining. French friend once expressed surprise that people eat savoury food for breakfast as they couldn't imagine eating anything but croissants with jam and pain au chocolat to start their day ... on a sweet note like he would explain, but I guess I've always associated eggs and toast with my breakfasts.

“New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.” - James Agate

So NYE was spent thus :

Dinner at Margarita's at Faber Drive with A. Not entirely satisfactory but could think of worse ways to spend a Friday night. Note to self : stick to Margarita's in Dempsey. In a fully booked scenario, brave the crowds and high tail it to El Toro.

Debated whether or not to brave the crowds at Boathouse where S would be spinning with fireworks exploding in the night sky thrown into the mix. Looked longingly at Chuck Season 1.

Half heartedly message friends about their plans. Surprised to learn that although more than 50% have party plans of some sort, most feel inclined to stay home and veg with DVDs. Mull over prospect of getting dressed, putting face on, cabbing to Boathouse, counting down and then coming home to reverse process. Cringe at thought of slim possibility of getting a cab post countdown.

Half hour : Chuck wins.

Midnight : Happy 2011!

OK OK so 2011 was supposed to start on a higher note, say more in the C range than perhaps in the A range. But I don't know, maybe it's age or maybe it's just plain sloth-like behavior, I've been feeling less and less inclined to leave the comforts of my room. New Year's Eve felt like just another feckless Friday, with people desperate to party, to get wasted, to release the inhibitions otherwise kept under a tightly locked little heart shaped box and the tendency to blame all unseemly behavior on alcohol the day after. It all seemed so forced and reeked so strongly of desperation that I felt compelled to run screaming in the opposite direction.

So anyway, nighty night and see ya all in 2011!