Hong Kong 29 - 31 December 08

First Day - 29 Dec

I figured this would be my last chance to travel in 2008, so despite the protests and emotional blackmail from the princes about being away on New Year Eve, I flew happily to Hong Kong on 29 Dec.

We arrived at the 'fragrant harbour' around 3pm, took the airport MTR to Tsing Yi before hopping on a cab to Tsuen Wan. The hotel that we stayed in was called Dorset Far East and very near to the Tsuen Wan MTR. When we entered the room, I got the shock of my life. It's like the tiniest room I'd ever set foot on. I could almost touch both the bed and the room door with both my feet spread out. As for the bathroom, all I can say is that I kissed the walls several times whenever I took a shower. For a room rate of US$97, it is definitely over-priced.

On the MTR to Tsing Yi.

The tiniest hotel room.

And the tiniest bathroom.

After putting down our luggage, we headed out to look for some wanton mee, like everyone said we should. The concierge directed us to one nearby. Our first meal in Hong Kong turned out to be a disappoinment. The wanton mee was soup-based and the noodles were tough. Luckily, being one who likes variety, I also ordered a pork chop bun, which turned out to be yummy. The tea was also good.

Our first wanton mee in Hong Kong.

Then we explored the nearby shopping malls like City Landmark Shopping Centre I and II which have clothes that were relatively reasonable. I bought a pink shimmering cardigan that came with a tank top for HK$120 (about S$24) in one of the shops. We took pictures of some prime residential area in Tsuen Wan and were accosted and questioned by the security guard there. We pretended we did not understand a word he said and moved on.

The residential flats looked very tiny and hardly had any space to hang laundry. The windows were also very small. A little too claustrophobic for me...

After a quick shower, we were driven to an outskirt area (I think it's called sam jing) by some friends in Hong Kong to a famous roast goose restaurant for dinner. My first roast goose meal, which I have anticipated for so long. If nothing else, roast goose would be my main purpose for this Hong Kong trip. And man, it was so worth it! The fats and crispy skin that hit the mouth just made me go limp. The other dish worth mentioning is the ku lu yoke (sweet sour pork). Damn good. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

The restaurant name (and mascot?).

Ooh... the fat yummy goose. Come to mama...

The spread included fried calamari, scallop and brocolli, ku lu yoke and some herbal soup with noodles.

Second Day - 30 Dec

The second day, I was on my own. I went to Tung Chung Citigate Outlet to take a look although some people told me it was not worth the long trip. I went anyway just because I thought I had a lot of time. There were a lot of designer and luxury shops having sale. I bought a black Esprit dress, which I really love and a hair clip from Evita Peroni, which is also something I have been looking for. So I am a happy woman.

Then I took the MTR to Prince Edward to meet the famous bo lo bao and egg tart. Man, the restauarant that sells the stuff is like a trading market, with people shouting their take-away orders and the staff shouting back, sometimes in not so friendly manner. Being a polite Singaporean, I stood and waited for my turn, which never came. So I told the staff I wanted an egg tart, repeatedly, cos I was ignored and my voice was drowned by the hollering around me. Finally I got my precious egg tart and munched along as I trailed Fa Yuen Market Street.

Most of the stuff in Fa Yuen looked pretty unimpressive to me until I chanced upon a shop called 'Mirror' that sold only black clothes. When I saw the clothes and the prices, I was excited. Finally something decent that were priced reasonably. Each piece of clothing was about HK$49-HK59 (about S$10-12). I bought 2 tops from there. The staff were super efficient. They came to me and recorded the item numers of the clothing I wanted on a slip of paper while informing her colleague on a walkie-talkie to get the clothes from the storeroom. I just needed to take the piece of paper, go to the cashier, collect my items and pay for them. Hong Kong people thrive on pressure, I figured somehow. They seem to be very fast and very impatient. And they don't stop for you when you ask for help. Makes me appreciate Singapore and Singaporeans more.

This is the famous restaurant that sells bo lo bao and egg tart.

Fa Yuen Market.

I drank a lot of this stuff - mango jelly drink. When the gooby mix of jelly and mango cubes glides down your throat, it felt disturbingly good. I wished this would make its way to Singapore soon. Costs about HK$22 (about S$4). Not cheap for a dessert drink but will buy again if given the chance :)

The tops I bought from 'Mirror' in Fa Yuen. Costs HK$49 (S$9) each.

The clothes I bought from a shop near Tsuen Wan MTR. Each costs about HK$59 (S$11).

The pink cardigan I bought from City Landmark (set costs HK$120 or S$24).

My beloved Esprit dress that costs HK$299 (S$55).

The street in front of our hotel.

In the evening, we decided to venture out to Tsim Sha Zui to have our dinner. We went to Chee Kei in Langham Place to have some crab porridge, beef stew and braised chicken wings. This meal was rather cheap - HK$130 (about S$25).

Beef brisket and tendons - so tender and flavourful.

The crab porridge didn't have a chance to meet the camera before its demise.

I introduced my hubby to the disturbingly good mango jelly drink. He liked it too. Hoi Lau Shan seemed to be everywhere, so we could get a fix anytime we wanted. Then, deciding that we still needed more food, we took a MTR to Mong Kok. We sampled some very good and cheap shui jing bao (chrystal bao) in some dingy shop and a skewer of curry fishballs (too much flour) along the roadside.

Then we trailed the delicious smell of claypot rice to a stall where a man was cooking like 20 claypots outside a small restaurant along the road. We ordered a chicken claypot rice (bo zai fun) with sausage and duck egg. We had to wait for like 30 minutes as the rice was cooked from scratch. We saw him taking raw rice from a bucket and raw meat from a container -everything from scratch, so it was a long wait but it was so worth it. My hubby and I practically scrapped out every morsel of rice in the pot.

The trick to fragrant delicious bo zai fun is to pour the soya sauce into the pot, cover it and let it simmer for 5 minutes before eating.

Doesn't look impressive until you taste it. The claypot rice is light colour, unlike the ones sold in Singapore.

We also sampled some potato skins from Ireland's Potato, a franchise found everywhere in Hong Kong. I still prefer the ones in Tony Romas.

A Christmas castle in Langham Place.

Christmas deco in Langham Place, which has a H & M.

Last Day - 30 Dec

I decided to check out Causeway Bay in the morning but found nothing interesting. Seemed to be a place for the rich people. When I travel, I like to go where the locals go, shop where the locals shop and eat where the locals eat. To me, that's the best way to truly experience a place. So, I headed back to hotel to meet hubby and we went to Mong Kok to search for lunch. We chanced upon this coffee shop that had some roast goose dangling temptingly, so we decided to satisfy our roast goose fix one more time. We ordered a goose thigh, a plate of fried rice and fried hot fun. Mmm... did I mention how much I like roast goose?

This plate of fried rice is 'power', with lots of shrimps, ham, sausage and egg.

This roast goose is not as good as the one in Yu Kei but still good.

After lunch, we took the MTR to Prince Edward again to see if we could try our luck at the chaotic place that sells the famous bo lo bao since I only tried the egg tart the last time. Before that, we walked around a bit and saw a huge crowd in front of a traditional biscuit stall that sells gai zai beng and kok zai. We bought some and tried on the spot. I'm not a gai zai beng and kok zai person, but these ones were good.

When we reached the restaurant with the famous bo lo bao, it was unsurprisingly crowded. The staff asked us to go in and wait. It was a restaurant but felt more like a foodcourt or a hawker centre. We had to share a table with another couple. This is very common in Hong Kong. There is no such thing as personal space. We ordered 2 bo lo yau (a buttered version), an egg tart and tea and observed the scene in the restaurant. It was chaotic. The staff were shouting orders and people were standing around waiting for seats and trays of bo lo bao were constantly being brought out. Not exactly a place to have tea, relax and catch up on a book.

The bo lo yau and egg tart were very good, so I guess the chaos was worth it but I don't think I would go there again. In fact, I don't think I would go Hong Kong again. It was a nice first time experience, especially with the food but it's not exactly an ideal holiday destination for me. I like to have space. When I get out of Singapore, I like to take it easy and experience nice scenery, good food and nice culture with a spot of shopping. Hong Kong is too much like Singapore or perhaps more hectic. So thanks for the experience but I'm not coming back.

The egg tart was piping hot and soft yet crispy.

The bo lo yau needed another slice of butter, I thought.

Christmas 2008

Christmas with close friends - 19 Dec

This year, Christmas with close friends took a slightly different slant from previous years. On a friend's suggestion, we were each given a card and everyone must write something about that person in the card. So we took some time passing the cards around. Until then, we didn't realise how long since we wrote a heart-felt card for someone and how we rusty we had become in our writing skills. We laughed and teased one another about taking forever to write something but it was really fun and meaningful.

The cards that contain all the heart-felt words from good friends.

This year's celebration was at a friend's house. Her mom is a marvellous cook, so we decided to go there every year. This decision was made without her mom's consent. Ha ha...

Friends for 20 years...

Friends for 24 years...

Christmas Treat at Changi Airport Terminal 3 - 21 Dec

We went to Changi Airport Terminal 3, Candy Empire to get some chocolates and candies as Christmas gifts. Because my hubby and I spent more than $60 each, we were each given a pass to enter the Candy House where we could collect free candies. Of course, we gave the pass to the princes. Upon entering the Candy House, the princes were each given a huge plastic cup to put as many candies as they wanted into the cup. The glee on their faces were palpable as they surveyed the area and stuffed as many of their favourite sweets and chocolates into the cup. The candies were just ordinary candies, but the thought of stuffing all the candies they wanted into a huge cup somehow made it a treasured experience.

The hansel and gretal candy house.

The anticipation...

The loot...

Christmas in the office - 24 Dec

A few of our colleagues ordered a Haagen Daaz ice-cream cake and bought some chips to celebrate on Christmas Eve (who works on Christmas Eve anyways?). We played a game called Guessture - something like charade on steroids. One person would act out the words on 4 cards, which would drop one by one into a box based on a timer. So the team members must guess the words before the card disappears into the box. A really fun charade with an edge.

The cake has a layer of chocolate and another layer of strawberry cheesecake ice-cream.

The mayhem...

The pressure...

And the many butt pointing...

Christmas with the relatives - 24 Dec

Every Christmas Eve is spent at my parents' place where all the relatives gather. It's like a preview to CNY, except that it's better because there are always presents and good food, gossips and casual banter. CNY tends to be less relaxing, with all the protocol and the pressure to remember who to give angbao to.

Glorious food...

A lot of pressure taking picture with the young ones. The cousins look 'power' with youth and beauty on their sides...

Sister-in-law and cousins. Less pressure now...

Tradition!!

As my older prince pointed out, it is our family tradition (we do a short dance with a finger pointing to the sky and say 'tradition' loudly, much like the father in 'Fiddler on the Roof' film) to go to Seah Street Deli at Raffles Hotel every year to have our dessert after the Christmas Eve party.

Traditionally, we also allow the princes to open one present on Christmas Eve every year. The rest of the presents can only be unravelled on Christmas Day itself.

Every year, we take a picture with the big Christmas tree in front of Raffles City Shopping Centre. I guess it is important to establish and observe family traditions. It gives a purpose to events like Christmas and brings the family closer. Even a 10 year old knows that :)

Rediscovering Singapore

During the Dec hols, while many went overseas for their vacation, we decided to stay put in Singapore. It's a challenge to try to find fun stuff to do in Singapore without breaking the bank. We have been lucky though. We got free tickets to go to the zoo and discovered some gems in our own shores.

Singapore Zoo

The newly opened Rainforest Kidzworld was a blast. After we had some home-made ham and egg sandwiches at one of the quieter areas of the zoo, the princes couldn't wait to fly to the Rainforest Kidzworld, which had many water-related features. The princes had fun being swept away by the water waves from the big bucket and gliding on water slides. They have been water babies since they were very little so they really dig water-related games.

We also checked out the white tigers which mauled one of the zoo staff. Somehow, after an incident like this, you look at these animals differently. They are meant to be in the wild, not kept in a zoo. This particular one was pacing the edges of its confines and snarling at the onlookers. I think it had tasted blood and it wanted more.

Science Centre

The Science Centre was having some magic exhibition when we were there and there was this eerie machine that made the body disappear so it looked like you had been decapitated. The princes also enjoyed some live magic show.

Changi Beach

The princes had recently mastered their cycling skills and the hubby had also just bought a bicycle , so the boys and I headed off to the Changi Beach to check out if it is a great place to cycle. I rented a bicycle from one of the shops near a carpark for a mere $5 for 2 hours (it's having an extra-1 hr free promotion). The view and the cycling route were great. We even spotted some jellyfishes on the pavement, obviously being discarded by some fishermen. I never had so much fun cycling. It's definitely better than East Coast.

The grand scheme of life

One baseball player who made it to the baseball hall of fame was asked what he wished someone would have told him when he first started playing baseball. He replied, "I wish that someone would have told me that when you reach the top, there's nothing there."

There is also the story of a very wealthy man who said in his last days that he wished he had spent more time with his wife (he was divorced many times) and his children. Many people fervently pursue so-called successes only to realise their emptiness after years have been wasted.

I have heard so much power-struggle and office politics in the last few weeks from the private to the public sector to the self-help industry that makes me ask, "what's the grand scheme of things here? Is it power? Is it control? Is it fear?" I feel tired just listening to these, what more partaking in them. I guess I was lucky enough never having to dabble in politics. Basically, I refuse to be part of it, even though that does not give me immunity from it. I have been a victim of politics a few times but survived. A little bruises here and there but no great harm done. Maybe I was never in that kind of high position where politics can literally kill one's career.

But seriously, if it's not a matter of life (like losing one's job) and death (career death, that is), is it worth wasting time and energy to think of ways to outdo one another and be seen as the victor/ not the loser?

A couple of years ago, it would have bothered me very much about being seen as a loser in my career. But it occurred to me that many years from now, on my dying bed, I wouldn't remember or be remembered about being a star employee. That's not how I wanted it either. I'd rather be happy and carefree and know in my heart that I have been right with God. That does not mean that I absolve my responsibilities from being a good employee. I am accountable for the salary that I am paid but I will not make casualities of anyone (including myself and my family) because of it.

The bible says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30) and “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10b).

I am not a good christian, yet, but I know that putting God as the centre of my life is probably the best bet there is. He is the grand designer and my compass for the grand scheme in life. I can't think of a better life coach.

Save more, live simply

I watched an episode of Oprah the other day (this is the good thing about having the mornings to yourself) that features how to cut waste and live simply. It's amazing how wasteful the average family is. We leave the TV on as we fall asleep or do other things while the TV/computer is on, abuse plastic utensils, buy tons of clothes which we never wear, etc.

It got me thinking about my own spending habits. After admonishing a colleague for buying more sweaters/cardigans, I did an inventory of my own cardigan collection and was amazed that I have 16 cardigans. Just cardigans, not including sweaters and other long-sleeve shirts. I also did a check of clothes that I had bought but not worn. There are quite a few of them. So I told myself, 'Ok, no more buying of clothes unless the damn piece of fabric totally blows me away or it's a darn shame not to buy it cos it's so cheap and good.' I hope I can hold on to my promise cos I have been known to make such a promise and broke it like the very next day. Anyways, times are tough and although I'm lucky to still have a stable job, bonuses are going to be lean. So now is as good as any time to start reining in the spending monster and live a simpler life.

Here are some tips which I found on MSN Money on how to start using our resources wisely. I have also added my own:

1. Eliminate premium channels from our cable TV service.
2. Reduce phone extras such as call forwarding or waiting. I save $5 per month on caller ID.
3. Investigate whether bundled service (phone, high-speed Internet and cable television) might save us money.
4. Wash only full loads of dishes or clothes.
5. Use a clothesline and use dryer just to soften air-dried clothes.
6. Switch to compact-fluorescent bulbs, and turn them off when not needed. Turn off TVs, computers and other electronics when not in use.
7. Bring lunches and snacks to work.
8. Cook once, eat twice: Double whatever you're making and freeze the excess for a later meal.
9. Avoid overpackaged, overprocessed and highly advertised foods. The closer a food is to its natural state, the less it tends to cost.
10. Buy fruits and vegetables in season.
11. Cruise through the fridge daily to use items before they go bad.
12. Give up a vice (smoking, drinking, soda, salty snack foods).
13. Shop on Thursdays when NTUC has its weekly specials and plan meals accordingly.
14. Find out what looks good on us and stick to classic styles that won't look weird next season.
15. Inventory our wardrobe and buy pieces that work with what we already own.
16. Avoid dry-clean-only clothing.
17. Make hair appointments at beauty schools or neighbourhood salons.
18. Drop the health club and form a walking or jogging group with friends.
19. Hold a clothing swap with friends.
20. Ask friends and relatives for hand-me-downs for kids.
21. Check out consignment and thrift stores for lightly used items.

22. Don't buy magazines and books. Borrow from the library.