Mong Kok

Mong Kok is the busiest place in Hong Kong. i thought Causeway Bay was something, but Mong Kok! in one night, i spent almost a grand buying beautiful things for my beautiful pips back home. it's like a money magnet! everyone has one single interest in mind: make you fork over whatever amount you have been religiously keeping in your wallet. in Lady's Market, there's a lady who wanted to sell me little magnet souvenirs for $39. i walked away, and she shouted, "OK, $10 la!!" haha.

Mong Kok also has yummy food. of course! it doesn't ever want you to get hungry, else you might want to go home and stop shopping.

where do all these people come from? they walk and walk and walk and never seem to keep still. everywhere else in Hong Kong, pedestrians have to wait for vehicles to stop so they can cross the street. not in Mong Kok. cars pile up to wait for people to clear the way.

chinese fast food. hehe..

if you are in a budget and you are staying somewhere in North Point, take my advise: Take any tram that heads to Western Market ($2). disembark near Prince's Building in Central. walk the footbridge towards Star Ferry in Central Pier. take the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui ($2.20 upperdeck). near the Peninsula Hotel, take the Number 2 or Number 9 bus and disembark at Mong Kok station MTR ($4.40). there you go, Mong Kok for less than $10!

best time to go is around 3PM. you should arrive there around 6PM. eat dinner and take lots of pictures. you will feel your legs giving up on you just about when you get back to HKCC. go to the viewing deck to recharge. with a view like this, you should be OK in no time.

enjoy!!

The Sartorialist

Spotted at Hong Kong Cultural Center.

fat chance he's gonna see me, so i'm putting this out there. bwahahaha..

picture by Glenn A. :)

Discover Hong Kong

print on tarp. hang on HKIA.

junk boats are old Chinese vessels that used to flock Victoria Harbour. now, they are up for charter so people can have booze parties in them.

listen to this and fall in love once more

Vineyard Music - Intimacy

you know how it is that God chooses husband and wife to describe the relationship between Christ and his church? if take we this literally, this CD should be the wedding souvenir.

love songs... :)

jung man dim gong'a?

i am trying to learn Cantonese from Cecilie Gamst Berg, a Norwegian Cantonese teacher (she also knows Mandarin). i have downloaded all Naked Cantonese to my iTunes. i absolutely love Cecilie!

as you may or may not know, all my teammates, except for one, are Hong Kongees. they incessantly converse with each other in Cantonese. our clients are also Cantonese. they will start talking in English only when they see the consternation on our faces. needless to say, we miss out on all the jokes and small talk.

Hong Kongees are infamous for discouraging foreigners from learning the language. nonetheless, those who don't know English will talk to you in straight Cantonese.

so now i am trying to learn the basics. and i think i may be able to get by in dire circumstances when English may never be an option. of course, i have a feeling i will forget everything i learned next week.

a couple of hours ago, i went to 7-eleven to buy bottled water and green tea. after punching in my purchase, the cashier asked me something which i made out to be, "Do you want a plastic bag?"

I said "m'saai.."

There you go, my first Cantonese conversation. :D

Gei hou... gei hou...

Pig Lights

really great find!!! you can crank them up at the side to recharge their battery. :)

Black Rainstorm

From the HKO site:

Black Rainstorm Warning Signal Special Announcement issued by the Hong Kong Observatory at 6:40 a.m.

The Rainstorm Warning Signal is now Black. This means that heavy rain has fallen or is expected to fall generally over Hong Kong, exceeding 70 millimetres in an hour, and is likely to continue.

Because of seriously flooded roads and inclement weather conditions, you are advised to take shelter in a safe place and stay there. Parents, students, school authorities and school-bus drivers should listen to radio or television announcements on schools. Do not attempt to travel until the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is no longer in force and traffic conditions have improved.

Please listen to radio or watch television for traffic conditions and further announcements on the rainstorm.

no work.. la~