Sorry for the depressed posts... Haven't been in the best of moods lately.

The HK trip was certainly a good way to get away from all the troubles and take a good breather. I don't know why but my heart has been heavy these days. Nothing motivates much except perhaps episodes of Seo Dong Yo which takes me away for that 1 hour then throws me back into harsh reality once it ends.

My photos are gone, and as much as I would like to talk about how wonderful the trip was, to me losing all my photos is like the trip was never taken at all. I don't know why I feel such a terrible sense of loss... Once that realization set in, it just felt like I hadn't gone anywhere at all, and that I had been tumbled and twisted in this cold reality all these while.

To be honest, I really enjoyed my trip. Because we went with a family friend who worked in HK for 2 years, she was able to take us to places where we would never have thought of going. She took us to Northpoint to savour the famous congee and cheong fun, then took us to try this wonderful satay-flvoured steam boat fit for a king at a damn reasonable price (at Cafe de Coral aka Dai Ka Lok), which by the way is available only during winter - spring. That's the wonderful thing about climate countries.. The menu changes along with the season.

Then of course, HK is nothing without shopping. Boy did I spend!! Now I've gotta really save up again. But shopping is really awesome there! I never actually realized why HK is touted as a shopping paradise until this friend of ours introduced us to shopping malls with incredibly good bargains. And no, they're not fake goods, but real, genuine brands such as G2000 or Espirit. What's the difference, you ask? Difference is that unlike in Singapore, where sales are lousy and only for outdated and old stock, sales in HK are good deals. When on sale, one stylish pair of Nike shoes can cost S$80, a recently released Espirit T-shirts can cost about S$12, a pair of nicely tailored working pants from G2000 can cost only S$19. Even when not on sale, the exchange rate itself makes buying merchandise slightly cheaper than in Singapore.

And HK is also the place to get brands not available in Singapore, like a pair of UK brand Acupunture shoes which I bought and is my prized purchase so far.

And most importantly, the service in HK is excellent. Friendly, helpful, chatty and considerate staff who take their jobs as not just temporary employment but just, well, their job. What an irony that when I went to Best Denki at Bishan after my trip, I was treated like a complete idiot. No sincerity in serving me, no intention to even make me feel like I would want to buy something. I left Best Denki with a truly sour taste in my mouth. How do we survive with service that sucks so badly????

Of course, not all service in HK is good, but really, that's subjective. Cos the staff at eateries and even restaurants or the smaller shops may appear as loud and aggressive, but really, you quickly realize that it's simply their style of doing things. They can reply you "don't have" in a rude manner when you ask for something they don't have, but can immediately say something funny and laugh about it with you. Frankly, it's sometimes very interesting to observe HK heartlanders' conversations.

Then we went Lantau Island to visit, though this time instead of the bus we opted for the newly operational cable car to go up the mountain. The cable car ride was 30 minutes long, and though I would definitely recommend it to tourists, personally I think if I were to visit another time, I'd go for the bus instead cos my phobia of heights was making the experience rather nail-biting. Nevertheless, glad I took the cable car ride cos it was a whole new experience to see Lantau from that angle.

Before reaching the Giant Buddha, the cable car stopped at a newly opened tourist destination as well, called Ngong Ping Village which basically was a place with shops and restaurants and 2 theatres, all which had a running theme of Buddhism. But it was not at all preachy, just animation shows to tell youngsters that one needed to share and not be greedy, and another to tell visitors what Buddhism was all about. Then there were shops which sold soveniors of Buddhist items which have been blessed, where I bought an amulet for my brother's new home, and other usual tourist shops like wooden items, tidbits and even Starbucks (!!!).

So really, HK was all about shopping, eating and getting cleansed spiritually (for me, that is, cos I've made a resolution to make a pilgramage to the Giant Buddha every time I'm in HK). Even so, I enjoyed it very much.

It's just a pity I can't complement my descriptions with photos. My descriptions don't do justice to the amount of fun I had.

All 300 photos in my digital camera is gone.

Bought a faulty card reader. It damaged my card. Now my card is spoilt. All 300 photos, my experiences in Hong Kong... all gone.

The moment I realized this the first and only thing I could think about was the last few photos I took on the aeroplane. It was flying over South East Asia, and I looked out of the window and saw the most maginificant sight. What I saw was not the sky, but a thick blanket of cloud with various structures emerging out from the blanket. It was like thick snow covering a huge plain, with snow-covered mountains and trees emerging from the ground. The 'mountains' were in the shape of a hippopotamus opening its mouth, a dog leaping into the sky, a elephant taking a sip of water, a baby's cooing... I felt like I wasn't flying at all, but rather I was gliding along a snow-covered plain, admiring the wonderful things that nature had to offer.

It was all so beautiful, and all just right before my eyes.

I took pictures of this extrodinary sight. I have never seen anything like that. I was completely enchanted. Can you imagine?

No one can imagine it anymore. I can't too. They're all gone now, fading away day by day in my memory.

I'm back in Singapore. I'm back? I think I really am!

It's surreal...

Just yesterday at this time I was packing my lugguge, preparing for the end of my 3-day trip to Hong Kong. Yes, 3 days is too short a time, and I can't believe that here I am now, looking at my computer monitor, typing on my key board, preparing for work tomorrow and going through a daily routine which was completely non-existent in that 3 days in HK.

Work tomorrow... I have work tomorrow?? I have work tomorrow!!! ARGH!!!!