Half-way through HK Fall Exchange 2007

Today marks the second month of my overseas exchange in HKUST. It is a short period of time but yet I have done a lot of things. Most of the things that I have done involve traveling, in HK and other places such as Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, Macau next week.

A lot of people ask me whether HK is fun or not. So far my answer is yes. You can have good food, good shopping and good scenery (maybe because my hostel room is facing the sea!). The issue that I face so far is that the cost of living is higher than Singapore.

For now, I will just talk about my experience in HK. HK is much bigger and more hilly than Singapore. Transportation system is efficient especially with the widely-used octopus card. There are many bus transportation available and I usually travel out of campus using the minibus service. MTR transportation fee is expensive but it is much cheaper with the student rate.

My buddy cum roommate, Edmund, and me have been traveling around quite often. On the day that we arrive, Chorng Shin has brought us and Christina around in HK. We had a very good Dim Sum at Federal (www.FederalRestaurant.hk) and went to see the lightshow at the Victoria Harbour. After that we went to eat dessert at 许留山 and went back to hostel to take a rest.

We took a 2-day tour with the school to see the surrounding islands in HK. Nothing much to see, in my opinion. During that weekend, we went to Shenzhen for message and eat good food. Still remember Chorng Shin still prefer his meng niu milk at Walmart. But in my opinion, nothing much to see in Shenzhen. It is just another city that has no differentiating factor with other cities.

Went to Lan Kwai Fong a few times with friends.. I don't really like clubbing but I go there to take a look at how the nightlife in HK is like. There are a lot of expatriates there and many pubs and clubs there. Christina and me celebrated our birthday with our friends and had a good night over there. Subsequently went there a few time such as Halloween and some special events and I am constraining myself because it is not healthy for my body and my wallet to go there so often.

Ocean Park is a must go in HK! I had fun over there with Edmund, Christina and Hong Sheng. The rides are super fun, rekindling my childhood memory. Bought an annual pass over there and I know that I will bring Weizhen there when she comes to HK in dec again. That night, we went to Stanley market to eat and had a good chat over there.

Found a few good eating places at Temple Street, Yong Ji at Central, Java Street Market and Watami. But I'm still missing my Sg food..

(TBC)