HK-GZ-Macau Recreational Trip (19th - 23rd March 2008)

Yep the title speaks for itself. I went overseas over the long weekend (taking 1 day leave on thurs). I went HK-GZ approximately 1.5 years ago, this time the difference if u notice is in the word "Recreational". Want to know what it was the previous time? There u go, check my previous entry: A drifting mind

Ok first let me provide you the backdrop to this trip. It was a rather hastily planned trip. I should say only planned 10 days in advance. I wasn't feeling very ecstatic in particular, but am slightly excited about the prospect of taking a break from work. No, work ain't dull, but yes the feeling of going overseas certainly overwhelmed that. So, we set off..

Then we arrived (that's obvious)..

Now as usual, this is the itenary that i always take pleasure in outlining after my trip. So be patient and try to use visual imagery haha :P

Well, some facts first: I went with my parents and my uncle's family. In total 6 of us. There we were brought around by my dad's friend QL.

HK-GZ-Macau Recreational Trip (19th - 23rd March 2008)

19-Mar-08
1645: Arrived at Changi Airport
1830: Flight CX 716
2210: Touched down HK International Airport
2345: Reached hotel (白云大厦）
0000: Went for supper
0145: Lights off

20-Mar-08
0830: Reveille
0915: Breakfast at 澳洲牛奶公司
1015: Walked down to 中港城 to purchase tickets to Macau
1045: Went to Lifestyles office
1130: A bit of futile shopping
1215: Hurried lunch at KFC
1230 - 1330: Boarded First Ferry to Macau
1430: Cleared customs (long queue!)
1500: Reached Venetian (威尼斯人) - Casino lor...
1500 - 1815: Casino Charity...[its called grow the GDP campaign]
1815 - 1855: Took bus back to ferry terminal
1930 - 2035: Ferry to HK
2035 - 2215: Walked back towards hotel, dinner (seafood) along temple street
2215 - 2315: Shopped in the vicinity (better than the morning)
2330: Went back hotel
0030: Lights Off

21-Mar-08
0815: Reveille
0915 :Met QL for breakfast (porridge) [less sumptuous than the supper on day 1]
0945 - 1015: Took MTR from Jordon to Admiralty to meet client (business visit for my parents)
1045 - 1200: Sat MTR back to Jordon, shopped for around 0.5 hr before meeting for lunch
1200 - 1400: Lunch at BP [not the petrol kiosk, i forgot the name lah]
1400 - 1530: Uncle's family went to disneyland, we continued chatting with QL and his family.
1530 - 1600: Took a walk to Tsim Sha Tsui by QL's son (a very gd host!) [parents went to shop]
1600 - 1630: Went to QL's house [to borrow his camera cos my battery was flat]
1630 - 1720: Took minibus then MTR to Central, then another bus to Pok Fu Lam park
1720 - 1800: Hiked up to the Peak - around 2.5km [nothing spectacular!]
1800 - 1915: Bought Green Tea Latte at Starbucks and continued another ~3km trail around
perimeter of the Peak
1915 - 1945: Took minibus to Central MTR, then to Mongkok
1945 - 2005: Had dinner at a restaurant [oops, i forgot its name too]
2005 - 2130: Went to shop at 西洋菜街 [not a typo, it is a kind of vegetable!]
2200: Back to hotel
2330: Lights Off

22-Mar-08
0730: Reveille, packed luggage, cabbed to Hung Hom railway station
0805: Arrived at station, met QL, had breakfast at an eatery at second storey
0900 - 0945: Departed for Lo Wu
0945 - 1015: Checked out of Lo Wu (HK), crossed China customs to Shenzhen
1015 - 1048: Bought train tix to GZ.
1048 - 1205: Train journey
1205 - 1300: Took MTR from 广州东站 to 岗顶, checked in 大华酒店 (The Majestic)
1300 - 1415: Lunch at a nearby chinese restaurant [quite nice, specialty dish was 太子鸡]
1415 - 1500: Went back hotel to take umbrella [drizzling!]
1500- 1545: Took MTR from 岗顶 to 公园前. Walked to 北京路.
1545 - 1830: Shopped! [light rain, more walking than shopping though]
1830 - 1915: Dinner at 真功夫 [its has many franchises]
1915 - 2000: Took MTR from 公园前 back to hotel.
2000 - 2245: Stayed in hotel room, played cards with 7 yrs old cousin! Dad went to
meet friends together with QL
0015: Lights Off

23-Mar-08
0830: Reveille
0910: Packed our luggage and
0930 - 1030: Ate light snacks at KFC (again) [there's you tiao leh!], also did some last minute
shopping, returned to hotel
1100 - 1115: Checked out 大华酒店, sat MTR from 岗顶 to 广州东站
1130 - 1245: Had lunch at a chinese restaurant (again! haha)
1245 - 1330: Waited for departure from GZ to Shenzhen
1330 - 1430: Train journey
1430 - 1520: Cleared customs at Shenzhen (GZ) and proceed to Lo Wu (HK)
1520 - 1615: Took MTR from Lo Wu to East Tsim Sha Tsui, changed line to Jordon
1630 - 1730: Last minute devouring at 澳洲牛奶公司 and its adjacent Wanton mee shop
1730 - 1800: Some last minute shopping of dry rations
1800 - 1830: A22 bus journey from Jordon to HK International Airport
2000: Checked in on board CX 715.
2115: CX 715 took off (flight delayed!) [cited technical difficulties]
0045: Landed in SG
0145: Home Sweet Home =)

I remembered the last time i wrote about the nostalgia and unreluctant feeling to return back to sg. This time it was rather different. Though not exactly looking foward back to sg, my composure was back to normalcy even when i was in HK, it was as if i were a PRC or something. I felt pretty comfortable and natural. Maybe because i took for granted the ease of traveling, with someone bringing us around and making us feel secure and confident. For this i give my hearty appreciation to QL for meticulous planning and amiable, accomodating personality. Though there were a couple of delicacies and some parts of the travel that were the same as that 1.5 years ago, i nevertheless relish every moment of it. So now i shall elaborate on some of the segments of my trip:

Casino Charity - The reason i connote the word charity is unambiguously clear. The casino earns in the long run, no doubts about it, u know i know everyone knows. But u go, he goes, everyone goes. For what? They think short term! Leveraging on the thought that they are mentally strong to make an exit when they are about to make losses, or affirming themselves that they are prepared to give away a portion of their money. In both cases, human emotions are often stirred up into fluctuative threshold levels which prompt irrational, hesitative or even vengeful feelings. Humans start to talk to themselves, consoling themselves that its ok, and some even harness the innate capability which persuades us to get even with the casino. And all hell might break lose. Trying to act cool ends up breeding pent up emotions. Lacking mental discipline proves to be the root of all evil? Or should we abstain from gambling if our hearts are weak?

I didnt really lost alot of money, in fact i won abit, just that in total, we all lost a small sum of money. The loss didnt matter as much as the lesson i took back. If u want to play in casino, learn to enjoy the process, and treat money as an instrument of creating happiness and satisfaction. The money has to be disassociated from its intrinsic value it has to us, in other words we should TOTALLY feel that this could be lost without us raising an eyebrow. Just like if one goes disneyland or go shopping, we would inevitably spend some money. Going into a casino also entails some cost, and we could treat our losses as the entrance fee! Go in and prolong your enjoyment. When u win, splurge it on food or clothes later! When u lose, it doesnt affect u at all. Triumphing a casino battle warrants both a purpose and our psychology. We should have a appropriate entry and exit purpose (happiness). We should never ever let our emotions get strayed into materialistic realms. Mindset!

The Peak - Hiking up the trail to the peak was a great leisure and enjoyable activity that gave a different outlook to the entire trip. Firstly, this bore significant meaning to the "recreational" vs "rehabilitative" contrast. This time round, instead of healing, i do the opposite to challenge myself. Very rewarding and psychologically satisfying! I really look forward to another outdoor challenge in HK :)

Ok, thats all for now. I'm VVTi. Not the engine, it means Very Very Tired.