G.R.A.C.E Guts, Rythmic, Articulate, Endeavours

Provocative bikini pictures ? ;)

2005-10-06T02:13:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post on the subject mentioned above, since the picture of me in bikini has aroused so many interesting questions by my friends back home, which I find rather amusing.

"Oh wow, Grace, you're on bikini ?"
"Hey Grace, we are just looking at you bikini pictures! ;)"
"Oh hey, we are talking about you in bikini."
"Oh Grace, you're in 2-piece?"
"Grace I never thought you would wear bikini!"
"Oh Grace since when you become so open-minded? What has changed you? "
" Grace .........bikini ...Grace ....bikini ". Endless of it.

I find all these comments rather amusing and entertaining ;)

First - I'm not too conscious or too vain to show my not-so-sexy-nor-hot body in front of public. I always find my plain, uncurved, unwomenly and short frame size makes me look like a kid in bikini. I'm not fat. I tried to gain a little more weight so that I look more full and curved , despite all my local Hong Kong girl friends (in fact guy friends too) screaming for diet when they are even thinner than me :S For the name of the gourmet, it's too much price to pay ! There is even this middle-aged-lady working in administrative office of my apartment who keeps asking me how to I keep myself so fit, so thin and such perfect body . I always wind her up a little and tell her that I eat a lot to stay this fit! I like to joke around with her, I feel flattered when I see how her wondering eyes keep looking at my body and asking me the same question everytime she sees me, without fail.

Second - I always tell my friends that I got myself UNLEASHED in Hong Kong. It's true though. Being in Islamic country, we were brought up with all the decency we need by trying not to expose too much of our body in respect of the Muslims. And because I always get unwanted stares if I were on little-less-than-normal-standard clothing ( oh it's HOT, for god's sake! We have beautiful sunshine all the time. ), I always try to avoid. So I would get even more unwanted stares and whistles if I were on bikini on the beach - not becuase I'm sexy, because I have too little piece of clothes on ! Oh well, it would be different context if you were a 'Gui Po' * Caucasian women * because you are expected to be. But this doesn't apply on a Malaysian. Back to the subject, I am more than happy and feel so at ease to have bikini on at the beaches in Hong Kong because everyone else does. And I don't get curious stares because there are too many others to feed ice-cream for their eyes :)
The phenomenon of seeing someone wearing 1-piece swimwear to the beach is just as same as to seeing someone wearing 2-piece and busy doing several laps, back and forth in the swimming pool.

I love being on bikini at the beach, even though I might have got fat and all wrinkles when I turned old, I will still put on the that little 2-pieces when I'm on the beach, because that's what they are made for, and because I couldn't care more ;) I'm glad I amused you much on my bikini pictures :)

Counting the days ...

2005-10-06T00:51:00.000-07:00

I have been counting my days this month around. First on for my traineeship which is going to end in less than 2 months time. I almost forgot about the fact that I already been in Hong Kong for more than 4 months. The time I waited anxiously for my wroking permit to arrive in Malaysia feels like yesterday. And the time I spent so many sleepless nights thinking whether or not I should go to Hong Kong, or wait a little more time for my chance go to Europe perhaps. Time zoom past me like a bullet train, especially when it is a good one. When something comes to an end, it is mind-boggling and head-scratching time again to start making plans and start another new journey. This is the time when I hate most - decision making , which doesn't even sound helpful when I have a frickle mind. I'm at another cross-road in my life again. I came to another junction , wondering which way I should take. I came to Hong Kong, I saw Hong Kong myself ,and I fall in love with this city - a city so vibrant , so lively. I wanted to stay longer. And now I have less than 2 months time for my job hunting. I'm desperate. I'm frantically looking ways to stay a little bit longer.

But my dear friends, don't get me wrong. I love my country. I feel proud to be born in Malaysia, especially I feel so special when I 'impress' ( in a cheating way ?! ) so many people along the way when I'm in Hong Kong by my language abilities ( which of course is such common scene back home, where we converse in more than one language in our daily conversation ). But home is always home, you know that it is always there for you. Malaysia won't suddenly disappear from the Atlas Map in a day. I already spent enormous time in my life - the day I was born, my childhood, my teenage days, my young adulthood, breathing Malaysia air and stepping on Malaysia ground. I need to get out. To breath new air. To put my feets on a foreign ground. To bump around even though you know there are so many uncertainties or maybe obstacles await you, where I could just find my way home easily - my sense of security, where I can just cuddle comfortably in a safety net, EASILY. But I found my way out, after waited so long, after waited to fulfill all my commitments back home. But I'm not ready to go back, not yet. I will somehow, but just not yet.

And now this is my jigsaw puzzle - should I stay in Hong Kong ? Or should I venture out to another new journey, which I been wanted long, which I will sit in awe,looking at other people experiencing the journey I wanted, and green with envy when I look at pictures? I have had enough of sleepless nights on this. I will take any opportunities that come along the way now.

On a positive note, I'm counting my days to something beautiful happens :) Something delightful to lift up my spirits despite all the untolerable moments. Something to look forwards to , and to give myself a definite answer to all the question marks tangling on my mind. Soon though, less than a week time !

Roller Coaster Ride

2005-09-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

Okies, it has been like ancient years ago that I put up some updates here. I almost forgot that I owned a blog. So many happenings around for the past weeks or months that I find it almost impossible to narrate it down in words. Life was such a roller-coaster the past weeks and I swear it was perhaps the most adrenalin-gushing ride that I ever been on. But, I'm still alive and kicking in Hong Kong, not to mention surviving :) So how was the roller-coaster ride like ?

First Stage - All the way down !
---------------------------------

As the name suggested , my emotions went all the way down hill. The amount of tears that I had in the past one month was perhaps the accumulated volume of tears that I would have in my normal entire year , or maybe several meter squares of dry land could be moistured up with that amount of volume. And I'm not talking about world-crumbling/heart-breaking break-up, or earth-shaking fights with your partner, rather something so special, genuine, and so true. It spells FRIENDSHIP. When I first got to know this special group of friends, I know it wouldn't be long and it would come to an end in 2 or 3 months time when they started to leave. What I didn't know was that I would grow so much of emotions and bonding with them that it literally hurts so much when bidding farewell to every single of them. Especially all of these happenings took place in a foreign land. We denifinitely swept over Hong Kong under our feets in just 3 months time. And yasmin, I'm still taking this town over with my GIANT head :)

Second Stage - Surviving Skills
--------------------------------

I picked up fast ! After some heart-breaking farewells, we decided to get thing going and moving. And we went to this hidden paradise in Hong Kong - Tai Long Wan. A beach so secluded and heavenly that it took us approximately 6 hours to get there. Couple hours of bus and taxi ride , another hour and half of trekking. oh well , yes Cerille, paradise in Hong Kong needs a lot of efforts to reach... too bad :) But it was worth the efforts. No one else was in the beach except us , US ! We claimed the beach all by ourself !

On our way to the paradise ...

Innocent village kids ...

Still trekking ...

Below the trekking hill...

Up on the trekking hill ...getting close, getting close

Paradise from atop ...

Cliff-hanging !

Tai Long Wan

Third Stage - Back on track !
-----------------------------

I got myself back after a little while. Life is getting back on track for me and I will be taking it slow and sipping it slow like on the red wine. I start to have more time of my own to make my own plans and take charge of my life a little. I'm moving forwards and looking forwards to something good happening ... a whole new experience and beginning awaiting me ahead :)

Pitching high in Hong Kong !

2005-07-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

I vaguely remember the first time I done karaoke in my life was when I was 13, 14 years old ??! Didn't know much of the songs in the lounge's collection but I went because it was my friend's birthday. She was all hooked up with Sammy Cheng ( canton pop's queen ) by then. And every now and then, I still go karaoke back in M'sia but most of the time then not, it was an invitation rather than my own interest or initiative to go karaoke. Reason being was chinese and canton pop were never my cup of tea. And it's not because they don't have English songs ( well actually quite limited collection with petrifying and horrifying music videos ! ), but it's just all my karaoke-loving friends are no fan of English songs and I always ended up singing it by myself. A fact you have to know is that the trend-setter of karaoke is Hong Kong , which is good if you're harcore die-hard fan canton pop. The gist here is, KARAOKE is big in Hong Kong ! It's equivalent to the mahjong culture that embedded deep in the root of every Hong Kong people.

Well it's just not in the case in Europe and my European friends were agog with excitements to do karaoke. Well I'm as well, in this case, not the first-timer kind of excitement but rather the sheer thought of singing English songs with companies who enjoyed it excites me. I decided to take the group to this karaoke lounge recommended by Ricky and some local friends called Neway, 15 minutes walk from the student hall. The receptionist and the manager were delighted when they saw 20 patronizers came marching and taking over the reception hall of the lounge. I must admit this lounge has got some good marketing strategy for penetrating us ( or me since I'm the communicating point ) to take its package offered. After much chaos negotiation, we decided to take the 120HKD package which allow you to sing till wee hours 6am in the morning , with buffet dinner included , 2 free drinks and snacks!

To me, the highlight of my day has got to be the buffet dinner . I was jumping with joy like a kid when I saw the massive choice of food available. I was on top of the roof when I saw they served the fried rice wrapped with egg , exactly the "Nasi Pattaya" we have back home ! Sushi and deserts are just like icing topping the ice-cream. By this time I was drooling all over at the food ... couldn't wait any longer.

With good food to satisfy my appetite, the good songs feed my thirsty lust for music well. With people more than 8 nationalities gathering at the karaoke rooms ( Swedish, Danish, Swiss, Aussies, Greek, British, Finnish, Canadian, German, M'sian ), it was simply amazing to see us singing our lungs out at the common songs despite the differences of our own mother tongues. From oldies songs of Madonna, Bee Gees, Beatles, Frank Sinatra, U2 to cheesy songs of Britney Spears, Boyzone, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and etc, it was sheerly a good blend of the golden oldies together with modern cheesy and boyband hits.

It was a voice-pitching night indeed and suffice to say, all of us ended up with sexy husky voice to greet each other "Good morning!" the next morning. :)

Food !!

Here's the imitaton of the ever-famous Hong Kong style of posing picture - PEACE "V" sign. It's funny for me to see Annie & Kian, the British, getting the hang of it as well.

Me & Johy

Big screen of the room if case you forget the lyrics.

Big comfy room :)

Marcos and Sofia

Hilarious beach day

2005-07-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

Another sunny Sunday. Although with less than 4 hours of sleep, I was in high spirit of going to the beach. The PolyU student, together with the AIESECers organized this beach-cum-barbeque to a beach off Hong Kong Island called "Big Wave Bay". My bibble tells me that it is secluded bay compare to popular beach like Repulse Bay abd Stanley. We were astonished to find the place packed with beach-goers when we finally arrived there after 1 hour of bus ride.

As usual, the girls started with our ritual of sun-block application before we answered the irresistible call from the ocean. Once we were in the water, we were dumbstrucked. The water were full of pieces of unknown black things. Me and Cerille were shouting for life when we found some moveable items swimming around our feets. No offence, but I did felt like swimming in a sewer. But on a positive note, the bay does really serves its reputation well. The wave was so big that everytime it strucked or going to struck us, I was frantically holding up to my bikini, worrying sick my bikini will be gone with the waves ! It was really hilarious when I saw my other girlfriends awkwardly doing the same thing . So when I standing in the shallow water laughing my head off at them, a big wave strucked from behind, swept me off my feets and was made stumbling under the water. Served me well. Now it was Cerille's turn for some entertainment when she saw me awkwardly getting up from the water.

Of all the beach trips that I had in my life, this one will rank top for the most hilarious beach trip I ever had :)

The baby I 'kidnapped' from the beach :) Obviously she doesn't look as pleased as I am.

Top of the world !

2005-07-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

I can't remember when was the last time I actually did a hiking in Malaysia. Even if I had, those were the mild ones, like trekking in 'Gunung Kledang' in my hometown, which is now a childplay after what I did on last Sunday. When Kian suggested for a hiking in New Territories, the egotism in me was shouting for me to go. And usually, whenever I go visit or travel to a place, I always have the habbit researching the place before hand, a.k.a checking out in travel guide book, 'googling' on the internet and etc so that I have a brief idea of it and will appreciate the place more. But I was torn down by exhaustion the night before going to hiking hence I did very little research on our hiking place. I briefly know the route we were going to trek because Kian roughly pointed out the route for me and reassured me that it's going to a easy trail, but little did I know what seems like an easy and short hiking route on the Lonely Planet was magnified into the scale of 10.

And so, the 18 of us gathered together and bravely marched to the start point of the trail we were going to conquer in the next 1 and a half hour, at least all of us thought so. And Kian said so. All of us didn't have any doubts on it. Hence we started off our little adventure happily ...at least for the first 10 minutes...humming songs, appreciating the flora and fauna, worshipping the beauty of mother nature, feeling in heaven to be away from the hustle and bustle of the hectic city life for a while. Everything seemed perfect. Until the hot heat from the sun started to heat us up like the roasted pig and we started to sweat like a pool of human waterfall, as what Johan put it. Suddenly the humming of songs and worshipping started to turn into a tirade of swear words. Blame the heat. And to highlight the whole event of our hiking half way through our journey, we saw a sign written:

Just as the right type of information we need to know ! We are now a bunch of inexperience hikers without any equipment except for bottle of waters, sun-screen, banana ( couldn't understand why Markos brought a babana, which he ate it later before surrounded by monkeys after reading the sign of "No feeding of monkeys" ) and god know what else. The message might be a turn-off to most, but it acted like a booster for eogistic people like me to conquer the Lion Rock. Albeit I was swearing hard, I know I wanted to make it to the top. After 4 hours of leg-torturing journey, we finally drag ourself to trek 495m and make it to the top of Lion Top. I still can't believe I had trekked for 495m. A sense of satisfaction and accomplishment made up all the swearing and cursing along the journey.

By now, I can't no longer feel my feets. They were detach from me and being master of their own when we were trekking down the hill. My legs ached immensely the day after, as if being chained with extra pounds around my legs.

Albeit all the complaints and blaming, I enjoy every bits of it. It was one my proudest experience so far. Kudos, Kian !

Lion Rock's top

The 'bravery' groups :)

I made it !

At the top of Lion's Rock ...

Bird's eyes view ...

Bad idea of suiciding, guys ...

Not top yet !

Perfect beach day

2005-07-07T01:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday - 2/7/05
-------------------

I woke up 7am in the morning and looked out of my window. Sunny day with bright sunshine. A smile grew within my heart. This was a hint given to me as it had been raining cats and dogs for the past few weeks. The weather for the past weeks was really nasty and unpredictable. Even more unpredictable than the PMS syndrom of the women. As if running a mood swing competition against the women, it changes from cloudy to sunny and from sunny to rain, in just a blink of an eye, a click of the button , a strike of the lightening or any other best adjectives you can think and describe of.. Yes it was that fast. The hint was obvious. Perfect day for the beach. I trust my intuition and I'm glad it didn't disappointed me.

Without wasting any more time, I quickly went through my bibble a.k.a the travel guide book, looking for the nearest and good beach to go to. Repulse Bay , that's it ! It said on the book one of the popular beach in Hong Kong. I wouldn't want to compare the beaches in Hong Kong to the ones back in Malaysia because it will be pale in comparison to what we have in our tropical land. So I qucikly told Yurgo about my plan and asked him to gather all the IEASTE people as fast he can. Three hours later after we got our lunch and went for the bus ride, we find ourself lying on the beach of Repulse Bay. Amazing :)

Of course the water is not crystal-clear ( instead I noticed myself swimming with other unexpected companions like plastic bags other than with the girls), the sand has rocks which is big enough for me and Kian to play the Malaysian childhood game "Seven Stones", but then again ....we were having so much fun with everyone here engaging with their own activities ( for guys it were the 'Bay Watch' ;p , for girls were the frantic sun-block application competition ) , so who cares about the sand and sea as long as we were lying on one ?

It was my intuition and impromptu plan but everything else just fell nicely into without any pre-arranging or pre-planning. Perfect isn't it ? :)

How adorable ?

Look at the animated clouds !

Hairy yet 'macho' Greek boys - Chris & Yurgo

Just lazing around...

Repulse Bay

Caught in action.

grace & yasmin

'Survivors' of the sleepless night

2005-07-07T00:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a long weekend because Friday is a public holiday as it's the anniversary for the hand-over of Hong Kong to China. Hence we had 3 whole days of holiday. Couldn't miss this chance to do some outing and some sightseeing in Hong Kong, can't we ? And with the European friends around, they definitely know the way to get things heat up - clubbing. I let myself a little loose that long weekend and follow them for some 'wild' and 'crazy' nights. We decided to stay for the night instead of going back to the hall after the midnight movie on last Friday night because we were so 'enthusiastic' to see the flag rising ceremony in the Convention Centre in Wan Chai, which we told it would be held at 6am in the morning. This is also why we decided to stay in Wan Chai instead of going back because it's nearly impossible for us to wake up 5 am in the morning to get back to Causeway Bay. So a bnuch of the 'enthusiastic' people stay up the night in Wan Chai, thinking it would be like historical moment to watch the flag-rising. When it was near 5.30am, we started to head off to the Convention Centre. Interestingly, we were the first bunch of 'tourists' arrived there. It was so early that by the time we were there, the police on duty were just started to dividing their work shifts. And the worst thing was, we were told the flag-rising was on 8am and not 6am ! We were all too beaten up by exhaustion and fatigueness that we decided to go back home.

Back in Malaysia, if I were to asked to watch the celebration of the National Day in 'Merdeka Square', I would rather cuddle myself comfortably at home watching it live on TV rather than dashing to the place with million of people in the square. And look now, what were I doing in Hong Kong ? Stay up all night for the flag-rising ceremony ( well almost if we waited long enough ). Touristy, yeah , but hey, I'm the trainee now. And yes, I'm a tourist in Hong Kong. At least for the time being. By the time I end my traineeship, I shall able to answer if my friends ask me for the places to dine and travel in Hong Kong.

Kian having a supper in 7-ll (seven eleven)

Marcos enjoying his supper in 7-11. The package comes with rice and pork, not bad at all.

My first try on the darts.

Ladies of the night

All conquered ...

All beaten up by exhaustion ...

First bunch of tourist to arrive at Convention Centre on 1/7/05.

Proudly present to you the 'survivors' of the sleepless night ;)

Gourmet Hunting !

2005-07-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

If you are into food and gourmet, you probably should heard of the famous Hong Kong gourmet Choy Lan (or however it's spelled). I heard of him so many times on the newspaper and magazine back in Malaysia, especially the food center he opened where he searched high and low for the best representative cuisine of every countries. And he put together all his piece of work in this food center in Whampoa. And I heard that there is this restaurant in the food court which sell the exact same curry noodle of my hometown. How can I miss this chance now to see it myself since now I'm in Hong Kong ? So I brought along my Europeans friends to venture to this place I've never been. Suprisingly, the place was just 15 minutes walk from our student hall. How nice more could it be?

When I eventually found the place, I was really agog with excitement. I can't wait any longer to try the Ipoh curry noodles. We went inside and I tried to search for the noodle house. My search was to no avail. The noodle house stopped operating 7 or 8 months back. Feeling disappointed, I asked the counter officer to recommend the good shop to dine in. And we went for this restaurant selling 'Shi Chuan' dishes. Little did I realized we actually went for the best selling noodle house in Hong Kong. The waitress keep recommended me the Award Winning dishes, which of course the price is also 'Award Winning' expensive. All my adventurous European friends are daring enough for taking the spicy "dan dan" noodle. And if it means Shi Chuan food, you should know they are reknown for their spicyness. I must really said I was really impressed by them for their good sport on trying new things. The noodle is a little spicy for me, so you can imagine how spicy is it for my dear European friends.

But, again, we had the finest meal of the night. And we did it accidentally. My day was made. Oreos ...

Written "Choy Lan" Whampoa Gourmet Place ...

You could tell the spicyness of the 'dan dan' noodles from this picture

The queue waiting outside the restaurant ...

Johan in action

The Award Winning dish..nice slices of the chicken meat

Cultural difference ?

2005-07-05T02:02:00.000-07:00

Being able to converse in the core language of both western and eastern, I have uncountable advantages living in Hong Kong. Although the ability of speaking multilanguage back home in Malaysia is no big deal ( as most of us speak at least 2 languages and we converse, at least in my case, more than 1 language in my daily conversation), but here in Hong Kong I'm getting a taste of the benefits I'm gaining :) I never felt more proud than I am now being as a Malaysian, having bred in a multiracial environment. Although my initial thought of going Hong Kong doesn't excite me much because of the similiarity of the culture hence little cultural indifference and cultural exposure or shock that I wanted to experience so much, but spending time with the new European friends (non-AIESEC) sort of make up the little piece of puzzle missing of my traineeship in this canton island , which is a good thing :) The more I spend time with my new made European friends, the more I realized I am more Asian than I thought in so many ways. Very often than not, I must admit I'm not being very Chinese back home in Malaysia in some ways.

With the differences in lifestyle, mindset, way of thinking , way of communicating, culture, family background, in this case, country background , and etc, it takes more patience, tolerance , acceptance than usual to blend in harmonously without causing any conflicts. And I am usually the type of person who wants nothing but to please everyone and try to be a good sport in any occasions. The very crucial cultural lesson I learned in AIESEC is to understand and respect other people's culture especially sensitive issue like religion and belief ( especially with Malay friends around it's a very sensitive issue ). At least if not cultural wise, the basic mannerism of commnicating with people. So when this new friend told me off rudely to ask me to get off her towel when I was back from a swim in the beach , I was caught off guard. I thought my ears was deceiving me when she said " Get off my towel now. I mean it." I took more than few seconds to digest what I've just heard. As if I couldn't believe what I've just heard, she repeated " I'm serious. Get off of my towel now." My other girlfriend pulled me out of the confusion and shock when she saw the incident. I still didn't know what just happened and was too shock to give any reactions. If I'm don't hold myself back , I would have snapped back at her. But I don't want to spoil the atmosphere and the fact we were having so much fun at the beach, so I discarded all the emotions that was swelling up in me. Cultural difference? I don't think so.

But then again, everything happens for a reason. Tough situations or bad incidents might irritates or get your on your nerves, but if we succeed in not letting it hold up to our emotions or let emotions control us, well we learnt and we are moulding ourself to be a much wiser person.

Despite all these, I find myself being more open-minded than I was before towards new things, new people with different characteristics and new environment. And I'm loving it. Differences won't draw you apart, it only make things more interesting that it draw us more closely together.

"Mabuhay" - all about Philiphines !

2005-06-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

If you are observant, you'll notice that I've been overwhelmed( in a good way )with a lot of Philipines culture lately. Ceha and Happy ( trainees from Philipines) have done a good job as their country's ambassador. I reckon that the Philipines's spell work its way to me just like what Thailand did to me till I took up Thai language lesson. There were mainly 3 simple ingredients of the Thai's spell :

1st - A handful of warm and genuine people.
------------------------------------------------
It's always the first impression that decide whether or not I like the country.

2nd - A taste of the country's music.
-------------------------------------------
In Thailand case study, it was Bird Tongcai - the famous evergreen singer of Thailand with fans aged from 3 to 70. No exaggerations. You can 'google' on him :)

3rd - An exposure of the culture.
---------------------------------------
Thai culture still resides a big part in me.
How can I not like 'Tom Yam Kung'(tom yam prawn), 'Pad Thai'(Thai fried noodle),'Khao Pad Sapparot'(pineapple fried rice) or 'Gang Kiau Wan Gai'(green curry chicken)?
How can I not fancied by the history of 'King of Ramayana' nor the polite manner adopted by Thai like referring anyone elder with "Pee" or anyone younger with "Nung"?
Or just by saying "Sawasdeeka" with hands put together as a way of greeting people?

And now the Philipine's spell work its way as below :

1st - The warm , bubbly, and affectionate Philipine's ambassadors.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Namely animated, expressive and affectionate Cerille and happy-go-lucky Happy. (as the name suggests)

2nd - The heart-melting local famous acoustic band.
-------------------------------------------------------
Nyoy Volante.
You can pay a visit to http://www.clickthecity.com/event/detail.asp?evid=11513
If you are interested, you can let me know and I'll get you a copy. ( privillege given to my friends only)

3rd - My first try on Philipines food.
------------------------------------------
Enjoy it so far.

I was invited to join the Philipines babes and Ceha for a Philipines cuisne in a Indonesian-cum-Malaysian-cum-Thai-cum-Philipines restaurant-cum-bar called "Cinta J". (read :"Cinta" in Malay means love, well J ,hmm.. go figure) We ordered this sago drink ( I forgot the name ), a beef cooked with a spagettie-like sauce ( *slurp*), a supposed-to-be 'sambal kangkung'(which turned out to be kangkung with chilies & spices) and my highlight of the meal , a egg-york custard ( and I forgot the name too, pardon me).

We enjoyed the dinner to the bits , suffice to say. And just when I felt it's one of greatest satisfaction of my day, the Philipines duo live band top it all up. From Brazil samba & cha cha songs to the greatest love songs of all, the Philipines duo spices up the vibes in the restaurant. The Brazillian patronizers who dined in the restaurant were moving their hips to the samba and cha-cha.

Well, great dinner, great vibes ,great songs and with great people around, what more can you ask for ? I was already feeling in cloud nine - am in my beach wear having a great meal in a restaurant by the beach in one of the exotic islands in Philipines :)

"Cinta J"

"San Miguel" beer

The Philipines duo band

Satisfied patronizers

The desert :)

New addiction - 'Nyoy Volante'

2005-06-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

If there's a quickiest way to get you into the mood of romance, Nyoy Volante is the one.I 'fell in love' instantly after I listen to the album of a Philipines singer borrowed from Happy. Nice and simple acoustic guitar songs , just the way I like it. The singer is called 'Nyoy Volante'. If you enjoy songs like 'Kau Ilhamku' by Mumbai or 'Belaian Jiwa', oh you gotta listen to this album. Below is my personal favourite :

What do I do ?
- by Nyoy Volante
Acoustics: Nyoy With Mannos

What would you do if I told you that
All that I do's think of what we had
What would you do if I'm not the friend I used to be
Well, at least, not to me

'Cause I can't get over all the times you stay
Get crazy, jealous every time you're away
Now I'm someone different from the one you knew
Had nothing to feel for you, to feel for you

What do I do
I keep calling out your name
What do I do
I got no one else to blame
What do I do
Every time I hold your hand, it's not the same
What do I do
I think I fell in love with you

What can I do, what can I say
Everything keeps changing every night, every day
Every word so diff'rent, every touch so real
Every glance and every look reveals the way I feel

No, it's never ever gonna be the same
When we hug for warmth from the cold of the rain
Yet I'm not gonna move on, not gonna change
Though I find it hard to say, baby

I don't know what to do
I'm fallin' more for you
Baby, please tell me...

CODA
Ooh oh
What do I do

Oh Cerille promised to get me to see Nyoy in person if I ever go to Philipines. For the time being, I will drunk myself in Nyoy's voice. This song is dedicated to everyone back home or you who are reading my blog.

Nostalgia ...

2005-06-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

AIESEC in Hong Kong was having their national conference last weekend and the trainees in HK were invited for a trainee session. I dragged along my fellow new European friends in PolyU ( there are like 30 more Europeans to arrive for a 2 or 3 months placement in PolyU under a program called IAESTA , pretty similar to AIESEC except that we don't have IAESTA in Malaysia). Attending AIESEC conference brings back all the nostalgia... the square dances, roll-calls, sculling ..only this time I'm in the role of a trainee, which make me feel special. When you are out of AIESEC, you'll realize there are really more than AIESEC in your life than the wonderland. The only thing missing is perhaps the amazing friendship you gained in AIESEC. Especially in the trainees circle, everyone link to someone in every part of the world and hence everyone know everyone. It really makes the world seem a whole lot more smaller !

The trainees and non-AIESEC trainees

Fung, Ricky, Jess, Smith, me, Cerille, Carol, Candy & Cherrie

Me up for a sculling , for the 1st time as trainee team

Yurgo, Cerille, Happy (Philipines) and me

My beloved people from PolyU

It's a GUYS' night out !

2005-06-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

When Andy (AIESEC trainee from UK) suggested for go to the horse-racing in Happy Valley, I was too tempted to say no, even though it means that I'm the only girl going with a handful of guys ( 7 Europeans and few other local guys). First reason being : I never watch a horse-racing before ..on live, I mean! Another being I want to give everything a try before I said 'no'. Especially now when I'm on a traineeship in a foreign land, everything is new to me. I do not want to shut down something I never try. The horse-racing rink is huge, I mean massive huge and I'm suprised to see a lot of Europeans around ( my initial thought was to expect lots of local gamblers). The whole hightlight of the horse-racing was only for the few seconds - right before the jockeys reach the finishing lines where the gamblers will shout for their bets. Andy won 6 dollars from his bet , better than none :)

We got off a while later because none of us are major gamblers and we got a little bit bored. The next destination we went is a little interesting. We went to Wan Chai ( where all the pubs and clubs concentrated ). Before this visit to Wan Chai, I was curious to find out the place especially once Philip ( French trainee ) told me that " Lan Kwai Fong is for the good girls and good boys and Wan Chai is for the bad girls and bad boys." Wouldn't you be enticed more to check out Wan Chai after such comments ? We first went to this club called " Klong " to meet up Michelle and friends. Once I was in the club, I quickly grabbed what Philips meant, even when I was walking on the street in Wan Chai. Wan Chai reminds me on the red light district in Thailand and a street in Patong Beach in Phuket. Along the street you'll be entertained by the non-local girls ( I'm not sure of their nationality but their features tell me they are either Thais, Philipines or South-East Asian girls) wearing very little clothes standing in front of their shops awaiting for customers. All along the streets or in the pubs or clubs, you can hardly find any locals. There are only Europeans , white men and the south-east asian babes. Just like when I was in Patong beach in Phuket, I can find none Thais except for the shop owners. All others who occupied the street are only Europeans and Caucasians. Once I got into the "Klong", I felt uneasy. It's not like my first visit to clubs or pubs. Back in KL, I club occasionally and I enjoy it.. the music, the dance. But here in Wan Chai, I felt like I'm one of the girls waiting to be picked up by the desperate white men. And when we got off from this club to go to another one, there are even girls dancing on the table ..interesting and almost sexy ... almost but not quite. Finally Andy (British), Josin (US), Niko & Yurgo ( from Greece ), Johan ( Swedish ) , Kian ( British ) and me settled down at a place where we can finally sit down properly and get a drink whereby Michelle and her girlfriends stayed at the other club for more dancing. The previous places are just so darn crowded and it was only Wednesday night ( imagine how would it be like on weekends ! ). I didn't realized I was drinking a little more than my usual volume until I went back home feeling my room going upside down. A free vodka coke for the ladies from the first pub and a bottle of Corona ( I still dislike drinking beer but it's the cheapest! ) makes my head spin. Now that I've been to Wan Chai, I would say my preference still go to Lan Kwai Fong. I'm not too much of a pubs or clubs goer. I enjoy occasional drinks in the pub but not a die-hard club goer who visit on every weekends. I no longer see the point nor does the activity spell the word 'meaningful' to me. Too much of anything spoils everything I guess.

Too many of GUYS'night out makes me anticipated for the outing this weekend where girls are the dominating ones :)

Kian (UK) and Johan ( Swedish )

Josin ( US )

the horse-racing rink

the jockey

the rest of us

cheeky ride

finally a proper place for a seat and drink

Yurgo teaching the guys some Greek dance

Andy & Johan

I'm loving it ! slurp slurp

2005-06-15T02:55:00.000-07:00

Today post is about the chinese favourite - FOOD. People might eat to live, but to chinese is all about living to eat. I wish all my food-loving friends are here with me so that I can share with them all the arousing gourmets that they have here in Hong Kong. Raised by a food-loving family and grew up in a small city reputated as food paradise - Ipoh, I am pretty much quite a gourmet-lover. During the weekend, one of my family favourite thing to do in town is food hunting. Though a food-lover, my stomach is pretty tolerant and flexible with me. If I have the money, my stomach will automatically craving for some good food. If not, she will tolerate with whatever food I feed her. Or if I want to save money for some travelling, she will be very understanding. Ever since I went to KL (read : Kuala Lumpur) for my studies, what matters to me at that time was to eat to live. KL has different standard of good food, in terms of the diversion of cuisine, you can have it all in KL. In terms of chinese local food, it's incomparable with my hometown. Till my favourite item in KL is still the mamak food. You know what I mean :) Price for the food in Hong Kong is expensive. If I go further on telling you the price, it probably kill your appetite. But if you are earning like the local standard, oahh lala ~~ let's go food hunting ! Enjoy the pictures below. I'll upload more if I have the time. ( It has become a ritual for me to take pictures of the food before I devour them.)

Asking me to diet like the local Hong Kong girls ??!! With these food around ??!! No way ! I would rather swim a few rounds to keep myself fit, healthy and at the same time, enjoying the biggest satisfaction of a human being -- LIVE TO EAT.

"What a city ! What a place ! "

2005-06-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Today is exactly the 10th day I've been in Hong Kong. The past 10 days I was pretty much preoccupied myself with familiarize with my working environment, my living environment, travel to every nooks and corners in Hong Kong for the fanta-bulous food and the postcard-like scenery, and also busy spreading out my network of friends. To summarize things :

My living place

Pretty much I mentioned it in the previous post. But wait, there are more ! I almost find myself discovering more and more facilities available in student hall everyday.Ok well, apart from the sport facilities(swimming pool of course!),game's room, mind you ..there are karaoke's room ( Hongkie's favourite pastime) and snooker room ( !!! ), I've just found out today there are 2 piano rooms at my service !! Loving it, and of course the computer lab which opens till 2am !

The night venture

Every evening after work, I'll engage myself with my little venture to the nightlife in Hong Kong. It's either going out to Mong Kok for their finger-licking food, or just cruising the boat to get to Hong Kong Island. On Tuesday night, Chu Poh (another M'sian trainee who has been in Hong Kong for 3 months) invited me to a tour of the Hong Kong nigihtline. I asked along Niko ( a Greece boy who arrived in Hong Kong the same day I was, work and stay at the same place).I had the most amazing night in my life. We went to this ICF, the tallest building in Hong Kong, and took the escalator to the podium. Both Niko and I was too amazed by the neon-light skyscrappers ( not to say I've never seen it before in KL ,with our pride - the twin towers and tall buildings but when you're living in KL, you seems to take thing for granted and would not go to the tourist spot unless for certain occasions).Now I'm in the position as a tourist, so here goes. Unfortunately, both of us camera played trick on us that night, mine was running low of battery and niko's running low on memory space. So while we were swearing and cursing at our cameras, Chu Poh was taking out a tripod from his suitcase, setting up and searching for a perfect spot to capture the pictures. We were like the little kids getting our first pictures took in our life. I even got too excited that I stepped into this water division at podium (damn!). So for the rest of the night, we have our own professional photographer with us (the on-site photographers who were waiting for customers at the habour sites was amazed by Chu Poh's magic camera..haha) and the puctures we took , well, it's beyond words that can be explained. Check out my online album. So the whole night, there are only 2 sentences coming out from Niko: "What a city ! What a place! ". We both agreed we can spend the rest of our days just to lay under under the skyline at the podium.

The people

Im right now jotting down all the places i wanna visit in HK and conquer it one by one. But so far, my social life been great because I hang out with the @cers, with the Malaysia trainee Chu Poh, Rebecca (the HK gal from IDC in India) and well as for other trainees, so far I've only met them once, that was one of the trainee's birthday party. I would love to hang out more with the other trainees in HK but too bad I was staying pretty far from them . Most of the trainees are staying in the North Point in HK Island and I'm staying on Hung Hom in Tsim Sha Zhui (parted by the water front.

Anyway, I got to meet the HK Isand trainees at the party the other night and we went to Lan Kwai Fong !!!! Yes ..hahha I was in Lan Kwai Fong ( the Hong Kong version of Bangsar - well, or should I say the Bangsar last time)! The place was really dominated by the ang mo but I felt safe even walking back to the bus station with Niko to get back to the other island because there are police guarding around the place even at 2 am. But I didn't enjoy myself much that night because I was going to the Lan Kwai Fing with Niko and he's not used to going to place like that and he dislike it. He used tissue to stuck into his ear beccause the music was too noisy for him ! It was hilarious but I feel bad and couldn't really dance to my heart knowing the fact he was standing at the corner suffering. So I went off back to Hung Hom with him earlier to our place while the other trainees went pub-hopping.The cover charge was dirt expensive !! 100HKD (RM50) withouth a single drip of drinks ! Ok, fine for the 1st experience because I really wanna check out the place.

The food

I think the nickname Baby Elephant no longer working here in HK for me. Until today I still cannot finish the portion of every meals.The Hong Kong gals are shouting for diet, diet and diet with their perfect weight but at the same time consume that big portion of food every meal ! The 8 wonders of the world ! If I were lacking of walk or do not do any work out in the gym or swim, I'll be going bk to M'sia with 10 more kgs of fatss !

Till then , take care everyone in M'sia.

Much love,
Grace

Greeting from the Pearl of Orient

2005-06-02T05:14:00.000-07:00

Greeting from Hong Kong finally !

So many things happened in the past 60 hours I encountered in my life .Am so tired trying to settle everyting down but of course the excitement of encountering new environment, new people and new place is definitely there. I'll relate my happenings in HK part by part.

Oh before that, million million thanks to Eric, Bonnie and Sze Mun who pay me a suprise send-off at the airport ! It's heart-warming to see you guys at the airport. Even more heart-melting with Eric and Vkin's gift :) Your gestures and thoughfulness put a big smile on my face even when I'm on the plane (despite the mishap happened to my flight)

My flight to HK was not even close to smooth at all.I boarded the plane, sitting comfortably and enjoy my BOTTOMLESS orange juice while the cabin capten announced that the flight will be delayed 45 to 50 mins due to technical problems. But we ended up waited for whole TWO hours on the plane and later directed to get out of the plane to change plane. 10 minutes later we are directed back to the flight after the problem was fixed. So now I'm 2 hours late and I don't have a simcard with me to contact the AIESECers in Hong Kong !

Lucky me but pity goes to the AIESECers who waited for me at the airport for 2 hours.Ricky, Smith, Candy and Fung were the first 4 AIESECers I met once I arrived at the airport.We boarded a 45 minutes bus journey to get to my place, Tsim Sha Zhui. When we got down from bus to get to my place, the bus stopped at a different location that they thought, which later I found out that we actually missed our station. So end results : 3 MACHO guys dragging my almost 30kg trolley luggage and me with my 8 kg backpacks, strolling and walking for seems to me the longest 30 mins in my life in the middle of the night to get to my place.And for the records, we were strolling at the most beautiful water front in Hong Kong (the habour), with the most amazing night view of the whole Hong Kong Island across.I was a little too tired to enjoy then.

Bad things happens and it leads to another. The room which I was informed to be a single room during my previous communication with Tiffany before was occupied by a CHINA lady. She was all grumble and complaning when we go into the room, wakening 4am at night by some total strangers.It was a shocking and awkward moments for both parties.She was shocked ( who wouldn't be anyway?) because there were 4 strangers standing outside of her room in the middle of the night.I was shocked because I didn't't expect a roomate. Less than 3 hours sleep , we try to quiry the office the next morning on this matter and it seems to be another misunderstanding. So the following 2 days I were just trying to sort this issue out. But just like in Malaysia, there were so many biocracy and red-tape procedures involved if I want to move into the student hall. But with Prfessor John Gilleard's influencial status and help, I finally get to move in to the student hall right away.

I'm wondering is it just the student halls in Malaysia lousy or is it just the student hall in Hong Kong are too fancy and luxurious ? It's like the pricely condominium in Malaysia. I get a room by myself with a refrigerator, phone (btw, using fix-land to make phone calls are free of charge!), air-con ( it's air-conditioned in the whole building of student hall anyway), private bathroom shared with another room.The air-condition operates with the residential card where you'll top-up the card and be charged everytime you switch on the air-con.Talking about the advent use of smart card, Malaysia still have room of improvement to work on.

Moving on to my 'boss', Professor John Gilleard, he is a typical English man from London who is too nice of a person. He's more like a caring father than a Professor. Unlike most Hongkies who are still very ignorant about Malaysia, he had been an expatriat in S'pore for 4 years and M'sia for a short period. Basically spending most of his time in Asia countries.My job task here is pretty much of a research assistant. Like the other few trainees working in PolyU. But in my case it's a little ambiguous.The other trainees working in PolyU are under other LCs but working in PolyU. As for me, I'm the first trainee of AIESEC in PolyU and working in PolyU.

Anyway, that leads to another story. Will talk more on the interesting observations I've made on the culture, travel, places and people in Hong Kong on the next post !

Check out for more photos at : http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pooikuan82/my_photos

p/s : Hong Kong do a double charging on all mobile phone users, meaning you'll not only be charged making calls, but be charged on receiving calls too.Though using fix-line phone to make local calls are free of charge.

I can be reached at (office hour) +85227667801 , (room's phone)+85231591804, (in case couldn't reach me at both, this is my mobile) +85262083021 (correction ! i wrote the wrong one last time, this one is the correct one!)

With much love from the Pearl of Orient,
Grace

Alas my uncertainy has put to an end !

2005-05-25T03:07:00.000-07:00

After much gruesome waiting, furstration, disappointment, uncertainties and much much much much ado, I'm FINALLY taking off to Hong Kong on next Tuesday. I think even my friends with whom I told about this traineeship 2 months back can now sigh with a relief that they are finally rid of me and stop hearing my complaints about the delay and the waiting.

With me getting prepare for another chapter of my life, it been great knowing my friends getting on well with their own chapter of life. Being the worshipper of everything but nothing conventional, choosing to work in an unfamilar territory 2 months right after finishing uni is nothing more but been in my die-die-also-must-do list long . I could have just satisfied myself with a job in Malaysia, having a comfortable and well,hmm secured and 'certain' life. But I know myself too well that I would be grumbling 2 months later or quitting my job to go travel, or just getting out of Malaysia.

Anyway,with much elation, I better off to pack my stuffs which is spreading all across my room.Next update will be written from Hong Kong, for sure !

Pre-traineeship predicament

2005-04-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

Supposingly I should be writing this post from Hong Kong now, but the fact is, my traineeship got delayed. And I haven't stepped foot in Hong Kong yet. I'm still very much breathing Malaysia air and stepping on the Malaysia land.

It can be frustrating when you're all agog with excitement, getting yourself all prepared to embark the new venture in life but all of the sudden landed with a bomb. It's like a kid excitedly dressing up for his first day to school and having his mum tells him that the school temporily closed for unforseen circumstances. Definitely in my case, my TN manager in Hong Kong and I are in passive role and we can't do anything but to wait for the Immigration Dept in Hong Kong to speed up their work. By now, I truly understand the exact feelings of our trainees coming down to Malaysia and all the pre-traineeship predicaments they had been facing.

Farewells are bid, friends were met and were told by the excited gal that she'll be leaving on May. Seems like I'm having indefinite number of farewells when my friends said " Eh, I thought you're in Hong Kong now!" or " Ahh...call me again when you're really leaving.". Waiting is still bearable, but it is the uncertainty of the whole situation that gave me butterflies in my stomach.

It really been a gruesome wait ! This traineeship better be a blasting one ! At least I'm make sure it will be one !

Praying I'll be in Hong Kong before June!

Farewell dinner for the leaving ones..

2005-03-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

It's pretty thrill to know that 3 individuals from our batch are actually taking our steps into experiencing AIESEC products which we have been exposed so much to ever since our 1st year. Michelle off for 3 months to Japan on 1st of April, Amalina off for 3 months to Thailand on mid of April and me myself off to Hong Kong for 8 months.

An impromptu farewell dinner was put to us by Alifah (thanks gal!), with a considerably good turn-out for such impromptu planning. It's more heart-warming when more of our seniors are turning up..Bryan, Siao Chew, Sze Yeen, Beng :) !

Here's some snapshots ...

Dear friends, just my acknowledgement !

2005-03-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

I've invited you to view this blog I've just created merely because you're my circle of friends with whom I wish to keep close contact with when I'm away from homeland to have my traineeship in Hong Kong. I do not wish coming back from Hong Kong later not knowing what have you been up to and for you to wonder whether I have been abducted by alien during this period :)

For those who haven't known yet, I've got a traineeship with AIESEC to work in Hong Kong for 8 months ..starting from 1st of May till 31st December ...as a PA ( Personal Assistant) to Professor Gileard John in Hong Kong PolyTechnic University. I'll be staying inside the campus ( another campus life..hmm) *for good* I hope.

For those planning for trip to the 'Canton Island', I'm more than happy to see familiar faces there ! After all with AirAsia, now everyone can fly.

p/s: I'm still figuring how does this blogspot thingy works.. please be patience with me. This is where I'll be working ...

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

That's all from me. Happy Holidays for those who are having theirs and Happy Working for those who are!