Winza

It’s probably already too late to say it now, but it was Chinese New Year on Sunday and the festival runs for a few weeks before and after it. This was the first time in 16 years that I spent the lunar new year in Hong Kong and I was amazed by how much red pocket money I could get one day, just by going to relatives and saying “Gong hei fat choi, sun nin fly lok, juk nei sun tai kin hong”, which translates to Good luck, happy new year and good health, although I don’t know exactly the meaning of gong hei fat choi - people just say it, so I follow them. I have received a total of over $700 on Sunday, which is the largest amount of money I ever received on Chinese New Year. The problem though, is that once people are married, they have to give money to those who are unmarried, which kinda sucks.

A parade was also held on Sunday evening at Admiralty, which we went to see and it was too crowded. By the time we got there, every possible viewing spot was jam packed with people. Being a shortie, I didn’t get to see most of the parade, but luckily towards the end of the show, I found a nice spot on the barriers and took some shots.

This was one of the more clearer pictures that I took while I was watching the parade

And all the money I got:

Okay…What does this mean?

I first thought this was some kind of made up word or Gibberish that does not have any meaning, but it is supposed to be a 13 word acronym that translates to Buying A Ticket Before You Get On Board Saves Time Or Problems Later. Nobody will ever memorise this ridiculously long acronym. In other words, it needs to be shortened for the message to get across.

Update: I just found a hilarious post on BATBYGOSTOPL

I went to disneyland with my family yesterday despite the hugely exaggerated controversies about the place. I was disappointed with the fact that visitors are not allowed to bring in food to the park and that bags were inspected prior to entering the park. However it was clear that they had to tighten up security in case of a terrorist attack, which I highly doubt because most visitors are either the locals or the mainlanders.
The park itself is split into four parts instead of five - Adventureland (A jungle-themed area), Fantasyland (A fairytale-like area), Tomorrowland and the Main Street. The park was small, but it was enough for a day’s visit. As I first stepped out of the MTR station, walked on the promenade toward the main gate, the music pretty much reminded me of Rollercoaster tycoon, a game which I was addicted to years ago. It makes me want to play it again.

I love photography, but I am not a fan of taking pictures with disney characters. However, to my suprise, my brother’s girlfriend took every opportunity to take pictures with disney characters. Apart from that I went on the Mad Hatter teacup ride, the Space Mountain rollercoaster, Buzz lightyear Astro Blaster and the disney railway. I had mild nausea after going on the former two. I also went on the Jungle cruise in Adventureland. The first elephant l saw looked real, but from the zebras onwards, everything seemed fake.

There were a few things, however which I thought needed improvement. First, the theatres needed to have rules and regulations clearly announced and written on the screen before starting the show. When I attended the Golden Mickey theatre, it was announced that only flash photography and video recording wasn’t allowed during the show, yet I was being told off by a cast member for taking pictures even though the flash was turned off. Another thing that annoyed me was the amount of queue jumpers at the park, mostly whom were visitors from mainland China. When I queued up for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, a kid then a women (mother and son probably) pushed in front of me.

Yesterday’s trip was nice overall, but I wouldn’t go for a second time. The rides were not too vigorous since it was aimed for the younger cohort, but I would prefer Ocean Park instead as it is cheaper and has more rides.

Photos from Disney will be updated here shortly

About a week ago, I got a phone call from my brother asking me what kind of iPod I would like. He knew that I have a shuffle so I thought it was weird of him making an IDD call asking that question. Christmas was over way long ago and we didn’t get used to the habit of exchanging presents. The answer came hours just I landed in Hong Kong. As I walked into the apartment on Monday, I saw a black, 2 GB iPod nano box sitting in the TV cupboard, unopened and sealed. I didn’t dare to touch it since I thought it belonged to my brother’s girlfriend. I was wrong and in fact, my brother got it because it was $500 HKD off from the retail price. He promised to give it to me as soon as I got myself a screen protector or a plastic case for it, which I bought the following day. I had mixed feelings about it because I already have an iPod shuffle, which was recently exchanged due to connection problems with my old one and that I had no problems with it except the fact it had no screen and there wasn’t any option to select songs. So, I left the iPod nano there for the next five days, touching the box every night and thing if I should either sell it on ebay or just open it. Finally, my dad offered to take my iPod shuffle and then I would get the iPod nano in return. I opened it tonight at last. It took me two days to figure out what my bro’s phone call meant and five days to decide whether I was going to take it.

I was only back on Monday, yet I have heard at least two “big” news on TV:

1. Cracks were found in some of the major components of KCRC’s train system. It would be scary to go on it thinking that it would cause it to derail. Despite all this, the public transport in Hong Kong is WAY BETTER compared to the transport system in Melbourne.

2. A dead Oriental Magpie Robin was tested postive for the H5N1 virus (in other words, the Bird Flu) and it was found in Tai Po in the New Territories. I knew the Bird Flu was going to eventually return to the city, but it was a matter of when. People around the city are already freaked out about it.