I’m going to Hong Kong…again

Last year was a year filled with travel to places I’d never been before and would never have gone were it not for work. One of the places I visited was Hong Kong. I have two friends from Uni that were pursuing their specialization there whom I hadn’t met since I graduated. So when I got a pretty reasonable ticket (with AirAsia , of course) I made a decision to go.

With my uni friends

Now, Hong Kong has never been on the top of my travel list. I’m one of those people who prefer more to visit countries where English is the main language…very closed minded maybe but at least I know that I won’t be in a situation where I don’t understand anything and can’t even be sure of what I eat! Hence, I'm staying away from China...for now.

The lovely night skyline of Hong Kong from Victoria's Peak

Anyways, so I bought my ticket to Macau (it was cheaper than flying direct to HK) and thought that I’d make the most of it. Truth be told, both Hong Kong and Macau exceeded my expectations. Of course, my expectations were pretty low in the first place…Young Padawan had scared me with enough of her Hong Kong stories to make me really wonder if the trip was a good idea. And no one I knew had actually been to Macau recently so I didn’t have anything to go on.

The amazingly huge Coach store at Causeway Bay

Hong Kong truly is a great place for shopping…if you’re into harajuku-ish fashion. But, I did manage to find great bargains at the Zara and MNG. Also, I got to go to my first ever H&M store. My bf had been telling me about how good it is and all but I was pretty skeptical…I mean, guys don’t really get women’s fashion right most of the time. Well, shame on me for ever doubting what he said :)

H&M at Langham Place, Mongkok Station

It was fate that there was an H&M store just 10 minutes from my hostel room. And from the moment I stepped into the store, I knew that H&M was just perfect for me. With that began my love affair with the brand. I got really lucky when I went to the US for my training as well because there was an H&M store just a 5 minute bus ride away. Needless to say, in the two weeks that I was in the US I visited the store 5 times! It was fate I tell you

Anyway, the point of this terribly long post, is that I shall be making a trip to lovely Hong Kong again next month. It’s for work this time around but I’m pretty sure I can cram in a few hours to pay homage to H&M. Now, I’m just waiting to find out where my hotel will be so I can find the closest store and plan my trips…hehehe.

Hong Kong Times Square...I think there's an H&M here ;)

Hmm…I should really start figuring out what I want to get…and save some $$$.
Happy, happy days ahead.

Moments that make you sigh...

*WARNING* Incredibly mushy and soppy post ahead. Please do not read if you believe that public declarations of affection and love should not be allowed.

Now that I got that over with...I just have to say that I have the BEST boyfriend in the whole, wide world. I mean, seriously, he's wonderful...and his most recent act has brought me close to tears. So I just had to blog about it.

I just got back from a trip to Hong Kong and Macau today. I stayed 2 nights in Hong Kong and 1 night (last night) in Macau. The trip was planned way before I even had a bf and the main aim was to go meet a couple of Unimates and also check out the hype about HK and Macau.

For those of you who know me long enough, you'll know that I'm mostly an independant traveller. I don't mind going to a place by myself and do the whole tourist thingy alone. I never usually have to go somewhere with a companion because sometimes, it's just much easier travelling without having to pander to the whims and fancies of a travel mate. But, this time I wasn't really going to be alone...not in HK anyways coz I have 2 Unimates doing their masters there so they were my tour guides & shopping buddies for the 3 days I was there. However once I got to Macau yesterday, I was on my own.

See, my bf is Portugese and as we all know, Macau was a Portugese colony up until about a decade ago. So imagine the excitement in his eyes before I went as he told me what I should see and what I should eat and all. He truly did want me to get as much a taste of Portugese culture as possible and being a curious person, I really wanted to know if Macau would be all it was cracked up to be.

Thing is, once I got to Macau and checked into my hotel room, it was already 4pm. I got out as quickly as I could coz I wanted to see as much as possible before it got dark and all. Somewhere around 5.30pm after I had seen the Ruins of St. Paul's church, it started to rain so heavily that I was forced to take refuge at a cosmetics store to wait out the storm. At that moment, surrounded by beautiful Portugese buildings, the heavy rain pouring and being all alone in a sea of couples, families and tourists, all I could think of was "I really wished he was with me now"...

30 minutes later, the rain subsided and in my damp and lonely-ish state, I continued to walk around some of the popular streets of Macau and check out a casino or two before heading back to the hotel.

Now come the mushy part. Today after getting home, I called my bf up and told him I missed him like crazy especially when I was in Macau. With so many things being Portugese and all it was hard not to think of him and I really did wish he was with me coz he would have made the experience so much better. Then he told me "I was going to come see you...in Macau". I paused...what did he mean? He then went on the explain that he had tried all week to reach his cousin, saying that he thought he'd fly in on Saturday, spend a day with his cousin and the on Sunday when I came to Macau, he wanted to surprise me at the Ruins of St. Paul's church.

He had told me about his cousin in Macau and he had even said that he wanted his cousin to meet me and pass him something for him. All week, I was aware that he was trying to contact his cousin but he couldn't seem to get a hold of him. His frustration at this got me annoyed coz I thought why not just give my number to his cousin and when I get to Macau, we can just co-ordinate a meeting. He had asked if his cousin could meet me at the Hotel I was staying at but I didn't tell him my hotel details coz I thought it would just be too troublesome for his cousin. So since I didn't get any calls on Sunday from his cousin, I assumed that the meeting wasn't going to work out.

Imagine my surprise then when he tells me today that he wanted all the info so that he could come see me himself...just to be with me and visit Macau together. He even talked to my brother about it...But when he found out that his cousin was in Thailand until the end of the month, and he didn't have the details of my hotel nor the exact plans of my travels (I don't really have a set travel schedule I stick to, you know), the whole plan couldn't work...so he didn't come. But the thought that he actually was willing to just buy a ticket and come be with me, all the way in Macau...it really touched me and I nearly cried. No one has ever done anything so remotely sweet and romantic for me...ever.

His plans may not have worked out but he has given me something far more wonderful in return...the feeling of knowing that I am wanted by a loving and wonderful man who makes me feel on top of the world with his beautiful gestures. Now I simply can't wait to go to Macau again, and this time with him...sigh :)

A drive in the countryside...

Part of my job description is to maintain relationships with clients and to find out if they have any issues with our products. This entails having to visit the clients, where ever they may be. Just my luck that we have few clients in the countryside and when I mean countryside, I mean more than an hours drive from KL and in the middle of palm oil estates or paddy fields.

Yesterday, I drove to Sabak Bernam. For those who do not know where that is...it's actually a district of Selangor about 2 hours drive from KL city centre. Truth be told, I had absolutely no idea how to get there. I usually only use the NSE, NKVE, Sprint, LDP, etc...basically, any higway that is on the traffic news on Hitz.fm. I have not been on any trunk roads in ages, let alone drive on them. So, going to Sabak Bernam was truly an adventure especially since I went by myself.

Anyways, thankfully it was a beautiful day with wonderfully blue skies. And the scenery was amazing. I haven't been on a drive in such a long time that I felt like I was in another country. The roads were not fantastic...but the bumbs and irregularities did make for an interesting drive. Hehe. There were lots of palm oil estates, some paddy fields and even a herd of cows! So cool! Yes, I have seen cows but, it's been a while.

The long road to Sabak Bernam

Just look at how blue the sky is...sigh

After 2 hours I reached my destination...a small town called Sungai Besar. While trying to look for my clients office, I called him to let him know where I was. But...he tells me that he has a last minute meeting with his boss that he absolutely just has to go for. He then tells me that he'll call me as soon as he's done because it shouldn't take too long. So to kill time, I thought I'd look around the town.

Since the town is so small, it didn't take me long to find a place that seemed okay for me to waste time at. There was a KFC, a The Store and a few other shops. I parked my car and proceeded to look around. What can I say, there wasn't anything too out of this world (not too sure exactly what I was hoping to find though). Managed to buy some stuff for the apartment. Tracy sent me an sms and asked me to get dishwashing liquid and laundry detergent. So, I thought why not just get it from The Store.

For lunch, I decided to eat at KFC...it seemed like the most single-friendly place around and I wasn't feeling too adventurous to try any local stuff. Since it was the school holidays, KFC was packed. Luckily, I got a table for 2 just by the door (how pathetic but beggers cannot be choosers).

My lunch...all alone...in Sungai Besar

The packed KFC

After lunch, it was close to 2 hours since I had arrived in town and taking Tracys advice (I kept calling her coz I was sooooooo bored and lonely during lunch ;P), I called my client again. His assistant said he was still in a meeting. So, I told him to pass on the message that I'd come again another day. After that was done, I headed back to KL.

I took a different route back but the scenery was basically the same...only difference was that there were more towns on the way and a little more traffic. I think I prefered the ride to Sabak Bernam more than the ride back. I was thinking of maybe spending a Sunday just taking a leisurely drive there and maybe make some stops, take in the sights. Hmm, sounds like a plan ;)

And by the way, is it just me or has the sky cleared up recently...like since after the election on Saturday? I mean, we were having so many weeks of hazy and sucky weather. But suddenly, on Sunday the sky was just soooooo blue and it's been that way ever since. Maybe it's just a coincidence or maybe the so called wind of change has actually come and blown away some of the scum. Hopefully, the good weather is here to stay :)