VJCO went to HongKong!

2008-10-30T01:27:00.003+08:00

omg i don't believe i still rmb the password to this site!
yay!
HAHA
we can make this the co blog or sth,
so if you want the password/username,
just ask me/sihui/jonathan/rachel ! :)

-fongsun:)

Day 5

2008-05-30T14:59:00.002+08:00

It was finally the last day of our fun-filled Hong Kong trip, and we didn't wanna go home! Well, at least I knew I didn't.

We had a leisurely breakfast on our own, where many of us made use of the opportunity to roam the streets of Hong Kong for the last time, taking in the sights and sounds and the people of the dynamic global city.

Due to unforeseen circumstances involving a really, really heavy downpour (In fact, we realised that there was a 黄色风暴, or Yellow Storm alert while having breakfast and watching telly in the nearby Chachanteng.), we were unable to visit the University as planned.

After a short shopping session squeezed in, we were off for lunch! We had really good Korean barbeque in a place that was closely similar to the Seoul Garden that we have back in Singapore, except that the food was better and the oil doesn't splat as much.

The end of lunch also marked the end of our time in Hong Kong, and we left for the airport to catch our flight home. Our wonderful tour guide gave us a small present each (A Disney character key holder), and we bade a tearful goodbye before leaving for home sweet home.

One thing is for sure: VJCO had alot of fun and will miss HK ):

We will be back (and to many, many more places) soon!

Day 4

2008-05-29T14:59:00.000+08:00

We had dim sum for breakfast!

Dim sum is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes served alongside Chinese tea. We shared a big bowl of congee (porridege) and had shrimp dumplings, shaomai (small steamed dumplings with pork inside a thin wheat flour wrapper) and the very popular char siew bun! Our favourite is the char siew bun. The buns were steamed to become fluffy and white, with Cantonese barbecued pork filling which sent us drooling! It feel great to be savouring these delicious dishes together on a round table.

FYI: Cantonese phrase dim sum means literally "touch the heart" or "order to your heart's content" and dim sum remains a staple of Chinese culinary culture, especially in Hong Kong.

After which, we rushed down to watch Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra's open rehearsal.

Although the rehearsal was only open for us for 30 mins, we saw how skillful and professional they are. Despite the fact that they are skillful, many of us noted in our reflection dialogue that the orchestra lacks team spirit, the spirit of helping one another, for instance, helping those who cannot side-read fast enough. We realised once again that, an orchestra will be stronger than it can be, when all the members are united and selfless.

We also made one interesting observation: the replacement of cello and double-bass with gehu (革胡; pinyin: géhú) in HKCO.

Finally, our long awaited moment: OCEAN PARK, here we come!

We boarded gondola lift, which connects the two parts of Ocean Park. The scene outside the cable car was beautiful as we looked out onto South China Sea.

This is one of the most exhilarating ride of the day--the Abyss Turbo Drop. We were raised up and dropped straight down in free fall in 5 seconds! We also took many other rides, such as the Dragon (asteel roller coaster with a maximum speed of 77 km/h with 842 metres of track. The ride lasts approximately 2.5 minutes), Ferris Wheel, Crazy Galleon and Raging River. We have screamed our hearts out!

We managed to catch the spectacular show at Ocean Theatre. The show preaches about wildlife conservation and that people should live with the animals in harmony through a lively storyline. Cast includes seals and dolphins.

We took this Ocean Park Escalator, the longest we have ever taken! At 224 m (745ft), it is the second longest outdoor escalator in the world. It is outdoors but weatherproof.

(this photo only shows a small portion of the escalator series)

Observation of the Day: Construction of a hotel on the slope by Ocean Park

Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong is mostly hilly and mountainous with steep slopes. Hence, they develop technologies in constructing safe and stable infrastrucuture on these slopes. It is amazing for Singaporeans like us when we see how high-rise buildings, such as this hotel can be constructed on such a steep slope.

The hotel is built to allow Ocean Park to remain competitive against the other local attraction--Hong Kong Disneyland, which already has a hotel of its own for tourists. As the saying goes, "the only constant is change", it is through constant innovation can we remain competitive in this ever-changing world.

We end our day with second round of shopping at Ladies' Market.
This time round, we were much familiar with the places and haggling tactics and it was indeed much fruitful than the previous shopping trip!

Day 3

2008-05-28T14:59:00.005+08:00

We started the day off with a long ride to another place for Macdonald's breakfast : D
As the ride to breakfast venue was rather long,the teachers kindly bought us buns from a nearby bakery,which was like our first authentic taste of "boluo bun" ! It was like super delicious personally,it seems different from what we have in Singapore.I am not sure if its because of the environment (Hongkong!) that caused this opinion though.

Anyway we went for breakfast at Macdonald's.Although it is similar to what they offer in Singapore,they have other food such as macaroni and pork burgers.It seems that the people there are quite environmental friendly,we noticed that they have a no-straw day ! Imagine how much plastic they can save with the millions of cups of drinks they sell !

After breakfast,we had a very bumpy ride up the mountains and we reached our first destination of the day - The Ngong Ping Village ! It was pretty foggy there so there are not much clear photos. There were many eateries and souvenir shops and the architecture of the place sort of resembles some town from the past.

When we think of Hongkong, the Giant Buddha would come to mind.At 22m,it is the world's largest outdoor Buddha ! Although there were about 268 steps to where the Buddha sits,we completed the climb in like 15 minutes !Look at the whole trail of steps we overcame ! It was totally worth it because the Giant Buddha is really magnificent up close !

We made our way to the Tai O Fishing Village and we went for a boat ride out to the sea to look at dolphins. We managed to catch a glimpse of a few of the dolphins and there was a large fishing boat out at sea too ! The boat we were on also took us on a "mini tour" around the village and it can be seen that the people there have rather simple lifestyles.

For lunch,we were treated to really fresh seafood ! The fishing village really lives up to its name ! There was like fish and really fresh prawns !

We were free to walk around the village after the meal and the people there are really friendly. We encountered this old uncle who started a conversation with us and although there was a language barrier(we could not really listen or speak Cantonese that well),we still had a really good time chatting with him. The village was a really simple and peaceful place to be although during our nightly discussion/reflection , we pointed out that the simple lifestyle of the people in the village there may not be able to be sustained for long in this globalized world because there is bound to be a need to connect with the rest of the world. Furthermore, people who left the village will return with new knowledge and bring new technology along.

After the tour to the village,we made our way to the Tsing Ma Bridge.It is the world's 7th longest suspension bridge and is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest road-and-rail suspension bridge !

After our visit to the bridge,It was our long awaited Ladies Market in the evening ! It was like shopping heaven and there were stalls everywhere.It reminds me of those pasar-malam stalls that we see now and then in Singapore,except its much bigger and better there !
It was also where we put our bargaining skills to good use.Its amazing how some prices can be slashed by more than half ! At the Ladies Market, you can get all sorts of items , clothes, shoes,bags and accessories ! It was a little overwhelming and the place was so huge that we could have easily gotten lost. Some of us got so carried away with shopping , we actually skipped our dinner while some of us made do with some snacks such as Siew Mai and Curry Fishball (which is really delicious but too bad they do not have them here in Singapore!) Basically that evening felt like time was so short ! Everybody was comparing our bargains and what not.It was a really long time but most of us collapsed in the hotel room, happy and satisfied with our hauls.

Day 2

2008-05-27T14:59:00.010+08:00

We had our first traditional Hong Kong breakfast on the second day at a breakfast place near our hotel. The place was exactly like what we usually see in Hong Kong dramas, where the lead actors and actresses will sip their milk tea (we had that too!) and read the papers in the morning. In fact some of the people we saw in the shop were indeed doing that! Singaporeans usually do not take their time off taking breakfast, unlike HongKongers who are known for their sandwiches and dim sums taken during breakfast. Even though we didn't have dim sum that morning, we had set meals or 營養早餐which consists of 菠蘿包，公仔面 and various other side dishes. Of course, the waitresses there never fails to try and communicate with us and serve us well.

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We went to the The Peak next.
Our coach had some difficulty going up the slopes up the mountain and it was a really new experience for us all since Singapore do not have terrains as high as that. There are also lots of newly built houses there and according to our tour guide, they can cost up to thousands of dollars! It was really kind of weird as those house we saw on our way up seemed really new and "classy", unlike those we saw in kowloon and the city. Perhaps it is due to the wide income gap in Hong Kong.
The view up at the peak was breathtaking and we could even see the entire Victoria harbor from there, as well as the business district nearby. Hong Kong really lived up to their name of a busy business hub and the trip up was indeed an eye-opener.

more information on the Peak: http://www.thepeak.com.hk/full/en/index.php
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The peak was known for its tram ride but it was such a pity that we didn't to try on it. It is definitely one of the things that we will try if we ever go back to Hong Kong anytime.

We rushed to 天星碼頭 after that and passed by 金紫荊廣場.

It was the place where the ceremonies for the handover of Hong Kong from the British were held in July 1997. Hong Kong was known as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after that. According to Sky (our tour guide), a flag-raising ceremony is even held every day at 8:00am. This trip really got us to know Hong Kong better, and not just for her shopping experience, but history as well.
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We boarded a ferry to take us to 尖沙嘴 after that.

We arrived at the famous 星光大道! We really had a fun time walking the entire walkway, taking pictures and looking out for the stars we know! We had lunch at a typical Hong Kong 酒樓 there after.

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Sky then brought us to music emporium known as 海星琴行 after lunch. It was great to see a specialized store selling different instruments (both Chinese and Western!) and accessories. We wouldn't be able to find such a store in Singapore, especially one with so many Chinese musical instruments and it is really a pity. Most of us couldn't resist the offer and bought a few accessories, at a price that we wouldn't be happier to pay.

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We then proceed to Diocesan Boy's School 拔萃男書院 for our exchange! We were warmly welcomed by their CO's executive members once we stepped out of the coach and we were really impressed by that. The school compound was very much the same as schools in Singapore, but perhaps a little smaller due to the smaller school population. The school architecture and atmosphere really displayed their rich culture and history and this is something that really cast a lasting impression on us.

We were led to their school hall where the school's orchestra were already waiting for us. The orchestra welcomed us with a few songs and we can really see that their players were really professional individually, and played well as a whole, something that we should learn from. Their members also showed great discipline, where they listened and followed every instructions their executive members gave them.

We showcased a video introducing Singapore after their performance and we, too, performed a few sectional pieces for them.

The 2 schools were supposed to have a combined piece together but were canceled last minute due to last minute changes. We had an opportunity to interact with the students there though and we gave them our school badge as a souvenir. The students there were really friendly and we made great friends through the exchange. Both schools did school cheers after the exchange and it was really a memorable part of the entire trip.

Some of the members even brought us around the school after the entire programme, even though it was already 8 at night. According to Sky, the students' school day usually ends at 3 in the afternoon even despite that, they volunteered to bring us around, introducing the school to us, and never complaining. Their actions really impressed, and yes, touched us and this is really something that we should also learn from.
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We left the school only at 9plus and rushed to catch a practice by 醫管局中樂團. They are an orchestra made up of doctors and professionals from the medical field, who, despite their busy schedule, made an effort to practice together and perform at different hospitals for patients occasionally. They welcomed us warmly and really made us feel at home. Joey, our chairman were invited to introduce our orchestra in front of everyone and the orchestra were even asked to join in and play with them. We also performed a few pieces for them and they were so ever encouraging and never fails to cheer us on.

Even though they are adults and some are even professional players, they really friendly as a
whole. The short exchange with them was really a learning experience. It showed us how learning music can be a life-long thing, and can even be used to help others. They taught us what passion is, as they do not have any incentive joining the orchestra and can easily skip practices whenever they want using their packed schedules as an excuse. We were all deeply inspired by them and in fact, the entire practice was a life lesson to each and every single one of us. The motivitation they gave us will definitely push our orchestra further and excel.

The day ended with the visit and most of us believe that this day was the most enriching of all. It was perhaps the energy that the medical orchestra gave us that made us not even tired though we had a rushed from place to place for the entire day. This day is definitely an experience that we with carry with us and not forget.
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nil sine labore.

Day 1

2008-05-26T14:59:00.003+08:00

In the early morning of 25th May 2008, the Victoria Junior College Chinese Orchestra (VJCO) gathered in Changi Airport to leave for Hong Kong for a 5 day musical exchange programme. It was difficult to miss us, since we were practically a swarm of yellow against the cool, cutting edge architectural design of the aiport:

We were fortunate enough to depart from the newly-built Terminal 3, recently completed in January. A S$1.75 billion project, the Terminal is capable of handling 22 million passengers a year. The members leaving for the Hong Kong trip were naturally excited and in eager anticipation as our teachers, the lovely Mdm Wee, Miss Meta and Mr Chang, handed out passports and gave out instructions amidst incessant chattering and goodbyes exchanged between family and friends.

We departed our sunny island at approximately 8.30am on an SQ flight. We made full use of the 3 hour flight, some utilizing the inbuilt flight entertainment system, some playing cards distributed by the very generous SQ air stewards and stewardesses, while others just slept (I know I did!).

Upon arrival at Hong Kong at around 12:15pm, we were welcomed by our very affable tour guide- Sky!

(This is Sky, and he is always very happy. Always smiling :D)

After transferring our entire haul of luggages and musical instruments into the coach, Sky brought us to a very important place for our very important first impression of Hong Kong.

We went for LUNCH!

@ A restaurant named 深井大八方 (I think)

A typical Hong Kong meal consists of rice and around 7 dishes. Note that the roasted goose is in the middle of the picture, because it is the star of the show! It tastes like a oilier, fatter but definitely more flavourful version of our humble duck.

After stuffing ourselves with food, we went to the local Community Centre to view a performance by the Xin Tian Di Chinese Orchestra.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the performance was occupied with the elderly, who had taken time out of their Sunday afternoons to come together to appreciate traditional chinese music. The performance was unexpectedly interactive, as the host (who is also a member of the Orchestra- he plays a mean erhu) introduced each instrument to the audience and held a quick Q&A session. The programme was conducted completely in Cantonese, and it is during times like these when I learn to appreciate the wonders of the Chinese language. Thank God for the powerpoint slides filled with Chinese words (Even though the Hong Kong people speak Cantonese, its written form is vastly similar to the version of Chinese that we know).

After the very educational performance, we were headed to our second taste of the true-blue Hong Kong experience-SHOPPING!

We are not going to put pictures of the shopping centre up, because it is really just another Marina Square, Vivocity and Wisma Atria put together. Favourites like Zara and Esprit are a dime a dozen, not unlike in Singapore.

However, there was something that the shopping centre had that we didn't.

Snoopyland!

Look at Snoopy fishing, playing golf and looking out lovingly into the Hong Kong landscape! The place was filled with hyper kids and couples and photo-crazy tourists (us), and definitely beats the boring old playgrounds or weird ball-filled rooms pretending to be playgrounds that we have in Singapore.

After running through the shopping centre trying to buy stuff in the limited time that we had, we went for dinner. Yay food again!

Spot the similarities with the previous lunch picture!

After stuffing ourselves (again), we finally returned to our hotel and checked out our rooms. Dead beat from the day's galore of activities, we all turned in after a short reflection session, looking forward to another great day in Hong Kong.