HKU Update 34 - ?

We were talking about the cold weather and I mentioned that at under 20 degree celsius I need 2 layers of clothings and under 10 I'll probably need 3...

J: Of cos... like tat dun go yunnan le...even more cold
Me: cannot...i must go
J: y must?
Me: hmmm not must la..but i feel strongly that i have to go
J: lol.. orh...feel strongly..so weird
Me: ya...i dunno how to say la... i dont think of it as just a holiday or tour la...
Me: its like i need to accomplish this...
Me: like it will bring meaning into my life kinda thing...
Me: ok..now i'm starting to sound weirder.

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It's weird you know. I can't put it into proper words about exactly how I feel about going on my trip to Yunnan. I must go.

HKU Update 33 - Jardine's Lookout

Went for the Jardine's Lookout trail on Tuesday during my self-declared free day. It is a 8.5km trail and rated as moderate. Hiking time will take around 3-4 hours and highest peak is at 436m.

Walked by the Wong Nai Chung Reservoir on our way to the starting point.



It was a hot day. We had no caps nor sunglasses and it was a tough hike up the steep slopes. We finally reached Jardine's Lookout and what greeted us was an expanse of the city skyline. Photo from my friend's camera.



Beautiful clouds above a quarry



And steep climbs to the next peak at Mount Butler.



Lots of greenery



Reached butler after a gruelling climb and a few stops under whatever shade we could find. Our water was also depleted. Me with my orgasmic walking stick. Photo from friend.



We then reached the Tai Tam Upper Reservoir



Beautiful place with clear waters



Me with my shortened walking stick. Friend's camera.



Tai Tam Intermediate Reservoir, smaller but still as nice.



The last bridge



End point. Friend's camera.



The hike took us 5 hours. We then headed to Stanley for dinner, took a long bus ride to Mong kok for me to compare prices of backpacking gear before heading home. My gluteus maximus was aching the next day.

HKU Update 32 - On the Dragon's Back

Went for a hike on the Dragon's Back trail yesterday. The Dragon's back was named Best Urban Hike in 2004 by TIME Magazine. It is so named because of the undulating ridge-top trail which resembles the spine of a dragon. I was supposed to go alone initially but a friend decided to join me the night before.

The starting of the trail



The earlier part of the trail was very much like MacRitchie Reservoir in SG and there was nothing much to see.



The entire trail was 4.5km but we trekked quite a distance before the real Dragon's Back trail came into view. The crossroad.



For an urban hike, it was pretty rough at times.



The steep climbs finally lead us to the ridge and we were at over 200m above sea levels.



The wind was extremely strong but it was a good day for paragliders.



And we finally reached the peak at 284m.



Paragliders were dominating the skies.



DANG!! I wanna do some paragliding too... just imagine the view from up there. Awesome!



A better idea of why its a Dragon Back..



How great it would be if I lived by the beach..



After that we headed out to the less explored residential areas of HK island. Grabbed dinner before heading back to hall so that I can rush my 2.5k-3k word essay which I have yet to finish. :/

HKU Update 31 - MISC

Didn't go anywhere new these days so no photos. Planned to go hike on the Dragon back trail this weekend though.

Met crystal yesterday. Had a light lunch and chat over coffee. Had a crazy time trying to locate the restaurant that we are supposed to meet her friend at. It was really good Chinese food but it also cost a bomb. Going out with a girl who knows cantonese is always interesting. Maybe I'll do a blog post on gender insights if I find the time.

Got back two of my mid term exams results. Just over mean. Not bad considering all the lessons I've missed and finishing 2 hour papers in under 60 minutes. More deadlines coming up though.

Dad is fine. Nothing life threatening but he will still have to go for an operation. Family has cancelled the trip to visit me because of that though.

Booked my return ticket already. 31st dec. Gonna land 1145 although chances are I'll spend the new year on board. Gonna be awesome. $185 for the tix. Slightly pricey but I guess its still ok.

Planning to go to Yunnan for my Dec holidays and dropped by to visit my SMU friend who is doing some volunteer work near there.

Exams end on the 12th. Really good date.

I finished doing up the institutiona l review board forms for my IRP over the weekend ahead of schedule but I still need to sign it and mail the physical copy over to Sinagpore. Tad bit troublesome but its ok.

The research internship @ MIN DS that I did yielded significant results but I've lost touch with the research but I hope its heading in a good direction. Getting it published will really help me in my post grad application... Same for the IRP next semester. Really hoping for good things although I'm not sure if leaving for 5 years to pursue higher education is such a good idea now.

HKU Update 30 - 桂林 2

M has to attend school so we're basically on our own. The initial plan was to visit the rice terraces but M told us harvesting has just occurred couple days ago and there is nothing much left to see. So we decided to go to the Reed Flute Cave (芦笛岩) instead.

View from outside the cave.



Entrance fee is 90RMB (18SGD). Huge inflation in recent years but we managed to get a 30% discount for being HKU students. There are also professional guides inside the cave.

The reed flute cave is made up of stalagmites, stone curtains, stone flowers and stone pillars. And indeed, to fully appreciate the cave, 还需三分形象七分想像。



The reflection of the stalagmites in the water is amazing. However, taking good photos without a tripod is challenging and requires improvisation, steady hands and of course several failed attempts.



We moved out to rest at one of the four lakes in 桂林. And that is where we met the flower girls.

They were trying to sell us(me) roses at 5RMB (1SGD) but was quick to reduce their price to 2RMB (40cents SGD). They like taking photographs and had a good laugh when they saw their own photos.



I eventually bought one from the girl on the right. The elder sister on the left started using scare tactics to get me to buy from her too which includes stuffing flowers in the park in my shoes. It was a game of patience that she lost and had to go back empty handed.

More pictures of the various lakes...



Yep...those are people walking on water...



We went back after dinner for an early night and we headed to climb Folded brocade Hill 叠彩山 the next morning.

There are a number of peaks and we went up to the crane cave first.



Great view from one of the peak.



After that we headed out to Fubo Hill 伏波山. And saw the action behdeh guy who has no arrow to shoot.



The hill has only one peak and midway we could see people swimming in the Li River. Lots of people has died here while swimming.



We saw the sword testing stone, so named because it looked like someone has sliced the bottom of the stone.



A nice view of the hill.



We did some shopping but didn't buy much and later that night we headed off to the train station. Thankfully we bought the train tickets in advance this time round. The train is pretty comfy.



13 hours later, we're back at Shenzhen and then we rushed back to school to attend an afternoon lecture and marks the end of the trip. Yunnan 云南 in dec?

All in all <200SGD spent on the trip.