I was looking at the news as usual and I came across this article about the top 10 things to do in Hong Kong.

1. Victoria Peak - nice enough to visit perhaps a couple of times and I have. Though I have only walked the 3.2km route on top only once, that is perhaps something I should do more often, provided the people I go with are actually willing to walk that far. But it was quite fun, and makes for good conversation since there are no distractions other than the natural flora, as well as a few huge bungalows.

2. Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront - Orginally went over there for the first time to look at the lights, then went back a second time for the Symphony of Lights show, since then I have been there a few more times, including during Chinese New Year when I watched the annual fireworks display.

3. Ladies' Market - I like this place ! Very much like a nicer version of Petaling Street, with cheap stuff to ogle and buy, it is like Victoria Market as well, fun for a day trip, with jokes and cheap fake goods, and nice food nearby as well !

4. Stanley - This is the StKilda of Hong Kong, I feel, it has a very comfortable setting, and I like sitting at the beachfront cafe's and of course the market there is a plus ! This can be a whole day trip, especially since there are several nice restaurants nearby.

5. Repulse Bay - I usually combined my visits to Stanley with Repulse Bay, since they are on the same bus route. However, Repulse Bay is usually FULL of beachgoers but has a couple of very nice restaurants and of course that very old club which is beautiful.

6. Mongkok - Always a must see, and since it is basically near the Ladies' Market, fun for all. There is something to do for everyone, toys, clothes, brands, food...Very fun and happening place. An older part of town that makes it very interesting.

7. Central District - Since I work here, I do not really see the fun of going here for a trip, but I guess it can be pretty amazing to look at some really good architecture as well as look for branded goods. Also all the major banks are around as well, so you get to see many well-heeled people. Mostly for shopping I guess.

8. Disneyland - The one place on this list that I have not visited. In due course, but not yet. There are still loads to do before Disneyland.

9. Ocean Park - However, I have been to Ocean Park, but for the Halloween special programmes, so it is more special than just normal Ocean Park. It is big, and you would need lots of energy to go through it properly. Very fun at night, and there are pandas, and fish, and cable cars.

10. Sheung Wan District - Now it was quite a surprise that this was on the list and not one of those places like Wan Chai or Causeway Bay, but I suppose it is kinda historical and has all those antique shops, and old chinese food places, as well as some good fashion haunts. I have walked through here several times, and there are really a lot of good food here, including the seafood shops and bird nest shops.

Well that was the top ten list of the places to visit in Hong Kong, so well I have done nine out of ten and it was pretty fun with the right people. Maybe if you visit, I will come along with you !

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Possibly the hardest and toughest Valentine's Day/Weekend ever in my life.

Friday night started with a huge team dinner at Sang Kee in Wan Chai. It was a really huge dinner with about 12 courses including fish, prawns, crab, abalone, pork, chicken, beef, congee and I cannot really remember much else. But it was good fun as it was quite some time since the whole team had an outing together, and it was more informal this time as everyone has now been working together for a while, so there was no need of the "Everyone tell something about themselves" kinda segment. After dinner, which was really about half past ten, I went home to wait for ParkyBear who would be spending two nights here on a stopover back to China. We talked a bit but both fell into bed exhausted.

In the morning, I brought ParkyBear along with me over to Chinese class where we played some games and also tested our oral. The teacher was fun enough to keep score on our Chinese, and of course was quite amazed at his vocabulary. Then we made a visit to the Sun Yat Sen memorial, at Caine Road, and it was pretty nice. The building itself actually used to be a big mansion, owned by the once richest man in Hong Kong. At one point, ParkyBear actually turned to me and told me that he would buy it. So would I, if I could. It was about 4 floors, which wood panelling, and carpets, a beautiful staircase, wonderful tilework, huge marble fireplaces and was altogether something that you would expect in the early 20's in a good suburb in London. Amazing.

We got home so that I could get changed for tennis, then we got picked up by FredBear. We dropped off ParkyBear at Causeway Bay, and then it was tennis time. But spring was definitely here and it was terribly hot ! After the game and some lunch, where we shared burgers and salad, we went up to FredBear's place for mahjong. Fun. At about seven, I then met up with ParkyBear to watch the Symphony of Lights at Victoria Harbour. Unfortunately the heavy fog meant that the lights show was not as spectacular as it usually was. We walked around TST for a while before heading home since GAG, MrTam and GABish were coming over for more Mahjong ! ParkyBear actually got a fair idea of how to play by the time we were done.

Due to the late night, ParkyBear and I only stirred around 11 and we had some bacon, eggs and sausages for brunch as he had to leave to catch his train to Guangzhou by 1. I did my long procrastinated laundry and ironing before heading off to Kowloon for some golf at the driving range. After golf, went back to FredBear's place where we had some coffee and watched the movie Ip Man. Not too bad, and it was quite a while since I watched these HK Kungfu movies. Went for hot pot dinner with his dad as well before the two of us went to play table tennis with GAHil and GAG at Kornhill. We were there for about 2 hours.

And now that the weekend is almost over I am pretty amazed that I did so much sports over the weekend. It was fun, but I sadly neglected my French. I shall try to catch up this week.

P.S. For the Year 2009, I am down 2.5 kg. That is seriously good news. And need to be improved.

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I would not really have typed this but I was reading about the death of another blog and I felt really bad for neglecting my own. After all, it has been almost 4.5 years.

Somehow the week after the karaoke night passed really fast and before I knew it, I was looking at the weekend again. Somehow, got myself invited for a hotpot with MrAl, GAGo and 2 more friends who I became quite close to during the night. You see, you CAN meet new friends in a new country ! In fact, that is quite redundant cause I am pretty sure I have made QUITE a number of new friends here ! We started with the hot pot close to nine due to everyone working late, and it was a new thing for me too, since we had quite different food. For example, one thing that we ordered was chicken pieces ??? and also we had this HUGE fish head....things I would not usually order. And of course we polished off about 20 bottles of beer.

Somehow we staggered around, looking for a place to buy dice and cards and finally made it to Olympic to GAGo's house with another 20 bottles of beer. Playing poker betting on how many drinks was a KILLER game, and it was not too long before we had to stop to take some rest. MrSte fell asleep during that time and the the rest of us got into huge arguments and discussions about the economy, interest rates and currency movements. Now this felt really good as it was really manly man talk, and for a moment, it was nostalgic remembering conversations from my youth but yet I was also surprised that there we were, talking our thoughts out loud, asking for opinions and so on. It was fun in its own way. Boy, am I growing old..

Left around 4 am, and made it home for a quick shower and some shut eye as I had to wake up for my Chinese class the next morning at 8. After class on the way home, I bought quite a few buns from the bakery. Went back to sleep straight away. Woke up sometime in the evening, groggy and slowly polished off some of the buns. Watched 300 and Hairspray on HBO, and went back to sleep at 8pm. Woke up at 4 am and made up some bacon and eggs for breakfast. THIS WAS MARATHON DAY !

Well, half marathon day at least for me. I had signed up for the half marathon in Hong Kong about 3 months earlier and did not get to do much training at all. I reached the venue at TST at about 6 in the morning and walked around for an hour. My race started at 7.10. It was quite exciting and there was a lot of energy for such an early hour ! Many people were warming up and letting themselves go in the short stretch. All too soon, it was my turn to flag off, and somehow I found myself standing in the frontline of the pack. The countdown started, the gun went off, and we were running. There were thousands running around me, and it was good that I was in front, because many people stuck in the middle and at the back had no place to run. By the time everyone was running, I was alreayd at the 2 km mark and the crowd was more sparse.

I thought I was about to die when I reached 3 km. I seriously did. But the thought of giving up and stopping was hardly an option, and I laboured on till I reached the turning point at around 7 km. It was quite a blur how I managed to reach 10 km later in 49 minutes. Then it was time to run in the Western Tunnel across the Hong Kong harbour. It was quite interesting to run first on the highway then under the tunnel. It was great, as there was a strong wind, and there was a strange darkness in that tunnel, and echoed the excited shouts that many were doing. Lots of people stopped to take photos as well, as it is not every day that you can take a photo standing in the tunnel.

I walked much of the last 5 km. I could hardly move my legs and it was quite a torture. Though I did run the last few hundred metres as we were in WanChai by then, and there was quite a crowd watching. I do believe one can run more and dig into reserves more when there is a crowd watching ! It must be a natural high. A funny thought was how GREAT it would have been to perform in a concert ! With thousands in a frenzy watching you on stage !? I finally finished the half marathon in 2 hours and 50 minutes. I grabbed a banana and ate it early. I was starving. I did not stick around long as I knew I needed some sleep.

Somehow I got lucky and got onto the right bus. I fell asleep anyway and my legs were killing me. I limped quickly back home and had a shower and slept till the afternoon. I decided to have a massage that evening as well. Then not just my legs hurt, but my whole body did too.

But it was a great experience. Now that I have done it, there is no reason for me to say that I cannot do it the next time. Life is about challenges. This was one that I conquered.

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Out of nowhere, absolutely nowhere at around 10 pm, GAHil, FredBear and I went for karaoke.

There was not even any rooms available in the first place we went to, and had to go to another place for karaoke. And stayed there till 3. This is seriously uni behaviour and should probably not happen again any time soon. It is physically and mentally exhausting plus I was nursing a cold.

Gosh.

But it was fun.

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