A New Year, A New Experience

I am back! And what an experience it was at Shanghai and Hong Kong! I really enjoyed myself, and it was just too eventful and long for me to actually type everything down. I will just sum my thoughts up in these few points.

Shanghai: -

• It was my first time experiencing a winter of about 4-10 degrees overseas, and I really loved it. Although I am still waiting for my first encounter with snow.
• A beautiful city, especially with its buildings all lit up at night. And it is a real horny city. But do not get me wrong, I mean it literally. The vehicles just seem to never stop horning at vehicles and pedestrians alike, whether or not there is a reason to do so.
• The people there are really loudspoken and somewhat rude, but I guess it is just part of their interesting culture.
• Technology may have progressed much down the years, but reliability of technology is a whole different issue. Quite disappointed that I lost my Shanghai photos due to a memory card error. I guess I will just have to go back one day to take new photos :)
• Meeting up with undergrads at Fudan and our very own NOC students at Shanghai was an eye opener, and has made me realise how fun and interesting it would be to study overseas. I am very much looking at SEP now.
• Then again, before I consider that, I would seriously need to brush up on my chinese. To think that I cannot even speak fluent chinese or read chinese papers and magazines, despite having studied it for at least 10 years and it being my mother tongue.
• The Shanghai street markets are so fun to walk and shop at, and the xiao long bao and lamb kebab is a must try, especially with the cold weather.
• Food is cheap, Taxi is cheap, and almost everything other thing is cheap. What more can a tourist to the country ask for.
• Shanghai and Fudan University made me realise how small NUS and Singapore is.

Hong Kong: -

• The weather is not as cold as Shanghai, but still cooler and much nicer than Singapore of course. Then again, the air is just too dry, making my skin dry, throat dry and lips dry. Definitely not desirable to stay too long in such conditions.
• Another beautiful city, and the view from The Peak of Hong Kong was just extraordinary! I wouldn't mind spending hours up there admiring the beautiful view.
• It was also good to experience being in the streets which I see so often in TVB serials.
• The mini bus was also a great experience, but overall, the transport in Hong Kong is freaking expensive. I spent almost S$40 on transport in just 3 days there.
• Then again, the food is also relatively more on the steep side. And being a typical Arts and Social Sciences student, the first thought that came to my mind was about social inequality. With its average income being lower than that of Singapore, how in the world do the lower class people actually survive with such expensive transportation and food cost.
• The amount of walking and shopping in the last 3 days was probably equivalent to the amount of walking and shopping I did in the last 3 years.
• The night market aunties can be really pestering, and its really amazing how they can cut down prizes by almost 80%. Sometimes I just wonder how much they acquired their products for. Bargaining can be both fun, and annoying.
• The cable car ride to Lantau Island was great, and the huge Buddha up there was even greater.
• Suddenly have an urge to learn cantonese and other languages, as it can be very useful when going overseas. Felt so lost and helpless at Hong Kong this time. Fortunately, the city has very much globalised with chinese and english still rather 'usable'.
• HKUST is extremely big and extremely beautiful. The entire campus is built next to the coast right smack on a mountain valley, has a scenic sea view, has a huge vacinity, has numerous amenities and facilities, and even has a premiership standard football field.
• And again, Hong Kong and HKUST made me realise how small NUS and Singapore is.

No doubt I enjoyed alot, seen alot and experienced alot, but the most valuable thing I gained from this trip was definitely friendship. To think that just 1 week back, the only people I knew from this trip was Brandon and Thomas from my SLC group, as the others were practically strangers to me and vice versa. I still remember feeling a little lonely as bit and reuben were not going to join me, and I was still a very new face in council. But now after the trip, the situation has definitely taken a huge turn for the better. Really enjoyed their company, as what was suppose to be an overseas exchanged trip turned out have an extra agenda of council bonding and also sharing of experience and ideas between the clubs.

I really enjoyed myself very much in this trip, and having experienced so much, I very much would like to have more opportunities to travel in the future. Don't know why, but I never felt this way before from my other oveaseas trips. I am now even hoping that my future job would give me frequent opportunities to go abroad for businesses or assignments. The world is just so big, and having been confined to Singapore for the last 22 years, I now very much want to see the rest of the world. Then again, I am still very much a Singaporean and the last statement should be of no basis to question the level of my patriotism :)

There is something which Fumin mentioned to me, and has since stayed in my mind. He said "You are really fortunate to be given this opportunity for such an experience and exposure in year 1 sem 1." And to think of it, I really am. Must really thank the union, council and osa for this wonderful opportunity. Of course, my very own 27th. If not for you guys, I would not have been in council, and this opportunity would not have come my way. So sorry I missed the chalet too, heard you guys had fun and definitely wished I was there.

On a side note, apparently not only has the economy and stock market been on a rise, but also everyones CORS bidding points. Just cannot believe how I actually got out-bidded for my modules. Time for some last minute scramble for my modules.