Landing on Chinese Soil Again

17 months, the amount of time that I was away from China for.

To many extents, China was 'home'; and it felt great to be back after so long. Though the first Mainland city that I stepped on was not Suzhou but Shenzhen, everything that screamed 'Chinese' to me were there. The polluted air, the poor visibility, the dusty streets, the Chinese KFC spicy crispy fried chicken, the cheap-butt electronics, the electric bikes, etc. Oh how much I had missed them!

Besides Shenzhen, I also visited Hong Kong and Macau, the two special administrative Chinese zones. Though the shopping, the food, and the casinos were great, the best thing for me was still meeting up with fellow friends who I hadn't seen since high school. It was only a year and a half since we had last met, but for some reason it felt as if it was longer. Perhaps because we went through so much during that short time -- what with all the transition from high school to university. Definitely a big step into the 'real' world.

It was simply a splendid way of spending time, revisiting high school memories and catching up with how friends have got on with university life. One thing we all seemingly agreed on was how different university was to high school and how much we have all been forced to grow up and learn. Besides the fact that everyone has become more matured and independent, it was also nice to see that we haven't really changed at all on the inside: Jia Yen is still cheerful and enthusiastic, Justin still over-eager and fun to tease, Bor Hung still makes the same jokes, Kai still his usual chill self, etc etc. It was also great to meet up briefly with You Jeong and Yeong Min, who we met when we went to chill at HKUST. Due to Bor Hung's relations, we also got to meet up with fellow juniors from SSIS: Qian Ting and Diwen.

In addition to meeting up with old friends, I also had the chance to meet up with several friends from Sydney. Special thanks to Bella, who kindly allowed us to stay at her place for the week.

After Hong Kong, we went to Shenzhen in the morning for a day's visit before having to board our flight at night back to Suzhou.

As usual, I took lots of photos and these are some that I have downloaded and edited, and are ready to be shared.

Shenzhen right before the customs to Hong Kong. Overlooks the Luohu area and the Shenzhen train station

Railway tracks in Shenzhen, with Hong Kong in the far distance

Upon passing customs to Hong Kong; floods of people moving at a frantic pace

Hong Kong's efficient MTR system, filled with daily passengers

Hong Kong's mini bus -- more like a van...

Walking down the steep hills of Clear Water Bay, down to our host's [Bella] place

MTR station

Hong Kong Central -- Asia's business district -- plagued with massive skyscrapers that make Sydney CBD look like a small town in comparison

Red taxis, everywhere, just following the jam...

The Royal Peninsula hotel, one of the largest and grandest in Hong Kong. First class stuff; there were even stewards in the toilets handing out tissue...

Group picture with the Royal Peninsula in the background

The Venetian, a place of eternal entertainment, everyday.

A replica of Venice's well known canals and gondolas

The Venetian celebrates Christmas

Artificial snow combined with the rainy cloudy weather creates a rather realistic snowing winter atmosphere at the Venetian, Macau

Macau's amazing Portuguese egg tarts; definitely worth the HKD$150 trip to get to Macau!

McDonalds amidst the old Macau streets

In contrast to the famous Hong Kong crowd and night lights, the residential area of Clear Water Bay offers these dark empty streets...

Old houses in Clear Water Bay

An empty double decker bus in the morning

Attending Bor Hung's lecture at HKUST;

HKUST Atrium, which connects almost every other building that is part of HKUST

Located on a hill, HKUST offers plenty of assistance to students needs to get around

The huge cafeteria at HKUST that offers cheap food

The view from HKUST; sky wasn't exactly great as it was rainy

Bor Hung's small dorm room, with his drying laundry left hanging on a DIY string near the ceiling

Faded colours of old Hong Kong

Busy pedestrian streets in Mong Kok; everyone just goes about with their own business with little regard to others

Lady's market, just located on the streets of old residential flats

Another shot of HK's crowded MTR during rush hour. All trains are pretty much filled despite the ridiculously fast frequency of one train arriving at the MTR station every minute

Hong Kong's public transport, ranging from the huge double decker buses to the expensive taxis

Commuters of HK MTR

Civilised commuters who follow the rules: right lane being the slow lane and the left lane being the fast lane; the same can't be said just across the border in Shenzhen...

Spending the day at Ocean Park

Reminds me of Genting; the cable cars, mountains, the poor visibility...

A group of Chinese and Westerners enjoying their wet boat ride

Sunset at Ocean Park

Shenzhen's just-as-busy city

We met lots of people in the streets of Shenzhen trying to sell miscellaneous products and service. This one here is promoting tattoos... 

I'm not sure what she was offering, but I think it had something to do with facial treatment products. I'm not sure if cucumbers give a good image of the product...

Humble fruit seller

Rainy Shenzhen forced us to get a cheap umbrella that only cost 15RMB

Shenzhen's industrialisation plays a key role in its heavy pollution as well as its economic development

Breaking his back to earn a living

Strange Foreign Beauty

After 16 hours of unwarranted travelling, I finally got to my grandfather's old newspaper shop Saturday night at 9.30pm [local time], with an empty stomach after almost 12 hours without food.



The rather classy Sydney Airport Duty-Free Stores



Oh, how different things feel here, compared to the Australian city of Sydney that I have grown so used to in merely 9 months. First off, the weather is HUMID. Got off the plane and my hands already got sweaty. Second off, the traffic JAMS. If someone had the statistics to show, Malaysia would probably be in a top candidate for the country with the most car/motorbike-ownership to population ratio. Third off, people seem to look at me weirdly, and I usually eye them back warily and tense my muscles, just in case. If you have been checking out Malaysian news in the past couple of years, you will probably do the same. I'm not sure how safe it is anymore.

The lifestyle does have its beauty though. The FOOD... what more can I say? Even my grandma's simple homecooked food taste amazingly appetizing. Not that IH food back in Sydney is terrible, but the food over here is simply ... incomparable. Nasi lemak, chicken rice, curry chicken, roti canai ... all at cheap prices! Oh, and Papa Roti coffee bun is only RM2 [equivalent to around A$0.60].



A small sweet desert -- Tau fu fah

Just my lunch, sweet and sour pork, curry chicken with rice



Yum!

Cheap Papa Roti!



Homecooked food after 9 months is always welcoming

Though it has only been 9 months since I was last here, things have changed at home. My Indonesian maid who had been with us for 12 years -- ever since I was 7 -- has finally left home for good. I was surprised, as I didn't know of her leaving until I got back and found her room empty. Not only was she a great housemaid, more importantly, she was a great companion to all of us, especially my grandma. After all those years working and living under the same roof, she felt like family. But now she has left, to take care of her real family. One day, I will definitely go to Indonesia to visit her.

Now that our Indonesia maid has left, it's just my grandpa and grandma here at home now. My grandma has had to take care of the house all by herself -- with the help of another friend of hers -- and it shows: greyer hair, more prominent wrinkles, weaker voice. In addition to her added burden of chores, she still has to cope with degenerating eyes and persistent dizziness. Fortunately, my grandpa still looks pretty strong and fit.

Not sure what she was selling but there are plenty of portable stalls around my area

A developing area

tau

Tau Fu Fah dude with his bike

Driving again! Glad that I didn't forget how to drive!

Visited The Chinese Embassy to get my Chinese visa

Though this photo doesn't show it well, KL's full of skyscrapers!

While KL city is modern and beautiful, Kepong can sometimes feel like a ransacked town

Random two kids who kept looking at my camera while I was waiting in a bank. Asked their grandfather if I could take a photo, and he said sure.

Chinese herbal shop

Chnese herbal stuff...

My aunt's [formerly paternal grandparents'] house. I took the family photo on the left.

Nikon's D100, one of their first DSLRs

Makcik who sells Nasi Lemak almost every morning

Mixing up Chinese herbs

Grandfather's old shop

While home has been rather welcoming with its great food, I miss Sydney. A lot. It hasn't even been a week yet I already miss everything there is to miss about Sydney. The weather, the freedom, the spontaneity, and most of all, the people, my friends -- especially those who I won't be seeing in 3 months' time...