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.
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| Shenzhen right before the customs to Hong Kong. Overlooks the Luohu area and the Shenzhen train station |
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| Railway tracks in Shenzhen, with Hong Kong in the far distance |
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| Upon passing customs to Hong Kong; floods of people moving at a frantic pace |
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| Hong Kong's efficient MTR system, filled with daily passengers |
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| Hong Kong's mini bus -- more like a van... |
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| Walking down the steep hills of Clear Water Bay, down to our host's [Bella] place |
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| MTR station |
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| Hong Kong Central -- Asia's business district -- plagued with massive skyscrapers that make Sydney CBD look like a small town in comparison |
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| Red taxis, everywhere, just following the jam... |
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| 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... |
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| Group picture with the Royal Peninsula in the background |
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| The Venetian, a place of eternal entertainment, everyday. |
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| A replica of Venice's well known canals and gondolas |
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| The Venetian celebrates Christmas |
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| Artificial snow combined with the rainy cloudy weather creates a rather realistic snowing winter atmosphere at the Venetian, Macau |
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| Macau's amazing Portuguese egg tarts; definitely worth the HKD$150 trip to get to Macau! |
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| McDonalds amidst the old Macau streets |
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| In contrast to the famous Hong Kong crowd and night lights, the residential area of Clear Water Bay offers these dark empty streets... |
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| Old houses in Clear Water Bay |
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| An empty double decker bus in the morning |
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| Attending Bor Hung's lecture at HKUST; |
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| HKUST Atrium, which connects almost every other building that is part of HKUST |
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| Located on a hill, HKUST offers plenty of assistance to students needs to get around |
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| The huge cafeteria at HKUST that offers cheap food |
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| The view from HKUST; sky wasn't exactly great as it was rainy |
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| Bor Hung's small dorm room, with his drying laundry left hanging on a DIY string near the ceiling |
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| Faded colours of old Hong Kong |
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| Busy pedestrian streets in Mong Kok; everyone just goes about with their own business with little regard to others |
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| Lady's market, just located on the streets of old residential flats |
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| 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 |
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| Hong Kong's public transport, ranging from the huge double decker buses to the expensive taxis |
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| Commuters of HK MTR |
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| 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... |
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| Spending the day at Ocean Park |
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| Reminds me of Genting; the cable cars, mountains, the poor visibility... |
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| A group of Chinese and Westerners enjoying their wet boat ride |
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| Sunset at Ocean Park |
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| Shenzhen's just-as-busy city |
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| We met lots of people in the streets of Shenzhen trying to sell miscellaneous products and service. This one here is promoting tattoos... |
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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...
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| Humble fruit seller |
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| Rainy Shenzhen forced us to get a cheap umbrella that only cost 15RMB |
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| Shenzhen's industrialisation plays a key role in its heavy pollution as well as its economic development |
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| Breaking his back to earn a living |
