Dear all,
Here I am, honouring my promise to NUS - A blog about my study exchange experiences in Hong Kong.
This is The University of Hong Kong's (HKU) Main Building. Does the design of this building not remind you of some ancient building? Well, let me give you some history of HKU.
The University is founded in 1910 - the birth of Hong Kong's first tertiary institution. In December 1916, the University held its first congregation, with just 23 graduates.
It was ten years after the founding of HKU that women students were admitted for the first time. In 1937, Queen Mary Hospital opened and has served as the University's teaching hospital since that time.
Up to today, it is now Hong Kong's largest tertiary-level institution for continuing education with cumulative enrolment totalling more than one million students.
Therefore, I am pretty sure I will be able to gain some quality education over here, together with some cultural exchange and interaction with the local students. I will definitely enjoy my semester here! So dear friends, enjoy along with me! =)
Monday, January 02, 2006
26th Dec to 1st Jan - Guilin trip(Photos coming soon..)
Had my first train experience to Guilin. A long train trip from Shenzhen to Guilin took us 15 hours. Departed at 6pm in Shenzhen, and arrived safely in Guilin around 10am. What did the four of us - me, Peiyun, Kianyong and Kerk did? Well, we brought our cards, and played Daidee and bluff. Chit chatted and talked some nonsense, and went to sleep. We were one of the noisiest people on board. Why? Because playing cards with Peiyun was simply too stunning! She always managed to come out with stuns, stunning us, making us all awake and laughing till we rolled on the ground. Serious! What's worse? The train was so quiet, we had to laugh quietly, and I think there's internal injuries! Haha.
Train ride was good. I managed to sleep on the train. We were on low budget, therefore we chose the cheapest cabin, the cabin with 6 beds. We shared our cabin with two foreigners - a dad and his daughter. They were quite nice. Initially was still worried who our roommies will be. We have to be extra careful in protecting our valuables.
I must really comment on the FIRST thing that happened when we stepped outta the train. Smoke came out from our mouth!! It was THAT cold! It made me excited all over! Haha. However, it was raining whole day long.
Well, after that we made our way to the hostel which we booked online. Holding the map, carrying our backpacks, and breathing out smoke, we arrived in our hostel. It's ain't too bad. It's a hostel for backpackers, and I really think it was good enough. We stayed there for 2 nights.
We spent most of our time in Guilin sightseeing. Of course, looking at all the mountains and the water. As the Guilin's saying goes: 桂林山水甲天下. We went boat rafting and boat riding. Had the famous 桂林米粉 which only cost each of us RMB2! Went to some caves and parks. Checked out the waterfall as well as climbed a short hill to check out Guilin city from above.
A really nice experience. Beautiful sceneries..
We packed our stuff, and moved down to Yangshuo after that. Yangshuo was similar to Guilin, with mountains and water, but it was more of a country and village rather than a city. We stayed in another hostel called Yangshuo Culture House. This hostel was even better than the previous one because it ain't a hostel, it was a home! A home filled with warmth by the couple. Well, the couple actually owned this house, and it is their home. However, they convered a two floors to guest rooms, and there we were, living together with them! They provided us meals as well, and it was like, our daddy and mommy preparing meals for us! When meals were ready, they'll call out to us to go down for dinner. Then they will ask us what time we're waking up the next day, so that they can prepare breakfast for us! How sweet! This hostel is really highly recommended! =)
The best experience in Yangshuo was to cycle for the whole day around the place, passing villages, farmers, plantations, mountains and sea. What a sight! It was a great experience I'll never forget.. Although we cycled for 25km, but we weren't very tired, as it was leisure cycling. Together with all the beautiful sights, we were so overwhelmed we forgot we were suppose to be tired! Haha..
All in all, a really nice experience. I had went to Taiwan - a city, and now to Guilin - a country side. I am so satisfied. These two places are highly recommended! Two different kinds of experience and feeling. Life was never that good. =)
3:47 PM , Reminisced
