pre-Vietnam

ok i officially hate the freaking internet here!!!!! its the 2nd/3rd time im doing this entry

so..... im leaving for vietnam in a couple of hours.... to all my darlings i wont be doing any entries till maybe tues coz i only get back monday nite.... so pls dont be worried that i've dissappeared off the face of the earth.....

weather predicted: thunder storm the whole time we're there!!!

im leaving with mixed feelings... on one hand im really looking forward coz Vietnam is one of the places ive been wanting to visit but on the other hand.... the weather doesnt look so good and er the places we're staying in er arent so great? haha.... the school has decided to put us up at a hostel for 3 nites out of 4 and the other nite, which is spent in the mekong delta... we're staying at a wooping 2 stars hotel... so...... from experience thank goodness ive checked it out in advance and told dad before hand to expect charges for hotel just in case things happen! haha that's why backpacking will be one activity i'll NEVER go on! haha and this trip is as close as it gets..... yikes

off to bed.... haf to be up at 5 am!!! which is 3 hrs from now

GINA!!!!!! i miss u.... pls smile and cheer up? jus imagine me sorta backpacking haha.... im sure it'll be hilarious enuf love lots alrite... and cross ur fingers that i might actually survive it!

homework post

ok this is a post i haf to do for class so its NOT coz im a piggy that's why im writing abt food.

this week's assignment is to compare hongkong food with what im used to.

soooooooooooooooooo where shd i start........
hmmmmmmmmm
for those of you who dont knw hongkong food is mostly chinese and coming from singapore its the same thing for me.
one thing to note: pris is a VERY picky girl when it comes to food worth raving about... and no one has disagreed with me so far.

so im suppose to talk abt my culinery experience comparing hk to spore to LA

lets see..... hongkong is widely known for having really good chinese food and this is also the place that houses 2 of the top 100 restaurants of the world.... i havent gone there yet BUT am looking forward to it when i do eventually go haha....
so far ive gone to 2 places for dim sum and they havent dissappointed me yet... in fact the lunch i had with jon had the fattest xiao long baos ive ever seen! it was so full of soup that it looked like pregnent xiao long baos and i was so scared of picking it up... just in case i was going to break it!
ohhhh and not to forget the street side wanton noodles that i had with jackson and dad... it was yummy! i can pretty much live on wanton noodles for a week? haha.... it tasted a little better than crystal jade back home but so much cheaper!
last but not least the scones in Peninsula Hotel.... they are the real thing all crumbly on the outside and smooth in the inside.... din realise how much i miss having english tea till i was brought there went i first got here.

thing is that i havent been able to explore much of hongkong restaurants or at least not as much as i would like to coz ive only been able to do it with people coming from outside visiting me. the other friends here arent very adventurous about travelling to other parts of hongkong to try places out or fork out money either. its really just culture difference - im willing to spend my money to travel and try new places but the others arent so i jus have to sit and wait till my next visitor comes and i have an excuse to get away from kowloon tong area to explore more of what hk is able to offer and i cant wait!

as much as its similar food here in school, i still find myself craving for home-cooked food or simple sporean dishes like chicken rice, char kway tiao, hokkien mee etc. and i miss the best restaurant of all at 96 cairnhill road! its not on any maps but for those REALLY LUCKY few who have had the chance to taste food coming out from there knows the best ever food especially the famous bu sri's sambal..... yum yum haha.... ohhh i havent eaten something tt spicy in too long! if only im able to cook half as good and i'll be happy haha

the one thing that i have found hongkong to be lacking is their japanese cuisine.... i havent found a restaurant here yet that serves jap food that's worth my raving which is sad.... i miss all the sushi chefs at hide LA that ive made friends with by jus liking the restaurant coz they served the best sashimi at really affordable prices! or even the manager at raku holland village a tiny jap restaurant good for cooked jap food....

oh jus thinking about all these places is making my mouth watery and getting me hungry.....

i miss having friends like daniel and ken around to be able to go round exploring all the restaurants that hongkong has to offer... i really shdnt be complaining coz im jus lucky to haf them around to share this curiousity for taste... wish they could come here to hongkong to experience the cuisine here but instead i'll just have to settle for LA where we'll resume scavenging around for restaurants to try.
not to forget aaron too!!! thks to him ive been brought to the best restaurants around whereever it is... and i miss him loads

im jus dissappointed that i havent been able to find companions willing to try new places with me. and it doesnt really help that hkbu is pretty far from the main areas of hk.

oh and last but not least.... the desserts course. i have yet find a little cafe or even a street side stall serving good dessert, chinese or otherwise. there's cova in festival walk that sells good gelato but its not mind blowing? my top place for dessert is still canele back home with the wide variety of dessert and coffee to go with. i frequent the patisserie so often that i make friends with all the servers there everytime i get back from overseas!
*not to forget! the chef there is amazing! he makes the craziesst cakes like this one we ordered for my best gf's 21st and its made of all chocolate.... yes even the crown is chocolate (not the pearls thou).... have u seen anything prettier than this?


hmmmmmm maybe its coz im forever willing to try new restaurants and prone to desserts that im the size and shape that i am haha.... but the one thing i can never do is become vegitarian or go on a diet! haha... so i guess that makes it 2 things

i love my singapore friends!!

im writing this still under the effect of last nite and the stupid internet in this school is so tempermental i haf to redo this.

saturday was such a rollarcoaster... it started off with dim sum lunch with jon and it was YUMMY.... we went to a restaurant in pacific place the shopping mall across frm his hotel and i had pigeon finally since getting here! it was wonderful meeting up a familiar face after so long... and jon was so nice as to treat me to it too!

after, he left for training while i headed back to school to change for dinner. the thing was that i really wanted to go and watch the match but thats a whole other story... but sad to say i got really really depressed in the afternoon. BUT the good thing was that i got to talk to workaholic gina :) first time in a long time i got to talk to her over 15mins! haha... absolutely amazing... and like all girls talk abt i got to catch up with gossip back home. as much as i try hard to blend in with the people here in hk.... somehow there are times when the different interests, different way of life and different backgrounds become so starking. and it gets me bummed out

after dinner i got to meet jon and the rugby guys at lan kwai fong and boy did we party! i havent had so much fun on a nite out since leaving spore... as predicted the guys were pretty much drunk by the time i found them haha... with the rugby game and playing court which jon was charged with bringing a team mate's ex on tour so the poor guy had to drink up 4 pints for me haha.... so he was out seeking revenge! lets jus say that i finally realised jus how far lan kwai fong is to hkbu last nite.... and it wasnt a comfortable trip at all :s but i had so so much fun thou and cant wait for the next person to come and visit. thinking abt it... i really miss the times when the guys and i would go out back home...glen, brad, dre, jon etc hopefully by the time i get back in dec things would haf settled and return to how it has always been for the past few years. i really miss them. i have also came to the conclusion that singaporeans (or at least my friends) are the best pple to go out and party with and haf such a great time :)
its sad that the guys were only here over the weekend and cldnt stay longer........ but i guess good things dont really last do they

this is stephan (at least tt's wat i think he's name is) one of the tour virgins.... he was nice enuf to be dragged down to a different place jus to take pictures with us :) i never knew that SQ air stewardess uniforms were sold in such big sizes! haha

~loving all the friends from home

ladies nite out in town

its really funny how public transportation has become such a big and important part of my life here in hongkong. i knw i sound really spoilt rite now and to an extent i haf to agree that i am but i dont think ive ever used so much public transportation as i am rite now. back in spore, everything was within walking dist from my house either that or i would drive and in the states i haf my baby to get me around. but now here in honkong, im riding the mtr (train) to get to town to club! haha... i can just hear all my friends laugh now because in spore i would never go out to the clubs unless i haf my car being too lazy to even take cabs. but with so many of us in the group, the train ride now counts as the pre-party where everyone else on the train looks on at us making so much noise and goofing around... i mean imagine big white guys doing pull ups with the bars on the train while the girls are cheering them on - we are a rowdy bunch

last nite wasnt as fun as the week before, but i think im the only one who thinks so coz everyone else are still hung over frm last nite. i think im getting bored of clubbing already as usual, about time too anyway its already 4 wks here? yeah....

had cecile to come with last nite.... and we do make the greatest pair of roommates :) we're so alike and thank goodness we dont spend too much time together so dont get on each other's nerves (or at least not yet but im hoping it'll last)

today's reserved for chilling and taking it slow.... its friday already!!!!!!!!

jon's coming tonite too... with the scc rugby 1st div - only thing is that im not so sure who's in the 1st div but hoping i knw more than jus jon but im jus happy to haf someone else to hang out with this weekend. found out tt damien is not coming so its one less person i knw frm the team. BUT the plus side is that i haf a rugby game to watch tmr!!!! weeeeeeeee.... havent gone to one for the longest time and i miss it

chicas

so this is what happens when im bored in chinese class with a camera:


as you all can see i got my hair all straight again!!! im so happy with it.... really dint knw how much i miss my straight hair till yesterday when i had a cut and colour and got the stylist to blow it st... weeeeeeee im all straight again for 24 hrs haha. inspired to invest in a hairdryer while im here.

oh and im back to a dark head again... coloured it dark dark brown from afar its black so im happy... thk you so much to my dearest roommate who introduced me to this stylist coz im so happy i din turn out looking like another hongkee! haha

getting to the salon was an adventure on its own... i went in search of the salon armed with only the address given by cecile. after getting directions from the salon themselves... i find myself walking up this set of really dodgy stairways up to the 2nd floor. i hesitated then coz i was alone and the stairs were not really lit up so it was really scary and there wasnt any signs of the salon until the 1st floor. But when i reached it, it was a really small and cute salon and i might jus go back before i leave :)

going out clubbing again tonite... but im so slpy now and thus too lazy to change out of the comfortable dress im wearing now. so tempted to jus not change and be the lazy ugly piggy of the grp later... as it is the other girls in this exchange programme are getting catty with us pepperdine girls esp with nicole, delia, andrea and i... saying that we're stuck up, snobbish etc. best thing is that the 4 of us got this infomation out of the guys! we've come to the conclusion that its all out of jealousy coz we're jus competition and that they themselves knw we are the prettiest arnd! haha... come on its abt time that they admit defeat coz the pepp girls ARE the prettiest and nicest arnd! not to mention hardworking too :) we play hard but study hard too.. so bitches move aside!

hoping to get 15mins of zzzzzzzzs now before heading out.... haf u seen my ginormous eyebags? yikes... im in china but dont want to turn into a panda!

tempted to bring my camera again tonite coz i got quite a few nice pics last week so stay in touch coz there might be more coming up of me in the same outfit! muacks

boys&girls

men are from mars girls are from venus

miscommunication happens all the time btwn guys and girls esp btwn those involved with each other. one expects or wishes for something from the other, while the other thinks otherwise. cant people open up to each other and say wat they really wish to say? is it tt hard? true tt it is easier said than done b/c i, of all pple, shdnt be saying it since i never say wat i feel to the other party.

i envy those who are able to be involved with another, physically or otherwise, and not put their feelings and emotions into it.
as much as i warn my partners that im not able to put 100% into a relationship, i still find myself vulnerable to heartbreaks... but then again maybe its just me

are relationships at this point meant to think with logic over how a person feels?

can someone really walk away without feeling anything?

~im jus feeling pensive tonite with everything tt's going on arnd me

new friends

A Nite Out with my Camera brought along :)


countries represented in pic #
1. Sweden
2. US
3. Italy
4. US (Colombia, Philippines, Kenya), France, Aussie,
5. Italy, US

so the 3 other hot girls in the last 2 pics are my great friends from pepp.... and we make a crazy ass group! haha.... all studying in the US but coming from different parts of the world.
guess who is:
Andrea - Colombian
Nicole - Filippino
Delia - Kenyan
(one thing thou they arent the real deal haha... having been raised in the US) :)

i love them tons.... without them this trip would have been a nightmare and pris would be a sad sad girl.

~cheers to all my new friends

xi'an try #2

so ive dissappeared over the weekend to xi'an! the trip was crazy!!! and really tiring too.....

i got to check out the terra cotta warriors.. so now ive basically covered all the places i want to see in china! :)
we also got to visit the very first christian pagoda (dao qing temple) in china which was only found in 1998.... to get there we had to walk for 20mins thru hills filled with cornfields. thank goodness the weather in xi'an was amazing and the walk was really pleasent. the villagers there had a wonderful time trying to figure out if i was a chinese or "foreigner". -wat i realised this trip to hongkong is that i get more attention from the locals be it in china or hk for being a yellow skin and hanging out with the whites. i mean u would think that the people who wld be getting the attention shd be the delia (a gorgeous african) or blair (a pretty ginger head) or the blondes in my group but actually im the one who gets the stares of dislike/distaste. im slowly getting use to it-

stepping into xi'an really reminds me of all the bad things i absolutely hate about china.... eg the stinky restrooms u can smell frm a mile away, me having to speak in broken mandarin or else nothing will be able to move and work.

so the trip started out on friday early early morning at an ungodly hr of 530am.... our flight was at 830am in shenzhen airport so we had to leave hkbu by that time on a coach otherwise we would not be able to catch our flight. thing is that most of the international students (inc me) went out clubbing the nite before and i only got back at arnd 4? so i took a quick power nap and dragged myself out of bed 45mins later

got to the airport in one piece still half awake. iga (the teacher in chage of us pepp students) who was the most awake tried figuring out where to get our tickets but unfortunately his mandarin wasnt very good so i had to step in... half awake, at 7 in the morning and converse in chinese! for all my friends who knw me.... u knw how bad my chinese is but yet i was the best available... thinking back its really quite funny but it wasnt tt friday morning... imagine me speaking chinese! argh haha... so tt was the start of our journey

getting to xi'an, we did the usual touristy things but the terra cotta warriors really made the trip worth going even thou it was really tiring.... having to be the translator for the group when the need arises. haha i havent spoken this much chinese for the longest time!

as much as i hated learning chinese back in spore, im only starting to appreciate it more and more now - doesnt mean that i want to learn it again- but without this ability, i think this trip would haf been one HUGE mess. china's not like france where the people chooses not to speak english, but the locals here jus dont knw how to speak it so no matter how hard u try, there's bound to be mis-communication.

so enuf abt xi'an

tribute to my darlings

im suffering from post summer syndrome.........

after a wonderful summer of great loving with all my darlings, lots of partying, twirling, drinks, crazy djs, the most gorgeous birthday cake on earth, meeting up with all the old friends whom i havent seen in ages and having all my good friends around me .... im now back in school but not even in cali where i have at least some sort of established life there which i worked damn hard on the past year, but im in hongkong instead

i miss tt time so....
being at alley laughing with sarah, gina and johan
twirling with matt at velvet
drinking and talking with daniel.. learning more abt him
spending time with ivan
best ever yakitori dinner with aaron
hanging out in the ever sinful canele with only my good friends
not to forget the great new friends i met thks to sarah... mery, perry & nadia

thks from the bottom of my heart to my darlings (you knw who you are) for making the summer absolutely unforgettable and i love all of you so. with all the crap that goes on in life, we are still able to find time to bond and share laughter by just talking. these kind of friends are the ones worthy to keep and fight for. the past 2 mths were passed with both pain and lots of fun, but i made the most of it and enjoyed every moment of it... my only regret is that everything had to come to a stop starting with your departure, we all went our own ways - each to our own part of the world, leaving with only a promise to meet somewhere, some part of the world some other time. but will it be different? by that time the situation will be different wont it? the time spent apart from each other will take its toll...

as much fun as i am having in hk, meeting new people, trying a new environment, i am looking forward to dec, when i can go home spend time with sarah, gina and johan with our lychee margharitas by the one & only ashlee while preparing for a long flight to cali where somemore old friends have joined me at! :) not forgetting my baby.... my car waiting for me heh. spring shd be a good semester! But i will start this cycle again... missing the 3 really important people in my life once again. phone calls to you guys never seem to be enuf for me, i need your presence with me for comfort.
if only i could shrink all my friends into mini them and be able to carry them arnd wherever i go..... i think i'll be the happiest person alive. imagine....... tiny sarah, tiny gina, tiny johan :) pris will be a happy happy girl

love lots to all of my friends and to those who's presence are always in my mind, making me miss you even more... thank you for all the love and friendship you have spoilt me with
~muack

shoppings

for your infomation: its typhoon season! haha rain is expected for the next few days & its chilly too
















im going to call it mr popeye coz it reminds me of lime green spinach..... my latest collection to my table :)
im giving it 2-3 weeks to live? what do u think? bets are on!
its from agnes b. flourist too haha talk abt branded plant rite?










my latest collection to my accesories haha..... i haf been shopping quite a bit.... but i really like this necklace i think its really pretty

2 days ago:
p to j - im feeling rich.... dad jus gave me money! im going shopping

2 hrs later...........
p to j - im so broke :( from all the shopping i did!

today:
i jus had a big dinner out and went plant shopping at agnes b. plus shopping arnd for presents that i owe....... STOP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha

1 thing i do notice abt local fashion - hk's fashion used to be alot better than wat i am seeing on the streets now. they've become more mainland fashion and its quite dissappointing (i came with some sort of expectation for hk to be a fashion city similar to paris)

kitty&minnie

introducing kitty and minnie :)

woke up at 1030 today to attempt a financial management class but walking in i thinking tt it wld be good for me but i was ready to run off after 10 mins! and did manage to run off at 11! haha.... forget abt adding the class to my schedule haha told the teacher that the paper work wld be too much for him so decided to relief him of tt heh

had another mandarin class today and learnt kindergarden level pinyin ahahahahaha its so funny tt i have to speak out the pinyins in class... but at least for once i knw i'll be getting an A for chinese!!!! when was the last time tt happened?

off to dinner..... i think we're off for italian tonite! weeeeee........... hope it'll be good :)

thinking of all my darlings

blah

so today's been such a horrible day.................... it was jus spent waiting for the stupid time zones to change.... this is the ONE problem of studying halfway across the world... when its day in one place, its night in the other - and somehow i have manage to loose US25k in the process
seriously, i haf to keep my fingers crossed and pray HARD that it shows up somewhere soon sigh

weather here is starting to get colder too.... and its been predicted rain for the next 3 days hmmmmmm time to shop for rainboots?

BUT on the brighter side, i have taken pictures with my roommate and bathroom-mate

i really shd try and get more slp....... all my photos look horrible heh
so this is cecile..... my pretty roommate
im really so lucky to get her.... we dont have any cultural problems as we're both westernized chinese so i have no complains as yet and hopefully not for my stay here. we both share everything and i dont have any problems with hanging damp clothes in the room ~phew Best thing is that she slps late too, so i dont really feel like such a bad person for staying up another hr more than her

and this is ic (well i dont really knw how to spell her name)
she studying to become a translator but funny thing is that her english isnt too good but she's really nice :)

ive been really fortunate with a great roommate and 2 bathroom-mates whom i really dont have any complaints about. we all do our part and keep things clean especially the bathroom.

my hair's a MESS!!!!!!!!!!!!! i need to get a haircut soon.... crap
so things i need to do
- get a haircut
- find a driving range and actually go there... getting too stressed out already

HonG KonG fall 2006

Part homework, part on request of my friends, i am actually making my first EVER blog entry... and boy is it weird!!!

a Singaporean, studying university in Cali but now based in Hong Kong for the following 4 mths....

1/2 of the tiny room tt's becoming pretty cosy

this is the whole of the tiny room

my roommate is this really cute local born in the states raised in uk and now back in hk.....

the room had lots of getting use to

1. first time ever im sharing a room with someone else for a long period of time
2. its tiny!
3. the beds........ goodness u wld think they're made of wood!

life here is so different from what im used to.

this is one experience i will not forget