Movies I watched on my flight back

I don't know why all the 3 movies I chose to watch during my flight back to Hong Kong from Melbourne are all kinda sad... It's not even a deliberate choice, because I have no idea what they're about before I chose them...



Today, I kept thinking about this movie-- P.S. I Love You, it's about a young widow who has recently lost her husband and how she recovered from her loss through the letters left by her husband. (I don't know how it can be classified under Romantic Comedy, my tears just kept on running when I watched it... =P) Bereavement is a long process. During our fellowship sharing today, scenes from this movie just kept on flashing in my mind... I guess this movie kinda makes me think, this woman found the love of her life early in her life, when she had her husband, she quarreled with him the way every couple does. Then she lost her husband before she turned 30, it's like she lost everything in her life. When she recovered a bit, then her friends found their own happiness, leaving her alone. It's just so sad, and life is so unpredictable, when you should be happy, you aren't, and then you lose the important thing/person, life just goes on. I guess what I'm saying God is the only dependable being in our lives.



I didn't enjoy Charlie Wilson's War, it's not like it's a bad movie. It's more about politics than war. And it showed how one person can think they did something good, but the fact is what they have done would have some serious bad consequences. (This movie is about how the US helped Afghanistan in fighting the Soviet Union.) I didn't like the characters, I guess, that's why I was never "involved" in the movie, and even when it is also written by Aaron Sorkin, if you want to watch a bit of drama on politics, please watch the West Wing. The West Wing is just so much better. I didn't find the movie witty at all... despite what the other reviewers think...



I knew the Kite Runner is sad before I even watched it. I have been meaning to read the book for more than a year, but still haven't gotten round to it yet. It's also about Afghanistan. I have watched documentaries about the beauty of Afghanistan before the war, I don't know a lot about the history frankly, but how the friendship of the children was broken, that story is heart wrenching... and I have just read more about it on wikipedia, the novel itself seem to be worse... (I mean there're even more depressing details... I don't think I'll ever read it. =P)

What I did after my exams...

Is it just me who can't stand reading a book with a dumb hero/heroine?

I had the misfortune of picking up a book with this incredibly stupid heroine. It dampened my mood in reading, I can't believe I don't want to read after NOT reading any non-exam related stuff for so long...

I think Phillipa Gregory chose Mary Boleyn as the heroine in the Other Boleyn Girl for the happy ending (I don't know for sure, because I have only read like 1/4 of the book and I don't think I can finish it), as Anne Boleyn would be beheaded.

I don't know much about this part of English history other than the fact Anne Boleyn would die on the guillotine. And I have to admit I don't know much about Mary Boleyn, but all she did in the parts I read was obeying what other people told her to do, falling in "love" (more likely in lust) with a guy she didn't even know/understand/communicate with...

I know I'm in the minority when I read the reviews on Amazon.com, I'm not the only one though. =P The writing is so bad, and absolutely disengaging... Don't even waste your money on this book.

I have abandoned this book, and started another book I have wanted to read for quite some time-- the Amulet of Samarkand, the beginning is quite promising, let me see if the rest is as good.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a TV series I have wanted to watch for a long time. It has never been shown in any of the TV channels in Hong Kong as far as I know. (Maybe I am wrong.)



It is interesting to watch this TV series, it was produced like 10 years ago (season 1) about these high school students, and although their high school life was a lot different than mine =P, it felt better to watch this than others about high school students now because they make me feel so old. =P

The plot is not exactly new, the vampire slayer falling for the vampire. And the special effects 10 years ago were not good. =P However, it's got a smart and strong heroine! I'm not a man, but I still like looking at her, she's quite pretty. =) Though I don't understand why she wore all these short skirts when she had to kick the bad guys so often, haha!!

And Angel! (Angel was the vampire Buffy fell in love with, he's a guy, his actual name was Angelus. =P) Wow!!!!



The storyline and acting are quite good. No wonder it was so popular in the US.

haha! I am determined to waste at least one month of my time!! haha!!

Firefox 3 Download Day

Firefox 3 will be launched on Jun 17!! Help set the record for most software downloads in 24 hours.

haha. I don't like IE!!

Field Guide to Firefox 3

Plans

I've just finished the most difficult exam I have ever taken in my life. All those HKCEE, HKALE, or even my undergraduate exams (I had a very tough major) all pale in comparison...

Now, it's such a relief to finally be able to relax. I'm so tired.

And I feel like people "outside" of our work circle simply don't understand how hard we need to study. And I got so many people telling me, "You're having so many different exams!" The fact is I've been studying all along for more than 1 year, it's just for the same exam. That's how long it takes to study (almost every day) for the exam.

Within 2 weeks of passing the exams and one week of starting work, people are already asking me what my plans are for the future. Even some really unexpected people who don't do much planning themselves. =P

I intend to travel! There are just so many places that I want to go. (Examples: Peru, Guatemala, Tibet, India, Czech, Poland, Romania, Russia, Germany, Greece, Malta, Croatia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt)

I intend to study, but without stress and exams, I don't think I'll ever allow myself to get really outdated, but no one can follow the latest research/development anyway.
I also intend to study more theological courses, possibly at Regent College.

I intend to start exercising, as I have realised how bad my body is compared to others during my Australia trip. I was breathless half way up the hills when other people were ok... sigh... I'm still doing some research on what I should do... I KNOW I would be bored by gym. I don't like exercises. I don't want to go jogging, it'll probably exacerbate my knee pain. I don't like swimming all that much. I've got this idea yesterday, maybe I should learn dancing, I think it would probably be less boring... but dancing courses are a lot more expensive than gym membership, but of course, they offer a lot more sessions and choices. Any suggestions on what I should do??

And I think I need to make more long term plans for my life... but this can wait... right now, I just want to relax... I'm just so tired...

The Great Ocean Road and the Grampians

I joined the cheapest backpacker tour I could find, with $10 discount because it's low season. =) The 3 day tour cost me AUD 185 excluding accommodation.

It was quite a diverse group. We had 13 people on the tour excluding our guide- Eddie. 5 of the girls/women are travelling on their own including me (others from UK, Israel, Germany). (Travelling solo is good because you can meet all these people, if you're travelling with your friends in a group, you don't have much chance to talk to these other people.) There were a Japanese couple (the Japanese woman wore leather shoes even for hiking!! No heels but still...), a Canadian couple, two Australian women, and one couple whose wife got sick along the way.

Personally I prefer to see more culture and history in my travels, so I can't imagine spending months in Australia the way many of them in the group did.

We started out early, leaving Melbourne for the Great Ocean Road. The highlight of the day, of course, was the sunset at the Twelve Apostles (there are only 10 left actually, I wonder if they're going to change the name, haha!).









And we can see penguins on the beach after sunset! Can you see them??


A close up view


The next morning we went to see the London Bridge, it has fallen down a few years ago, I think they shouldn't have named it the London Bridge in the first place... haha!!



And when it broke, two people got trapped, and after they got rescued, they were interviewed by the press, and subsequently the man and the woman got divorced, not from each other, but from their respective wife and husband. =P

Then we head over to the Grampians.

Mackenzie Fall


Jaw of Death


Does it look like I'm jumping??


We all loved the place we stayed in, it was so warm and cozy with the fire burning in the living room.


The next morning, we started our hike up to the Pinnacle.




This is the Pinnacle


Grand Canyon of the Grampians


Then we walked down to Halls Gap and had our lunch surrounded by kangaroos.


There were even kangaroo babies in the afternoon near the Brambuk Cultural Centre. So cute, both the baby and the mother bent down at the same time! =)


For more photos, click here

Great Ocean Road & the Grampians 3 day tour (Australia 2008)

Sovereign Hill

It's a lot cheaper to go to Sovereign Hill on your own from Melbourne instead of joining any tour company.

First get to the Southern Cross Station and take the train to Ballarat (9:08am for Mom-Sat, 9:28 for Sunday), and when you arrive, a special Goldrush special bus will take you directly to Sovereign Hill.

This is the Southern Cross Station at Melbourne


On arrival at Sovereign Hill, if you show them your train ticket, you can get a 10% discount on the entry price to Sovereign Hill and a free Cobb and Co Coach ride.


So, what is Sovereign Hill?? It is basically an outdoor museum. You can see what an early gold digging area looked like. There are costumed guides all around.

You can even pan for gold there!! Initially I thought there aren't any gold in the river, but look what the guide found.

Can you see the gold???


I like the Chinese immigrant area


These posters look so old and authentic...


And the bowling saloon!!


And the shops, I especially love the printing shop and the apothecary shop.

The apothecary shop


You can give an anaesthesia with these drugs... haha!!






And there is a doctor's office inside with a bloody apron and the surgical equipment.


The print shop


I bought these for souvenirs

They're so funny!! You can click on the picture and magnify it to read the words.

Again, for more photos, click here.

Sovereign Hill (Australia 2008)

Philip Island

Hundreds of tourists went to Philip Island for the penguins every night.

I joined the Bunyip Tours, It's the CHEAPEST one I can find on the internet. It's just AUD 99. Remember to look for coupons in the booklets when you get to Melbourne, I got AUD $10 off my Philip Island day trip from a coupon in this booklet. My trip to Philip Island just cost me $89 with the Bunyip Tours. HAHA!!

Also according to the Tour Company website, it is a very environmentally friendly company, it has balanced its carbon footprint and use recycled paper for their brochures!! Join their tour the next time you go to Philip Island!!

I've joined their tour at the company office at Flinders Street.



There are 3 more Chinese girls on the tour apart from me, one is from China, one is from Hong Kong (these first two are working as nurses at Brisbane) and one is from Taiwan. haha!! The Taiwanese girl is on working holiday visa, and I learnt a lot about working holiday visa from her, she has quite bad English, so I talked in my poor Putonghua... =P HAHA!!

Apart from the penguins, we also went to a wildlife reserve to see kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, and a winery along the way before going to Philip Island.

After arriving at Philip Island, we went to Woolamai Beach...


The Nobbies, Philip Island, where you're supposed to be able to see fur seals in the islands really far away if you use binoculars...



As at the Summerland beach viewing area, we cannot take any photos of the penguins. Our guide told us to search for them under the board walk at the Nobbies, and we found them!!!





Be careful when you get the Summerland beach for penguins if you're driving


This is how the penguins look...


For more photos from the Philip Island,

Philip Island (Australia 2008)

Melbourne- How to save money and how to get around?

From Melbourne Tullamarine airport, you can get to many hotels/hostels easily. You can take Skybus to Southern Cross Station. And then they have a shuttle bus that can take you to anywhere in town.

This kind of thing is only possible in a place like Melbourne, imagine this in Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport, it's simply impossible... (I know there are hotel shuttle buses for Airport Express, but these are like regular bus services, not like in Melbourne, where you get off the Skybus and tell them where you want to go at the bus station, then the shuttle bus will take you there...)



Stay at someplace near the CBD, and use the free city circle tram and shuttle, then you can save money. =P I stayed just on the other side of the Yarra River.



I don't think there're a lot to see in Melbourne. I just used one day, and it was a Sunday! I bought the Sunday Saver Metcard!! haha!! At first my plan is to buy a weekly ticket, but then I realised I can reach most of the places I need to go on foot... the tickets are so expensive, minimum AUD 3.5 for 2 hours!!!

Remember to look for coupons in the booklets, I got AUD $10 off my Philip Island day trip from a coupon in this booklet. My trip to Philip Island just cost me $89 with the Bunyip Tours.



I think the best thing about Melbourne is the views along the Yarra River to the Federation Square from the Casino at night time...



















Believe it or not, I took all the photos on a Sunday night at the city centre... I can't imagine so few people in Hong Kong on a Sunday night at Tsim Sha Tsui... I can set up the tripod and do whatever I want, there were almost no one in the streets... unbelievable...

For more photos I took in Melbourne, see here (I've uploaded more photos here than on my Facebook)

Melbourne (Australia 2008)