8 Days-Shooting For The Stars

She was there again.

He saw her again.

He was smitten again.

Luke smirked. He was finally having some real food again. While he chewed on his egg tart he recalled how stupid it was to assume that the hangover he felt was induced by a stranger he saw. It was a fever, the stress of adapting to a whole new environment and climate finally caught and he lost the battle to a flu bug.

None of that though reduced the fascination he had on the camera lady with a pink tripod. It wasn't coincidental, Luke was never a firm believer of fate. First he saw her at the avenue of stars, the second time he saw her was at the peak. The pattern sounded extremely familiar.

The travel guide to Hong Kong provided at the airport. Luke grimaced, he should have known she was a tourist considering that she was present at the Symphony of Light show which was too mundane a spectacle for local residents to attend. Just like Luke, the lady was following the list of destinations provided by the tourism board of Hong Kong. It had to be because the second place recommended was The Peak and she was there too.

The devil in Luke though tells him that maybe it's just coincidental. He could have been sure if he had been to the third spot suggested-Ocean Park. Sadly, he was sick and he couldn't be there to be sure. Deep down in his mind, he hopes he's right.

That's why he will be going to the holy grail of all cartoon fanatics-Disneyland. Even though he has always thought of it as childlish and overly commercialized.

The entrance was as grand as it should be. A huge fountain with a bronze Mickey surfing at the top of the water sprayed and bronze replicas of his famous sidekicks such as Donald, Daisy, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto adorning the perimeters of the fountain.

It was almost too good to be real, she was there again. There at the ticket counter. This time with her camera hanging off her neck. He got on his feet and ran to the counter ticket, joining the first lane so that he will be right behind her.

She smelled great. It smelled like Lavenders during the spring, not the lavenders of winter which Hong Kong's experiencing currently. There was a kind of livelihood to the fragrance she permeates.

"Are you two together?If you are, you are entitled to the couple's promotion where a 10% discount is given."

He knew he was standing way too close when the counter attendant actually thought they were a couple but just when he was backing off he felt a slender nudge in his arms and he turned around.

It was the first time that Luke had the chance to take a full glance of her. She was beautiful as she thought she was. The classic flowing long hair that embellish most beauties and the suitably high cheek bones that gave her features such refined definitions.

A wink. That's all he could remember before he falls into the abyss of a daze.

Yeah. It had to be too good to be true...

To Be Continued...

8 Days-The Pink Tripod

Luke woke up today feeling extremely dreamy. It was a hangover.

The visit to the Avenue of stars had a much deeper impact than suspected and it made him feel like punch drunk in love teenager again. Now he's feeling the lovey hangover, the day after effects where he felt so empty and that everything was less alluring. The feeling he came to love and hate when Diane was still around and miss when she just left.

It was a day for self pampering and nothing's better than a day of shopping at APM-Hong Kong's premier shopping center and you could see why the very moment you walk in. A giant Calvin Klein boutique greets the visitors with a proportionately gigantic poster of a semi naked male model in nothing but some skimpy briefs. Luke looked on and wondered what would his body be like without the interventions of a drinking habit and late night mamakings with his cohorts.

Hong Kong was a shopping paradise and that should explain how he ended up with at least 20 items from the likes of Esprits, Chevignon, Ripcurl, Quiksilver, Izzue, G2000 and Nike in less than 4 hours. Once the excitement of spending needlessly on branded clothings, the fatigue finally crept in and a cafe called Double Stars beckons.

A cup of iced Blue Mountain and a cut of strawberry cheesecake later he was revitalised and ready to go but where to?

The Peak to enjoy a bird eye view of Hong Kong's world renowned night scenery. All Luke needed to do to arrive at the peak was catch a HK$22 tram ride to reach the top of The Peak.

Just as he was turning around and decided on leaving he saw someone with a really cutting edge camera on a nefarious pink tripod lifting rising up from the back of the camera and not long after that, she with the most melodious voice ever heard said: "Sin Sang urm koi lei zho ju ngo keng tau" .

It was her. The photography afficianado he saw at the Avenue of Stars. The woman that gave her a hangover. And the first line she ever said to him was loose translated as:

"Mr you're blocking my photo shooting scope".

8 Days-The Blending of Life

Hong Kong was bustling with people and noise from the very break of dawn. It started off with the early health buff birds who could be seen jogging around boulevards and continues with a melting pot of foreign tourists and local residents and probably ends only when the chilly winter wind finally proves too capable a foe.

Hong Kong wasn't much of a brand new environment for a city boy like Luke really, considering that like KL most of the places are well developed and there's pretty much Starbucks and 7 Elevens at most corners of a street yet they have their differences.

Lands are scarce in HK and thus most buildings are built very closely to each others, an apartment the size of our average low cost flats would cost millions and parkings could cost just the same too. Unlike KL, the HK government do make a serious effort to keep their streets sanitized and you'll hardly be able to find any form of waste on the street. They better be so when the fine for littering's a whopping HK $1500.

A visit to HK would have made the stress level at KL hilarious to anybody. If you thought that the streets of KL are too crowded and narrow, you definitely haven't been to HK. Just imagine Sungai Wang on a public holiday, that's how the streets of HK are like on a daily basis. Shoulder rubbings are inevitable and Luke was reminded numerously about snatch thieves and mugglers. Well, the 2 cities do have similarities after all.

Standing in the middle of Granville street was interesting. Luke stood there holding his shopping bags after hours of shopping and simply observed the crowd. The pace of a Lumpurian was simply too slow for HK. A week's trip would be just fine as the novelty factor will keep visitors afloat but try living here for a few months or years and you risk getting swept away by the rushing tide of the Hong Keys.

Standing there Luke realised that people on the street were the actual personification of the phrase "As time flies by..."with the people being the time and traffic as the physical barriers that we encounter frequently in life. It was like life was speeding past Luke as he stood there pondering what's the optimum pace of life. What a stark contrast it was to the view he took in on the flight here. On the plane he was hundreds of miles above the air, travelling at the pace of hundreds of kilometers away and when he looked out the window, he saw huge cruises on the open sea which seems to be inching its way across the vast ocean but infact it too was travelling fast. What a different perspective gaineed when you're moving through life much faster than the norm does.

The day's shorter in HK these days as winter approaches and night fell around 5:50 pm and Luke decided that he was hungry enough to finally settle down and enjoy a nice warm dinner ala HK. So he located an average looking noodle house along the street that has "Cheap" written on the walls. The menu nearly got his head rolling on the floor.

The noodle house was hugely deceptive and it managed to lure an innocent Luke in believing that it was actually cheap to dine there. Luke had a bowl of beef noodle for a price of HK$55, medium ranged for a local but devastating for Luke who could have gotten the same bowl of noodle for a quarter of that price in KL. The quaint settings of the noodle house reminded of an authentic Hainanese Kopitiam at Kluang he visited years ago, not the ones infiltrated by air cons at malls. He was relatively satisfied at the end because it was worth it, he would have came here anywhere. Essences Hong Kong were strong and pungent in that pathetic excuse of a restaurant.

Finally, he thought he could with a walk at the Avenue of Stars where they have movie stars leave their hand prints along an avenue. The night was chilly but the wind blew mildly only. It was 8pm when he finally decided to head back to his hotel yet something held him back.

It was the famed Symphony of Lights of HK.

Mega tall buildings had plethoras of neon lights all over and considering Christmas was 5 day away, the theme was rather obvious. Santa Claus never looked this good. At precisely 8pm a repertoire of laser lights was beamed towards the sky to create intertwining paterns and the view was breathtaking. Clickings of camera shutters were deafening as hundreds, literally hundreds of amateur photographers were there with their tripods and stuff trying to preserve this magnificent event.

Hundreds of photography afficianados but one stood out. She really did. Very much like the neon lights that became the background to the most beautiful sight Luke ever saw, only more illuminant and gripping.

He simply stood there looking at her, taking the view in as they say.

To be continued....

8 Days-The Beginning of a Journey

The sky was of the prettiest crystal blue when Luke stole a glance of it from his economy class seat. The bickering of the annoying old Chinese couple threatens to ruin this moment where sentiments promises to conquer every emotional glands and fill the eyes with tears. It was after all, his first journey away from home, his first journey out of his sweet tropical country, the first time where he'll probably have to do his own laundry, his very first baptism of indipendence.

The hustle and bustle of the airport was a welcome break of a fantasy where everything seems to be in perfect order, the salacious uniforms of flight attendants that were designed to showcase every single curves, stewards and stewardess alike. The fact that he still had to wait an eternity to get through the check-ins and the lack of efficiency that Malaysian officials are so well known for have actually worked in their favour. When everybody knows that you're bad they endow their lowest possible expectations of you. It was great though as Luke needed these imperfections to remind him that the world is not perfect, that the world is not rose tinted and perfectly white and airports often suggest. Whatever made them think that a pristinely wonderful airport is going to veil the fact that Malaysia has the dirtiest toilets ever known?

Thus, a huge sigh of relief blew when Luke finally boarded his destined plane.

In a matter of minutes, the plane took off and he took one last glance of this peninsular he hated and loved...it was a beautiful land contaminated by the blood dripping off a severed heart. He's glad that he'll have at least 8 days to mend this wound.

8 days, a baptism of indipendence and a drainage of unwanted memories. Basically, Luke was taking the easy way out.

He was running away. Hong Kong will be a perfect sanctuary. He hopes.

To be continued....

Bonjour!

This is my first post in over 2 months and I've finally gotten myself infront of my pathetic collection of microchips in black casings...you mortals would call it a computer..haha

Anyway...life haven't been rosy lately really...just got done with my finals like 10 days ago and it was a tough one...I had 4 papers and i couldn't afford to fail any of it...I'll risk going to Kampar to resume my tertiary education if I do...well just in case you've been sleeping throughout your form 3 geography classes...Kampar is a quaint lil town somewhere around Ipoh...approximately 2.5 hours on car from Subang Jaya.

Oh well...all I could do is pray now which I haven't done too much lately...I have been kinda swept away by this tide of laziness that I can't seem to defeat...arrgghh...knowing the exact consequences of procastination...now that's a really sweet torture...cause I know how bad it is to procastinate and be lazy and yet I just couldn't help falling nose on into it.

Anyway, I'll be taking off to Hong Kong in less than 12 hours. I'll be there for a week with my sis. My uncle and auntie who are residents there have been really kind...they actually sponsored this entire trip...paying for our air fares and stuff...It's really monumental for me really...this trip will be the first time ever i'm stepping foot on non south east asian soil...the only place I've been to was singapore and thailand(Didn't even go to bangkok...only the border where u can drive to from kedah...Haatyai...can't really remember how to spell it:P).

Anyway, I'll be posting entries regarding my impending stay in hk on a daily basis and just to spice things up(here comes Ian Da Drama...), I'll be presenting my entries on a short story form where there will be fictional characters and a fictional plot of story...I'll simply weave the places I visit and the things I do in HK into my story...haha...

So I got to go now...haven't even started packing...people...Merry Christmas in advance..may you be happy and your loved ones happier.

Laissez le bon temps rouler. Let the good times roll.

Merci beaucoup. Au revoir. Thanks very much. Goodbye.