More cars and more dangers?

Lately, The HK Government is considering letting Mainland drivers the opportunity to drive from the Mainland into HK. Now, I have to admit that I'm one of those people who thinks that since 97, HK has been going going through a process of change that so far isn't too pleasing. But the future is always changing. I can see alot of problems. With the influx of mainlanders coming through on a daily basis into HK, traffic is very heavy. HK is very small in the first place. Now with more mainlanders coming through with their cars, it just makes it more congested and more dangerous.

We always hear horrific stories from the mainland about their attitudes and value on life. This is what concerns me. Greatly. This has caused a grave concern within HK, and I feel it is necessary. But I have no doubt that this act will pass, but I just hope that it passes with more concern for the safety and consideration it greatly deserves.

Taiwan, my next Japan.

Near the end of the year, we decided to go on a small trip, just for a few days, since the Xmas holidays were very close to the new year holidays. We decided we would go somewhere close by, and somewhere not to expensive, and found Taiwan to be the perfect destination.And it was.
Even though we had 4 days and 3 nights, automatically I wanted to come back again. I last went to Taiwan about 10years ago (I think), and my impression was that it was ok. So I really wasn't expecting much. What I got from those few days was a very polite, nice, clean and safe feeling,something I associate with Japan, one pc the other places I can never tire of.
People were willing to help if you were lost and the feeling of friendliness pretty much everywhere you went made it more fun to enjoy walking around and exploring.
Obviously not everyone you meet will be willing to help, but the atmosphere around is so much different to China and so mucj like Japan. Most of the services you went to, you were treated with a smile or politeness.
The weather during those days was pretty much like hk, abit dull and not that cold. There really isn't much to explore in Taipei, but the main (like everyone else) people go there for is the food. There is so much to try, especially street food, and it mostly very tasty.so would I go again? Definitely and I hope its sooner rather than later.

A year in review 2011

Wow, what a year. I nave to admit, this has been the most busiest year for me. So much has happened. And I am truly grateful to my girlfriend, because without her, none of this would have been possible.

Usually at the beginning of each year, I would make my resolutions and like every year, they would only last about 2 months. But somehow this year, I actually achieved more than I can have imagined, which is a great sign. I managed to try new things (doing a small Marathon), goto new places (Korea, Kaiping, Beijing), learn new things (swimming) and one of the most important for me (and I'm sure other people) lose weight, (17-18lbs). What a year. With 2012 here, 2011 is going to be very hard to beat. But with something already planned this year, I think this year is going be even better. Happy New Year.

My HCG diet.

I have been doing the HCG diet recently. I have lost a total of 15-16lbs in a space of 2 weeks. Sounds crazy? Well, I must admit its quite amazing, but it was quite hard. To do this diet you need to take HCG drops, 3 times a day. The drops help your hormones burn the fat inside your body releasing calories and weight. In order for it to work, you need to stick to a 500 calorie diet, which is incredibly low. You need to avoid foods that increase your weight such as sugar, and carbs.

You do this till you achieve your ideal weight, or for long as you want to. I did it for 2 weeks. It's not a lot, but you are putting your body through a major detoxing stage. I won't go into too much detail, except that it wasn't easy. For the first week, it was manageable with the vegetables but once you run out of ideas with food, it can be abit boring. So during the second week, for me, the meals were a bit of a task as I tried to find different ways of making the food interesting. On another note, to do the diet, you really have to love vegetables. I'm not one of those, but to lose weight, I felt it was worth trying. I made the mistake of not eating vegetables, if you don't eat enough, you can't get enough nutrients and most important, there is not enough in your body to burn. When that happens, your body will start burning muscles.which is not great, as you will feel easily tired and you will probably get aches. After describing the process, let me tell you how I felt, after the whole thing. I actually felt good because once you keep losing weight, you get a sense of achievement. But I didn't find it easy. One of the things you should always do is research. I just didn't do enough. Would I do it again? I have to be honest and say "not too sure". It's definitely worth it because you lose the fat, inches, and you have to go through a strict and discipline diet, but what you get in return is confidence, new self esteem and a new clean body to start with. It will take time like all diets but this is very effective because you are dealing with the core of the problem, which is burning much more than you can input. I would only recommend it if you took it seriously. Now back to a somewhat normal eating habit. I can enjoy crabs and sugar, but what the diet has taught me to be fully aware of what you eat and try to balance it with healthy eating.

Our visit to Beijing

I made my first visit to Beijing 2 weeks ago, and it was amazing.

Beijing is a place that i need to go once, and never go back for a very long time. I went with my girlfriend for a week. We did all the main sight-seeing and that was truly amazing. We packed for w inter as we heard that autumn can be very cold, so it was better to be safe than sorry. We had planned this trip for quite a while, as I had one last trip on my visa, the choice was easy. Beijing and The Great Wall.

As the time came closer, I had began to get excited as not only would I actually get to take lots of photos to keep and cherish, but more importantly to touch and feel one of the great wonders of the world.

The plane journey from Hong Kong to Beijing took 3 to 3 and a half hours, which was very quick, which made it even better as it gave us more time to explore. As soon as we arrived, the first thing you usually notice off the plane is the weather. the weather in Beijing at this time was very dry, it reminds me of the uk. Dry and fresh, which is perfect compared to the humidity of Hong Kong.

We were lucky to book a hotel near the the centre of Beijing and also right next to one of the MTR stations. Since the Olympics, Beijing's MTR system is cleverly planned out for the tourist, it would be very hard to imagine how it was before when there was no underground stop to the tourist attractions. This I am very relieved for, as my mandarin is pretty much non-existant (!)

Even though there are stops for pretty much the main attractions, Beijing is still very big, and walking across the road can take a bit of time.

I have to say, looking back at the whole trip, out of all places we visited, The Great Wall is by far the best the most memorable and exciting. Even now, Can't really believe that I still walked some of it. I slowly learnt through this trip that its better not to have any high expectations of Beijing, as Beijing is still the same large city but with a polished exterior. In good and bad ways.

Overall, like I mentioned before, if you have never been to Beijing, then you have to go to see the sights, its a must, but once you've been, staying longer than a week, getting used to the people, food and customs may take much longer, and even then it may be not to your taste.

Achieving something important....

When I was young, like all young people, watching tv was my life. It was everything and everything after that. I loved watching sports as well, and while at school, apart from football, swimming was something that was heavily emphasised. All through school, all the swimming lessons i took inside and outside school didn't really do it for me. Whether it was the teaching or the location or the people, i was never able to get a focus properly. So even at this age (you are never too young or old to start learning, l always say!)  I never thought about learning to swim now or in the future. It happened as my girlfriend was going swimming at her workplace during the summer and me not having much to do after work decided to join her for some dip and batheing.  What a simple dip in the pool turned out to be a mission to learn to swim, once and for all. By observing others and the technique used and some research, i began to understand more and found that its really more about having the confidence to try and of course beating that fear of water.

Once you put your mind into overcoming the fear of water, you are already half way there. Our regular routine would be to go about twice a week. And everytime i would try abit more and learn and understand more. Now after 2 months, I am very happy to say that i can swim without my trusty float. For me that is a gigantic milestone. I allowed myself to just enjoy it as well. There was no pressure to learn it quickly either. I wouldn't have been able to do it so easily without my girlfriend. She has the patience to teach and explain things to me. For this i am very truly grateful.  I find myself very fortunate to have someone who can do so much for me.  So to finally achieve swimming, is amazing, but whats more important is finding that someone who you can share it with. Thanks my pretty :-)

9/11 Anniversary

Its been 10 years since 9/11, and the memory of that day is still fresh for me as I am certain also for the whole of America and even the world. With 10 years gone, its amazing how the threat of terrorism and unrest seems to be getting worse. Countries are going through a economic crisis, and so many people are unsatisfied with the way their governments run the country.  The future looks bleak.  I think if there is a lesson to be learnt is that we must not be the first to cast stones upon those who do not share our beliefs and ideals or who are different to us. We must learn from events and not follow them. To do so, we are no better then the people who did these acts of hatred cowardice. It is so much easier to hate then to welcome and embrace those who are different, but we can embrace this change and welcome it. There is a future and it is up to us to determine what sort of future we want.

In the midst of the 9/11 disater, there is also a lot of good, as well when we delve down inside ourselves, we can put aside our differences and help others who may need our help. We are willing for that second to decide to risk ourselves for their safety.  So there is always light where there is darkness.