2005 年 12 月 11 日 星期日 【微冷】

“Eternity 20th Anniversary Concert” (26th November, 2005)

On 26th November, 2005, Wendy Yip invited me together with two other Christians, Tracy Wong and Likka Tao, to attend a concert in the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in the evening. If I remember correctly, it was my second time to go to the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. It has been quite a long time since I first visited there. The first time I visited there when I was a child. Wendy, Tracy and Likka are all Christians. I knew them when I studied in university. Wendy and Tracy were the group leaders of the cell when they were in university. Wendy is now a school librarian in a college while Tracy is a marketing officer in a trading firm. Likka is a shopkeeper in a large bookstore who has a talent for music and fine art. They are all my good friends.

Before the concert, I bought the book “Desperate Housewives” in the Joint Publishing Bookstore of Wan Chai at five. It was the book which I longed for. We had tea in a Vietnam restaurant in Wan Chai around six. However, the food tasted like Chinese cuisine rather than Vietnamese one. After the meal, we went to the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. With the help of Wendy, we were given a special discount of 25 per cent for the tickets. The concert started at half past seven. The concert was named “Eternity 20th Anniversary Concert”. It was organized by the Media Evangelism Limited. Eternity is a band which was organized by a few Christians. They devoted to preaching the word of God through some beautiful songs. The concert reached a climax when Jade Kwan appeared on the scene. Jade is one of the pop singers in Hong Kong. She is also a Christian. Jade shared her faith and her life with the audiences. But, I was not much moved by her story. The concert ended at ten.

After the concert, we had dinner in the Red Ant restaurant at half past ten. We ordered some desserts and cakes. We had some small talk in the restaurant until half past eleven. I spent about $125 for the whole night.

To be perfectly honest, I did not think the concert was a very good one. Tracy and Likka did not seem to enjoy the concert as well. It was quite like a commercial concert rather than a show that preached religion. The clergyman just could not link up the concert with Christianity.

“Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers” (The Sorrows of Young Werther)

I spent a few nights reading a novel named “Die Leid en des Jungen Werthers” (“The Sorrows of Young Werther” in English) last week. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was the author of that novel. Goethe was one of the most famous writers in Germany, even in the world. It was a sentimental love story about a young man called Werther. Werther was an emotional and sensitive gentleman. He fell in love with a young lady whom was engaged to another man. That young lady married to the one who was engaged to. It made Werther quite an upset. His life seemed all of a sudden empty and meaningless. Finally, Werther killed himself with his gun.

Most of the people may think Werther was such a coward. He put an end to his life as an escape. I think it is not fair to judge a person whether he was negative or not by the case of commit suicide. In fact, Werther did try his best to forget the past and started a new life, but he failed. For Werther, the woman he loved was all of his life. His life turned to meaningless once he lost her. In this logic, he should end his life. What I want to say is that we should judge a person by the logical development of the case but not the result of the case. I do not agree to commit suicide, but we cannot say all men whom killed themselves are cowards. They may have some good reasons for that. All in all, the book is worth reading.

>>December 11, 2005 at 5:44:53 PM GMT+8

2005 年 11 月 20 日 星期日 【颳風】

“Working in Lo Wu” (1st – 20th November, 2005)

After I had left the tutorial centre, I became a temporary clerk in the Lo Wu control point. I have been working for the Immigration Department for over half a month. During this period, I tried hard to adapt myself to the new environment. I must learn to adjust myself to the office work. I learnt a lot from my department. It is my first time to serve the government. I am not a civil servant, but just a “servant” in contract base. There is a big difference between “civil servant” and “servant”. “Civil servants” are a group of people with “iron bowls”. Some high ranking officials even have “golden bowls”; while “servants” are a group of low ranking staff with low salary and limited welfare. Anyway, it was my choice. I am now enjoying the short working hours. That means I hardly ever work overtime. What more could I ask for?

My job is no different than an office assistant in a small firm. I am responsible to dispatch letters, memos and notes to different departments within the control point. I would say my duty is like a postman rather than a clerk. I have to go around the halls with a trolley to deliver the documents every morning and afternoon. Every month, I need to check out all the figures showed on the telephone bills and found them to be correct. Sometimes, I had to dispatch some classified documents outside the border control. I may ask to go to the headquarters of the Immigration Department in Wan Chai or the branch in Kowloon Bay.

The work was not so difficult as I imagine, once I got into a routine it was not so bad. At first I had to memorize thousands of codes, for instance, the short forms of divisions, ranks, places and so on. All those stuff drove me up the wall. I had a hard time memorizing all those things.

I have a partner who calls Johnny Hui. He treats me kindly. You might not believe this, but my partner has worked as an office assistant in the government for 18 years. Johnny is responsible to the external work while I am responsible to the internal job.

I get along well with my co-workers. They are all nice and help me a lot. Every colleague is asked to chip in twenty dollars for the snack every month. We often share snacks or fruits with each other. However, some high ranking officers would take their anger out on their subordinates occasionally. Moreover, the upward mobility is relatively low. The lmmigration Assistants have a fat chance to promote to Immigration Officers.

Some of my friends may think that my job is a gravy train and earned much money and enjoyed many fridge benefits. However, it is not the case. I do not stand a dog's chance of promoting to a higher rank because I am just a temporary clerk under contract base. I do not have chance to get higher pay or better fridge benefit. Once my contract expired, I have no relationship with the government.

The downside to working in the government is that you have to do the same stupid things every day. You feel you are in a rut. You would become an idiot after working for long period.

My Uncle told me that an employee resembles a vase with a very narrow bottleneck. Your boss would grab at your neck every day when you go to work. One cannot breathe easily in the office. My job right now is just like what my uncle said. I think that is “life”. One should learn how to roll with the punches whether you like it or not.

“Dinner with Yuki Leung” (5th November, 2005)

I had dinner with Yuki Leung in Mongkok on 5th November, 2005. We met at the Mongkok MTR station at 19:45. Afterwards, we had supper in a western restaurant. It was so nice to have dinner with Yuki again. We talked about everything under the sun, including jobs and study. At about half past ten, we finished our meal and went for a walk. Since Yuki would like to have a new mobile phone, we went to see some brand new cell phones nearby. We went back home before midnight.

“Studying in the Wall Street Institute (WSI)” (5th November, 2005)

Since I have been enjoying the short working hours, I managed to learn something in my spare time. I think I should snatch at every chance to improve my English. Therefore, I took a course in a famous English learning centre in town, the Wall Street Institute. The tuition is extremely expensive. The yearly tuition is over seventeen thousand dollars. Luckily, part of the tuition could be claimed from the continuing education fund. I do like the environment of the WSI. It is big, comfortable together with hi-tech computers. Furthermore, I could have my lesson whenever I want. I think it is a good place for learning.

>>November 22, 2005 at 9:01:37 PM GMT+8

2005 年 10 月 30 日 星期日 【颳風】

“Resignation and a New Job” —— The End of Tutorial Career.

On 18th October, 2005, I received a phone call when I was teaching in the class. Since the number was not familiar with me, I did not answer the phone at once. When I checked my voice box at that night, I had got a voice mail from someone called Ms Fung. Ms Fung works for the personnel unit of the Immigration Department. She informed me that I was hired by the Immigration Department as a temporary clerk in Lo Wu for six months. The employment contract was expected to be renewed after half a year. I was so excited when I learnt that good news. I replied her the next morning and confirmed the position. The job was not easy to get. Only three candidates out of sixty were selected.

I tendered my resignation on 20th October, 2005. The director of the tutorial school, Ms Amy Leung, came to my office the next day. Ms Leung tried to persuade me to stay in the company. She was willing to give me a pay raise if I could stay in the education centre. However, I rejected her offer. Since there is no probation period, I have to pay 20 days’ wages in lieu of notice to the company. Even though it cost me an arm and a leg, I had made up my mind to leave office.

Tomorrow will be my last day in that education centre. I will take my new post in the coming Tuesday. It is a turning point in my life. Leaving the Yin Lok Tutorial School marked the end of my tutorial career. I have small chance to come back to the tutorial sector. I have just given up a cushy job with good pay. I get lower pay in my new job, but shorter working hours. Until now, I do not know whether the new job suits me or not. This is a gamble I have to take since I do not want to be a tutor any more.

After my resignation, a few part time tutors would fill my place. I hope it would not inconvenience the company much.

>>October 30, 2005 at 12:15:31 PM GMT+8

2005 年 10 月 9 日 星期日 【晴】

“Mid-Autumn Festival” (18th September, 2005)

On the day of Mid-Autumn Festival, Angus Chow, Connie Yeung, Cynthia Lau, Eric Leung, Jason Leung, Sarah Lo, Tony Poon and I had a barbecue in Sheung Shui. They were all my classmates when I studied at university. We met at the Sheung Shui KCR Station at ten in the evening. Then, we took two taxis to Sarah’s friend’s home. We talked about our jobs. Both Angus and Jason are now working for the Immigration Department as an Immigration Assistant; Connie, Eric, Sarah and Tony are in business sector; Cynthia started her own business in education sector. They all have a brilliant future in their own careers, but I still was founding a job. According to Tony, everyone may not have more than eight jobs for one’s life. But I think I had far more than that number. The gathering came to an end at about half past one in the morning.

Trip to Macau (24th – 25th September, 2005)

On 24th September, 2005, Jervis Tang, Lung Ho, Sum Kwong and I had a two-day trip to Macau. The trip was led by Lung. On that early morning, we met at the bus station in Fu Shin Estate of Tai Po. Then, we took a bus no. 271 to the port in Tsim Sha Tsui. The ship departed at eight in the morning. We arrived in Macau before ten. Upon arrival, we visited a number of Macau’s famous scenic spots such as casinos.

Before I move on, I would like to introduce the persons who joined this tour to my readers. Jervis, Lung and Sum were my schoolmates when I studied at secondary school. Jervis got a job in a hospital; Lung is now working for the Immigration Department; Sum is in the Legal Department. They had been to Macau before. But, I have never been to Macau. It was my first time to go there. They asked me to go to Macau for the weekend.

At noon, we took the shuttle bus to go to the hotel that we had booked before. We got two twins rooms in the Hotel Royal which near the down town. And most importantly, it was the cheapest five-star hotel in Macau. Nevertheless, it was not a five-star hotel that I had expected. It was more like a three-star hotel in Hong Kong according to its size and service.

After we checked in, we visit different scenic spots in Macau. At night, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant. After the meal, we hung around in streets until we found a coffee shop. Four gays had a long chat in that coffee shop. We talked about our jobs and relationships. We took a taxi to go to the hotel at half past ten.

Next morning, we had breakfast in a small Chinese restaurant. After that, our tour split into two groups. Jervis and Sum went to the Church; Lung and I continued our sightseeing trip. At noon, we joined together and had lunch in a Portuguese restaurant. In that restaurant, the food tasted delicious. Afterward, we bought some souvenirs for our friends and relatives in the shops nearby.

After that, we visited the "Tai Sam Bah" (Ruins of St. Paul), the Macau Museum and some sightseeing spots nearby. We took several pictures in front of the Tai Sam Bah. Then, Jervis and Sum went back to Hong Kong while Lung and I stayed in Macau until five in the evening.

To conclude, it was a fruitful trip. I only spent a thousand bucks for the whole tour (six hundred dollars for the hotel and ferry fare; four hundred dollars for food and souvenirs). I hope I will have another chance to visit different places.

Ten Job Interviews and One New Job (1st August - 5th October, 2005)

I have been searching a job for over two months. I sent more than fifty application letters and was invited to attend over ten interviews during this period. Some companies even asked me to work on probation for a day without remuneration. I think it was way too far. Anyway, I eventually got one job on 5th October, 2005. I am now working for a tutorial school in Fu Shin Estate of Tai Po. The workplace is near my home. It only takes me five minutes to get to the office. I can have my lunch at home. I am glad to get a job after a long-lasting unemployment period, even though I do not like that company in the first place. In all honesty, it is a good offer in a sense and I think I am the very man for this god damn job. It is a good paid job (at least I think so). It is not a job I like, but a job I do not hate.

Yin Lok Tutorial School is a franchise organization. It has twelve branches all over Hong Kong. It is quite a big company, but the management is terrible. To tell the truth, it is the worst tutorial school I have ever worked for. I am the only full-time tutor in that organization. There is no support for the teacher and my boss is a red-tapist. Thus, I would just simply quit my job once I have another offer. However, it is not the case this time.

Yesterday, I received a phone call from the Social Welfare Department. The Department got me a post as an office assistant. I don't know whether I should accept the offer or not. The wage is only six thousand and five hundred dollars a month. The salary is far lower than I have now. But I could hardly put up with the tutoring work any longer. My mother advised me that I should reject the offer since I have already got a better paid job right now. I have to reply to the Department on the coming Wednesday. I just do not know how to do. Could somebody give me some advice?

>>October 10, 2005 at 9:06:00 PM GMT+8

2005 年 9 月 15 日 星期四 【晴】

My new diary would be posted soon.

>>September 15, 2005 at 11:11:36 AM GMT+8

2005 年 8 月 30 日 星期二 【晴】

Dogville --- “Nature of Humanity”

Four days ago (26th August, 2005), I watched a film named “Dogville”. It is directed by Lars von Trier, starring Nicole Kidman. It is a very good movie that I have ever seen. I like the story, even love it. I think it is the best play after the “Pride and Prejudice” of Jane Austen and the “Hamlet” of William Shakespeare. The story is about the nature of humanity. The story took place in a small village of America called “Dogville”. There was only one dog in that village, called Moses.

The background of the story was 1930s’ America. It was the age of depression. People suffered from economic recession and political instability. Morality deteriorated with increasing distrust among people. Tom, a young writer lived in the Dogville, was an idealist and he tried to illustrate the bright side of the human nature. He endeavored to restore the morality in his community. Tom attempted to play a role as the moral and spiritual leader of the town.

One day, a gunshot broke the silence of the Dogville. Tom tried to trace the sound and found a pretty young lady was walking back and forth at the entrance of the town. Her name was Grace (Nicole Kidman), a fugitive who was chasing by gangsters. Tom was the first guy who met Grace in the Dogville. Tom felt sorry about the happenings of Grace and suggested her staying in the Dogville.

In fact, Tom had his own consideration. He tried to make use of the case of Grace to arouse the morality among the citizens. Tom persuaded the villagers accepted Grace staying in the village. Grace had to do some simple housework for the townspeople as a return. Two weeks after, villagers were unanimous in support of Grace’s staying. Since then Grace became one of the members in the Dogville. Everyone gets along well with Grace.

However, the happy life of Grace in the Dogville did not last long. On 4th July, the US Independence Day, the police announced that Grace was a fugitive. Anyone who hid her from the police would be treated as a criminal. The villagers felt guilty for hiding a suspect even though they all knew that Grace was innocent.

With the increasing risk of hiding Grace, the townspeople asked for more from Grace and doubled her workload. In order to continuing staying in the village, Grace accepted the offer reluctantly. Everything changes from that time. Grace sometimes made some minor mistakes inevitably because of heavy workload. The townsmen were irritated by the mistakes that made by Grace. They began exploiting her and even a gay raped her. One night, three women came to Grace’s shack and destroyed all porcelain figurines which Grace brought from a store in the Dogville with her wages. The symbol of her belonging in the Dogville gone, she finally decided to leave the town. But Grace was captured when she attempted to escape from the village.

After Grace was caught, she was blamed for the theft. To make matters worse, Grace was not allowed to leave the town again. She was chained to a large iron wheel which she must carry around with her, so she could not go anywhere outside the village. Since then Grace had to do more works in the daytime and was raped by the male citizens every night. Grace was definitely a slave and more precisely a “dog”.

The villagers finally decided to expel Grace from their town. In order to get the reward from the villains, Tom called the mobsters to catch Grace.

As a matter of fact, Grace was the daughter of the gang leader. Grace left her father because she did not want to do the dirty works and succeed the criminal kingdom of his father.

During the days in the Dogville, Grace found that the ugly faces of the townspeople were no different from the mobsters. Lastly, Grace promised his daddy to succeed his criminal gang and ordered to kill all the villagers, including the children. The whole village was burnt down eventually. All “dogs” were slaughtered except Moses, the real dog. Only Moses was still alive after the massacre. The “Dogville” came true.

“Humanity – Cost, Morality and Self-interest”

The main theme of this story is the nature of humanity. People have been debating on the question of humanity since long time ago. At the time now, people still keep trying to find out the nature of humanity. Many scholars endeavored to find an answer, whether human nature is good or not. In my opinion, they were all wrong. The concept of humanity is not the matter of good or bad, but a range of morality. Human nature could be change within a limit according to the change of time and circumstance. Morality goes up and down occasionally. Even a very good guy would do some dirty things sometimes. When you have a high standard of morality, you turn to be a good person, and vice versa.

Please allow me to clarify a few concepts before I move on. First of all, everything has its cost. When you do one thing within a period of time, you should give up another thing at the same time. The thing that you give up is your cost. The cost is also known as “opportunity cost”. As a rational person, everyone should take the lowest cost option in order to maximize one’s profit. Secondly, assuming that all people are self-interest (In reality, all people are self-interest! I think most of my readers would agree that.). Since people are self-interest, everybody would attempt to expand their own interest unlimitedly and unscrupulously. Thirdly, morality is a kind of “invisible law” to limit the overexpansion of the human ambition. With these three principles that I mentioned above, we can now have a conclusion:

“Humanity is a result of the continuing conflict between morality and self-interest. “

We can prove the above statement with the example of “Dogville”. The film “Dogville” shows the change of humanity under different circumstances. At the very beginning, the residents of the Dogville allowed Grace to stay in the village in return for physical labour. The interest for both parties (villagers and Grace) met at equilibrium, Grace got a shelter to keep away from the gangsters and the townsmen got a cheap labour for some physical work. Nevertheless, when the townspeople learnt that Grace was a fugitive, the cost of harbouring her rose up. Grace was asked to double her workload in order to compensate that extra cost. The morality of the citizens gave way to their self-interest. In this case, the villagers considered that the self-interest was far more important than morality. Grace tolerated the unreasonable demand from the townsmen, so both parties reached a new equilibrium.

Again, when Grace failed to escape from the Dogville and was accused of theft, the cost of keeping her went up. The villagers put much pressure on Grace and forced her to wear an iron chain. They treated her like a dog. The morality of the whole town was at its lowest point. All citizens only considered their self-interest. The word “humanity” was meaningless at this moment, because all villagers were dogs now. Once a man lost his morality, he could no longer consider as human. There is no difference between human and beast if a man only concerns his own interest and gives up his morality.

Lastly, Tom betrayed Grace and called the mobsters to catch her. The villagers did not take care the life of Grace, but their own interest. The “dogs” of the village only want to get the reward from the gangsters, even they were villains. The morality was totally broke. There was no man lived in the village, but dogs. Therefore, this small village called the “Dogville”.

When Grace had regained her freedom, she was no longer a dog. She took revenge on the people who had treated her like a dog. Grace killed all the “dogs” in the Dogville, excluding Moses, the real dog.

Grace wanted to be a good person, so she left her father and came to the Dogville. However, Grace was disappointed when she revealed the dark side of the human nature. Consequently, Grace determined to join the mobster and become a cold-blooded killer.

Tom was a decent man at the very beginning. But when he met some unexpected difficulties he stopped helping Grace and turned to be a coward. He found excuses to cover his notorious conduct. He couldn't resist the lure of money. Self-interest seduced him away from his morality.

To sum up, the parable “Dogville” illustrated the nature of humanity. Humanity is just simply a result of continuing conflict between morality and self-interest. Higher concern the morality, lower the importance of self-interest, other things being constant, vice versa.

In reality, everyone should make rational choices to minimize the cost and maximize the profit. At the same time, we must maintain our morality. Thus, we should learn how to make a balance between morality and self-interest. But remember not to go extreme. You could be an idiot, if you just concern morality; or you could be a beast, if you just consider your self-interest. Anyone who can balance between the two, he could become a decent man, a man with humanity.

I learnt much from the movie “Dogville”. I was much moved by the story. If I were Grace, I think I would do the same thing that she did, killed all the “dogs”. The story “Dogville” is a tragedy rather than a fable, a tragedy of uncovering the nature of humanity.
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“Aunt Ming” (21st – 27th August, 2005)

On 21st August, Aunt Ming, my father’s younger sister, came down and visit with my family for a couple of days. Aunt Ming lives in Guangzhou and she has not been to Hong Kong for 16 years. My father took her visit different sightseeing spots in Hong Kong. She cooked the meals for me. I bought her a watch which worth four hundred bucks in City Chain of Tuen Wan.

>>August 31, 2005 at 11:43:15 AM GMT+8

2005 年 8 月 16 日 星期二 【綿綿細雨】

“Trip to Thailand (8 – 12 August, 2005)”

What follow is my travelogue of the trip to Thailand in the period from the 8th August until the 12th August, 2005.

Fai Lau, Sum Wong and I planned to have a trip after leaving the Christian Action last year. However, we got another jobs shortly after our resignation. The trip was called off finally. But this year, Sum and I got another chance to have a travel. Both of us were unemployed and were enjoying our long vacation. We decided to spend our vacation touring Thailand. I have never been to Thailand before. It was also the first time that I went abroad.

On 2nd August, 2005, Sum and I joined a 5-day tour to Bangkok and Pattaya. We spent three days in Bangkok and two days in Pattaya. The travel agency, Morning Star, charged us around $2500 each ($1499 for the tour fare, $335 for the airport tax of Hong Kong, $100 for the airport tax of Thailand, $148 for the travel insurance and $400 for the service charge of tour guides). It was the cheapest tour among the others.

Sum and I were invited to attend a tea party on 5th August, 2005. The tea party lasted for an hour, from eleven to twelve. We got two valises with the logo of the travel agency and a travel memo. After the tea party, we bought some stuff for our trip in Mongkok. Sum bought a vest, a backpack and two pairs of slippers, while I bought a big traveling bag, a pair of swim goggles and a pair of slippers. After buying all those stuff, we had a tea in a dessert shop in Mongkok.

The tour lasted for five days, from 8th to 12th August, 2005. On 8th August, I got up at five in the morning because I had to catch the morning flight. My father drove me to the airport and we picked up Sum on the way to the airport. We arrived at the airport around six. We met our tour escort, Albert Tam, in the Zone H on the seventh floor of the airport. There were another thirty-seven members in our tour, including a baby. Afterward Sum and I had breakfast in the McDonald of the airport. We flew with Orient Thai airways to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. The plane took off at a quarter past eight. Sum and I fell asleep during the flight since we were very tired. After traveling two hours and a half, we reached our destination, Thailand.

I have to introduce our tour guide, Chow Shing Kim. He is an overseas Chinese in Thailand. He can speak both Chinese and Thai. Chow is a middle-aged man and he is nice and friendly. He was responsible to lead us to different sightseeing spots during this five-day tour.

Day One (8 August, 2005), Bangkok

“Dream World”
It was ten in the morning when we arrived in Bangkok. There is one hour time difference between Hong Kong and Thailand. Therefore, it was eleven in Hong Kong when we reached Bangkok. Dream World was our first sightseeing spot after we got off the plane. Dream World is an amusement park like Ocean Park in Hong Kong, but in a smaller scale. There were some machine games inside the park, such as Vikings, Super Splash, Hurricane, Grand Canyon and Flying Carpet, etc. Besides those exciting games, I think the most attractive spot was the “Snow Town”. Snow Town was not a town, but a big house with snow. Before entering the Snow Town, everyone should put on a pair of boots and a heavy coat that the park provided. Since Thailand lies on the tropical zone, there is no winter in Thailand. It is very hot throughout the year in Thailand, so every Thai wants to have a place that is “cool”. Thailand is not as hot as someone thought. The temperature was pretty stable around 30 degrees in August. But the weather varied a lot from splashing rain to blue skies. Everyone liked skiing inside the Snow Town. It was very excited when you were skiing from the high point.

After leaving the Snow Town, Sum and I joined a car racing, the Go Kart. I think it was the most exciting race in the park. It charged us HK$24 each for a race. Sum was a good driver. He caught up with several competitors. However, I had no talent for driving.

Then, we entered a Haunted Mansion. The Mansion was said to be haunted by some ghosts and monsters. But there was nothing to fear. No one would be horrified by all those plastic creatures.

Lastly, Sum and I took a sightseeing train to overlook the whole park. To conclude, the Dream World was not as good as I expected. I recommend my friends not to go there.

“Golden Dome Cabaret Show”
After the dinner, we watched a special show in a cabaret. The show was performed by the “Gender-bender”. Gender bender is a man who dresses and acts in an androgynous manner. The show was fantastic. Most of them are six feet tall. Some gender-benders could speak a little bit Chinese. After the show the gender-benders came out in the street so that the audience could take photos of them. But Sum and I refused to do so since we had to pay the gender-benders once we took photos with them.

“Bangkok Centre Hotel”
In Bangkok our travel agency had booked a hotel for us. We went to the Bangkok Centre Hotel after the cabaret show. It was a three-star hotel without sufficient facilities. The service at the hotel was no good. But most of the time is not spent inside the room when you are on vacation anyway. We just had a standard room and it was fine except the mosquito. Sum was badly bitten by mosquitoes in the room. We only stayed in Bangkok to the following day because we had to go to Pattaya.

“Mother’s Birthday”
The last thing I would like to mention is that 8th August was my mother’s birthday. I made a long distance call to Hong Kong. I told her everything was fine with me. May she have a happy birthday.

Day Two (9 August, 2005), Pattaya

The next day, Sum and I woke up with a start, when the telephone was ringing suddenly. It was the morning call from the hotel. It was eight in the morning. We got up afterwards and had breakfast downstairs. The breakfast was rather good compared with the dinner at the previous night.

“Leather Shop”
The tour guide, Chow Shing Kim, led us to a leather shop. The shopkeeper persuaded us into buying their leather products, such as crocodile handbags, ray wallets, elephant purses and so on. But most of us had no interest in those luxury goods. I did not persuade easily.

“Swallow Nest Shop”
We got to a swallow nest shop after leaving the leather shop. Again, no one interested in those swallow nest. It was too expensive for us to buy. Sum and I had a bowl of swallow nest with coconut juice. It was tasteful but expensive as well. It cost us HK$40 for each bowl.

“Snake Garden”
Then, we went to the Snake Garden. You may see a variety of snakes in the garden. Once again, the keeper promoted the sales of their “snake products”, for example, the snake pills and snake wine. Some members of our team bought some snake products this time since most of the merchandises were cheap.

After visiting the shops that I mentioned above, we were given lunch in a Chinese restaurant. After that, we went to Pattaya by a sightseeing bus.

“Elephant Garden”
We arrived at the Elephant Garden of Pattaya after two hours travel. There were about ten elephants in the garden. Sum and I rode an elephant for a tour. It was hard to sit tight when you rode on an elephant. Sum and I also fed the elephants and took photos with them.

“Hotel Tropicana”
Our tour went to another three-star hotel in Pattaya, the Hotel Tropicana. The Hotel Tropicana is a traditional Thai hotel. The hotel looked like a bungalow rather than a hotel. It only took us about two minutes to walk over to the beach. There were two swimming pools inside the hotel. Sum and I enjoyed swimming in the swimming pool. We had dinner in a Chinese restaurant after taking a bath.

“Model Show”
One of the real highlights of this vacation came one evening when we were going out to watch the “Model Show”. After the supper, Sum and I joined other five members of our team watching the “Model Show”. I have to clarify what the “Model Show” is. Model Show is not a show that some models on the catwalk, but a show that some girls were naked in the stage. It is a kind of sexy show. Only adult is allowed watching it.

“Mike Shopping Mall”
We spent the night at night market. Sum and I got to a big shopping centre in Pattaya, the Mike Shopping Mall. For us the prices were pretty nice due to a strong Hong Kong dollar compared to the Thai Baht. The current exchange rate is one Hong Kong dollar to five Thai bahts. Sum bought a sport shirt while I got a pair of trousers in the shopping centre. We had a bowl of fishbone for a night snack after shopping. It charged us HK$80 each.

Day Three (10August, 2005), Pattaya

“Coral Reef”
Sum and I woke up at eight in the morning by the morning call again. We got to the Coral Reef of Pattaya by a speedboat. We stopped by a floating dock on the way to the Coral Reef. We played parachute on that floating dock. It charged me HK$130 for only five minutes. We stayed at this location for about half an hour. Afterwards, we went to our destination, the Coral Reef. It is the most beautiful beach that I have ever seen. The water was clear. You could see the sand on the seabed. Once we reached the Coral Reef, Sum and I joined a family of four playing “Banana Boat” together. It cost me another HK$50 for the “Banana Boat”. Then, Sum joined another activity while I swam in the beach for half an hour. Sum joined me to do some shopping besides the beach. The street vendors tried very hard to sell you stuff if you show a bit of interest. Some tourists kept saying no and tried to walk away if they did not want any. I bought some key rings and aromatic candles, etc. I spent over a hundred Hong Kong dollars on souvenirs. Our tour left the Coral Reef after lunch.

“Thai Massage”
We went back to Pattaya by the speedboat. We did the Thai Massage in a grand massage house. After the two hours massage, you may feel relax and comfortable. The charge for the massage is HK$60 for an hour.

“GEMS Jewel Centre”
After doing the Thai massage, we went to the GEMS Jewel Centre. Again, nobody was interested in those luxury goods. Most of us drank some coffee inside that jewel center since it was free of charge.

“Shopping Malls”
At night, Sum and I did some shopping in the Mike Shopping Mall and another big shopping centre nearby. I bought a clock which worth HK$66. Then, we hung around on the street. Sum and I joined a family to take a taxi to go back to hotel.

Day Four (11August, 2005), Bangkok

“Honey Garden”
The following day we were taken to the Honey Garden. Our tour guide led us into a small room. The staff showed us all sorts of honey products. Once again we were bombarded with hints that we should buy their products. Some team members bought some bottles of honey. But Sum and I bought nothing.

“Sriracha Tiger Zoo”
We arrived at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo after leaving the Honey Garden. Besides tigers, you may see different kinds of animals, such as crocodiles, scorpions, pigs, snakes, donkeys, kangaroos, elephants and so forth. In the zoo, baby pigs lived with mother tiger; baby pigs and baby tigers were kept in the same cage. Sum and I were taken photo with a baby tiger. It was only about HK$30. After that, we looked around the garden. Sum rode a donkey and took photographs with it. There was a lady who has her body covered with scorpions. They called her the “Scorpion Queen”. The pigs inside the zoo were very clever. They could calculate simple maths. Some children were invited to join the pig racing. Lastly, Sum and I watched the elephant show with other team members.

“Seafood Shop”
After lunch in the Tiger Zoo, we were led to a shop which sold seafood and local products. Sum got some seafood for her aunt. I bought a pack of durian sweets for my mother. Durian was not the fruit for me but my mother.

“Central World Trading Centre Plaza and Thai Buddha”
The tour guide took us to the CBD of Bangkok. On the way to the Central World Trading Centre Plaza, we visited the Thai Buddha. The Thai Buddha is located at the intersection of two streets. As a Christian, I had no interested in that Buddha; while Sum worshiped the Buddha since he had no religious belief.

“Shopping again”
In the evening, we did some shopping again. I bought a cap (HK$40) for my father, a
clock (HK$46) and a model Thai taxi (HK$40).

“Suan Lum Night Bazaar”
At night, our tour guide led us to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Night Bazaar is a night market which likes the Ladies Market and the Temple Street in Hong Kong. Sum and I bought nothing in the bazaar. There are lots of red light bars around there. We had a drink in a bar nearby. Afterwards we went back to the Grande Ville Hotel.

“Grande Ville Hotel”
Grande Ville Hotel is a three-star hotel in the Central Business District. It looks like a guesthouse or inn rather than a hotel. We lived on the sixteenth floor. Before we went to bed, I placed an aromatic candle inside an ashtray and lit it up. When we woke up early in the morning, we found the ashtray was broken. The glass ashtray cracked when the wax from the candle overflowed into the ashtray. Fortunately, Sum and I did not get hurt. The charge for the broken astray was HK$5.

Day Five (12August, 2005), Bangkok

“Shopping Centres”
On the last day of our tour, the tour guide led us to a few shopping malls in the morning. We hung around in three different shopping centres, Robinson, Jusco and Carrefour. There was nothing special in those shopping malls. They looked the same that we found in Hong Kong. Sum and I just bought something to eat. We left the shopping centre after having our lunch in the food court.

“Home”
We got to the airport after lunch. The airport was quite small. Sum and I spent looking a bit around in the shopping mall of the airport while we were waiting boarding the plane. We tried to spend our remaining bahts in the shopping centre. We made a photo card and a photo sticker in the booths inside the airport. It charged us HK$30 each. For this five-day trip, I spent about HK$1500 in Thailand.

At ten past seven in the evening, we took the plane at the airport. We arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport at ten. I took a bus no. E41 to go back home. I reached home at midnight.

My vacation ended on the 12th of August, 2005. It was a fantastic trip. I hope that my vacation story has helped a little if you are going to Thailand soon. If you have any question concerning my trip in Thailand, please feel free to leave your messages on the message board and I will do my best to answer your questions.

You can see some of the photos that I visited in Thailand during the trip by the following websites: http://hk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pakkiyick/my_photos

P.S. I have prepared some souvenirs for my friends, including Sandy So, Christy Mak, Fai Lau, Connie Yeung, Jimmy Law, Sam Leung, John Shek, Alan Lo, etc.

Sum Wong had found a new job before the trip. He had to go to work when he went back to Hong Kong. All the best in his new job.

>>August 16, 2005 at 4:14:02 PM GMT+8

2005 年 8 月 3 日 星期三 【酷熱】

“Resignation” --- 30th July, 2005

Last Saturday, 30th July 2005, I tendered my resignation to my boss. I joined the ranks of the unemployed again. Someone wonder why I quitted my job. Some of my friends think that it is good to be a merchandiser, but I don’t think so. Office works are not my cup of tea. I decided to resign even though getting a good job is a real hard nut to crack these days. Fortunately, I am not the breadwinner in my family. My parents are still capable to work. Besides, I put half of my wage away every month against a rainy day. Even so, I am living from hand to mouth when I am unemployed.

However some of my friends have their own choices. Fai Lau is my ex-colleague. He is now an assistant merchandiser. He does not like his job either. His co-workers gave him the cold shoulder. Nevertheless, Fai did not give up this time. He decided to try and face it out.

Sum Wong is also my ex-colleague. He just took the words right out of my mouth when he said that one should do what he like to do. For example, most of the people do not like to be a salesperson, because people tend to look down their noses at the salesmen. But I do believe that everyone should follow his own nose. Sum is a lucky dog. He finally got a job in the government paying good salaries.

“Fantastic Four” and “Book Fair (2005)” --- 24th July, 2005

I had a great holiday on 24th July, 2005. I spent all day long with my bosom friend, Alan Lo. Alan and I had our breakfast in Café de Coral of Fu Shin Estate at 8:20. After the meal, we went to the cinema in Shatin UA. The movie “Fantastic Four” was nothing short of perfect. The film started at 9:30 and lasted for about an hour and a half. It just cost us $30 each since it was a morning show.

After the movie, we went to the Hong Kong Book Fair in Wan Chai. It was the lunch hour when we reached the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. We just grabbed some cakes and mini Swiss rolls for lunch. I just bought eleven books and one DVD this year, while Alan just got two. I only spent $430 on the books. We went home at 18:00.

>>August 3, 2005 at 1:02:57 PM GMT+8

2005 年 7 月 17 日 星期日 【清涼】

“Job Interview”
Last Monday, 11th July 2005, I was asked to attend a job interview in Shek Mun, Shatin, at half past nine. I have never been to Shek Mun. It was the first time I went to there. Shek Mun Station lies on the Ma On Shan Rail. It took me about fifty minutes from Tai Po to Shek Mun. Shek Mun is an industrial area with a few big industrial buildings. The interview just lasted for ten minutes, and I was asked to expect the second interview. At that moment, I did not think I had any chance to get this job.

After the interview, I got to the New Town Plaza of Shatin. I decided to watch a movie. The film started at 14:50. In the meantime, I hung around the public library, the Commercial Press, the Popular Bookstore, etc. Before the film, I bought some snacks from a supermarket nearby. I received a phone call from the company that I was interviewed in the morning when I had just left the supermarket. The manager on the phone informed me that she had decided to hire me as a merchandiser in her company. I accepted the offer at once. I was asked to take my post on the coming Thursday, 14th July, 2005. I was really happy about that.

The movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” was really a great treat to me. It is a fantastic action adventure film. The movie lasted for about two hours. It cost me $45.

“Bastille Day”
Today is the 216 anniversary of the French Revolution. A widespread revolution started in France on 14th July, 1789. That day was also called the Bastille Day. The revolution marked a turning point in European history. It was the crucial moment for all the people around the world.

“A New Job”
After two weeks unemployed, I got a job eventually. On 14th July, 2005, it was also a vital important moment for me. It was the first day of my new job. I am now a merchandiser in an industrial limited in Shek Mun. There are about fifteen staff members in the company. All of them are nice. The company mainly produces bras and panties. Most of our products are exported to Hamburg, Germany. My immediate supervisor is Christine Lau, a team manager. Christine is a nice woman. She taught me a lot in the last couple of days. I was responsible to reading some files, typing some documents and delivering some samples to our clients. All those things were easy jobs. I was able to handle all these jobs at the time being. Everything is fine, except the lunch. There is no restaurant nearby. Some of my friends told me that merchandiser is a taxing and thankless job. However, I have no choice but to accept it.

“My friends”
During the time that I was unemployed, I met many friends. I am glad to learn that both Sandy So and Christine Mak got a stable job and their probation periods were over. Alan Lo was promoted to an account clerk. Ricky Yu, Mac Mak and Sam Leung have got a pay raise. Jimmy Law is about to have his own business. Fai Lau has a chance of job interview in the coming Monday. I wish all of my friends have a brilliant future.

>>July 17, 2005 at 11:48:06 AM GMT+8

2005 年 7 月 1 日 星期五 【酷熱】

“Resignation”

I tendered my resignation to the Ying Kiu Education Centre on 16th June, 2005. Yesterday was my last day I worked for the company. I am now unemployed. My long vacation is now to begin. But I hope my holiday would not be last long. Every day I stay at home reading books, watching VCDs and DVDs, surfing the Internet and so on. I hope this vacation would be a meaningful one.

>>July 2, 2005 at 11:44:22 AM GMT+8