Upped trainings

More and more trainings! They seemed to have upped themselves ever since the trip to Hong Kong. Now,trainings are 6 days a week,with only one day with single session,one day with double sessions and the rest of the days with triple sessions...

Hallelujah!

Hong Kong jam

It's been five days and finally I'm back in Singapore...ah home sweet home at last. The past days were spent in Hong Kong with the hockey team,and it was,I must say,quite an enriching and rather fun experience(well,ain't all overseas trips?). I will try to give a as detailed as possivle account of the time there,although once I stepped in Changi Airport last night,everything I did and saw in Hong Kong just seemed so far away and so long ago,almost forgotten. Thank God for the pictures I took,and of course,my ultra good memory. *winks*

Day 1

Because we were taking the budget airlines JetStar,the timing of the flight was really bad-6.40 early in the morning,which means I have to reach Terminal 1 by latest 5am,and that again means I have to wake real early,like about 4. I remembered tossing and turning in bed on Wednesday night,telling myself I have to sleep early or else I will just die the next day(like falling asleep while going to the airport and falling into drains again,together with my gigantic goalie bag squashing on top of me). But the more I tell myself that,the more I couldn't sleep,so it was really bad. Plus I kept getting messages from Mr Seet,at about 12.30,asking me whether I have the goalie bag with me,which further disrupted my sleep.

My body seemed to have inheirited the reluctance quotient from my mind,because when I dragged myself from bed,all bleary-eyed and groggy,I realised my nose was bleeding badly,and didn't stop until the blood has stained my WHITE team shirt(yes yes I tried to stop the bleeding!but it just kept flowing,too much for me to handle!). So there I was,at the airport,with two huge brownish stains near my collar,looking as though I'm someone with an extra hole at the side of my jaw and had just drank chocholate milk despite that defect. Ugh.

There was a long waiting time,which we spent talking,hanging around and checking in our luggages and settling our passports. We finally boarded at about 6.15am,but not before going through the luggage checks,in which my FULL Adidas deodorant got thrown away because it conatined 150ml of liquid. Apparently there is this new law that prohibits more than 100ml of liqiud to be brought into the plane(including water bottles) and I obviously didn't know about it. So goodbye dear deodorant(I actually felt like punching the guy's face,but oh well)! The plane ride was rather uneventful,or maybe it was because we all spent our time sleeping our lives away. It was very uncomfortable though(ahem,JetStar okay)-the seats were squeezed so tightly together,so much so that the taller people had their legs cramped in a tiny space that could hardly contain anything! I bet people like Mr Najib,Desmond and Rui must have suffered terribly *shakes her head*

When we finally arrived at Hong Kong airport,there was this mad rush to the toilets(Haha,bladder-holders!) before the collection of the luggages. Unfortunately,poor Laura's luggage went missing,which caused a major delay in our schedule. There was this big mess because our luggages and passports were mass collected without any order,thus luggages were not registered under the respective owners but under someone else's name. So we had to do alot of searching around and matching of passports to luggages,but it was still missing. In the end,she had to make a lost luggage claim,and was refunded S$1000 by the insurance company. Then we had a quick lunch(because of the dealy) in which I ate with the Halal table,and the dishes were nothing but green vegetables and rice! But we couldn't complain,because Muslims are not common in Hong Kong,and besides,we can't eat much anyway,because we had a match coming up shortly. After lunch,we headed straight to our chalets to unpack and get ready for the match. It's actuallt this holiday camp nestled in the mountainside and the whole team is staying in dorm-like chalets. The girls and guys sleep in one dorm and two dorms respectively,and within each dorm there are about 3 other bedrooms. Within each bedroom there are some bunk beds-the seniors(5 of them) took a room,while the rest of us Year 1s took two rooms.

(Siew Min,Jia Ling,Janelle,Rui,Shara,Mei Xian and I roomed together)

We had to rush real badly-clothes were strewn about,the girls just changed together in the rooms,luggages were shoved around,and quickly we were up the bus on the way to our first friendly against the Hong Kong under 16 team. We played at King's Park hockey pitch-it was an excellent pitch! Surprisingly,our opponents were all Caucasians,some nearly as (physically)big as me! The weather made things worse for us-we first started our warm-ups with a few slow jogs,but just into the first lap and we were all panting,choking and coughing. The bitingly cold air was just too much for our poor lungs to take,and it attacked our eyes and faces. Ah,but despite all that,we played hard(the hardest I have played comparatively to the matches I played back home) and managed a 2-2 draw. I have never dived and slid so much in a match! The guys were up next,against a non-Caucasian team,but they lost 2-1. Good games!

Dinner was up next,after showering at King's Park,and we ate at this restaurant in this institution called,get this,Hong Kong Polytechnic-University. That made all of us go,"Huh? So is it a university or polytechnic?" Haha. It was quite good,considering most of us were starved after our exhausting matches. We were then given time for shopping,about 45 mins,as most of us were drained,and we were brought to this high-end street with shops selling merchandise even more expensive than in Singapore! Most of us just walked around,or bought mango desert which was just superb! Then it was back to our dorms to rest and relax(and shower,for most of the guys...). The night temperature in the mountains was just freakingly cold,but I loved it!

Day 2

The second day dawned early,and we had breakfast at the chalet restaurant-bread and sausages and meat patties. It was god,but not filling,and most of us ended up buying Mochi or ice-cream from the cafe next door. There was some free time after breakfast,and I went walking around,exploring the chalet grounds. There turned out to be quite a number of facilties,like bicycle rentals,archery,a playground with the most interesting seesaws and swings,hopscotch,twister,kite-flying grounds,obstacle courses,basketball and street soccer courts etc. It was just splendid,walking in such cooling weather,and observing the Hong Kong kids going to and fro school(which is situated within the chalet grounds) from their own dorms.

Lunch was a barbecue at the pit just outside our chalet,and they provided BBQ packs and bread and fruits. It was so interesting,because this was the first time I had barbecue in the afternoon,and in such cold weather too! The food was good,but i ate mostly bread and fruits,because the meat seemed rather uncooked! After lunch,it was time to get ready for our second match,this time against the Hong Kong under 18 team. It was expected that we will lose,since we only managed a draw with their under-16s.

We returned to the same pitch,warmed up again in the stinging cold air and suffered sore lungs and eyes. The weather was worse,much colder and much more biting,but as usual we have to put up with it and get on with the game. The prediction wsa more than accurate-we were sorely thrashed by the under-18s! Most of them were much bigger than us(suddenly Rui didn't seem so tall after all) and they were so fast with their dribbling and sweeps! There were three encounters of one-on-ones and I was thoroughly outran by them *shakes her head* There were also three short-corners(in other words,easy chances to score goals,because the ball is set really near the goal) awarded to them,within just a span of 5 mins! It was ridiculous. It's just like 3 penalties given in 5 mins in a soccer game! Thank God none went in(*smiles*),but it was still seriously traumatising. In the end we got thrashed badly:8-1. But it was a good game,the most difficult I have ever played,much more than on day 1,and I seriously learnt alot from it. The guys' match was after us again,but they were against some random team(not the under-18s okay) and I think they won 1-0 by stroke. Good game! We had a reception with our opponents after that,pizza and cakes and all,and mingled around with them quite abit. And after that,we still have dinner waiting for us at the polytechnic-university! Most of us couldn't eat much,Haha.

After that it was back to the dorms to rest. But most of us were restless,and went on nightwalks to the vantage point where we could catch glimpses of the beautiful city skyline. My regrets for not taking any pictures! We also watched the stars and constellations,and because of the clear night sky,the stars stood out really brilliantly. Pretty!

Day 3

The third day was like before-breakfast of bread and jam and corn and eggs. There was also bee hoon soup,and that was when Mr Najib and I turned the soup pot into a battleground. He first challenged the others at the table(Izswand,Shara,Shaz,Hakim,Desmond,Malcom,Terence and I) to pick up this teeny carrot cube using only our chopsticks. Malcom tried with a toothpick,but was disqualified. Desmond only sank the cube further into the soup,while Terence almost got it...but it slipped and fell. It was so hilarious(and all the while Shaz kept spewing corn bits and juices beside me) to see guys fumbling with their chopsticks and not getting anything up! It was down to Mr Najib and I,and guess who won? Me of course! *guffaws* He was not very contented,and challenged me to more meal time battles over the next few days. Well,why not?

We then had to pack our stuff and check out of this beautiful mountainside chalet,and also get ready for our third match,of which I'm not playing. Lunch came next,again another battle. *sniggers* There was this dish which was purely thick,unpeeled stalks of chye sim("This is the greenest dish I have ever seen!" says Hakim) and that became our forfeit. Whoever could not pick up gooey,wet mushrooms and wet watermelons with chopsticks will have to eat one of those untouched green stalks as thick as one's big toe. I lost first and once,and goodness gracious,the stalk that Hakim picked out for me was the thickest and greenest,and it was so hard,the stalk almost crunched when I bit it! *gags* But Haha,Mr Najib lost most of it and ate almost 5 thick stalks...because if any of us are able to pick up,he has to eat too! *big laugh*

After lunch we went to another pitch(sorry,can't remember the name) and played against a University. The third game was expected to be easy which was why I'm not playing,because I won't be learning much from it anyway...in fact Felicia only touched the ball once *sighs* As expected,it was very easy,so much so that I can't remember the score! the guys played next,and they won too. Then it was dinner,with more battles and choking vegetable forfeits,Haha. We then checked in at Newton Hotel,where we will spend the next two nights.

The night was spent shopping at Ladies' Street,a famous shopping district,much like Singapore's "pasar malam"s and gosh,it was really crowded! There was much pushing and squeezing and bargaining going on. We bought many stuff,things which can't be found back home,and the prices were reasonable,though not much cheaper than back home. We had a great time eating the ball-shaped plain waffles and fried octopus and curry fishballs,especially in the cooling weather!

Day 4

We had an American buffet breakfast eraly,because we have a long day ahead of us,filled with shopping shopping shopping! It was literally shop till you dropped,because there was just so much to see! The extensive transport system,which is almost identical to Singapore's MRT system,gave us an even greater incentive to shop because we can go so many places! There's not much details I can put in for a shopping trip,and although I'm by nature not a shopping person,I loved the experience. We shopped for 10 hours non-stop,checking out the quirky clothes and bags and shoes and watches and...just basically everything on sale. That night,I was so exhausted,I could only manage a cold sandwich(too tired to wait for the microwave) from 7-11 before falling "dead" on bed.

Was just snoozing soundly,when suddenly all the girls burts into the room,pulled my warm comforter from me and blasted "Happy Birthday" into my dozing ears. It was so unexpected and I was really touched by their thoughtful gesture. Honestly,I myself have forgotten it was my birthday the next day-3rd December! They couldn't find a cake anywhere,and had to make do with a sponge cake from 7-11(my favourite restaurant,haha),decorated with Pocky sticks arranged like candles stuck on top of the cake. I was so groggy and shocked by the whole thing,but at least I could manage a few pictures. Thank you girls,especially Siew Min,for such a simple yet touching gesture. It really means alot :)

Day 5

Today was the last day,but since our flight is at night,we have a morning and afternoon,so Siew Min,Shara and I decided to go Ocean Park,which is like a theme park by the sea. This is where the longest escalator in Asia is found. In addition,there were thrilling rides,underwater galleries and slow rides. Just like any theme parks,with popcorn and games and loads of fun.

Sideview of the escalator

Beautiful seaside scenery

The rides were thrilling,and I'm proud to say I conquered the worst of them all *winks*

Proud pose from the seal!

Giant octopus *wonders if she ate its brother last night*

Right-on snap of a mollusc

Marine shot of the underwater gallery

Still,it was a great day,though we had to leave early at about 3 to gather back at the hotel and head for the airport to catch our flight back home. On the way,Siew bought me two small cupcakes,another thoughtful gesture to remind me of my 17th birthday,and we spent the rest of the waiting time eating cakes and Mochi,drinking milk and taking last few pictures.

We had another uncomfortable flight back home,which was also delayed,because poor Felix lost his passport while running from the shop selling Krispy cream doughnuts to the deaprture gate. To make matters worse,he is an Indonesian,and the Indonesian embassy has to be contacted. In the end we had to leave him at the airport,together with Mr Seet. Hope the poor guy is home already at the time I'm typing this. It really sucks to be held back and not be able to go home,after so long in a foreign country!

All in all,it was quite a fun trip,although I'm really glad to be back home,where I can run(*smiles*) and hang around with my friends and go church. Home sweet home!