Hosea הוֹשֵׁעַ

Tag: travel

  • 东北之冬 Winter Tour 2007

    Backpacking In Nanjing

    My long awaited campaign, Winter of Dongbei, my winter tour, which I had postponed a year ago because of health reason. This was my third winter of my life and second time seeing snow flakes falling from the heavenly sky.

    I spent my winter tour in this town called Heihe (黑河) in the province of Heilongjiang (黑龙江). This town was located north of Heilongjiang, one of the border-crossing town between Russian and Chinese.

    I set off my journey from Hongkong to Shanghai to transit to Haerbin (哈儿滨). A friend of mine knew that I was in the region contacted me and I took a six hours train to Nanjing, north from Shanghai, to meet up with her.

    I visited Nanjing for four days and left for Harebin. The train took about 28 hours to reach Harerbin. I spent a night in the city and left for Hegang (鹤岗) to meet some friends. I spent two nights in here before I went to my final destination, Heihe.

    Heihe was a small isolated town. Transport system to the town was not comprehensive. It took me quite a while travelling to a few towns to get the right stations that take me to Heihe. God is good. I managed to travel smoothly and less waiting time during transit. Travel to places like these and in an unpredicted weather, if you missed the transport, you might wait for another day or two.

    Many people asked me why was I doing in such a remote condition. Three reasons, I want to ski, I want to learn Russian as my forth language and my annual personal retreat.

    I cancelled my skiing trip because i felt over slippery ice on the roads consecutively for three days. The third fall really put my body in a very bad physical condition. My buttock was bleeding and my waists was hurt badly. In fact I rested three days before i moved again.

    I had signed up for my Russian language class and hope to start blogging in Russian soon.

    Most important of all for this winter tour was my personal retreat. Last year retreat I had charted my next decade plan, (The World Is my Home). This retreat was to evaluate on my vision and goals. Living in solitude then I could reflect upon my life, refocused on my vision if i had deviated. Whatever was out of alignment, I would tune it back, just like tuning my guitar strings.

  • Winter Valentine

    Winter Valentine Background In Heihe, Heilongjiang

    I stepped out of the entrance, the snow flakes were falling beautifully from the bright illuminated starry sky.

    What a picturesque it would be if I could hold my lover’s hand and walked in this winter valentine background. Now I understand why the local here called it Paris of the East.

    Whose hand I would hold to walk on the street of this romantic night?

  • Pearl River Delta Autumn Tour 2006

    My Girlfriend And I in the Pearl River Delta Region

    On another Pearl River Delta tour, this autumn. It was another tiring tour travelling from town to town to finish my unfinished agenda again. This trip was no different from my summer tour except I have a smoother trip and made a lot of new friends.

    However I overspent and blew my budget for the autumn tour but it was well spent.

    Now back to Zhuhai and took a rest and energised myself for the next embarkment.

  • Tiger Ass Sucks Again!

    Tiger Airway Flights Sucks Again!

    My Tiger airway flights sucks again!

    Why? If you ask.

    My Coke Light is up by fifty cents from two dollars to two dollars and fifty cents. Normally I would drink about four cans during the flight and cost me eight dollars. Now my cost is ten dollars.

    And tigerairways.com online ticketing system sucks big time and I do not know why they win the XXXXXXX award. I do not know how the system works but the online pricing increases when the flight schedules are getting nearer to the dates. And the interface that displays the options for you to choose is not user-friendly.

    And for this trip, my ticket fare is as expensive as flying with Singapore Air.

    One thing that satisfy me this trip are the cabin crews. They are the prettiest group I ever seen. My favourite crew is Stephanie Huang.

  • 代你看世界

    Channel U programme, 代你看世界代你看世界

    Today I submitted my application for the Channel U’s Adventure Clicks.

    “What’s that?” I also do not really know. I think is something like the Amazing Race plus Ed TV kind of tour show, where the audience will dictate the hosts to run all over the earth like monkey with hi-tech gadgets that allow remote blogging and so forth?

    I have applied and hope to be selected to be one of the monkeys and make this Channel U program part of my ‘The World is My Home’ campaign.

    In the application form, I am ask “why choose me”. I say, I am the best and I meet all the criteria.

    Why I am the best? Because I meet all the criteria and I have the x-factor for such programme.

    The three criteria for the show are:

    1. You must be able to converse in Mandarin. No problem for me, Mandarin is the ‘in’ thing now.

    2. Have an interesting character, a mind of your own, an adventurous attitude and inquisitive mind. No problem too. Since I always have a mind of my own, why not let me be the producer of the show. How about let me select my own production crews too. So me and my team will produce alternative TV show that will capture high viewership.

    3. Being technology savvy with the latest communicative electronic gadgets would be advantageous. If I am a host for this show, I am gonna get my own sponsors. Will get myself Sony Ericsson to sponsor me M600i and K800i for photography, communication and tacit collboration. I will also get Apple to sponsor my team, MacbookPro and iPod to get our stuffs done. I will also get designer wears like, Nike for our entire attire for the trips.

    So now, let wait for an interview by TCS. Or is it now call Media Corp? What a lame name!

  • Microsoft Xbox 360

    Two months ago, I signed up for SCV MaxOnline and got myself a Microsoft Xbox 360. It came with no game but with a twelve months subscription to Xbox Live.

    I was impressed with the console. Impressed maybe because it had been a few years since I put my hands on a console. The graphic was good and the game I played was entertaining. I got my Xbox 360 connected to the internet to see what is it all about. Nothing fancy or may be I had not come to use the full potential of it.

    I bought the console to Zhuhai and hope it will fill my boring time when I bored. When I got everything setup, the next thing I wanted to, was streaming video from Windows Media Centre to the Xbox 360.

    I realised Xbox 360 games in Singapore were limited and expensive. Hmm… perhaps it was time for me to mod my console.

  • Budget Terminal Sucks!

    Singapore Budget Airline Terminal For Tiger Air

    I have been taking budget airlines from our new Singapore Budget Airline Terminal for quite sometime. My travelling experience with budget airlines is getting from worse to worst.

    I have no choice but to take Tiger Air is the only way to reach my destination, Macau faster. I do not mind paying more and get a more spacious seat during the flight.

    Plus travelling on Tiger Air for almost six months, the food menu is still the same. Wonder when the management will change the menu.

    How much can I save by using such low cost airlines at the expense of inconvenience. The Singapore Budget Airline Terminal is out of the way for public bus and MRT. If you take bus or MRT, we will end up in Changi Airport Terminal 1, and make a transfer to the Budget Terminal with our baggage.

    And the maximum baggage weight for check-in is 15kg. today I checked in with 23kg, 8kg more and I have to pay SGD$60 for over my weight limit.

    So I wait a while and join in a group to share the baggage weight limit. The counter staff is very unfriendly. She disapprove me of sharing with the unknown group and give fearful remarks to the group that I may be carrying illegal items and if they share with me and they have to be responsible.

    I am really piss off and take out my overweight item and slam my Samsonite baggage on the weighing belt to voice out my silent protest. That is not all. This counter staff walk off and help out at the other counter before attending to me. I am really piss off now but what can I do in this so-called world class city called Singapore.

    What kind of fcuking attitude and crappy service. Is it because is a budget airline. I do not mind for budget attitudes and budget services if they are getting a budget salaries too.

    Ah…I forget to give them a budget complaint.

    I go through the custom and came to the x-ray check. I was asked to remove my computer notebook and rescan my bag again. I was a bit unhappy but the security officers are friendly enough and do not give me the feeling of intruding me for co-operating with them.

    After the security check, I am now in the waiting mall and I can shop around before my boarding time. Since we have a budget terminal, why those shops in the waiting mall are not offering budget items? Why are the food expensive? The whole Budget Terminal is build like a warehouse and cheap building materials, why are the retail goods not discounted.

    Oops! This Singapore budget airline terminal is not really build cheap. In the terminal, wireless internet is not deploy but fixed network cables are installed. Wireless deployment is more cost effective than wired installment.

    How much saving can I get from using a budget airline. With all these displeasure encounters and inconveniences, I rather pay what i have to pay and get better treatment and a more pleasurable journey.

    As a seasoned traveller, an unpleasant journey to my destination can really spoil my day.

    I am still stuck with this Singapore budget airline facility known as Budget Terminal and Tiger Air until there is another carrier offer flight to my destination.

  • Return To The Altar Of My God

    Return To The Altar Of My God
    It had been two years since I visited Batam Island. Yesteryears, I used to visit Batam regularly. It was a busy little island filled with gamblers around the region, gathered here for sex, drugs and casinos.

    Those busy streets I used to roam, now dead and quiet. Hotels used to be packed over the weekend, now offering free breakfast to lure customers.

    One thing I enjoyed and still enjoying today was the journey to the island. I would sat at the edge of the back of the ferry and enjoy the nature of the big sea and the breezy wind that blew against me, I felt relaxed and a sense of freedom. Freedom from stress. Freedom from the world. Freedom from myself.

    Out floating on the big sea, looking up the big blue sky and guessing the depth of the deep blue sea, I meditated upon the Word of the Lord.

    For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

    As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
    As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

    But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

    (Psalm 103 v11-18, NIV)

    Now living in a world where chaos reigned and persona ruled, without Christ what would I become? Without the love of God, I would have lost my humanity.

    I wished to return to the Lord, returned to the altar of my God and worshipped Him as David did.

  • Smelly Tofu

    Huo Gong Dian (火宫殿) Smelly Tofu

    Suddenly I had craving for Hunan’s (湖南) smelly tofu. And now I flew to Changsha (长沙) to look for my smelly tofu. I went to the Huo Gong Dian (火宫殿) to have my tofu and at the same time savouring Hunan local dishes.

    I also met up with my QQ friends and they took me around for a city tour. In the night after dinner, we went clubbing till dawn.

  • Pearl River Delta Summer Tour 2006

    Pearl River Delta Summer Tour 2006

    It had been a month since I last blogged. Whole of my July, I had been on a summer tour around the Pearl River Delta region (aka 珠三角) visiting friends and finished my unfinished agenda. To travel swift and easy, I only bring a few clothing and disposable undies. I did not carry any gadget with me except my mobile and my iPAQ.

    This summer was really tiring and because of the long distance between the towns I was traveling. This summer tour was great and I loved it except at the end of July, there was a flood flooded a major railway track and some major roads in the southern part of China that caused some inconvenient to my travel.

    So now I was back to Zhuhai, my second home. Will be around the region till October and then move north-east for my winter campaign, Winter of Dongbei (东北之冬).