Yup, making a short little trip to Taipei and Hong Kong with my brother come this 30 Jan. Has been in the pipelines for some time now, as in the idea of going somewhere when I'm back, but wasn't too sure where. He was thinking of somewhere far (read: Europe)... but the ringgit against almost every currency now is quite weak, so Europe's a no-no. But flying to Europe is really quite cheap these days. Not cheap per se of course, but proportionately cheaper compared to East Asia. I came up with the quacky idea of going to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Heard so much about the Burj Al Arab (the sail-looking hotel that spirals to the sky on some bay), supposedly the most luxurious hotel in the world, and wanted to at least have a look at it. Then had some opposition from my folks with their preconceived notions about the security situation in the Middle East.
So we came to East Asia =) Tokyo is a no-no, since I've just been there in Dec 2002. Not Seoul either - went in Nov 1997. I would love to go to Pyongyang though - we study so much communism but never really get to see it in action. North Korea should be an eye-opener trip that every history student should endeavour to make one day haha. That really leaves about Taipei and Hong Kong. Not that difficult to decide to go to both though, since Cathay Pacific is having a 2 nights free stay in HK if you fly with them to any destination they go to.
Taipei and Hong Kong.. I heard from so many who've been there - Eat. Shop. Shop. Eat again. Eat. Shop. Shop. Eat. Well, you get the idea I suppose. I always seem to think that about the only reason why I would go HK is to see the cast of zhen qing. lol.
Caught sight of your (daryl) tag at the right there. I got talk to you about going TPE when we had dinner last week remember? Can take leave not? Come along if you can! haha =P
Was a bit worried last night whether if my parents have the means to support me financially all the way through. If not, maybe it's about time I seriously consider taking up a casual job when I'm back in Perth. Because, it's always never about me only. I've got two younger siblings to consider as well. Dad kept on reassuring me that things are well within his control, as I accompanied him on his daily morning walk around our area at 5.30am (!) just now. I guess I'm really blessed that my folks can (and are willing) to see me through all my plans and whatever-have-you-not. Dad's not worried that he won't be able to support me, but I think he's concerned that I'll be lonely and homesick in Oz. And that's of course a valid concern to have - you know, esp. me cooking beef with garlic (ala not-from-this-planet style) almost everyday . Thinking of a few things now on how to make things more solid in my future, but there are always sacrifices to be made in life. (Why does that suspiciously sound like the "unlimited wants, limited resources" dictum??)
Just noted that friendster has this new feature that allows you to see how many times your profile has been viewed since the last time you logged on (it's right on the home page). Honestly, whatever for? I remembered lamenting to jw that friendster brings out the narcissist in us - which is quite true, esp. quantifying popularity in the number of friends you have. It's not as if my number of number of friends and acquiantances will increase from X to X + 1 every time I log in (which happens during the many times I'm bored) anyway. I'll just go in, and click on any person I see and go "oh, so and so now is at where and where".. and that's about it. And now there's this thingy that tracks your movement, never mind that it can't identify who exactly has viewed your profile. Interesting at first of course, since I'd prob go "wow. didn't know people are actually interested in my life". But then, I can't help but get the feeling that I'm being watched, even though that's highly unlikely in the first place. And indeed, I'm guilty of that myself in the first place - since I love to click on the "next blog" icon at the top of the page and read what's happening in a stranger's life. I think it must be the vicarious thrill thingy again. Life through a lens... life through "I see".