Best HK coastal hike ever – Cape D’Aguilar Marine Reserve

February 21, 2016 7 Comments

This is one of the most relaxing (easiest) and scenic HK coastal hikes! The Cape D’Aguilar Marine Reserve (鶴咀海岸保護區) is literally a natural charmer! Despite being located at the far south-eastern tip of Hong Kong Island, it is accessible by taxi and bus (Number 9 from Shau Kei Wan bus terminal). Hiking to the key coastal sites is a breeze. It is a short 20-minute walk from the bus stop and there isn’t any steep slope to tackle.

Thanks to my lovely colleague Celia who brought us here (accompanied by another 2 pretty friends!). Home to Hong Kong’s oldest lighthouse (Hok Tsui Beacon) and many scenic geological sites (the ocean arch, sea cave), the Cape was listed as Hong Kong’s first and only Marine Reserve 30 years ago. Unfortunately, some parts of the cape is littered with heaps of garbage today. It is important to keep the Marine Reserve clean. Hope the authority will do something about the trash.

Knowing Celia for almost 2 years, I just found out that she is a daredevil. On many occasions, she explored dangerously out to the edge of the cliffs and choppy shoreline. We were so worried for her. Earlier today while waiting for Tracy and I, she ventured out alone with 2 strangers (old men) into an unknown dark cave. She left her 2 worried female friends outside the cave. Her adventure inside the dark cave lasted 40 minutes! Fortunately, she was rewarded with some really stunning photos! I have asked her to bring me back to this unchartered cave the next time!

We spent about 2 hours at the Cape. It was extremely cold and windy. We only managed to explore 50% of the marine reserve. The tide was swelling with big waves. We had a close-call inside the sea cave. Just when we were leaving the cave, huge waves came crushing into the narrow channel. We were extremely lucky as coastal conditions can be very unpredictable and dangerous. We were just 10 seconds away from the disaster!

What a great day! Will come back with family, friends and my e-scooter the next time!

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Hong Kong’s coldest winter since 1957

January 25, 2016 Leave a comment

Back from sunny Bali, we have just experienced Hong Kong’s coldest winter in 60 years! Just 4 weeks ago (around Christmas week), I was grumbling about this year’s warm winter. I hate to admit this in front of my Hong Kong friends (who usually overdressed in winter), this is no ordinary cold spell, it is indeed freezing cold!

To experience this once-in-a-lifetime natural phenomenon, many Hong Kongers (frost chasers) went up to Tai Mo Shan (Hong Kong’s highest peak) last night and early this morning. It was so chaotic that it almost become a national crisis. Many people were injured and trapped at the icy peak. The jam was so bad that even the firemen and medics had to go on foot to retrieve the people. The rescue mission was hampered by poor condition as some of them slipped on the icy road too.

I have survived the harshest winter in Mongolia (at -45°C) and braved the coldest artic wind in Abisko, I thought this is not a big deal for me. I totally underestimated Hong Kong’s coldest winter. Donning my usual gear (a light jacket and t-shirt), I went up to the Victoria Peak to experience the cold. The combination of strong wind, rain and high humidity was a deadly one. I was seriously unprepared for this!

Overnight, the cold frozen everything in its path. Leaves coated with ice sheets and icicles hung along the branches (and concrete steps). The environment was so unreal. I have never seen a frozen tropical forest! To see icicles hanging on green vegetations was a rare sight! Lucky for us, there weren’t many frost chasers here at Victoria Peak. In fact, it was very quiet and we had all the space and time to experience this rare phenomenon.

Fun aside, I hope the cold spell will be over soon. Unlike the northern cities, most housings in Hong Kong are not well insulated against such cold weather. It was freezing cold inside my own apartment. My fingers were so cold that I couldn’t text properly on my smart phone.

The bad news is this will not be a one-time occurrence. Haven’t you read about this? We are in fact entering a ‘solar minimum’ or some call it a mini “ice age”. Winter is not just coming, it will be colder and longer. Global warming might not be a bad thing after all!

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Work Play Fun ~ Bali

January 24, 2016 Leave a comment

We have been talking about it for years and we finally made it to Bali for our company trip! I am extremely blessed to be part of this winning team. I still remember those lonely months when we first started in 2008. We had less than 7 people in the team and now we have grown to nearly 40 people! I am proud to celebrate another key milestone with my lovely team mates here in Bali. Also, I haven’t been to Bali since my last visit 14 years ago! It is one place I love to visit again!

Unfortunately, 8 hours before our flight, news agencies around the world flashed headline-warnings on possible terrorist attack in Bali. Apparently, the Indonesian government received a warning letter that Bali will be the next target after Jakarta bombings. I have also received multiple messages from different friends about this news. The timing was terribly bad and I felt extremely unsettled on my way to Bali.

Thanks GOD, everything turned out just fine for my company and me. Weather was good and we were safe throughout the 4D3N stay. However, the first 2 days in Bali were not so great for me. Many of us stayed up late preparing for the workshop. I was up till 5am working on my team’s presentation. By the 2nd night, my body shut down early due to exhaustion. Guess I could not keep up with the young ones.

What I disliked most was the resort – Club Med Bali. The staffs were friendly and nice but the facilities were pathetic! The room I had was old and dirty. The resort was overcrowded with tourists. Pool wasn’t big enough for everyone. WIFI was very slow and I mistaken the 19-inch TV as a computer monitor! The bathroom was full of ants and the air-con wasn’t cold at all! It felt like those old NTUC Chalets in Singapore. Worst of all, toothpaste wasn’t provided in the room (unless you asked for it) and shopping at the resort was just as inconvenient! For cash payment, I have to pay at the resort reception instead at the shop. In short, it is certainly not worth our money and I will never come back here again.

Despite all the whining, I had a great workshop (Tracy won the top prize to Singapore!) and accomplished 2 new firsts with my lovely team mates – white-water rafting (over a 4m ripple drop) and para-sailing! They are perfect antidotes to heal the “terrorism-anxiety” in me. Just when I was about to enjoy myself, it was time to leave for Hong Kong. There were many other things to discover and experience in Bali. Definitely, 4D3N was never enough for all of us.

Enough said, hope you enjoy the photos and the long 13-min VLOG below! (Shot by DJI Osmo, Phantom 3 Professional, HTC RE, Canon EMOS 3 and iPhone 6s! Now you know why I need to pack so many things!)


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Vlog – My favourite “playground” in Shenzhen

January 18, 2016 Leave a comment

Just before I leave Hong Kong for 4 long weeks of travel, I headed down to my favourite “playground” in Shenzhen today. Nope, I am not talking about the KTVs or the sleazy massage parlours. Check out my VLOG below!

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A-mei, The Queen of Divas

January 17, 2016 Leave a comment

What an amazing night – rocking hot and sexy! I have just attended my first concert of 2016 with Tracy and Chowpo. Other than the Heavenly King Jackie Cheung, no other Chinese singer rocks Hong Kong Coliseum like A-mei (張惠妹). She is indeed the Queen of Divas. In terms of live performance, I must say she puts all the other reputable singers (including my favourite Jay Chou and Eason Chan) to shame! Her 3-hour live concert (aMEI | AMIT UTOPIA WORLD TOUR) didn’t disappoint. It was extraordinary outstanding, pitch-perfect and incredibly powerful! I can’t imagine how she managed to dance in high-heels for 3 straight hours!

A-mei has star power! During her first song, over 70% of the crowd stood up, sang and danced (A-mei didn’t even ask them to)! I have attended countless concerts at Hong Kong Coliseum and none was at this level of madness! The audience was super-hyper tonight! Even A-mei was surprised. A lady who sat beside me was standing, singing， screaming and dancing wildly the whole night. The energy was simply contagious, in no time, everyone around us were dancing and singing! We sat so far away from the stage (last 10 rows) and the energy around us was just incredible!

There wasn’t any guest star appearance tonight. I don’t think it was necessary too. Stage design and lighting effects were stunning and impressive. It was the audience who made this night so special. The crowd was superbly passionate and energised! There were many interactions between A-mei and them. She took effort and time to read and greet all the lighted display cards. There were lots of laughters and a couple of moving moments when A-mei delivered a string of touching ballads. Tonight, A-mei paid tribute to her late friend and teacher, Chang Yu–sheng (張雨生). Towards the end of the concert, flags of 6-colour rainbows flashed across the coliseum. Many fans of A-mei were from the LGBT community and she advocated equality in love amongst mankind.

This was exactly what we needed on a gloomy cold rainy Saturday night! Thanks A-mei for all the soulful ballads and powerful dance hits! Worth every second of my life just to be part of tonight’s performance! Truly unforgettable!

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DIY – Lego Bluetooth Control WALL•E (Updated)

January 10, 2016 11 Comments

Last November while I was sourcing for more parts for my Lego tree house, I spotted a very unique Lego WALL•E displayed at the toy shop near my office. There was something different about this WALL•E. There were a lot of wires connecting from its body to its head. Those weren’t fake wires. Curiously, I asked the shop keeper if the WALL•E was running on batteries. He told me it was a bluetooth control toy. Using an app on his iPhone, the WALL•E came alive with lights and motion! I was so intrigued by it that I offered him a price for the display item. However, he told me it was not for sale.

I went home that night and googled a couple of videos online. There were a couple of pretty cool and simple Lego hacks to convert a standard WALL•E into a remote control toy using Lego’s standard (Power Functions) powered motors and IR controller. However, I could not find the same mobile bluetooth control Lego WALL•E. The next day, I went back to the shop and asked more information about their WALL•E.

The shop owner was very helpful and nice. He told me to wait for the new WALL•E edition as the original one had some issues with the joints of its neck. It was too loose and Lego will be releasing a new edition sometime in March 2016. He also helped me to order all the electrical parts that were required to make the bluetooth control WALL•E.

2 days ago, the parts finally arrived and I went to pick them up. As the WALL•E was no longer displaying in the shop, the shop keeper couldn’t show me how to wire up the parts. He gave me a web link (but the tutorial was completely useless). At mid point, I had to discard the confusing online tutorial and relied on my own logic to rebuild the entire piece again.

In the end, I spent 4.5 long hours on Saturday night to piece everything together. It was extremely messy but all fun and exciting! My face lit up the moment WALL•E came to life (via the app SBrick)! I made a couple of modifications (and even changed the colours of its eyes!).  The best part was I am able to design and customised my own app controller!

Check out the “making video” in my 2nd Vlog of 2016 below! I am sure my son will be screaming in excitement the moment I show him this. Enjoy!

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Sparkling Surprise at Gloomy Farewell

January 3, 2016 Leave a comment

Just like the foggy weather today, we had a gloomy farewell at the airport. Even though we have been expecting (and mentally-prepared for) this farewell 1-2 weeks ago, tears still welled in our eyes when it was time to say goodbye.

Harshad, Tracy and I planned a little surprise for Felicia at our farewell lunch. Her birthday is just around the corner and we gave her an early birthday celebration. Thanks to Harshad who bought and hid the cake well.

It was difficult for me to shop/buy/hide the present when Felicia and Elkan were 24/7 tailgating me throughout the past 14 days. In the end, I had to disguise the present as my sister’s Christmas gift to avoid Felicia’s suspicion. Luckily, it worked.

Felicia was pleasantly surprised when we brought out the cake and the presents. At least, there were some happy moments to cheer all of us up today.

When it was time to go, Elkan broke into tears. Unlike we adults, a child never hides his true emotion and love. And that’s the beauty of being childlike and pure. Just like those meaningful lines in the story of the Little Prince, “Never lose that childish ability to see what’s really important in life. Sometimes, a silent look or a hug is enough. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” 

I hope my son grows up like the Little Prince. Never forgets the little pure heart inside.

Farewell marks another new countdown to our next happy reunion. Big smile and hugs. See you two very very soon.

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Warm Farewell, Lucky Find & Joyful Ride into 2016

January 1, 2016 1 Comment

No countdown or staying late for the fireworks, I slept very early on New Year Eve. Mum and dad flew back early this morning. Felicia and I woke up at 6am to send them off.

While many others were still in their beds after last night’s countdown celebrations, Felicia and I were blessed to catch the first ray of dawn on New Year Day. We felt very refreshed and energised. It felt really good.

Mum and dad were already waiting at the entrance of the hotel by the time we arrived. They woke up earlier than both of us. We took a cab to Hong Kong Airport Express at IFC where they checked in their bags.

While waiting for them outside the check-in counters, I went to a nearby bin to spit out the awful phlegm that was irritating my throat (I am still down with this nasty cough and flu). Just before I was about to spit, I spotted something familiar inside the bin.

I recognised the rim of the wheel. It was a hoverboard!

Why was there a hoverboard inside a bin at IFC Airport Express in the early New Year morning? I looked around to check for its owner. No one seemed to be paying any attention to the bin. I was the only one beside it.

Curiously, I took the entire hoverboard out of the bin. It was wrapped in a white cloth. It looked very new and clean except for some slight scratches. Some one had deliberately dumped this. Possibly just minutes before I came by.

I turned it on and stood on it. It worked perfectly! A pity to leave it inside the bin. Well, finders keepers! I will most likely keep this in the office.

When my parents and wife saw me standing on the hoverboard, they were extremely surprised. My dad immediately warned “Later, it will explode!” 

I suspected the owner planned to check the hoverboard onboard the plane but was rejected as all airlines forbid any electric-vehicles/hoverboard on flight (due to the danger of large lithium-ion batteries). There have been more than 10 cases of hoverboards explosions and fires. It must be a very heart-breaking dump for the owner, especially when the hoverboard was well-protected by a bag (and it looked so new and clean). I felt really bad for him/her to discard something like that on New Year Day.

If my logic is right, then there will be many new hoverboards or segways being discarded at the check-in counters. The airport may be a good place to start hunting for discarded goods. (There are already many expensive lighters, perfumes, liquors being thrashed at custom check-in every day. I wonder what happened to these discarded items?) Maybe someone should start a “Cash-convertor” stores at all customs.

It was a quick and warm farewell. Mum’s teary but she hid it well. And I spotted it, ha! Sigh, I will rerun the same heavy-hearted farewell 2 days later when Felicia and Elkan are flying back to Singapore. Damn, I really dislike farewell.

Felicia and I came back home before 9am. I decided to surprise my son with my new find. It worked! His expression was priceless! (See video below)

Since it was New Year Day, we decided to do something different, new and healthy! We spent the rest of our day cycling from Tai Po Waterfront Park (大埔海濱公園) to Shatin. The weather was fantastic! It was sunny and cooling! Believe it or not, this is our first time cycling together in Hong Kong! This is a great place! I love the scenery and the cycling route. I never expect Tai Po Waterfront Park to be this beautiful!

In total, we cycled close to 20km (3 hours). It was very crowded this afternoon, there were a few near-accidents due to those reckless overtaking bikers.

What an unusual New Year Day for me! Previously, the house would be very empty, cold and quiet by now as Felicia and Elkan used to depart before the new year. This is the first time in 10 years my entire family is with me on New Year Day!

Summing it up – A warm reunion and farewell, a lucky find and a very very happy, sunny ride! Guess 2016 will be a lucky, smooth and joyful year for me! Happy New Year to all!

 

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No more work till 2016!

December 22, 2015 2 Comments

Today marks the first day of my year-end vacation! This is the day Elkan has been looking forward to for the past 5 weeks in Hong Kong. Days waiting for dad to come home after work were dreadful and disappointing. Often I came back home exhausted and late, leaving very little bonding time with him.

So both son and dad are going to give poor mummy a free day to do her own things today. Finally, Felicia is free to do her shopping without baby-sitting my grown-up prankster. Like most boys at his age, Elkan hates shopping. I can understand that. Even at my age, I am not so sure if I have the same stamina to company any lady to shop. It is not about the waiting, it is the endless fruitless walking and browsing.

Late last night, Elkan and I planned to wake up at 6am this morning to jog around Victoria Harbour. We both played games until 1am and all of us overslept. Yes, we are simply too lazy. No excuse at all, we decided to go for a late jog and do some household chores for mummy.

10 minutes into our journey, I changed my mind. I told Elkan that I have a better idea than jogging. He was worried.

“Huh?” he sighed. “Don’t tell me you are going to shop again?”

“No,” I quickly comforted him. “Daddy is going to bring you to a new place!”

“But I still want to jog!” he insisted. “And I am hungry.”

We took a long walk to IFC and walked towards the Central Pier. There, I pointed to the Ferris Wheel and winked at him with an “evil, sly” smile. His face brighten up immediately and nodded!

“Yes, yes! Now, that’s a good idea daddy!” Elkan exclaimed in excitement!

We hopped on the Ferris Wheel and had the entire gondola to ourselves! It went 3 rounds before we alighted. While on the Ferris Wheel, we saw the AIA Christmas Carnival. I told Elkan we can do some sports inside the carnival. The weather was excellent and there wasn’t any crowd at all! What a perfect day to go to the carnival!

We spent an hour inside the carnival. We ran around freely and there wasn’t any queue at all. The rides are pretty expensive but we had great fun! Both of us love the bummer-car a lot. When I suggested to play one more round, Elkan rejected me. He said it’s too expensive and we should just skip it. Aw…he is always so thoughtful and lovely!

We decided to keep our little getaway a secret. We came back home and didn’t tell Felicia anything about our little adventure. She only found out when she saw the video I posted on Facebook. See below.

Later the evening, Felicia planned a little Christmas Surprise for everyone. She invited all of Elkan’s favourite aunties and uncle – Harshad, Chowpo and Tracy to a little Christmas Game at Causeway Bay – LASER-WARS!

We have no idea what’s going to happen. I thought it was the “Escape Room” game that we have played 2 years ago. When we were told the game only lasted 12 minutes per session, we were quite disappointed at the short length of time. We were very wrong. Thankfully, it is only 12 minutes. I certainly wished for much shorter game play.

This game is super intense and chaotic! I totally underestimated the toughness of this point-&-shoot laser sport. I was already breathless just 5 minutes into the game. It was super-tiring and back-breaking.

Unfortunately, Felicia booked 2 games for all of us. By the end of the first session, Elkan topped the chart with the highest score. Chowpo was awarded with “Trigger-Happy” title while Felicia won the “Sharp-Shooter” award. We took a 15-minute break before re-entering the war-zone again.

What a happening and exciting first day of vacation! Tomorrow is another big day for me! My mum and dad arrives in Hong Kong and we will be heading to our old ancestral home at Taiwan, Jinmen Island. It will be another one week of excitement and adventure with the old folks.

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Gimbal Hike (FeiyuTech G4 Pro vs DJI Osmo)

November 30, 2015 18 Comments

Blame it on El Nino, winter arrives late this year. In fact, we are just experiencing the cool weather of late autumn. Building insulation in Hong Kong isn’t as good as the northern cities’, so it may not be a bad thing for a warmer winter.

My perfect weather would be anything between 16-23°C. Sunny and cooling, this is the perfect season to test my two newly-bought handheld gimbals.

Newly launched in November 2015, the new Feiyutech G4 Pro received its debut listing in Apple Store. Couldn’t resist the “poisonous gadgetry temptation”, I got the G4 Pro at IFC Apple Store this afternoon.

I was a little disappointed the second I unboxed the G4 Pro. The box exterior looks decent but its interior looks rather bad. Compare with another Chinese brand, DJI, the FeiyuTech G4 Pro packaging looks far from being an international brand. It looks typically Chinese 3rd-class brand. The interior packing is dusty and looks raw. The second I took the gimbal in my hand, I spotted fine sketch-marks and oil stains on the metal handle. Even the brand is not evenly silk-screen printed on the product. I can’t believe Apple allows packaging of such poor standard to be listed in its store. Anyway, these are cosmetic flaws that will not impact the hardware performance.

The family and I randomly jumped on the next available ferry at Central (not really sure where it was heading until it arrived at its destination). We arrived at the Lamma Island. I put both DJI Osmo and the newly-bought FeiyuTech G4 Pro to the test. After a 2-hour hike around the island, here is my verdict of today’s experience.

PROs of FeiyuTech G4 Pro + iPhone 6 Plus
– Longer lasting battery (gimbal)
– Better photograph quality (phone)
– Better audio-recording (phone)
– Quicker setup and activation (no Wifi needed)
– Quicker switch-on speed (gimbal)
– Quicker colour and contrast balancing and correction (phone)
– Comes with a 2nd set of batteries
– Interchangeable weights for different handsets (5s, 6s, 6s plus)
– Durable and sturdy solid metal body (Osmo is mostly plastic)

CONs of FeiyuTech G4 Pro + iPhone 6 Plus
– Narrower camera angle 65° (phone) vs 94° (DJI Osmo)
– No locking of gimbal during off-mode, gimbal hitting the rod
– No bluetooth or connection to iPhone (for video/photo-taking)
– Loose grip on iPhone (not securely tight enough during running)
– Not as smooth as the Osmo (during the running test)

As a gimbal, FeiyuTech G4Pro fares very well. It is very reactive to my panning. There is hardly any tilt on the horizon (seen on the G4 Pro predecessor), everything is straight and balanced. The video and photo output relies 100% totally on the mobile device. Therefore, it can never be an apple to apple comparison. 

As a whole package (gimbal and camera), DJI Osmo fares slightly better than the FeiyuTech G4 Pro. It captures wider and smoother footages. (See video below: Jump to 4:07 of the video to see side-by-side video comparison of 2 videos of me chasing Elkan.) One of the things I love about the Osmo is how easy for me to take a photo or video. All the buttons are integrated on the handle, allowing one hand operation. For the G4 Pro, I need a second hand to press on the iPhone screen to select the video/photo mode. I also prefer the wide camera angle on the Osmo. That is why for over 70% of today’s hike, I switched to Osmo than using the G4 Pro.

My conclusion – the current handheld gimbal tech is far from perfection. Osmo did well in integrating the gimbal and the camera but its battery is bad (went dead in less than 45 minutes) and its native microphone performs worse than the iPhone (some of the audios you heard in the video came from the Rode VideoMicro Microphone I installed). The day when FeiyuTech G4Pro integrates its handle buttons to the iPhone camera settings, it will be a formidable rival to the DJI Osmo.

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