Travel smartly with the minimum cost

Whenever someone talks about 'Travel', what does 'Travel' associate in your mind? A luxurious kind of travel on a cruise ship or in a five-star hotel? How about travel as a backpacker spending the least? Thanks to the internet and various budget airlines introduced by possibly foreign stakeholders, we now have a wide ranging choice of 'Travel' to suit different travelers' needs that makes the global citizens closer than ever.

Airline: We might only be familiar with the big airliners in the world when it came to oversea travel in the past. But now, the budget airlines have landed the territory making oversea travel as cheap as inland travel. So it is definitely the time to update our value towards 'Travel'. Lots of campaigns are done every day for all the competitors to grab the attention of the intended travelers. Sometimes, a flight ticket is much cheaper than an overnight stay at a local hotel where one lives in especially if one lives in a city.

Accommodation: With the rapidly increasing number of wealthy travelers coming from all over the world, all the five-star hotel or resort areas have become much more expensive than ever. However, if we look at the development of hotel chain, it is not difficult to spot that a cheaper stay at a three-star hotel is becoming overwhelmingly popular in the world! Also, backpackers now find other cheaper ways to find a place to stay rather than the dormitory or hostel, it is named 'Couchsurfing' where someone might decide to serve as a host for free stay for the traveler (who is named 'surfer'). Such tool is welcomed by countless backpackers all over the world which is also a good channel to be able to meet people where one intends to travel around! What is possible through the stay? Free stay, Language Exchange and Making new friends - something difficult to encounter for a stay in a five-stay hotel or resort area.

Meals: Are we thinking about having a decent meal at a five-star hotel served by waitress along the coastline where we can enjoy the magnificent sunset at the cost of 200USD or even more? Let's think about the cost of your meal and the reason for having you meal. If this is just for making oneself full, why not simply take the meals at the supermarket/ convenient store/ food stalls? The total expenses saved for all the meals of the trip could get you another flight ticket for your next travel!

Transportation: For developed regions, it is better to rent a van shared by four people for the whole visit as the transportation cost there is high. For developing regions, many might think about getting a taxi. With the fast growing population of the oversea travelers, it is no wonder the cost for taking a taxi is getting much higher. It is of course unwise to make it your transportation. The total expenses for taxi for your whole trip could get you another decent stay at a four-star hotel at least.

So an oversea travel is never a luxurious item. If you travel smartly with the minimum cost, there is much more you gain than you spend!

台中之旅11-2013

台中之旅 11-2013

經已有超過十年時間未曾踏足過的土地，因偶然的機會將我引領到台灣台中這個似陌生又熟識的國度。旅程開始前一天才早早買下台中旅遊書，心裡猜想：台中應該不像日本般大，又有如此多值得深度探索的地方吧。結果從第一天台中市的旅程發現，在只有六天多的情況下想要遊遍台中周邊地區是完全不足夠的！因此，每天早上七時多起床趕搭交通工具，並以最長的光陰停留在每個景點好好欣賞，看來是必需的。

超康的消費主意

什麼？旅遊不是高消費一族的玩意兒嗎？才不是！只有當旅遊者把平時生活的態度給丟在一邊，並以道地人的思維作旅遊，旅遊其實只是生活態度的一種而已，而不是單純的物質享受！

機票方面：購自某廉價航空公司由香港前往台中機場，來回機票約港幣９００元

住宿方面：每天都待在同位於台中市的旅舎，每晚約港幣１６０元

用餐方面：早上多是由便利商店買三文治及果汁， 約港幣１５元；中午及晚上，多是由便利商店買便當及果汁， 約港幣３０－５０元　［全台灣所有便利商店同價］

交通方面：台中市公車首八公里免費，但必需以悠遊咭付交通費；由台中往市外地方，１－２小時的車程得花港幣６０－１００元（單程） 

便宜的餐食

在sogo百貨的韓國餐，份量充足，價錢尚可。

 

在中華夜市品嚐美食

在便宜商店買到的品質極佳早餐

行程簡介

在抵達台中前並無規劃好行程，幸得旅舎的人員幫助，才得以取得所有交通及旅遊資訊！每一天都是早出晚歸的。旅程上遇上不少有心人，在彰化市火車站的觀光案內所，一位女志工得知我想走去八卦山後，她主動提出可載我一程，十分感動。而在旅舎時遇上的台灣及德國人跟他們一起完成溪林之旅，也是滿不錯的經驗。至於集集的單車遊由於不熟路段及車多關係，對於只能作一小段遊覽，有點兒可惜的說。最後一天的東海大學之遊，其校園之廣大，空氣品質的佳，為絶好旅程完結點。

第一天：台中市中心

第二天：彰化縣鹿港及八卦山

第三天：小瑞士花園及清境

第四天：妖怪村及溪林

第五天：集集及車埕

第六天：東海大學

彰化縣鹿港

 

八卦山

彰化火車站

 

 小瑞士花園及清境

妖怪村及溪頭

集集及車埕 

 

東海大學 

見失う道を大胆的に歩く青年たち

見失う道を大胆的に歩く青年たち

 バップル経済が越えたのはもう十年以上の事。僕たちのような信じられない穏やで豊かな八十年代で生まれた青年たちは母親の保護のおかげで、最も難しくなっているグローバル化道路に向いている。幼じみに毎日プロとかいろいろな理想な職業が選ばないと周りの人が教えていただいて、本当の夢や趣味などはどうやって仕事になれるという考えも想像できなかった日々。大卒後、鮮やかな希望を抱えてる社会人は残酷すぎる現実に追いかけられて、自分自身の形も混乱の状態で毎日毎日果てのない迷路を何度も何度も回っていて、いつか後ろの若者が飛び出すのを怯えていて生活する私たち。ずっと黙って汗かいた頑張っている私たちはいつか役に立つ者になるように願っている。けれど、何年間も越えてから、出口はまだ出で来ない。まさか自分がごみではないか、絶望の声を叫んでいる。泣きたい、手放したい、帰りたい。だが、見失う道 の前には命を奪う地獄ではなく、まるて神様が招く幸せに通る入り口を考えれば、きっと自分の足跡だらけの道に方向を探せるだろう。

Outrageous performance at every job interview

A professional singer performs outrageously on every live performance as if it is the final stage. Whether paid or not, whether in front of a group or a single person, a professional singer will always maintain his/her superior standard because a performance chance is not guaranteed. A well prepared performance sometimes might stun the world that will mark a milestone for the career of the singer.

Similarly, as a job applicant, being picked up for a job interview among the pool of applicants is not easy. Making every job interview as if the final stage for performance will definitely strengthen one's determination to strive for the best. Of course, a good performance requires a prolong period of time for preparation and surely every success story has its sweaty or sobbing secret. As the Chinese idiom says: "Failure is the mother of success". For the majority of the ordinary people, we are not born to be talents nor super stars; yet it takes time for us to develop and nurture our undiscovered charms and unprecedented power before we finally find our life inspiring coach/mentor. Are you ready to take off?

Two weeks' trip to Japan (across Kanto Region and San'in Region)

Two weeks' trip to Japan二週間の旅：日本の田舎の方面に前進 

  (across Kanto Region and San'in Region)

~ going further into the less developed regions of Japan to explore the nature

二週間の旅：日本の田舎の方面に前進 

 

Flying from Hong Kong to Narita, Tokyo visa Osaka Kansai Airport, I landed in Japan on 14 Nov 2013. In spite of concern over the possible nuclear radiation exposure from Northeast Japan, I decided to come to Kanto Region (Tokyo) to visit my Japanese friend for a couple days before joining another friend for the upcoming trip to San'in Region (the Southwest Japan, farther from Kansai Region). 

香港から大阪経由東京成田空港に到着したのは11月14日だ。日本人の友達と何年間も会った事ないのでぜひ東京に行かないとって思った僕。東京に行くのはもう初めてではないが、今回の数日は本当に日本の不況が目に入ってきた。なんと、信じられない程度の激安い店いっぱいあるのをびっくりした。とくに池袋駅の周りにいろいろな「省金」できるみせがどれでも発見された！だか交通費用はまだとても高いという現実は変わらなかったという。

Having stayed at Narita, Ikebukuro and Asakusa at Tokyo for three nights, I took a long haul bus (12 hours) directly from Shinjuku to Okayma at a price of 6,500 Yen.

The bus terminal in Shinjuku actually is NOT close to Shinjuku Station, it is indeed just a few minutes walk from the Subway Tochomae Station. I just don't know why it does not mention the station on the map...

https://willerexpress.com/x/bus/dynamic/3/en/html/map/tokyo/willer_terminal.html

Poor ventilation and a constant stop every 2-3 hours for a short break has made everyone on the bus pretty hard to sleep well. However, saving one night for accommodation and the flight ticket from Tokyo to Okayama, this bus was indeed fully booked with the majority of passengers being young people. 

 

The hood underneath each chair that covers your head  

The reason I decided to go around San'in Region was the luring JR 3-day San'in Pass that only priced 4,000 Yen - simply take any one mid haul trip along the San'in line, that's already 4,000 Yen. So you earn any extra trips for a cost of zero within four days after the first one.

Day One: Okayama to Tottori > Tottori to Kurayoshi (Misasa Onsen)

Day Two: Kurayoshi to Ooda (Iwami Ginzan) > Ooda to Matsue

Day Three: Matsue to Izumo > Izumo to Okayama via Matsue

With the pass, I guess you save at least 10,000 yen for the whole trips if you travel frequently during the three days. But be reminded that San'in line is less frequent and in many cases, Tokkyu (Express) Trains are limited. Also, traveling along the San'in line is very time consuming so be prepared to get up early every day to ensure you manage your time well!

The most spectacular parts of my trip were Iwami Ginzan and Izumo Taisha, the UNESCO and the renowned cultural heritages. You find only a few visitors over the San'in Region possibly due to the inconvenient transport system. Out of expectations, however, you find no differences of service standard as compared to other parts of Japan; and still the staff at tourist information is always helpful to promote the heritages to foreign visitors. Facing the sea of Japan directly, the weather is pretty cold with a strong breeze around the region for the whole day. 

After completion of the san'in trip, I returned to Okayama, heading east to the artistic outlying islands - Naoshima and Shodoshima. 

I decided to stay at Takamatsu for one night and only did a day trip to Naoshima.

Naoshima known as Benesse Art Site Naoshima is an island full of artistic work. The famous fantastic work pumpkins are the symbol of the island which you can find at the ferry pier and the far end of the beach near Benesse Art Museme. The road at Naoshima is pretty suitable for walking or cycling. Unless you want to explore every museum of the island, a one day trip is enough to take a glimpse!

In the sequent two days, I went to Shodoshima to visit three main sites: Kankakei , Olive Garden and Twenty four eyes movie village.  

Kankakei is unexpectedly specular for red leaves appreciation that is a must see site when one comes to Shodoshima. Once you arrive at ferry pier, you should take the bus to Kankakei immediately as the bus route does not frequently run.

On the next day, I went to Olive Garden and the movie village to wrap up my trip to Shodoshima. At night, I first took a ferry to Takamatsu, then I transferred to Kobe for an overnight ferry that was only 3000 yen something.

Arriving at Kobe in the early morning, I headed to Kyoto - Arashiyama immediately. Unfortunately, the weather was bad.

On the next day, I visited the Fushiji Inari Temple that received the 2nd ranking among all sites in Japan by foreigners at Tripadviser.com.  Each wooden torii represents the donation by each party. Passing through the countless torii was like going through a time tunnel. No wonder why it becomes so popular among foreign tourists.

Many people gave up the whole route in the midst but I was determined to complete it. There was nothing special at top of the hill but it was simply an enjoyment for the whole experience. Then I discovered the sign that directed to Tofukuji where I and my friend were the only tourists that decided to try it. 

Thanks to a local old man whom gave suggestions on the direction and the sightseeing spots, after taking some photos at the outskirt of Tofukuji, I headed towards the Senyuji that takes a further half an hour walk from Tofukuji. It was believed to be a very good decision as the views were comparatively beautiful with other renowned spots at Kyoto.

Having been walk around Kyoto for half day, it had already come to dark when I arrived at Kiyomiji. As this was the second time I went to the temple, I decided to skip it to avoid the crowds coming from all corners.

On the last night, I stayed at a place close to Kansai Airport in order to catch the morning flight. I had a delicious meal at the department store for just 700 yen! Very cheap and yummy! This also marked the farewell to my 14 days trip to Japan! I will definitely come to Japan again.

 

Walk past the concrete road to avoid the crowds

As a tourist, we will rely on a map to find out the most common and easiest way to travel around because we believe the information provided has a highly reliable value to complete our trip. For that reason, we will seldom choose the jagged roads as we are not sure where we are heading for. Then we will find that we have made a wise decision.

Likewise, to determine our career goal, we gather all the necessary information offered by the predecessors imagining a forthcoming bright future awaiting us. Unfortunately, the bright future does not surface. Indeed, it seems to us that we might have gone to the wrong way over the journey. The only reason that constitutes the failure is simple: the safest way is not a smart option.

What? Come on! We have been taught since childhood that we should go through a series of predetermined formula of life because it is the most profitable and appropriate. So almost every kid abides by the rules strictly dreaming of (and being told to project) how things could happen better than his/her parents until time rudely tells (or suggests to) them that an overburdened road cannot accommodate every pedestrian and will soon be shut down. Some decided to wait until the reopening of the road; some decided to leave the road but have no ideas where to go; and some decided to construct a new road that leads them to a new district as they knew that it was not the problem of the narrowness of the road but the crowdiness of the area which the road connected to.

While every one is aware of traffic congestion that is so disgusting and time consuming, the majority of the crowds will just wait or choose another alternate road. However, the wise one will figure out the alternate places to go instead because there is no point sticking to an overcrowded area when the world is so big for us to rediscover. Let's walk past the concrete road to avoid the crowds and revise our ways of thinking if we are not adventurous enough before complaining against traffic congestion.

The possibly most horrifying drug on earth - krokodil

Krokodil is a Russian word equivalent to crocodile. Being a cheaper substitute for cocaine or heroine, a new toxic drug named 'krokodil' from the Russian far east region has landed the North America. Priced simply one-tenth of heroine, drug takers find the new drug appealing and even more stimulating - so does the deadly harm emerge. Unlike heroine or cocaine where the drug is named the chemical substances it is used for production, the production of the drug 'krokodil' has no connection with crocodiles of any species. Why is it named 'krokodil' then? Victims who have taken the drug posted their photos and the deadly damage on a human body after taking the drug. It looks as if the injection point of the skin contains a texture of a crocodile - the skin peels off, the bloody muscle tissues exposes to air, and the joints or the bones seem to be infected that require cut-off operation.

Inhaling a toxic drug made up of pure chemical substances will result in a long term impact that can damage human organs or neutral systems etc. Still, the impact on a human is less severe than injection of a synthetic drug made up of gasoline and other acid substances that could destroy one's joints and bones where the average life span of the victims is no longer than 2 years. According to various sources, the drug seems to have been developed in Russia and became surprisingly popular in the 2000s in the poverty areas of Russia or the former soviet republics. Fortunately, only a few cases of drug injection have been reported in the North America so far. Nevertheless, the underlying impact shall never be underestimated.

Read more: World’s Deadliest Drug: Photos and Video Inside a Krokodil Cookhouse - LightBox

The rising digital era sympolizes the end of manpower

The digital era has made our life easier than ever with the invention of touchscreen mobile electronic devices and the cheap wireless internet services available to the public. Surely everyone like us is enjoying a delightful moment of instant communication in principle anytime anywhere on earth making us a global citizen in a boundless world, without realizing the invisible fact that value of manpower or so called 'human resources' has deflated significantly. In a densely populated city like Hong Kong or Singapore, the impact is even more severe than anywhere. Yet, the end of manpower might soon approach.

Swift and effective information flow used to be the fundamental competitiveness of both cities in the analogue period where information was circulated in an efficient channel within a second; with the physical geographical advantages, both cities had enjoyed a relatively high competitive edge for the decades until the rise of digital era in the 2000s. In a generation where information flow is open to all over the world at a second for free, both cities found their lost in information advantage. In particular, the developing regions with low labour cost can now instantly access crucial electronic information as the developed regions do, why on earth shall Hong Kong or Singapore continue its information edge? The immediate impact on fast information flow around the world is the shifting of back office from developed regions to developing regions that share same language. In addition, the electronic mail or correspondences system also leads to closure of post office that produces thousands of jobless postmen who are deemed to be useless.

Reducing need of an agent is another important issue along with fast information flow. Now every one of us can be an agent using our electronic devices to serve our needs. Under what circumstances should an agent be necessary when we found it much cheaper or even costless to serve ourselves by us than other parties? When we enjoy the free or low cost applications that enable us to address our needs on our devices, aren't we knowing that the system has eaten up all the memory of our devices as well as existing job opportunities of us? The era of profitability of an agent will terminate after all as none of us worth more than outdated applications with zero download rate after release for a while! Who do we human think we are in this innovative time？

Smart people create artificial computer system and applications for the benefits of the community whilst ordinary people adapt to the electronic life where only artificial intelligence has it own value to sustain. Next time, when we are playing our Ipad or Iphone, let us think about whom is to dominate in future!

Immigration Wave

 RTHK 鏗鏘集驪歌再唱 2013-10-06 (video uploaded by the third party)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj4vC3f34fI

 

It seems to us that the Immigration Wave has landed the metropolotan Hong Kong again! On a recent TV program produced by RTHK, a number of Hong Kong citizens have shown desperation and even anger towards the unforeseeable development of Hong Kong, leading them to reach an unwilling decision to bid farewell coldly to their motherland and enter a new kingdom on the other side of the world where any new comers can easily be identified as 'aliens' to the locals. Hong Kong, a wealthy land that ranks high in the majority charts that relate to profitable business activities, is not a dreamland to these people but a nightmare that drives them crazy even in daily life - surely, it is a land of opportunity to one only if he/she is the privileged that is capable of moving others' cheese to his/her pocket at the expense of the whole society. The reasons behind the motivations of the emigrants may be summarized as below:

First, the land of opportunity is no longer open to the underprivileged as it used to be. Possibly, the Lion Rock Spirit has become only a widespread song known to the Hong Kong citizens in the 21th century. Looking back over the past decades, the close door policy of mainland China has made Hong Kong a very important intermediary for the world that wants to make business with the 1.3 billion populated China. Nevertheless, since the 1980s, the door of China has opened to the world that led to a complete shift of role played by Hong Kong. The economic transformation from industrial basis to services basis used to create prosperity in Hong Kong in the past 20 years until the financial crisis in 1997. Indeed, the lack of diversified economic development and over dependency on financial industry has put Hong Kong to an extreme situation and widened the wealth gap in an unhealthy way. Now, everyone in Hong Kong makes more money than the counterparts, but the housing prices are surging with the vast amount of investment coming from technically all over the world. At the end, half of the salary turns out to be a shift to the pocket of the house owners, making housing loan or rent payment the main and only motivation for people to work in Hong Kong. The underprivileged are still the underprivileged and they found it hopeless to climb above the low income line because nothing is owned by the people of Hong Kong and everything that can contribute to huge profits can be sold to any wealthy man in the world at any time. Is Hong Kong a society, a community or a casino where the majority of the players are the losers.

Second, the conflicts arisen from competition of limited resources among various groups of people in Hong Kong makes Hong Kong a difficult place to stay long. Resources are often scare goods so they must be allocated effectively to ensure sustainability as the economics suggests. Here in Hong Kong, without an efficient management team, resources are never allocated to the most needed but are wasted in areas that are conceived to be essential to the so-called development of Hong Kong as the government said. The locals pay tax and contributes to the society and resources are not prioritized to them. How would the locals think about it? They are not asking for monetary rewards but simply a warm home where everyone lives as a family. The outcome is everyone fights for his/her right merely. Who would prefer staying in a place where fairness and justice has tortured?

Even the high school leavers are looking for oversea study places rather than staying in a dying city desperate for nothing - from Macau to Taiwan to Mainland China, it is not hard to find out the sudden increase of high school leavers who decided to go overseas to pursue their study. Will these students return after graduation? Who knows! But what we know now is that live is difficult so let enjoy today hoping for a better tomorrow!

碩士生麵包店老闆

最近看一則新聞，是一位某大學碩士生在畢業後選擇放棄在傳統事業上發展而為達成個人理想打拼的內容。以天然酵母作原材料的麵包是該男生店中的賣點，經過數年的艱苦經營，如今他成一位成功的麵包店老闆，更開設麵包製作班教授學員技術。因不同理由放棄過去所精通的事情不是容易的事，無視世俗的眼光而堅守個人原則與想法更是與商業社會博鬥，其堅毅力不容忽視。不管做生意或打工，欠缺積極及堅韌都難以成功，在不滿自身事業發展時，也許要多想為什麼自己不能如別人所付出的多呢？當甘於目前安定的環境而不作改變時，社會可是不等人的．．．

搶金熱

最近由於金價的暴跌令城中掀起一股搶金熱，所反映的不只是對投機性商品的熱衷，而是對低迷的傳統投資項目的無奈及不滿。然而，黃金始終是投資物品，短期內是否能穏步上揚還是未知，只是羊群心理對於探求儲蓄及資本增值的極端是否會塑造另外一場泡沫則有待考證。