will i am's delayed diary

At the last minute, mum and I went hunting for CNY flowers near OUG. The weather was absurdly hot, making the visit to the flower nursery a real enjoyable one. I had no qualms getting out of the car with my hoodie on. For the benefit of the CNY shoppers, the nursery 'augmented the assets' of the plants to ensure a maximum 'prosperity attraction' index. Baby pineapples with gold wrapping; bamboo pyramids topped with choi san ; flower pots with all sorts of lucky charm embellishments... You get the picture. Although there were a whole lot of varieties there, we left with the classic chrysanthemums. That short trip for flowers nearly melted the scalp off our heads. so mum suggested that we go for some cendol . Found a decent food truck under a tree, and we got our hit of ice shavings in syrupy santan soup. Couldn't resist ordering a plate of rojak as well. Ah, bliss.

On the last day in Lake Toya , I automatically woke up at 3:30 AM! Since I was already up, I dragged myself out of the futon to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately for us, the weather was too misty for a good view. We gave it another thirty minutes before going back to sleep. Three and half hours later, the serenity of the lake was broken by the voice of an elderly gentleman singing "To-yaaaaaa, To-yaaaaaa... " over the lake's PA system. More effective than my alarm. Ate our morning meal downstairs and checked out soon after. One more crater trail to finish before leaving Lake Toya-- the Nishiyama Crater Promenade . The trail head happens to be where the Konpiriyama trail ends and the area was as deserted as it was yesterday. A lone park ranger waved us in while the trees rustled wildly around us. Seemed that the weather was changing. Like the day before, we were the only visitors on the trail. The Nishiyama trail is a boardwalk, hence easier to do. Along the way we s...

Flower Shop , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. One of the reasons we came to HK was to see how the locals prepared themselves for the coming Chinese New Year. And the bulk of the action happens at the Prince Edward area. Once again, my brother fell prey to the inclement weather and grounded himself at home again after coming out all the way. Flower Market Road was really lively and super-crowded! Most of the real estate had already been taken up by the plants and there were plenty of customers jostling to buy flowers for their homes. The baby stroller was very unwelcome there. People gave angry stares and some even remarked that the market wasn't 'a place for kids'. Goodness. Among the more popular items at the market were narcissus ( came by the crates! ), Phalaenopsis orchids, nipplefruit ( got to love the name ), yellow chrysanthemum, kumquat trees, peach trees ( I did not see any pussy willows at all ) and various red flowers. Flowers didn't quite appea...