Hong Kong with my Sisters

Hong Kong Trip with my Sisters

When: Sept 28 - 30, 2011
Where: Hong Kong
Accomodation: JJ Hotel
Goal: Business Convention in Hong Kong Convention Center

Day 1:
This is the start of PAL employees going on a strike so there are lots of delays with PAL. Fortunately, Macy and I bough Cebupac for this trip. Unfortunately, Mariel took PAL, who only bought a ticket just a couple of weeks before the event.

We waited at the departure area, sitting at the baggage area for 2-3 hours, waiting for the PAL plane to arrive. Eventually, it did, and we were on our own adventure! We just bought an Octopus card each for 150 (refundable) for all our transportation needs. We took the A11 bus going to our hotel, JJ Hotel in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island (40 HKD deducted from our Octopus card):

A11 Bus Stop at the Airport

At the bus with our Octopus Card

We got our room at JJ Place at a great price via Booking.com (1140 KHD for 3D/2N).

We got the corner room, which was very clean and peaceful. Room was a real deal for money. The location is near the mtr (most convenient way to travel generally in Hong Kong), tram (another cheap and convenient way to travel around Hong Kong island; this is our favorite to ride) and ferry (cheapest way to cross to the Kowloon side where most of the shopping is located). Also near the Hong Kong Convention Centre. There was free wifi, but it \didn't reach our room. But may be probable in the lounge area of each floor. Anyway, there is wifi in the bus, mtr and many places in Hong Kong, so this isn't much of a problem.

Bathroom has glass walls so it may be a problem for people staying together who are not close (it has window shades that can be brought down though)

Double Room (big bed enough to fit the three of us)

JJ Hotel

After checking in, we went to the Convention Center to check out the Accessories' Fair.

Fashion Access Fair

First Dinner: Pizzeria in Wan Chai (naka libre kami ng soft drinks kasi Pilipino pala ang manager :)

Day 2:
We were supposed to go sight seeing. But no, the typhoon from the Philippines named Pedring followed us into Hong Kong! Thus, there were no shops, no bus, no trams, no one on the street! It was deemed signal number 8 in Hong Kong. Tsk tsk! The only thing opened was the MTR and some McDonald's! It really is too bad... My sisters did some city photography though, especially since there were no one on the streets.

It's a zombieland

Second Day at the Fair

Ferry where we can cross for 2 HKD to go to  the other side for shopping!

Waiting for the Tram, our favorite means of transportation because it's very cheap

Hong Kong for city and night photography

Second dinner: Pecking Duck (Yum!)

Day 3:
Our flight was at 6 and 7:30 PM, so we woke up early at least to go and see Peak Tram. We took the MTR to Central, then rode the bus from there (we should have just went to a nearby bus station because the bus passed through our area anyway!). Then, we walked to the HK Botanical Gardens, where my sisters rested and I took some pictures and visited the aviary and the garden. Then, we went back to the Convention Center because they want to buy some leather bags. We had our only meal (a late lunch by that time) in some restaurant and ordered chicken with cashew nuts and some dimsum. Then we headed to the hotel for check out and to the airport. We forgot to ask where the A11 bus to the airport is, and after an hour of walking and asking around (people don't seem to know either), we just took a taxi, costing us 350 HKD (eyes boggling! as compared to our 40 HKD coming to Wan Chai)

Map of The Peak

The Peak

It really is so steep, it is almost 45 degrees...  In this picture, it is less steep.

Sleeping Beauty

Resting in Botanical Gardens

Botanical Garden (Panoramic view)

Mariel's new bag

Lunch

Checking out

Yey for December!

I'm so glad, matatapos na ang November!
Woopee! 1 more duty to go, daytime pa!
Yessss!!!

I labs it!
Great...
I need to look for a moonlighting stint that will give me money hehe
Then, I also need the time to look and shop for Christmas presents...
Hmm, but I think the shopping part can wait until the last minute, so my first priority would be to work! Hehe

Undecided

Hmm... Kaya ko ba ito?
Baka naman gusto ko lang ito kasi at least meron, for the time being.
What if I don't want this in the long run?
Lagi ko nalang iniisip "one step at a time"... until matapos,
pero what if I looked back, and decide na ayoko pala nito?
Then, I would realize that life just passed me by.

Cross Roads

I passed the board. Yey!

Now, what do I want in life?
Do I want to go into residency? And specialize? Specialize on what exactly?

Surgery takes too long a time.
My ideal would be OB, because cases are similar, it has a medical and surgical side. BUT, there are too much OBs out there.
I know I won't go into pedia... well, because... I hate computations? It's hard to get an accurate history from them? They are not simply "younger" adults.
I though about going to ENT because it has a medical and surgical side, too. According to a resident, I could train in Europe for 6-12 mos, and I would become a plastic surgeon! Wow! That's the specialty I want if ever I wanted surgery. But, just like ophtha, I need equipment to start my practice, and well, I didn't really find it easy to use such equipments. I also do not like studying the head part basically.
Since I am undecided, I thought about IM. After all, if all else fails, the point of whole medical school simply revolve around this, right? Also, most of I know would generally benefit from this, since most of my friends would be adults! And try ko lang, if after 3-4 yrs, I'm still undecided, at least I finished IM correct? Then it would be to pick another subspec such as endo or maybe the depressing hema-onco... Both diseases run in the family.

But what about Emergency Medicine? Positive points would be I would know how to treat an acute emergency wherever I go (but then again, all doctors should know this!), it's exciting that I think the years will fly by, and it has a surgical and medical field too. Negative points would be that after residency, what will I become? ER Med are usually associated with a hospital, or working abroad. ER Med is not that develop in the Philippines. I also read that if I want to earn money, ER Med would be good... Probably because it's a growing specialty in the Philippines, and maybe in the future, all hospitals will really be manned by ER Med...
But I also do not have regularly follow-up patients. (Except maybe if I was in the province practicing, and I have my own outpatient clinic.)

Anyway, I applied for ER Med in St Luke's and IM in Capitol.

But I'm not really sure.
Really? What I want is to work for a while. Or travel. Or both, such as work somewhere new.
That's why, I really want to pass this job interview and hope I could be a cruise MD!
Apparently, not everyone who submits their requirements are given interview opportunities!

So yeah, I think Cruise MD is my first choice.
Then, maybe I will take up my cousin with her offer for a moonlighting stint at Naga.
I don't know... And then, I haven't really thought... what if St Luke's or Capitol calls me?
Do I pick my moonlighting stint over them?
Well, if it's Cruise MD, I think I shall...
After all, I did promise to myself I will have my one year of rest, right? =)

1st Trip to Mindanao

CDO-Camiguin-Bukidnon Outing
Aug 23-27, 2010 (same week ng application sa prc!)

Day 1: Arrived at CDO. Taxi to Balingoan Port. Sailed to Camiguin. Checked in at Enigmata. Sightseeing: Cold Springs (had lunch-afternoon snack-early dinner there), Sunset at Sunken Cemetery, Ardent Hot Springs.

Day 2: Continued sightseeing in Camiguin: Kabibe beach, Bura Soda Spring (lunch), old Church Ruins, Walkway, Katibawasan falls. Checked out. Back to Beloni port to sail Paras, straight to CDO port. Checked in at Budgetel. Dinner at Butcher's Best.

Day 3: CDO river trekking at Mapuwa with the water slide, 30-ft jump, and 60-ft rappel + bonus zipline (thanks to Loi's cousin Iggy). Cagayan river rafting in the afternoon + bonus rain (para hindi boring! hehe). Dinner at Lokal's, followed and meet more of Loi's cousin in Candy's.

Day 4: Went to Dahilayan, Bukidnon by hiring a taxi (after 1+ hr of haggling and getting loist). Zorbit at Forest Park. (Didn't do zipline anymore since we did it yesterday.) Del Monte Plantation. Lunch at er um, it starts with P (hehe). Art gallery in Xavier University to meet more of Loi's cousins. Dinner at Chamboi something (was featured in Lonely Planet!), dessert somewhere near Limketkai.

Day 5: Relax. Watch the parade (supposedly). Lunch at Steve's Chicken. Airport.

Sorry, forgot most of the names haha
Most of the pics are in Lulu's camera. Most of mine came from Kabibe beach in Camiguin and Mapawa Nature Park (dahil sa waterproof, kaso mid-way na lowbat), and Bukidnon (dahil naubusan ng camera si Loi).