Warning: Spoilers ahead…

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What are ambigrams?
They are just pictures of words which you can read from different angles, something even upside down. You can either see the same word or another word in the same picture. The ones in Angels & Demons are those that have the same words when you read them upside down.

And that’s so cool! Below are the ambigrams featured in the book. Note that they are copyright of John Langdon cos he was the one who made them, not the writer Dan Brown. Try tilting your head and you can see them upside down. You can really see the same word!

• Angels & Demons
  
• Illuminati

  

• Earth
  
• Air

  

• Fire
  
• Water

  

• All in one containing Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Click on it for a larger picture.
  

Cool?

More bored than you can imagine.

The article of Firefox on Wikipedia is a featured article of the day!

And yea I made two more pics

And you can find all of them @ this page.

Anyways XY and Elaine came over to my house yesterday and we watched Incredibles and White Chicks. White Chicks was ultra funny and Incredibles was ok. Then we ate dinner at some place near my house then we walked to Kallang MRT and it was already 10 pm.

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14/11/2004 ? Sunday

I couldn?t really sleep well the previous night. I am sure I was pretty tired. But I woke up a few times in the night. As my bed was just beside the window and my bed was in the upper part, I was very worried that my phone will just slip out and fall down, to its doom.

As time passed it was soon 6 am. I woke up just in time as Eamon did. After a quick wash-up I was at the dining table again. Only to discover food, Dim Sum. As you know I am one who doesn?t have or rather doesn?t have the habit of having breakfast in the morning. As Eamon?s mum asked me to eat more, I wondered what?s so famous about Hong Kong?s Dim Sum? Don?t they taste the same back in Singapore too?

It was Sunday. The streets were deserted. There was no morning rush. There was no hurry to wake up to get work. There was no hurry to get to school. And there was only hurry for us to get the school.

When we reached school, we split into our ?groups?. I learnt about the experiences of others in their home stay families. We all had fun I guessed. And soon the bus was here to take us on a one day tour around Hong Kong,

The first stop was at Wang Da Xian (王大仙). It is a very famous temple in Hong Kong. People go there for the ?first joy-stick? during Chinese New Year. According to Miss Liu, the teacher in charge of group 6 who turned out to be a free tour guide, the temple was renovated. I was kind of shocked to find bricks in the temple?s structure. And she explained to us how dragons came about and some other histories.

Our next stop was the Avenue of Stars which you can find on the walkway, the hand prints of many Hong Kong celebrities. But before that, we diverted our journey a bit off to look at Victoria harbour opposite us. You can see Hong Kong Island?s business district. The view is magnificent. And there was a clock tower which saw through War World II when the Japanese destroyed the train station there. After some photo taking we went to the avenue of stars. Sad to say, I can?t recognize more than half of them, probably because I don?t watch much Hong Kong dramas or TV.

After a morning?s walking, it was lunch time. The venue of lunch was at a sea side restaurant at repulse bay. The Hong Kong people have a strange tradition. Whenever some one pours you tea or whenever you need to thank someone, tapping your fingers on your table and nodding your head is a sign of ?Thank you?. Also they tend to ?wash? their utensils in a cup of tea before eating. Why? I do not know.

After lunch we had a walk along the beach. The beach was filled with people from all walks of life. Just like what you would find in East Coast Park. There was a temple nearby in which fishermen prayed so as to get a safe voyage when they are out in the open sea fishing. Instead of visiting the temple, a few of us, including Miss Liu, were throwing stones into the sea to see who could throw the furthest or who could make the stone skid on water. It was pretty funny.

We were on to stanley-murray house next. Murray House used to be located in Central, on the Bank of China Tower site. When the bank was built in the 1980′s, the building was dismantled in 1982 and reassembled in Stanley. The building now contains shops and restaurants. You can find more information at http://www.geocities.com/asiaglobe/gallery/hk-stanley.htm. There was nothing for me to buy. In the end, we walked into some kind of a bazaar. I bought a stamp which had one of the twelve animals of Chinese Zodiac. I chose the Snake and the Sheep and had the person carve my and my brother?s names on it. I was only to find out later that he carved the wrong name on the wrong stamp.

After that was a long ride all the way to The Peak. As the name implies, it?s the peak of a certain mountain. The bus ride was around 45 minutes. The view from the peak was magnificent. You could feel the winds. And along the way up my ears felt weird, signaling pressure change. We spent a while there, capturing photos. And soon we were on our way to the place where the 1997 ceremony for reunion of Hong Kong with Mainland China took place. I can?t remember the name of that place though. And there we were to meet out Shanghai counterparts for the first time.

As the bus drove towards the destination with haste, I was worried again. I was afraid that they would be as how Mr. Kiw, commonly known as ?Molecule? or simply ?The Q? has said. They would be those who would talk all the time about politics. But as far as I had interacted with them, I did not feel that way.

And after the meeting, Eamon, Billy (From Shanghai) and me were all getting along pretty well. We talked lots. And we were having dinner.

After dinner, we were on a ferry ride around Victoria Harbour to look at Night time Hong Kong. The winds on the deck were cool and kind of chilly. The view of night time Hong Kong was pretty. It is pretty similar to Singapore?s though. There was a sort of Starbucks-styled ?restaurant? onboard and we had coupons entitling us to a small snack drink. After an hour ride with a lot of flashes from cameras and bone chilling wind, we got off the ship and back to PLKNPLC to get back to home.

Eamon?s mum instead of bringing Billy and me home, brought us to Mongkok (旺角) and we walked around Women?s Street (女人街) and I had a first look at the stalls similar to our Chinatown (though ours was meant for tourists, theirs was meant for everyone else). I also had a look at their parking system. They do not use parking coupons. They use their Octopus Card as a mean of payment and they have to punch in something to a small machine at the side of the road to specify how long they were going to park etc.

And soon we were back to Eamon?s house again. And this time, I was already very tired. And after washing up, me and Billy slept in Eamon?s room while poor Eamon had to sleep in the living room, on a sofa that apparently is also a bed. (Billy slept naked XD)

For I dont know why this thinggy keeps going down and back again. Host is gonna change soon. Dont worry.

Job attachment is last day for tml. I got to do some repairing but it is not exactly Me doing it. That guy who is supposed to teach me is kinda << un-describable >> I think i know more than him?

Anyway i shall get on to writing day two of my trip to HK. Before I forget the events.

I know its kinda dodgy and sounds rushed at the end but i didnt want to extend it.

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Many of us have heard of the famous Hong Kong advertisement on television with the catching of ?Shop and eat and shop and eat (买东西吃东西，买东西吃东西)?. Well Hong Kong is, in my opinion, far from that. Hong Kong has many similarities and differences when compared with Singapore. This fun and meaning trip has opened up my eyes that how fortunate we are in Singapore.

As many of us know, Hong Kong island, in addition to Kowloon and New Territories were ceded to the British after the defeat of China in the Opium War during the times of the Qing Dynasty. Because of this, Hong Kong shares many similarities, both in terms of culture and practices. Perhaps it?s due to the same form of westernization it experienced, or perhaps it was because we all came from the same background.

AS we reached Hong Kong?s airport, I was greeted by a feeling of familiarity. Hey! This IS like Singapore! As I finally met my home stay buddy, I felt some form of uncertainty. Will I get along with this guy? But it was not so, instead, we got along better than I had even expected. We share the same hobbies, loves playing computer games and are kind of geeky when it comes to computer stuff, have looks similar to brothers, as what the teachers and some others claimed, we also hate the same stuff!

As you might have known, all European countries have their drivers? seat on the left except for the Great Britain and yes you can find that in Singapore, and no doubt Hong Kong! As my buddy, Eamon Zheng Xing Lun (郑幸伦) was telling me about the places in Hong Kong on a mini-bus, I had a glimpse of how land shortage had been a major problem to Hong Kong. And as I got to his house, I saw the house and I was not in the least surprised, the winding roads had told me to expect this. It was then I began to feel how fortunate I am, and to think there are still people complaining of their houses being too small in Singapore, wait till they see this!

The next day, we were brought around Hong Kong. I had a glimpse of Hong Kong. The shopping centres were too similar to that of Singapore. And as evening dawned, we were joined by our Shanghai counterparts. It was where the friendship among me, Eamon and Billy, the buddy from Shanghai, began brewing.

Finally the day for the most anticipated cultural tour came. As I walked along the streets of Hong Kong, I felt a sense of home. Their public transport, the MTR and their bus service, were really like Singapore. I could sense the hustle lives of Hong Kong residents as they went about their businesses. We had lunch at a local eatery, something similar to a coffee shop of Singapore. They had a wide variety of food. In addition to that, the traditional Chinese they used made it difficult for me to choose what to eat. As we walked, we saw a beggar lying on the floor for money. The wealthy are too rich while the poor ones live in poverty. That was what they told me. I had an urge to give them some money but hesitated. Were they for real? Or were they just fakes? I guess I shall never know.

As the day drew to a close and a few more days passed by till the campfire. This was the only time which I was unhappy. Due to the lack of control the teachers had over the students, they had to come up with a plan to make all of us obey. As we obliged by the teacher?s command to somehow march, anger was brewing inside me. It was only later when I had understood the situation did my anger subside. The campfire was pretty boring compared to the ones I had been to but as this is their first time holding a campfire, I must say they have done quite an exceptional job.

As the last day of our exchange program dawned, everybody was feeling sorrowful. We will not get another chance to see them again, that was what was on everyone?s mind. I too had that feeling. But thinking of the contacts I had gathered the night before had made me feel better. All good things must come to an end. And so it did. As we parted our ways I hoped to be able to see them soon. And the words I wrote on the farewell cards we made kept lingering in my head. Friends forever!

I am going on a mad essay writing spree tonight. 3 Essays is what that needs to kill me.

This rant, a reflection and another recouint of Day Two of HK trip.

I shall begin with today. Job attachment. Woke up at damn early. then went to Kallang MRT then soon we were at the so secluded alexandra techno park. sure the place looks techno budden i feel really out of place. We are to be there for one whole week and to be rotting everyday from 8 to 6. OMG!!!!!

Then we sat inside their room wait for the boss to come, cos she’s late and i assumed her to be the boss around. Then we have our own punch card kind of thinggy! To check our attendance etc. Then we saw some ppl who doesnt look like employees and sure enough they are from polytechnic and i got to know one of them by the name of Nicholas.

And he get to do all those PC stuff and i dont! Wen Hui me and kailee were all stuck in front of the computer doing some lame data stuff.

Oh how oh how am i going to survive four more days ~~~~….

I really think Dan Brown is the second Tolkein. So much so that I went to buy his “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons”.

hehe i went to Bras Basah Complex to buy them, got 20% discount some more! Then i went on a crazy anim? watching spree cos i have missed out quite a lot over time. And yea now i am slacking.

Tml going to work (for job attachment) for five days and is full length working hours. 8.30 am to 5 something. and the place is so faaarrrrrrr…. Now i feel pretty sian and hoped i had not signed up for it in the first place. haha budden i can take this as a learning experience.

And to end of, I give u a number, see if you can guess what it is 1.618

Oh and day two of HK trip tomorrow!

[Enter the Gallery]

Ahoy here’s the gallery of pictures! If you have any pictures to share tell me and i will let u upload them! I will upload more when i get them.

I am going to write the days spreading over a series of entries then i will add them back together as one whole page and then add in appropriate pics as well. So for now i am going to write for Day 1.

13/11/2004 – Saturday

I couldn’t sleep the previous night. Counting sheep doesn’t work. So I was turning in my bed and in the end I think I only had at the most 3 hours sleep.

Then I woke up and went to bathe and only to find myself shivering and chattering my teeth when I went to change. It was so damn cold but I thought that I would be experiencing worse weather in Hong Kong. I was afraid, afraid that I couldn?t get along with my home stay buddy. I was afraid that I would appear very childish to them.

As my dad?s car cruised along the expressway to the airport, I was shrouded in an air of uncertainty. At last the airport was in sight. I went in to take the skytrain, only to find out it is not in operations until 6 am.. (-_-?) So I walked instead to terminal one. And I was late??

Then after a pretty hasty check in we went into the departure gates. And there?s the typical waving of goodbye and then poof I was in the air. It was Flight VF 902, the lousy flight of Valuair. For 50 more bucks it would have been SIA, or so I was told. There were only some horrible tasting Bee Hoon to eat and because I was hungry, I ate them. Then they began to sell snacks and chips and we bought one for 2 bucks, and it was so small that Xun Yong, Daniel and me finished all of them in like 5 minutes or so. So much for Valuair!

On the flight I did nothing much except to read The Da Vinvi Code and it was pretty interesting. The others all played cards, right in front of the Kiw who was obviously sleeping.

When we reached, a teacher went to pick us up from the airport and we took a picture. I found the way he pronounced words was pretty funny. He pronounced ?One-two-three? as ?wan-tsu-tsui?. After that we took a bus ride of about 45 minutes or so to their school. Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College (保良局颜保龄书院) or PLKNPLC is the school?s name. Their school has 9 floors and is pretty small compared to ours, let alone Raffles Institution or The Chinese High.

We were brought into a multi purpose hall and we met our Hong Kong counterparts for the first time. And after a pretty quite lunch at my table I got to know who my buddy for home stay is. His name is Eamon Zheng Xing Lun or 郑幸论 (I know the name is weird). And a teacher said I looked very like him. This must be fate for other than looks, we have a lot of other similarities. He likes gaming and is a computer geek and so am I! This must be the most appropriate buddy I am going to ever have.

Anyways after the lunch there were supposed to bring me home but instead I waited in the canteen of their school with Eamon?s mum because we were supposed to wait for another teacher who will be accompanying me to his house to take some pictures. The school was pretty cool and the winds that were blowing were really cooling. Their canteen is very different from ours. They eat packed lunch offered by the schools and have some snacks from a snack stalls during the resting time between lessons. Anyway I had a pretty interesting talk with Eamon?s mum and she was telling me a lot of stuff about Hong Kong.

Then we took a mini-bus. A mini-bus is just a small of a bus. There are two types, one that has a fixed route and the other with a sort of ?ala-carte? style of traveling, meaning you can tell the driver which way to take and where to go. Eamon told me a lot about Hong KongThey have a kind of stored value card that can be used for anything, from traveling to vending machines. It?s called the ?Octopus Card? or ?八达通?. And soon I was at his place.

His house was among one of the few blocks of flats (or public housing as they like to call it) on top of a mountain. If I am not wrong he lives in New Territory in an area called 将军澳. The house is pretty small compared to that of Singapore?s. I am not good at comparing so I can?t give u a relative or absolute size. And then after changing into my normal clothes (did I mention the Kiw wanted us to be in school uniform with blazers when onboard the plane?) he showed me his PC. It was running on Windows ME and he said he doesn?t shut it off but hibernate it instead.

After that we had dinner. If I am not wrong they say they have steamboat for dinner usually, but with less food and varieties. I didn?t feel good to eat a lot so I ate little and his mum kept giving me food. Well so I ate and ate. And guess what! They are seafood and some pigs? intestines! Firstly, I don?t feel good eating such an expensive dinner and secondly I don?t like seafood and pigs? intestines!

After a really long (about an hour) dinner, they brought me to a shopping centre. On the way I had a ride on their MTR (I forgot what it stands for) and it was very similar to Singapore?s MRT and after a walk around the shopping centre, I found that it was very similar to Singapore?s shopping centres. The shops were almost the same.

Soon I was back in their house and after a bathe I settled down to sleep. The room was pretty small and he slept in the lower bed while I did so in the upper bed. As I looked at the scenery of night time Hong Kong I drifted to sleep.

Never mind. the pics are not done yet. I am setting up a gallery. be patient