4 Countries, 10 Days, 13 People and an Infinite Amount of Fun

So it has been a while since my last blog post but can you really blame me? Hong Kong, Singapore, Bali & Malaysia all in a constricted timeframe of ten days with the most amazing people, having the absolute time of my life.


We departed on the Wednesday at 6:50am which meant leaving for the airport at 3:00am in the morning. And no, I did not get any sleep that night. Rather, we proceeded to arrive in Singapore in a desperate state of tiredness and exhaustion. Nevertheless, after a short nap we were refuelled and ready to conquer Singapore with our first town called 'Little India', Mihir was in his element. Thanks to the advice of Papa Deo (Mihir's Dad), we paid a visit to a famous Indian restaurant called 'The Banana Leaf Apolo' where we had the most amazing Indian meals and Mango Lassi's. For some of us like myself it was an early night that night to catch up on sleep, however some of the girls went out for a few casual drinks.

We made great use of the following day by going on a "Hop On-Hop Off" bus tour of Singapore where we visited many of the famous sites including the Botanical Gardens, Gardens by the Bay and of course my favourite: Marina Bay Sands, the pinnacle of architecture in my eyes.



The weather was hot and humid, nothing like what we were used to back in Hong Kong (yet anyway) but I quite enjoyed it as it reminded me of an early Summer's day back on the Gold Coast. After mucking around at the Gardens and taking lots of photos we were finally headed to Marina Bay. I could not hold my excitement. My SLR couldn't take the photos fast enough as the bus approached the Marina Bay area and the building was in my sight. Soon enough my thumb become sore from the amount of photos I was taking from the open rooftop of the tour bus. The building itself was just as amazing and astronomical as what Google Images had portrayed it as, yet far more beautiful and majestic in person. I was instantly in love. The building consists of three, hyperbole-like curved towers in the middle of Marina Bay with what looks like a gigantic space-like ship floating across the top of each of the towers.

We later came back that night for beers and cocktails at KU DÉ TA: The Club at Marina Bay Sands. I can not even begin to describe the view that we had overlooking the city at night time, it was incredible. Unfortunately I did not take my SLR with me so I was dependent on my iPhone for photos. In saying that, Sara and I managed to pass through a reserved section of the bar and get a few photos of us by the famous infinity pool, unfortunately we were the outsiders looking in rather than the other way round.




The night continued with a Mexican dinner and drinks before heading to a few nightclubs. After a few too many tequila shots Sara thought it would be a great idea to go on what was called 'The Sling Shot' in the middle of Clarke Quay, Singapore. At what first seemed like a terrible idea after so many drinks, it actually turned out to be quite a laugh. See the video below for a full demonstration.

Off again in the morning and on our way to the airport bound for Bali! (The country I said I would never go back to..I deeply withdraw that statement now). We arrived at Denpasar airport and were taken to our villa in Seminyak by our private drivers. For $30USD per person we had a six bedroom mansion with its own pool, swim by bar, three private chefs/maids and our own driver..the benefits of travelling in a large group.

It was time to celebrate our fortune with some casual drinks by the pool before sitting down for our first "family" (of thirteen) meal at the dinner table cooked by our chefs. The food was fresh, rich with flavour and unimaginably scrumptious - even the photos you can see I have taken do not do the food justice.

Breakfast was equally as good each morning with a variety between a traditional american breakfast to a local balinese cuisine. Most of our days were spent in Bali relaxing by the pool and enjoying each other's company, it was the "holiday" between our two travelling destinations; Singapore & Malaysia, even though the whole trip was really just one tremendous holiday. However, we did manage to do some sightseeing in Bali thanks to Jack who organised the driver to take us on the bus to visit the rice fields over lunch and then local temples in the afternoon before visiting the monkeys and then proceeding to dinner at a nearby restaurant. By this night at least four of us were quite sick, my guess was from the water (Bali Belly). By the last day in Bali there were only four of us who had not experienced any such symptoms, however the rest were dropping off like flies and we were expecting ourselves to be next.

Our final days in Bali consisted of us enjoying each other's company at the villa over a few quiet drinks and the odd trip to the beach. Owen and Jeff regrettably purchased sunscreen called 'Bali Boat' that was no doubt a copy of 'Banana Boat'. Expecting it to work like normal sunscreen, they both ended up getting burnt from sitting in the sun all day and putting their faith in the sunscreen. We all managed to have a bit of fun with Owen over the next few days slapping him across the shoulders every now and then. One night we did manage to go to Kuta to a few nightclubs that I had been to on "Schoolies" over three years ago. 'Engine Room' seemed to be everyone's favourite. Sara at some staged managed to lose her iPhone between us leaving Kuta and getting back to the Villa. After looking everywhere for the phone, Sara and I sat down to try and locate her iPhone using the Find My iPhone app with mine but unfortunately we had no luck.

Whilst everyone was in the pool in somewhat of a drunken state, Sara and I managed to put aside the issue of her phone being lost to Bali and sat down and talked until the early hours of the morning. Sara Jane Eadie. She is one of a kind. Sara is the most independent, career driven and hard working young woman (of my age) that I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Conversely, her passion for people, socialising and spending time with good company is outweighed even further by her inherent nature to care for others in both a friendly and motherly manner. She is the sort of person that is the first to sacrifice her own needs for others, always taking charge of a situation, very forward and knows exactly how to get what she wants.

Sara is the epitome of the perfect friend and above all of these characteristics she is someone whom I can have a conversation with about anything whether it be uni, work, career prospects, personal life or even the future and in turn I value her trust and friendship in being able to share, listen and learn from these very conversations of her own. Making close friends here was always something I anticipated but never actually realised just how close I would become with these foreign students that only weeks ago were strangers to me. Yet now they are the closest people in my life and I feel like with them here this is my home now.

After late night swims, or should I say early morning swims and Mojitos thanks to Martin, we were off to Denpasar airport bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We arrived in Kuala Lumpur ready to expect the worst of the media, candlelight shrines and families saying Hail Mary's in dedication to those passengers involved in the missing flight of MH370. However, there was no such evidence of disruption to the airport or media coverage, I later worked out that we were in fact at the low budget airline of Kuala Lumpur which was not in fact the airport where Malaysian Airlines is situated.

I was not quite sure what to expect of Malaysia. However, the country had been experiencing heavy bush fires only days before we arrived which meant we arrived to a completely smoke ridden city with absolutely no view. Our hostel was incredible. We stayed at the 'Reggae Mansion' which was full of a hundred or so other twenty year olds there for Future Music Festival 2014, just as we were. With a rooftop bar, a group of nine of us now and reception and security staff that continuously encouraged drinking I was beginning to regret having put my visa card and name down for all nine beds. We had a great deal of fun visiting the local sights and caves of which we ran into some very aggressive monkeys once again. One monkey managed to steal Connor's gatorade from his hand and open the bottle (when the cap was tightly closed) and drink the gatorade.

Upon wondering the streets of Kuala Lumpur that night we came across a shrine on the corner of two streets for flight MH370. Several posters were laid across the ground, surrounded with messages of love, support and lit candles in the shape of the Boeing 777. As inspiring as it was to see the locals latch on to any hope that the passengers on that flight were still alive, it was also very sad and daunting as our flight back to Hong Kong in a few days was to follow the same flight route as MH370.

We also managed to visit the Petronas Towers that night only just after Sara managed to snap the strap off one of her sandals and had to make use of Connor's sock as a replacement. It was incredible how much effort went into the visibility of the Petronas Towers, they were brightly light up every night and could be seen from miles away. On the final afternoon in Kuala Lumpur, we were just about to start pre-drinks before finding out via Facebook that the Future Music Festival was cancelled due to five locals having died from drug overdoses. We were quite disappointed that the festival was cancelled, especially because it was the main reason why we decided to come to Malaysia. Nevertheless, us business students did what we do best and turned an unfortunate event into the beginning of an eventful night at the rooftop bar. We drank, we witnessed terrible attempts at Karaoke, we danced, we ate BBQ for dinner and we pretty much stayed up all night before leaving for our flight at 3:00am from the hostel.

Without a doubt this was the best time of my life and I can not express how much I appreciate spending such a time with each and every person that came on the trip. This blog post does not do our trip justice nor could it every portray to you just how much of a great time I had. I wish I could have included every detail in this post but unfortunately that would take me weeks. In years time we will look back on such moments and say "they were the best times of my life" even though I am being premature and establishing that fact now because I know for sure it is true. These wonderful people are friends for life and I indent to keep it that way.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

After our unsuccessful attempt at going to the movies on Friday night we decided to go on Monday night and pre-book the tickets at the Broadway Circuit Cinemas in Cyberport. After having an exam that morning for International Financial Management I was looking forward to a chilled night at the movies and away from the books. We watched 'The Wolf of Wall Street' that lasted for almost three hours in length. I enjoyed the movie and the story behind it but was quite surprised at how much sex, drugs and alcohol was involved, perhaps I should have read the book before hand. Nevertheless, it was still a great movie and would recommend anyone who has considered watching it to give it a shot.

I was trying to co-ordinate everyone getting on the right bus from different stops in order to get to Cyberport when I received a phone call from Hong Kong Pete. With all the background noise of the bus and other students as well as trying to text message others to catch the right bus, I was barely able to hear what Peter was saying but I managed to clarify that he had a job opportunity for me and was currently with the managing director of the company. He put the managing director on the phone who I spoke to briefly about doing some work for his company in Guangzhou. I replied that I was very interested but offered to call back in the morning to be able to discuss the job over the phone in a more suitable environment, not on a minibus with five other students.

The next day I received a phone call where I spoke more to the managing director of the company. I will not go into too much detail but basically the field of work is construction and the owner needs "somebody he can trust" to visit the Guangzhou factory once a week/fortnight to ensure smooth running of the operations and to implement and monitor quality control of the product before it is exported back to Australia and other destinations.

What lies ahead of this opportunity? I do not know. However, all this came from that night I spent in Wan Chai drinking with Hong Kong Pete and fellow business executives. I was tempted not to go out that night as well due to how tired I had been. However, in the last six months or so I have adopted a new theory that I must try and say "yes" to as many opportunities that come my way as possible. Almost like the movie 'Yes Man' with Jim Carrey, however not quite as strict. Obviously, there are going to be times when I need to prioritise certain tasks over others but since I have began saying yes to things I would not normally do or with people I would not normally "hang" around with I have had so many good things come from it and met so many new people. Really when you think about it you always say how you regret not doing something, but when do you ever really say "I wish I had never said yes to that". Even if that is the case and it turns out to not be what you expected, it is just another experience you have learnt from. So what harm is that?

Live Blog Feed: I am in tears. Jeremy is talking in his sleep, really loudly, like yelling out. He just asked us if we want to go fishing in the Pacific Ocean. Albert has not long come home after having a big night drinking thinking either that Jeremy wants to go fishing now or he is too drunk to understand english. Albert starts yelling things back at Jeremy, making bird noises and shouting as he's talking in his sleep. Meanwhile I am sitting here at my desk, on my laptop trying to write my blog, holding my stomach laughing at the two of them. So, so funny.

Anyway, getting back to the job. I have been running around backwards and forwards to the Chinese Embassy in Wan Chai to get an expedited visa into China as the managing director has asked me to come up for an induction this Friday. I will be staying the Friday night after working the day and then returning to Hong Kong on the Saturday afternoon. They have asked me if I would be able to commit one or two days a week/fortnight to travel up to factories in China to do such work. They were also interested in my plans after I finish studying and how long I intend to stay in Hong Kong for. I have done some background research on the company and found that they have offices in Australia, one being in Brisbane. This could potentially be the start of a much bigger opportunity than I originally anticipated.

I explored by myself in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) for some good tailors for custom-made suits and also a department store to buy new suitcases. However, after having group work at uni this afternoon I left it a little too late and most of the stores and local tailors had closed up for the day. I will try and head back over early next week during the day to continue exploring.

We found this great little organic café on campus that sells good quality food and a wide selection of coffee. For lunch I had Roasted Duck Spaghetti in a Cream Sauce accompanied with a Roast Almond latte. It was about double what you would expect to pay at the canteens here on campus but it is still relatively cheap compared to home and for the quality, definitely worth it. I am sure I will be making use of this hidden gem in the study weeks to come.

Everyone has headed out tonight to LKF to see a well-known DJ that is playing at one of the nightclubs. As much as I would have liked to have gone I have a tonne of work to do and need an early nights sleep before leaving at 5:30am to Guangzhou for this job. I am quite excited as I'm not really sure what lies ahead but am going with an open mind and ambitious thinking.

I was up at 4:30am after getting only three hours sleep and met Hong Kong Pete at Hong Hum station  before we had breakfast together at Starbucks and boarded the speed train to Guangzhou. We had some great chats on this two hour train ride. Peter shared with me his life story about how he started off as a young teenager to doing what he does now, gave me a great history and importance of the towns we were passing on the train and also discussed his future ideas for business and current clients.

We were greeted by "Mr Li", Peter's good friend and business associate who is the owner and manager of the manufacturing factory where I will be completing my work. Mr Li drove us to the factory where I was introduced to Mike the managing director of Formcraft, the company I was asked to work for. My role during the visits to the factories is to monitor the production process of the products manufactured for Formcraft and ensure that quality assurance is maintained before I give the  final approval for the products to be exported in containers to Australia. Peter gave me a tour of the rest of the factory where I was amazed to see that all the employees were female. I later discovered that a few males do work at the factory however they are supervisors of the production where the physical labour with machinery is completed by the women. The variety of products that were produced at this factory astounded me, ranging from electrical boxes to overhead cable holders as well as various products made from rubber and plastic.

We later checked in to a nearby hotel after dropping Mike off at the airport. After showering and refreshing ourselves, Peter took me to an Irish Pub called 'Paddy's' that he says is famous in Guangzhou amongst all the expatriates. There we met a group of nice Scottish folk who were in Guangzhou looking for new products for their businesses back in Scotland. After a few drinks with them Peter invited them to the restaurant where we were meeting Mr Li and his wife and son 'Niko' for dinner. The restaurant was called '1920'. It is a german restaurant in Guangzhou, apparently famous for its good food, service and wine and that reputation certainly did not fail to disappoint. The moment we walked into the restaurant Peter clicked his fingers and said a few words in Cantonese and before we knew it our table was filled with succulent cold meat platters, smoked salmon with asparagus, fresh warm bread and bottles of wine.


I proceeded to have roast lamb with vegetables and, birds nest potato in a creamy garlic sauce for main course before being greeted with plates of chocolate cake and fruit salad for dessert. Peter and I managed to share two bottles of wine between the two of us, finally someone over here who shares my appreciation for red wine. We spent a great night with Mr Li and his family and talking to our new Scottish friends who made me promise that I would come over and visit them and stay at their house. They also later shared that they in fact own property in various countries around the world and offered for me to stay in any of these properties if ever I was visiting. The apartment in Dubai sure did catch my attention.


The night continued with drinks at the Garden Hotel bar before heading to a nightclub led by Peter and eventually retiring to bed as we had an early train to catch in the morning.

I am currently sitting here on the train back to Hong Kong from Guangzhou with Peter snoring happily next to me. As I look out the window and see the dense pollution surrounding the many cities passing by I can not help to reminisce on the events of these last few days and how this opportunity was derived by an innocent few drinks at a bar. I consider myself very lucky to have met such great people, most notably Peter who has gone above and beyond to provide me with such exposure to successful businessmen and opportunities. It won't soon be forgotten.

Well its been a long few days and I think it is time I joined Peter for a nap before we arrive back in Hong Kong.

Life is good!