I didn’t realize my last update was before going to Japan, and now I have been back to the States for about 6 months already. I will try to gradually fill in the gaps with my study and travel experiences in Japan!! (And every here and there!)
More updates later…
It has been 2 and a half months since Caroro and I finished our study abroad program at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Caroro is currently back to North America and I am at Japan participating my second exchange program. I will be updating this blog from now on and will be documenting my experience for the second exchange program. K, more updates later, bye!!!
Lina
Food in Japan is unstoppable
Shinsaibashi, Osaka 大阪心斎橋
There are many hidden gems in this city, like the one I visited today, a ramen place by Namba station.
The ramen place is at the corner of the street, and unlike other restaurants, this is standing only, which have fast flows of customers. First I have to purchase a ticket of which type of ramen I like, they only have one selection of ramen, you can choose for regular or more pork. Then I have to find a space at the small counter and hand in my ticket, and just wait for my food!
Free side dishes to add on to your ramen: kimchi, marinaded yasai(vegetable) and diced garlic
The tonkotsu broth for the ramen was very tasty, and I saw there were actually lots of pork bones scooped up from the original broth pot
These type of restaurants might not survive in the states because of cleanliness, and I have to admit, this place is not that clean, but that’s the giveaway for authentic Japanese ramen!
I feel like I’m one step closer in becoming Japanese 😉🇯🇵
Habibis take mainland 🇨🇳
Herro 😊
So it was Easter’s break in Hong Kong last weekend, with our limited budget and extreme prices to go almost anywhere outside of Hong Kong, I decided to take Caroro and Erin to my hometown in Mainland China 😍 this is us representing CUHK at Shunde, Foshan City! 
It was so fun to have friends over at such small town, Erin constantly gets attention because she’s the tall white girl [she enjoyed it though 😉]
A few highlights from the trip: Shunfeng Park, Fengjian Village, Qinghui Garden, and Guangzhou!
Shunfeng Park 
Fengjian Village
Qinghui Garden
Caroro is so cute ❤️😍
And finally Guangzhou, Lina not responsible for babies
I’ll update more posts later 😊
花見🌸 Kyoto/Osaka
Hello 🙂 I know I haven’t update for a while, I am catching up on writing blogs, but I just want to post about Japan first
It is the time of the year again, where Japan’s old cities will bloom into a sea of cherry blossoms. I decided to take a long weekend break to Japan to witness the scenes of post cards.
First day in Japan I got to dress into traditional Kimono and wander around the Kyoto, the city which is famous for shrines and temples. I talked Kelsey into Kimono with me because its totally appropriate for us to blend in the culture, yeah? 😉 here’s us- the beautiful habibis in kimono under Sakura trees 
Day 2 was visiting the 伏見稲荷大社 Fushimi-Inari Daishya. The weather was horrible but I still went despite the rain
not to mention I came across with the best Airbnb hosts [Hiroshi and Yukiko] They don’t speak much English, it was the best way for me to practice my crappy Japanese, and I was surprised that we communicated with minimal help win a dictionary! They invited me to drink with them at night and took me to a morning walk in the morning. So here come photos for day 3!
Day 3(Kyoto): secrecy sight-seeing spot just minutes of walk from my Airbnb. Traditional, peaceful, and beautiful.
After this, I took a train from Kyoto to Osaka for two more days at another Airbnb 😁 [Hiroshi and Yukiko even drove me to Kyoto Station and said goodbyes, they are so nice, highly recommend!!]
Day 3(Osaka): 桜ノ宮 Sakuranomiya for more cherry blossoms! This place have many cherry blossom trees along the river and it’s a great place for families to come out and have potluck!
Along the river I walked to 大阪城 Osaka-jo to see the famous castle and, of course, more cherry blossoms
At night I visited Shinsaibashi and Doutombori, the busiest hub of Osaka. I’m sure you can find almost all you want to buy from Japan here!
That’s it for now! More updates later😉
HK- Sai Kung
What’s best for a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Hong Kong? Sai Kung will be by far the most impressive destination I’ve been to in HK. It is located not too far from Ma On Shan at New Territories, about 100HKD taxi fare from University.
Sai Kung reminded me of the peaceful beach city I reside at California, except Sai Kung has much more to give than just its views.
Sai Kung is a dog heaven, or more specifically, CORGI heaven! Roughly estimated about 15 corgis in just the short time. [starting to think Sai Kung Sunday is a thing] Here’s the picture of the first corgi
Lots of seafood are available in Sai Kung, yes you read it correctly, I said LOTS. There are fishermen selling fresh seafood directly by the berth in their own little boats; restaurants have large collection of seafood for consumers. Pictures 👇🏻
Conveniently located by the harbor, many tourists come daily and get sent off by the tourist boats. On the other side, Sai Kung is really an old town with lots of culture.
Tin Hau temple of Sai Kung
Dinner was at a Michelin recommended (or one star, not sure) restaurant called Loaf On in Sai Kung! 
- Taste: 8/10
- Appearance: 9/10
- Value:6/10
Would visit Sai Kung again!
Singapore
Perks of living in Hong Kong? *cough cough you mean HKG?
Sí! Lots of budget airlines basing in Hong Kong and have crazy prices for many destinations around Asia!
[insert photo of our crazy selves] 
Habibis and I were talking about our first trip and we landed on the idea of Singapore. WHY NOT?! Time for some tropical sunshine down at the equator!
Time span of our trip: 3 days #weekendgetaway
Total amount of people: 4 (or 5 if you include my food baby 👶🏼)
Average temperature in SG: 28 Celsius
Here we were! Jan 22 6:30am @HKG
~4.5 hours later~
(Side note: Singapore MRT was so slow)
#tanktop & #shorts for dayssss
highlights of our trip 👇🏼
#1 Food
[bak kut teh @tiong baru]
[Singaporean chili crab @ Chinatown]
[unknown fried stuff??]
#2 Company 😊
[Paolo/Pinju/Lina/Caroro/Nick@sentosa]
[US@marina bay sands]
#3 landscape
[Merlion @sentosa]
[@gardens by the bay]
[@singapore city]
Conclusion
A nice weekend getaway to the Singapore to escape the cold winter in Hong Kong. Record low of 0 Celsius vs 28 Celsius tropical weather ❄️👉🏼☀️
Though everything were decided in a very short amount of time (less than a week), we still managed to have lots of fun in Singapore!
No regrets!
Stay tuned for more updates and v-log 😊
^proud supporter+ photo provider: Paolo
Sugar
My coffee gets increasingly better more I drink and the closer I get to the bottom of the cup, where all the sugar is. I wonder if life is the same way as we approach the end. -Jarod Kintz
Afternoon tea at the Peninsula
Dressed in dapper spring clothes with the remnants of Chinese New Year celebrations in the air, we walked into the Peninsula to enjoy some afternoon tea.
The Peninsula is a chain of luxury hotels with location in major cities over the world (HK, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Paris, Bangkok, Manila). The Hong Kong location is in Victoria Harbour in Tsim Sha Shui. There is no view of the harbour, but it doesn’t matter once you walk inside.
Waiting..1:30pm
Hermes?? 1000 dollars for that cardboard. You mean 1000 USD right?
Where’s the trashcan? That one. This one? Ligotomaigogotomailigotomaigogotomai… The staff throws it away for me because I couldn’t recognize that the vase was a trashcan. K bye.
The ambiance and decor?
Is that an orchestra? Is that a quartet? It’s an ensemble. It’s Sugar!! It’s Just the Way You Are. WHAT IS THAT SONG?? Tell me more.
The food
Tea set for 5?
Yes, please. Is this silver?? It’s made in England. I think only the handles are Ag. You’re right, I see where they fused the metal.
NgGoi, can you please explain these macaroons for us? Lemon, pistachio, caramel, chocolate, …….coffee.
4xsugar + 4xsavory + 2xscones
I’m sorry for the crumbs, I eat like a boar
I’m sorry for the crumbs, I eat like a boar
I’m sorry for the crumbs, I eat like a boar
$355HKD later :
Desert was amazing -Caroro Habibi
Food was too sweet -Paolo Habibi
Food was too filling -Lina Habibi
Oh gawd I think I grew a food baby. Who knew we’d stay until 5:36pm.
(Oriental next?)
hkhabibis 