the hotel was pleasant and so were the rooms so i got a good night's rest and the next day we had a half-day city tour with other singaporeans. it was impressive! we managed to see so much within a span of 5 hours. I realised that there's more to HK than all the shopping and in a place so busy and cosmopolitan, just like singapore, it's often hard to forget the significance of its' history. we went to a pearl factory and dad bought me this beautiful pearl necklace. it's purplish and simple, yet elegant. really, i have an undeniable attraction to pearls- though everyone obviously values diamonds more. True, diamonds are more expensive, but i find pearls so much more beautiful. it has a certain richness to it and dignity. beautiful. truly. yeah so after the tour and lunch, we took a train to the outlets, which were quite disappointing mainly because the prices were around the same, or even more than singapore's. i went into Coach and Kate Spade and even though the designs were pretty, i couldn't bring myself to see the logic in spending $800 on a bag. it just seems ridiculous. i think it's my innate desire to never be a brat. i've never had expensive taste and i refuse to have it unless i can personally afford it.

anyway, long story short. the next few days were spent shopping and we went to Shen Zhen, China for a day. though it was pretty much shopping paradise with all the bargaining and stuff, it was certainly an interesting experience because of the pick pockets. they were EVERYWHERE. and they love to target foreigners. i was kinda grateful for my brother looking out for me. he may be really annoying, but at least he's there for me. and there was this one time we were walking to the mrt and we were surrounded by these two guys who were definitely following us, planning to steal our bags. but it was amazing how when my dad turned around and glared (dad can be big and scary lol), they pretended they were talking on their handphones and backed off. made me really appreciate singapore and the safety we're blessed with.

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND.

BLISS.

MAGIC.

okay it wasn't that great in terms of the rides there and anyone who's been to the one in LA would probably call me naive, but for a disney fan-freak like me, my first trip to disneyland, regardless of quality would definitely be magical. i really felt like a small kid. and when i saw all the small kids running around, i envied them for i wished i had been able to experience this when i was younger and all i had were tv screens and story books. but oh well. i'm still grateful. yeah so my brother and i went on most rides and took photos. the parade was really cool too and my heart just warmed when i saw my disney princesses. omg. it was like a dream.

I took like the viking ride (RC Racer) all by myself and the people in the queue were staring at me weirdly wondering why in the world i would go for something like that by myself haha. i'm an adrenaline junkie sometimes, what can i say. it was even worse when they just needed one more person on the ride at that time so the guy called out for anyone who was alone and i had to raise my hand so he made me go to the front with everyone staring at me weirdly, to take the ride. dad caught a picture of my face on the ride, it was hilarious.

but the most magical experience of all (well, our hotel was mega cool too), were the fireworks in disneyland we went to watch on our last night. magic is really the only word to describe it. when it began the crowd was huge and everyone i guess was there to witness magic that they don't get to see in life everyday. when the songs came on in the castle and the fireworks started, i was captivated. i knew all the songs from all my disney movies, and the whole experience was so overwhelming, it brought tears to my eyes. legit. because at that moment of staring in wonder, i suddenly thought of the children all over the world, suffering in poverty, the children who didn't chose where they would be born, the children, who instead of experiencing this magic, were going through hell. it just impacted me so much, because it made me realise how lucky i was. and then after that, daddy took my hand as we left disneyland and the snow began falling because everyone was rushing out, and that's when i realised what magic really was.

yes, magic to me is disney. and disney will always be a huge part of me. but magic's more than that. Magic is when your parents know why you're pissed and do what they can to make it better. Magic is when your family's there for each other, and when you sit down to eat and joke. Magic is when Dad saw me looking at something in the disneyland shop and bought it for me, without me knowing. Magic is when Mummy queues up for 20 mins with me to ride the Dumbo elephant ride even though its probably meant for 5 year olds, because she knew how excited i was. Magic is when no matter how much my brother and i can piss each other off, we're always there for each other.

Magic, simply put, is love. and that's what disney is all about. it's about knowing that even though it may seem impossible, even if one has fins instead of legs, you can find love. It's about accepting differences, and loving still. It's about going to such extents, like a magic carpet, to show someone you love them. Most importantly, its that hope that maybe, foolish as this may sound, that if you wish upon a star, your wish will come true. Not literally perhaps, but having the courage to wish for something and having the hope. maybe then, you'll never really grow old.