At Changi Airport: Our principal Mr Saw (extreme right) with the teachers and students.
I had been looking forward to this Hong Kong immersion programme for over a month. This trip was organised by my teachers as part of the school’s environmental programme. I have been a Junior Environmental Ambassador for one and a half years. I am so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this trip along with 17 other students.
It was my very first experience on an aeroplane. We flew on Singapore Airlines, economy class. I was really excited to be flying through the clouds. The flight itself was turbulent sometimes, but I still enjoyed it very much. I would give the airplane food three out of five stars. I wished the portions were bigger! Throughout most of the six-hour flight, I was playing multiplayer games with my friends. That, ice-cream, and free wifi were the highlights of the flight.
When we arrived in Hong Kong, I met our tour guide Ms Wing. She was to accompany us throughout the five days. The weather in Hong Kong was blistering hot. The streets were very busy and traffic was heavy, just like in New York (according to the TV shows I’ve watched).
First stop, lunch. We went to a famous halal Chinese restaurant. The food was served on a Lazy Susan. There were many dishes, but I only chose rice, popcorn chicken in sweet & sour sauce, tofu and vegetables. And that’s a lot! I give five stars for the food. YUM!
After that, we went to a zero-carbon building. A zero-carbon building is mainly made of recycled materials. In the building itself, there was an eco-house. It was just like a normal house except that it was fitted with eco-friendly inventions. There was a fan that didn’t act like a fan. Our guide said that it sucked air, not blow air.
We were also introduced to a food-waste digester. It is a small machine which does a very big job of breaking down food and turning it into plant fertilisers. Another innovative invention is an electricity-generating cycling platform. We took turns to cycle – but just for fun, as the system was not channeling the energy we produced.
At the Zero-Carbon Building: A student cycling to produce electricity. You have to peddle fast to generate even 1KW.
I learnt that we could live in a more eco-friendly way by recycling materials, producing our own energy and converting waste into other uses.
After dinner, we went off to Victoria Peak, which is Hong Kong’s highest mountain at 554-metre elevation. We took the 120-year-old Peak Tram up the steep mountain, going at an incline of around 28 to 39 deegres. At the peak was a beautiful view of Hong Kong at night, sparkling with city lights.
A View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak
My friends and I (standing, second from right) at Victoria Peak.
Finally, it was time to check into the hotel. I was so relieved to get some some sleep. Then I remembered…OH NO! We also had to write a journal. I felt like crying out loud, not only because there was a journal to write, but I will take FOREVER to finish a journal. Back in the hotel room, I unpacked my luggage, prayed, then went to sleep. One hour later, I woke up realising I hadn’t written the journal and took all of 50 minutes to finish it before going back to sleep.
What a long day!
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