Hong Kong - Day Plans at a glance

Day 1: 10000 Budhas Monastery and Ngong Ping 360
Day 2: Disney World First day
Day 3: Ocean Park
Day 4: Disney world Second day
Day 5: Sky 100, Science Museum and Victoria Peak
Day 6: Noah's Ark

Hong Kong - In my eyes

A cool "kewl" place to visit...
Size:Bigger than Singapore, Smaller than India (Of course!) Thinking why I am comparing with these two countries? Because one is my birth place and another is the place where I live.
Cleanliness:Some places were too clean and rich. Most of the places were dirty and the buildings were looking too old and shabby. Overall the look and feel was not bad. (As I always compared it to my two near and dear countries)
Transport:Good and well planned. MTR is comfortable and there are many ways to reach it from wherever you are. You can go by normal Bus or small 16 seater mini bus or Taxi. 16 seater mini bus or the normal bus is not fair enough in collecting money though. They ask us to tap when we get on but not when we get off. Meaning they don't calculate the amount by the distance we travel. Sometimes fair and sometimes totally unfair.
Sight Seeing places:Very well maintained and they do have the visitors as their first priority. I would definitely appreciate their service as it was commendable almost everywhere. They know how to attract people to buy their souvenirs.
Food:I can comment only about Indian Vegetarian food as the food that we tried there was vegetarian and mostly Indian. These days Indian veggy food is available almost all over the world and we did find a few restaurants there and food tasted good too. Most of the dishes available are that of north India as we could find North Indians to be a part of some percent of the HK residents. Good thing was that we got Indian Veggy food inside Disneyland eventhough it was spicy, it was tasty and good.
Language:Very few understood English.
Taxi:Taxi drivers were completely rude. May be there are exceptions not sure. whichever taxi we took, the drivers were too rude and they did speak good english. Bus drivers were rude too but they did not understand much but responded to us in English :)
Shopping Malls:Very rich malls and people in the malls looked rich too. It was completely similar to what we see in Singapore and if you ask me even more richer than Singapore malls.
Weather:Too cool from morning to Extremely cold in the night.
Stay:Hotel we chose was good and breakfast was good too. We stayed in Regal Oriental Hotel in Sa Po Road. Its not nearby any MTR but there is a 16 seater bus from the hotel which was convenient for us to travel outside.

All excited and thrilled!

Mummy! How many days will we be there!
Mummy! Will it rain there?
Mummy! Will there be flood?
Mummy! Can i take bath there?
Mummy! Is there a fridge where I can put my car for color change?
Mummy! .... A five year old is too curious as how the place would be, worried if that place will be safe, happy that he is going on a holiday... We are all set to go there (where? - later will update it) with mixed feelings, knowing little information about it, expecting it could give us a great experience, planning to spend quality time with my kids...
More updates sooooooooonnnn

What Do Recycling Symbols on Plastics Mean?

The versatile material is in our cars, toys, packaging, clothing, home goods, food utensils, medical devices and so much more. It is also littering our streets, clogging our waterways and choking marine life. Many plastics can be readily recycled, but how do consumers make sense of all the different types and rules?
You're learning to recycle plastics (great!), but now you have probably heard reports of nervous consumers cleaning out their cupboards and closets of containers that experts are warning may not be safe to use. The good news is those recycling codes can help you protect your family, and The Daily Green will tell you how.
Though it's true regulators and the plastics industry are pointing out that the science on the real-world harms is not yet proven, many are saying the stakes are too high, and the alternatives too easy, to ignore. Read on to see which types of water and baby bottles you don't want to give your kids.

What goes around comes around

One day a good man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of the lady who had got a Mercedes. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was those chills which only fear can put in you. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma'am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson. Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, And think of me.He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight. A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan. After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.Under the napkin were four more $100 bills. Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson. There is an old saying "What goes around comes around".

The evil you do remains with you! The good you do, comes back to you!

A woman baked bread for members of her family and an extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept the extra bread on the Window-sill, for whosoever would take it away. Every day, a hunch-back came and took away the bread. Instead of expressing gratitude, he muttered the following words as he went his way: "The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" This went on, day after day. Every day, the hunch-back came, picked up the bread and uttered the words: "The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" The woman felt irritated. "Not a word of gratitude," she said to herself... "Everyday this hunch-back utters this jingle! What does he mean? "One day, out of despiration, she decided to do away with him. "I shall get rid of this hunch-back," she said. And what did she do? She added poison to the bread she prepared for him! As she was about to place it on the window sill, her hands trembled. "What is this I am doing?" she said. Immediately she threw the bread into the fire, prepared another one and kept it on the window-sill. As usual, the hunch-back came, picked up the bread and muttered the words: "The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" The hunch-back proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman. Everyday, as the woman placed the bread on the window-sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. For many months, she had no news of him.. She prayed for his safe return. That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway.. He had grown thin and lean. His garments were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved and weak. As he saw his mother, he said, "Mom, it's a miracle I'm here. While I was but a mile away, I was so hungry that I collapsed. I would have died, but just then an old hunch-back passed by. I begged of him for a small part of his food, and he was kind enough to give me a whole bread. "As he gave it to me, he said, "This is what I eat everyday: today, I shall give it to you, for your need is greater than mine!"
"As the mother heard those words, her face turned pale and red. She leaned against the door for support. She remembered the poisoned bread that she had made that morning. Had she not burnt it in the fire, it would have been eaten by her own son, and he would have lost his life! It was then that she realized the significance of the words: "The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" Do good and; Don't ever stop doing good, even if it's not appreciated at that time.

Art of Giving!

"Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do tree eat their own fruit, nor do rain clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used solely for the benefit of others!
Even after accepting that giving is good and that one must learn to give, several questions need to be answered.

The first question is:
When should one give?

We all know the famous incident from Mahabharat.
Yudhisthir asks a beggar seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim rejoices that Yudhisthir his brother, has conquered death! For he is sure that he will be around the next day to give. Yudhisthir gets the message.
One does not know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give!
The time to give, therefore, is now.

The next question is:
'How much to give?'

One recalls the famous incident from history.
Rana Pratap was reeling after defeat from the Moghals. He had lost his army, he had lost his wealth, and most important, he had lost hope, his will to fight. At that time, in his darkest hour, his erstwhile minister, Bhamasha, came seeking him and placed his entire fortune at the disposal of Rana Pratap. With this, Rana Pratap raised an army and lived to fight another day.
The answer to this question how much to give is:
"Give as much as one can!

The next question is:
'What to give?'

It is not only money that can be given away. It could be a flower or even a smile.It is not how much one gives but how one gives that really matters. When you give a smile to a stranger that may be the only good thing received by him in days and weeks!
"You can give anything but you must give with all your heart!"

One also needs answer to this question
Whom to give?

Many times we avoid giving by finding fault with the person who is seeking. However, being judgmental and rejecting a person on the presumption that he may not be the most deserving, is not justified.

“Give without being judgmental!"
Next we have to answer:
'How to give?'

Coming to the manner of giving, one has to ensure that the receiver does not feel humiliated, nor the giver feels proud by giving.In giving, follow the advice 'Let not your left hand know what your right hand gives? Charity without publicity and fanfare is the highest form of charity.'
'Give quietly!'
While giving, let not the recipient feel small or humiliated. After all, what we give never really belonged to us. We come to this world with nothing and will go with nothing. The thing gifted was only with us for a temporary period. Why then take pride in giving away something which really did not belong to us?
Give with grace and with a feeling of gratitude.
"What should one feel after giving?"

We all know the story of Eklavya. When Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb as "Guru Dakshina, he unhesitatingly cut off the thumb and gave it to Dronacharya.
There is a little known sequel to this story.
Eklavya was asked whether he ever regretted the act of giving away his thumb. He replied, and the reply has to be believed to be true, as it was asked to him when he was dying.His reply was "Yes! I regretted this only once in my life. It was when Pandavas were coming in to kill Dronacharya who was broken hearted on the false news of death of his son, Ashwathama, and had stopped fighting. It was then that I regretted the loss of my thumb. If the thumb was there, no one could have dared hurt my Guru?The message to us is clear.
Give and never regret giving!

And the last question is:‘How much should we provide for our heirs?'

Ask yourself 'are we taking away from them the gift of work? - A source of happiness?
The answer is given by Warren Buffett:
"Leave your kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing!"
I would conclude by saying:

Let us learn the Art of Giving,
and quoting the Saint Kabir:

"When the wealth in the house increases, when water fills a boat, throw them out (for good causes) with both hands!"
This is the wise thing to do!