The long awaited trip of the year has finally arrived! Secondary 3 cadets from all the various schools were selected for this trip and I was one of the lucky 30. Feeling very anxious yet excited, 17th November, the first day of the Hong Kong and Macau Overseas Educational Visit came closer inch by inch. With 30 cadets, 4 CIs, and 6 officers, we took off to Hong Kong!
At the very beginning, I was worried that I could not go along with the others, also more when I was the only one from my unit. However, after 7 days, my thought has changed. We arrived at the airport and took a 4 hour plane ride to Hong Kong International Airport. It was my first plane ride for many years and I felt very honoured to be in this trip. Once in Hong Kong, we wasted no time and immediately went to the coach. Our tour guide, Patrick, was a friendly yet funny person who helped to bring out Hong Kong to us. After dinner, we went to Victoria Peak, a famous spot for tourists to view the whole island as well as its brightly lighted up buildings in Hong Kong. At there, we also visited Madam Tussand’s Wax Museum, where we saw the very real model of many famous people, such as Hilter, Barack Obama and Jackie Chan. I had fun taking photos with my group while attempting to impersonate the models there. Following that, we went up to the top and never thought it would be that cold. We quickly snapped some shots and took a tram down the peak. Day One was nearing the end as we checked into our hotel and turned in for the night
A long day ahead of us and we met up for breakfast first thing in the morning. Our first dim sum in Hong Kong and it felt nothing I have ever tasted before. During this time, we met with some the Junior Police Call (JPC) members, who agreed to follow us to the Old Central Police Station. The JPC organise their own activities and also help the police in protecting the city. We could look around at the historical police building and learn more the history of the police force in Hong Kong. It was a big place including old jail cells, court and barracks. Our excitement rose as we visited the next place after lunch, the Hong Kong Police College. The Police College/Training School we always see in the Hong Kong dramas are finally right in front of us! We went through a short lecture and a tour around the place. Luckily, we also had an opportunity to look at their drill session, with trainees in their smart green uniform. We learnt that only the top 10-20% applicants can to train as a police in their 14 weeks training. We went to their Police Tactical Village there and learnt how the police train in their weapons. Before dinner we headed to Avenue of Stars, where we could find handprints of famous Hong Kong singers and actors imprinted on the ground. It was a long stretch of walk near the open sea and nice scenery of building behind it. Dinner we had BBQ with the JPC members, where we interacted more with them, sharing our NPCC experience and learning their experience in JPC. We had sing-along with them after that, where we practiced songs we learnt as well as learn new songs from them. It was like a mini campfire and everyone felt very high!Day 3. Getting used to the weather. We departed for the Police Tactical Unit located in New Territories. Our very first souvenir shop and all of us were eager to buy something back for our unit. We were also allowed into their Tactical Vehicles used for riots and emergency. Hong Kong Police Dog Unit was our next stop. It was an interesting place located at the New Territories. We were introduced to the dog unit with us learning interesting facts, including 101 dogs working in the unit and dogs being trained to patrol, sniff out drugs and detect bombs. Very useful in protecting the country from any terrorism or crime. Demonstration of the dogs in training and their very own dog examination were shown to us before we had photo taking session with the Police Dogs. In the afternoon, we took a police coast guard boat to Cheung Chau Island, a small island with established shops and restaurants. At the island, we visited the JPC Clubhouse there, one of the three main clubhouses in Hong Kong. We had some fun games there, and had our tour around the island. We went shopping before taking the ferry back to Hong Kong.
Half the trip has already gone and it could not have gotten more exciting. We could not wait for the shopping at Ladies Street later in the day. However, we had to visit the Central Police Station, where we can witness how the police handle crimes through interrogation and collecting evidence. NPCC had also prepared a powerpoint presentation for the JPC members in exchange. Still in our full uniforms, we headed to the Taipo JPC Clubhouse for our exchange program. Tired but still awaiting shopping at night, we quickly changed out of our uniforms and brought our “heavy” wallets there, waiting to spend the money we brought. There we split into our groups and attempted to bargain our way through the shops. My first time bargaining to lower the overpriced items and it was a good experience for me. I have learnt that we cannot always give in to the shopkeepers as they wont have business without us. With our hands full of bags, we returned to the hotel, full of joy and yet regretting that we spent only 1 and a half hours there.
DISNEYLAND! That was all we were thinking about the night before. Now it’s time to go there. All of us felt very fortunate to go Disneyland on such a trip and enjoy ourselves after 4 days of visiting police centres. Moreover, it was a full day there. We had an enriching animation course in the morning at Disneyland, where we had many hands on activities including a small 3D movie clip of my favourite Disney cartoon characters, as well as learning how to make animation out of drawings. My favourite was the drawing of the Mickey Mouse, which I have not done before. Simple yet very familiar to all of us. We were given meal coupons and after lunch at Disneyland, we had our free time. My group first went to Space Mountain, a roller coaster ride. It was so thrilling that we took it 4 times. Along the way we bought Disneyland souvenirs, which was not very cheap but serve as good gifts. There was also a big castle in the Disneyland, which reminded me of my childhood times and all the Disney movies I have watched. We did not left out Tarzan and its tree house, a structure which looks a lot like a real treehouse.
Lastly, we had firework display at night, which really wow-ed all of us. The best I have ever seen. Feeling sad to leave Disneyland, a place that we go only a few times, we took many group photos to remember the place.
The trip was nearing to the end and we all wished the days could last a little longer. Day 6 and we had to leave Hong Kong to Macau by ferry. At Macau we met we the Flying Eagles, an organisation, like the JPC, which handle huge gatherings and emergencies. At their clubhouse, we played many ice breaking and interactive games, which I hope through it, we would remember each other.
7 days have past so fast that we hardly believe that we have been overseas for one week. All missing the dim sum and weather in Hong Kong, we had a final taste of Hong Kong by visiting the historical place such as the Macau Maritime Museum, A-ma Temple and The Ruins of St Paul.
It was time to bid goodbye to all my fellow friends and officers as we promised to meet up again. This trip had been a memorable one for me, as I have the chance to interact with cadets the same year as me, especially when we shared our own experiences in NPCC. I told myself that I would go back to Hong Kong. Not just for the food, but also for the memories I had there with all my new made friends from NPCC, JPC and the Flying Eagles! Three cheers to them!
