Chan Po Yan, Karen

What is remarkable about the trip is the size of our group. When we first arrived in Cairns, the Australia Customs were amazed to see 61 of us traveling together! Even so, the 61 of us were united under one shared mission – that is to explore and to experience as mush as we could on the other side of the world. Then ultimately, bring back some knowledge and tactics in a hope to make Hong Kong 'more livable'. With so much gratitude to Professor Lam, Professor Chau, Dennis and every one of us, I can proudly announce that: MISSION ACCOMPLISED!

Cheung Ting Kwan

Generally speaking, the whole field trip was really great, particularly because the place we were visiting was Australia which could bring us very close to the nature. The scenery was beautiful and attractive. I loved the blue sky with white clouds which are difficult for us to see in seriously-polluted Hong Kong. Moreover, the distance to animals in Australia, especially sea birds, was much shorter than that in Hong Kong and the water of the beaches and lakes in Australia was much clearer and purer than that in HK. Australia was a good place for us to study and investigate as there were many environmentally friendly policies and strategies which are valuable for Hong Kong to take as references.

Besides the environment, I liked the chances for us to do team work and carry out interviews, especially in English. These were golden chances for us to know more friends in different years in the department, to learn how to cooperate with each other and to learn to be more confident to talk with strangers.

The trip could also help us to know more about Australia. For me, who was a member of group D and had a chance to visit Redfern, the most impressive thing known during the trip was the undesirable life of the aboriginal. During the visit, I could see how bad they were treated.

All in all, I really appreciate the opportunity given by our department for us to have field trips overseas!

Chiu Hoi Yan

This was a wonderful field trip! Via this journey, I got a chance to explore a place which was different from Hong Kong.

With more urban greenery to better the livability, Sydney and Cairns gave me a peaceful, enjoyable feeling that was different from the concrete Hong Kong. Their excellent pedestrianization and streetscape were also impressible. And that’s not it, though Australia has a short history, people living there knew they should start preserving their heritage. Therefore, you would see so many Gothic buildings in city centre which were now renewed for shopping, business trading and other activities.

The most impressed thing in Australia for me was the Taronga Zoo. It emphasized on the interaction between animals and tourists. You could be able to come close to touch the animals.

In general, Australia is a country that full of smile and inspiration. Everything in Australia can inspire you to have a better, relax and enjoyable life. 

Chui Chak Lam

I have gained a lot in the field studies. The enrichment is not confined in academically, it also strengthened the friendship. Before the field trip, the professor gave us a myriad of background information about the two places we were going to. That consolidated our fundamental skills in the following on-site observation and study. We were more sensitive to get into the new environment with different cultural context and races of people. We were used to and pick up the new way of living very quickly because of our preparation. In the on-site study, our professor explained a lot about the culture, the natural setting, and the human activities to us. We were like sponge absorbing the provided information very fast. After each day-time study, we had to give a group presentation to our fellow trip-mates. It’s because we investigated different areas during the trip. By doing so, that certainly enriched our knowledge in a very short period. It was like division of labor, each of us shared what we saw in our studied area. Through the discussion of the presentation and the preparation of the PowerPoint slides, the sense of belonging is built up and we became friends. Our bonding was also strengthened.

We have been to two cities in Australia, one is Cairns and another one is Sydney. Even both of them are located in Australia, but the culture and the way of life is quite different. In cairns, most of them are white people and tourists. To my surprise, there are so many Japanese and Korean who are working there with working holiday visa. There are so many Japanese that every single road sign has Japanese translation. Cairns is famous of its Coral reef, so each year, it attracts over 1 million tourists to visit. All of them are so fancy with the beautiful scenery. There is blue and clear sky and sea. I haven’t seen the same sky in Hong Kong for so long. The pollution may be so serious in Hong Kong. The Smog blocked it. In contrast, the air quality here is quite good. You will feel relived after a deep breath of fresh air. At that time, in my mind, a comparison between Hong Kong and Cairns came up. I thought Hong Kong still has a room to improvement even the government is working on that now. When we did so interview about the comparison between them, the interviewees were glad to go to Hong Kong. They liked the food and the culture, but felt disappointed about the pollution. As a geographer and a single student, sometimes I felt frustrated with the place, because I can do a very little in the progress of helping my home city to be a better place. Probably, I have to join some green organizations to push the progress with the group effort.

About Sydney, I was totally astounded. It’s really a big city with cultural variety. There are china Town, Vietnamese Town, and Korean Town. It is not simply a city. It is a city with cultural preservation. Heritage and the Commercial buildings merge so well in the city. It is the root and foundation of the city development. For example, on top of or inside the heritage building, the restaurants and the shops are designed in the old style in order to mix them well. I saw a McDonald which is designed in the style in medieval time period. There is not only one or two building like that, there are a lot of heritage buildings in the city. It’s probably because the government enforces the rule that the buildings over 60 years old have to be kept and can’t be demolished. There is also a lot of museums. Just in the area of Sydney, there’s already over 10 museums or galleries for cultural education. Though it’s expensive to live in the Sydney, but it’s worthwhile. At least, it broadens my horizon. A city may not be like Hong Kong only with commerce, there can be something else like culture. They can mix well with the right policies.

However, from a superficial look at the city, it might be perfect. When we deeply investigated some specific areas like Red-ferns with Aboriginals (the local minority) in urban slums, it surprised us. There are still some areas that the local government doesn’t do well. Cultural conflicts still appear in the society. The change of advantage shifted the location of buildings like shopping malls, but there are a few policies to help those who are suffering. Like on the streets, you can still see some beggars blocking the way. When compared to Hong Kong, it is better in cultural heritage conservation, but in the aspect of the telecommunications, it is better in Hong Kong, for instance, there is a wide coverage of Wireless Network and efficient transportation networks. It’s so inconvenient to get access to internet and the take a ride from one to another place in suburban area. Of course, it’s better in the Central Business district of Sydney, but still, it’s not better than Hong Kong. Hong Kong is more globalized.

All in all, I like the trip. I can’t imagine I can learn and see so much in such a short period of time. Field trip should be like this, not just about having fun and entertainment. My dimension of point of views has been broadened. I am sure those skills I can learned in trip will help me a lot in the following years, even I work in the society.

Leung Lai Man

In this Australia field trip, it is really surprising that I have learnt a lot, from the knowledge related to the geography field to the team spirit. Certainly, this is a golden opportunity for me to explore to the world and see something which can only be seen in the book previously. During the trip, we have visited various sites with special geographical value, such as tropical rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. Also, we can have a deep understanding with other culture through interviewing and chatting with indigenous people. All of these can also help me in learning the world. Corporation between group mates is also an unforgettable experience in the trip. We learnt a lot form each other and solve the problem together; this certainly helps us to develop deeper friendship which is really valuable. Hopefully, in the future, our department can keep organizing this kind of trip for the purpose of learning.