December 22, 2005, 1:12pm

Everglade is a huge wetland. Wild life stuff.

Was on an airboat for 30 minutes to see a very little part in Everglade. Saw many alligators but not many birds.

We didn't have any geography or botany majors in the group. So, no one to explain about the mangroves and birds. The guys in charge didn't say much either. All is to see the alligators. I really miss the wetland tours by the Argiculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Hong Kong.

Frankie and Winston, I miss our time together to learn about how many types of mangroves are found in Hong Kong (7 or 8?). To learn about the significance of mangroves to hold the soil in the seaside and how the four types of roots adapt to the changing salt level.

Well, in Mai Po, they have a pretty good museum too. In Everglade, they have something like a circus. To show visitors how they feed the alligators. More like to show how brave the guys are. In the end, I didn't get anything intellectually.

If you pay $3, you can hold a baby alligator to take a photo.

Just a minute before this guy took the baby gator out to make money, he said if we had to wear a jacket, the alligators were freezing. That's why the big alligators in the circus were in the water. But when people were paying him for the photos, he didn't say anything about the temperature for this little one.

I think I should write a thank you letter to Mai Po for both what they have done and what they have not done. At least they wouldn't catch a blackfaced spoonbil and make money this way. Not sure if Mr. Young is still the manager. I interviewed him for Varsity, already nine years ago.

I've already forgotten where this was. South Beach or something like that. Should be somewhere huge about night life and gay scenes. Well, like Robin William in Birdcage. Perhaps things look gorgeous only in the Hollywood movies.

To me, Miami is really disappointing. The neon light signs in Nathan Road are a lot more stimulating. Well, yes, the beach is huge... but I suppose huge things are not necessarily good. I don't know what that is. Miami lacks something. Something like a character. I wouldn't refer the buildings as architectures. They're just like match boxes or shoe boxes put together.

I remember when I was in the British Museum, I always think the British make the ancient stuff so clean and tidy. Too clean and tidy to look real. Compared to the columns and sculptures I saw in Egypt, those in the British Museum are like they're all polished. But hey, these things can be as old as 5000 years. They are weathered! And remember, Egypt is very dusty everywhere probably because of the desert.

Anyways, these big names, the British Museum or Everglade, no matter how big their names are, I simply don't think they live up to what they mean to be. Whether it's to preserve the history or to preserve the wild life.