Hello everyone, or should we say "Ni Hao"! So sorry for the delay in blogging - we have been very busy here exploring the city. As an update, Amanda will be joining the blogging effort in order to be more efficient in sharing our experiences.
Hong Kong is definitely one of the most interesting and exciting cities in the world. We are so glad we chose to study here for the semester - I don't think we will ever be bored. Our plans also include weekend trips to Macau, Singapore, Korea, and Thailand. It should be an exciting 5 months!
Check out our adventures from the last few days:
Victoria's Peak -
The Peak is a must-see for tourists. It costs HK$58 (approx. US$9) to take a tram to the top of the mountain that overlooks the entire city/island. Once you reach the top, there are shops and high end stores that cater to the tourist population - but the best part is the view. Take a look...
After dinner, we ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. We were craving some good American style food... mostly, I (Caitlin) just wanted a cold salad. It was amazing!
Temple Street Night Market and Ladies' Street -
As you have seen in the previous post, there are many markets that line the streets of Mong Kok (one of the busiest areas in Hong Kong). These markets are mostly filled with tourists seeking bargains. However, the majority of products sold are of very low quality and high price - unless you are a great bargainer. However, we didn't have as much luck as we had hoped. Amanda purchased a genuine (ha!) D&G bag and wallet for a bit of a steal. She almost made the sales woman cry at the price she was suggesting... I bet she will be a good businesswoman some day.
In addition to apparel and accessories, there are paintings, food, electronics etc. It was a great experience, however I am not sure that we will shop here on a regular basis.
Food -
Hong Kong and China are most known for the bizarre foods they serve. Surprisingly, it is illegal to eat dog in Hong Kong, who knew? I think that the majority of the international students dislike the local food, too. We joined a group of students from Germany and the US to eat Dim Sum, a common local food. Dim Sum is a Chinese dish that involves small individual portions of food served like dumplings. Perhaps the most common form of Dim Sum includes pig's blood (in gelatin form) with chicken feet... we didn't adventure too far into this type of Dim Sum on this trip, though. Check it out...
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| "Green Tea Dessert" - not dessert by any means. This green gob looks harmless, we were expecting something similar to cool Jello with a refreshing green tea flavor. After somehow managing to pick this food up with chopsticks (it was quite the sight) and taking a bite - we come to realize that this dessert is not cool and refreshing, it's a warm and slimy lump of goo. Folks, do not try this at home. |
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| Amanda (left) and Kathrin (right), our friend from Germany, attempt to taste the Green Tea Dessert. |
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| You know it's bad when the local student's do not know what it is.... but hey, it tasted like chicken. |
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| Cathy and Erica, our tour guides for the day. They are both PolyU buddies to the exchange students and showed us around the city! |
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| I learned how to use chopsticks! |
Tour of Hong Kong -
The university setup a bus tour for the international students. Our first stop was the Chi Lin Nunnery where we stepped into a complex with traditional Chinese architecture influenced by Buddhism. There were 4 main statues of Buddhas that no one is allowed to take pictures of. Caitlin didn't see the sign so she got yelled at by the security guards for taking pictures.. and I later got yelled at for standing a raised platform in the entry way. We are both so smooth. It started pouring so we bought umbrellas and ventured into the garden area...
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| Katarina and Kathrin, friends from Germany... it was pouring outside! |
Our last stop was the Stanley Market which was nestled in the mountains overlooking the beautiful beaches of the Islands. This market was basically like all the other ones we've been to.
Lan Kwai Fong -
Lan Kwai Fong is the top spot for the night life in Hong Kong. The Chinese do not drink very often so the night life is mainly for tourists and expats. We started the night by playing some drinking games with our German and Swedish friends. We taught them how to play Kings Cup, which was hilarious. After exchanging drinking games we grabbed taxis and headed to Hong Kong Island. Lan Kwai Fong had streets with tons of various bars and clubs that played music from every culture ranging from Spanish to European techno. We found a club that played American music and were immediately pulled into the middle of a circle to dance. When our friend denied a guy who was trying to dance with us, he got mad and decided that taking off his shirt would be a good way to react....so bizarre! We danced around in the street and bounced from one bar to the next before ending the night snacking at McDonalds. We fell asleep before 4am, exhausted, full and happy.
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Today we rested in bed lazily after a late night out. We got curry to-go and ate in our rooms. Horrible decision... our room still smells like curry 8 hours later. Gross. We finally left our rooms to go see the Sky Lights Show which is a show over the harbor. The sky scrapers across the water lit up in sync with music playing and shot out neon green laser lights across the sky. It was an incredible view that was hard to capture in a photograph.
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| Served at the Starbucks on the harbor... only in Hong Kong. |
