Post the Eighth - Tours, or The Time of My Life

Last weekend is going to burn itself into my memory. I don't think I'll ever do anything so cool again...

So Saturday was the HKU sponsored tour of Kowloon and the New Territories. We met at around 8:30ish near the Main Library on campus and got to spend some time bonding in the early morning. The tour started slightly late, but we finally loaded up into some luxury tour buses. They were very comfy though limited in leg room... but comfy nonetheless.

Here was the itinerary for Saturday:
- Yuen Po Street Bird Garden
- Lantau Link Visitors Centre & Viewing Platform
- Wetland Park
- Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple
- Chi Lin Nunnery & Nan Lian Garden

It took us a little bit to get to the bird garden, but when we got down, we were smack dab in the middle of a flower market. I don't think I've ever seen orchids as beautiful as the ones we saw there... they were stunning. Orchids are among some of my favorite flowers, and to see loads of them everywhere in all sorts of vibrant colors... it was beautiful. We walked a bit further to the Bird Garden, where bird owners were displaying their birds for the public. Pet owners here love their pets and spoil them silly, but they also like showing them off. There was a man with a huge bird (I forget the breed) that delighted in putting the bird on the tourists (us) for photos... but the poor bird finally got irritated after a while (not surprising, really. I would have bitten someone if I'd been passed around like that). There were several shops in the bird garden - birds, bird cages, and live crickets were the specialty. Yes, ladies and gents, live crickets were on sale, and they were being bagged and tagged right in front of our eyes. Rather creepy, really.

If you get the chance to go the Lantau Link Visitors Centre, I highly recommend it, because the view is completely worth it. We got pictures of the Tsing Ma Bridge (the world's seventh longest suspension bridge, it could pass as the Golden Gate Bridge) and the Kap Shui Mun Bridge (the world's longest cable stayed bridge) along with the surrounding mountains and ocean. Very scenic, very worth it.

We got lunch at the Wetland Park; the only restaurant available was the Cafe de Coral, which is a fast food chain. They obviously weren't expecting us; the people were shocked by the crowds of foreigners clamoring to order. After lunch, we roamed around for a bit; even here, you could see civilization (aka tall apartment buildings) not too far away.

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple was my favorite stop on this tour. The temple was exceptionally crowded for the Chinese New Year, but there's a place that you can enter for HK $2, and it was beautiful and serene. I think that if I stayed there and just sat and thought that I'd achieve more peace than if I attempted to meditate. The architecture was beautiful, and the fact that we could find such serenity amidst the backdrop of the bustling city was truly impressive.

There's a tradition at the temple where you are handed a can of sticks. You shake the can until one stick falls out - it has a number on it that you can take to the side shops and get your fortune told. I figured that I'd probably never do this again, so I went ahead and paid for the fortune. My number was 83, but as to what was foretold... well, that's something I'll keep to myself for now.

The final stop was Nan Lian Garden and the Chi Lin Nunnery. The Nunnery was closed, so we only toured the garden. I had a very difficult time deciding between the temple and the garden as my favorite, but in terms of beauty, the garden wins hands down. We were greeted by local high school students; the idea was to encourage them to speak English, so they served as our tour guides. Some of them looked quite nervous; one was reading directly off a written script. The girls who were assigned to us were quite shy, but a few were more adventurous than most. They told us about the history and the type of architecture that were there, and overall it was a very good experience. I, being the sole American in the group, got dragged to the side to be "interviewed" by the teacher (we were being videotaped as part of the project), and when I was done, the teacher complimented me as being "spontaneous". HAH. It seems she told the same thing to my friend Nanda too when she got interviewed. Eh...

We came back to the university around 6 pm, and a few of us went to the local supermarket to buy dinner. We came back to the dorm, and one of the girls informed me that my ROOMMATE had moved in. This prompted a group of girls to crowd around my door as I struggled to find my key to let us in. Vicky wasn't there at the time, but she showed up a few minutes later. She's from Mainland China, and the universities just got done with exams. She's very nice though.

The initial dinner plan got changed very quickly; we were convinced to go out to dinner with a couple of girls from PMSR and other exchange students. The total number of students? 15... yeah... it was impressive and loads of fun. After taking a bus and walking around Central a bit, we found a place in SoHo (South of Hollywood St here) called "Taco Loco" and ate there. Vicky had her first taste of "Mexican food", and I had a tiny sip of a margarita. Loads of firsts all around. It was very fun being crowded into a large booth and talking and laughing, although someone didn't pay and thus we all had to pay extra. But it didn't matter in the end.

Sunday was the Hong Kong Island tour. The itinerary:

- Breakfast at a local cafe
- Sampan ride at Aberdeen
- Repulse Bay
- Stanley Market and Murray House
- HK Museum of Coastal Defense

There were a lot less people on this tour, but I personally think they missed out. We started out with breakfast in Central; everyone got a pineapple bun (it's a milk bun with several cuts on the top in the pattern of a pineapple) and an egg tart (a Portuguese (or as Adam claims, a British) treat like a tiny custard pie) as well as a choice between milk tea, coffee, or a mix of the two (a local favorite). The bun and tart were delicious, but everyone got the mix despite only two of us (me and another girl named Ellie) ordering it. All in all, it was AWFUL... we attacked it with lots of sugar but it was to no avail.

We then departed to the sampan ride, and it was so much fun. We were totally obnoxious and we didn't care; we waved to everyone and yelled and laughed loudly. The view was spectacular, and we got to see several boat houses as well as people drying fish by hanging them by the tail with string.

The next stop was Repulse Bay. According to a few people, if you ask the locals where the beaches are, they're very helpful... but they can't quite pronounce beach... the result is... well, I'm sure you can guess (big hint: female dog). So that was the running joke on the beach, but all crude jokes aside, the beach was the best stop. The water was gorgeous and soothingly cold (even though it's winter here, it was unusally hot that day), and we got lots of pictures (and sand everywhere from sand fights/dragging people to the water).

Stanley Market has a temple nearby, but we got lost and thus didn't go. At this point, we got lunch; several of us (myself included) opted for the rather fancy Thai restaurant while the rest went to McDonalds (it was apparently shitty). The food was pretty good; I had chicken satay in a peanut sauce with a cucumber relish. We talked about traffic, bugs/snakes, and what kind of meat you can eat in Australia (one of the girls at lunch is Australian) among other things. After lunch, we met up with the others outside a small Buddhist temple. I burned incense for family and friends there to pay my respect. Afterwards, we roamed around the market a bit and took quite a few pictures before heading to the last stop.

The HK Museum of Defense was boring. But at this point, I guess we were all extremely tired and not very interested, so the time dragged on. But we got a very pleasant view of the city and the surrounding mountains, so it was not a total waste.

All in all, the tours were super amazing. I know I've missed hundreds of little details, but so much happened, and I'm glad I got to spend it with the people I did (not that I didn't miss you guys).

School is a bit boring at the minute; Stats is review for now, CS is semi review, but both Physics... how do I describe it...

It is a bit like being lowered slowly into a vat of bubbling acid.

But for now, I'm very happy with where I am, and I'm super excited for the Chinese New Year. We get the whole of next week off! I'm planning on seeing things here in Hong Kong with a couple of other people staying here, so it should be good fun. Now all I need to do is finish my damn Physics hwk and I'll be free for the next few days.

So from Hong Kong, good morning and have fun in class for those of you in Urbana!