(Steve)
The weather in Yangshuo was AMAZING. I wore shorts and a t-shirt for the first time in months and I wasn't even chilly. We had a free day there and I'd originally planned to go climbing (it's supposed to be some of the best climbing in China) but the scenery around the town was just so beautiful that I decided I'd rather go with the rest of the group for a bike ride. Jill and I walked down the road to find a guide; the first one we ran into did a tour that included a bike ride, a trip on bamboo rafts, and a visit to the Buddha Water Cave. Sounded good to us. We went back to the hotel and got Molly (Candice didn't want to come) and got ready to head out. After a little bit of haggling - the guide hadn't told us that the water cave visit cost money, so we ended up dropping it - we went across the street to rent a bicycle. Jill wasn't too keen on riding, so the guide offered to carry her on the back of his electric scooter (they've got a lot of those here). Then we saw the two-person bicycles. My grandmother has one, and I've got some great memories of riding aroudn on it with Alex as a kid. I only recently tried steering it myself though, with Mark on the back, and the results were disastrous. So, of course, I convinced Molly that it would be a whole lot of fun.
I quickly discovered that this bicycle was much, MUCH easier to steer than my grandmother's. Which is good, because I hadn't realized that we'd be experiencing Chinese traffic up-close. I was a bit scared when the guide turned onto Yangshuo's main road (okay, I was terrified) but everything went alright. Somehow, even with all the honking and people and bikes and cars weaving all over the place, I still never felt like I had any really close calls. In fact, the only time Molly and I even came close to crashing was after we'd left the main road far behind; we ended up on a couple of muddy, windy, pothole-filled side roads that weren't too easy to maneuver. Apart from that, the bike ride was a lot of fun. Like I said, the scenery was beyond beautiful.
The bamboo rafts were a whole lot of fun. Each one only fit two passengers, so Molly and I took one while Jill took another. We set off, and got wet almost immediately. The river was divided by lots of little dikes, and the only way to get by them with the bamboo rafts was to drop off. Fortunately they warned us ahead of time to raise our legs, but on the first drop the water came up enough that our pants got soaked. We got over that pretty quickly though, and the rest of the trip was relaxing. Even the salespeople floating by on their own rafts couldn't faze us. Some Chinese tourists who were also taking a raft trip decided to try out their English, but they were too shy to speak directly to us; instead, they spoke to each other and laughed whenever we responded. Then their raft fell behind and we went back to admiring the river, the occasional family motorcycling across it, and the incredible mountains.
When the rafts docked, we hopped back on our tandem bicycle (which had been stored on Jill's raft) and rode to a nearby village for lunch. Our restaurant had a great view of Moon Hill, so named because of the hole through it that looks like... the moon. Our guide telling us that the wait for the food would be very long, and wouldn't we rather go somewhere else? Jill figured that he wasn't getting a cut from the restaurant owners and he wanted to take us somewhere where he would. We were willing to wait for food though, and the restaurant smelled good enough and had a good enough view that we turned him down. Our food came in less than half the time he'd predicted. They'd forgotten one of the dishes we'd ordered, but by the time we realized that we were all full enough that we didn't want it, so everything worked out okay. Done with lunch, we started on the forty-five minute bike ride back to Yangshuo. It was uneventful, though just as beautiful as the rest of the day, except for one time in Yangshuo city proper when the guide got a bit too far ahead and Molly and I had to navigate a busy traffic circle while searching for him and Jill. We made it back in one piece though, so we can't complain. Molly and I decided it was about time we had some ice cream ("binggilin" is probably the Chinese phrase I'm most glad I know) and took a walk through town to get that. Later on, we went to the Hard Seat Cafe (modelled after the Hard Rock Cafe) for dinner. Altogether, a pretty good day. *End Day 6*
News about Hangzhou and China
Pertinent news about Hangzhou and China from the Shanghai Daily
Saturday, February 24, 2007
News from Yangshuo - and Slideshow!
(Ms. Arkin)
Here are just a few pictures. Yangshuo is amazing. Took a bike ride and floated on bamboo rafts down the river. The weather was perfect! Off to Lijiang tomorrow.
Here are just a few pictures. Yangshuo is amazing. Took a bike ride and floated on bamboo rafts down the river. The weather was perfect! Off to Lijiang tomorrow.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Steve's Day 5 - A Cold Day in Yangshuo
(Steve)
Day 5 was the day of the Li River Cruise, from Guilin to Yangshuo, which we'd heard so many good things about. Unfortunately, it was raining. The cliffs along the river were still beautiful; with the grey sky and the mist I finally understood why Chinese ink paintings look the way they do. Still, the cold made it impossible to stay on the boat's deck for very long, so we mostly stayed inside and came out for the good stuff. One of the best sights was the "Painted Hill of Nine Horses", a cliff whose face is laced with limestone so that it looks like there are nine white horses painted on it. Of course, none of us could find more than four or five. Rico assured us that finding three was enough to make us good tourists, and pointed out the tenth "black horse". Then we had lunch. The chicken curry was delicious.
Yangshuo was bustling. It seemed very small, partly because the hills surrounded it even more than in Guilin, but it was packed with people. Specifically, people who wanted to sell us stuff. There were tons of markets along each side of the road selling everything we could possibly need, plus stuff we never would. Fortunately Rico didn't stop, or we probably would have been swallowed up by a crowd of salespeople. He got us safely to the hotel, then left. On our own in China... it felt a little eerie. Molly and I went for a walk and promptly got lost. Eventually we found our way back, only to discover that Candice and Jill had gone out and also gotten lost. When they finally returned to the hotel we were all starving, so we went out for dinner. I ordered a burger, which was a mistake.
I needed a battery charger, having discovered that the one I bought in Hong Kong didn't work, so after dinner Molly and I ventured into the marketplace. It was very intimidating; people were yelling at us from every side, telling us to buy things. It made it even worse knowing that anything we wanted to buy was deliberately overpriced, and it was up to us to bargain it down. I didn't even try; the shopowner gave me a price that was already lower than the one on the charger, and I didn't want to push my luck. Molly had fun though, especially when she bought a hat from a little old lady who couldn't speak - they negotiated by writing their prices on a pad of paper. Satisfied with our first day in Yangshuo, we went to bed. *End Day 5*
Day 5 was the day of the Li River Cruise, from Guilin to Yangshuo, which we'd heard so many good things about. Unfortunately, it was raining. The cliffs along the river were still beautiful; with the grey sky and the mist I finally understood why Chinese ink paintings look the way they do. Still, the cold made it impossible to stay on the boat's deck for very long, so we mostly stayed inside and came out for the good stuff. One of the best sights was the "Painted Hill of Nine Horses", a cliff whose face is laced with limestone so that it looks like there are nine white horses painted on it. Of course, none of us could find more than four or five. Rico assured us that finding three was enough to make us good tourists, and pointed out the tenth "black horse". Then we had lunch. The chicken curry was delicious.
Yangshuo was bustling. It seemed very small, partly because the hills surrounded it even more than in Guilin, but it was packed with people. Specifically, people who wanted to sell us stuff. There were tons of markets along each side of the road selling everything we could possibly need, plus stuff we never would. Fortunately Rico didn't stop, or we probably would have been swallowed up by a crowd of salespeople. He got us safely to the hotel, then left. On our own in China... it felt a little eerie. Molly and I went for a walk and promptly got lost. Eventually we found our way back, only to discover that Candice and Jill had gone out and also gotten lost. When they finally returned to the hotel we were all starving, so we went out for dinner. I ordered a burger, which was a mistake.
I needed a battery charger, having discovered that the one I bought in Hong Kong didn't work, so after dinner Molly and I ventured into the marketplace. It was very intimidating; people were yelling at us from every side, telling us to buy things. It made it even worse knowing that anything we wanted to buy was deliberately overpriced, and it was up to us to bargain it down. I didn't even try; the shopowner gave me a price that was already lower than the one on the charger, and I didn't want to push my luck. Molly had fun though, especially when she bought a hat from a little old lady who couldn't speak - they negotiated by writing their prices on a pad of paper. Satisfied with our first day in Yangshuo, we went to bed. *End Day 5*
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Steve's Day 4 - Goodbye Guangzhou, Hello Guilin
(Steve)
Like I said, none of us was particularly sad to leave either Guangzhou or Thomas, though I still feel obliged to thank him for dealing with four stupid foreigners for a day. He got us through the airport without any hassle, and then we were on our way to Guilin. I was a little bored on the plane so I took way too many pictures of clouds (they were some cool clouds, though), but I got really excited as the plane started to land. See, from the air both Toronto and Chicago had looked very similar, but because I didn't have a window seat on the final leg of our flight I hadn't been able to compare them with Hong Kong. I did get to compare Guilin... and the difference was astounding. The geography around Guilin is incredible: the hills just rise strait up out of the ground, and they're all over the place. Covered with vegetation, too. And the city, instead of being laid out grid-like like the other two, just hugged the hills wherever it could fit. Definitely a sight worth seeing.
We landed and got all our stuff, and then we met our new guide. My first impression of Rico was that he seemed much more likable than Thomas. It's nice that I was proved right. After dropping our stuff off at the hotel we went out to lunch. Our second Chinese meal; our first really good one. The amount of food was still way more than we could possibly finish, though, which has been the case in most restaurants that the guides have taken us to. After lunch, Rico took us to Fubo Hill, one of the cliffs rising up right in the middle of the city. First we checked out the caves that the river has carved out of the base; I was amazed to see little shops set up inside. Then we climbed the hill. That was a lot harder than any of us expected, but the view from the top was incredible. The city's landscape seems like something out of a dream.
The girls were hungry when we got down, which wasn't a problem because there were people selling baked sweet potatoes EVERYWHERE. Molly had wanted one since we first smelled them in Guangzhou, and she finally got her chance. Next we went to Elephant Trunk Hill, so named because the front of it looks like an elephant drinking from the river. We decided not to climb it (Rico told us the view wasn't as good as the one from Fubo), but we wandered around the side. More little markets in and around the caves - one woman was selling clay statues that peed when you poured water on them. Rico took a picture of the group from the viewing point on the riverbank, then we piled back into the van for a much-needed rest at the hotel. That night Molly, Candice, and I went out on our own for dinner, and we finally had to face the fact that we're in China. We only received one menu at the restaurant, and none of us had any idea how to ask for another. It was eye-opening and a little scary to see how unable to communicate we were. On the other hand, we got dinner for three people for 68 yuan, which is abotu $7.50, so that's a pretty good deal. Finally, the three of us went to a show displaying the cultures of the various minority groups in the Guilin area. Some of the acrobatics were incredible, but the dancing wasn't all that great. Molly said she hoped the show in Lijiang would be better - it was. *End Day 4*
Like I said, none of us was particularly sad to leave either Guangzhou or Thomas, though I still feel obliged to thank him for dealing with four stupid foreigners for a day. He got us through the airport without any hassle, and then we were on our way to Guilin. I was a little bored on the plane so I took way too many pictures of clouds (they were some cool clouds, though), but I got really excited as the plane started to land. See, from the air both Toronto and Chicago had looked very similar, but because I didn't have a window seat on the final leg of our flight I hadn't been able to compare them with Hong Kong. I did get to compare Guilin... and the difference was astounding. The geography around Guilin is incredible: the hills just rise strait up out of the ground, and they're all over the place. Covered with vegetation, too. And the city, instead of being laid out grid-like like the other two, just hugged the hills wherever it could fit. Definitely a sight worth seeing.
We landed and got all our stuff, and then we met our new guide. My first impression of Rico was that he seemed much more likable than Thomas. It's nice that I was proved right. After dropping our stuff off at the hotel we went out to lunch. Our second Chinese meal; our first really good one. The amount of food was still way more than we could possibly finish, though, which has been the case in most restaurants that the guides have taken us to. After lunch, Rico took us to Fubo Hill, one of the cliffs rising up right in the middle of the city. First we checked out the caves that the river has carved out of the base; I was amazed to see little shops set up inside. Then we climbed the hill. That was a lot harder than any of us expected, but the view from the top was incredible. The city's landscape seems like something out of a dream.
The girls were hungry when we got down, which wasn't a problem because there were people selling baked sweet potatoes EVERYWHERE. Molly had wanted one since we first smelled them in Guangzhou, and she finally got her chance. Next we went to Elephant Trunk Hill, so named because the front of it looks like an elephant drinking from the river. We decided not to climb it (Rico told us the view wasn't as good as the one from Fubo), but we wandered around the side. More little markets in and around the caves - one woman was selling clay statues that peed when you poured water on them. Rico took a picture of the group from the viewing point on the riverbank, then we piled back into the van for a much-needed rest at the hotel. That night Molly, Candice, and I went out on our own for dinner, and we finally had to face the fact that we're in China. We only received one menu at the restaurant, and none of us had any idea how to ask for another. It was eye-opening and a little scary to see how unable to communicate we were. On the other hand, we got dinner for three people for 68 yuan, which is abotu $7.50, so that's a pretty good deal. Finally, the three of us went to a show displaying the cultures of the various minority groups in the Guilin area. Some of the acrobatics were incredible, but the dancing wasn't all that great. Molly said she hoped the show in Lijiang would be better - it was. *End Day 4*
On to Guangzhou and Guilin
(Molly)
We took our first train yesterday! It took us from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, through some rural areas. We passed huts and old brick houses, and houses or sheds that were open to the air. I had seen a picture in TIME magazine of half a building in China – the other half had fallen down – and was not sure whether or not people lived there. Now I am certain that it was occupied.
On the train, they handed out Watson’s Water. It comes in bottles with bright green huge caps which amuse me very much. When we got off the train in Guangzhou, Ms. Arkin was VERY relieved to find our guide, Thomas, waiting for us with a sign. He took us to lunch, which was fish, eggplant, rice, and chicken. We did not eat much… I didn’t like any of it except the rice. It was actually our first Chinese meal – we had not eaten any Chinese food in Hong Kong.
Guangzhou is quite dilapidated and polluted (I could feel my nose and eyes stinging). After lunch, Thomas and Mr. Chen (our driver) took us to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. The outside was beautiful. The inside designs on the ceilings were interesting – they looked a little like bubble letters, only in patterns instead of letters (if that makes any sense). The shapes were very bold and rounded, but the colors were weak colors. It was an interesting combination.
After this, we went to the Chen Family Temple, which used to be an academy and is now a folk art museum. It was fabulous. It had amazing ivory carvings, sand paintings, brush paintings, and furniture. The courtyards were also beautiful. Outside street vendors were selling amazing-smelling vegetables that looked like large potatoes. I regretted not getting one. It was actually the only thing that has smelled good to me lately – I think all the cigarette smoke is affecting my sense of smell. Everyone smokes here!
After the museum, Thomas took us to a rather large store. At first we thought it was our hotel, and we were quite worried! When we came in, a man gave us a demonstration of taking the pearls out of a fresh-water oyster. We each guessed a number – there can be anywhere from 0 to 45 pearls in that size oyster (it was pretty large), and there are usually between 5 and 25. Steve was the closest, with 15 pearls. There were 14. He told us that we would get to keep the pearls if we guessed correctly, but he gave them to us anyways even though we didn’t guess correctly. They are pink J.
Then they showed us some pottery. It was very light and translucent, since it was made out of eggshells, and it was painted beautifully. However, I felt very pressured to buy things. There was a salesperson around every corner in the store, and we couldn’t leave, because Thomas was still inside. I felt like hiding under a table! Ms. Arkin wound up buying some chopsticks, and Steve bought 2 small vases. I’m sure Thomas got a cut of everything we bought. Yuck.
The Victory Hotel (it used to be the Hotel Victoria – take that, Brits!) was quite nice. We turned on the TV while we were waiting to leave for dinner, and watched the funniest Chinese sitcom! Ms. Arkin said that the acting was better in the Middle School plays.
The next morning, Thomas took us to the airport. The airport was so much easier to get through than U.S. airports. The plane ride was really short. They started to play Mr. Bean and I got really excited, but then they turned it off for landing after about 2 minutes.
Our new guide, Rico, picked us up from the airport. He is pretty young, and seems much better than Thomas. He took us to check into the Sheraton Hotel, which is mighty nice. Then we went to lunch at a nearby hotel. That was yummy! Rico didn’t sit with us… the guides never do, I guess. Then we climbed Fubo hill. Somehow it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. By the time we got down, my whole body would shake if I stood on my toes. So many stairs!!! At the bottom I had one of the amazing-smelling potatoes that I had smelled yesterday; it turned out to be a sweet potato, and it was purple inside!!
Then we went to Elephant Trunk Hill. It was pretty neat. Guilin reminds me a bit of Savannah, with parks everywhere. It is less dilapidated than Guangzhoul. The mountains are beautiful, but I wish it were less misty. It rained today.
For dinner Candice, Steve, and I went wandering into a place where nobody spoke much English. They gave us only one menu, and it took 5 minutes to get two more. Next time we won’t bother. That was our first meal without forks! I had crisp fried pork, which was a little too fatty, but pretty good. Too much fat seems to be a trend. Candice and Steve got chicken, which had some bright red bone marrow that scared Candice away. We are really feeling like we are in China now! The culture shock and language barrier are setting in.
Tonight we went to a “culture show” – the acrobatics were amazing, but one of the songs was literally Enya. Not so cultural. I also caught a little ornament that they threw out into the audience in a wedding dance – maybe that means I will be lucky!
We took our first train yesterday! It took us from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, through some rural areas. We passed huts and old brick houses, and houses or sheds that were open to the air. I had seen a picture in TIME magazine of half a building in China – the other half had fallen down – and was not sure whether or not people lived there. Now I am certain that it was occupied.
On the train, they handed out Watson’s Water. It comes in bottles with bright green huge caps which amuse me very much. When we got off the train in Guangzhou, Ms. Arkin was VERY relieved to find our guide, Thomas, waiting for us with a sign. He took us to lunch, which was fish, eggplant, rice, and chicken. We did not eat much… I didn’t like any of it except the rice. It was actually our first Chinese meal – we had not eaten any Chinese food in Hong Kong.
Guangzhou is quite dilapidated and polluted (I could feel my nose and eyes stinging). After lunch, Thomas and Mr. Chen (our driver) took us to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. The outside was beautiful. The inside designs on the ceilings were interesting – they looked a little like bubble letters, only in patterns instead of letters (if that makes any sense). The shapes were very bold and rounded, but the colors were weak colors. It was an interesting combination.
After this, we went to the Chen Family Temple, which used to be an academy and is now a folk art museum. It was fabulous. It had amazing ivory carvings, sand paintings, brush paintings, and furniture. The courtyards were also beautiful. Outside street vendors were selling amazing-smelling vegetables that looked like large potatoes. I regretted not getting one. It was actually the only thing that has smelled good to me lately – I think all the cigarette smoke is affecting my sense of smell. Everyone smokes here!
After the museum, Thomas took us to a rather large store. At first we thought it was our hotel, and we were quite worried! When we came in, a man gave us a demonstration of taking the pearls out of a fresh-water oyster. We each guessed a number – there can be anywhere from 0 to 45 pearls in that size oyster (it was pretty large), and there are usually between 5 and 25. Steve was the closest, with 15 pearls. There were 14. He told us that we would get to keep the pearls if we guessed correctly, but he gave them to us anyways even though we didn’t guess correctly. They are pink J.
Then they showed us some pottery. It was very light and translucent, since it was made out of eggshells, and it was painted beautifully. However, I felt very pressured to buy things. There was a salesperson around every corner in the store, and we couldn’t leave, because Thomas was still inside. I felt like hiding under a table! Ms. Arkin wound up buying some chopsticks, and Steve bought 2 small vases. I’m sure Thomas got a cut of everything we bought. Yuck.
The Victory Hotel (it used to be the Hotel Victoria – take that, Brits!) was quite nice. We turned on the TV while we were waiting to leave for dinner, and watched the funniest Chinese sitcom! Ms. Arkin said that the acting was better in the Middle School plays.
The next morning, Thomas took us to the airport. The airport was so much easier to get through than U.S. airports. The plane ride was really short. They started to play Mr. Bean and I got really excited, but then they turned it off for landing after about 2 minutes.
Our new guide, Rico, picked us up from the airport. He is pretty young, and seems much better than Thomas. He took us to check into the Sheraton Hotel, which is mighty nice. Then we went to lunch at a nearby hotel. That was yummy! Rico didn’t sit with us… the guides never do, I guess. Then we climbed Fubo hill. Somehow it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. By the time we got down, my whole body would shake if I stood on my toes. So many stairs!!! At the bottom I had one of the amazing-smelling potatoes that I had smelled yesterday; it turned out to be a sweet potato, and it was purple inside!!
Then we went to Elephant Trunk Hill. It was pretty neat. Guilin reminds me a bit of Savannah, with parks everywhere. It is less dilapidated than Guangzhoul. The mountains are beautiful, but I wish it were less misty. It rained today.
For dinner Candice, Steve, and I went wandering into a place where nobody spoke much English. They gave us only one menu, and it took 5 minutes to get two more. Next time we won’t bother. That was our first meal without forks! I had crisp fried pork, which was a little too fatty, but pretty good. Too much fat seems to be a trend. Candice and Steve got chicken, which had some bright red bone marrow that scared Candice away. We are really feeling like we are in China now! The culture shock and language barrier are setting in.
Tonight we went to a “culture show” – the acrobatics were amazing, but one of the songs was literally Enya. Not so cultural. I also caught a little ornament that they threw out into the audience in a wedding dance – maybe that means I will be lucky!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Steve's Day 3 - On to Guangzhou
(Steve)
Time to leave Hong Kong! Our train from the island to Guangzhou was in the morning, so we had to be up sorta early (boo). We were all a bit nervous on the way to the train station because our bags didn't really fit in the back of the taxi, so the trunk was only half-closed. Nothing fell out, though, and the drive was a little less roller-coasterish than some of the other ones we'd had. Unfortunately, Candice realized on the way that she'd left her jacket in the hotel room, and we didn't have time to go back. Then Jill had trouble finding the sheet she needed to get through customs. Then I lost my train ticket somewhere between the waiting hall and the train itself. Despite all of that, though, we made it on the train alive and with (almost) all of our stuff. We were finally on our way to China! (I know Hong Kong's in China, but like I said it's not really China)
When we got to Guangzhou, our guide was waiting for us. His name was Thomas. He was nice, but he seemed a little... slimy. The first thing we did was lunch, and it was our first Chinese meal. Too bad the food wasn't all that good. Plus the fish still had its head. Yum. After that we went to the Sun Yat-Sen memorial auditorium. It was very big. It looked pretty cool from the outside, but a little tacky on the inside. Just a little; performances there must still be pretty impressive. The next stop was the Folk Arts Museum. Oh my God. It was amazing. And my camera's batteries died. After my first circuit of the museum I discovered that as long as I let it recharge a bit in between pictures I could squeeze a little more out of the camera, so I went around a couple more times doing just that. My favorite stuff was the sand & stone paintings and the bone and wood carvings. It was all so amazing! It really reminds you that this is a culture that's been around ten times as long as our own. I may have gotten a little carried away, because I was about ten minutes late meeting up with the rest of the group.
Finally, Thomas took us to... a souvenir shop. See: a little bit slimy. The owner of the shop first showed us how they get pearls out of oysters (Jill was appalled when she realized the one she'd picked had just been sentenced to death). He had us guess how many would be inside. I was the closest: I said 15, it was 14. We got to keep the pearls. After that he showed us around the shop. And by "showed us around" I mean "cornered us whenever we were alone and pressured us into buying stuff". I succumbed. I got a couple of very small, very plain porcelain vases for much more than I should have spent on them. None of us was very happy with Thomas for bringing us there, but it definitely opened up our eyes as to just how harrowing bargaining can be here. Fortunately we've gotten better since.
We checked into our hotel, and Candice decided she was too tired to eat so Jill, Molly, and I went out. We found a little Thai place that looked good, and it was our first meal with just chopsticks. That was fine for me - I'd lost my appetite and I only had steamed rice - but the noodles Jill got were too hard to eat without a fork. Eventually we got back to the hotel and, exhausted, we went to bed. *End Day 3*
Impressions: Guangzhou wasn't anything special. Really, the only reason we were there is that it's cheaper to fly from there to Guilin than from Hong Kong. We were all a little relieved the next day to leave, especially when we discovered how much better Guilin, and Yangshuo, and Lijiang all were. I loved the Folk Arts Museum, though. They should probably just move it to one of the nicer cities.
Time to leave Hong Kong! Our train from the island to Guangzhou was in the morning, so we had to be up sorta early (boo). We were all a bit nervous on the way to the train station because our bags didn't really fit in the back of the taxi, so the trunk was only half-closed. Nothing fell out, though, and the drive was a little less roller-coasterish than some of the other ones we'd had. Unfortunately, Candice realized on the way that she'd left her jacket in the hotel room, and we didn't have time to go back. Then Jill had trouble finding the sheet she needed to get through customs. Then I lost my train ticket somewhere between the waiting hall and the train itself. Despite all of that, though, we made it on the train alive and with (almost) all of our stuff. We were finally on our way to China! (I know Hong Kong's in China, but like I said it's not really China)
When we got to Guangzhou, our guide was waiting for us. His name was Thomas. He was nice, but he seemed a little... slimy. The first thing we did was lunch, and it was our first Chinese meal. Too bad the food wasn't all that good. Plus the fish still had its head. Yum. After that we went to the Sun Yat-Sen memorial auditorium. It was very big. It looked pretty cool from the outside, but a little tacky on the inside. Just a little; performances there must still be pretty impressive. The next stop was the Folk Arts Museum. Oh my God. It was amazing. And my camera's batteries died. After my first circuit of the museum I discovered that as long as I let it recharge a bit in between pictures I could squeeze a little more out of the camera, so I went around a couple more times doing just that. My favorite stuff was the sand & stone paintings and the bone and wood carvings. It was all so amazing! It really reminds you that this is a culture that's been around ten times as long as our own. I may have gotten a little carried away, because I was about ten minutes late meeting up with the rest of the group.
Finally, Thomas took us to... a souvenir shop. See: a little bit slimy. The owner of the shop first showed us how they get pearls out of oysters (Jill was appalled when she realized the one she'd picked had just been sentenced to death). He had us guess how many would be inside. I was the closest: I said 15, it was 14. We got to keep the pearls. After that he showed us around the shop. And by "showed us around" I mean "cornered us whenever we were alone and pressured us into buying stuff". I succumbed. I got a couple of very small, very plain porcelain vases for much more than I should have spent on them. None of us was very happy with Thomas for bringing us there, but it definitely opened up our eyes as to just how harrowing bargaining can be here. Fortunately we've gotten better since.
We checked into our hotel, and Candice decided she was too tired to eat so Jill, Molly, and I went out. We found a little Thai place that looked good, and it was our first meal with just chopsticks. That was fine for me - I'd lost my appetite and I only had steamed rice - but the noodles Jill got were too hard to eat without a fork. Eventually we got back to the hotel and, exhausted, we went to bed. *End Day 3*
Impressions: Guangzhou wasn't anything special. Really, the only reason we were there is that it's cheaper to fly from there to Guilin than from Hong Kong. We were all a little relieved the next day to leave, especially when we discovered how much better Guilin, and Yangshuo, and Lijiang all were. I loved the Folk Arts Museum, though. They should probably just move it to one of the nicer cities.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Hong Kong Day Two
(Ms. Arkin)
Well today was our second full day in HK (and also our last). We are still having adjustment issues with the 13 hour time difference coupled with minimal sleep and lots of walking. Plus we are all on different sleep schedules. I keep waking up at all hours of the night. Fogginess seems to be an overarching theme when it comes to both my state of mind as well as the weather. Speaking of foggy weather, today was precisely that.
My friend Neil, who lives in Hong Kong with his wife and 16 month old baby, offered to be our tour guide for the day. No objections to that! We took the MTR to Central where we took a taxi to his apartment which is a good way up Victoria Peak. They were performing a “Lion’s Dance” outside of his apartment complex which is a New Years tradition. The purpose of the lion’s dance is to scare off the bad spirits for the New Year. It is also tradition to give money to both children and single people during new years. I had heard about this tradition before, but not the part about single people. Perhaps I need to make some more Chinese friends?! Anyhow, children get money presented to them in bright red envelopes which is referred to as lycee?? It was a very colorful, festive and happy setting as they ran around with their red envelopes dancing and chasing after lions. There was certainly a spirit of positive energy.
After the lion’s dance we went for a walk around the area. We went through a little park / zoo type thing which was quite pleasant. We then headed down Hollywood Avenue where there are antique stores although not much was open. It seemed that the fog was lifting somewhat so we decided to make our way to Victoria peak in the cable car. Victoria Peak is where you get a spectacular view of the entire city. That is, if it is a clear day. When we arrived at the top of the peak, it was one thick mass of white fog. We still took a picture of the four of us in front of what should be a fabulous view of Hong Kong. Unfortunately all you can see is us with a backdrop of white. Oh well.
Also, at Victoria’s Peak is Madame Tousseauds’s wax museum (along with all sorts of shops, cafes and restaurants). If you bought admission tickets to the wax museum in addition to the cable car, you were allowed to bypass the long line for the cable car that takes you to the top of the peak. Neil was kind enough to treat us all to this “double deal” excursion. We were very grateful and thrilled not to have to wait in another line! At the museum, Candice was very excited (that might actually be an understatement) to get her picture taken with Jackie Chan. So the weather was lousy and the view was non existent, but Jackie was there to make things right!
When we were done with the peak, we walked back to Neil’s apartment which I said earlier is about half way up the peak. I think Molly mentioned the steepness of things in Hong Kong in the last journal entry. She was not exaggerating. It is one of those hills that is so steep it is actually easier to walk up than down. My shins, calves and heels were ready to snap in half by the time we got to the bottom.
We were originally going to stay at Neil’s for dinner so that we could see the fireworks from their apartment which is on the 35th floor and provides a sweeping view of the city. Since their building was immersed in white fog, we decided to make our way back down to the kowloon area to eat dinner and watch the fireworks from there.
We ate at TGIF’s – one last American meal before we fully transition to Asian cuisine. It was also a matter of convenience. We were like four zombies during dinner – that hazy jetlag feeling combined with hunger and aching feet. Not the best mix! Our timing was perfect, however. Just as we walked out of the restaurant to head back to the YMCA, the fireworks were beginning. The crowd was impassable. Stephen hopped on top of some type of utility structure which provided an awesome view of the fireworks and also alleviated the discomfort of being smushed by the crowd. Molly and Candice hopped up next and I thought I would never be able to pull myself up that far, but somehow I managed to do so (although not with the same grace). It started a trend and before we knew it a family and 4 children had joined us. The kids were cheering and jumping and screaming and having so much fun. Stephen got some great photos of the fireworks. My pictures had the corner of a building in the way.
The fireworks ended promptly at 8:23pm (as scheduled) and the crowd dispersed quite efficiently. I managed to jump off the structure without killing myself and we made it back to the hotel.
Well today was our second full day in HK (and also our last). We are still having adjustment issues with the 13 hour time difference coupled with minimal sleep and lots of walking. Plus we are all on different sleep schedules. I keep waking up at all hours of the night. Fogginess seems to be an overarching theme when it comes to both my state of mind as well as the weather. Speaking of foggy weather, today was precisely that.
My friend Neil, who lives in Hong Kong with his wife and 16 month old baby, offered to be our tour guide for the day. No objections to that! We took the MTR to Central where we took a taxi to his apartment which is a good way up Victoria Peak. They were performing a “Lion’s Dance” outside of his apartment complex which is a New Years tradition. The purpose of the lion’s dance is to scare off the bad spirits for the New Year. It is also tradition to give money to both children and single people during new years. I had heard about this tradition before, but not the part about single people. Perhaps I need to make some more Chinese friends?! Anyhow, children get money presented to them in bright red envelopes which is referred to as lycee?? It was a very colorful, festive and happy setting as they ran around with their red envelopes dancing and chasing after lions. There was certainly a spirit of positive energy.
After the lion’s dance we went for a walk around the area. We went through a little park / zoo type thing which was quite pleasant. We then headed down Hollywood Avenue where there are antique stores although not much was open. It seemed that the fog was lifting somewhat so we decided to make our way to Victoria peak in the cable car. Victoria Peak is where you get a spectacular view of the entire city. That is, if it is a clear day. When we arrived at the top of the peak, it was one thick mass of white fog. We still took a picture of the four of us in front of what should be a fabulous view of Hong Kong. Unfortunately all you can see is us with a backdrop of white. Oh well.
Also, at Victoria’s Peak is Madame Tousseauds’s wax museum (along with all sorts of shops, cafes and restaurants). If you bought admission tickets to the wax museum in addition to the cable car, you were allowed to bypass the long line for the cable car that takes you to the top of the peak. Neil was kind enough to treat us all to this “double deal” excursion. We were very grateful and thrilled not to have to wait in another line! At the museum, Candice was very excited (that might actually be an understatement) to get her picture taken with Jackie Chan. So the weather was lousy and the view was non existent, but Jackie was there to make things right!
When we were done with the peak, we walked back to Neil’s apartment which I said earlier is about half way up the peak. I think Molly mentioned the steepness of things in Hong Kong in the last journal entry. She was not exaggerating. It is one of those hills that is so steep it is actually easier to walk up than down. My shins, calves and heels were ready to snap in half by the time we got to the bottom.
We were originally going to stay at Neil’s for dinner so that we could see the fireworks from their apartment which is on the 35th floor and provides a sweeping view of the city. Since their building was immersed in white fog, we decided to make our way back down to the kowloon area to eat dinner and watch the fireworks from there.
We ate at TGIF’s – one last American meal before we fully transition to Asian cuisine. It was also a matter of convenience. We were like four zombies during dinner – that hazy jetlag feeling combined with hunger and aching feet. Not the best mix! Our timing was perfect, however. Just as we walked out of the restaurant to head back to the YMCA, the fireworks were beginning. The crowd was impassable. Stephen hopped on top of some type of utility structure which provided an awesome view of the fireworks and also alleviated the discomfort of being smushed by the crowd. Molly and Candice hopped up next and I thought I would never be able to pull myself up that far, but somehow I managed to do so (although not with the same grace). It started a trend and before we knew it a family and 4 children had joined us. The kids were cheering and jumping and screaming and having so much fun. Stephen got some great photos of the fireworks. My pictures had the corner of a building in the way.
The fireworks ended promptly at 8:23pm (as scheduled) and the crowd dispersed quite efficiently. I managed to jump off the structure without killing myself and we made it back to the hotel.
Hong Kong Day One
(Molly)
Hi Everybody! We made it to Hong Kong, as did our luggage, to my surprise and delight. Our flight was delayed a day due to snow, which I appreciated because I was a nervous wreck on Wednesday. The delay gave me an extra day to repack and organize my thoughts, and I felt much better by the time we arrived at the airport at 4:30 in the morning on Friday. We checked our bags - Mine, Candice's, and Steve's bags were all under 50 pounds (Steve's barely made it), but Ms. Arkin's is 57. They didn't make her pay any fee on the way over, but we'll have to see how it works out on domestic flights within China. Then we flew Air Canada from Logan to Toronto - that was fabulous. We each got little screens and got to choose what we wanted to watch. I found the one House episode that I missed last season, and Ms. Arkin watched Arrested Development. Then we flew from Toronto to Chicago, which meant we had to go through US customs despite never leaving an airport. Next we flew from Chicago to Hong Kong. This took 15 hours and was very cramped. There was also a family with three small children (one was a baby) sitting next to us. We couldn't really tell how much we slept - most of it was drifting in and out. I had bought about 6 books for the flight ... I read for a total of maybe 2 minutes. After about 27 hours in Airports and on planes, we finally got to Hong Kong! Hong Kong is a very neon city. It seems like a cross between New York City and Las Vegas. Everything is in both Cantonese and English, so it is a really great transition city. Right now the entire city is decorated for the New Year. There are tiny orange bushes EVERYWHERE. I picked one - the fruit is quite sour. There is a lot of red and gold, and a surprising amount of neon orange. When we got to the city, we called my youth group advisor, Jamie, who is in Asia for 2 years and whom we had arranged to meet up with. We took the Star Ferry to meet him in Hong Kong. It was brief, but great - all the buildings have neon moving murals on them. My favorite is one with two goldfish whose tails are waving back and forth. Jamie decided that since we would be having Chinese food for the next two months, we should start out with something different, so he took us to a Thai restaurant in the restaurant district of Hong Kong. Much of Hong Kong is built into Victoria Peak, so it is even steeper than San Francisco! However, everywhere in Hong Kong (and everywhere in China, says Jamie) they love escalators. We took moving sidewalks all the way up the hill to the restaurant. They go down from 6 - 10 in the morning, when people are commuting down to work. Then they go up for the rest of the day. The restaurant district had EVERYTHING - Mexican, Spanish, Italian, American, French, Russian-Ukrainian, Argentinean, Thai ... After we went to dinner, we took a walk down to SoHo, which is short for South Hollywood. It is the bar district. It is hilarious, because it is just as steep as the rest of the peak, and every other row of cobblestones on the road is raised. High Heels + Steep Slope + Raised Cobblestones + Beer = Hilarity. This was a place for serious people-watching. The people in the bars were from all over the world. The Americans were the loudest and the drunkest. We had some Ben + Jerry's and watched the crowd. Then we left the bar district and took a taxi down to the flower market, which closed the next morning at 6 AM. If all the Internationals were at the bars, all the Chinese were at the Flower Market - it was packed solid. I couldn't even see the vendors, so it was better to just get out of the crowd and watch the people coming out, seeing what they were carrying out with them. The crowds here are not as bad for me as back home, because everybody is shorter! We expected Flowers and traditional Chinese crafts. Instead, it was mostly blow-up plastic carnival ware, and a bunch of pinwheels. We saw one man carrying a large blow-up rake... The weather here is fabulous, although a little too humid. It is probably 70 or 75 degrees during the day, so we are all breaking out the short-sleeve t-shirts that we haven't worn since September. Candice is on a mission to find a special kind of Nike sneaker that is sold only in China. We have had 9 sightings so far. We are staying at the YMCA, which is quite nice. The breakfast is great - there are both western and Asian foods. We found sticky rice and pork wrapped in leaves, which we had had before in the states - those were great. Candice says that waiters keep trying to put her napkin in her lap for her, which she finds a little unnerving ("I can do it myself!") Today we went to Lantau to see the Big Buddha. That is one BIG BUDDHA! It took us about an hour to get to the island via the MTR system, which is clean, quick, and easy. The MTR is what we would call a subway, but here a subway is just a tunnel you take under a street instead of crossing it above the ground. Then we had to wait 2 hours for the tram. By the end, our feet were very tired and a little swollen. The Buddha was pretty great. There were also 6 statues of his attendants, who were holding various things. The sign said "don't throw coin," but everyone was tossing coins at the statues, hoping to land them in the attendants' hands. We've seen a lot of kids today in traditional silk dress. We are not sure whether this is just for the New Year, or whether they wear it all the time. Also, we've seen really little kids out until 2 in the morning! Tonight Ms. Arkin and I went out for Italian food. The waiter had a crush on us and was really excited to practice his English. He was very smiley. I'm going to go to bed now, since it's approaching one AM!
Hi Everybody! We made it to Hong Kong, as did our luggage, to my surprise and delight. Our flight was delayed a day due to snow, which I appreciated because I was a nervous wreck on Wednesday. The delay gave me an extra day to repack and organize my thoughts, and I felt much better by the time we arrived at the airport at 4:30 in the morning on Friday. We checked our bags - Mine, Candice's, and Steve's bags were all under 50 pounds (Steve's barely made it), but Ms. Arkin's is 57. They didn't make her pay any fee on the way over, but we'll have to see how it works out on domestic flights within China. Then we flew Air Canada from Logan to Toronto - that was fabulous. We each got little screens and got to choose what we wanted to watch. I found the one House episode that I missed last season, and Ms. Arkin watched Arrested Development. Then we flew from Toronto to Chicago, which meant we had to go through US customs despite never leaving an airport. Next we flew from Chicago to Hong Kong. This took 15 hours and was very cramped. There was also a family with three small children (one was a baby) sitting next to us. We couldn't really tell how much we slept - most of it was drifting in and out. I had bought about 6 books for the flight ... I read for a total of maybe 2 minutes. After about 27 hours in Airports and on planes, we finally got to Hong Kong! Hong Kong is a very neon city. It seems like a cross between New York City and Las Vegas. Everything is in both Cantonese and English, so it is a really great transition city. Right now the entire city is decorated for the New Year. There are tiny orange bushes EVERYWHERE. I picked one - the fruit is quite sour. There is a lot of red and gold, and a surprising amount of neon orange. When we got to the city, we called my youth group advisor, Jamie, who is in Asia for 2 years and whom we had arranged to meet up with. We took the Star Ferry to meet him in Hong Kong. It was brief, but great - all the buildings have neon moving murals on them. My favorite is one with two goldfish whose tails are waving back and forth. Jamie decided that since we would be having Chinese food for the next two months, we should start out with something different, so he took us to a Thai restaurant in the restaurant district of Hong Kong. Much of Hong Kong is built into Victoria Peak, so it is even steeper than San Francisco! However, everywhere in Hong Kong (and everywhere in China, says Jamie) they love escalators. We took moving sidewalks all the way up the hill to the restaurant. They go down from 6 - 10 in the morning, when people are commuting down to work. Then they go up for the rest of the day. The restaurant district had EVERYTHING - Mexican, Spanish, Italian, American, French, Russian-Ukrainian, Argentinean, Thai ... After we went to dinner, we took a walk down to SoHo, which is short for South Hollywood. It is the bar district. It is hilarious, because it is just as steep as the rest of the peak, and every other row of cobblestones on the road is raised. High Heels + Steep Slope + Raised Cobblestones + Beer = Hilarity. This was a place for serious people-watching. The people in the bars were from all over the world. The Americans were the loudest and the drunkest. We had some Ben + Jerry's and watched the crowd. Then we left the bar district and took a taxi down to the flower market, which closed the next morning at 6 AM. If all the Internationals were at the bars, all the Chinese were at the Flower Market - it was packed solid. I couldn't even see the vendors, so it was better to just get out of the crowd and watch the people coming out, seeing what they were carrying out with them. The crowds here are not as bad for me as back home, because everybody is shorter! We expected Flowers and traditional Chinese crafts. Instead, it was mostly blow-up plastic carnival ware, and a bunch of pinwheels. We saw one man carrying a large blow-up rake... The weather here is fabulous, although a little too humid. It is probably 70 or 75 degrees during the day, so we are all breaking out the short-sleeve t-shirts that we haven't worn since September. Candice is on a mission to find a special kind of Nike sneaker that is sold only in China. We have had 9 sightings so far. We are staying at the YMCA, which is quite nice. The breakfast is great - there are both western and Asian foods. We found sticky rice and pork wrapped in leaves, which we had had before in the states - those were great. Candice says that waiters keep trying to put her napkin in her lap for her, which she finds a little unnerving ("I can do it myself!") Today we went to Lantau to see the Big Buddha. That is one BIG BUDDHA! It took us about an hour to get to the island via the MTR system, which is clean, quick, and easy. The MTR is what we would call a subway, but here a subway is just a tunnel you take under a street instead of crossing it above the ground. Then we had to wait 2 hours for the tram. By the end, our feet were very tired and a little swollen. The Buddha was pretty great. There were also 6 statues of his attendants, who were holding various things. The sign said "don't throw coin," but everyone was tossing coins at the statues, hoping to land them in the attendants' hands. We've seen a lot of kids today in traditional silk dress. We are not sure whether this is just for the New Year, or whether they wear it all the time. Also, we've seen really little kids out until 2 in the morning! Tonight Ms. Arkin and I went out for Italian food. The waiter had a crush on us and was really excited to practice his English. He was very smiley. I'm going to go to bed now, since it's approaching one AM!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Steve's Day 2 - The Peak
(Steve)
Day 2 wasn't so much a full day as an afternoon - we spent the entire morning trying to keep from collapsing and never getting back up. Finally, though, Jill came by to tell us that her friend Neil had an apartment with a great view of the fireworks so we were going to go over there for dinner. Then we decided that since we weren't doing anything else we might as well go over a bit earlier and he'd show us around. When we got to his apartment, there was a lion dance going on. I could be wrong, but I think it's supposed to keep evil spirits from entering the building where it is performed. Unfortunately, we were a little late, so we missed the really cool semi-acrobatic part. The drumming and the giant fuzzy lion-puppet were still pretty cool though.
When the dance was over, Neil brought us for a short walk. We went through a little zoo which, surprisingly, was free. That was nice. And the jaguar was cool. No pandas though, which made me sad. We also got to go in a little temple, which seemed somehow out of place next to the 40-storey Hong Kong buildings. Finally, we decided to take the tram up to Victoria Peak, even though it was way too misty to see anything. Neil bought us the combined tram/Madame Tousseauds' tickets so that we could skip the line. Madame Tousseauds' was a lot of fun; I was very happy to see Indiana Jones there, and getting my picture taken with Ghandi was definitely worth it. Candice was really excited about getting a picture with Jackie Chan, but she would have had to pay for it - fortunately, she'd gotten her picture with the Jackie we'd seen at the ticket counter.
The girls did some shopping while we were up at the peak, and we got to see the completely-white view of the mist, and then we started the walk back down. Our calves were not happy with us the next day. Eventually we made it, though, but because of the mist the view from Neil's apartment wouldn've have been so amazing. We decided to go back to our hotel, and Neil saw us off from the MTR station (Thank you so much for everything, Neil!) We had dinner at TGIF's, and when we came out the street near our hotel was packed. We were just trying to figure out how to get through the crowd when the fireworks started. There was a utility structure in my way, so I went with my first instinct: get on top of it. I guess I started a trend; by the end it wasn't just our group up there, but also a family and several children who had been lifted up by their parents. I'm still happily surprised that we didn't get in trouble for it; back home that would have gotten us arrested. It was a great view though, and I got some impressive pictures (my camera actually has a fireworks mode? What?) I was sad when the fireworks ended, and a little surprised because it was still so early and so light out. Still, our second full day in China was a success. *End Day 2*
Day 2 wasn't so much a full day as an afternoon - we spent the entire morning trying to keep from collapsing and never getting back up. Finally, though, Jill came by to tell us that her friend Neil had an apartment with a great view of the fireworks so we were going to go over there for dinner. Then we decided that since we weren't doing anything else we might as well go over a bit earlier and he'd show us around. When we got to his apartment, there was a lion dance going on. I could be wrong, but I think it's supposed to keep evil spirits from entering the building where it is performed. Unfortunately, we were a little late, so we missed the really cool semi-acrobatic part. The drumming and the giant fuzzy lion-puppet were still pretty cool though.
When the dance was over, Neil brought us for a short walk. We went through a little zoo which, surprisingly, was free. That was nice. And the jaguar was cool. No pandas though, which made me sad. We also got to go in a little temple, which seemed somehow out of place next to the 40-storey Hong Kong buildings. Finally, we decided to take the tram up to Victoria Peak, even though it was way too misty to see anything. Neil bought us the combined tram/Madame Tousseauds' tickets so that we could skip the line. Madame Tousseauds' was a lot of fun; I was very happy to see Indiana Jones there, and getting my picture taken with Ghandi was definitely worth it. Candice was really excited about getting a picture with Jackie Chan, but she would have had to pay for it - fortunately, she'd gotten her picture with the Jackie we'd seen at the ticket counter.
The girls did some shopping while we were up at the peak, and we got to see the completely-white view of the mist, and then we started the walk back down. Our calves were not happy with us the next day. Eventually we made it, though, but because of the mist the view from Neil's apartment wouldn've have been so amazing. We decided to go back to our hotel, and Neil saw us off from the MTR station (Thank you so much for everything, Neil!) We had dinner at TGIF's, and when we came out the street near our hotel was packed. We were just trying to figure out how to get through the crowd when the fireworks started. There was a utility structure in my way, so I went with my first instinct: get on top of it. I guess I started a trend; by the end it wasn't just our group up there, but also a family and several children who had been lifted up by their parents. I'm still happily surprised that we didn't get in trouble for it; back home that would have gotten us arrested. It was a great view though, and I got some impressive pictures (my camera actually has a fireworks mode? What?) I was sad when the fireworks ended, and a little surprised because it was still so early and so light out. Still, our second full day in China was a success. *End Day 2*
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Welcome Year of the Pig
Experience the 2006 Year of the Dog celebration in Hong Kong (NOT a D-S group video, but captures the experience very well!)
Steve's Day 1 - HK Arrival
(Steve)
For anyone who doesn't already know, our flight left Logan at 6:00 Friday morning. From there it was 27 hours of airports and airplanes before we got to China. We had to go through Toronto to Chicago, then finally up north over the pole to Hong Kong. The detour through Canada meant that we had to recheck our bags and go through customs to get back to the States, even though we never even left the terminal. It was irritating and a little stressful what with our time constraints. We got here with all of our stuff, though, so it all worked out in the end.
We got to Hong Kong at 7:00 at night (6:00 AM back home) and decided to go out. We took the Star Ferry across to where Jamie, Molly's youth group counselor, works. The ferry was fun, and the decorations for the New Year were amazing: everywhere we looked there were statues and displays lit up, lanterns, and flashing neon pictures on the buildings. I'm still annoyed that I forgot my camera. Anyways, Jamie treated us to a Thai dinner in SoHo before giving us a brief tour of Hong Kong. He pointed out how much Asians love escalators and moving walkways, but in Hong Kong they're somewhat necessary: the city's steeper than San Francisco! That's exactly what made the club district so entertaining in terms of people watching, as Molly said in the blog. Even so, it was hard not to be impressed by the neighborhood. After that, we went to the Flower Market, which we expected to be a rather traditional festival-type gathering. It was more carnival-esque: we didn't see any flowers but we did see plenty of cheap plastic toys (even an inflatable rake). The place was packed, so we didn't stay long. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was 2:00 AM. All in all, it was a great welcome to Hong Kong and I can't thank Jamie enough for it, but I regretted staying out that late for the next few days.
I still didn't sleep much that night - a 13 hour time difference really throws you off - so I was up and about pretty early Sunday morning. I wandered around until I finally ran into the girls, and we decided to go see the Big Buddha. When we got to the cablecar station, we found out that the line was 2 hours long. That was not easy on our feet. Finally we got up to the top of the mountain though, and yes, it is one BIG Buddha. It was very cool, and it was also kinda funny to see all the people trying to toss coins into the things the statues were holding. By the time we got back from the Buddha the streets were starting to fill up for the New Year's parade, but I was too tired even to eat, much less to stay up for that. So I went to bed. *End day 1* (and for those who are wondering, I'm not counting Saturday. Sunday was day 1.)
First impressions: Hong Kong is a very western city. Everyone seemed to be expecting us to suffer massive culture shock, but it didn't feel all that different. It was a little disconcerting to see Chinese characters everywhere, but they were always accompanied by English. Driving, which we heard so many horror stories about, wasn't all that bad. Even so, though, my hotel room felt very lonely for the first few nights, so I'm definitely glad we went to Hong Kong first to ease into the trip.
For anyone who doesn't already know, our flight left Logan at 6:00 Friday morning. From there it was 27 hours of airports and airplanes before we got to China. We had to go through Toronto to Chicago, then finally up north over the pole to Hong Kong. The detour through Canada meant that we had to recheck our bags and go through customs to get back to the States, even though we never even left the terminal. It was irritating and a little stressful what with our time constraints. We got here with all of our stuff, though, so it all worked out in the end.
We got to Hong Kong at 7:00 at night (6:00 AM back home) and decided to go out. We took the Star Ferry across to where Jamie, Molly's youth group counselor, works. The ferry was fun, and the decorations for the New Year were amazing: everywhere we looked there were statues and displays lit up, lanterns, and flashing neon pictures on the buildings. I'm still annoyed that I forgot my camera. Anyways, Jamie treated us to a Thai dinner in SoHo before giving us a brief tour of Hong Kong. He pointed out how much Asians love escalators and moving walkways, but in Hong Kong they're somewhat necessary: the city's steeper than San Francisco! That's exactly what made the club district so entertaining in terms of people watching, as Molly said in the blog. Even so, it was hard not to be impressed by the neighborhood. After that, we went to the Flower Market, which we expected to be a rather traditional festival-type gathering. It was more carnival-esque: we didn't see any flowers but we did see plenty of cheap plastic toys (even an inflatable rake). The place was packed, so we didn't stay long. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was 2:00 AM. All in all, it was a great welcome to Hong Kong and I can't thank Jamie enough for it, but I regretted staying out that late for the next few days.
I still didn't sleep much that night - a 13 hour time difference really throws you off - so I was up and about pretty early Sunday morning. I wandered around until I finally ran into the girls, and we decided to go see the Big Buddha. When we got to the cablecar station, we found out that the line was 2 hours long. That was not easy on our feet. Finally we got up to the top of the mountain though, and yes, it is one BIG Buddha. It was very cool, and it was also kinda funny to see all the people trying to toss coins into the things the statues were holding. By the time we got back from the Buddha the streets were starting to fill up for the New Year's parade, but I was too tired even to eat, much less to stay up for that. So I went to bed. *End day 1* (and for those who are wondering, I'm not counting Saturday. Sunday was day 1.)
First impressions: Hong Kong is a very western city. Everyone seemed to be expecting us to suffer massive culture shock, but it didn't feel all that different. It was a little disconcerting to see Chinese characters everywhere, but they were always accompanied by English. Driving, which we heard so many horror stories about, wasn't all that bad. Even so, though, my hotel room felt very lonely for the first few nights, so I'm definitely glad we went to Hong Kong first to ease into the trip.
DS has arrived in HK!
(Stephen, Molly, Candice, Ms. Arkin)
We made it! Out enjoying the new years festivities! Will write more later.
We made it! Out enjoying the new years festivities! Will write more later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)