World’s Happiest Party

(Allison)

Kung Hei Fat Choy! (Happy New Year)  Hong Kong is an amazing city…I love it here..We got an early start [Monday] and took the subway from Kowloon under the harbor to Hong Kong Island. The subway is so clean and easy to follow. We walked to the Peak Tram Station, there was no line and we got right on the tram and headed up to Victoria Peak. The weather was a bit cloudy – but the view was still very impressive. We decided to take our first official group photo..Oh, we have a team name…(with the help of Lianna’s father Greg  during our brainstorm at Logan) DS China Exchange 2009 will be officially called ObamaLAMA. Reasoning = every one in the group has a slight obsession to our new commander in chief…(Lianna did attend the Inauguration..) and the word lama is an acronym for all of our first names…and both words flow quite nicely together..to reinforce our name – there is also a large island just south of Hong Kong Island called Lamma Island..

Back to the peak..we wandered around the top in awe of the city…the contrasts between the lush green landscapes and the modern skyscrapers…Mark mentioned how it reminded him of Hawaii..There were adorable dogs everywhere!! Alex really wanted Haagen Das (spelling ?) but did not cave. We met this adorable tour guide named Arthur..he asked about our trip and was very impressed with our itinerary (thanks Becky!) As we were entering the gate to get back on the tram we came across a sign that said, to our amusement “Payments Accepted: Cash or Octopus” – Is octopus an actual currency in HK?   

At the bottom, there was a line for the tram that went around a corner and down the street—we beat the crowds!  We headed to H + M to meet my friends Geoff and Erica who live in HK. They both teach at an international school. They took us on a whirlwind tour of down town HK Island, desperately trying to find a restaurant that was open (everything is closed for the new year). We went up the world’s longest escalater system-- to an area called SOHO – with tons of great restaurants…any type of food you can imagine- italian, mexican, indian, american... We ended up going to this funky place that served everything from traditional  Chinese fare to pizza and breakfast!  At lunch Geoff and Erica ruined our joke by informing us that the “octopus” was the name of their subway card – like the Charlie Ticket or Metro Card (hi – and, dana, and mel ).

After lunch we took a double-decker bus (we sat at the top in the front = scary) to the south side of the island (where Geoff and Erica live). We strolled along a beautiful beach, and then along a promenade to Repulse Bay. Our first Buddhist temple!! Right on the water it was beautiful…and so colorful. We walked over a bridge that added three years to our lives. Then we headed to Stanley Market, an adorable waterfront shopping/restaurant area. Geoff, Mark and Alex went on an intense hunt for US to China adapter/converter but had no luck…Lianna was hungry so we sat down a water front snack bar type thing…everyone was getting tired..(we have not adjusted to the time change quite yet)..so we said good bye to Geoff and Erica and took a taxi to Star Ferry Pier!! I was very excited! I double checked that it was headed to Tsim Sha Tsui (thank you for the advice Terry and Rick).

It was 6:30 and we were not in the state of mind to conquer the crowds lined up 6 or 7 people deep for the New Year’s parade – otherwise known as the “World’s Happiest Party”. We headed back to the hotel with hopes to view the parade from the huge patio on the fourth floor of our hotel – but our hopes were quickly squashed by an evil security guard. We tried to go outside to watch it –but the route was blocked off to ticket holders only?? And we were all returning back to our jetlagged delirious stupor selves. So, we decided to watch from our hotel room (on the route but eight floors up)…it was kind of sad – but we had the television on so that we could hear it… It is the year of the OX!! – they are everywhere… Lianna and I really want to find some Ox ears! The parade ended and we went to bed…dreaming of small children dressed up as Ox on light up roller blades…

Hi Mom, Dad, Rachel, Becky and everyone else who is reading –including Periods 1,2,4,6, and 7!! 

love and miss you all,

Allison