Year of the Dog

Kelby

Today was our first full day in Hong Kong, which is also the day of the Chinese New Year.

Elizabeth, Iona and I woke up this morning at four as we are all getting acclimated to the time change. We looked out at the city in the night and the view gave us a whole new perspective of the city. The city is very different compared to our American cities. I tend to describe Hong Kong as a hybrid between New York and Miami, for the entire city is bursting with life, light and opportunity (New York), while the architecture and weather is that of Miami.

We then fell back asleep and officially woke up at 8:00. We proceeded to prepare for the day and meet Mrs. Waterman for breakfast in our hotel. They had the classic American food of eggs, sausage and hash browns, but we were also exposed to Chinese breakfast foods. This included dumplings with pork and vegetables, as well as a “glutinous rice, pork, and bean dumpling” (it was so good I had to remember the name for future travels). Nonetheless, our day had begun.

From 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Silk Pajamas not only explored, but experienced the city of Hong Kong. We started our travel by venturing into Kowloon Park, where there were fountains with turtles, mazes of bushes, and multitudes of people basking in the sun. I met a woman doing a breathing exercise in the Park next to a pond, and she proceeded to teach me the exercise. I was amazed to see how calm and nice the people are in Hong Kong. Once you get them talking, they can’t, and won’t, stop. Seeing that all for of us are seeking to make new friends, I couldn’t have asked for a better culture of people to be immersed in.

From the park we walked through a street market at the request of our friend Eugene. Four blocks were consumed by the market. Iona bought a bag at one of the stands, and it was awesome to see her bargain with the vendor (thank goodness we have her around). From the street market we continued north. A flower market and dumpling restaurant caught our eyes at the most northern part of our exploration. All-in-all, the walk was about 8 miles. We then returned to the hotel.

After Iona and Elizabeth took their naps, we walked over to Mrs. Waterman’s room where she showed us a view of the parade. Wanting to experience the parade for the New Year, we took the elevator down to watch the floats pass by. The floats were aesthetically pleasing, with many of the floats containing gold and red. There were lots of kids, dragons, and dancers in the parade, and there must have been thousands of people on our block. Two and a half hours passed, during which time we were able to connect with some of our friends back home to discuss the parade, and also observe the floats. By 9:00, Iona, Elizabeth and I were exhausted, so we decided to come back to the hotel room. Naturally, Mrs. Waterman is still watching the parade.

The past few days have been busy, but exciting. It was a wonderful experience to walk around the city of Hong Kong and further understand the Chinese culture. Finally, it was a spectacular evening with the parade. Overall, today was a day I shall never forget, we shall never forget, and those who experienced this day in Hong Kong shall never forget. That’s the best part about this city: it resonates with you like none other.