Hong Kong

Hong Kong was the highlight of China. We began by venturing out to the ladies market, but before we got there we helped out fellow student who had cameras either stolen or lost bargain for deals. We would subsequently find out that Hong Kong isn’t a ripe place for haggling. We found the ladies market, which is the largest outdoor market for deals in Hong Kong. The exchange rate brought with it a fantastic feeling of purchasing power, 7 fold. I bought 4 bags full of souvenirs full of gifts for friends and family. After the market we went to the “Modern Toilet” which has been featured on the Travel Channel as one of the coolest places to eat. The theme of the entire restaurant was that of a restroom. The plates were miniature sinks and water basins. The cups were urinals and entrees were served in a large toilet bowl. Ice creams looked as if it was poo and the seats were actually toilets! After our lunch we returned to the ship after a long day of shopping and being lost. The next day I had to great opportunity, with several others of the top students in my US-Sino relations course, to meet CH Tung, the former and first Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Tung assumed power in 1997, in the midst of the Asian financial crisis. We met at his diplomatic offices in a very intimate setting. Tung gave us much advice on understanding China and how his background as a businessman, of a shipping family, was both a gift and curse because he never had any political experience. The students from Fudan University asked great questions and so did we, at a certain point we began to kindly compete for best question. After about 2 hours he ended the forum and we returned to the ship. That evening I decided that despite an oncoming cold, I wanted to visit the Hong Kong museums. I popped two Benadryl and gathered a group, more like 2 people, and headed to the museum. The exhibits were very interesting, consisting of ancient pottery and Buddhist hand crafts were displayed. I began to crash and doze off, unable to fight the excitement of Hong Kong. Later that evening after a good dinner at Golden Buddha my friends Abby, Amira and I ventured out to find a popular night spot called Dragon Eye. We ran into my roommate, Jordan and Taylor and we all decided to grab dessert and enjoy Hong Kong’s Middle Eastern scene. We found a great spot nestled in between two popular bar blocks of downtown Hong Kong, called Marouche. After we enjoyed the scene we headed to Dragon Eye, which we would learn was not the environment for SAS, but then we discovered Lan Gui Fang, a district recommended to me by my Chinese stepmother, I will just say “Xie Xie Chaohung”
The next day my mind was set on becoming entrenched in the culture. Early on we left Langham Place and came face to face with the Hong Kong Fish market. Just then my senses were full with the sights and smells. We saw men cutting up fresh and sometimes live animals (e.g. Fish, frog and pigs). For the first time I saw this. I really enjoyed walking around and seeing strange foods and even trying Dragon Fruit for the first time. Amira and I had a great lunch at a place who served us spicy noodles, curry rice and something to the consistency of a mango lasse. After lunch we looked for an acupuncturist, we gave up, and then headed to see the big Buddha. Now the Hong Kong subway system is probably one of the easiest public transportation systems I’ve ever navigated, worldwide. We got to Landau Island after about a 40 minutes ride. We bought the platinum package for the Tian Tan Buddha cable car ride up. Gazing out onto the grandeur of Hong Kong was astounding during our 30 minute cable car ride, which brought us atop Landau Island to Ngong Ping. Our package included an all inclusive learning experience. We first came to an animated cartoon that was about 3 monkeys who vied for golden fruit. However, one monkey became so consumed with getting the golden fruit; he alienated his friends with his greed and selfishness. This opposed the teachings of the Buddha which promotes the relinquishing of earthly desires. Only when the monkey dreamed about over indulging in his wants and lost his friends he realized that something are more important that selfish desires. It was at the exact moment that he found his friends to be more important than the materialism that is the fruit. I cross-reference my reading of the book Siddhartha during the trip, Siddhartha experienced similar turmoil when he became engulfed in the material world and departed from his friend Govinda. After we did that we did a virtual tour entitled “A Walk with Buddha” in which we were given a virtual tour of the life of the Buddha. We finally climbed the 100+ steps leading up the huge Buddha we gazed out onto Landau Island. It was a fantastic view. We left Landau to the ship and through much hustle and bustle; we arrived on the ship THREE minutes after on ship time and consequently received 3 hours dock time in Vietnam.