I Heart Hong Kong!

Hello again from Hong Kong!

I am really enjoying my time here.  It is such an amazing city!  I am still star struck by the incredibly tall buildings that are crowded together, it seems, everywhere I go.  Did I mention they use bamboo for scaffolding?

I have to look through my progression of photos to remember everything I've done this week.  I have been incredibly busy, but I wouldn't change a moment.  I last left you with my day tour and initial impressions of HK. Tuesday, after my first day of class, a group of us went out to LKF, the tourist road on Hong Kong Island.  From the moment I got out of the cab, I loved HK even more.  So many bright and shiny lights! 

Everyone's energy levels were high, and we made our first stop at a fantastic sushi restaurant for Katie's birthday.  The unfortunate part about eating at a nice sushi restaurant in the tourist district is the price. I paid $30 American Dollars for my meal which is no different than at home!  I've noticed that HK is significantly more expensive than any other part of Asia I've been to (except for Tokyo.)   After sushi, we went to the top of a nice hotel that had a fun lounge with excellent city views. 

Our final stop was a hole in the wall pub/karaoke venue.  It was a funny scene.  There were 2 men on acustic guitar and 1 guy on "drums" which he made use of via a martini shaker and spoon.  As for the lead singer, which I attempted once doing a duet from Grease, he or she had to read off hand written or typed lyrics from a binder with random American songs.  Definitely not your typical karaoke, but a great way to end the night!

Wednesday we went to see Malik, the USD recommended tailor, and stayed in that night to study for our midterm.  I resisted temptation and didn't get fitted for a suit, but did purchase dress shirts for Jeremy and me instead.  (I brought one of Jeremy's shirts for them to copy.)  Their turnaround time is fast, and so far, everyone has been very pleased with their results.  He makes a trip to San Diego a couple of times a year, so I'm sure we will be seeing him again.  Keep that in mind if you want a suit made especially for you!

Thursday night was another great night, and we decided to see the nightly Hong Kong skyline lights show.  We went to the harbor for what we thought would be a short cruise to watch the show, but since it was cold and a little rainy, we made a slight detour and ended up at the Intercontinental Hotel to watch the light show from indoors.  Another expensive choice, but luckily one of my classmates picked up the tab.  :)  I had a fabulous martini which matched the light show because my coaster would flash different colors anytime you put weight on it. Clever and almost worth the $20 US!

After drinks, we decided to find a real Asian style karaoke bar.  5 of us went and sang our hearts out for hours!  It was so much fun!  Don't believe me? Check out Facebook for a mini video clip of the night! (I couldn't get it to upload on here for some reason.)

Friday after class, my busy schedule and the night life was finally starting to catch up to me, but I had to rally.  It was time to meet up with Jessica, a girl I know from San Diego (Jennae's sister-in-law that was in Jennae's wedding party with me) who lives in Hong Kong now.  Her boyfriend is a club manager at a nice member's only type venue, so I brought 10 USD people with me, and we had a great time. 

We arrived around midnight and were home around 4am. Those of you who know me well know that I'm not a typical "party girl" that likes to stay out all night, but I was really feeling the vibe at M1NT. The DJ was great, and there was even a shark tank in back!

My only mistake was trying to buy my own glass of champagne once...$200 Hong Kong Dollars. Are we in Manhattan now?  (I guess it all depends on where you go because the night before, we purchased beers at 7-Eleven at a price of 2 for $1.50 US. That's more like it!)  Anyway, it didn't matter because the club was very nice and very fun.  It's nice being connected in HK!

This morning I woke up hurting from the night before, but I didn't want to miss our cultural tour! We visted a couple of temples, a local village, and a local market, followed by a dim sum lunch. 

Our tour guide actually lives in one of the villages, so we were able to see his home. It was so amusing because it was very, very old and traditional, but he had a karaoke set with flashing lights and a flat screen TV in his modest living room. 

The local market reminded me of the Asian markets I had seen in Southeast Asia before, so I knew to avoid the meat and seafood section if I didn't want to see anything getting killed alive. No thank you!

I wish I liked Chinese food more, but they tend to put beef and pork in everything, so I wasn't able to fully enjoy the dim sum experience. I did learn some things, though. You are supposed to wash your bowl with hot tea, just in case anything got left behind after being washed. Interesting...and scary, right?

Wednesday I'm off to India, so I only have a few days left to explore HK! It's hard to believe that I've already been here for a week, but I still feel like there is so much left to see.