Out and About Hong Kong

  Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Sunday, July 6, 2008

Rachel and I have been in Hong Kong for 2 days now, but I am a bit late starting this blog as I was unable to pin down an internet connection in our hostel. So here is a brief run down of my travel adventures so far.

We landed on the island of Lantau, where Hong Kong's Airport is, on Thursday evening around 4:30. From there our first adventure was figuring out the highly sophisticated public transportation system in Hong Kong. Luckily it is so well organized that even foreigners from a small little Midwestern city can get around it without making too many erroneous side ventures. The MTR is Hong Kong's Metro system and so heavenly easy and convenient. A train comes every 2 minutes, there are frequent stops, and it is so easy to buy a ticket at any of the many machine kiosks. I want to take their MTR system home with me to St. Louis.

We had planned to stay at a hostel on Nathan Rd., the big main street in Hong Kong, but we learned the hard way that booking on the internet can be risky. Upon getting out of the MTR stop our senses were completely bombarded by absolute chaotic mayhem. Maybe I have been in sleepy little St. Louis too long, or maybe Hong Kong really is the busiest city I have ever seen, but I don't think I had ever experienced such urban craziness before. If you imagine Times Square at it's busiest time, and then multiply that by 10, that might come close to describing Nathan Rd. We made our way to Kowloon New Hostel where we had planned to stay, but were scared off by the stench of mildew, dogs barking through cracks in the walls, and well...this picture says more than I can.

Kowloon New Hostel

Neither Rachel nor I mind roughing it a bit, but this gave us a sinking feeling. We decided to consult the guidebook and started calling hostels to see if they had open rooms. We were about to go back to Kowloon New Hostel when the third and final place we called said they had an open room for the night. The man, who said his name was Sam, on the phone said that he would meet us at the MTR stop and not surprisingly it did not take him long to find the two American backpackers. We checked in and were happy to find out that they also had openings for the next two nights as well. We had found our home until Sunday! To say that we were grateful for a shower and a bed is an understatement. It was really a nice hostel, although the shower situation added some additional spice to our travels. In fact, the shower consisted of a faucet above the toilet, and we had to be sure to let the water drain at intervals or the water would flood out of the bathroom and into our room. It wouldn't be the budget hostel experience without a little adventure.

After a shower we both crashed and were up early the next morning with a case of jet lag. Jet lag, it turns out, is great for avoiding the crowds when you're a tourist; we were both up well before 6 and made it to Victoria's Peak tram before 8, missing the massive line that was to form outside within hours. It was absolutely breathtaking and walking around the trails outside of Peak Galleria was a reminder of the beautiful natural climate that Hong Kong inhabits.
After that we caught a ferry to Lama Island, which is much less touched by civilization than Hong Kong or Kowloon. We hiked across the island, about 5 miles, to the other port where we stoped to refuel with some much needed icy treats. Needless to say, by the time we made it home to our hostel we were both knocked out.

The next day we got a bit of a later start, but decided that the quintessential Hong Kong experience of Dim Sum and tea was a priority. We headed for City Hall, where the famous Maxim's Palace is located and is famous for their fantastic Dim Sum. We had to start by pushing our way through the crowds to get the attention of the seating hostess. We had assumed that the seating hostess would take names according to who was in line first, but the operation worked more on a first come, first serve basis; in a city of almost 7 million people, one must learn to be assertive. Soon we caught on to the way things are done, and Rachel pushed through to get a number for us. The wait was about 45 to 50 minutes, but it was certainly worth it! As soon as you sit down to the table, a waiter poors Jasmine Tea (also phenominal) and a waitresses push carts of food through the tables; if something looks good you have to get their attention as they go by. However, realizing that we were obviously foreigners, they often stopped for us to offer the dishes they were carrying. We could have taken every one, but as this place was a bit more pricey, we controlled ourselves and took the first three things that were were offered. The plates were appetizer-like plates of Dim Sum and one of our favorites was steamed meat in lotus leaves.

The Big Buddha

After a very fulfilling meal (and the finest culinary experience I've had in a long time) we headed for the ferry port that took us to Lamtau, the island where the famous Big Buddha resides. After climbing the 260 steps to the Buddha, we spent a little bit of time inside the museum. The star attraction at the museum is the bone relic of the Buddha. According to legend after the Buddha ascended to Nirvana, there were several relics that his body left behind. These were divided into 8 parts, and one of them, the bone relic, now resides in the museum at Po Lin. Honestly, however, the most breathtaking part of the whole thing was gazing at the scenery which is visible from the balcony at the foot of the Buddha. We both just stood there in awe for awhile. This picture shows why.

Buddha's View From Lantau Island

While we were standing there, a chinese family nearby was more fascinated by the two foreign blonde (or blondish) girls. They did not speak any English, but the father caught my attention and gestured towards his camera. At first I thought he wanted me to take their picture, but as it turns out, Rachel and I were supposed to be the main attraction in the photo. After they took turns taking pictures with us, we sat at the feet of the Buddha for a little longer and headed back towards the bus for the ferry port, just in time to see the sun set over the mountains as we headed back to Hong Kong.

Sunset over the Harbor

That brings us to today. This morning we checked out of the hostel and made our way to the dorms at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where we will be beginning classes with social work students from Poly U and Peking University on Tuesday. We met up with some other Wash U students that had just arrived and went out for lunch before walking around town a bit. We window shopped in the kind of stores that could blow an entire year's tuition of my education (and the kind of places I generally stay away from as a "social worker to be" - I'm realistic). I must admit, however, that although it was clearly meant for the rich and famous, Chinese Arts & Crafts was a beautiful store to browse. We saw miniture crystal bottles that had been delicately painted from the inside of the bottle! The artist was there in the store, and salesman had him do a demonstration for us. "It is a lost Chinese art," he said, no doubt in an attempt to make a sale, but still providing interesting information, "Young people today no longer have patience for it."

Well I am caught up now. Now that I have found a computer lab in the dorms, I should be able to contribute to this blog much more regularly. At least until Saturday, when we head for Xi'an. Till then, stay tuned!