Contrary to original plans, Walker (a friend from NC) and I have spent the last few days in Hong Kong. He got in Monday evening, and miracuously we managed to find each other in the lobby of the VERY NICE hotel that we've been staying at ever since. We're right on the northern side of the bay, and have a gorgeous view of downtown framed by the green peaks behind it. Today I watched the sunrise from my window; I'm certainly not complaining.
I spent Monday afternoon pre-Walker wandering around "SoHo" (South Hollywood) and checking out some random markets over there. Two things that are quite popular here are dried seafood stores and herbal medicine stores, neither of which do I have any real interest in shopping in. But, they are kind of interesting--got a few shots of dried shark fins and what not that I thought might interest some of my cousins (!). Also managed to find the MALL. Wow! I've never enjoyed window shopping like I did that day! And I managed to find some great deals on shirts, which was amazing, because I was LITERALLY out of clean clothes and lacking in a game plan. Also in the Soho area is the Man Mo Temple. It's not too interesting to visit--very small, have taken up by shops, and very smoking from burning incense, but evidently it was behind the creation of the first school in Hong Kong as well as the first school for girls, so from a historical angle it was pretty interesting. I also read about some of the different community organizations that had been around for decades and what their role was in social change and advocacy. Many more signs here are in English, so I have a little more of a comprehensive idea of the symbolism of different attractions.
Tuesday we went to Lantau Island, and it was beautiful. It's actually larger than Hong Island, and only a half hour boat ride away. It's so green and undeveloped; mainly a site of fishing and Buddhist monasteries (two main ones). It's also the home of the largest Buddha statue in the world, which, incidently, has a beautiful view of the ocean. The Ngong Ping monestary (photo above) next door was also pretty interesting; on mainland China I had mainly seen only Confucius temples, so this was a good chance to see how they contrasted.
I also had a chance to check out the Chi Lin Nunnery, in North Eastern Hong Kong. It's a nice step away from the bustle of the city; its inner courtyard is well protected from the road, and the fountains of water pouring from dragons' mouths into ponds with lilies and lily pads are a soothing change of a scenery. They were also playing some amazing chants of some sort, which only richened the experience.
Today I explored Kowloon, a busy neighorhood in the central northern area of Hong Kong. There are market districts of sort, so I walked down Shanghai Street, which is supposed to give one a sense of old Hong Kong (it looked like every other street to me), then through the fruit market, into the jade market, and could have continued on to the floral market and goldfish market. Stopped by the Man Ming Temple, dedicated to the sea goddess and a frequent place of pilgrimage for sailors. No one really seemed to be there when I was there. I sort have wish I'd seen these temples at the beginning of my trip, because they are magnificent in their own right, but comparing a 100 year old temple to one that has withstood centuries and was the crowning masterpiece for an emporer is pretty difficult now. Also wandered through a park, made friends with a puppy that seemed to think I was the most likely person to play fetch (he may have been right). We get the paper delievered to our "doorstep" every morning, and I've been stealing the sudoku, so I sat in the park and worked on that for a bit. I love how there are always so many people hanging out outside; public spaces here seem much more used and loved than they do in many US cities.
Food here is very differently from Mainland cuisine, but it's growing on me. The other day I got a waffle with peanut butter and this sweet milk syrup; pretty amazing. The Portuguese influence is clear in their baked goods: little egg custards are quite popular, and many of desserts are much sweeter than the ones you find in Beijing or Shanghai. They also have this decadent drink called "shaved ice", but it's really shaved ice with condensed milk and fruit/whatever (I got red bean). Very sweet and very heavy.
I've also reached the point where if I'm offered chopsticks and a fork/knife, I'll take the chopsticks. Doesn't take long to become a Roman in this place.
Still working on our trip itinerary. I'll keep you posted about where we end up!
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