I'm Back!

Well, I finally have my computer backup and running! It took two malls, a Google search and directions from a shopkeeper to find the store that would sell me the charger, but I finally have it! So now I can catch you up on my week!

A great day (and really the only good day of orientation) was the Baptist University funded tour of Hong Kong!

The trip started off at Wong Tai Sin Temple. It is a temple close to the school on the Kowloon Peninsula where worshipers go to pray for good fortune and luck. It was a beautiful temple guarded by a male and female dragon (which you can rub for extra luck!). The whole thing was incredibly ornate, with animals (each having a different meaning for luck) covering the roofs and pillars throughout the entire temple and surrounding buildings. Worshipers filled it with burning incense, sacrifices and food to the spirits, and while they smelled good, it caused a ton of smoke everywhere and made for foggy pictures.Then, to finish off the tour there was a beautiful garden in the back.

the entrance to the entire temple area

the female dragon with her baby

entry to the temple

inside the temple. In the middle is where the worshipers pray

a shrine for the God of luck (or money, I can't really remember)

The outside of the main temple, this contains the shrine for Wong Tai Sin. The outside area was beautifully ornate, but going into the temple was reserved only for members of the church so we were unable to get pictures of the shrine for Wong Tai Sin.

a smaller side temple

lotus flower Fountain

the pool in the garden with a dragon statue 

After about half an hour at the temple, we departed for the Jumbo Floating Restaurant for a traditional dim sum lunch. To get to the restaurant (because it is located out in the channel) we took a colorful boat  past a crazy amount of million dollar Yachts (including one owned by the richest man in Hong Kong. We were told that there were so many yachts because apparently Hong Kong has more millionaires per capita than any other area). Then after a short boat ride, we encountered dragons twisted up pillars, greeting us as we entered another ornate building (look at the third picture down). We ate at the top floor of the restaurant (it only has 3 floors, but still had some cool views of the water).The food was really delicious (which it should be because I was told it is a very expensive place to eat, thank goodness the school paid) and we got a ton of it! Plus, they had the option to take pictures in traditional Chinese dress in a throne scene for a few bucks and that was fun to watch groups dress and pose for.

the dock to the restaurant

 here you can see both the restaurant and (in the bottom left corner) the boat we take to get to the restaurant.

this is a cool statue that greeted you as you got off the boat and walked into the restaurant. 

From this delicious lunch we moved to Stanley market, a huge street market on the far side of the Hong Kong Island. To get there we had to drive in this huge tunnel that ran under the channel (which I want to know how they make) and then past some incredible coast lines, that literally took my breath away, that I can't wait to revisit (plus we apparently passed an old house of Jackie Chan)! When we arrived at this market, it was streets, upon streets, upon buildings of little shops and stores. What I really loved though was that after a few turns (and of course some shopping) we came to this beautiful view:

We spent most of the trip looking at this view (at the happiness of my wallet) and really had to pull ourselves away from it to make the bus so we could travel to our final destination, The Peak.

The Peak was incredible! It is the highest view point on the Island and boy did the views show it.

I can't wait to go back when there aren't 217 exchange students to fight for good picture taking spots. Plus, there is a restaurant up there that, with reservations, you can get a table by the widow and eat meals while staring at this beautiful view!

While the day was incredible and really helped me plan future trips, by the end of it everyone was so tired, plus we started school the next day (boooo) so we needed the time to get everything together for the next day! Hopefully school will go well and I'll be able to understand all my teachers:)

A fabulous end to the day was the news from my parents that they are coming to visit me for a week! I'm excited to see them and show them the city that is constantly giving me reasons to love it!

I'll talk to you soon and tell you about my next adventures!