Dinner and a Show

Well it was more like lunch and a show, but cool either way!

At a mall close to campus, there is a market that sells fruit, meat and food. After lunch at the local mall, we headed over there to pick up some fruit to have in the room for later. As we wondered around the market, we came up to a fish stand.Tanks covered all the flat surfaces, each filled to the brim with different varieties of fish. While the fish in the tanks were alive, they definitely didn't leave the stand that way

As we walked past the stand someone decided that they wanted a fish, so we stopped to see the whole process. I'm sure many would have left, but the whole operation of getting the fish to the customer was so intriguing. To get the fish from the tank, the shop keeper just cornered a fish with a basket and pulled him out. After knocking the fish out, I was amazed at how smoothly she cleaned the fish and gutted it before giving the whole thing, head, scales and all to the customer in a bag. The best part however, was that the second shop keeper noticed that Izzy and I were watching and moved out of the way so we could see better and proceeded to watch us, amused that we were so enthralled with the operation.

It was an odd thing to watch, but so interesting at the same time, and the fact that no one even blinked an eye during the whole thing was just as great. There really isn't any importance to this, I just thought it was cool, so I'll talked to you all later.

Singapore

So, a little over a week ago, 3 friends (Catie, Jenna, and Pedro) and I decided to step outside Hong Kong and test the waters in Singapore. We spent 4 days experiencing what Singapore has to offer, and it was by no means long enough! I already can't wait to go back!

Our trip started crazy early (we got to the airport at 5am!) so we could make the most of our trip. So. after sleeping the entire 4 hour flight (I wasn't even awake for take-off and my friends are all amazed at how well I can fall asleep in any place) we landed in hot and sunny Singapore. We made our way to the lovely hotel (I still miss the bed I had there) before really starting our day.

The first real thing we wanted to do was have lunch, so we asked the hotel where a good place to get local food was and they directed us just down the street. Following their directions lead us to something reminiscent of an open warehouse. It was huge, with rows and rows and rows (we never saw how far it went down, but I made it to row 8) of permanent food stalls. They had a variety of local cuisine, from stir-fry, to noodles, to dumplings, and it all smelled delicious. Plus, there were fruit juice (fresh squeezed too!) with fruits like watermelon and starfruit that I wish were sold everywhere they were so good! It was a great start to the day!

After eating we headed over the Marina Bay, a scenic area of Singapore. It has several points of interest around the lake like area. First, and hardest to miss, is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, famous for its infinity pool at the top of the towers:

It is meant to look like a cruise ship at the top. We wanted to go to the top, just to see the views (the pool is restricted to guests only sadly) but you had to pay about 20 USD to get up there and we didn't want to do that. 

Another thing to see is a bridge that you take to walk the bay. It is a twisted metal walkway that is modeled after the double helix of DNA. 

Finally, is the mascot of Singapore, the Merlion (a mermaid lion combo). I have no idea how it came about (though I'm sure a Google search would tell me) and apparently they are all over (they sure do love to sell them as souvenirs) but it really is neat to see!

They love to take the Starbucks logo (because she too is a mermaid) and put this guy in her place and sell it on every souvenir ever (I totally have a tote bag with that on it). 

Though each sight was awesome on its own the big picture was beautiful as well!

We ended the day by going to the Gardens by the Bay to see some of the famous gardens at night. Not much was open so latte, but we did manage to have impeccable timing and walked up just as the holiday light show was beginning. We were serenaded by some holiday favorites from the Nutchracker, Frozen, and stars like Mariah Carey. 

It was a great first day, but day two was just as fun! We started the day a little late (we all wanted sleep!), but when we all were finally ready, we made our way back to the view above at marina bay to eat some pastries we bought and enjoy the morning view.  From there we headed to China Town to see how it compared to Hong Kong and to waste some time. It was all very similar, but I did pick up some beautiful raw stone necklaces and I got more of the delicious fruit drinks. 

From China Town we headed to an appointment we had at Breakout Games. They can be found all over the world, but Singapore is known for having lots of these. What it is, is that you pay 20 to get locked in a room. Though there is (thankfully) more to it than that. You pick a premise (we were magicians assistants who broke into the magicians home to take his tricks and managed to get locked in) and then throughout the room there are boxes to unlock and clues to figure out and other rooms to get into, all so you can figure out the combination to get you out of the rooms! You get 1 hour, but it took us 1 hour and 6 minutes. Mostly because we were crazy unorganized and lost everything we needed as some point. Also, none of us had ever done this before but we managed to pick the hardest premise to complete! No matter the troubles, we had so much fun!! I can't wait to try again (because there are some back by my college) and get a better time.

Sunday started with more exploring. We got a small snack at the local market before heading over to Little India to see what that was like. It was far different than China Town, and functioned more like a city than a market. There was less to do there, so after wondering through the city for a while, we found an Indian restaurant that seemed good, and had lunch there (my first Indian food and I love it)before moving on to see more exciting things.

Our next stop was back to the Gardens by the Bay, where more attractions were open, and we went into the flower dome and cloud forest, each beautiful in its own way.

Cloud forest:

waterfall in the dome

walkway above the waterfall, despite my fear of heights I did go up there

its a car made out of moss!

waterfall from the back, closer to the top

Flower Dome: this one was full of very pretty flowers, and decorations in preparation for Christmas

one of my favorite flowerr

the beginning of their Christmas decorations

From the gardens we headed to see what Arab street was all about. By this time it was rather late, so a lot of things were closed but there was a beautiful mosque at the beginning of the street

plus there were several carpet shops still open (not exciting) but they also sold some beautiful scarves (odd combo but far more exciting) and everyone, including Pedro (though for his mother) bought at least one! While wondering the street we found a restaurant that had a lot of people, so we thought it must be good, and we were right! We all had some delicious dishes we shared as well as some tasty sodas (hand made according to the server but who knows) and the whole meal came out to be like 5 USD a person and we were stuffed! I wish we had something like that back home!

Monday was sadly our last day,but we spent it having a blast at the Singapore Zoo!! They have the zoo set up so it is all free range-ish. Like the monkeys swing on ropes over the walk ways, and there was even a peacock walking wherever it wanted through the streets! Plus I got to ride an elephant, and feed some giraffes and some elephants!! It was an incredible day and I am totally not too old to enjoy this zoo!

this guy was right above me!

told you he was just walking in the streets!!

he was at waist level sitting on a feeding post

lizard just climbing on walls around the park

these bats were in a caged area that you could walk through so they would fly right over your head

these guys were in the same cage as ran right past you on the road

ditto, see above :)

Overall, these days in Singapore were in incredible! The city was so clean, and had a great mix of Western and Asian culture. There was so much to see and try that we never got the time to do, and I crave so much of the stuff and the places that were there. If I ever had to live outside of the US, this place would definitely be on the top of the list!

Sunrise Hike

One of the big things to do here is venture to Lantau Peak in the wee hours of the morning, to hike up a mountain to see the sunrise, so today, a group of us decided it was time for us to gain this experience.

The day started early, at 2:00 am, where I dressed and readied to catch the cab with my friends at 2:30. After about an hour taxi ride, we made it to the bottom of the peak.

We began our trek up the mountain side at 3:27 ( I remember the because we made it to the peak at exactly 5:27 which I though was rather incredible). It was nearly pitch black out when we started our way up, so I was very glad me and Izzy cam prepared with a flashlight each. The way up was a little steep, and high (which didn't really help with my fear of heights, but we all made it through ok. We took several stops along the way, to rest and enjoy what we could see of the view. One of the most amazing sights, which we were unable to capture in a photo because it was too dark, was the tip of a mountain peaking through the fog and haze of early morning, looking like it was just floating there in the sky. After two hours and a gazillion steps to the top (that is an exact number by the way), we finally made it, with about an hour to rest and eat before the sun came up. The four of us (me, Shane, Izzy and Catie) sat together resting and snacking on fruit and granola, taking in the view. I'm glad we went on a week day. The landing at the top, while spacious enough for the few small groups up there that morning, would have been over crowded should be have gone on a more reasonable day like a weekend. Thank goodness I had a friend warn us that it was cold, because I sure needed the sweatshirt and scarf I had with me!

Sadly the sky was cloudy as the sun rose, so we didn't get to see the blossoming of pink across the sky, but it made the sight no less incredible. From our vantage point, you could just see the Big Buddha in the distance, as well as the coastline and several cities that came into view as the day began. It was also incredible to see the fog roll down from the mountains to engulf the Buddha and towns in a thick layer.

the Buddha is that hazy figure almost directly in the middle of the photo

And this is him only a few hour later! I've never seen it empty, the whole place was unnerving 

After taking in our fill of the views, we made our way down the mountain on a path that was to take us right back to the Big Buddha. It was amazing to see the Buddha go from being a speck in the landscape to standing at the bottom of his steps in the empty town. The walk down was steep, so I took it slow, taking care for my knees, as the miles of stone steps were unforgiving. Along the way I nearly had a heart attack, and I had to pause to collect myself after seeing the most gruesome, largest ( the size of my hand at least) spindly spider hanging on its web over the path. The thought of it still makes me squirm and the pest will haunt my dreams for years! We finally made it to the end (after running my way under the spider) and made the trek back to school on the MTR.

We managed to get back at about 10:30 (so he had been up over 8 hours at this point) and got back while breakfast was still being served. So after a nice western breakfast and the greatest shower of my life to date. I laid in my bed, but refused to nap. I had meetings, and class(with a presentation) to do in less tan two hours and I was afraid if I went to sleep I'd never get up. I made it through the day alrigh,t a little sore and weak, and by the time class was over, I couldn't be more excited to pass out. My stone hard bed had never felt so inviting!

So here I am, after 5 hours of sleep looking back on the day in awe. I managed to do 16 hour of adventure and activity on less than 4 hours of sleep, and I couldn't be more glad that I took that hike this morning, Though I don't think I will be doing it again, it was definitely and adventure for the books!

Major Difference

I have just stumbled across one major difference between school here and school in the states- graduation. Today the campus flooded with graduates from last May to participate in their commencement ceremony. I guess here they have to wait 7 months to receive the actual diploma. In Hong Kong, they actually receive diploma when they walk on stage, instead of like back in the states where we just get an empty leather folder and the important paper comes in the mail a few weeks later.

They also love flowers and graduation bears here. When I say bouquets, I don't mean a small bundle, I mean boys and girls alike are walking around with Miss America like, toddler sized  bunches of flowers! These things are huge and they look heavy! They even have a stand selling them here.Along with the bouquets nearly every graduate is carrying a graduation bear. Not all of them are bears, though a majority of them are. Hello Kitty, Pikachu and many others I don't know join the fray.

It is so interesting to witness the differences in ceremony between the two cultures. Though graduation is much the same, seeing so many walk around months after graduation with all of these gifts was a fun sight to see :)

I had Visitors!

A week ago ( I can't believe its been that long ago, but at the same time it feel like ages since I've seen them) my parents made the 16 hour plane ride to Hong Kong to come experience the city I am falling in love with. So for their week long stay I got to play tour guide and I loved every bit of it!

They arrived late Wednesday night, so I didn't get to see them until lunch time the next day after my last class of the week. We started their time here with me getting us ridiculously lost because I couldn't remember what station to get off of for dim sum (it was the first stop we went to by the way so I totally could have avoided this whole debacle) but after nearly an hour of walking- I really just us wanted to walk off lunch... before we ate it,,, we finally made it to my and my friend's favorite dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan. It is really cheap and has a Michelin star so its fantastic. They are famous for their bbq pork buns (which we all love but I don't think my parents were a fan, they called it bbq wrapped in a donut). Other than trying those, I had my parents try a variety of dim sum dishes, and they must have liked it, because we went to a different dim sum restaurant later on in the week. After that we made our way back to my parents hotel, where my dad took a short rest and mom and I got to talk on the 40th floor of their building that had a really neat view of the Harbor:

From there we made our way to the harbor so they could see the views up close and walk some of the other attractions. We made our way down the Avenue of Stars, and watched the Symphony of Lights, and say a cool light display om the side of several buildings, ready for Christmas

From there we went to make our way to dinner, and we managed to find this tribute to William Shakespeare that was beautiful and had a very Mardigras feel

on the scroll were some quotes from a sonnet- which one, I can no longer remember. After taking some pictures in front of the statue we made our way down Nathan Street in search of dinner, instead we stumbled upon a beautiful roof top bar, called Eyebar that has incredible views of the harbor. So we got a table on the balcony and the three of us chatted for a few hours before we really went out to dinner.

Friday evening I had a Finance midterm so I didn't get to spend a ton of time with my parents that day but I did see them for a small adventure and lunch. A friend of mine, Pedro, very kindly lead us to a tailor on Nathan Street so my dad could get some custom made button ups, and so I could finally own a blazer that fit well. The man -Sam of Sam's Tailor- was very kind and had a variety of pictures of him with everyone from the Bushes, and Clintons,  several famous stars like Bruce Willis and the Jacksons all over the walls, showing that he had made suits for some very famous people. I've got my dads shirts, they only took a week and I will send them to him soon, and my blazer is still in the sewing process, but it looked very nice at my first fitting. After that and a delicious and fun lunch, Pedro and I headed back to school to study and my parents look a boat tour of the harbor on a traditional Chinese boat that they said was lovely.

Saturday was another adventure, I met my mother mid morning and together we went for coffee (even here Starbucks are everywhere) before heading back to met up with my dad for lunch at the same restaurant as the day before (I think that was my parents favorite place to eat from the entire trip) then later that night we made our way to Temple Street Market where my parents got to see me barter with shop keepers for goods and we all came away with souvenirs and gifts for my brother back home.At the market, we found an open air restaurant that had the most deliciously seasoned crab! Dad had the chili crab and mom and I shared the ginger one, but we were all nearly sucking on the shells for more of the flavor.

Sunday was an early start as we made our way to the Big Buddha. I took them on the same trip I did with my buddies here, starting with the gondola ride to the top. We got some beautiful pictures, and had a great time walking through the small town and up to the top of the Big Buddha. This time around the town was more colorful, with flags of every color placed throughout the town, and more interactive entertainment like cutouts for you to pose with your face in:

this time around we also made our way into the temple next to the Buddha and it was absolutely beautiful, with an ornate outside and a golden worship room

Monday I was unable to see my parents due to school (it is really getting in the way of my fun here!;) but mom and dad took the ferry to Macau to see the Vegas of Hong Kong. They said it was neat, but never played a hand since the minimum bet was $65 US!

For their final full day here in HK, I took them to the highest point of the island, The Peak. This time around I got to spend more than 5 minutes up there, and we even took the tram up with some incredible views:

From there we went all the way up to the 360 degree sky terrace, where, though it was hazy (as is incredibly common here) the view was still breath taking

We walked around,explored the malls up there, had dim sum for lunch and the headed back to the bottom. 

We ended my parents adventure with a trip to another market, this time, Ladies Market. Though a little more expensive, it is much larger, with a greater selection of merchandise.

The whole week with my parents was incredible! I loved being able to talk to them, and to once again see the sights I enjoy, plus I got to share them with people I love. The whole week was just what I wanted and I loved every minute of it. It was sad to see them go, but I have less than 6 weeks here left (saddening I know) so I will see them again soon!

If you have made it to the end of this rather long post, thanks and I will talk to you again soon!