I reveled in two days of relaxation and recovery on the ship traveling between Shanghai and Hong Kong. There weren’t any classes because many people were traveling independently between the cities, so the people on the ship were treated to movie marathons, sit-down dinners, and quiet. It was really nice—I watched virtually an entire season of Glee, worked out in a nearly empty gym, and played piano.
We arrived in Hong Kong Sunday morning and were allowed to disembark around nine. As usual, the port where we were docked was completely different than the other ones we had been. We docked literally right outside of a mall. This mall also happened to have free wireless internet, which explains how I was able to upload pictures on my blog J
I had contacted my friend Alex from U21 while on the ship because I remembered that he lived in Hong Kong. My friends Margalit and Misha and I met up with him and another U21er, Samantha, at ten. I was so thankful to have him introduce the city to us because I really did not have an idea of what to see.
We walked around some of the streets of Hong Kong, and decided to stop at the history museum before lunch. It was great seeing and reading the exhibits and then asking Alex and Samantha more about what happened. We learned a lot about indigenous peoples of Hong Kong that I had no idea about and also read up on Hong Kong’s colonial history. The museum confirmed for me what I had already begun to see on the streets, that Hong Kong was much more international than Shanghai.
We lunched in a nearby restaurant with lots of other families. Samantha said that it was customary for families to go out to eat on Sunday for lunch, which reminded me of the similar tradition in the states. We ordered dim sum, which is basically an array of appetizers. Alex and Samantha helped us make choices, and everything was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the Chinese pancake, which was chewy because of the rice, crunchy because of sesame seeds, and crispy because of the fried exterior. I also really liked the pork and shrimp dumplings and all of the mango desserts. For some reason people in Hong Kong are really into mangos. I also tried duck feet, which was difficult because it was mostly bone. It was okay, but to tell the truth I couldn’t really get over the chewyness of the cartilage. And the fact that I was actually eating duck feet.
Full from a delicious lunch, we headed to the Star Ferry so we could get to Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong is made up of the Kowloon Peninsula, where we were docked, several islands, and the New Territories, which is north of the Peninsula and borders southern China. To get to the ferry, we walked on the Avenue of Stars, which mirrors the one in Hollywood. It also had a fantastic view of the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island since it was right near the water. We saw the star for Jackie Chan and there was a little Asian boy putting his hands in the imprints. Have I mentioned that Asian children are adorable?
We took the ferry across, a mere 2 Hong Kong dollars (equivalent to about a quarter) and headed to the world’s longest outdoor escalator in the world. About half way up, we ran into the librarian for Semester at Sea eating at a café right next to the escalator. He was eating fish and chips and his wife had opted for a burger. You really could find any type of food you wanted in the area bordering the escalator, and we couldn’t really blame them for wanting some good quality Western food, although we couldn’t let it pass without commenting on it.
Once at the top we took a taxi back the bottom and then took a two-decker tram to the Western Market. It was a brick building that used to be a train station I believe, and had a gorgeous restaurant area that unfortunately was closed to visitors, so we could only peek in from the entrance. We took the ferry back to Kowloon Peninsula and visited a long street crowded with stalls. There were so many stalls that there were three passageways to walk down the street; one in the middle bordered on both sides with stalls and two on the edges similarly arranged. As it started to get dark the city lit up—neon signs were everywhere. I would say that Hong Kong was similar to Shanghai in the density of people, but it is more orderly and cleaner. Best of all, it had sit down toilets!
We ate dinner at an outside vendor. This time Alex ordered some sort of crustacean that had everything still in place, including exoskeleton, head, and legs. It was a tricky business getting to the actual meat, but when I finally did it was pretty tasty. Then I had a traditional dish which was cooked in a clay pot and consisted of rice and pork. I enjoyed the rice, but the meat had a strange flavor, almost like licorice.
We looked at teapots and cups to take as souvenirs, but Alex and Samantha insisted that the price the vendors asked was too high and said they would bring some from their homes the next night. Although we protested, saying it was silly for them to make the hour or so trip to our ship, they wouldn’t hear of it. So we left the night market to go back to our ship for bed, and bid our fabulous guides farewell.
The next morning Margalit and I decided to go to Lantau Island to see the largest bronze Buddha in the world. We took a cable ca with a clear glass bottom from one side of the island to the other. The cable car route left the city and went into the exterior up over lush green mountains. Soon, we couldn’t imagine that we had just left urbanization. Although Hong Kong is known for its metropolis, forty percent of its land is protected, which makes it a popular spot for Japanese to go hiking, according to Alex. It was a foggy day, so we couldn’t see too much from the cable car in terms of distance. Instead, things appeared out of the clouds like magic. Near the end of the ride, we saw the Buddha, perched on top of the hill surrounded by fog.
The cable car dropped us off at the touristy Ngong Ping village that had lots of overpriced shops we had to walk past to get to the Tian Tan Buddha. Finally, we got to the steps that led to the Buddha; I think it was something like fifteen stories worth of stairs. We got to the top and got great views of the village and mountains, at least until the fog enveloped them. The Buddha really was massive, and it loomed over the area with omnipresent power.
We went back down the stairs and visited a nearby monastery. It was beautiful, with a gold painted roof and wooden walls. Incense was everywhere, and I saw several people praying. I was also impressed by the amount of flowers, fruit, and other offerings surrounding the monastery.
After the monastery we decided to walk on the Wisdom Path to see where it went. It ended up in this awesome series of pillars made up of halves of logs with Chinese characters inscribed on them. They were arranged in a figure eight pattern to represent infinity or eternity. With the fogginess of the day, the pillars looked absolutely mystical. We found a path that looked like it led up a mountain and decided to hike up it. Soon, we were so deep into the cloud that we could feel the mist on our skin and couldn’t see more than twenty feet around us. Everything below and above us was white. It reminded me of hiking Whiteface in the Adirondacks, except much warmer. The trail itself consisted almost entirely of stone steps. We hiked for a better part of an hour before realizing that it was silly to keep going if we couldn’t even partially see the top of the mountain. However, we did not feel defeated by not conquering the mountain; instead we were amazed that we were hiking in Hong Kong with such an incredible atmosphere. While we were heading down, we began to hear singing monks through the fog. Then, as if by magic, the fog suddenly lifted and granted us two minutes of incredible vistas. Everything was so green… I was so happy about this simple fact after being in cities for so long.
We finished retracing our steps, took the Wisdom Path back to the village, and returned by cable car to the city. The cable car on the way back was even cloudier than the way in; at some points we couldn’t even see the car right in front of us. Then we took the metro back to the ship, and had dinner there.
After dinner, I went with a friend to Victoria Peak to see the Hong Kong skyline at night from a higher vantage point. To get to the top, we took a tram that seemed almost like a roller coaster when it’s going up the track because it was so steep. The buildings looked like they were at a 45 degree angle, and I had to consciously hold up my head.
Once at the top we were greeted with a Hong Kong favorite: a shopping mall. However, we soon found a quieter path from which to enjoy the views, and they were spectacular. All of the buildings were lit up, and they looked peaceful from above. We got ice cream (I had been craving mint chocolate for SO LONG and it was SO DELICIOUOS), looked at the view, and talked.
We headed back to the ship to meet Alex and Samantha at ten. They gave us exquisite gifts, and we really couldn’t thank them enough. We talked until after eleven, by which I was exhausted so went to bed shortly after.
After two full, successful days in Hong Kong, I decided to catch up with friends, family, and Facebook and utilize the free wi-fi. In the afternoon, I went with two friends to a local shop that sold camera equipment because one of them wanted a new lens. I spent my remaining money on a pretty red Chinese style shirt and a mango pudding, and couldn’t have been happier.
