More on the Food....

So I pretty much love Asian food. Merely the fact that a main component of the food here is egg sells me. It's great. Sometimes I have eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (I actually did today). There is so much variety as well and I love variety (Those last two sentences sounded contradictory but they weren't meant to be!).

And the great thing about Hong Kong is taht it's such an international city that you can basically eat any kind of food you want if you go to the right restaurant. There's Indian, Japanese, Taiwanese, Italian, French, American, Korean, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Greek, and so many more. It's all there for the choosing of your tastebuds - whatever you want to eat, whenever you want to eat it. I'm sure you all know how happy food makes me so you can imagine the ecstacy I'm experiencing over here.

The prices, for the most part, are very inexpensive as well. For instance, yesterday Mike, Yichieh, and I ate at a restaurant close to campus. It's a pretty classy place and all 3 of us were filled up for about $94 HKD which is about $12 USD! Unbelieveable. Did I mention that we had just gotten back from the gym as well?

Anyway, my mouth has been experiencing quite a few delectable dishes and I'm excited to keep that up, especially since we'll be travelling to Vietnam this weekend! Travelling is having an addictive affect on me and I love it...

Amazed by the Mountains of God's Creation

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but from my dorm room window I have a partial view of a mountain. This mountain is called "Lion Rock". The first time I glimpsed after arriving here, I said to myself, "I am going to climb that mountain." Well today, that dream was realized.

I started out on a run (unfortunately my first since I've been here) with the intention of finding some sort of trail up the rock just to scope it out for future reference. I did find the main path up, thanks to the guidance of a friendly local who nevertheless didn't speak a mite bit of English, and started the ascent. I didn't actually intend to climb all the way up today but my stamina and sense of adventure kicked in, propelling me to the top. Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. From my perch on the very topmost boulder, I could see the entirety of Kowloon, most of Hong Kong Island across the water, far to the east and west, and some of the New Territories behind me. It was the most spectacular 360 degree view I have seen. If I had to return to the US tomorrow, I would feel completely satisfied with my trip. The views were literally breathtaking and I could feel my heart beating faster in my chest. It is my personal belief that mountains are God's greatest creation, for it is from their peaks that all of His handiwork can be seen. They have been and always will be my favorite geographic feature.

These types of experiences are what I live for.

The total trip from campus and then back to campus took me approximately 1 hour and 26 minutes. Every minute spent along the way was worth it. Next time I will be taking my camera and you will see why I have such a passion for climbing mountains.

Surf's Up!

So this past Sunday I went surfing...in Hong Kong! It was especially sweet because I didn't think I was going to be able to surf again until I returned to Malibu in January. Although the waves weren't as big as I would have liked, there were quite a few decent-sized ones. We'd heard word that the swells were supposed to be pretty flat but I was just so entranced with the notion that I was going surfing in Hong Kong, I didn't even care. I did catch enough waves that I lost track of the number, which is always a good sign. It was a day well spent in the end and more than just because of the surf.

We left campus around 11 and took the MTR east, south and then east again. Emerging into the bright sun from the network of trains below, we located the small bus with "Big Wave Bay Beach" printed on the back and hopped aboard. There were about 12 of us: 2 Australians, 3 Germans, 4-5 Americans, 1 Brazillian, 1 local student, and a guy from Finland, with several more joining later from France and the US. It was a great group.

We got to the beach around 1 and were surfing by 1:30. $50 HKD ...50! That's roughly $6.50 USD to rent a surfboard for an entire day. That much would give you about 20 minutes in the States! It was just too good to be true; but it wasn't. I definitely caught a good number of waves in a place that had the feel of a desert island. The beach backed up into a great, green, mountain range. Looking out from the beach over the ocean, I could see several islands of differring sizes, some that were just rocky hills jutting out of the water. And on the one side of the beach, the bank was very rocky and angled up steeply, eventually blending with green over-growth and then leveling off after a few hundred feet. On the level, was an estate, complete with a beautifully groomed lawn and mansion. It was picturesque to say the least.

We surfed for a time, ate lunch and then surfed some more. Earlier, we had seen a trail lined with steps that looked like an interesting climb. It was nearly 5 'o' clock and getting closer to the time for the sun to set over the mountains so we started up the (what we would later find to be) 1200+/- steps. At points along the trek upward, there were rest stops with benches and tables and temple-like coverings for roofs. And the views consisted of everything I described above, but you could see it all at once. Wow...so much natural beauty in the same place.

About half-way up the trail, there was a grouping of rocks that were just begging to be climbed on. You should have heard them. I will be posting pictures shortly.

After completing our descent, we returned the boards, had a bite to eat and then caught the bus to the MTR station. It was a day well spent, complete only after dining at a local Japanese restaurant and drinking some mango juice (mangoes and dragonfruit are now my two favorite fruits).

I will surf again, soon.

experience true HK (1)

Hong Kong is not a place that you should venture to just to see her main attractions like Victoria Peak, or stroll through and shop in her extravagant, "no exepense was spared" malls, or dine at one of her main fine restaurants. This is not the Hong Kong you must seek. Sure, you will do all of these things as I have along with countless other tourists. That these things are also part of Hong Kong is true.

But to truly know Hong Kong, is to experience it's subtleties. By this, I mean exploring the city on foot, sometimes walking down a side street that might look slightly uninviting, or browsing through the street markets that seem to snake on and on down the streets. Stop at a fressh fruit juice stand and purchase a refreshing cup of mango juice (my personal favorite!). I promise you won't regret it. And you have not experienced life's goodness until you have walked into one of the small bakeries that are here and there along the streets - mmmmhhhhmmmm....and cheap, too! You don't know what you're missing until you've had some of the fresh bread - of all varieties - or a pastry.

And when an Indian along the street in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) asks you if you want to buy a Rolex or "copy watch", take him up on his offer (make sure to use the "buddy system" just as a precaution, though). The copies are good quality and look very accurate. It is such an experience. After I bought my watch, I felt as though I had experienced something truly Hong Kong. It is quite an adrenaline rush, too!

The memory that I am fondest of so far on this trip is when I ate in an international cafe called the Shadowman Cyber Cafe (website). This international eatery served amazing food in a very clean shop at great prices. I felt as though I was a character in a novel. The ambience of the place was incredible. I felt totally immersed in Hong Kong. It's definitely someplace I will take my family when they come in November.

(to be continued...)

Typhoon!

Supposedly it's typhoon season here in Hong Kong and there has been a Level 1 alert posted around campus lately. I guess monsoon season has just ended only to be followed by typhoon season. It has started to rain more often, usually from the early morning until about lunch-time. Therefore, I bought a sweet "switch-blade" umbrella, meaning it pops open with the push of a button! It's pretty awesome.

Today it rained pretty much all day. Besides class and homework, I went to the gym with Yichieh and our friend Mike. It was a great workout.

I'll keep you posted on typhoon season...

Macau

Saturday was spent in Macau, another Special Administrative Region that didn't require an additional visa but did get our passports stamped several times (oh yea). Our group started out as 20, but by the end of the day it had been cut down to roughly 12. You win some you lose some, ya know?


We rode the MTR down to Central where we got off and walked dow to the ferry station. The plan was to take the TurboJet from Hong Kong Island to Macau. The TurboJet is basically an airplane on the water; the interior and accomodations reminded us of our trip over to Hong Kong from the States.

We had taken the 12:30 departure and arrived around 1:30. When we arrived, we basically chartered 2 mini-buses for the day for about $70 HK per person (about $9 US). First stop: Restaurante Fernando, supposedly a must dine Portugese place in the area. It was adjacent to a black sand beach as well.

It was worthy of the babble. Maybe I haven't had a lot of steak, but the steak, with eggs and potato wedges, was the most tender, mouth-watering piece of meat I have ever sunk my teeth into. I kid you not, it was culinary perfection as far as I was concerned.

From there we were bused to a temple that was tiered into the side of a steep hill. Much incense was burning and there were fireworks for sale, chinese firecrackers at that.

Then we went to blank blank....It overlooked a very European looking street and section of town. Although I've never been to Europe, it is what I would imagine a street would look like there.

The Macau Tower was next on the list of things to do. The Tower reminded us of Seattle's Space Needle and is 338 meters high - not too shabby. There was actually the opportunity to jump off it on a sort of vertical zipline but I opted to come back some other time to do it, as it was cloudy and dark already and would rather pay $600 HK (about $85 US) on a clear day to get the full experience.

We then went to the Sands Casino (gambling is a main thing that Macao is known for) and I blew about $100 HK ('bout 12 bucks) on the dollar slot machines. I really have no desire whatsoever to gamble anymore, unless I could learn how to count cards; then, I might be interested. Other than that, it seems pretty stupid and meaningless.

We took the TurboJet to Kowloon and got back to the dorms at about 1-1:30. We all had an enjoyable day and our passports are fuller for it - always a good thing. And I still have essentially 2 more days of weekend left (class: Tuesday-Thursday + 1 short class on Monday mornings; free time: Friday-Monday, baby!)

Macao: check!

First Week

So my first week with classes is over...Here are some highlights:

-Wednesday night I went to the track after hearing earlier that there would be a practice from 6:30-9:30. It was more like "open track" time, with student athletes from 3 local universities working out as well. Official practices don't begin until early November however, after the HKBU track meet, where the coach determines who will be on the team in the spring. I had a great work out regardless and was able to run some laps, hurdle, high jump, and throw the discus. Afterards I even played some futbol with the Europeans and some locals. I was sore on Thursday, to say the least. I'm looking forward to getting back into track shape.

-After waking up late in the morning on Thursday and going to class all afternoon, I went to the International Students Welcome Night/Dinner. If anything, I made a few more friends. Later that night, a few of my classmates and I went to the Night Market (basically an area in Kowloon where you can get anything and everything VERY inexpensively). Suffice it to say that I spent about $15-20 when I would have paid about 5-6 times that in the U.S.

-I spent Friday morning working on writing an article for a non-profit real estate investing club in the Nashville area, to be published in their monthly newsletter. Before leaving the States, I had done some interviews and was now typing up some drafts.

In the afternoon and evening, I went to Mongkok to pick up my passport and visas for mainland China and then bought some Oakleys (wink wink) in the market there. That night, some friends and I dined at the Spaghetti House. Hit the sack earlier that night in preparation for Macau on Saturday.

Photo Section:

Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, Dies

A tragedy occured Monday in Australia as Steve Irwin, aka The Crocodile Hunter, was stabbed in the chest by a stingray while filming for an upcoming documentary. Apparently, he was swimming through the water and passed over the sting ray; the barb hit him directly in the heart and his death was almost instantaneous.

I just thought I'd post this in my blog because his death is such a tragedy, not only for the outdoor/wildlife/environmental community. He was a father as well, to an 8-year-old daughter and a son who was almost 3. So disheartening...

Here are some links to some articles and videos regarding the story: http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5365009, http://kutv.com/entertainment/entertainment_story_248063855.html

Pray for his family and those close to him.

Classes have begun

Well, I had my first class from 8:30-9:20 today and that was that. It was good to ease back into the school scene slowly. The main difficulty I think I'll have is understanding the professor who is originally from mainland China. He will be using a fair amount of PowerPoint slides so that should help a lot. That was Financial Management, one of three business courses that I will be taking while I'm over here.

The rest of the day was spent absorbing the culture and just exploring all over, this time more on Hong Kong Island in the Wan Chai section. It still hasn't gotten old at all. We went to the Time Square of Hong Kong, various shops and markets, a delicious bakery (establishments almost worthy of a separate blog entry), and then rode back to campus on the MTR (basically a super efficient, much cleaner, Subway).

4 hours of class tomorrow...

Hong Kong Island: The City of the World....

I am taken aback. Words like "wow", "amazing", "unbelievable", etc, are all I can muster. We are in the heart of Hong Kong Island and I honestly did not know that it was possible to be in love with a city this much!

We are on a day long bus tour of the main island and have just left our first stop, which consisted of wandering around a large market by the ocean, relaxing on the beach, and eating lunch. The restaurant we ate lunch at did not have a single Asian selection on the menu and was blasting AC/DC and The Rolling Stones for the extent of our stay! Other than that, I'm still in Hong Kong, right? At times, I cannot get my head around how Americanized it is.

Our next stop was outside a massive convention center by the water in the heart of the city.
We were only there for a short time before we got back in the coach and took off for Victoria Peak, one of the highest points in the city rising right above the city, with panoramic views of the Kowloon Peninsula and Victoria Harbour. The views were breathtaking... the city is so beautiful and alive and gigantic. From the observatory area at the top, I could see everything.


I'll let these pictures speak in place of my words on the page...


yeah, this is where I'll be living for the next 4 months, baby


Blair, and Bonnie, my co-RA.


Hong Kong night scene; photograph by Mike Simon
...and some great green foliage...



I just couldn't resist,....Run, Forest, run!


Nightscape; by me


....expect more to come, both words and photos.