Hong Kong Days 1 and 2

After arriving in Hong Kong around 12:00 pm, the group took a bus to the guest house where we would be staying for the duration of our stay in Hong Kong, we several students from the City University. They showed us where the MTR station was and most people got an octopus card. It is a card that you load money on to and use it to quickly access the rail system. Furthermore, it saves you 20% on the rail cost. The first thing I did was explore the shopping district. There are so many people here that cars have a hard time moving down the streets where there are alot of shops. I ate dinner at the most upscale pizza hut that I have every been to; they even had escargo on the menu! After that, a group of us wandered the streets and the shops looking for deals and bargains. I got some souvenirs for my friends. We took the super efficient and cheap train back to the international house after we all had enough of shopping.

Day two was our tour day. The first stop was a very old Taoist temple in the center of H0ng Kong. The second stop was the scenic Victoria Peak. We rode a 100 year old Tram car to the top of it. The view was great, but somewhat obstructed by the heavy pollution in the city. I was also disappointed that the top was basically one big shopping mall. After that, we journeyed to a super rich section of Hong Kong. Land cost 10,000-22,000 HKD per square foot! We also learned the importance of Fung Sheew in building design. Lunch was a traditional dim sum (dumpling) meal. I took a nap next to the ocean before we departed for the old Aberdeen Fishing Village. We took a boat tour around the harbor to see the traditional boats and homes of fisherman living and working in the Hong Kong area. After that we visited a prominent jewelry factory in the quickly shrinking Industrial district in Hong Kong. Overall, the tour was fun, but it was center more around shopping than leaning about the Hong Kong. At night, three of us went down town to see the light show. However one member "got lost" going to the bathroom and never came back. Two of us crossed the harbor looking for him and ended up not seeing the complete light show over Victoria Harbor. My atm card was retained when I tried to take money out, and we got lost in the train station on the way back and ended up wandering around for an hour before we found our way home. It was one of the most disappointing and frustrating days on the trip, but it was still better than being at school!