Hong Kong Recap

I have just flown back from Hong Kong the jetlag has totally messed up my sleeping schedule. Anyway, Hong Kong is a very magnificent city, it is so built up, there are high rises and skyscrapers everywhere you look. The infrastructure of the city is all very new, for example there subway* system has glass sliding doors on the entry ramps to the train to prevent people from falling onto the tracks.
A little side note here, in Hong Kong there subway system is called the metro. They use the term subway to describe an underground tunnel for people to use walk under to cross streets.
The food seemed much more westernized in Hong Kong than in Taiwan. Unfortunately, we were not provided with such a large amount of meals as we were in Taiwan. This is where I spent a lot of my money on the trip. Hong Kong is a very expensive city. I did get the chance to by my food at some authentic restaurants, but I also had the chance to go to McDonalds a lot (about 4 times in one week). I probably went there so often because I was starting to miss western food and also because I was sort of getting sick of eating Chinese food. But, all the food on this trip was pretty good my top three favorites being:

1. Bacon wrapped strawberries (In Taiwan near the strawberry fields)
2. Fried Calamari (In Hong Kong at Lamma island)
3. Lettuce wraps (In Taiwan at the restaurant we ate dinner with the president of NCTU)

Moving back to Hong Kong, much more people speak English there than they do in Taiwan. Pretty much all of the signs are also in English, so it is pretty easy to get around (although it is sometimes easy to get lost in one of the many malls of Hong Kong, the mall called Festive Walk had about 10 stories {another side note about that mall is that CityU connects directly into that mall via underground tunnel, which seems kind of crazy to me, I guess it makes things a little to convenient})
There are lots of malls in Hong Kong, in addition to the multiple marketplaces on the streets. Hong Kong is a very capitalist city, even more capitalist than a few American cities. If there was any city in the world which would change China from a communist society to a capitalist society, it would definitely be Hong Kong. It will be interesting to see how mainland China and Hong Kong affect each other in the fifty years until the eventual turnover of the city to China. Will China change Hong Kong or will it be the other way around?
The universities in Hong Kong are very nice. Both of them have beneficial locations. You can have the calm atmosphere of HKUST whish is sort of secluded from the city at a very scenic location on the hills overlooking the bay (this university had the nicest looking campus, as well as the best view from the dormitories). You can also have the convenience of CityU, which is right in the middle of the city, allowing you to just walk a few steps to get to the subway to get anywhere or anything you need in just a few minutes.
Comparing the two colleges, I think HKUST may offer more classes in English and have newer facilities, while CityU is larger and is a bit more convenient. But other than that, the two universities are pretty much the same, you can get a good education not matter which one you choose to go to.
Here’s a few last things about Hong Kong: The night markets are not as crowded as Taiwan. The Big Buddha and the gondola ride is a very spectacular site. Lamma island is a fun place to go, but go during the day, and don’t go to the Rainbow Restaurant (they cost to much), go to Tai Yuen Sharksfin Seafood Restaurant. When at Victoria peak, you may think that it is fog in the distance, but it is actually smog,…cough…cough…

Total trip statistics
28 AA Batteries used
741 Pictures taken
4 Trips to McDonalds
+30 hours ridding on planes
$198 spent on souvenirs and food
2 very fun weeks in Taiwan and Hong Kong