Hong Kong Lovin'

So we just got into Hong Kong, China- and let me tell you, Hong Kong might as well go back to being its own country separate from China. It’s like day and night between the two. Hong Kong has its own flag, its own currency, and they speak Cantonese- not to mention the politics are a lot different. Hong Kong is very much like NYC. And at night- the skyline is absolutely stunning. Every night from 7-10 pm Hong Kong’s buildings put on a light show- its amazing!

In our pre-port the deans said that we would literally be inside the mall when we came into port- now clearly no ship is going to fit inside a mall! How ridiculous. But let me tell you, our ship was as close to being in that mall as anything. Our ship docked on port side, and instead of our usual gangway that brings us from 5^th deck to the ground- we had one of those airplane walkways attached to our ship- and we crossed through it, and literally the only way to get out of our ship was to go through the mall. Talk about marketing us to buy things! The mall was huge, and crazy expensive. The entire lower level was all for baby clothes with stores such as Burberry, and Louis Vuitton baby edition. Crazy! But trust me, after shopping in markets, you will have absolutely no desire to ever go to a mall again.

Kelsey and I decided to discover Hong Kong on our own. We had a list of things to do, and so we headed out. When we got off the ship and out of the mall- to our surprise HKG was decked out in Christmas galore. It was mostly pink and purple decorations, but none the less they had Christmas trees, music, snow globes, the whole 9 yards- it was awesome.  The thing about Hong Kong (HKG) is that we actually weren’t in HKG yet- the ship is technically in Kowloon. So we had to take a ferry to HKG, which cost the equivalent of 30 cents and takes 7 minutes, and it’s kind of fun! Once we got into HKG- everything looked so big and confusing- but in reality everything was much closer than the map insinuated.  Because Kelsey and I are not your average kids, our first stop was the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; for anyone in business, or invested in stocks like us, you’ll recognize that it is one of the most prominent stock exchanges in the world. I was a little disappointed to not see people in angry mobs screaming, shouting and cheering. In fact- everyone was in their seats- behind a computer, as cool as cucumbers. Nevertheless it was still awesome to be there. We then made our way to the Post Office- where go figure, the largest picture made from post card stamps in the world is! It was really neat. We were then on a mission to find a China favorite- Dim Sung to eat; and we were told that the 2^nd floor of city hall had the best restaurant, but we were warned to NOT go to the 1^st floor restaurant. Well- we thought it was weird to have a restaurant in city hall, but anything goes after all the countries we’ve been to. So up we went- when we got to the 2^nd floor, to our surprise, it was definitely a library. So we laughed it off and headed elsewhere.  From there we descended to Victoria Peak- where you can see the Hong Kong skyline. We rode a vernacular up, and let me tell you, this hill up was STEEP. You think San Diego is crazy?  Wait till you hit Hong Kong.  After getting some delicious Gelato and sherbet we rode down the vernacular and got off part way down (which was quite an experience) and went to go to the Zoo and Botanical gardens (where they have a vast amount of orchids).  After trekking through the zoo we decided we were pretty hungry, and both wanted to try some Chinese food, after all we were in China! So we head to the streets in search of Chinese food. During our search for food we encountered the largest escalator in the world (which was on our list of things to do but we couldn’t seem to find it). For some reason, Kelsey and I were definitely imagining a gigantically long escalator and it turns out we were walking along side it, and through it the entire time we were in search of Chinese food! Hahaha- well, this escalator is like a normal sized escalator, then a brief platform (so you can get off to the left or right), and then another escalator, followed by another platform, and so on- this goes on FOREVER. And it only goes in one direction. From 7am-12am it goes up, and from 12:01am-6:59am it goes down. Crazy! A lot of people on our trip apparently knew it was in HKG due to Scooby Doo- go figure, cartoons are educational for kids! So after an hour or so of searching for food Kelsey and I hit the restaurant streets. Unfortunately we found everything BUT Chinese food. There was food from Nepal, America, India, Vietnam, and 359348765 other places we had already been. Discouraged and starving we ended up going to a café and eating bread. To our dismay, after exiting the café and walking a matter of seconds- we came across China Town -_-. What were the chances?  Hahaha. We decided to head back to Kowloon to hit up the Space Museum. We got there, and it turns out Wednesdays are free admission days! What luck. And good thing- because it wasn’t that thrilling, it was all pretty much about America and their shuttle launches. Although we did get to do a “moon walk” activity which was pretty neat. We ended our night by shopping in the malls super-expensive grocery store, and headed back to the ship to see the light show. We had a crazy yet awesome day in good ol’ Hong Kong.

So the 2^nd day in HKG was when a majority of the ship was leaving to go on their trips to Beijing and the Great Wall and what not, so I woke up early and decided to travel alone. (Regardless of what the adults say in pre-port, I do this in every country and as long as you’re smart, and confident in what you’re doing, you will have no troubles). Here’s where my story gets a tad confusing. I took a ferry to Hong Kong to catch the 45 minute ferry to Lantau Island which hoists the world’s largest Buddha statue. Once on Lantau Island, I had to catch a bus to the Village on Stilts, and then another to the Buddha, and then take the cable car to catch the bus in order to get back to Hong Kong and take a taxi to Stanley market, to then take a bus back into Hong Kong, to catch the ferry back to Kowloon to get onto the ship. Woooo. That’s all, simple. So I got on the bus to head to the village on stilts (which worried me because I did not know the stop- only that it took around 40 minutes to get there- and I saw no village on stilts where we were driving). The Village on Stilts is literally behind the bus depot, and the dead last stop (for those of you interested). It was a fantastic little village and I got so much attention because I was literally the ONLY tourist there- with the exception of a group of Chinese school kids (who quite obviously fit in more than I did). Everyone was incredibly nice, and I spent about 2 hours roaming around (it’s not that big- but definitely interesting). Then I conveniently went to the bus depot and hopped on a bus to take me to the Giant Buddha. It was definitely a great experience, and it’s hard to explain- but definitely worth seeing, and free. I ended going on a walk on a “wisdom path” which took me to some strange village about an hour away from the Buddha- so I decided it would sensible of me to walk back towards the Buddha. From the Buddha I walked to the cable car, and rode back to where I could catch transportation off of the island. I met two tourists from Toronto, and the cutest couple from a “small” city in China which is about the size of America. They were all obsessed with me, my lawn gnome, and Semester at Sea, which made for a great cable car ride back. I was told I would need to take a  bus to catch a ferry back to HKG. But in fact Bus E11 takes you right from the cable cars to HKG. So I hopped on that bus and headed towards home.  I got off a stop near a different, but equally large mall- and got lost inside the mall several times, for about an hour or so. Including getting lost in both the parking garages. Once I got outside, I hailed a cab and asked if he knew where Stanley Market was. He, and I quote said only this; “I don’t speak English”, so I assumed he would let me out, and I would find a cab driver who could somewhat understand me. But instead, he started driving. Now I was told Stanley Market was in HKG and about a dollar or 2 to get there. WRONG. Stanley Market is in a town called Stanley (and when I first saw he brought me to Stanley I was freaked out because I thought I was in some random town, and not near the market), Stanley is where Stanley market is, and I highly recommend taking the bus, because instead of 100 HKD, you will only pay like 7 HKD (Which is a dollar, instead of $10 USD). Anyways, I saw a few SASer’s there, and felt better. Even though I was alone, I surely wasn’t completely alone in a sense.  After an hour or so of haggling, I hopped on a bus, made friends with 3 Swedish men in their 30’s , and went back to HKG. From there I walked from the HKG bus depot to the ferry, got on, and safely went home after a great but exhausting day. It definitely is refreshing to be on your own in a country; and I understand why people advise against it, but if you’re comfortable and confident, I suggest you do it. Definitely not the 1^st day in a port, or late at night, but any other time, yes.

My time in Hong Kong was nothing short of amazing, and I am surely leaving out 38972 things that happened.

The ship consisted of 100 passengers who were considered “in transit”- basically it meant we weren’t traveling independently in between HKG and Shanghai. For those of you whole are broke college students like me, or just don’t want to see the great wall, staying on the ship is actually a lot of fun.

We got catered to more so than usual. They had movies playing in the Union constantly, games, free massages, discounts on spa items, dance parties, karaoke, free snacks and soda, and most importantly, sit down fancy dinners!  I won’t go into great deal- because what happens on the ship in between HKG and Shanghai, stays on the ship with the 100 of us. :] It was indescribable, but worth it.

I had such a great time in the ship (although the sea was fairly harsh between HKG and Shanghai)