Wednesday, November 25
Tuesday, November 24
Old News about Tailgating, Temple St.
Found this on my thumbdrive—it’s a blog post I typed at school and never posted (now about three weeks old):
A week ago Friday Tripp and I met for dinner on Temple Street. This is one of our favorite places in Hong Kong because the atmosphere is so unique. The Temple Street market is known for selling a smorgasbord of cheap clothes, fake DVD’s, jade, souvenirs, faulty electronics, at cheesy gifts at a premium price. It is definitely touristy, but the outdoor restaurants on all the surrounding street corners are quite authentic. The red tents light up the sky so it feels like it could be daytime once you’re under the merchant’s tarps. We passed a Chinese man yelling at people passing by to come eat at his restaurant. We took him up and sat at a rickety table with plastic stools after checking that the leaking air conditioners from the flats above would not be dripping on our food. I had a decent egg and prawn dish and Tripp had a disappointing beef and pepper plate, but we were really there to soak in the surroundings, anyways.
There were a remarkable number of Thai brides around, a recent discovery in my little world. I never encountered this phenomenon until I came to Hong Kong. A very young, beautiful foreign bride with generally little English knowledge married to a Western man. Often, Tripp and I will watch these couples interact because there can’t be a lot of verbal communication. I cannot speak for individual cases, but my limited Googling research makes it appear these women are highly motivated to find an older Western man to provide an escape from an impoverished background.
We wandered through the stalls, browsing old Chinese coins and tacky T-shirts, stopping to buy yall gifts and trinkets.
The Temple St. fortune tellers are semi-famous here. We didn’t have our palms read, but on a previous solo adventure to Temple Street, I sat in the tent with an ancient Chinese man to see what the future would hold. He opened his birdcage and a little bird picked my fortune from a stack of envelopes (the bit with the bird was very cool but the fortune was applicable to anyone passing by his booth).
Saturday I assisted Liza with her school’s Open Day, where the kids either curiously pointed their fingers at the new white girl or just called me “Miss Liza” as well. We were pretty much worn out after a full day entertaining kids and their parents, but that did not stop us from hosting a proper American football tailgate that night! Granted, it was held in a 500 square ft. apartment with no live band, fried chicken, boiled peanuts… or even a game! The USC/Arkansas game would have aired at one a.m. our time. So we did our best with what we had. We cleaned the apartment and set out a yummy dip Liza made—hot sausage, sweet chili sauce, and cream cheese! Yum! No Fritos here, so some off brand Ritz crackers worked instead. Tripp fired up the pull behind grill on the truck—I mean turned on the two eye stovetop—and made his mom’s amazing brats with peppers and onions. Everyone that came brought a dish to share, so we ended up with an array of chips, dip, fruit, cookies, and crackers! Basically I ate a ton, but isn’t that what we would do at a tailgate at home anyways?
A week ago Friday Tripp and I met for dinner on Temple Street. This is one of our favorite places in Hong Kong because the atmosphere is so unique. The Temple Street market is known for selling a smorgasbord of cheap clothes, fake DVD’s, jade, souvenirs, faulty electronics, at cheesy gifts at a premium price. It is definitely touristy, but the outdoor restaurants on all the surrounding street corners are quite authentic. The red tents light up the sky so it feels like it could be daytime once you’re under the merchant’s tarps. We passed a Chinese man yelling at people passing by to come eat at his restaurant. We took him up and sat at a rickety table with plastic stools after checking that the leaking air conditioners from the flats above would not be dripping on our food. I had a decent egg and prawn dish and Tripp had a disappointing beef and pepper plate, but we were really there to soak in the surroundings, anyways.
There were a remarkable number of Thai brides around, a recent discovery in my little world. I never encountered this phenomenon until I came to Hong Kong. A very young, beautiful foreign bride with generally little English knowledge married to a Western man. Often, Tripp and I will watch these couples interact because there can’t be a lot of verbal communication. I cannot speak for individual cases, but my limited Googling research makes it appear these women are highly motivated to find an older Western man to provide an escape from an impoverished background.
We wandered through the stalls, browsing old Chinese coins and tacky T-shirts, stopping to buy yall gifts and trinkets.
The Temple St. fortune tellers are semi-famous here. We didn’t have our palms read, but on a previous solo adventure to Temple Street, I sat in the tent with an ancient Chinese man to see what the future would hold. He opened his birdcage and a little bird picked my fortune from a stack of envelopes (the bit with the bird was very cool but the fortune was applicable to anyone passing by his booth).
Saturday I assisted Liza with her school’s Open Day, where the kids either curiously pointed their fingers at the new white girl or just called me “Miss Liza” as well. We were pretty much worn out after a full day entertaining kids and their parents, but that did not stop us from hosting a proper American football tailgate that night! Granted, it was held in a 500 square ft. apartment with no live band, fried chicken, boiled peanuts… or even a game! The USC/Arkansas game would have aired at one a.m. our time. So we did our best with what we had. We cleaned the apartment and set out a yummy dip Liza made—hot sausage, sweet chili sauce, and cream cheese! Yum! No Fritos here, so some off brand Ritz crackers worked instead. Tripp fired up the pull behind grill on the truck—I mean turned on the two eye stovetop—and made his mom’s amazing brats with peppers and onions. Everyone that came brought a dish to share, so we ended up with an array of chips, dip, fruit, cookies, and crackers! Basically I ate a ton, but isn’t that what we would do at a tailgate at home anyways?
Monday, November 23
HIKE
Hey Hey. Ok these are some of our photos from the our hike yesterday. TIME magazine once write that this is the "most beautiful urban hike in the world." really they weren't far off. The views were absolutly amazing, and the air was crisp (a nice change from the norm.) What you can see in the backgroud are different shots of the Pearl River Delta and the South China Sea. The walk only took about and hour, and once you got to the top the only sounds you could hear was the gusts of the wind. We took a little break at the top, and just listened and snapped these photos.
Saturday, November 21
A Christmas Carol
Have you seen A Christmas Carol in 3D yet?? You gotta go! We went Thursday night and it was worth every penny of the ticket cost (we could have a bunch of pirated at-home movie nights instead!). It was at Elements mall right on the harbor, which was cool in itself because the place is so upscale. It puts any of the big malls I get so excited about going to at home to shame. The place is grouped into five zones themed after the five Chinese elements-- water, fire, metal, earth, and wood. It was fun to window shop the sparkly holiday displays at Cartier, Tiffany, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci, Prada, and Versace, instead of the guy dressing up as Santa Claus outside Claire's and Abercrombie. Saw my first DVF store-- very cool. Every pricey makeup brand you see in the fashion magazines had gorgeous modern studios instead of a little counter. My eyes were opened to a whole new level of wealth by seeing this place. There were loads of great restaurants to try-- I had my eye on Olive, a Mediterranean tapas place-- but time before the movie started prevented a leisurely dinner. As luck would have it, threesixty, a Whole Foods/earth fare-esque organic grocery store had a food court inside the market. We chose burgers (the least healthy option!) and wolfed them on the way to the cinema. Really a great movie; this was my first 3D movie experience besides IMAX, so the novelty of it helps. Left the place feeling more full of the Christmas spirit than ever! Go Tigers, Beat VA!
Wednesday, November 18
Tian Tan Buddha
Sunday we ventured to Lantau Island, home of Hong Kong Disneyland, the international airport, and Big Buddha. We came for the latter, and it was my first time on the island since our arrival mid-August. It is situated right near the Po Lin monastery. Some budding entrepreneur has made a fortune off the religious statue, creating a cable car system to take tourists up the mountain and charging high prices. We went for the “Crystal Cabin”, the glass bottomed one, so you could look at your feet and see the Tung Chung bay, South China Sea, and the mountains beneath you.
As you head up the incline, the silhouette of Big Buddha stands out against the mountain range. The Buddha is 110 ft tall and weighs 250 metric tons. It was overcast and threatening rain, but I am so glad we picked that day to go because it cleared up to be one of the prettiest days we’ve had yet. The clouds broke and we saw the first true blue sky we have seen in over three months. We enjoyed the blue skies and white clouds, and once the sun set were able to actually see a couple of stars! (Too bad we missed the Leonid meteor shower though!) Since Lantau is removed from the city center, the smog and air pollution is not noticeable.
We got off at the top, where that same smart business guy that owns Ngong Ping Cable Car has erected a quaint Chinese style village in the midst of the mountains and natural parks. There were plenty of places for visitors to spend their money—a European deli, noodle café, tea house, and souvenier shops, but Tripp and I had another destination planned. First we stopped for a caffeine jolt at Starbucks (of course there was one)! They were playing Christmas carols and serving gingerbread cookies and holiday drinks. It got the holiday season started for me and made me even more excited about seeing everyone back home in a five weeks!
We moved ahead to the Po Lin monastery. The temples and statues are ornate and colorful. Intense smoke filled the courtyard air, because Buddhist visitors would throw burning sticks of incense into these urns that look like water wells, in memory of loved ones. It was very cultural and eye-opening to watch.
The monks run a vegetarian restaurant I had been anxious to try. I heard they grow the veggies on site themselves, so you get to eat the fruits of their labor. Don’t know if this rumour holds any merit. Sunday’s meal consisted of Chinese red tea, potato soup, a pot of steamed rice, beancurd and veggie mix, and a tofu & green pea dish, which was my favorite. The Buddhist symbol seen everywhere looks identical to the swastika Nazi Germany used, so it was weird dining in a place decorated with it. Overall the flavors were foreign to the two of us, and we were glad to donate the price of the ticket to the monastery but not too crazy about the lunch.
After touring the grounds and stopping to pose in pictures with monks, we climbed 268steps to reach the Buddha. I thought it was an ancient statue built long ago, but it actually was only completed in 1993. It is a massive statue, and was really cool to see in person. The view from the back of the Buddha overlooking the sea is incredible from that height, as well.
Afterwards we trekked on over to the Wisdom Path, which was unbelivably gorgeous as the sun set. After waiting ages in the line, we cablecar-ed it down the mountain and ate Indian curry and naan for dinner. Wish I could describe the whole thing better. Fantastic day.
As you head up the incline, the silhouette of Big Buddha stands out against the mountain range. The Buddha is 110 ft tall and weighs 250 metric tons. It was overcast and threatening rain, but I am so glad we picked that day to go because it cleared up to be one of the prettiest days we’ve had yet. The clouds broke and we saw the first true blue sky we have seen in over three months. We enjoyed the blue skies and white clouds, and once the sun set were able to actually see a couple of stars! (Too bad we missed the Leonid meteor shower though!) Since Lantau is removed from the city center, the smog and air pollution is not noticeable.
We got off at the top, where that same smart business guy that owns Ngong Ping Cable Car has erected a quaint Chinese style village in the midst of the mountains and natural parks. There were plenty of places for visitors to spend their money—a European deli, noodle café, tea house, and souvenier shops, but Tripp and I had another destination planned. First we stopped for a caffeine jolt at Starbucks (of course there was one)! They were playing Christmas carols and serving gingerbread cookies and holiday drinks. It got the holiday season started for me and made me even more excited about seeing everyone back home in a five weeks!
We moved ahead to the Po Lin monastery. The temples and statues are ornate and colorful. Intense smoke filled the courtyard air, because Buddhist visitors would throw burning sticks of incense into these urns that look like water wells, in memory of loved ones. It was very cultural and eye-opening to watch.
The monks run a vegetarian restaurant I had been anxious to try. I heard they grow the veggies on site themselves, so you get to eat the fruits of their labor. Don’t know if this rumour holds any merit. Sunday’s meal consisted of Chinese red tea, potato soup, a pot of steamed rice, beancurd and veggie mix, and a tofu & green pea dish, which was my favorite. The Buddhist symbol seen everywhere looks identical to the swastika Nazi Germany used, so it was weird dining in a place decorated with it. Overall the flavors were foreign to the two of us, and we were glad to donate the price of the ticket to the monastery but not too crazy about the lunch.
After touring the grounds and stopping to pose in pictures with monks, we climbed 268steps to reach the Buddha. I thought it was an ancient statue built long ago, but it actually was only completed in 1993. It is a massive statue, and was really cool to see in person. The view from the back of the Buddha overlooking the sea is incredible from that height, as well.
Afterwards we trekked on over to the Wisdom Path, which was unbelivably gorgeous as the sun set. After waiting ages in the line, we cablecar-ed it down the mountain and ate Indian curry and naan for dinner. Wish I could describe the whole thing better. Fantastic day.
Wednesday, November 11
Tuesday, November 10
fruit salad
I just thought this was the most interesting and random fruit salad they served at school: red kidney beans, pineapples, dragonfruit, yellow corn nuggets, potatoes, apple slices, hard boiled egg topped with your choice of Caesar or Thousand Island dressing!
Thursday, November 5
French Restaurant
Doctor Rush always talks about the "French Restaurant" at Santee-- Tripp and I saw this place at the Gold Coast and wanted to post it on here so he could see!
Open House, Halloween, & Staycationing
Last Saturday Tripp was assigned to team teach at my school’s Open House. After a (heart stopping but patriotic, reliable --and delicious-- Egg McMuffin & McDonald’s iced coffee) breakfast, we arrived to find the teachers stayed late Friday night to transform the school into a colorful kindergarten wonderland. The designated English room had a “stage” and audience chairs for our lesson. I wish you could have seen us storytelling and dancing in person, but we got some hilarious pictures! Prospective students and siblings of current students were bottlenecked out the door, and we ended up having to shorten the lesson to accommodate three more than originally planned due to the number of people wanting to watch! Tripp was a huge hit! (He probably will be embarrassed to see this on here, but he is a big deal at his other school too—one of his student’s Filipino foreign domestic helpers slipped Tripp her name and number after his nursery playgroup! haha!)
It was a carnival atmosphere with a clown creating balloon animals, different games in each classroom, and goodie bags and snacks being passed all around. Tripp and I spent some time that morning loading up crates of corn nuggets—that seems to be a really popular snack around here! In our classroom, we handed out seaweed flavored crackers. (At first I was skeptical, but after all that dancing and singing they actually tasted pretty good at the end of the day!)
My roommate Liza had Saturday off, so she went to Vietnam this weekend! She booked the flight and was planning to do some solo travelling, but amazingly enough, a mutual family friend from Columbia on a business trip in Ho Chi Minh was able to pick her up at the airport and touring her around! How cool for a quick weekend getaway!
Tripp and I hung around the Kong, and took a quick MTR and bus ride to see the Gold Coast. It had been recommended to us by a parent, and we absolutely loved it! The Gold Coast has a beach and amazing swimming pools—Hong Kong’s largest free form pool and it is surrounded by coconut palms! They have an amazing piazza overlooking the marina, where we saw a mega-yacht parked. Google the Ambrosia out of George Town if you want to see it. We tried yummy new foods—prawn curry and a spicy Indian cauliflower based vegetarian dish for me, and naan bread and an Indian pizza for Tripp. The piazza had a Mediterranean feel to it—a breezy open air courtyard in the middle, and restaurants, a tiny grocery and pharmacy, and other tourist comforts. I really want to knock Richland Mall down and recreate one in Columbia.
Street vendors sell their wares at night, and we were really excited to sit down at a well known caricaturist’s tent. We got a hilarious drawing of us with the Hong Kong harbor as a background. If any of the local readers are interested in getting one, contact Eric Chow through his blog, http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/ericchow. Eric started snorting with laughter when he looked at Tripp’s arm hair—HAHA!—everyone here is “naturally hairless”, as our new favorite BBC commentator Louie Theroux says. We hung out at the pool and on the beach all day! After a pina colada and a blueberry freeze by the sea, we arrived back in the city feeling completely renewed and ready for another week dancing to “Wheels on the Bus” and “Old McDonald”!
Liza and I attended a hot yoga class on Friday. They cranked the heaters up, and it was awesome! The room was absolutely silent, and everyone seemed too focused on finding inner peace to notice my awkward moves. Liza was a gymnast in her former life before pole vaulting, so her poses were incredible! The toned teacher gave instructions in Cantonese, then glanced over at me and Liza and repeated them in English. At the end of the hour, I felt so limber! Really a fantastic way to end the week, as all your cares and stress melt away (in the heat, no pun). After a quick grab-n-go dinner at the “Western” grocery store (pesto chicken salad for me, Tex-Mex wrap for Liza—YUM!) we met Geoff and Tripp for a bit in Tsim Tsa Tsui. Liza and I came back after an hour or two since we had early Saturday school, but Tripp and Geoff stayed out making all kinds of new Chinese friends!
Between Saturday school and our side income playgroup (oh yes-- and the adidas/Nike warehouse sale!) I had less than half an hour to pull together a costume, shower, and get ready for Halloween! Maggie bought all the teachers in the company passes to the German Oktoberfest at the Marco Polo Hotel. After several false starts, I settled on an decidedly uncreative (but cheap and comfortable!) Tom Cruise/Risky Business getup. I’m still not sure what exactly Tripp, Joe, and Geoff were. Some sort of Chinese priest meets the Mask of Zorro. Regardless, we had a blast celebrating with our boss and all the teachers (we met several teachers for the first time!).
It was a carnival atmosphere with a clown creating balloon animals, different games in each classroom, and goodie bags and snacks being passed all around. Tripp and I spent some time that morning loading up crates of corn nuggets—that seems to be a really popular snack around here! In our classroom, we handed out seaweed flavored crackers. (At first I was skeptical, but after all that dancing and singing they actually tasted pretty good at the end of the day!)
My roommate Liza had Saturday off, so she went to Vietnam this weekend! She booked the flight and was planning to do some solo travelling, but amazingly enough, a mutual family friend from Columbia on a business trip in Ho Chi Minh was able to pick her up at the airport and touring her around! How cool for a quick weekend getaway!
Tripp and I hung around the Kong, and took a quick MTR and bus ride to see the Gold Coast. It had been recommended to us by a parent, and we absolutely loved it! The Gold Coast has a beach and amazing swimming pools—Hong Kong’s largest free form pool and it is surrounded by coconut palms! They have an amazing piazza overlooking the marina, where we saw a mega-yacht parked. Google the Ambrosia out of George Town if you want to see it. We tried yummy new foods—prawn curry and a spicy Indian cauliflower based vegetarian dish for me, and naan bread and an Indian pizza for Tripp. The piazza had a Mediterranean feel to it—a breezy open air courtyard in the middle, and restaurants, a tiny grocery and pharmacy, and other tourist comforts. I really want to knock Richland Mall down and recreate one in Columbia.
Street vendors sell their wares at night, and we were really excited to sit down at a well known caricaturist’s tent. We got a hilarious drawing of us with the Hong Kong harbor as a background. If any of the local readers are interested in getting one, contact Eric Chow through his blog, http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/ericchow. Eric started snorting with laughter when he looked at Tripp’s arm hair—HAHA!—everyone here is “naturally hairless”, as our new favorite BBC commentator Louie Theroux says. We hung out at the pool and on the beach all day! After a pina colada and a blueberry freeze by the sea, we arrived back in the city feeling completely renewed and ready for another week dancing to “Wheels on the Bus” and “Old McDonald”!
Liza and I attended a hot yoga class on Friday. They cranked the heaters up, and it was awesome! The room was absolutely silent, and everyone seemed too focused on finding inner peace to notice my awkward moves. Liza was a gymnast in her former life before pole vaulting, so her poses were incredible! The toned teacher gave instructions in Cantonese, then glanced over at me and Liza and repeated them in English. At the end of the hour, I felt so limber! Really a fantastic way to end the week, as all your cares and stress melt away (in the heat, no pun). After a quick grab-n-go dinner at the “Western” grocery store (pesto chicken salad for me, Tex-Mex wrap for Liza—YUM!) we met Geoff and Tripp for a bit in Tsim Tsa Tsui. Liza and I came back after an hour or two since we had early Saturday school, but Tripp and Geoff stayed out making all kinds of new Chinese friends!
Between Saturday school and our side income playgroup (oh yes-- and the adidas/Nike warehouse sale!) I had less than half an hour to pull together a costume, shower, and get ready for Halloween! Maggie bought all the teachers in the company passes to the German Oktoberfest at the Marco Polo Hotel. After several false starts, I settled on an decidedly uncreative (but cheap and comfortable!) Tom Cruise/Risky Business getup. I’m still not sure what exactly Tripp, Joe, and Geoff were. Some sort of Chinese priest meets the Mask of Zorro. Regardless, we had a blast celebrating with our boss and all the teachers (we met several teachers for the first time!).
Wednesday, November 4
After living in
At 2:30 pm, outside the local Circle K, the adventure began. After a short bus ride, minibus 12B to Mong Kok, we found ourselves easily navigating this densely populated area, finding our way to the MTR(subway). Mong Kok, where we live, boasts one of the highest population densities in the world. Not exactly Kershaw, SC.
We boarded the Tsueng Kwan line, and exited 3 stops away at Kowloon Tong. From there another train took us to Lo Wu, on the Chinese boarder. Even with the thousands of others making their way into
After fighting our way through the body-on-body hustle and bustle, we arrived at our destination. A whole sale market, that literally sells everything from live animals to Gucci.
Before we began shopping our friend Sash, gave us the basic tutorial on how to barter with the shop keepers. The instructions were somewhere between Ninja Kick them, and DEMAND your price. Local shop keepers are notorious for raising their prices in excess of 500%, for their Western customers.
The Market experience left me feeling dazed, and wondering why Id come to this place at all. Then I snapped back, when noticing North Face coats for $20 dollars. Where were the jackets? Placed where you would naturally expect, next to the dried fish, and powdered pork meat.
The smells and sights of the place are what really get you. Imagine an alley packed with boxes, scattered trash, hazy cigarette filled air, and more people than an entrance ramp at a Clemson USC game. At every corner waits a woman who knows two words, “hello” and “missy.” Which they bark at you until receiving a response. Bargaining takes place over a calculator, where the buyer and seller pound and mash the numbers until an agreement is met. While in the building this smell of burnt hair, and tar, lingers throughout. Not to worry, that’s the 8th floor. Where you’ll find hair saloons and places to receive extensions. Be careful though, these extensions are melted to your real hair using something resembling engine grease. But, Im so glad I sought that smell out… I guess.
All that walking, negotiating, and exploring made me hungry. We decieded to try the local Thai restaurant. . Meeting the other teachers at this local joint, I experienced a family style meal, and tried new and unusual foods. Pork, eel, shrimp were served bones and all. Not to worry, its all edible because they were fried for a period of time that had to have been several days. Everything melted in your mouth. The level of spice was astounding. My mouth was numbed and the watermelon juice was the only reprieve.
Following dinner it was time for the main attraction. THE SPA. Our group decided to stay in The Queens Spa in central Shenzhen. Aside from being the most luxurious and comfortable place I’ve been, it was cheap. I’m talking, head and foot massage, midnight pizza, open fruit bar, 6 million dollar pool, personal locker room assistants, thai massages, and recliners/ beds… all for about $50. How is this possible? Same reason why
So Sara Beth and I ordered foot massages, a glass of wine and some pizza and enjoyed a football game on a movie screen. Pretty cool.
We left Sunday morning feeling refreshed, yet still a bit dazed from what we had just experienced.
Sunday morning, we saw a shocking sight, but something that is all too familiar to local Shenzhenese. Beggars, thousands of them. Covering the streets and hounding any place that could attract tourists. Most disturbing are the young children. Many of whom are ‘owned’ by gangs or landlords. Threatening homelessness, starvation, or physical punishment if daily quotas are not met. One of the most saddening techniques is utilized by the children (ages 4-7). The approach was simple… offer the flower to a tourist, if the balk and don’t pay up. The child would latch onto the leg, with incredible strength. Despite yelling, screaming, and even striking them, they only let go when you have purchased your flower. For Sara Beth and I, this was our first experience with the ‘severe poverty’ we had heard so much about.
Following all this we decided to duck off the streets, find something to eat and try and make a plan. Somewhere in our scheming we realized that we may find what we really wanted in China. Cheap NorthFace, and YES we found it. It was great, the initial price given was literally intended to be a starting point for negotiations. Our first coat was offered at $900HK. We left with 8, and paid $1000HK. Pretty good deal. SO… after buying NorthFace, Longchamps, Chanel, and Prada, we decided that was enough. Back to HK and on to a new adventure.
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