Wrapping it up

My parents leave tomorrow, and it looks like I will be going back to work on Thursday.  This two week vacation was going to have to end sometime.  


Today we went out for lunch at a muslim noodle shop in a nearby area with a friend and fellow T.A. named Ryan.  We watched them make the noodles by hand - stretching and beating the dough into excellent strands with his fingers.  

We bumbed around the city, shopping - picking up a new set of glasses for Ed and some other essential trinkets = ).  

Dinner was spectacular.  I was able to introduce my parents to the students I spend so much of my break with!  Teddy, Kevin, and Austin have become great friends of mine, and I have spend quite a bit of time with each of their families over winter break.  It was great to have them meet each other and try to treat them with some 'American gifts' (maple syrup).  

Tomorrow mom and dad fly out, but I can safely say that we have accomplished a great deal while they were here. 

Mom's account

Written on Thursday night before leaving Hong Kong:
We are still in Hong Kong, a huge, fast moving, noisy, clean, mostly new,
yet we know old, tall, friendly, tempid city! Our hotel is close to Nathan
street in Kowloon which Jon found for us the day before we came. The city doesn't
sleep either. Jon came home from a night market and I thought it was
morning! We have separate rooms, agreed to rest a bit, Dad and I did some
shopping came home to rest too and when Jon knocked on our door we were
OUT! We're old, but don't YOU say it!

Jon is great! He's showing us the high points, Ed's tourbook tells us
we've seem the top ten highlights (in two days). We've walked, rode buses, walked,
taken the subway,walked, you get the picture! We've been on the water and under the
water, to the top of the city and today we'll head to Jon's mainland city,
Zhuhai.

Hong Kong is reminiscent of Japan only in that it is Asian. The street
markets are fun, much like what we experienced in Boston or SF, there's an
energy surrounding them that's unlike the city street vendors who
constantly request your attention to invite you into their stores, walking
along side you, til you must tell them . No thank you, time and time
again, still you want to add, what part about no-do you not
understand...it can GET to you.

The city is tall, very tall buildings like none I've even seen, some very
beautiful, Eric, we've tried to capture in photos some of the unique ones.
Countless, maybe 100 stories tall, everywhere. Yes, I'm amazed. Could
the buildings get any closer could there be any more people on the
streets? I think not!

People are friendly when you ask for information. Jon knows some Chinese
which obviously
warms folks to him. Many Chinese speak English here in HK. On the
streets, which are clean and safe, people are out day and night also, many
Americans, Europeans or Auzzies.

We've been to a couple fancy hotels, for brunch and Dim Sum (Dad's fav).
We pay attention to the service and they've been gracious though tipping
isn't expected and 10% was aded to a couple of our bills, rest assured
Mike, we tip.

The dress is like NYC or SFC trendy yet comfy (maybe with the exception of
the 6 inch heals). Gals may want to know. heals, flats, lots of boots,
seems as if everyone is wearing shoes they bought today. Mostly pants,
shorts to the knee, layers on top and bottom. Straight haircuts, good
cuts, no fuss, guys have some color tipping on ends of hair, just a few.
Interestly many of the large fashion clothing adds dipict white woman,
subway advertizing and on side of large buidings, etc. I don't know why
not beautiful, Asian woman?

Can't find a fabric store so will check with a tailor before leaving. I'm
determined to get yardage for my souvenir take-home. We're taking lots of
pictures, Jon got a new camera.

It's great to have time off AND a computer in our rooms. Now that I've
written a book time to run..........

Once Again a Tourist

My parents arrived on Tuesday and we have been running around ever since.

How do I wrap up everything I have learned from my experience in the past few months and share it with them? Well we have to do two things. First, get out of Hong Kong because it is incredibly Western, and second we throw out the bad eating experiences. We won't be visiting the restaurant I wrote about earlier with the possible dog meat dishes, and we'll dodge the places that usually cause our stomachs to churn for days after eating. This decision, no doubt for the best, causes me to think I am giving them a gentler trip to China. China is getting sick. China is being dumbfounded when you enter a restaurant at what happens. Don't get me wrong we still go to restaurants which shock my parents about at what transpires within. It's just that the places we are going to are the highlights.


--Tues, Wed, and Thursday in Hong Kong--
We made an itinerary which has made things much easier on all of us.

On Tuesday we went back to the hotel and crashed. On Wednesday we walked to the Hong Kong museum of history, and Hong Kong museum of art. We then crossed to Hong Kong Island where we took the tram to Victoria's Peak and ate lunch with a beautiful view of Hong Kong below us. We returned to Kowloon and watched the nightly light display - Hong Kong has a permanent light show installation on the Hong Kong island. Every night at 8 pm you can sit by the waters edge and listen as music plays and 10 or so buildings light up to music and shoot beam of light into the sky.



On Thursday we went to Stanley Market on Hong Kong Island and walked around. We were exhaused from all the walking so we ended up heading back to Kowloon to check out some night markets. When we got back to the hotel we decided to take an hour break which extended until the next day.

My parents kept commenting on the cleanliness of Hong Kong, how everyone seemed to know english, and how people were so friendly. It's all true... let's go to China.


---Friday
We woke up in Hong Kong and jumped on a Ferry to Zhuhai. An hour and a half later we climbed on a city bus and rode across the city towards my home to drop off our bags off at my house. We were in China now, so everyone on the bus was giving us looks. Three Americans loaded down with bags on wheels. We dropped our stuff off and walked around campus grabbing lunch at Cafe To Be, a nearby restaurant owned by a student at my college. We returned home and met up with Ben and Janella who brought us out to small shop where I was measured and ordered a suit with two dress shirts. We then headed to GongBei where we at at a small food stand. After eating we entered the underground market and bought some some stuff including some $5 crocs (for Bonnie), cheap shorts for Ed, and a belt for Ben.

---Saturday
We woke up early and walked to UIC (the college I teach at) to go to Kai Ping with a buch of students and professors. We drove a few hours, and my parents were given a chance to see the Chinese countryside. We ate lunch in a small town near Kai Ping the soup was aweful and the food was so-so. We climbed back on the bus and entered the city of Kai Ping and walked around for two hours. The town had many towers which were used for protection but uncommon for the area. On the way home the bus driver got lost a number of times. When we returned we walked to food street (an area on campus named as such because it has many restaurants to choose from) and ate a late dinner with Ben, Janella, Joel and a few students.

Hong Kong Hotels

I am in Hong Kong waiting for my parents to arrive. I've spent the past few days exploring the city and trying to get a functional knowledge of some of the ins-and-outs so that we can hit the ground running. It's a remarkable city - hiking, shopping, people, water, and all sorts of food.

Yesterday I found a nice little hotel - the H.K. Tai San Guest House for relatively cheap (350 HKD/night). It is kept by an older woman who always seems to be hanging around doing laundry, feeding people who I assume are family members, or cleaning rooms. Hong Kong has a huge number of hotels priced from dirt cheap all the way up and quality to match. One place is famous for it's cheap price and filthy rooms - the *cough* masion (150-180 HKD). It sounds like the Chauchink or Junkie mansion depending on who I have asked but anyone on the street seems to have heard of it... I steered clear of it after telling a collegue I was thinking about staying there and he told me it was terrible and he would never go back.

Most hotels I have been looking at like the YMCA, YWCA, etc. have been 400 and up. I stayed two nights ago at the Novotel for 800 and it was decent, but it had a terrible location. It took us 350 to take a taxi in to central and 350 to get back home after...

The first night I was here I stayed at the Langham Place which was really expensive and the foyer reeked of collogne.

Owwww!

When I returned to campus from break my bike was leaning against my appartment locked up just as I had left it. To my surprise no one had stolen it over break. I carried on with my day and forgot about it. The next morning when I woke up I couldn't find it! Ben and his girl friend said they saw it right where I saw it and couldn't believe it was gone. I looked around a bit and found the bike lock clipped lying in some nearby bushes. Grrr..

But luck would have it that two professors who taught here last semester left their bikes for a friend of mine (Ryan) to lend out. He, trusting Ben (my roomate) and I, offered to let us keep them at our house. After a week, the crank on one of the bikes kept falling off and the other kept losing its chain. Ryan and I were out on a bike ride one day when he playfully hit my back rim with his front rim and caused serious damage to the back rim causing the bike to become a burden. Being a distence away from home we left it, possibly picking it up the next day... but by then it was gone - even in its state.

Today I borrowed Ben's bike, the last of the 2 loaners. He let me know it was low on air, and after a few minutes on it i noticed the crank was wobbly. 'Oh well' I think as I raddle down the road. I take a shortcut on a path which puts me out on the road right in front of school and CRASH my foot is searing with pain. After a few lame peddles I glance down and see the peddle has shattered leaving some plastic fragments and a medal bar sticking out which my heal was just seated on. I hobble to lock the bike up and hike up the building's stairs to my office where I survey the damage. My shoe is sliced and my foot is throbbing with a decent gash in it (it's ok mom and dad).

Not only is the bike gone but not my foot is lame.