Took a week long trip to China last week. Went to Shanghai and Yangshuo. I'll give a more detailed post later, but take a look at the pictures. The pictures below should entice you to go look! Yangshuo and Shanghai
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Last days in HK
Wow, the semester is nearly over. 4 more days until I head back to the US. I really don't want to leave and reenter the real world. It has been like a 3 month vacation. So these last few days I am have to scramble around to study for my finals, see everything in HK I haven't seen yet, trek up to Shenzhen to get my custom made suit, and pack! ahhhh
Took a week long trip to China last week. Went to Shanghai and Yangshuo. I'll give a more detailed post later, but take a look at the pictures. The pictures below should entice you to go look! Yangshuo and Shanghai
Took a week long trip to China last week. Went to Shanghai and Yangshuo. I'll give a more detailed post later, but take a look at the pictures. The pictures below should entice you to go look! Yangshuo and Shanghai
Monday, May 11, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Cultural Exchange Showcase
A fellow exchange student put together a sort of talent show for local, mainland, international and exchange students to take part in. I played a pair of duets with my clarinet friend from the orchestra. But it was actually quite a cool show with lots of variety in the acts.
There were a couple groups reciting Chinese poems or drama. Most of these groups were made up of primarily international students. It was funny to here the reactions of the Chinese kids when the non-asians started speaking Chinese well! There were also groups that sang Chinese songs--one group sang some popular chinese songs that lots of people in the room were singing along with. There were also some hip hope dance groups, a belly dancer, an indian dancer, double dutch (which I'm sure many of the chinese kids have never seen before...they should come to any Evanston middle school to get a glimpse at the real deal!), and a girl playing a yangqin, a chinese hammered dulcimer.
All the groups were really impressive and the event was quite well attended. I wonder if it will continue on in the future, since the person in charge will be leaving. It is a great way for all the students to come together and enjoy performances from students around the world.
There were a couple groups reciting Chinese poems or drama. Most of these groups were made up of primarily international students. It was funny to here the reactions of the Chinese kids when the non-asians started speaking Chinese well! There were also groups that sang Chinese songs--one group sang some popular chinese songs that lots of people in the room were singing along with. There were also some hip hope dance groups, a belly dancer, an indian dancer, double dutch (which I'm sure many of the chinese kids have never seen before...they should come to any Evanston middle school to get a glimpse at the real deal!), and a girl playing a yangqin, a chinese hammered dulcimer.
All the groups were really impressive and the event was quite well attended. I wonder if it will continue on in the future, since the person in charge will be leaving. It is a great way for all the students to come together and enjoy performances from students around the world.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Hong Kong=paradise??? perhaps yes
So after my 1 and only class today, I headed over to the South side of Hong Kong island to Stanley village. This village is known for its market and beaches and is very crowded on weekends. Thankfully, it was not the weekend so I had a very leisurely time!
I walked around the village and saw the sights: one of the oldest Tin Hau temples in HK (Tin Hau is the goddess of the sea, so as a place where the sea is very important, there are many Tin Hau temples), a building that used to be over in Central which was moved brick by brick over to Stanley and rebuilt, beaches, and a market.
The market was quite nice. Not at all like the Mong Kok or temple street markets where the "shopkeepers" are constantly yelling at you, "Missy, Missy. copy watch? copy handbag?" Here you could actually walk with out being harassed. The stores were also nicer with real clothes, art stores, souvenir shops, and only a few fake designer bags!
The best part about Stanley were the beaches. I didn't' go to the main beach (although I wish I had gone over just to see it) and just went to some smaller beaches. I just sat there for a few hours under the sun and blue, cloudless sky, watching the waves come in and the cargo boats loll about off in the distance. Quite relaxing!
The south side of the island as seems like a different world than Central and Kowloon. No real businesses, hardly any high rises, more nature, and just a laid back feeling. ahhhh.....I'm relaxed just thinking about it.
Anyway, that's it for Stanley, but on the MTR back to campus, this couple walked onto the train. They seemed different than most Hong Kong people....just very well dressed. Hong Kongers strive to dress well, but often do so at the expense of quality. However, this couple just stood out for some reason. So I was looking at what the man was wearing, and noticed he had a brown belt on. I looked down at his shoes to see if they matched, but no, they were black! I thought about berating him for his inability to follow fashion rules...but upon looking at his shoes more closely, it seemed that somebody forgot to take the hair off the leather for his shoes! (and these hairy shoes probably cost 10 times more than regular leather shoes) I knew this couple didn't fit in!
pictures soon....
I walked around the village and saw the sights: one of the oldest Tin Hau temples in HK (Tin Hau is the goddess of the sea, so as a place where the sea is very important, there are many Tin Hau temples), a building that used to be over in Central which was moved brick by brick over to Stanley and rebuilt, beaches, and a market.
The market was quite nice. Not at all like the Mong Kok or temple street markets where the "shopkeepers" are constantly yelling at you, "Missy, Missy. copy watch? copy handbag?" Here you could actually walk with out being harassed. The stores were also nicer with real clothes, art stores, souvenir shops, and only a few fake designer bags!
The best part about Stanley were the beaches. I didn't' go to the main beach (although I wish I had gone over just to see it) and just went to some smaller beaches. I just sat there for a few hours under the sun and blue, cloudless sky, watching the waves come in and the cargo boats loll about off in the distance. Quite relaxing!
The south side of the island as seems like a different world than Central and Kowloon. No real businesses, hardly any high rises, more nature, and just a laid back feeling. ahhhh.....I'm relaxed just thinking about it.
Anyway, that's it for Stanley, but on the MTR back to campus, this couple walked onto the train. They seemed different than most Hong Kong people....just very well dressed. Hong Kongers strive to dress well, but often do so at the expense of quality. However, this couple just stood out for some reason. So I was looking at what the man was wearing, and noticed he had a brown belt on. I looked down at his shoes to see if they matched, but no, they were black! I thought about berating him for his inability to follow fashion rules...but upon looking at his shoes more closely, it seemed that somebody forgot to take the hair off the leather for his shoes! (and these hairy shoes probably cost 10 times more than regular leather shoes) I knew this couple didn't fit in!
pictures soon....
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Bun Festival!
So as a replacement for Slope Day this year, I went to a Bun Festival held on a Cheung Cheu island. It was a great replacement! This is a small island about 30 minutes away from Hong Kong Island (on a fast ferry, an hour on the slow one) where no cars are allowed, nice beaches, the windsurfing capital of Hong Kong (apparently, Hong Kong's one and only olympic gold medal came from a windsurfer who trained here). And each year, lots of people swarm the island for their Bun Festival!
Also accompanying the festival is a parade featuring lots of chinese lions and dragons, marching bands of chinese instruments, and little kids in heavy makeup 10 feet in the air, supported only by thin polls! I also caught a little chinese opera.For dinner, we had this great seafood dinner. I don't even really at fish or seafood and this was good! And so cheap. Less than $10 USD for like 8 different courses. The buns were cheap too, less than a dollar for a bun that probably could suffice as a meal in itself.
I missed the bun scrambling part because I had to get back to campus, but I'm sure it was fun. Here are more pictures on facebook. (Note, I brought my nice camera but when I got there I discovered it was out of batteries. I was going to bring my small camera, but then I decided against it. So I was left with the phone on my camera, which soon ran out of batteries too....)
Saturday, April 25, 2009
recap of trip to japan
Finally time for my thoughts on japan and and summary of my trip. First of all, I couldn't have a better tour guide! Being able to speak japanese definitely helped me experience more of japan than if I were on my own (plus he's just so cute :) ). We were there right during the peak of Cherry blossom season, which made everything so beautiful. On top of that, there was hardly a cloud in the sky the whole time and only rained once on a travel day, so it didn't even matter that much.
I guess rather than fully describe where I went I will just try to briefly summarize the sights.
In Tokyo
We spent the last part of the trip in Kanazawa, a small historic town in Western Japan.
Japan is also quite expensive, at least compared to other Asian countries and Hong Kong. For example, a ride on the train costs between $1.10 and $3.00, while in Hong Kong the train is usually less than $1, almost always less than $3.
Tokyo is so sprawling, while Hong Kong is very dense. In Hong Kong, there are so many high rises, but in Tokyo most people seem to live in houses. The majority of apartment complexes seemed to be less than 10 stories. The train system is representative of that. It is very extensive, but so complicated! (the picture below is just one of the train systems! there are different systems with different maps!)
I'm going to miss the japanese toilets. Heated seats, sprayers, music. Definitely the most technologically advanced things in many places! I'll also miss the udon, gyoza and yakatori. I'll also miss my tour guide!
I guess rather than fully describe where I went I will just try to briefly summarize the sights.
In Tokyo
- Meiji Shrine
- Harajuku-Really cool hip area with neat stores.
- Yasukuni Shrine-loads of cherry blossoms. Had food stalls set up all along major walks. Accross the street was a park with even more cherry blossoms. There were hoards of students there for the beginning of their semester ceremony...we were probably the only white people there.
- Shibuya crossing- the busiest crossing in the world, a 5 way scramble crossing. Starbucks has a prime realestate looking over the crossing, but didn't allow pictures. (I got one anyway though!)
- Yanaka-a suburban feeling, calmer area of tokyo. Had a pedestrian only street market where I tried this awsome meat bun (don't know what it was called)
- Akihabra-anime district with lots of arcades
- Odaiba-man made island. Big ferris wheel, fuji televeision building and a toyota car exposition. Sat in a 129,000 lexus!
- View from top of government building-Tokyo is so sprawling!
- Tea at the Park Hyatt. Not the same as the Penninsula, although the tea was really good!
- Imperial palace
- Mount Fuji! Saw it from the train to Kyoto. We got the rare chance to see it clearly--it was so clear that even the japanese were taking pictures!
- Had sushi for about the 3rd time in my life. I couldn't leave japan without having sushi! It was really good though! I would definitely have it again, although I don't know if sushi in the US can live up to it....
- Kyomizu Shrine-more cherry blossoms and pretty buildings.
- Sanjusangendo- Japans longest wooden building filled with 1001 lifesized statures of Kannons. No pictures allowed inside, but the gardens around were beautiful
- Heian Shrine- Cherry blossom overload!
- Golden Pavillion
We spent the last part of the trip in Kanazawa, a small historic town in Western Japan.
- Higashi Chaya District-A geisha district. Although we didnt' se any geishas walking around, we got a feeling for old japan. This area had a lot of cool businesses and shops
- Temples galore! There were multiple temple districts in Kanazawa. Literally, you would turn a corner and there would be a temple only about 50 feet in front of you. They were also so peaceful and no one else was really there.
- Kenrouken Garden-Considered one of the best gardens in Japan and it definitely live up to that!
- Kanazawa Castle
- Ninja Temple-A temple where the king could come and pray, but protected by ninjas! Looked like it was only 2 floors from the outside, but was actually 4! All sorts of trap doors and secret rooms. I felt like if I wasn't careful, a ninja might come and attack me!
- Yamanaka onsen- a day trip from kanazawa. Soaked our feet in natural hot springs (really hot! 43 degrees celsius=110 degrees F). We planned on going in the actual bath, but worried we wouldn't be able to stand the heat!
- Walk along the river in Yamanaka onsen, famous for its bridges.
- Had the best gyoza ever! This place has been making gyoza for over 100 years. and it showed!
Japan is also quite expensive, at least compared to other Asian countries and Hong Kong. For example, a ride on the train costs between $1.10 and $3.00, while in Hong Kong the train is usually less than $1, almost always less than $3.
Tokyo is so sprawling, while Hong Kong is very dense. In Hong Kong, there are so many high rises, but in Tokyo most people seem to live in houses. The majority of apartment complexes seemed to be less than 10 stories. The train system is representative of that. It is very extensive, but so complicated! (the picture below is just one of the train systems! there are different systems with different maps!)
I'm going to miss the japanese toilets. Heated seats, sprayers, music. Definitely the most technologically advanced things in many places! I'll also miss the udon, gyoza and yakatori. I'll also miss my tour guide!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)