Touristy Thursday: December 1st Edition

Touristy Thursday lives on!  I know I had been M.I.A. on Touristy Thursday last week. I was being extra touristy and in a whole new place (using the word country is debatable) Taiwan, last week- maybe I’ll post about it.

Anyways, this week school has been both slowing down as classes come to an end yet at the same time just about to rev up into high gear as examination period is looming just around the corner. After a very productive morning of a presentation and studying, it was time to do something touristy to kick off the weekend.

I think this Touristy Thursday is probably the touristiest out of any of the Touristy Thursdays I’ve had or will ever have. So far during my stay in Hong Kong Ben and I had not once, not twice, but 3 times tried to take the Peak Tram up from central to Victoria Peak to watch the sunset. However we didn’t want to wait in the hour-long line and miss out on the golden hour. So this Thursday we came in with a game plan- take the bus up to peak and take the tram down after sunset (but before everyone queues up to go down). Our friends Sheng and Laura also joined us for this Thursday :) 

Laura and I at the peak 

After a beautiful bus ride from the central bus depot to the Peak Galleria, costing around 10HKD, we were able to watch a beautiful sunset over Stanley and Central. Hong Kong really does glow and has an amazing view. It was so cool to see tourists oooing and awing over how spectacular Hong Kong’s skyline is.  It is truly one of the most beautiful skylines in the world. My friends and I were commenting how spoiled we are that we get to see this beautiful view daily from our halls. We’ve almost become immune to its beauty.  

View overlooking Central and Kowloon 

If you walk just past the two shopping malls and the tram station there is a nice lookout with amazing views that makes a great picture spot.  We also went to the top of the Peak Galleria for a free view from their rooftop — no need to spend money on the view from the Peak Tower.

Ben, Laura, Me, and Sheng at the Picture spot 

Finally right when it got dark we took in all the lights of Kowloon and HK Island and queued up to finally get to ride on the Peak Tram.  You’ll want to queue up right when it gets dark because maybe 10 minutes after we lined up the queue had doubled in size going form a 15 minute wait (which we waited) to a 45 minute wait.

The Peak Tram is a cable car / railway system that takes tourists (and I guess locals because there were 4 intermediate stops but I don’t really think they would use the tram) to the upper levels of Hong Kong. The tram has been running since 1926 and is 1,364 meters (4,475 ft) long and goes up a height of 368 meters (1,207 ft).  It was fun, steep ride. I was just happy that I finally got to ride on it and check it off my bucket list. The view can be very beautiful from the tram and it is also really cool how you are at times sandwiched in between Hong Kong’s skyscrapers.  However, I will say the bus ride is a more beautiful ride overall. It was super fun though and I totally understand why the Peak Tram is so touristy- it’s just fun and cool and much faster than the bus (well if there isn’t a line for the tram hahaha).

Us on the peak tram! 

Once again another great Touristy Thursday! 

Also here is some more pictures in a gallery because my little sister complained that I didn't post enough photos. This is for you Hanna.

Hong Kong's Top 5

I’ve been in Hong Kong for a while now so I figure I should do my top 5 for Hong Kong. These are in no particular order; it’s too hard for me to choose a favorite 

1. Sky line

Hong Kong has the largest skyline in the world (according to Wikipedia), and it is breath taking. With beautiful big buildings like the Bank of China building, the Arch, and the HSBC building, Hong Kong’s skyline is an architects dream. While both the Kowloon side and Hong Kong Island side offer awesome views — the tallest building in Hong Kong, International Commerce Center, is on the Kowloon side — I don’t think anything can beat the view from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade looking at Hong Kong Island. One must go at night to see the buildings all lit up, and to make it more special (although definitely not a big deal if you miss it) at 8pm every night there is a laser show “A Symphony of Lights” with music and narration.  No matter now many times I’ve seen the skyline I can’t get over how amazing it is, my jaw drops every time (even looking from the 19th floor rooftop of my campus)

2. Public Transport

Hong Kong has spoiled me with their public transport. It is truly amazing. The light rail system known as MTR is probably the best subway system I have ever used. I can transfer from one line to another going in the proper direction on the same platform – it is extremely well organized with lights on the in train maps to help one navigate where to go or where the train is going. I don’t think I’ve ever waited more than 2 minutes for a train. The buses are also really good in Hong Kong, I can take a bus directly from my campus to the airport and there are many bus options, including mini buses that travel just about everywhere, so one can literally get to all spots in Hong Kong. Also all of this is ridiculously cheap. I have a student discount so my rides are usually 50 cents or less (and you get at discount for each additional ride you take during the day)  but I know even for full price every ride is normally less than $1 USD.

Me enjoying a PB&J outside of one of the MTR stations 

3. Nature

This has been an unexpected gem about Hong Kong. There is so so much nature and it is so accessible. There are so many hikes in Hong Kong and so much green open space. In fact about 70% of Hong Kong is protected green space. I’ve gone camping on the beach, rock climbing on islands, hiking, swimming, the list can go on about all the outdoor opportunities Hong Kong offers. There are many beaches as well and many small islands that one can visit or kayak at as well.  Hong Kong is home to a GeoPark, which is a UNESCO site. This has been awesome because sometimes I just need an escape from the busy city. (Also you can get tents for ridiculously cheap, I spent about $25 USD for a two person tent that packs up small and has held up to multiple camping trips and is rather roomy)

4. Octopus

Octopus is the payment system used for public transport in Hong Kong and it makes life awesome! Why? Because not only can octopus be used for public transport — MTR, buses, ferries — but Octopus can also be used at many other places all around Hong Kong. I can use octopus to buy a water at 7-11, pay for groceries, or even for the purchase of a pencil at the University Book Store. It is so awesome that Hong Kong has implemented a simple to use tap payment system – although if you don’t keep good track of your expenses it can be easy to over spend.  Also it can be loaded up at just about anywhere, which is another big plus.

5.  Markets

I love outdoor markets and stalls and Hong Kong is filled with many. There is so much to choose from: Ladies Market, to what me and my friends refer to as “Cheap Street”, goldfish market, jade market (not that good tbh), bird market (actually really sad), Temple Street Night market, wet markets, and many more that I haven’t discovered. While sometimes it can be a pain to haggle. I love going to markets and just wandering around- and grab some street food for dinner. I also cannot talk enough about how much I love going to Wet Markets. These are were fresh fruits and vegetables are sold as well as home to butchers, fish mongers, dry good vendors, and normally a few restaurants. I love looking at all the funky food items.  I’m lucky to have the Lok Fu Bazaar market near me and make a weekly stop for fresh fruit and veg. 

Fresh Sea Food at the Wet Market 

Hong Kong Culture

Immersing myself in the culture of Hong Kong has been amazing. It is so cool to compare the differences in American Culture to that of Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong have all been very nice- well except for the workers in my school’s cafeteria but that’s the exception. Hong Kong is very much East meets West or as my roommate so perfectly described it “Asia Lite”. I couldn’t agree more with that. I have been able to get by very well with out really speaking any Cantonese.

There are many stores that cater to western tastes and the same can be said with the food. I originally came in thinking I am only going to eat Chinese food, but as I’ve learned, eating a variety of foods- Chinese, Western, Japanese and even Indian, is very much apart of the Hong Kong diet. I think for me the biggest problem is eating enough fruits and vegetables. I’ve had to request many vegetarian dishes to get in my veggies as almost all the dishes in Hong Kong have meat in them.

I will say that one of the greatest things about Hong Kong over Los Angeles is the amazing Public Transport system. The MTR is super fast and efficient, so much nicer and better than LA’s metro. I have yet to really use the bus system but the double decker buses here seem so cool and I will let you guys know. The best part about MTR — and this seems to be a reflection of Hong Kong’s culture — is all the shopping that one can do in the MTR station and it seems that every MTR station is connected to a Mall. It’s kind of cool that I can just pick up a loaf of bread at the MTR station on the way back to my dorm or buy some shampoo. 

Hong Kong truly is an amazing city. I can’t speak enough about how nice most of the people here are and how much there is to do in Hong Kong. I’ve been here for 3 weeks now and I’ve only scratched the surface.

-Julia 

Hello from Hong Kong!

It’s crazy that I’ve already spent over a week in Hong Kong. So much has happened in that short amount of time. I’m going to be blogging all semester long to keep everyone updated on what going on (and serve as a memory place for me since my One Line a Day journal doesn’t have enough space to write everything I want).  I will be posting different things about the people I meet, the stuff I see, the things I do, and really just anything that I want to share with you all.

People say that you’re time studying abroad will be amazing, it will go by too quickly, and you will become a better person because of studying abroad. I can already attest to all of that. I want to make the most out of my study abroad experience, so I’m writing some guidelines to get the most our of my experience.

Here are the guidelines I’ve given my self so far:

1. Try Everything:  this means taking a bite of a weird looking food, going out even if I normally wouldn’t, trying a new sport, etc.

2. Never say No*: If someone presents me with an opportunity I’m going to take it, even if I’m tired because I’m only studying abroad in Hong Kong once so I want to experience it all. *Obviously within reason. I’m not going to say yes to buying illegal items, breaking laws, etc.

3. Be Open and Patient: Things take longer when you’re in a new place and can’t really communicate. I will embrace the cultural differences even if they are vastly different than my own and give myself time to do things and not worry so much about the mistakes, challenges, and hick-ups along the way.

I’ve also written out a giant checklist of things that I want to do during my time in Hong Kong. I’ll post the list in another blog post!

再見 !

-Julia