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 

Visiting the Broad

This was originally posted on Nov. 25, 2015 in my old travel blog

Yesterday my friend Trevor and I decided to head over to Downtown LA to take some pictures and see if we could get into the every popular Broad museum. After an hour and half of waiting in the standby line (Pro-tip. Come at least 30 minutes, if not an hour before they open if you weren’t able to make a reservation), we got to go in and see what everyone is making such a large deal about. 

As a disclaimer I am not the largest fan of contemporary art; however, with that said I still appreciate art, it’s hard not to when your dad is a professional artist , so I came into the Broad with an open mind. Going in there were many pieces that I was excited to see since they had been popping up on my friends Instagram accounts. 

Once you make it to the top of the escalator you are greeted by Jeff Koons’ Ballon Tulips. I am not really sure how I feel about Jeff Koons. I know that as a person I do not like him and I question a lot of his work, he seems narcissistic and embodies everything about commercialism to me. I actually ran into another friend who was also visiting the Broad and he brought the question of Koons being an artistic genius or impostor. We both agreed that the balloon stuff is super cool but some of his other pieces seem gimmicky. Case in point the basketball floating in a fish tank, I do not like that piece but they have it at the Broad if you are a fan of it. Personally I did not like seeing his work as the greeting piece, but that has more to do with my personal hatred of Koons.  However Trevor and I did come up with a selfie replacement, which I like to term the “ballon-ie” since you take a picture of yourself in the shiny balloons.

There were many pieces that I loved at the broad such as the larger than life dining set, aptly names Under the Table by Robert Therrien. His giant dishes also greet you right when you enter the Broad.  There were works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Keith Haring, Barbara Kruger gracing the walls and floor of the Broad as well. I loved seeing Roy Lichtenstein’s work because his name has been popping up in my dreams even though before visiting I hadn’t seen much of his work or even known much about him.  My favorite piece in the Broad was Kara Walker’s African’t, which were these larger than life paper cutouts that graced the walls. It seems to portray a happy scene but upon closer examination one sees the hardships of life and slavery, I don’t really know how to describe it, all I can say is that there is shock value even though the work isn’t that shocking if that makes any sense. It is a very moving piece that all should see. Her smaller paper cutouts titled Burning African Village Play Set with Big House and Lynchingis also on display and they are beautiful as well. With her amazing art she is able to tell a story. 

Overall the Broad was super cool. Trevor and I unfortunately didn’t get to see Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room but more reason to visit back. The Broad is a cool museum, We both agreed that it wasn’t as large as we had imagined it to be, but the Broad still boasts a sizable and tasteful collection of modern and contemporary art. If you are looking for something fun and free to do in LA I highly recommend seeing the Broad. Plus they have the world’s coolest elevator so what more reason do you need. For more info about the Broad visit their website www.thebroad.org

Road Trip Essentials

    This was originally posted on Jan. 23, 2015 in my old travel blog

 Personally, I like to think of myself as a pretty good traveler, I have been on my fair share of flights, road trips, camping, etc. The only really thing I have left to do is go backpacking, something that I cannot wait to do. Anyway getting back to the main point of this post: Road Trip Essentials. 
    For me essentials means the things you need to have to survive. I’ve come up with a fairly short list but I think that these are things that are necessary on any road trip whether it be one hour or one week of driving.  They are in particular order, except for number one, but I think it’s pretty self-explanatory why it is number one. 

1.    Food and Drink
  I really like having some healthy snacks, ie fruit, cut veggies, etc. some crunchy things, such as pretzels or my current obsession is half pop popcorn (warning: it is highly addictive). And most importantly drinks; I like to have a couple boxes of apple juice to help with low blood sugar levels and plenty of water because it is so easy to get dehydrated. 
2.    A change of clothes
  accidents can happen, so can spontaneous stops at the beach. It is so important to be prepared. Extra clothes can also be used as layers if it gets colder, or can be used in place of a pillow. 
3.    Entertainment
  This varies from person to person some people like to read in the cars, others listen to the radio, some like to watch movies. Everyone is different but car rides, even with beautiful scenery can get boring. My favorite thing to do for entertainment is to take pictures or watch movies in the car. 
4.    Patience
  I think this is often forgotten at the door when we embark on a road trip but is super important to take. Patience is needed not only for the traffic, but when someone in the car has to go the restroom for the 5th time in one hour, or when the restaurant you wanted to eat at is closed. Patience makes the trip a lot more fun and bearable. 

I know that there are a lot more things that one might consider to be a road trip essential but these are mine. Let me know what you think is necessary to bring on a road trip in the comment section below. 

Cheers,
Julia