I arrived in Taipei on Sunday, and was greeted by 80-90 degree heat and humidity. It rained hard last night, so this morning has been a bit cooler. I'm drawn to any a/c vent I can find, and over the course of the trip, I've become quite skilled at locating and just lingering around the vents. Hong Kong, Suzhou, and Nanjing were other humid cities in my recent memory, so I'm a bit more acclimated to this weather, but I still feel like I'm melting. Enough whining, here's the good stuff.
Met up with my Dad in Taipei, and am staying at my grandma's house (or technically my uncle's house since grandma passed it on to my uncles, but in my mind it is still grandma's house) in what can only be described tactfully as the bar district, and more truthfully as the red light district. Back when my Mom was growing up, this area was one of the most affluent areas in Taipei, which is why her family moved there. Over time, the bars and karaoke came in and took over the neighborhood. The great thing is that the older buildings are slowly redeveloping, and its location in the center of the city cannot be beat. It's also a very lively area, and one of the joys is being able to walk out the door in the morning and getting hot pan-fried buns, fresh warm soy milk, and going to the fruit sellers.
I'm in a very CLEAN and SMOKE-FREE internet cafe right now, which is the complete antithesis of the internet cafes in China. My hair and clothes won't stink of second hand smoke after I leave, and for that I am thankful. I also don't need to use my antibacterial wipes on the keyboards.
Because of the heat, I generally tend to stay indoors in the afternoons, and go out strolling the 'hoods with my Dad after dinner. It's a lot of fun talking about the different buildings and discussing the good and bad elements. Dad also took me to see the building where my grandfather had opened up a store selling fishing wire, and the neighborhood he grew up in and the routes he took to go to school. He would reminisce and point out that one of his classmates lived there, and their parents owned this or that business.
One of the more interesting tidbits is this little bakery called the Astoria, which has been there for over 50 years. The bakery was originally opened by a Russian, and they're famous for their longan nut bread, which is super thick but moist and really delicious. There is also a cafe on the 2nd floor of the bakery, which used to be a kind of speakeasy. Back when the Japanese ruled Taiwan with an iron fist, the Taiwanese would be punished for criticizing the Japanese regime, and so politics could not be discussed on the streets. People would go to the 2nd floor of the bakery and secretly discuss politics. Growing up, my grandfather would tell my dad not to get involved in politics for fear of being killed by the Japanese. Dad also pointed out the old city gates, and where the city walls used to be. He also likes to point out the police stations and post offices to me, even though both have large signs in English. I'm enjoying sharing this with my Dad.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Hooray for blue skies
Sorry for the lapse since the last post. Truth is, I haven't been on a computer since the last post. This is my last day in Beijing and China, as I fly out EARLY tomorrow morning.
Since Suzhou, we've been to Nanjing, Xi'an, and finally here in Beijing. In Nanjing, I walked the night markets, toured the Sun Yat Sen Memorial where there was a long promenade consisting of over 300 steps to reach his mausoleum. Sun Yat Sen is revered here as the father of the Republic, kind of like the George Washington of China. His memorial is on a huge scale, with the aforementioned steps as a message to people to perservere and not give up, and let me tell you it took a bit of perseverence just to see his tomb.
Next was Xi'an, which is one of the oldest capital cities in imperial China. We visited the Terra Cotta warriors just outside the city limits, and biked along the old city walls. It was interesting to see the contrast in the older developments inside the walls, and the new mid- and high-rises outside the walls.
There is too much to say about Beijing. I've visited all the usual places -- Great Wall, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Beihai Imperial Park, Summer Palace, and Tian'anmen Square. I finally saw blue sky these today and yesterday, after weeks of living under a grey cloud of particulate matter. I am thankful for blue skies.
Last minute checking on my flight, and then it is off to Taipei tomorrow.
Since Suzhou, we've been to Nanjing, Xi'an, and finally here in Beijing. In Nanjing, I walked the night markets, toured the Sun Yat Sen Memorial where there was a long promenade consisting of over 300 steps to reach his mausoleum. Sun Yat Sen is revered here as the father of the Republic, kind of like the George Washington of China. His memorial is on a huge scale, with the aforementioned steps as a message to people to perservere and not give up, and let me tell you it took a bit of perseverence just to see his tomb.
Next was Xi'an, which is one of the oldest capital cities in imperial China. We visited the Terra Cotta warriors just outside the city limits, and biked along the old city walls. It was interesting to see the contrast in the older developments inside the walls, and the new mid- and high-rises outside the walls.
There is too much to say about Beijing. I've visited all the usual places -- Great Wall, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Beihai Imperial Park, Summer Palace, and Tian'anmen Square. I finally saw blue sky these today and yesterday, after weeks of living under a grey cloud of particulate matter. I am thankful for blue skies.
Last minute checking on my flight, and then it is off to Taipei tomorrow.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Canals and Flaming Candles
Checked out a bit of the nightlife in Shanghai last night. Went to a place called Shin Tien Di, which translates to New Sky Earth. It is an adaptive reuse project of a site that originally had blocks of Lilongs, which are alley homes originally developed by the British as high density housing. Shanghai's skyline was comprised of Lilongs as far as the eye can see before the recent spur of skyscrapers and redevelopment. The redeveloped site consisted of office, retail, and restaurants, and have retained many of the unique elements of the Lilongs, such as the lane and open space structure, and some of the entryways. This project has been very successful and has since become a model of adaptive reuse for other projects.
We arrived in Suzhou this morning after a quick ride on the high speed train from Shanghai. Suzhou is known as the Venice of the East, with its network of canals that reach as far as Beijing. It is also known for its silk production, beautiful gardens, and beautiful women.
Two planners from Suzhou's parks department gave us an overview of the planning and history of this city of 2 million. It is developing as the second industrial center in China, after Shanghai, all within the last 15 years. The city is ancient with city walls that predate the Great Wall. We took a stroll through the Lingering Garden and Master of the Nets garden, both of which have extensive rock sculptures, pergolas, mosaic stone paths, all around a central pond feature. The buildings, screen details, bridges, and landscaping is exquisite. You can find out more at http://www.ylj.suzhou.gov.cn/en/garden/right.htm
We then took a boat tour through the canal. Lots of bats under the bridge and lots of mosquitos looking for a meal, but luckily we remembered to bring the insect repellent. at trees dotting the canalThe canals were lit with strings of red lanterns, stringed lights over the bridges and walls. I sat on the open rear deck of the boat and took some great pictures of the reflection of these lights on the water.
We dined at a muslim restaurant, where they brought out dish after dish of mutton with big bits of bone, tofu, sweet squash and melons, mutton stewed in sauce, noodles, mutton on skewers, eggplant with tomatoes, spicy celery salad, bread, and more mutton. Sadly, they did not have a vegetarian protein mutton substitute, but the veggie dishes they did have were plentify and delicious. Unbeknownst to me, my friend Juan tipped off our tour guide that it was my birthday today. Back when we were in Macao, I learned that another guy on this tour shared the same birthday, and we're a year apart. Our guide arranged for two birthday cakes, each equipped with a lotus bud candle that, when lit, the petals open one by one to reveal a tall flame in the middle and little candles on each of its petals. The pyrotechnic show wowed us all, and we enjoyed a bit of dancing afterwards. But wait, there's more. The lotus candle also sang the birthday song, and it sang and sang until we could not handle it anymore, so my friend Ed killed the candle and we all rejoiced. This is a birthday I won't soon forget.
We arrived in Suzhou this morning after a quick ride on the high speed train from Shanghai. Suzhou is known as the Venice of the East, with its network of canals that reach as far as Beijing. It is also known for its silk production, beautiful gardens, and beautiful women.
Two planners from Suzhou's parks department gave us an overview of the planning and history of this city of 2 million. It is developing as the second industrial center in China, after Shanghai, all within the last 15 years. The city is ancient with city walls that predate the Great Wall. We took a stroll through the Lingering Garden and Master of the Nets garden, both of which have extensive rock sculptures, pergolas, mosaic stone paths, all around a central pond feature. The buildings, screen details, bridges, and landscaping is exquisite. You can find out more at http://www.ylj.suzhou.gov.cn/en/garden/right.htm
We then took a boat tour through the canal. Lots of bats under the bridge and lots of mosquitos looking for a meal, but luckily we remembered to bring the insect repellent. at trees dotting the canalThe canals were lit with strings of red lanterns, stringed lights over the bridges and walls. I sat on the open rear deck of the boat and took some great pictures of the reflection of these lights on the water.
We dined at a muslim restaurant, where they brought out dish after dish of mutton with big bits of bone, tofu, sweet squash and melons, mutton stewed in sauce, noodles, mutton on skewers, eggplant with tomatoes, spicy celery salad, bread, and more mutton. Sadly, they did not have a vegetarian protein mutton substitute, but the veggie dishes they did have were plentify and delicious. Unbeknownst to me, my friend Juan tipped off our tour guide that it was my birthday today. Back when we were in Macao, I learned that another guy on this tour shared the same birthday, and we're a year apart. Our guide arranged for two birthday cakes, each equipped with a lotus bud candle that, when lit, the petals open one by one to reveal a tall flame in the middle and little candles on each of its petals. The pyrotechnic show wowed us all, and we enjoyed a bit of dancing afterwards. But wait, there's more. The lotus candle also sang the birthday song, and it sang and sang until we could not handle it anymore, so my friend Ed killed the candle and we all rejoiced. This is a birthday I won't soon forget.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Shanghai
We arrived in Shanghai yesterday afternoon, and will be leaving tomorrow morning. I wish we could spend another day here, there is so much to see.
We were caught in rush hour traffic on our way to the hotel from the airport. Shanghai has an elaborate street system, not unlike LA, with elevated highways over the local streets. The original city has a ring road where the old wall used to be, and with the overwhelming growth over the years, they built a second ring road. The city can by dizzying. We are staying at the Nanjing Hotel, which is in the British Concession area near the Bund.
We got a bit of a history lesson yesterday from two Australian architects working here, from all the wars and the different concessions given first to the British, then the French, then the Americans, to the Jewish ghettos, to the old LiLongs (lane houses) that dominated old Shanghai which are being demolished to make room for new developments. We finished the tour with drinks on the rooftop deck of a building on the Bund. This is a city filled with architectural delights, and the city is spectacularly lit up at night. There's a big floating electronic billboard boat on the river, and the lights atop the buildings. It is also overcast, partly from the pollution, partly from the particulate matter floating around from all the construction. Construction occurs 24 hours, and there are hordes of new developments. The City is looking towards developing 9 towns within the city, each with its own economic base.
Keep in mind this is a city of 16 million, the 4th largest city in the world!! We went to the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. There is nothing that makes planners happier than visiting a temple paying homage to planning. On the 3rd floor, there's a scaled model of the city, with river and all. Environmental protection and the greening of the urban environment is also high on the agenda. Shanghai is also planning to build one of the largest airports in the world, with the capacity to handle 60 million passengers a year. The scope of the public projects and the rate of growth here is just mindboggling. Much of the environmental clean-up is geared towards the 2010 Expo to be hosted here.
We also visited the Jin Mao Tower, the tallest here in Shanghai, and got a good look at the building that looks like a bottle opener, the other skyscraper under construction next door. The bottle opener was supposed to be the next tallest building in the world, surpassing the Taipei 101, but I think some other building in Dubai that was recently completed is even taller. You snooze, you lose.
Just came back from checking out the wholesale market. Did not buy anything because venders were surrounding us like fleas and we could not get a moment's peace, which makes shopping very unpleasant. I guess we foreigners are fresh meat for these predators.
Looking forward to seeing an acrobatics show tonight.
We were caught in rush hour traffic on our way to the hotel from the airport. Shanghai has an elaborate street system, not unlike LA, with elevated highways over the local streets. The original city has a ring road where the old wall used to be, and with the overwhelming growth over the years, they built a second ring road. The city can by dizzying. We are staying at the Nanjing Hotel, which is in the British Concession area near the Bund.
We got a bit of a history lesson yesterday from two Australian architects working here, from all the wars and the different concessions given first to the British, then the French, then the Americans, to the Jewish ghettos, to the old LiLongs (lane houses) that dominated old Shanghai which are being demolished to make room for new developments. We finished the tour with drinks on the rooftop deck of a building on the Bund. This is a city filled with architectural delights, and the city is spectacularly lit up at night. There's a big floating electronic billboard boat on the river, and the lights atop the buildings. It is also overcast, partly from the pollution, partly from the particulate matter floating around from all the construction. Construction occurs 24 hours, and there are hordes of new developments. The City is looking towards developing 9 towns within the city, each with its own economic base.
Keep in mind this is a city of 16 million, the 4th largest city in the world!! We went to the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. There is nothing that makes planners happier than visiting a temple paying homage to planning. On the 3rd floor, there's a scaled model of the city, with river and all. Environmental protection and the greening of the urban environment is also high on the agenda. Shanghai is also planning to build one of the largest airports in the world, with the capacity to handle 60 million passengers a year. The scope of the public projects and the rate of growth here is just mindboggling. Much of the environmental clean-up is geared towards the 2010 Expo to be hosted here.
We also visited the Jin Mao Tower, the tallest here in Shanghai, and got a good look at the building that looks like a bottle opener, the other skyscraper under construction next door. The bottle opener was supposed to be the next tallest building in the world, surpassing the Taipei 101, but I think some other building in Dubai that was recently completed is even taller. You snooze, you lose.
Just came back from checking out the wholesale market. Did not buy anything because venders were surrounding us like fleas and we could not get a moment's peace, which makes shopping very unpleasant. I guess we foreigners are fresh meat for these predators.
Looking forward to seeing an acrobatics show tonight.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Last day in Yangshuo
Yes, I am sad to be leaving, but we will be heading to Shanghai tomorrow.
Today started out with an early morning (and I do mean EARLY at 7 a.m.) bicycle ride through the countryside and bamboo rafting. Again, words cannot do justice to the beauty in this part of China, but I did take plenty of pictures to prove it. We stopped for lunch at the Moon Hill Cafe, which is at the foot of the famous Moon Hill here in Yangshuo. The rock is formed with a crescent-shaped hollow. There were a number of caves along the way that we did not stop to explore. I bet there are bats!
I went for yet another massage this afternoon. There is a group of us that are just hooked on it, and we've even begun planning our day around this. It was my friend Juan's first professional massage ever, and all he could say at the end of the session was "more!" After the massage, we all went for foot reflexology baths and foot massages.
We came back all limp from the massages and went straight to catch our boat for a cruise down the Li River. Once again, breathtaking, lots of pictures and videos. At one point it seemed there was something stuck in the propellor because the boat kept revving up but we were not moving, but in the end we all made it home safely. That gave us a bit more time to enjoy the scenery.
We dined al fresco on snails (well THEY did, I just watched - I am vegetarian after all) and delicious Chinese food. Our tour guide arranged for a trio of farmer musicians to come and play traditional Chinese music on traditional Chinese instruments, such as the bamboo flute (di zi) and this two-stringed lute (erhu). The third musician played an accordian, which probably isn't very Chinese, but it did add a great deal to the melody. The music was amazing, and the locals stopped to listen to it as well. Sadly, the Chinese have not nurtured their culture in preserving traditional music.
I did not mention this, but our first dinner here was in the home of some local minority farmers. We were actually in their homes, eating in their living rooms! The food was freshly prepared and included lots of roasted peanuts, a soup made of fried peanuts and wheat puffs, fried vegetables, green beans, and other ethnic dishes. It was delicious. Our guide constantly reminds us what it means to engage in responsible tourism, which means to experience local culture and by doing so, helping to preserve it economically. I agree.
Today started out with an early morning (and I do mean EARLY at 7 a.m.) bicycle ride through the countryside and bamboo rafting. Again, words cannot do justice to the beauty in this part of China, but I did take plenty of pictures to prove it. We stopped for lunch at the Moon Hill Cafe, which is at the foot of the famous Moon Hill here in Yangshuo. The rock is formed with a crescent-shaped hollow. There were a number of caves along the way that we did not stop to explore. I bet there are bats!
I went for yet another massage this afternoon. There is a group of us that are just hooked on it, and we've even begun planning our day around this. It was my friend Juan's first professional massage ever, and all he could say at the end of the session was "more!" After the massage, we all went for foot reflexology baths and foot massages.
We came back all limp from the massages and went straight to catch our boat for a cruise down the Li River. Once again, breathtaking, lots of pictures and videos. At one point it seemed there was something stuck in the propellor because the boat kept revving up but we were not moving, but in the end we all made it home safely. That gave us a bit more time to enjoy the scenery.
We dined al fresco on snails (well THEY did, I just watched - I am vegetarian after all) and delicious Chinese food. Our tour guide arranged for a trio of farmer musicians to come and play traditional Chinese music on traditional Chinese instruments, such as the bamboo flute (di zi) and this two-stringed lute (erhu). The third musician played an accordian, which probably isn't very Chinese, but it did add a great deal to the melody. The music was amazing, and the locals stopped to listen to it as well. Sadly, the Chinese have not nurtured their culture in preserving traditional music.
I did not mention this, but our first dinner here was in the home of some local minority farmers. We were actually in their homes, eating in their living rooms! The food was freshly prepared and included lots of roasted peanuts, a soup made of fried peanuts and wheat puffs, fried vegetables, green beans, and other ethnic dishes. It was delicious. Our guide constantly reminds us what it means to engage in responsible tourism, which means to experience local culture and by doing so, helping to preserve it economically. I agree.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Hot Air Balloon, Part Deux
So we had a near death experience with the hot air balloon ride. There were so many of us interested in doing this that we commandeered no less than 3 balloons. The view from above was nothing less than spectacular -- overlooking the rooftops of all the small towns along the river, the endless hectares of rice paddies and farmland, caves nestled high above limestone mountains. Words cannot do justice to the spectacular beauty of the mountains, which stretched as far as the eye can see.
The whole experience was supposed to take about an hour, but we ended up in the air for almost two hours. You see, there simply wasn't enough wind to carry the balloon to a good place to land, so we paced around and around in the air. A few times we were going head-on towards a mountain, and got to see the limestone at quite a close range. Our talented guide managed to steer us clear of mountains, power lines, and rice paddies, and landed us safely in some dense growth at the foot of one of the mountains. We were "rescued" by a cheering group of village children who could not be happier to show us the way back to the minivan. As we happily trodded along the trail, the five of us were simply thankful that we got into the exciting balloon today and lived to tell the tale. As I've mentioned, there were two other balloons that went up. One of them had a perfect landing in the middle of town, and were greeted warmly by the townspeople. I'm not sure what happened to the 3rd one, except that they too had a 100% survival rate.
Anyone up for skydiving?
The whole experience was supposed to take about an hour, but we ended up in the air for almost two hours. You see, there simply wasn't enough wind to carry the balloon to a good place to land, so we paced around and around in the air. A few times we were going head-on towards a mountain, and got to see the limestone at quite a close range. Our talented guide managed to steer us clear of mountains, power lines, and rice paddies, and landed us safely in some dense growth at the foot of one of the mountains. We were "rescued" by a cheering group of village children who could not be happier to show us the way back to the minivan. As we happily trodded along the trail, the five of us were simply thankful that we got into the exciting balloon today and lived to tell the tale. As I've mentioned, there were two other balloons that went up. One of them had a perfect landing in the middle of town, and were greeted warmly by the townspeople. I'm not sure what happened to the 3rd one, except that they too had a 100% survival rate.
Anyone up for skydiving?
Blog and Hot Air Ballooning
So I've been having problems viewing the blog from the computers at the internet cafe, so I have not been able to verify that my blogs have been posted. That and everything on this computer is in Chinese, so there's a fair amount of guessing as to which buttons to click.
Sorry this is so brief. Yangshuo is pretty close to paradise. Just came out of a massage, and am on my way to a hot air balloon ride this afternoon. I will write more later, I promise.
Sorry this is so brief. Yangshuo is pretty close to paradise. Just came out of a massage, and am on my way to a hot air balloon ride this afternoon. I will write more later, I promise.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Yangshuo
Whether or not you know it, you've probably seen Yangshuo. It's legendary mountains are in every chinese scroll painting. What you don't know and will find out when you get here is that the ATM machine is next door to the KFC.
Yangshuo started out as an impoverished fishing village, that is, until the tourists came. Famished, I walked out of our hotel room this morning in search of a hearty breakfast and stumbled upon a cute little place two doors down called "7th Heaven." I had the 7th Heaven breakfast, which included fresh squeezed orange juice, loose leaf green tea, fried eggs, toast, and banana pancakes. The cafe across the street offered cappuccino and baguette sandwiches.
Our hotel is gorgeous, with beautiful cherry wood panels and an open landscaped courtyard. My room overlooks brick walls on both sides...lovely. I woke up to the sound of rain this morning. We were supposed to go on a lovely bike ride through the country, but I think there may be a change of plans.
My friends, Juan, Dennis, and Edward are all enjoying themselves tremendously. Juan especially loved Hong Kong -- when asked by a student conducting a survey if anything can be improved, he just said that everything was perfect. I could picture myself living there too, and I miss it a little already. When I finally got around to checking my email yesterday, I realized that my aunt had written me to let me know that my cousin lives in Hong Kong. I was able to call up my cousin, whom I have not seen for about 20 years, and we met up for a lovely lunch on the rooftop terrace of the new IFC building. So many years had gone by that we hardly recognized each other. It was wonderful to be able to catch up, and there was a LOT of catching up to do, and I was very excited to see her again.
Sorry about not posting photos, I haven't yet found a way to download my pictures. I will post them online when I get home, so please be patient for now. A word of warning: we've been taking a lot of silly pictures.
Looking forward to the adventures ahead.
Yangshuo started out as an impoverished fishing village, that is, until the tourists came. Famished, I walked out of our hotel room this morning in search of a hearty breakfast and stumbled upon a cute little place two doors down called "7th Heaven." I had the 7th Heaven breakfast, which included fresh squeezed orange juice, loose leaf green tea, fried eggs, toast, and banana pancakes. The cafe across the street offered cappuccino and baguette sandwiches.
Our hotel is gorgeous, with beautiful cherry wood panels and an open landscaped courtyard. My room overlooks brick walls on both sides...lovely. I woke up to the sound of rain this morning. We were supposed to go on a lovely bike ride through the country, but I think there may be a change of plans.
My friends, Juan, Dennis, and Edward are all enjoying themselves tremendously. Juan especially loved Hong Kong -- when asked by a student conducting a survey if anything can be improved, he just said that everything was perfect. I could picture myself living there too, and I miss it a little already. When I finally got around to checking my email yesterday, I realized that my aunt had written me to let me know that my cousin lives in Hong Kong. I was able to call up my cousin, whom I have not seen for about 20 years, and we met up for a lovely lunch on the rooftop terrace of the new IFC building. So many years had gone by that we hardly recognized each other. It was wonderful to be able to catch up, and there was a LOT of catching up to do, and I was very excited to see her again.
Sorry about not posting photos, I haven't yet found a way to download my pictures. I will post them online when I get home, so please be patient for now. A word of warning: we've been taking a lot of silly pictures.
Looking forward to the adventures ahead.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Macau - Gambling capital of Asia
We were in Macau yesterday. It was a former Portuguese colony, and really trippy to find Chinese characters next to Portuguese on the signs. They toast their egg custards here. Sidewalks are paved with mosaics, really beautiful and a relic from their colonial heritage. We went to see old churches and toured the old part of the city.
Macau's famous casinos are very similar to Las Vegas. Lots of miniature fantasy lands, such as Babylon, New Orleans, and Amsterdam. I think they had a contest for how many different architectural styles they were able to cram into this one street lined with casinos and touristy shops. They even have "Wynn" here, the building is just like the one in Vegas!
Macau's famous casinos are very similar to Las Vegas. Lots of miniature fantasy lands, such as Babylon, New Orleans, and Amsterdam. I think they had a contest for how many different architectural styles they were able to cram into this one street lined with casinos and touristy shops. They even have "Wynn" here, the building is just like the one in Vegas!
Hong Kong
I want to thank you for your wonderful emails, and apologize if I am not able to respond, but rest assured I do read them and enjoy them tremendously.
This is my last day in Hong Kong, but I am looking forward to coming back some day. Here are some of my observations these past few days:
1. The transportation system is extremely efficient and user-friendly. Different transporation modes (i.e. rail, buses, ferries) work in conjunction with each other for a seamless transition. There are millions of people in HK, but only about 60,000 private vehicles, and about half of them are commercial vehicles. That means people WALK and take public transit everywhere, and the transit system makes this easy. Plus, if you're not into using your limbs, a taxi is never far away. Taxis are also different colors, depending on where you're at, like on Kowloon, they're light blue. In other places they're red or black.
2. The subways and subway stations are really clean, not to mention that signage is good and easy to navigate.
3. Organized chaos. Hong Kong is so vibrant with so many people going in all different directions, the urban din and the energy, it is easy to get over-stimulated and disoriented. However, it is also just also just as easy to see a pattern to the chaos and there are plenty of signs and friendly English-speakers to help you along the way.
4. Eat. When in Hong Kong, you must savour the cuisine, it is some of the best Chinese food in the world. My favorite is the egg custard (dan tah)...mmmmmmm!!!!!!
This is my last day in Hong Kong, but I am looking forward to coming back some day. Here are some of my observations these past few days:
1. The transportation system is extremely efficient and user-friendly. Different transporation modes (i.e. rail, buses, ferries) work in conjunction with each other for a seamless transition. There are millions of people in HK, but only about 60,000 private vehicles, and about half of them are commercial vehicles. That means people WALK and take public transit everywhere, and the transit system makes this easy. Plus, if you're not into using your limbs, a taxi is never far away. Taxis are also different colors, depending on where you're at, like on Kowloon, they're light blue. In other places they're red or black.
2. The subways and subway stations are really clean, not to mention that signage is good and easy to navigate.
3. Organized chaos. Hong Kong is so vibrant with so many people going in all different directions, the urban din and the energy, it is easy to get over-stimulated and disoriented. However, it is also just also just as easy to see a pattern to the chaos and there are plenty of signs and friendly English-speakers to help you along the way.
4. Eat. When in Hong Kong, you must savour the cuisine, it is some of the best Chinese food in the world. My favorite is the egg custard (dan tah)...mmmmmmm!!!!!!
Saturday, May 5, 2007
24
24 hours from now, I will be on an airplane headed for Hong Kong.
Yesterday was my last day at work, and it is best described as hectic and bittersweet. In the last few hours, it was refreshing to see files disappearing one by one from my office, until it was gone. All gone. It will be a while before I go into another office to work. I stood and looked at my empty space a little while, and at the little duckie staring back at me. I had forgotten that it was once this empty almost two years ago.
Exhausted. Exhilirated.
Yesterday was my last day at work, and it is best described as hectic and bittersweet. In the last few hours, it was refreshing to see files disappearing one by one from my office, until it was gone. All gone. It will be a while before I go into another office to work. I stood and looked at my empty space a little while, and at the little duckie staring back at me. I had forgotten that it was once this empty almost two years ago.
Exhausted. Exhilirated.
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