I arrived in Hong Kong shortly after 11pm on Sunday, September 11. My friend Alicia was at the airport waiting for me when I walked through the gates. It was so nice to see a familiar face from home and I was relieved that we found each other so easily.
We got onto the train and soon arrived to our destination: her friend’s house. As this was a long weekend in Hong Kong as well, many people were travelling. Alicia’s roommate Hannah had a few friends staying at the apartment so there would not be room for Alicia and I. So, Alicia’s friend kindly offered us her apartment (she was going away travelling as well). It worked out perfectly!
Once we arrived at the apartment, I put my things down and we decided to go out for a little stroll around town before bed. This was my first time in a ‘red light district’ area of town and it was quite the experience. Overall, it was just a typical city area with bars everywhere; the only exception was that there were also prostitutes in the mix. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel at all anxious or unnerved being in a ‘shady’ area of town, I actually felt slightly comforted because this was the first time in months that I had been somewhere where all of the signs were in English and people were speaking English all around me.
We continued on our stroll and walked down to the harbor front (absolutely beautiful!) and Alicia pointed out the major buildings. One of the first things I noticed about Hong Kong was how clean it was. The streets were very clean and well kept. There were always sidewalks for people to walk on. When you crossed paths with someone, they were very polite… it was great!
The next morning we got up and went to a local bakery to get breakfast. This was a treat in itself because there were so many delicious choices of baked goods. I had eaten these types of buns before in Canada when I went out for dim sum and loved them…. These ones stood up to my expectations; they were great! I thought of my friend Mel while eating them because she always referred to them as dessert buns (even though the ones we would eat were BBQ pork) it’s just because the bready part is slightly sweet and delicious!
After our brekky, we got on the subway and went on our way to Lantau Island. I was glad Alicia was there because it took all of the stress out of figuring out where to go. She’s been in Hong Kong for 3 years now and is an excellent tour guide.
We arrived at the cable cars to get to the island and decided to take a guided tour instead of doing it ourselves with the hope that we could get a little more information from the guide. We boarded out cable car and I was delighted when we were joined by a German family with two young children. I was discovering that Hong Kong was a very multicultural place and it was nice to not only be able to understand people in English but also German as well!
The cable car was quite a long journey; it’s 5.7km and lasted about 25 minutes. During that time, we had great views of the city and the island. It was interesting to see everything from above because the layout is very intricate. The airport is on a manmade island and it’s visible from above because it’s perfectly flat whereas the rest of the land is fairly mountainous.
When we arrived on the island we met with our tourguide and boarded our bus. We were soon at our first stop, a historical fishing village called Tai O. This village runs predominantly off of fishing and people live in stilt houses. Our guide told us that it is expected that the village will disappear in about 40 years because the current inhabitants are aging and their children desire more white collar jobs in cities away from the village.
We went into a local monistary where we were shown some of the traditions and beliefs. The temple smelled very strongly of incense and it is believed that when you light incense (in 3 sticks, one for heaven, earth, and personal connections) you can say a prayer or wish and the smoke from the incense will carry it to the gods. Our guide joked that this is like a Buddhists version of E-mail.
Our guide also taught us about a method of telling the future using two moon shaped rocks. You clap the rocks together thinking of your question and then let them fall to the floor. Depending on the position they fall, you can derive your answer. This is a photo of Alicia trying that method out.
The temple here was very small and you could tell that there wasn’t a lot of money running through it… some of the areas were pretty run down, but compared to some of the other parts of town, it was well kept. Many of the spaces were quite small, I had to duck in this doorway to get through.
After the temple we were given some time to walk around and explore the village. Alicia and I decided to use our time to try some local goodies! We had some nice pastries and then bought some almond cookies… a local specialty! There was also tons of fish and fish bladders (yes!) to try but we decided to stay on the straight and narrow.
On the bus ride back to the main area, our tour guide gave us some interesting tidbits about Hong Kong. Apparently only 25% of the land in Hong Kong is being used, and although it seems so multicultural, 95% of residents are Chinese. Hong Kong also has one of the highest population density rates in the world with 6480 people/km squared. It was interesting to get these facts because I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
When we returned back to the main area, we walked to the Po Lin Monastery, which was a much bigger, glitzy monastery. There were beautiful flowers and fresh fruit everywhere and the guide gave us more information on the different customs.
After that came the big climb to the Buddha. The Giant Buddha is the largest outdoor bronze Buddha in the world! It took twelve years to build and was completed in 1993 (I was kind of disappointed by this, because I thought it was ancient, haha). There are 265 steps to climb in order to get to the top, but once you’re up there the view is absolutely stunning!
The Buddha is 112ft tall and his right hand is lifted which represents the removal of affliction. There are six smaller statues surrounding the Buddha which give offerings of flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit and music. It was very neat to walk around and view all of these beautiful figures. Also, after climbing all of the way up, it was nice to sit down and take a breather.
On our way down from the giant Buddha we decided it was time to refuel so we stopped at a Turkish place for lunch and had kababs. Then we went for dessert at another restaurant which was a totally new experience. I had this mango soup (cold) with little glutinous rice balls and green tea ice cream. It sounds odd but it was like a party in my mouth!
Coming home from Lantau we were exhausted so we decided to have a little nap before going out again. We got up later and headed to the city centre in Causeway Bay. Monday night was a special night because it was the lantern festival in Hong Kong. The park was lit up with different lanterns and there was a huge dragon dance going on.
We arrived early for the dragon dance and the streets were already crowded. When the dragon finally appeared, I was shocked by how big it was (67 meters long!). The entire thing was constructed out of incense sticks and it had a bright red glow and a trail of smelly smoke was left behind it. It was a really neat sight to see.
After the dragon dance we met up with some of Alicia’s friends and had drinks and mooncakes. The moon cakes are another specialty during the mid-autumn festival. They are made from ground lotus and sesame seed paste. They also have a dried egg yolk in the middle of them. They were very rich but also tasty. Apparently they’re only available for a couple of weeks during the year so I felt it was a very traditional experience.
We later walked through Victoria park where we saw thousands of different lanterns of all different shapes and sizes. Finally, we met back up with friends at a local club. Walking there I told Alicia that I felt like we weren’t even in Asia anymore, it was so multicultural.
The club we went to was at the top of a high story building and on the terrace you could see out over the entire city… such a view! It was a great night of fun music and lots of dancing.
Waking up on Tuesday morning was a bit difficult but we had a big day ahead of us so we had to get going. First on the plan was “Dialogue in the Dark”. It’s a worldwide exhibit that has locations in over 26 countries. The whole idea is to educate people and allow them to experience being visually impaired. The exhibit takes you through five different environments that are in complete darkness: a park, a ferry, a market, a video theater and a café. At the beginning you’re given a cane and a visually impaired guide walks you through the exhibit explaining how to ‘see’ with your other senses.
This was a fantastic experience! I learned that I would be a horrible blind person because I had a very difficult time using my other senses when I couldn’t see. Although I could hear the guide, I found it difficult to trust myself enough to move and not to injure myself in the process. The facility itself was very well laid out and I was impressed by how much I learned and was impacted by the experience. I never knew what it would be like to be visually impared before and spending over an hour in an environment where you have to rely on your other senses to do things makes you empathetic to the people who have to go through it every day.
It also allowed me to view visually impaired people in a different light. Before, I viewed them as being disadvantaged however through this experience I was able to see how truly knowledgeable my guide was and how she was able to experience the world in a unique way. In order to get around and do things as a visually impaired person, you have to be very skilled at using your other senses. I have a lot of respect for people who do.
The Dialogue in the Dark mission says this “In the dark, roles are reversed—the blind becomes sighted, and the sighted are lead by the blind. Our guides teach participants how to appreciate each environment without light—even without vision there is much beauty in the world to be found”. What an awesome experience to have!
Later we boarded the ferry and went to another Special Administrative Region of China called Macau. This was a Portuguese colony and was the only European colony in China. When we arrived and went through customs, I noticed that it had a very different feel than other Asian areas—very European!
After coming out of the arrival area, we were bombarded with tour packages and taxi services. Finally we decided to take a rickshaw to get a more outdoorsy feel of the area. It was beautiful driving through the streets (although I felt bad for our peddler when it was slightly uphill). We stopped right outside of St. Paul’s Cathedral and explored on foot.
The views were so charming and rich. The ruins of the cathedral reminded me of the European touring I’ve done in earlier years. After exploring the cathedral, we walked up the fortress to get a higher (and greener) view of the city… so nice!
Finally we took a cab to the Venetian which was on the other side of the island. Initially I thought the concept of recreating Venice in Asia was pretty cheesy but then I saw the place and it had a huge wow factor. It is a 40 story, $2.4 billion resort, casino and hotel. The 10,500,000 square foot building is the largest single structure hotel building in Asia and has a huge variety of shopping, restaurants, spas, exhibits, shows, casinos and gondola rides (with opera singers). There is even a theater designed for the Cirque de Soleil show Zaia (which I would have loved to see, but didn’t know about it).
When Alicia and I arrived the first thing we go to the casino. I put 10 bucks into the slot and was quite impressed when I won… then I lost some… then I won some again. Knowing that we were in a bit of a rush, I cashed out at just over $14, and was pleased that I had come out ahead by a few dollars. We were looking for one of those check out machines when it dawned on me that converted, I was holding less than two bucks in my hand, haha. What a joke! So we went back to the machines and Alicia tried out her luck on the slots… it didn’t last long, but that’s ok, there were other things to do.
We were amazed by the extravagant décor and spaciousness of the area. We walked around until we came to a sign reading “Fun Ice World”… what could be better?! We bought tickets and headed into a world of frosty splendor. Although they gave us big coats, it was freezing (-15 degrees Celsius) and we rushed through a little too quickly. There were different sculptures from all over the world and even a ice slide that we could slide down… fun!
Finally we decided dinner was in order. Because Macau was Portuguese based, we decided that would be the appropriate theme for the evening. We asked at the front desk where the best place would be and they recommended a restaurant in the casino. We went and were impressed with the meals. I don’t remember having Portuguese before, and I really enjoyed the flavors.
After arriving back home we were wiped! Poor Alicia had to get up early the next morning to teach. Luckily I was able to sleep in a bit more before my tour started.
