Hong Kong Wrap Up

Camp ended this past week and it's made me realize that time has flown! I can't believe my days in Hong Kong have ended. I didn't get to blog as much as I wanted to, so here are some random bits and pieces from my stay in "Asia's World City."

Bruce Lee statue in Kowloon with Hong Kong Island in the background

Day 1 - This was actually taken on the day before camp officially started. I don't know if you'll be able to tell in the picture that will follow from my trip to Vietnam, but I just weighed myself in my hotel and it turns out I've lost 13 pounds since I've been in Asia. 

This is a picture from Mong Kok, an area in Kowloon that is known for the "Ladies Market". It's ridiculously busy there all the time.
 
This is a street performer in Mong Kok. 

I took me entirely too long to figure out why this flyer bothered me. 

Absolutely nothing about this looks fun. 

Come get your duck!

Just a huge snail wandering across a step - I'm not sure that my hand comparison does the snail justice because if I held it in my hand, it would fill up most of my palm. 

All scaffolding I saw was made out of bamboo, even when the construction is 40 floors up.

Truer words have never been spoken. "Love makes the world go kound."

This lady - collecting donations in Times Square with a full set of gold teeth on the bottom.

Tattoos are pretty rare in Hong Kong. I only saw three in a month. This was the only tattoo shop I saw and it was located in some random little hole in the wall mall in Wan Chai some where. 

Walking through that same random, hole in the wall mall I found a shop specializing in Monchhichi dolls. Super creepy. 

Yup, more Monchhichi dolls.

Times Square

MTR signage - What struck me was the "Little Glee Monster" text. 

Singapore spring rolls that were to die for!

Fried noodles with pork and veggies... not awesome.

Kitchee v. Paris Saint-Germain

Last night I went to a football match between Hong Kong's team, Kitchee, and Paris Saint-Germain. The Hong Kong Football Association plays one well-known club a year and this year it was PSG. I was really hoping that someone at camp would be interested in going, but no one really was, or those who were had work schedule conflicts. I decided to go on my own no matter what and I was glad I did. 

Aside from seeing my first international football match, I was really satisfied with all I did on my own to make it happen. I researched and purchased tickets. I found the location to pick up the tickets, which was a little bit complicated. There is a ticket vendor called CityLine here, which is similar to TicketMaster in the US. The only frustrating part is that even if you buy your tickets online, you still have to go to the vendor to pick up the ticket. You can't print from home. Plus, the vendor outlets aren't located at the sport facilities. This seems very stereotypical Hong Kong to me in that very little is straight forward and easy to accomplish. So, I was proud of myself for finding the vendor and getting my ticket. I also navigated several steps of public transportation on my own. I found Hong Kong Stadium with a little help from strangers. I spoke with some locals. I was at ease being alone and watching the game. 

All in all, I'd call the night a success. The football was atrocious. PSG walloped Kitchee, 6-2. It was a joke of a game, but it was still fun.

After wandering around Causeway Bay and speaking with two other foreigners, I finally found this sign to help me out. Hong Kong is not always so good with the signage. 

My ticket. I'm glad I didn't purchase the best seat because it would have been a total waste of money. There was really limited staffing to keep fans from going to whatever seat they wanted. So, I plunked my butt down in row 4 at one point. I moved around and saw what I wanted to see, where I wanted to see it.  

On my way to finding Hong Kong Stadium I ended up walking behind this man. I decided to refrain from asking him for directions.

Hong Kong Stadium!

Another stadium shot. This end was full of PSG fans. It seemed like most of the fans there were PSG fans. Everyone was having a good time. Even the Kitchee fans were cheering for PSG. I think everyone just wanted to have a fun night.  

Kickoff after the second goal 

A kind of cool picture of the field, except for the players moving on the right side 

Corner kick

Corner kick 

I was curious about the concessions. It turns out KFC is offered. This chicken sandwich had some sort of tangy sauce on it that I first thought was cheese wiz.  I have no idea what it was, but it was pretty tasty.

Every sport organization needs interns. :)

Oh look, it's an intern in a mascot costume. 

Sweaty selfie

I decided to embrace being in Asia and I thew up the peace sign for my picture after I saw the guys who took my picture do it for theirs.
This little pumpkin was not too concerned with the game. He was much, much more entertained by the seats.

The MTR was just a bit busy on the way home.

I felt a little claustrophobic going into the station.

Word. 

I became a bit overwhelmed on the escalator down into the MTR station. I had to do my deep breathing to believe I wasn't going to be trampled to death. 

Crowded MTR. Everyone did not seem amused by me trying to take pictures.  Yup, I'm a tourist and I don't care. 

Proof of my not caring.

Still not the most crowded MTR ride I've had since I've been here. The fact that I could get out my phone and take pictures is proof that it wasn't the most crowded ride. 

A Hot One

To say today was a hot one is an understatement. It was brutal. The air feels ridiculously heavy and it seems like everything is sticking - hair to skin, thighs to chairs. Everything is wet, be it from rain, sweat, or general humidity. Aircon is our lifeline. 

Creepy Crawlies

Hong Kong has been great, but this week I've been exposed to its creepy crawly side. 

This is my friend, Griffin, next to the spider the size of his hand. We came across this bad boy as we left our offices to go to dinner.

Yup, I was shaking in my flip flops.

I've been destroyed by miscellaneous bugs this week too. They could be mosquito, ant, or whatever bites. Last count was 42 on my legs. And yes, they itch. :/

Tonight I came across this huge snail!!

There are more creepy crawlies, but I just try to keep my head down and pretend they aren't there. 

Day Off One

This weekend I was lucky to have both days off from work so I took some time for myself, hung out with CTY friends, and made new friends. First, I was in desperate need of a manicure. I know that sounds a bit pretentious and high maintenance, but before I left for Asia I got a gel manicure and a pedicure so that my nails would look polished and professional, no matter how grimey I got. Well, that plan went to hell when my manicure started peeling two days in and my cuticles peeled back and bled. I was ticked off because I paid good money for that manicure and it didn't even last two days. My nails were such a mess and were wafering and tearing. I anxiously awaited time off to go get everything remedied. This weekend was my chance! I found a great walk up place with an awesome lady who spoke almost no English. I was stoked.

Yup, that's right. You're looking at my jacked up, chipped manicure 24 hours after I got it done. I give up.

After my mani-pedi, I went shopping through Wan Chai, a part of HK that's pretty busy and there's lots to see and do. There are regular stores, street markets, and little hole in the wall places to shop. You can get sort cheap things, high end things, and everything in between.

I found a bookstore that made me think of my sister, Sarah.  

I also found an atrocious skirt that made me think of Steinmart and knew my sister, Liz, would appreciate it.  There are a lot of shops here where one can buy cheap clothing, but it's sort of like shopping at a thrift store - there's likely only one option of each article of clothing. Take it or leave it.

I saw funky, fun umbrellas that made me think of my mom.  A note about the umbrellas: People carry umbrellas here all the time. It's kind of annoying. The sun is so hot and just beats down on everyone. The umbrellas work to make walking in the heat much, much more manageable. I refuse to use one, however. The city is so crowded that I want to smack everyone for smacking into me with their umbrellas.  

This is one of the dime-a-dozen outdoor street markets. Notice the woman and her umbrella.

Lining the streets where the street markets are typically held are these narrow, yet deep stores that sell super cheap clothing. For example, these tank tops were about US$3 and bras are available for about US$2. It's all super cheap though. So, if you're looking for relatively disposable clothing, it's great. If you're looking for quality, these are not the places to buy.

There are always people sleeping in the street markets.  

Just one of the streets in Wan Chai. 

After I got my nails done and did a little shopping I met my friend, Pote, at this coffee shop he really wanted to try out. I guess it made some "10 Coffee Shops to See in the World" list and so we gave it a whirl. You can see from this picture that I really embraced the coffee at The Coffee Academic. 

We ventured through their menu and came out with nachos and pizza. The nachos were decent enough, but the pizza was awful! Pote said his cappuccino was to die for, and Pote's a bit of a foodie/ coffee snob, so I think you could trust him.  

After the coffee shop, Pote and I walked to the MTR to go to Causeway Bay, another area of HK.  The main attraction at Causeway Bay is Time Square, which is a bit reminiscent of NYC's Time Square. It also has a ton of shopping and a ton of people.  On our way to the MTR we stopped and got fresh juice from a street vendor.  I got freshly squeezed water mellon juice. It was worth a go, but I'll never do it again. I don't know what I expected, but it was just basically pureed water mellon. I was not a huge fan and didn't even finish half of this. Again, for US$1.75, it was worth a try. 

Time Square in the daylight 

Pote and the Micheal Keaton Batmobile. 

Me and the one from the Dark Knight.

Pote pretending to be overwhelmed by the people in Time Square.

Me in Time Square. The most notable differences are that the buildings here in this area are not nearly as tall as those in NYC, and traffic is restricted through this area more so than in NYC.

This is just a typical street in Causeway Bay. 

Causeway Bay area

The five-story Forever 21 in Causeway Bay

Rooftops in Causeway Bay

Rooftop graffiti in Causeway Bay

A socks vending machine in a mall in Causeway Bay

The Hunger Games in Cantonese 

Pote and I ate dinner at this ramen place called Ippudo. It was awesome. This was very tasty!

At the end of the night, around 9:30 PM, Pote and I rode the MTR to the last stop that got us closest to our residence. For about 3 minutes we saw this MTR car empty, which I've never seen in the two weeks I've been here. I think this is like seeing a unicorn in the wild. I wish I had a picture of earlier in the day when we rode the MTR and everyone was basically front to back and back to front with the person standing next to them. What a comparison it would have made!