Observations

Yesterday, I went to open a HK bank account. I had to wait in line for about half an hour and was able to just stand and people watch. Here is what I observed:

1. There was a lady in her mid-eighties to nineties standing in line a few spots in front of me. Since the line was so long, the lady behind her told her to go sit down and she would call her when it was her turn so she didn't have to wait in the long line. Everyone takes care of the elderly in HK, I think that's so nice, although this is true pretty much everywhere haha.

2. Belching in public is completely normal and accepted. The lady in front of me let out the largest belch I've ever heard and I was shocked that nobody laughed. Of course, I couldn't hold in my laughter. I was standing there with my hand over my mouth shaking from laughing so hard. It was pretty embarrassing, but I couldn't help myself! The harder I tried to stop, the worse it got. I kept my head down the rest of my time in line.

3. When I got to the bank counter, the lady there was very nice. I have never heard Cantonese spoken in such a sing-song-like voice before. I found that my Cantonese has improved a lot since I first got to Hong Kong a few days ago. Well it probably didn't improve that much, but I am a lot more comfortable with it now. I noticed that some of my thoughts come naturally in Chinese now, rather than in English, which surprised me. When it became time to count the amount of money I wanted deposited, I started counting out loud automatically in Cantonese. I found that I no longer have to translate things in my head before saying it out loud in the right language for most things.

After the bank, I went to The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to check the place out. A good portion of the 1.5 hour trip there was on the metro. An American couple stood next to me on the train, and I listened as they talked about art school. Everyone else on the train was carrying on conversation in Cantonese. Hearing English through one ear and Cantonese through the other was pretty fantastic.

 The metro stop I got off at was called Choi Hung, which means rainbow in Cantonese. After the metro, I had to take a min bus to get to the campus. Finding everything at HKUST to check in was the most confusing thing I have done since I arrived in HK, more about that later.

Victoria Harbor and Avenue of the Stars

After a scenic metro ride, we arrived at Victoria Harbor! The first picture below is of a famous hotel, the InterContinental where many celebrities choose to stay while in Hong Kong. Victoria Harbor was so beautiful! The pictures from my camera did not do it justice! 

One of the most famous places in Hong Kong, Victoria Harbor is filled with tourists. It is also a hotspot for couples since there is such a romantic backdrop as they stroll around. I am definitely coming back here as many times as I can before I come back to the States. 

 The InterContinental 

Clocktower built when Britain first claimed HK

 The harbor was stunning. 

After admiring the harbor for awhile, we walked around the Avenue of the Stars, which pays tribute to the Hong Kong film industry.  Famous Hong Kong film starts have their handprints set in the pavement along the avenue.
Here are my favorite ones:

 Jackie Chan!

 Andy Lau!

Another picture of the harbor.

For dinner, we went to Temple Street. This street is also filled with little stall shops similar to those at the Ladies Market from one of my earlier blog entries, except little trinkets are sold rather than ladies clothes and purses. We ate at a place that sells "bo ji fan". They cook individual little pots of rice and add the ingredients you want to it. I had "lap cherng gai bo ji fan". Yum :)

I'm still getting used to how a lot of eateries work in Hong Kong. It is rare for dining places to give napkins, so you always need to carry a pack of your own. This is even true at nice restaurants. Also, people don't wait for the table to clear out to sit down. As soon as you see people get up, you have to beat other customers to save the table for yourself. Then, you wave someone over to clean the table for you. 

 Temple Street sign

Exploring the Village

My family lives in a village in Hong Kong. Today, was election day and I accompanied my aunt to the polls. Every village has elected representatives and I happened to be here just in time to see the elections. As my aunt went to vote, I walked around the village gathering area and took some pictures. 

This is where villagers bring huge "woks" to cook feasts for the entire village during special occasions. The entire village gathering area would become filled with tables of food. 

 This is the village temple, where villagers can pray and worship buddhist gods.

This is where villagers gather to play games like chinese checkers, cards, gambling games, etc. Inside, are just tables and chairs. 

 This is the village office where all the official happenings take place. This is where my aunt went to vote.

 

 

This is the village basketball court where kids play. There are chairs to the side for parents who want to sit and watch their kids.

The views from the village gathering area:

The village bus stop.

After voting, we went to eat at a nice cafe. We had a dish called "cha sieu fan." For those who know what "cha sieu" is, it tastes way better in Hong Kong! Our first meal of the day was at 3PM.

They put ice on the outside so that the milk tea wouldn't be diluted!

Then, we were on our way to Avenue of the Stars which pays tribute to the Hong Kong film industry, but more about that in my next entry. On our way there, we stopped by a typical Hong Kong park. My family was amused by how much scenery interested me because they are so used to everything around the area.

There was so much going on at that park! It was Sunday, so everyone is off work. The older folk like to sing and dance around the park, performing for people passing by.  On a lazy sunday afternoon, it is typical to see the elderly sitting and enjoying the little shows at the park. There are also a lot of women in their mid-twenties around the park. These are the maids of Hong Kong. Since they have Sunday off, they usually come to the park to relax and enjoy afternoon tea.

 They're dancing!

A great start to the day, I will blog about my night in a little while!

Ladies Market

I am slowly adjusting to HK time! It is currently past 4 AM and I am still awake. Now hopefully tomorrow I don't wake up with the cows (as Alex puts it) as I always did in the States.

Today, I got an octopus card! An octopus card is the HK metro card and it is such a convenient tool to have. Not only is it used for taking the metro, but it is also used for EVERYTHING. You can use it on any city bus, to pay at convenient stores, to pay at markets, etc. All the Seven Elevens here have machines where you can add money to your octopus card. Very cool.

After using my new octopus card to get on the bus, my Great Aunt Seven, Aunt Joanne, baby Wai Ting, and I went to eat our first meal of the day. (At 2:30 PM, haha) We went to eat at a little pho place and it was SO GOOD. So much better than pho in the U.S.!  Connie, you have to try the pho here, someday. And btw, an entire bowl of pho plus a coconut drink costs a total of 4 U.S. dollars. Isn't that nuts? Yum, works for me!

After eating, we walked around and took a few pictures of the scenery outside.

Then, we were off to Ladies Market! Thanks for the suggestion, Cindy :)
Ladies Market is actually called Tung Choi Street, but since most of the stands sell products for women, locals started calling it the Ladies Market. The name stuck and they even added it to the street sign!

Ladies Market consisted of a series of open stalls selling a little bit of everything. I could not bargain to save my life, but my aunt helped me get great deals!
Here's how to do it:
1. Pick the item you like, compliment the sales person, and ask for the price. Example: "Hey pretty lady, how much does that watch cost?" (this is literal Cantonese to English translation, so it sounds like you're hitting on the girl, but no its not like that haha)
2. No matter what they say, tell them "Wow, that's way too expensive!" and walk away.
3. They will chase after you and say "Wait come back, how much are you willing to pay?"
4. You lowball them with a ridiculously low price. They'll say "Oh I can't sell it to you for that."
5. You say "No, thanks then." and walk away. They'll chase after you again and give you a price in the middle of what you asked for and what they originally told you.
6. You say "It's still too expensive, no thanks." and keep walking. They'll chase you again and give you very close to the price you asked for. You pretend to think about it, and then pay the lady and take your item home!

My aunt used this method exactly and it worked every single time. I was amazed. I bought a dress, a watch, and a pair of sunglasses for a total of 160 hong kong dollars, which is equivalent to only 20.50 U.S. dollars! Here is a picture of me wearing the dress and watch I bought. (my cousin was jumping)

After shopping, we walked around and I got a glimpse of HK city life. It is so crowded! At a certain time in the evening, the roads become blocked off to cars because there isn't enough space for people to walk. The roads become sidewalks and they still managed to be filled with people!

After walking around Mong Kok Street, we went to grab dinner at a Wonton Soup, place. I took your advice, Connie! It was delicious as expected :)

<-- the reason I am awake now. Caffeine.

Before we went back to the house, we stopped by a grocery store to buy some fruit. We bought this pink and green fruit that I have never seen before. They called it the fire-ball fruit. It was really sweet and is apparently very good for you. This was our dessert, yum :)

Hong Kong Shopping

After dim sum, we walked to an indoor marketplace. I took more pictures during the walk.

It was similar to a U.S. shopping mall, but then not at the same time.

There were a lot of make up stands. I learned that make up and appearance is a big thing for girls here. Girls before and afer they get ready look like completely different people, it's crazy! Eyeliner is a big thing, fake eyelashes and mascara, and (this is the most interesting part) they wear contacts that make their pupils look bigger! Apparently those contacts make their eyes appear larger, and, therefore, prettier by Hong Kong standards. Interesting. My great aunt assumed I was wearing special contacts as well, haha. She was surprised when I told her that I wasn't and that my eyes were actually brown. Most people in Hong Kong have dark brown eyes that blend in with the Iris so it all looks dark and black.
Check out the difference it makes, weird!

At the lower level of the marketplace there was a gorgeous stage that HK celebrities sometimes perform on.

 From left: Me, My Great Aunt Seven, Wai Ting, My Aunt Joanne

Sales people here are very aggressive. When they're sure you won't buy from them, they give you dirty looks and yell at you that you missed out on a deal. How rude! I'm glad my family was with me as I shopped around. Otherwise, I'd be overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the whole thing. I also learned that politeness in general is kind of rare here. My family told me I didn't have to say "sorry" or "excuse me" every time I bumped into someone. It just happened too often, and of course I never got a response back, haha. Since there are so many people in HK, people cut each other off all the time, which I wasn't used to. I kept waiting for people to let me walk, but then I learned my lesson. I need to work on being less polite to fit in, hahah.

After a successful shopping trip (I bought a comforter, pillow, and shampoo), we went to dinner. By this point, I was falling asleep! Stupid jetlag. Dinner was delicious, yum. 

See Lauren, look how good I am at keeping up with this blog :)