HONG KONG & Macau (and the quest for a computer)

Oh my GOD it's been an impossible week trying to find a proper internet cafe to finally update this blog!! I feel so far behind now - after Hong Kong I made my way to Bali and the Gili Islands, where there were absolutely no internet cafes in sight, and today, I am typing from the Philippines where it is the THIRD internet cafe that I found that finally was able to read my USB and phone properly. WHEW. I will write very soon about my time in Bali/Gili, but firstly, a place that deserves its own blog post:

Hong Kong

This was such a wonderful 6 days!!! Gregory, my uncle (who is younger than me) picked me up after a scenic airport express train ride into the city. I was already struck by Hong Kong when looking out my airplane window - so many beautiful little islands with clear turquoise water. Hong Kong as a landscape felt so much like a Caribbean Island, but cosmopolitan.

The day I arrived there wasn't much time to plan anything, besides a really really big welcome dinner. This was so nice because this was also me meeting relatives of mine I had never met before, including aunts and grand-aunts and grand-uncles. Greg was the ULTIMATE tour guide throughout my entire stay. Something else that struck me about walking through the Hong Kong streets was the insane amount of shopping malls, the lack of quaint and charming restaurants on a street corner, and probably the coolest: scaffolding still made up entirely out of bamboo rods instead of metal. SO COOL

I wish they didn't live so far away!! I really got to know my aunts Yvonne and Yasmine and catch up with Greg's twin brother Geoffrey, who I hadn't seen in years

The next day there was a typhoon 8 warning so everything was closed. Greg and I had scheduled to go to an olympic-team volleyball game, but they initially announced that no one could attend because of the dangerous weather. I spent most of the day resting, but then later in the afternoon everything cleared and we were able to attend. This was so much fun!!!!!

We watched Japan vs. Russia, and then China vs. Serbia. Everyone wanted Japan to win, there were even cute drummers chanting for Japan to win. China vs. Serbia was actually a sort of rematch from the Olympics, because China beat Serbia so they won Gold and Silver. This time though, serbia won. It was so cool to see how on this side of the world, the noise-makers given to audience members was a piece of poster paper that could be turned into a fan to make noise. I love that that is the "eastern" equivalent to what fans use at sports games in western countries!

After this game, of course there was going to be another big dinner. I got pretty adventurous with new food... including duck tongue (tasted exactly like jellyfish to me), smelly tofu (omg... it really smells and tastes like poop), and something called "beggar's chicken", where a full chicken is wrapped in lotus leaves and then wrapped in mud/clay. After it bakes, you hammer the clay off. Everyone told me I should be the hammerer so I did it but a bit too strongly because then everyone was holding their arms out telling me to stop!

After I hammered the chicken

All of this family-style food was good fuel for the next day ahead, which was a very spontaneous day trip to Macau...

Macau

Wow what an interesting place. It was definitely worth a day's trip, and we lucked out with amazing weather. I was surprised to see that parts of Macau were far more run down that parts of Hong Kong, it really felt like another developing country like ones I had seen in Southeast Asia. Some parts truly felt dirty and run-down, which I found strange considering how overly-developed and clean the other part of Macau was with all the casinos. We were lucky enough to have my grand-uncle's friend drive us around - we asked him about this and he said the Makanese have no interest at all in renovating Macau, they like the "developing" look and feel that it has.

 The most beautiful parts were old Macau with the remnants of Portuguese architecture everywhere. Some parts SERIOUSLY felt like Europe, and suddenly I felt transported like I had no idea anymore where I was. Was I in Asia? It felt like I had a europe treat for the day, including a full portuguese lunch at the base of Macau's tallest tower. This tower is also the highest bungee jump in the world... (it crossed my mind for a few minutes to do it).

so european

the same tiled streets

omg the pasteis de nata... it was just as good as the ones I had in Portugal!

And then came the casino area..... This was wildly - perhaps alarmingly - different. It's sooo over the top here. Each building represents something different. One was Paris, one was Venice and SO "extra" that it even had a canal and gondola ride going through it. Another was sooo over the top it had 2 ferris wheels attached to its facade. What????? Just tons of shops, casinos, and fancy living. Greg and I did gamble for a bit and wound up leaving with money gained!

the two ferris wheels!

Ridiculous

This also made me wonder for a second, how many tourists that remain in Asia come to these places, thinking and feeling it is like the real Venice, and therefore don't feel a need to go to Venice. Greg said it was probably many people who think this way.

The day ended at this amazing, unreal buffet dinner place (maman you and mamie have been here!) which I found so impressive, seriously anything you could ask for: thai, japanese, chinese, indian, western dihes, LOBSTER, and endless desserts... I had a little portion of each and every one.

one fraction of the endless buffet areas...

The Day of Hong Kong Heights: 

The following day wound up being absolutely incredible!!!! This was the one day I had hoped and kept my fingers crossed for good weather at any point in the day. I knew not to keep my hopes too high because it was rainy season and had rained every day that week. But somehow, to our luck, there were barely any clouds in the sky, let alone rain, which made for a day of truly spectacular sites that I'm so grateful for. Greg and I got up pretty late and started the afternoon taking a cable car over to the Big Buddha, a giant buddha atop a hill on the island next to hong kong's main island.

This cable car ride alone made the whole day worth it, it even had a glass bottom to it so we could see everything below us, holding our breaths... Wow, I'm still so amazed by the water of Hong Kong. So turquoise! And the sun was warm, beaming, and happy.

SO HIGH UP

We made it to the Big Buddha, also quite a sight, surrounded by mountains... amazing sculptures also surrounded the main buddha with views of the water and smaller islands in the distance. I don't even know what to say about this day and the perfect sunny weather and the sites, I just felt blessed that the day we chose to do the most outdoorsy and scenic things, was the one day in the week where there were hardly any clouds.

view from inside the cable car

On our way back from the Big Buddha, our final destination was Victoria's Peak, another highlight in Hong Kong where you can see the whole city view from a hilltop. There were a lot of tourists there but it did not obstruct the view or my enjoyment of it. In this mall complex that this viewpoint was a part of, I couldn't help but splurge on some amazing Korean skin care products (my new obsession, courtesy of Geoffrey Chi my uncle). The day ended with what was probably one of the most amazing dumpling experiences of my life for dinner... xiao long bao in different flavors. We didn't really have lunch on this day, so I stuffed my face.

SALIVATING: Original, black truffle, cheese, crab roe, garlic, szechuan, ginseng and foie gras flavors!!!!!!

One last thing that's caught my attention in Hong Kong, besides the bamboo scaffolding... All of the adorable stuffed animals and anime characters everywhere!

in a shopping mall

Then began my last day in Hong Kong... Greg and I wanted to take it easy today and had another late start. We actually moved away from Asian food today because my grand-uncle wanted to take us to a really fancy french restaurant instead, L'Atelier. That isn't something I'd normally do while traveling, however I was wowed by the displays of all of their dishes, and it was quite good.

truly like a work of art, you almost don't want to eat it!

Our last stop of the day was to go to Stanley Market, a big market at the southern tip of Hong Kong. The market was not like I expected, it was very similar to all of the local markets throughout southeast asia, selling things for tourists, etc - it was sooo far to get to, but made for a very serene, unexpectedly relaxing retreat and moment of quiet along the rocks that made up Stanley Harbor. Suddenly the rush of the week had come to a halt in this moment as Greg and I just absorbed the sea, the barnacles, the waves, the boats, the sunset.

My last night in Hong Kong ended at a golf club for a big dinner with aunts, grand-aunts and grand-uncles again for one last get-together. This was when I really got to know Yvonne, my 39 year old aunt really well. She told me all about her travels to Mongolia recently, where she goes during her vacation but to help out children there in small villages. We bonded over traveling while sipping some margaritas... It felt fascinating to me to finally get to know my mom's side of the family when my whole life I had grown up knowing mostly my dad's side. It made me wish we were all living in the same country!

My stay in Hong Kong ended with some more shopping for korean skin care products (thank you greg for carrying them back home to NYC ;)) and then a stuffing dim sum for breakfast before heading to the airport. Everyone said I should come back to Hong Kong and stay much longer next time. It feels so heartwarming that now I can say I am always invited back "home" to Hong Kong if I wish to return.

The past week 

The past week I will write another blog entry for in the next couple of days - it was quite a whirlwind week on all levels - and I returned to Bali and the Gili islands for some much needed sun and beach time. Blog entry coming soon on this one...

It was a very reflective week while in Bali/Gili, as well where I had deep conversations with other solo travelers about what you get out of these types of trips, backpacking, vacationing... Many things discussed were that you can never force one trip to be like a previous one. And even if a past trip was incredible and the one you currently are on does not match up, it doesn't mean that it is worse, it just means that the current trip has a different purpose. Too often on this trip I felt like it had not been the same, most amazing summer of my life like last year's trip was - but that's because when you have expectations, you will be disappointed - and when you try to seek out something that already happened, you are not opening your mind to what HASN'T happened. This trip has most certainly been a more difficult trip, mentally, emotionally - but it just has a different purpose than the one I went on last year. Last year's trip I also chose out of desire, while this trip I mostly chose out of anger, from certain things falling apart prior to the start of summer. This all factors into the experience. And also, more often than not, you will not know what the "purpose" of a trip really was until long after you return home, finally unpacking and processing on what you had just lived through over the past couple of months. I am OK with not knowing yet, not wanting to find out right away what the purpose of this year's trip is. I will know eventually, and it will all make sense.

Where I am Now

The Philippines, finally - BOY is there a surprise to write about as to how I finally made it here...in one piece and all of my sanity