Day Two in China (Hong Kong)

Today was a very busy day. We made our way over to Victoria Peak Cable Car that is close to our hotel. It is a cable car that takes you up on a peak that overlooks Hong Kong. What an amazing view! It reminded me a lot of the Rockefeller Tower in NYC.

After Victoria Peak, we took a cab over to the Island of Lantau. We took a brand new tram up and over several mountains and were dropped off at a tiny village up in the mountains. The village consists of some touristy restaurants and shops, and then the Largest Outdoor Budha in Asia. It was pretty amazing. We had to climb this massive section of stairs to get up to the statue, but it was well worth it. Below the Budha was a Budhist Monistary. We were able to see the monks do there chants and see some pretty interesting worshiping practices. There were a ton of chants and incense being burned. I caught a lot of it on video.

From this little village, we took a taxi cab down to a little town on the ocean called Tai O. It is a city that is built on stilts. It was very poor, but they had a very neat market. There were dried fish every where including sharks. Little vendors here and there trying to sell their goods. It was very different from any market that I had been to though. There was a little guy there bar-b-quing some dried squid and brushing some hot sauce on it. So we tried it!! It tasted like a spicy fish jerky. Interesting! After that, we made our way into a temple that was built in the 1500's. It was very ornate and definately of the Budhist faith. It was amazing to see something so old an so important to the little village.

Well it was definately a busy and tiring day. We are looking forward to a good meal tonight, and some good rest. Enjoy the pics!

Day One in China

Well I arrived in Hong Kong as dead as dead can be. Flying coach for 15 hours on an Asian plane (the seats are made for the smaller Asian) was enough for me. I arrived in Hong Kong in the morning, and was able to see the area on the bus ride to the hotel. What a beautiful city! It reminds me a lot of Rio with it lush mountains on the water.

I had my first Chinese meal today. There is a mall that is connected to my hotel. It is a real upscale mall with Coach, L'Occitane, Armani, etc. I went to the food court and had a rice bowl with BBQ Pork. It was actually really good, and could become a staple for me! My classmates came in later in the day. It was good to have some company.