Hong Kong Island

Dear lovely reader,

Welcome to Hong Kong!! Hong Kong was just a whirlwind for me seeing that I had just another 2 days to spend. But I especially loved the port where our ship home docked.

Day 1 of Hong Kong:

We docked in Kowloon, peninsula to the north of Hong Kong Island. We took Star Ferry to the other side of Hong Kong Island to venture further inside. I didn’t know what to expect from Hong Kong. I’ve noticed that Hong Kong is a mixture of many personalities and influences, in contrast to Shanghai, Mainland China. It is very contemporary, being a former British colony. You can see the English influence with having a good number of locals speak both English and Cantonese Chinese. The first thing I saw was tall skyscrapers. We were walking through what it seemed like one business district. But Hong Kong Island is a very industrialized and urbanized country. Transportation in Hong Kong is a lot more orderly than transportation in Shanghai. There’s not as many motorbike glares at you when you’re crossing the street, probably because there’s not many motorbikes at all. Mostly taxis, cars, and buses. There’s not as much honking in Hong Kong but still some. As we were walking along the sidewalks to Times Square, I just didn’t feel a sense of China. The standard of living is greater in Hong Kong than it is in China. So I definitely saw a clear and larger middle-class in Hong Kong whereas China has a higher difference between lower- and higher-class. But these are just observations that I noticed :). Hong Kong, although different from China, celebrates the Chinese New Year just as well. There was an area in the middle of Times Square where spring pink blossom trees were abundant. It was absolutely beautiful to walk through the pink forest. Took a few jumping pictures for the moment. I’m not sure if y’all know, but by the end of this voyage, I’m hoping to compile a movie of all these photos and clips. I’m thinking jumping pictures and back pictures would be a great collage. But anyway we found ourselves a great dim sum restaurant in the city. At first I was a little confused because it wasn’t a la carte like usual dim sum restaurants. But the entrees were so gooooooood. I had to admit the portions were a little smaller for my taste but the proof was in the pudding. Every time you’re eating something other than ship food, it’s best to savor the taste and finish it. Because nothing like that will ever be on the ship.

I think our map-searching abilities were definitely put to the test when we split with Cindy and Bridget. Bridget needed to be back on the ship for a field lab and Cindy was a main escort around Hong Kong for the day. Hong Kong is very easy to get lost into, especially if you don’t know where you’re going. But through maps and signage, we headed towards the tram to Victoria Peak. The day we docked into Hong Kong was the day it was unusually foggy in this country. I heard just two days before, there was sunny weather. However it didn’t stop us from heading to Victoria Peak to get a stunning view of Hong Kong Island. At the Peak, the Peak Tower is not only an observation platform, it also doubles as a shopping mall with lots of shops and dining. I’m not going to lie, I saw a lot of fog at the top the peak (lulz). But pretty fog nonetheless. The scene was just as peaceful to soak in and enjoy. But for a traveler’s tip: It’s more worth it going to the SkyView of Victoria Peak rather than only the observation deck of Victoria Peak. It’s the skyline view is what travelers want to see. After we were done getting our bucks worth of fog haha, we decided to go back to the ship to get ready and go out. It’s really important that you’re totally aware of scams and sketch in foreign country bars and clubs. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. But we found a chill bar and lounge after walking and walking around. Hong Kong at night doesn’t sleep with its street food vendors and night clubs. Even though we made sweet friends and even sweeter memories, it’s so important to not get drunk tanked and hung over for a field lab the next day. Field labs are like field trips for classes – mandatory to go, and 20% of your grade.

Day 2 of Hong Kong:

For Professor Reynold’s Economy of China course, we were scheduled to visit Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) and be paired up with HK University students to have lunch with, get to know, and spend some time with before we headed back to the ship. Honestly, this class is my hardest class because it’s more based on economic history and its progression in China rather than principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics. But you try your best right? I think so many people went out on the first night of Hong Kong, that every student who had a field lab the next morning, myself included, felt like shit. But breakfast always is a good cure, and lots of water in the morning. It was a struggle to get on the bus, some lack of communication. But once we were on the bus, I was hoping to have it be at least a 30 minute ride to get to LegCo for a nice nap, but we were there in probably 10 minutes. We took an underground road that connected Kowloon to the other side of Hong Kong Island which was cool to be in, since we took a ferry boat yesterday. Hong Kong is so tight haha. But we were able to sit down and have a discussion (more like a monologue and then a Q&A) with Jasper Tsang, the President of LegCo as he is the President of the biggest Pro-Democracy Party. But I had to take notes to stay awake – something I don’t think I could speak on behalf for the rest of the students haha. But we tried our best. At least no one had any accidents, by accidents I mean faints and throw-ups. I heard another Hong Kong field lab had 13 students puke because they were so hung over… yikes. But The Honorable Jasper Tsang talked about the powers between the Chief Executive and LegCo, law-making, the future of Hong Kong and Mainland China, the hope for a better world with democracy. I was really impressed with how Jasper Tsang was very humble and gracious when he spoke. He is very much an optimist. Afterwards we were guided around the building of LegCo, learning about its history, sitting inside the main council rooms. It was pretty cool. I think the moment we were waiting for was probably the best part of the entire field lab – meeting our paired Hong Kong/Chinese student. I’ve been exchanging a few emails with Elaine Liu a little bit before our ship took off. When I met her, I was immediately happy I was paired with her. She is so sweet and so light-hearted about everything and the way she carries herself. I couldn’t believe she was a grad student, but I can tell she’s a hard worker, loves to hear, and that she wants to continue to have a global perspective of economies. She’s definitely inspiring. We had dim sum lunch altogether as the two classes emerged and did not yet again disappoint. The food was so delicious, I just wish the portions were a little bigger. I think Americans earn their fat reputation pretty easily haha. We took the subway to a Flower Park where the spirit of Chinese New Year was immediately in the air. So many vendors and shops were laid out to sell great goods and food. The crowds made me anxious and excited to see what the next vendor had. But the most beautiful vendors had all sorts of arranged flowers laid out for families to bring home and celebrate the New Year. It was so gorgeous. After we spent a few hours roaming around, we thought it was best to head back to the bus and to the ship. I showed Elaine around our ship, from every deck on the outside, to every deck on the inside. I think she was so overwhelmed and excited to see how much was going on in this one ship vessel. I found myself going back to the first day too, how everything looked so grand and magical. I couldn’t believe I was sailing in this ship – still can’t even now. Time is just going by so fast, I just want it to freeze for so much longer. But anyway, I really encouraged Elaine to apply for Semester at Sea because seeing the light in her eyes on the ship, I knew she wanted so badly to take this opportunity too.

Thank you for reading this blog! To be honest, I’ve just wrapped up my days in Saigon, Vietnam and will be docking in Singapore tomorrow, eeeeeep! That means new fresh port feeling again, myah myah! I know I won’t be able to blog when we’re in port, but I’m hoping to finish my Vietnam series blogs during my B-days off. Please look forward to that! I’ll see you soon :).

All love and hope,

Kimmy

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.”     – Aldous Huxley