No, I have not tried Shark Fin Soup

Well after my first weekend in Hong Kong, I can say that I am truly beginning to appreciate the unique mixture of malls, beaches, mountains, and temples that this island packs in to a relatively small space. Unfortunately, mosquitoes also seem to appreciate it—my entire body is covered in the evidence of their love bites (despite the 3948 layers of bug spray I apply several times a day) and I expect to begin to look like a one giant bug bite by the end of the summer.

Friday night we enjoyed a great dinner in Kowloon near my dorms—a little tricky since the entire menu was in Cantonese with no pictures or English translations. Picking a random entrée worked out well this time, although that may not always be a reliable method in the future. Then headed to Central Hong Kong Island via the Star Ferry (cheapest ferry in the world..about 25 cents for a single ride) in order to enjoy the harbor and skyline at night. We went to this district called Lang Fei Wang which was teeming with students, tourists, and expats enjoying imaginatively themed bars and lounges. It was crowded and colorful, but not that different from the nightlife in any other city…felt remarkably similar to Barcelona, Bombay, or Budapest.

Saturday we took a twenty minute train ride to the new territories north of Kowloon and climbed a mountain to reach a Buddhist monastery complex called “monastery of 10,000 buddhas” (there are actually 12,800). It was nice to escape some of the city noise and smog, and the mountain views were quite serene and beautiful. Tried to count the buddhas, gave up around number 500. Received approximately 12,800 bug bites as well. That evening my roommate Emile and I were invited from some friends I met in Prague to a very exclusive, members’ only lounge called m1nt (not a typo, just some sort of creative play on words?). One wall was actually a shark tank….I don’t think additional description is required.

Sunday we had dim sum for Sunday brunch (I tried jelly fish…it was pretty gross) and then walked around the malls and street markets of the Mong Kok area (where all three of the recent acid attacks have occurred). I haven’t really enjoyed going to the mall since my days as a middle school brat, but it is a cultural staple of Hong Kong where the air-conditioning and modern amenities offer relief from the hot and crowded streets. A mall by my house offers 11 levels of high-end shopping, at least 50 dining options, a move theater, grocery store, bowling alley, and even a ice-skating rink. People here seem to use malls as a one-stop for entertainment, shopping, exercise, and socializing. I think I will learn to appreciate “malling” again over the next few months. The street markets (which include a jade market, bird market, “ladies” market, etc.) are especially smelly, hot, and claustrophobic compared to the cool calm of the high-rise malls, but the bargaining was fun. I learned not to ask for prices or look too hard at anything after having to run away from pushy shopgirls afterwards—an indicative conversation went as follows:

Me: “excuse me, how much is this purse/cell phone cover/tacky watch?”

Shopgirl: “150 dollar”

Me: “No, thanks, that’s too much”

Shopgirl: “Okay, 100 dollar”

Me: (not really interested anyway) “No, sorry, thanks” (starts to walk away)

Shopgirl (chasing me down the street): “Okay okay for you, very special price, 50 dollar. No? 25 dollar? 20 dollar? 10 dollar? Come back, come back, how much you pay?”

Me: *Runs away*

Shopgirl: *Pursues me for about 5 minutes before giving up with a disgusted look*

Figured out the picture thing, so look for some later today!