2/26/10

We were walking around Hong Kong trying to find our way back to the hotel, and we stumbled upon a little outdoor recreation area. There were two cement ping pong tables, two Chinese chess tables, and a basketball court. I stood and watched the Chinese chess being played by some old men to try and figure out how it was done. One of the old Chinese guys asked me if I had interest, and he taught me how to play. He spoke English really well. He was probably the best guy I've heart yet in Hong Kong. The game was actually a lot harder than i had anticipated but it was really fun non-the-less. The old man was really cool though, and later we found out from one of his buddies, that he was one of the top 3 Chinese chess players in Hong Kong! I played for a long time it felt like and my master teacher would always correct me and tell me the flaw I was making in my move. It was really fun, I think I'm going to buy a set of my own!

Later on in the evening we were hungry for pizza so we found a Pizza Hut, which turned out to be fine dining in Hong Kong. They seated us by a window which was cool. It so funny and weird to us. It was a lot fancier than any pizza hut I've ever been to. There were a bunch of couples out on a date, and the three of us felt under-dressed which I don't think anyone ever thought they would feel that way at a Pizza Hut.

Today I went around different places on a little tour. First we went to a little market shop place, which was only a little neat. We walked around there for a while looking at all the souvenir like stuff. After we went up to a mountain lookout called Victoria’s peak. It looked really cool I took a few pictures.

After which we went on a boat ride. It was really pretty and there was a floating restaurant that looked pretty cool. All of the tall buildings looked really cool from the water for some reason.


I’m still trying to get used to how everything is on the left side like England. Hong Kong was under British rule I guess, but mainland China should be what I’m used to. The bus descended the mountain and let those who wanted to, out to explore the streets of downtown Hong Kong. It all seems downtown to me. Everything looks the same and it would be really hard to be driving the streets that’s for sure. Tanner, Ryan (both my roommates) and I went around to different shops. We found a really cool store called DNA. It was more like a mini mall for the young hip generation. We tried on some cool Michael Jackson jackets and posed with the local store keeper lady. I think she thought we were weird at first, but she laughed and pulled out her phone so she could get a picture with us too! We hung out there, for a while and looked at all the neat stuff. After walking for hours we called a taxi and went back to the Metro Park Kowloon hotel.

2/25/10 arrival

I got to China today after a very long series of flights. I flew from SLC to LA from LA to Seoul Korea, from Korea to Hong Kong. The Korean Airline was very nice. We were picked up at the airport and taken to our hotel Metro Park Kowloon Hotel. I met my two roommates Tanner and Ryan, they seem like nice guys. I was exhausted but we went out with some girls in the group one room down from us. We walked the streets and went to the metro where I rode a subway for the first time. It was pretty cool and fast. We went to a Temple and saw some cool lookin pagodas and Chinese people waiving around incense, but not the good smelling kind, these just smelt like cigarette smoke. We headed back and rested up at the hotel for just a little before heading back out to one of the coolest sights I’ve ever seen. There were tons of tall buildings all lit up. Kind of anti climatic but you’ve gotta see the pictures. There was supposed to be a laser show but It turned out to be a few lights shooting off every now and then to some interesting Chinese music. I ended up eating at a Burger King of all places that night. It was good but not Chinese. The guys I was with weren’t really feelin up to anything interesting. I think the plane ride had taken a toll on most and no one wanted to be spending the night on the toilet rather than the bed. Many more authentic Chinese opportunities lie ahead so I am not dismayed. We headed back to the shuttle and that was it for my first day in Hong Kong.