A walk to remember.
We started out bright and early at 10AM and loaded ourselves onto coach buses. My friends and I were part of Group 5 so we had a pink sticker. Coincidentally (or not), our tour guide was also wearing a pink shirt so he told us that's how we should remember which bus to go on. I promise, I was trying to listen to everything he said at first because everyone else was talking and I felt like it was rude of us. Then I realized he wasn't going to stop talking anytime soon so I let it go and talked and took pictures as I pleased. I am very impressed though because the chatter and disinterest didn't seem to faze him a single bit and he went through his bits without caring whether or not we were listening. Later I figured he probably does this every day for a living so it was nothing special.
Our first stop was to Wong Tai Sin and along the way we lost Natasha, Emily, and Xixi. We got to see people burn incense, pray, and just be tourists (meaning take pictures). There were statues of the 12 zodiac animals placed in order of their sequence when we first walked in and a lion-dragon-thing that I think is for good luck if you touch it. I was being a germaphobe though and didn't after seeing so many people rub their hands on it. I tried finding the dog and it turned out to be scarier than I expected. Or maybe it's the angle I took the picture in.
Our first stop was to Wong Tai Sin and along the way we lost Natasha, Emily, and Xixi. We got to see people burn incense, pray, and just be tourists (meaning take pictures). There were statues of the 12 zodiac animals placed in order of their sequence when we first walked in and a lion-dragon-thing that I think is for good luck if you touch it. I was being a germaphobe though and didn't after seeing so many people rub their hands on it. I tried finding the dog and it turned out to be scarier than I expected. Or maybe it's the angle I took the picture in.
I can't upload some of the pictures though because they were taken vertically and I'm being a bit OCD right now at 4AM so I am not okay with them coming out sideways. We also stumbled upon a three golden statues which are supposed to help you find your soul-mate or something like that. There were small red strings which we were supposed to hold in a particular way and we prayed to the statues with it. Afterwards, we tied the string onto a giant thick red rope connecting the statues. Half funny but half serious haha ;)
*edit: It's working now but I have to rotate it 360 degrees on another program before uploading it.
Going back to the bus, Jennifer was really interested in one particular wall. Before we even got to the temple, she told me that found it boring since there are a lot of them in mainland China and they usually go to them. In other words, she was sick of temples. However, she took a picture of the wall because it was filled with posters in Chinese propaganda writing. It was also especially interesting because opposing views were posted right next to one another and this was not something that could normally be seen in the mainland. On our bus ride to Hong Kong Island, we talked about politics and the Chinese government. It is also especially interesting because I'm studying abroad here in a time of civil unrest. Just recently, the Chinese government decided that they would not allow Hong Kong citizens to vote for their Chief Executive despite major protests. There will actually be protests at CUHK this whole following week while I'm writing from Day 13. At least there is still freedom of speech in Hong Kong.
This was actually a really interesting conversation for me though. I am not usually very aware of politics but during lunch at Pizza Hut with the buddies, Khalil had brought up this subject. The local Hong Kong students said that they did not mind much about the Chinese government's ruling and don't believe that those from the mainland are very interested in politics. However, Jennifer seemed to know a lot and have opinions, more so than the locals did about their current situation.
Next stop on the tour was lunch at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. There was way too much food for my appetite that day even though it was all really good. My group of friends sat with some guys from Holland and other European countries so to make it more interesting, we played a game of "Spy" -- introduced to us by Emily. Now I just wonder where the pictures we took on Emily's camera are now...(Reminder: ask for them some time.)
*edit: It's working now but I have to rotate it 360 degrees on another program before uploading it.
Going back to the bus, Jennifer was really interested in one particular wall. Before we even got to the temple, she told me that found it boring since there are a lot of them in mainland China and they usually go to them. In other words, she was sick of temples. However, she took a picture of the wall because it was filled with posters in Chinese propaganda writing. It was also especially interesting because opposing views were posted right next to one another and this was not something that could normally be seen in the mainland. On our bus ride to Hong Kong Island, we talked about politics and the Chinese government. It is also especially interesting because I'm studying abroad here in a time of civil unrest. Just recently, the Chinese government decided that they would not allow Hong Kong citizens to vote for their Chief Executive despite major protests. There will actually be protests at CUHK this whole following week while I'm writing from Day 13. At least there is still freedom of speech in Hong Kong.
This was actually a really interesting conversation for me though. I am not usually very aware of politics but during lunch at Pizza Hut with the buddies, Khalil had brought up this subject. The local Hong Kong students said that they did not mind much about the Chinese government's ruling and don't believe that those from the mainland are very interested in politics. However, Jennifer seemed to know a lot and have opinions, more so than the locals did about their current situation.
Next stop on the tour was lunch at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. There was way too much food for my appetite that day even though it was all really good. My group of friends sat with some guys from Holland and other European countries so to make it more interesting, we played a game of "Spy" -- introduced to us by Emily. Now I just wonder where the pictures we took on Emily's camera are now...(Reminder: ask for them some time.)
To keep it brief, we went to Stanley market where I bought postcards and we took a lot of pictures by the water. We climbed up some rock formations too. Oh what we do to get a good picture. Afterwards we went to Victoria Peak where we took some more pictures so....yeah. The rest of the day was just pictures. Yeah I did the same pose in two of them. I'm just not very good with getting pictures taken of me. Yet ;D I bet I'll be getting plenty of practice here. Also, a little birdy landed on the table I was sitting at! Good luck, perhaps?