A Hong Kong Holiday: Part 2

It's not uncommon to see "mature adult" Chinese out walking in the morning, or doing tai chi, or other forms of non-strenuous exercises like where they slap their legs and jiggle their arms around. So to start our day out right, we visited Hong Kong Park on Cotton Tree Dr.

We made a friend right away.

Well good day to you, too, Mr. Tony McTuppence!

And then we were reminded of two of the reasons why we love Hong Kong:

even the computer is smiling!

free potable water from a water fountain!

I hadn't thought of it much, but I rarely see water fountains in mainland China. Lapping from a drinking fountain took a lil getting used to.

Then we ran into a wedding party and found that some people don't know what's appropriate to wear to wedding photos.

I guess restrained yelling is the new smile? Well, at least they're happy, God love 'em.

We finally stumbled upon a small group of tai chi-ers moving soooo slowly.

Wait a sec.. if Kung Fu Panda has those animals (tiger, monkey, etc.) that inspired fighting styles, what animals inspire Tai Chi? slugs? sloths?

Okay, to be fair, I'll bet Tai Chi takes lots of concentration and control.

Then we found an aviary and took photos of birds like they were going extinct and we had the last two cameras on EARTH. Well, they're so colorful and potentially cuddly! Actually, I did have chickens growing up, and I do remember being able to pick them up and hug them. really. And they were kinda soft/squishy in that raw chicken breast sort of way. The ducks weren't as friendly, but we could catch Gus because he had the gimp leg. But it didn't really count as cuddling because you know that he was holding his breath and not hugging back.

BIRDS:

These guys had a yin-yang thing going on. Or love triangle.
wow that middle bird just became much creepier.

when I do the Velociraptor, I try to arch my back like this, but I just can't get it. This guy's a master.

Upon leaving the magical park, we found Man Ho Temple. This was really cool because people were actually using it. I mean, I think it's great to keep temples around for cultural heritage, but it was nice to see so many people actually exercising spirituality there.

and there was LOTS of incense. My eyes burned a lil.

coils of incense hanging from the ceiling.

burning coil of incense.

example of incense usage.

Also, one wall consisted of what looked like a bunch of drawers:

Anyone have any guesses as to the special purpose(s) of the drawers/wall?

A Hong Kong Holiday: Part 1

A few months back, I decided that I would spend Christmas in China because I only get a few days off (no Christmas vacation in the PRC!) and because... well, I should try to see as much of China during my year here. But my favorite time of year is easily Christmas (my mom calls me "Mr. Christmas" and thinks I'm special), so I looked for a place that would be the most Christmas-y. Because Hong Kong was a British colony for some time, I figured that the Hong Kongers might have the most festivity. Tanu and I bought plane tickets and booked a room in a very sketchy guest house, and we were all set to enjoy this part of the world's take on the Holiday.

It was very interesting to see the Western influence on China. For example, breakfast wasn't restricted to noodles and baozi, but there were quite a few British-inspired dishes.








After breakfast, we ventured to Stanley peninsula to enjoy beaches! The weather was much warmer there than Beijing, but still jacket-worthy, especially with the humidity and breeze. But it was gwageous! Of course, just like food deprivation while backpacking can make even crackers the acme of deliciousness, living in a city lacking natural landscapes made Hong Kong, with its steep mountains and water features, even more beautiful.

actual footage from street in Hong Kong

We first noticed here a perk of visiting Hong Kong- free wifi in many public places! and not just free, but unrestricted wifi! That's right- I could access facebook without my VPN! simple pleasures, simple pleasures. I know it sounds silly, but the Western influence on Hong Kong's culture and architecture, coupled with little things like free wifi and the right to caricature leaders, gave Hong Kong and almost palpable feeling of freedom in the air (seriously, at one point we remarked that it even smelled like freedom). That's not to say that Beijing isn't a great city and place to live, but, well, some things are different from the way I've been conditioned. I'll just leave it at that.










Back to Stanley. With the waves crashing on the rocky shore, I couldn't help but re-create a Disney scene. And Tanu tried her hand at abstract modeling.

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llkjacxRY91qgyxlto1_400.jpg

and then there was an ICE CREAM TRUCK. (yes, the ice cream tasted like freedom)

with red, white, and blue sprinkles!

Tanu and I enjoyed a few hours of meandering around the southern part of Hong Kong island. The area was very charming, with winding, narrow roads and a unique cross between British and Chinese influences. For example, we would see houses and storefronts that reminded me so much of establishments I'd seen in England, but then there'd be Chinese characters on mailboxes and signs. After checking out one of the 70 temples dedicated to the Queen of Heaven, we stumbled upon a sailing and Dragon Boat racing club. Before heading back to the northern part of the island.






















We couldn't seem to get our phone antennae hooked up to the service provider in Hong Kong, nor could we figure out the free wifi on the bus, so it took us longer than expected to get to the peak that overlooks Victoria Harbor. Following a short and chilly hike around the crown of the peak, we went to the top of a mall for a photo shoot! okay, it's totally cliche to take this photo, but how could I resist?

Delicious Dish

I've been pleased with myself for not getting sick of Chinese food. Well, occasionally Tanu and I get into a downward spiral where we take turns describing deliciously decadent Western food (we basically hypnotized ourselves before Thanksgiving with lush descriptions of turkey, gravy, stuffing, cheesy corn casseroles, baked sweet potatoes dotted with marshmallows and soaked in a dizzying butter and brown sugar glaze..... oh, there I go again). Anyway, aside from my breakfast of banana+snickers bar, I'm perfectly happy eating lunches and dinners of Easter cuisine.

But if you know me, you know that I love sweets. So much so that I used to enter into baking competitions at the county fair in my early teens. And I'm sorry, but I'm just not in love with most of the baked goods that China offers.

To remedy this, I've taken it upon myself to teach my lab mates how to make several desserts. Of course, this facade of "cultural exchange" is really just an excuse for my self-indulgent behavior. But so far, we've enjoyed making--and eating-- lemon microwave lava cake, chocolate fudge, chocolate banana cream pie, and last night we made chocolate chunk cookies (thanks for the recipe, Jess!)! (now that pizza is considered a vegetable, perhaps I can petition for chocolate to be a food group?) Before last night, I was restricted to the dorm-provided hot plate and microwave, but I recently discovered that my neighbor owns two ovens! This opens a world of possibilities.

Food prep area

Carnage from Jie's chocolate chipping

In order to make these Western desserts, we usually have to venture into the import foods section of various supermarkets. A bag of ho-hum chocolate chips can cost up to $7.50, so we bought Dove and Chinese chocolate bars and chopped them up. And vanilla extract is nowhere to be found, but the sugar cane-derived sugar isn't as purified as it is in the US, so I imagine that extra lil flavoring supplements the lack of vanilla. Because I lack most of a kitchen, I get to be creative: my bathroom sink doubles as a dish washer and a cooling station. And I use my microwave cake tub as my mixing bowl. Considering my resourcefulness, I like to think I'd do very well in the zombie apocalypse.

if Kramer can make salad in the shower,
I can cool cookies in the bathroom.

In the end, the cookies turned out wonderful. Actually, due to an unknown temperature gradient in the oven, one pan of cookies turned out very crispy (would I still eat them? yes.), but most of them turned out ooey-gooey delicious. My lab mates enjoyed them too, and conveniently the overcooked cookies resemble the store-bought sad excuses for cookies that they're used to, so we have a case of Jack Sprat and his wife.