Right is always right, until we go left.

Just back from a completely wonderful, indescribable trip to Guilin and Yangshuo, China. Because this is a blog, I will attempt to describe how much fun we had and all the crazy things we did! A group of 16 people, yes 16, decided to set off to Guilin in mainland China.  Prior to departure we needed some form of plan so I was put in charge of hostels, for again, 16 people. We got the hostels worked out and had a rough idea of what we do each day, assuming that we would split up into smaller groups depending on what people did. This did not happen. Somehow, even though I think it has been proven impossible, we traveled with 16 people the entire time and did every activity together and I could not have asked for a better trip! Everything completely came together, magically, and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves.

TEAM HONG KONG

We started the trip at 3pm on Wednesday afternoon, first taking the MTR to the border of Hong Kong and China. It was kind of interesting to see people that I assume live in China and work in HK everyday.  From there we grabbed some food and headed to the train station. We spent the next 13 hours on a sleeper train (like Harry Potter) with 2 full cabins to ourselves. I'm sure the rest of the train car hated us because of laughing and talking once the entire rest of the car was asleep.  We played chess, sodoku, and goggles (drinking game that Maria taught us. I will teach you when I get home!) and the time actually passed quickly. Everyone went to bed and we woke up in Yangshuo, China! After the boys bought various random foods on the street we made our way to the Guilin Wada Hostel.  It was not quite the Peking Yard from Beijing, but it was very nice and homey AND they surprisingly had enough beds for all 14 of us to stay in the same place which was perfect.  While everyone ate breakfast and cleaned up at the hostel, the staff called a bus for us that would take us to the Rice Terraces right outside of Guilin.

Rice Terraces

We took one bus for 2 hours through the countryside and small little towns and then caught another 30 minute bus up to the base of the terraces. It was a bit rainy and it was hard to see a long distance into the terraces, but the hike up was great.  There was a path of smooth rocks to follow all the way to the top, a bit slippery.  Our whole group trekked up together stopping along the way to admire the sights.  We were in the rice fields for about 5 hours.  By the end of the trip the clouds and mist were clearing and we could see much further across the land.  During this time, the rice plants were still green, but eventually they turn a beautiful golden yellow.  We hiked up to several different viewing points in the mist and met quite a few asian ladies that sold most of our group handmade scarf things.  We eventually had to make our way back down through the hills so catch our bus back to the hostel.  All 14 people on the 13 person bus fell asleep on the way home and we arrived back at the hostel around 8:30pm. Again, everyone cleaned up and ate and then we hung around in the common room for the evening playing goggles again and a danish dice game while drinking.  The Wada staff was so cute because every time we walked in they would say, oh so many people, and start running orders and running behind the bar.

The next morning the hostel helped us organize another bus to take us to where we could get bamboo rafts down Li River to Yangshuo.  We figured if we had to get there anyways we should take the prettiest route.  Again it was kind of misty/rainy, but the rafting was great.  It was interesting because the "bamboo" rafts were actually made of PVC pipe. Who knew. The whole river is surrounded by the cliff-like mountains that represent Guilin and the mist just added to the serenity of the journey.  We were all split into different rafts so we got see each other as people would pass by. The ride was very relaxing and quiet, we pretty much just enjoy it and tried to take in all of the scenery. We stopped once on the trip for lunch and while pulling to the side of the river, two of the guys started to get ready to jump in the river.  Andrew and I had said we would swim, so we got ready really quick and jumped in at the dock for about 30 seconds.  The boys were pretty impressed because I was the only girl that did it. I think I traumatized a few people in my bikini though because everyone else was bundled up because of the cold weather.

View from the Bamboo Raft down Li River

Lunch was decent, just a salty egg fried rice from a pretty sketchy little shack type restaurant.  There were only a few more minutes of rafting after lunch when we pulled up to an extremely odd unloading area and were herded into half open minibuses.  Our bus was first and of course we got stuck in the mud and the other driver had to help us. The ride was pretty intense with a bit of sliding, riding close to the edge of a cliff, and almost getting stuck a few more times. After the minibus came yet another bus to take us to the actual city of Yangshuo. The city was pretty neat with a main street, West Street, with lots of little souvenir shops and restaurants.

Yangshuo from the roof of our hostel

We found the hostel easily and got settled before perusing the streets for goodies.  For dinner we went to a local type place and Christoph and I split Beer Fish which a local specialty. It was a bit spicy, but very good! After dinner we went to the hostel's rooftop bar and played beer pong (with extremely whack rules) against Asians and our different countries kept competing. Two of our boys had gone to this random bar where they were the only westerners and so the Chinese men kept waving them over to their tables and getting them to take beer shots with them.  The tables were so neat because they were equipped with a rack of 10 beer shot glasses on top and a shelf underneath with the dice games. There was also a lady, Lisa, that sang english songs just because the boys were there.  They said they had a blast with the locals and we all went back the next day.

Christoph and I with the beer fish

Saturday was biking and drifting day.  We all went to breakfast together which took a while with our now 16 people (we collected two more from Guilin after we got to Yangshuo).  Again the hostel helped us and got a lady to come meet us and take us to her bike shop.  Originally we were going to get a few mountain bikes and regular bikes, but once we got there we saw that she had tandems and switched.  Yvonne (Austrian) and I were tandem partners along with 2 other tandem bikes.

Yvie and I

We all rode through the streets of Yangshuo which was a bit difficult considering they do not abide by any type of rule, the middle line means nothing, and 3 cars could be side by side in a one lane road.  We were safe though Mom.  We only drove a short bit on the city street and then it opened up into a less crowded road. We made quite a few stops to regroup, but eventually we got to the Moon Hill which was our ultimate goal.  We had to be back for drifting so a few of the boys literally RAN up the mountain and the rest of us started biking back so we wouldn't be rushed.

Sights along the way

Everyone regrouped, the hostel lady walked us to the bus station to take us to our drifting trip (aka rafting without a paddle. The river just sort of takes you).  The trip started out questionably which was a bad sign.  The bus was completely disgusting, hoses coming oddly out of the ceiling and just seemed about to fall apart.  About 10 minutes in I could smell some fumes and I look to the back of the bus and see everyone covering their faces and a cloud of fumes around them. We all smushed into the front of the bus and had to open the emergency roof for some air. We were obviously in Asia.  Once we got to the rafting place, we took.. oh wait...a bus for about 10 minutes up a mountain.  We were all thinking, this does not seem very good. We might be getting ripped off. We suited up with helmets, elbow and knee pads, and life jackets and partnered up for the raft ride. Maria and I joined forces for Team Normerica and got into the pretty cold water.  Eventually we either became numb or just got accustomed to the water and it was very refreshing.  After everyone was in their rafts, we started the journey off with a 13 meter drop. This is when we realized the rafting trip actually might be okay. We rafted for about 2 hours, screaming, yelling, and laughing the entire time. It was neat because you kept passing different people depending on how fast you were and we regrouped before every drop so you would go off in a new order.  Felix and Rasmus pulled each other in the water at the beginning and at the next drop Rasmus thought it would be fun to jump in my raft and push me out. Nice. The whole trip ended up being great and really was some of the most fun I've had!  Unfortunately we had to get back on the fuming bus to get home.

The only picture I have from "drifting"

For dinner everyone went to the same restaurant because the lady had ordered a snake for everyone.  An older Asian man brought the snake up in a bag and took him out so everyone could hold it. It was about 4.5 feet long. After pictures, the man took it upstairs to kill it and brought back the snakes blood in alcohol for everyone to try.  Supposedly the Chinese think that fresh snake's blood is good for your body.  They also cooked the snake meat in a curry dish for everyone to try. Andrew, Debbie, and I saw the snake, but then we went to a different restaurant because we wanted to try something else.  We met and back are were going to go Night Cormorant Fishing, but it did not work out. Instead we went to the bar where the boys had gone and partook in dancing on the stage with some of the Chinese people and one of our guys singing the Titanic theme with Lisa, the singer.  Everyone headed back to the hostel and Chris and I went down to the desk to figure out plans for the next day. We wanted to go rock climbing but we were not sure if it would work with 16 people. At first it started at 8:45am and 180 yuan and the hostel staff got the company down to 9:45am and 150 yuan which worked for us! We went back up to the rooftop bar and played pool, hard arm wrestling competitions, and then decided to call it a night.

The creepy snake

For Sunday we met at 10am and Pin came to meet us and took us to a... you guessed it. A bus. And we drove just about 10 minutes to the "mountain" we would be climbing. They briefly explained the equipment a little bit of technique for going up and how to sit in the harness to walk back down.  There were 4 guides/4 ropes so even though we had to wait to go it worked out because we could cheer everyone on and none of us would have been able to climb the whole time without passing out.  I climbed 2 of the ropes and was pretty proud of myself! If you could find a hand and foot hole then it wasn't too hard. That was the hardest part.  With our shoes covered in 2 inches of mud, we headed back to the hostel to shower. We grabbed lunch (I got a burrito because I'm a bad Asian) and a few of our members got massages. Then it was time to take the bus back to Guilin and go to the train station. At the station we were all hungry with no restaurants so we got some pretty good street food including watermelon, corn on the cob, crepe type wrap, and spicy pork skewers. The train ride back was another 13 hours, but again it went by relatively quickly.  We all sat in the restaurant together and talked until it was time for bed. When we walked back to our cars, everyone was asleep except for us. Again we went to sleep and woke up to horribly loud Chinese music in a new city! Back to the hot and sunny Hong Kong!

Me climbing (Mom please don't get sick)

Don't Have a Macau

After a few days rest getting back from Beijing, it was time to get back in the swing of things. Nothing too thrilling during those rest days, mainly just class and our first homework assignment (big time)! I gathered information from various sources during this week of what was coming up for the weekend. It seemed that Ocean Park (amusement park) was not going to work out, but that a lot of people were going to Shek O beach for the day and then a barbecue.  We took the MTR and bus with Benedicte and Maria to Shek O. It is further than the previous beach we went to, and even more gorgeous.  I can't really figure out why, but it was more quaint and beautiful, surrounded by rocky hills, neat little houses, and a kind of shanty looking town. We arrived in the early afternoon, Andrew with his 50 spf sunscreen, and we set out to lounge on the beach. It was quite a relaxing day with reading, swimming, and water volleyball. Just as it was getting to the best part of the day (Mom) we headed back for Kowloon because the barbeque was not going to work out. The drive to and from the beach is so interesting because as you leave the huge "Central" part of Hong Kong, you begin to drive up hill and you can watch the bus leaving the entire cityscape. Then the road turns very narrow with steep cliffs on both sides, lots of vegetation, and lots of curves. It is amazing to think that you are still in Hong Kong!

Shek O Beach

The next day was Macau. Our early departure got pushed back and by the time we got to the ferry landing and took the ferry over to the peninsula it was already the afternoon. Everyone met up at a hotel and tried to figure out what to do. Bad idea. Lots of people, lots of different ideas. We took a smaller group and went to see some of the sights including the Senado Square and the Ruins of St. Paul (my favorite).  The city used to be owned by Portugal and now it is technically owned by China I believe.  The city is very interesting because of the architecture, tiled sidewalks, and winding roads. Very different than you would see in the mainland or even in HK.

Senado Square

Ruins of St. Paul's

After wandering for a bit and grabbing some food, we decided to go to the Greyhound races. I know, I volunteer at the SPCA. It wasn't too exciting because we got there at the beginning of the races so it was not busy yet. It was neat to see how the races went even though I felt bad for the dogs. We stayed for about 4 out of 16 races and then went to see fireworks! We happened to be in Macau during a firework competition and this night was Australia and the Philippines. We took a bus down to the harbor and waited for the show. We missed the first country, but the second show was really good and pretty elaborate. By this time we had gained some people, lost some others and being in Macau, our HK phones did not work so everyone was just lost. Our group decided to eat. While at dinner we got a call of where to meet up and so we headed for the MGM Grand. High rollers. I cannot remember being in a casino before so it was interesting to see what it looked like and how many of the slot machines do not even have the handles to pull which is the whole point of playing! There was a club in the middle of the casino with curtain walls that we went to for a bit. Unfortunately, Andrew was not allowed in because he was wearing "slippers" or flip flops. He lounged in the casino, counting cards, while we went in for a bit. Then we decided to try yet another club, again no flip flops allowed.  Macau is mainly known for its Vegas like feel like huge casinos and clubs so that is pretty much all you can do there after 8pm. The club situation not working out, we caught the hour long ferry back to Kowloon and still did not arrive at the dorms until 5am. The rest of the group got home around 8am. Long day I'd say.

Skyline of casinos and hotels

Headed to the Mainland

This one is long. Feel free to take bathroom breaks.

Our flight to Beijing took 3 hours and we were served a meal. What a great airline. After a nice flying experience, we attempted a taxi. We went through 3 taxis (that did not speak any English, so thank goodness we had the Chinese hostel name), but they all refused to take us. We got in, they shook their head, we got out.  Finally one of the guards forced the driver to take us. We then found out why. We were quite a ways from the airport and when our driver dropped us off he pointed down a creepy dark alley and nodded. Not sure if he was right, we looked around the main street for a few minutes before trekking down the spooky alley. Turns out he knew what he was talking about and he walked into a gorgeous, wonderful place called the Peking Yard Hostel. We spent the first evening enjoying “sensory perfection” (as Andrew says) which included cocktails, journaling, calm music, dark lighting, the works.

Peking Yard

Day 1 – Today we just kind of explored, mainly because we had no map and could not find a single place to buy one.  We eventually made our way to Tian’anmen Square and explored there. People kept taking pictures of us as we walked by and I felt like we should be smiling the whole time. Also, people kept asking us if we wanted tours of places since we looked like we spoke English. To solve this problem what did we do? Act like we didn’t speak English.  The idea seemed great until a guy started talking to Andrew. He said we didn’t speak English and that he was from Chili, Debbie and I from Canada (where they usually speak English).  The man started speaking SO slowly and trying to gesture. Eventually we gave in and actually went up in the gate protecting the city.  Here we met two art students that had their work on display on one whole floor of the gate and Debbie bought a piece of art. She told us the story of one of her paintings of a horse and a wise man.  She said even if the horse were the most talented he would need someone to recognize his talent.  She also had four paintings of the seasons which represent someone’s life.  After this we went to see Mao’s Mausoleum where you literally walk inside the building, pass the flowers they would have at a funeral, and walk past the embalmed Chairman Mao. Kind of neat, but not all it was cracked up to be.  We stumbled upon a neat shopping street with a metropolitan looking, nice shopping street parallel to an authentic street market in the alley behind.  From there we walked pretty far to the Temple of Heaven.  We decided not to go in because it was getting late so we headed back to the hostel for another relaxing evening with our pals, Leo, Casey, Sunny, and Zoey (Peking Yard staff).

Day 2 – The previous night ended up being very eventful.  In the middle of the night Debbie and I had to change rooms because the creepy old man in the zebra print thong underwear was snoring so loud that I literally could not hear Debbie speaking in a normal voice.  Leo was very concerned for us and found us an empty bed so we could get back to sleep! We had our first real day of exploring when we started out to the Forbidden City.  Debbie had her first experience with a squatting toilet (bring your own TP because none have it here) and then we headed in.  We ended up doing an audio tour for the city so we knew what we were looking at.  The city was very big with many ornate roofs and little side streets to other parts of the area. The Imperial Gardens were my favorite part with neat little trees, stones, and gazebos throughout for the concubines to be entertained.  Next stop was Jingshan Park at the end of the Forbidden City.  We hiked up to three different levels of pagodas that over looked the Forbidden City.  One emperor actually hung himself in the park after he found out there would be a peasant uprising and he didn’t want civilians to get injured.  Here is also where we saw a mom stand in front of her little girl and let her pee on the very public sidewalk in a really touristy area. Interesting.  We ventured to yet another shopping street, but accidentally gave up before we got to the good part.

Inside the city

The little girl, the puddle

Overlooking the Forbidden City

Day 3 – The Great Wall of China.  After a scrumptious bacon and egg with organic vegetable sandwich, we set out to meet our tour for the wall.  Our guide, Vivie, took us to the Mutianyu part of the wall which is slightly less touristy. Only parts of the wall remain, as some were actually made of wood, so the portion we were on was only about 2.5 miles.  We took a cable car up to tower 14 and started hiking down.  The view was amazing.  It is really hard to actually describe the Great Wall except amazing.  Each tower we came across was different, each stone and each step had its own character.  My biggest confusion was on how the guards were able to move quickly along the wall when needed due to the crooked ground.  It seemed like we walked much further than we did with the up hill portions and taking our time walking down the steps so I didn’t trip!  We took LOTS of photos and hiked rather quickly to make sure we could get back in time.  That was the only downfall about the tour was you could literally spend hours up there.  The way to get down from the wall was by toboggan. Each of us sat in our own little toboggan sled and got to go down a massive slide through the trees and mountainside to the bottom. It was so cool!!  We then had a Chinese lunch with a lazy susan containing about 8 different delicious dishes.  The next part of the tour was to the Ming Tombs. Not too much to say about these. Lonely Planet was right when they said not to go out of the way to get there.  The idea and history was neat, but the place itself was not very exciting.  After our wonderful day on the wall we asked the hostel staff for a good place for dinner and the first thing they asked was, peking duck? This is a must in Beijing.  We went to a very nice restaurant where we got signature peking duck, pan fried duck rolls, spring rolls, green tea tiramisu, and a blueberry rice pudding. It was one of the most amazing meats I have ever eaten! We were also lucky to pick that night because they had live performances of a lady ribbon dancing with dough, a unicyclist, a traditional costumed dancer, and a plate spinner.  The dinner was spectacular and one of the best we’ve had in Asia. When we were leaving we passed a guy selling what I thought were baby apples, but were really grapes, that are covered in caramelized sugar and are also a “Beijing thing”. I was so excited to finally get some!

The Great Wall of China

Peking Duck Dinner

Day 4 – I started the day off like every other with a cappuccino. Illy coffee actually. (Taylor, remember all those Illy shops?) Today we started at the Olympic Stadium.  The facility was huge and it was crazy to think they had constructed this entire area including bathrooms and benches, just for the Olympics.  We did not go inside the buildings, but wandered around the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest.  We took the subway across the city to the Emperor’s Summer Palace.  This was very pretty and basically a large wooded area with neat trails surrounding the main palace.  It was nice to stroll along in the shade and enjoy nature. Again, we ended up doing a bit of shopping in our first Asian department store. It was completely insane with people everywhere! Eventually we became a bit overwhelmed so settled down with a snack.  Here is where I will explain one of my facebook photo albums for those who have seen the “coming please” one.  The doorbell at the hostel would ring and the hostel staff would say “coming please” which made no sense to me until I finally voiced this to Andrew and he explained that they were saying “come in please”. Who knew?

In front of the Olympic Water Cube

Garden of Harmonious Pleasures at the Summer Palace

Day 5 – Our last day we spent in 798 Art District, which all of the tourist books said is an up and coming area and a must see. Of course we went on Monday, which is when most art galleries are closed; however we were still able to go into a few galleries, boutiques, and a delicious coffee and sandwich place.  The area was really neat with a great artsy vibe.  Taylor would have fit in perfectly and could have stayed there for hours wandering around.  We had to get to the airport for our flight, so we only looked around 798 for a bit, but we were still able to see some good stuff! 

The Art District. Pretty neat. 

“Bye bye Beijing, Hello Hong Kong.”

To the Buddha

At about 3pm, we left for Lantau Island and the Big Buddha (aka Tian Tan Buddha). You have to take the MTR to the island and from there you take a cable car up to the very top of this mountain, walk up even more steps, and finally make it the man himself.  The cable car ride up was beautiful, even with the fog. Although you can normally see all the way to the Buddha, fog made the trip a bit more serene and mystical. We were cutting the trip a bit close so we hiked up to the main steps pretty quickly in order to have enough time before the gates closed.  After an exhausting hike up the steps, demonstrating how out of shape I really am, we made it to the top and could look over the little shopping area we had just left.  By this point, most of the tourists had gone home so our group had the Buddha practically to ourselves.  The surrounding view was gorgeous with misty mountains and forest as long as you could see. We did not get to stay long, but I enjoyed the trip. We went with some of the other exchange students so we all have a fun time together!

Group with the Buddha

For the next few days, we didn't do too much, just classes and wandering around close to school, and lots of eating.  We had another Thursday evening in Lan Kwai Fong bar district and went to a bar on the 28 floor of a building! Crazy! The "clubs" in HK are pretty intense and mostly filled with foreigners. Lots of house music, lots of dancing, lots of extreme lights. Andrew and I went out another night with some of our crew and the bar was very different than the normal.  At first there were not many people, mainly exchange kids, and then more asians started filtering in with their cigarettes, sitting in large booths. Andrew referred to this as a "modern speak easy" feel, which was completely true. It was neat to see the locals out because usually we never do where we go! Another evening we went to see The Expendables and asked the girls at the reception desk at school where an English movie theater was. They looked at us like idiots and proceeded to tell us all movies were shown in English. Good to know. On the way back we wandered past the light show again, but on a much clearer night than before!

Light Show

The last semi-interesting thing to speak of for the week was getting our visas to China. For almost every other country, there are tiered prices depending on the amount of time and entries you wish for China. For Americans, we have a flat fee straight across for HK$1100 no matter how long you want to stay in their country. We had to wait for about 2 hours to get up to the desk where we had to LEAVE our passports until we came back to get our visas. What a horrible feeling! Anyways, the plan was successful and we got our visas in time for our trip to Beijing! What made this trip even more successful was our stop in SoHo on the way back to school for Mexican food!

Mexican and Margaritas!

Exploring the Streets

After the city tour and seeing the beach for only five minutes, we decided a longer trip to the beach was completely necessary.  WAD, Benedicte, and Maria took the 45 minute journey through MTR and bus to Repulse Bay.  The area to swim looked more like Jordan Lake than actual ocean water.  Surrounded by pretty tall buildings and mountains, we stationed up with our newly bought beach mats.  Of course it was unbelievably hot like every other day so we spent most of the time in the water or braving the heat to read a little in Harry Potter 7.  After our day on the beach we took the 6A bus further down the coast to the Stanley Market area.  We decided to eat at Pickled Pelican restaurant and enjoyed our burgers and pasta on the water at dusk. It was wonderful!! Great ambiance and great company.

Repulse Bay

Dinner after the beach

The next day we set out to visit the local markets of Hong Kong. Andrew and Debbie had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to come along, mainly because I didn't know what I was getting them into.  Our first stop was the Ladies Market, aka street market with lots of trinkets and fake silk ties.  It was okay, but not the type of place you would actually go shopping, more of just a place to look around.  Then we ventured to the Gold Fish Market.  Not exactly sure what I was expecting, but probably something like tents set up with just bags and tanks full of gold fish everywhere. The Gold Fish Market was actually just a long street lined with pet stores, mostly fish, but with a few cute yet sad little puppies (you all know how I am with puppies).  From there we walked a bit further to the Flower Market.  They had plants you could buy (which I did and it is sitting on my windowsill), and beautifully wrapped flower bouquets.  The Flower Market was by far the best.  Our last stop, and by now we are completely struggling in the 107 degree heat, was the Bird Garden, also known as sketchy little area where they sold birds and bird food and had a little tiny bird on a chain leash. Yes.

Orchids from the Flower Market

We came back to rest after a very long day of walking, not even strenuous, just hot.  We have a facebook group for all of the exchange students where people can post places they are going in case people want to join.  We wanted to go see the Symphony of Lights, which is a light show every night on the buildings on Hong Kong Island, so we posted it thinking that maybeeee 3 people would meet us and we would have completely failed. We walked outside and 40 people were waiting outside, yes we were the last ones there and we planned it.  I was so excited!! Everyone knows how I love to plan so I was glad that it was actually successful. We walked in our massive group down to the water and everyone got to mingle before the light show began.  The show was incredible. It is more elaborate for Chinese New Year and other holidays, but this night was great too.  They play music on speakers behind you while the buildings light up to the music in different colors and patterns.  Everyone enjoyed it and then we split up for dinner.  Our group for dinner had German, American, Norweigan, and French people in it.  My table was Andrew, Christian (Germany), and Marie (Norway) and we had a great time talking and trying some new Chinese food.

The Symphony of Lights

Another day had come and we decided to get some errands run and lay low. The errands part was successful, but this still required a lot of walking in the heat.  We went to Sham Shui Po, phone district I suppose, to purchase a US$25 phone.  This area had cool little stores, like the one below, with all sorts of dried foods and spices, bead stores, and almost yard sale type stands.  On the way back to the residence halls we stopped at Yogurt Bar for some delicious Pink Berry type yogurt. Very refreshing.  That was pretty much it for our day because we had our first class early the next morning.

Dried vegetables and fish and things

First day of class went well.  We had our textiles class with a really young professor named Chris and a class of 17 local students. He lectured part of the time and had us split into groups to form our own version of the supply chain.  I think the class will be interesting, but it is 3 hour block which is painful. My next class was Chinese History and Culture, which I think will be very interesting, but a lot of reading.  Both professors seemed really nice though.  After my second class I just went to pick up some things from the supermarket and a local fruit stand and came back to get ready for our big exchange dinner.  A local student organized a dinner with true Chinese cuisine for all of the exchange students in Hong Kong, totaling around 700.  

The table at dinner

The dinner was in a hotel ballroom that is widely known for its wedding receptions.  I sat at a table with my roommate, Katrine (who just got here and is from Latvia, but studying in the UK), some other PolyU students and 2 students from other Universities.  We had 10 courses including jellyfish, goose foot, octopus, and shark fin soup and I tried all of them! The jellyfish was actually pretty good and the shark fin soup tasted like egg drop soup. Afterward our "group" went to Wan Chai district for ladies night where we got in free with free drinks.  Really a great deal if you ask me.

Whole fish. Delicious.

Today we just had class, very interesting teacher for our marketing class, but a bit tired from last night.  Now we are headed on a whim with a group to the big Buddha on Lantau Island. It is a bit foggy, but I did not want to miss the chance to go with them so we may just go again on a clear day!