Tea and Cakes

So continuing on with my touristy activities here in Hong Kong, I went to two more classes put on by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. I went to a "Hong Kong Cake Making Class" and a "Tea Appreciation Class." In the cake making class, Alyssa and I made "Wife Cakes," which are a very old Hong Kong favorite treat. They are called wife cakes because of a very old story which goes like this...

Once upon a time an old man got very sick. His daughter-in-law, while her husband was at work, sold herself into slavery to pay for this needed medicine. The husband came home to find his wife gone, so he gathered up all the ingredients he had in the house, and created these little cakes. He sold the cakes on the street until he had enough money to buy his wife back. The end.

Good tale, huh? Basically it is an ancient Chinese romance story.

The first time I tried a wife cake I did not like it. They are basically made of shortening, flour, eggs, rice, and a tinnnny bit of sugar. So my American taste buds were not quite satisfied with the level of sweetness (I mean we are used to glazed, chocolate, and sprinkle cover doughnuts!!! ha.) However, when I made my own wife cake at this class I actually liked it...maybe it is because I put my own love and care into it. The class was held at a local bakery, and we got to work with the chefs to make the wife cakes, and then we got to enjoy the treats with some tea. It was a great time, and when I get home I am going to make these cakes for everyone.

Then a couple of days ago I went to a tea appreciation class with my French friend Menou. We got to try many VERY high quality teas and learn about the traditions that are behind the teas. We learned about "tea masters" which are like tea connoisseurs. We learned about one lady who, by tasting the tea, can tell who the Farmer was, where in China the tea leaves came from, and if the soil that the plant grew is was muddy, clay, dry, etc. Crazy, right? Maybe one day I will be like that...

A Tourist in Hong Kong Again

After about a month an a half of living the life of a "local" here in HK, I realized that there are still some touristy things I have not done. Before, I was refusing to carry around my "Top Things To Do in HK" books because I wanted everyone to recognize me as a HK resident. I prided myself in entering the HK residents line at customs, and I loved shocking people in the places I travelled by telling them I am from Hong Kong (I got better bargaining deals after I said that rather than America...ha). But I finally let go of my pride, pulled out my HK tourist books again, and started my exploration of some new places in the city.
First, I traveled out to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery, and climbed 450ish steps to see all the Buddhas lining the stair cases. Each Buddha has a different pose, and there are SO many. My favorite one was the one that looked like me ;). (see picture)
On my way back from the 10,000 Buddhas I stopped off at the market by the bus stop I always go to. I saw many things I wished I hadn't. Right there...next to the delicious produce I eat every day (!!!)...was the skin off of a pigs face, and freshly cut-off pig's legs. Here are pictures for your enjoyment (or disgust).
I have also gone to karaoke...finally! I have been living in Asia for close to 10 weeks now, and I haven't been to karaoke until now...a travesty. Anyway, we went with a group of like 25 people, so it was a lot of fun. We sang everything from Avril to Whitney Houston to Blink 182 to rando Chinese songs. It was great fun, and everyone knows how I love good songs and a microphone!

Lastly, I went to a Tai Chi class on the Harbor of Hong Kong (at Tsim Sha Tsui) very early in the morning...I had to leave at 6:30am. It was early, but worth it because we got beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline at dawn. The Hong Kong Tourism Board puts the class on so that tourists can learn more about HK culture. If you go around town in the morning you can see many old women doing Tai Chi outside. Anyway, the class was great...I channeled my energy and got some good exercise, I guess. The class was taught by a renowned Tai Chi teacher. He was so small and so cute! He and his co-instructor were quite old, but in great shape and mental condition. Maybe there is something to Tai Chi?

Outdoor Adventures in Guilin, China

So I am finally getting around to writing my Guilin, China blog. We left last Thursday afternoon (March 5th) returned on Monday (March 9th) morning. We took a sleeper train to Guilin from Shenzhen, China (just a few subway stations from Hong Kong). The sleeper train, however, was not as nice as the one to Singapore...and that is definitely saying something. For this train, they stack 3 beds on top of each other, and the train is a normal height (plus they put 6 beds in one tiny room!). Basically, I could not come even close to sitting up in my bed on the middle level. Luckily I was not at the top because you have to be some sort of acrobat to get up there considering there are no steps! This is a picture of us taken by the girl who was on the top bunk....clearly very little room to move around.

On the first full day, we took at 4 hour boat ride from Guilin down the Li River to Yangshuo. The whole river route, we were surrounded by these curvy, green mountains. The entire ride I was taken aback by the beauty of this rural town in China. Unfortunately it was rainy and foggy, so the scenery wasn't as good as it could have been, but it was still gorgeous.

After we arrived in Yangshuo, we did a little market shopping, and had a local dinner. But the highlight of the night is the show that we went to. It is called the Liu Sanjie Show (or Yangshuo water impressions show), and thousands of people, including us, were outside in the rain to watch it. It was directed by Zhang Yimou, the chief director of the 2008 Olympic games in China. He was the creative mind of the unbelievable opening ceremony that China put on...the one people are still talking about. The show in Yangshuo was breathtaking. It was entirely on water with all the mountains surrounding. They used boats to move around on the water, and the lights and other effects used were eye-catching and beautiful. There was a story line, although it was conveyed without dialogue, just songs. But because we couldn't understand the songs, we didn't follow the story. Nonetheless, the show was well worth the trip out to this tiny town. By the end of the day, we were all ready to get back to the hostel. It had rained all day, and we were soaked (I was wearing bags on my feet to try to keep them from getting any more wet).

The next morning, when we were trying to scurry around to find a taxi that wouldn't rip us off, we met a tour guide named Colin. He seemed like a decent enough man (and he spoke English...rare in China), so we agreed to pay him US$10 each to take us around for the day. And it was WELL worth the money. He took us first to the rice terraces in Ping An village a couple of hours away. They are famous, and very touristy, but for good reason. The villagers have been developing these rice terraces for thousands of years. And I love walking through rural villages (whether in Africa or China!), so I loved just roaming around. One of the villages around Ping An is famous for being the "longest hair village" becaus none of their women ever cut their hair. So we got some of the local women to take down their hair (for money, of course), and we got some pictures.

After the rice terraces, Colin took us to a local tea farm. And if you know me, you this is "my cup of tea"...no pun intended. We got to walk through their tea leaf fields and learn about how they make the tea. Then we got to have a tea testing to try several of the teas. We tried green, oolong, and black tea. I ended up buying a thing of Osmanthus Oolong tea because I loved it so much and because it was a local specialty, but by the end of the trip I realized it must have fallen out of my bag at some point...ugh.

Following the tea farm, we went to a local Chinese doctor where we got a traditional Chinese reflexology foot massage. They are supposed to be able to tell from your feet what the problems are in your body. Some of the other people in our group said that the diagnoses were correct. My lady said that I didn't have any problems...I guess that is a good thing!

On our last day in Guilin, we went to visit a cave with limestone stalagmites and stalactites. Instead of taking a cab, though, we rented bikes from the hostel and made the 7km ride on 2 wheels. The cave was unlike others I had been to before. And maybe this is because I haven't been to that many caves, but this cave's limestone was curvy and smooth. In order to light up the cave, they put many neon lights inside (soooo "Asia"), so the pictures all look so artificial, but oh well.

After the cave, we rode our bikes around literally for the rest of the day. We picked the bikes up at 10:30am, and we didn't drop them off until 7:30. Riding around the city was crazy. We had to weave in and out of traffic, and several times I thought a big bus was going to bump me from behind. I was so proud at the end of the day that I had made it out alive...Chinese drivers are not so careful. We biked both through the main city, and out further into some small villages around the area. Maybe I'll try biking through Hong Kong now...kidding.

At the end of the day, we were sitting in a park taking a rest when we looked up and saw tiny people on top of a mountain near us (see picture). Without question, the group consensus was that climbing the mountain was our next activity. Well, it took us a while to find the bottom of the mountain, and we decided that we needed to move quickly so we wouldn't get stranded at the top when it was dark. So we BOOKED it up this mountain...we were all huffing and puffing. After making it 90% of the way, we get to the last rock on the mountain, and this one I felt like I basically had to scale! I was pretty scared because the drop-off was really high, but I gathered up the courage and made it to the top. It was well worth all the struggle because the view from the top was gorgeous. It is hard to describe, but the city is basically built around these random mountains jutting up. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it will have to do.

Anyway, that was our trip...after the biking and hiking, we packed up our stuff and got on a sleeper train home. The trip was probably one of my favorites so far...I loved all the outdoor activities, and rural China captivated me

Love from across the world,

Sally

Q: Student or Traveler?

A: All of the above.

I am a student over here in HK, and I am getting to experience Asia in my free time. None of my blogs would reflect this truth, however. I have been running around Asia every weekend, but my blogs have failed to mention that on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I attend class. I am really enjoying my classes. My favorite is my Financial Markets class taught by a very accomplished professor from France (the professors over here are all very international: I have one from France, one from Malaysia, and one from China). I just took a test in her class today, and I think I did well...but we'll see. The curves are supposed to be insane over here, and the local students study constantly.
Anyway, this is a picture of me and my group from my first presentation in my Financial Markets class. We call ourselves "Exchange Rate" because we are all exchange students from across the world.


Guilin, China blog coming soon...
Sally
P.S. This blog merely exists to prove I am actually in school over here...Dad. :)

12 Hours in Singapore

So this post is a little late because I got back from Malaysia and Singapore late Monday night and left for China on Thursday...I barely had time to wash my clothes and get my life together. So this is the other post (the Singapore half) to my last trip.
We got to Singapore by sleeper train. (see picture above) The trip was about 7 hours long, and I thought I would get to sleep, but for some unknown reason, the workers thought it was necessary to wake us up every hour or so to fill something or to check our passports again. It was pretty annoying, but we finally arrived in Singapore at like 7am in the morning...or so we thought. In broken English people were telling us to grab our stuff and get off the train. We were all excited, and so ready to be our of our tiny train beds. We went through customs and security and all that, and so we all decided to go into the bathrooms and wash up before we went out into the city. About 10 minutes after we were in the bathroom, security guards came up to us and said "Hurry up! Your train is leaving!" Thinking they didn't know what they were talking about, we ignored them. So then, we continued to wash our faces and brush our teeth, and we began talking about what we wanted to do first when we got into the city. The security guards came up to us again, and basically dragged us to the train and said we needed to get on. We were like "No! You don't understand...we are going to Singapore. We are here, and we don't need to go another stop!" Well we finally come to realize that we weren't actually in the city yet. We had just crossed the boarder into the area. We felt pretty stupid, but it was kind of funny because we held up the whole train thinking we knew what we were doing!
After getting finally getting to Singapore city area, we found a really crappy hotel to put our stuff in for the day, and we went out on the town. First, we went to the Harbor Front and saw a great view of some of the beautiful city buildings. We also saw the biggest mall in Singapore, which was pretty cool, but not that impressive. Also, all the stores were pretty expensive, so we didn't buy anything (on top of that, the US dollar is only about 1.5 to the Singapore dollar). Then we went to see the Flyer (the huge ferris wheel in the city), but most of us decided not to go on it because it was like US$30 to ride. After seeing the Hong Kong skyline at night, we didn't think we needed to see the Singapore skyline in the day...it wouldn't even come close to being as beautiful.
Instead of riding the Flyer, we went to the Raffles Hotel (founded in 1887, and named after Singapore's founder). It is absolutely beautiful and has a lot of places to walk around. We went to the Raffles Hotel Long Bar and tried the Singapore Slinger there (see picture above). The drink was first invented there in the early 1900's. The drink was good, but somehow it got spilled all over me! So, like in Malaysia, I was sticky for the rest of the day. (For some reason, I had the worst luck on this trip!)
We walked around Clarke Quay, we took pictures at the Esplanade (see completely posed picture to right), but then there was a serious torrential downpour, so we got stuck in some mall and had to stay in until the rain subsided. It was unfortunate, but that is the way it goes I guess.
Anyway, Singapore was a great city. Most notably, it is ridiculously clean (which I loved!). It is probably because it is illegal to do just about everything. You aren't allowed to bring in gum into the country or chew it (we were rebels and decided to tempt fate...see picture). There is no smoking anywhere. You can't spit anywhere. All of these offenses will cost you a hefty fine. But the most interesting...if you are caught with 20g of drugs, you automatically get the death penalty...a little harsh, you think? The people there, though, we some of the nicest I have met in Asia. If we even had a slight look of confusion on our faces, someone asked if we needed help with directions somewhere (we obviously looked like foreigners). It was a great 12 hours, and it is probably good that it was only 12 hours because Singapore is very expensive!

Malaysia: Truuuuuly Asia

I went on the trip to Malaysia and Singapore with 7 other people: Alyssa (from Wisconsin), Cheryl (from Canada), Peter (fromUVa.), Dustin and Joe (from Texas), Marieke (from Holland), and Jasmine (from Michigan). It was an awesome trip. We flew into Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and stayed there until we went to Singapore (in a later blog). As soon as we arrived in, we saw from the plane that it was pouring rain. But, being that we flew a discount airline, they dropped us off in the middle of the landing area and we had to walk (in the rain) to the back entrance of the airport...so ghetto. Luckily, they provided us with umbrellas for the short walk, but we still all got wet. We got in late the first night (like 1am) and our hostel, which we had booked earlier and confirmed by email (Father Carlson would be proud), neglected to put us on the schedule, so we didn't have a room. I guess you can't expect much when you are only paying US$9 a night. But because they messed up so badly they squeezed us all into beds and spaces in the hostel instead of searching for other hostels that night so we could at least get a little sleep before we headed on our sightseeing the next day.

We woke up early the next morning and began scurrying around town. First, we went to the Batu Caves. They are about 1hr outside the city, but they were so worth the travel. At the Batu Caves there is a huge, gold statue of Lord Murugan (the god of war for the Hindus and Buddhists. see the picture) . Also, you can enter this gigantic caves (hence the name) that are beautiful. We got to hold a huge snake (see picture). At one point it started contracting around my neck...this picture makes me look far more calm than I actually was. Also, there were also monkeys climbing around everywhere at the caves. We got a bunch of pictures with them...for some reason they didn't like me though! However, the monkey's really liked Peter, the other guy fromUVa. He was eating a popsicle, and monkey came right up to him, jumped on his arm, and started prying the popsicle out of his hands. It was craaaazy. We didn't know what to do. I would have to say that the Batu Caves were one of my best memories from the trip. And afterward we went to a local Indian restaurant (there is a huge Indian population in Malaysia, so the cultures have really meshed), and got some legit Indian food that was delicious. While we were at the caves we found out that on February 8th this year there was a huge religious festival for Hindus at the Batu Caves. It happens every year sometime in January or February. It is one of the largest gatherings of people in the world every year. Someone said close to 1.5 million people come. The devotees of the Hindu religion will pierce their tongues and cheeks, and they will carry these large decorations up the 272 stairs that you must climb to get to the caves. We were all so disappointed that we could have come to the festival but we just didn't know about it!

After the Batu Caves we went to see the city of Kuala Lumpur. First, we saw the Petronas Towers, which used to be the tallest towers from 1998-2004 until they were surpassed by Taipei 101 (yea, Asia!) They are really beautiful, and the architecture is unbelievable. They are most stunning at night though. I could not snap a picture that did them justice at night.
Then we were all so hungry that we looked for a place to eat in our travel book. The book recommended a place that had "food and local dancing." We figured this would be a good cultural experience so we went. Well, we were very surprised when we got there because the place was SO nice. It looked like a banquet that you should be dressed in a cocktail dress or something. It was a full buffet with a ridiculous amount of amazing food. From pineapple shrimp to Brazilian BBQ style chicken, everything was amazing. Then we got to watch an hour of traditional dancing from all over the area. The title of the blog comes from a song that they danced to. The whole song said "Malaysia, Truly Asia!" It sounded like they were trying to convince us that they were actually a part of Asia, even though it is obviously so. We also got to get on stage and do a dance with them, so I have added the video of me doing it...enjoy. ha. It was such a great experience (except for that I got a cold, red drink spilled all over me!) and we only paid US$25!


After dinner we went dancing out in the town at what we heard was "the #1 rated club in Asia," but we don't see how that could be true. The music was okay (all techno...except the last 3 of the night were American, and we all really rocked out. ha.), and they had some nice tanks with sharks in them, but the overall vibe of the club was kind of creepy.

The next day, we went to see many other things around town like the Jamek Mosque and Sultan Abdul Samad Building. We had to cover up (see picture) in order to enter the mosque...it was SO hot. I don't know how they do it! We also went to the Padang Merdeka (are really beautiful grassy area that where we almost died of heat). We also got to eat a lot of local food on the 2nd day including satays and roti (Indian, but still local), and other things that I don't know how to say. I LOVED the roti, so we are looking around Hong Kong to try to find a place that sells cheap Indian food. Also, we drank "pulled tea" which is a tea that when they mix it (by pouring it from one can to another...see picture), looks like it is being pulled. And you all know how much I love tea, so this was quite a special treat for me. It was sweet and kind of similar to Hong Kong's "milk tea." I plan on also figuring out how to make this one and doing it at home!
We also went to Central Market in Kuala Lumpur where many tourists go to shop for souvenirs. When we were there we saw something called the "Cute Fish Spa." Well we look in and see that the spa is just a little pool with lots of fish, and you are supposed to just stick your feet in the pool and the fish bit your feet so they end up feeling smooth. It sounds disgusting, and I am pretty sure it is...but to be cultural I had to give it a try. It just feels like tiny pinches all over, and my feet did feel soft in the end...it was just a little bizarre.
Instead of doing the fish pool, Cheryl and Alyssa got a foot massage. While we were at the foot massage place, we went into the back to go to the restroom, and found a little baby monkey chained in the back closet. He was so cute, and he was dressed in little clothes. So we asked the owner if we could pick him up and they said yes (see picture). So we got to hold and feed apples to this 2 month old monkey with huge, soulful eyes and tiny, human-like hands, named Amat. It was such a cool experience, and now I want a monkey as a pet as well (I hope Father Carlson is down with that!).
Many other exciting adventures happened in Malaysia, but I don't want to make this blog too long (or should I say...any long than it is already). I will post a blog for the Singapore portion of the trip soon. - Love from around the globe, Sally

More of My Life as a HongKy

So I have continued to explore Hong Kong in between my weekend trips. One of the best dinners I have had recently is at a place called Sushi One. After 10pm all the sushi is 50% off, and its really good sushi. You have to spend a minimum of US$8, but you get like 6 rolls of very quality sushi...an unbelievable deal (in the US, sushi like this would be at least US$30). I had some shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, soft shell crab...it was BOMB (as one of my friends, Alyssa, from Wisconsin would say)!
Also, I went to Korean BBQ (picture on right), which is where there is a whole bunch of raw meat sitting out, and you grab what you want and cook it on a hot plate in front of you. I tried Ox tongue for the first time...it basically tasted like really tough beef. There were a bunch of other exotic meats, but I didn't try anything else too insane.

But I have realized that both of these experiences are why Hong Kong is known for having great food. People say that Hong Kong doesn't really have its own "food" but it is great at imitating other cultures' foods. In fact Anthony Bourdain (famous chef on the Food Network) said Hong Kong has some of the best food he has ever had, and I'm here!...tight, huh?

Also, I went on an open-top bus party for a girl's birthday. We took the bus all around downtown and saw all the sights. After the bus party we all went dancing in the town...a little mix of techno for the Europeans and a mix of Rap/R&B for the Americans. Classic. Hong Kong is really a beautiful city. I have gotten to travel to a bunch of sweet Asian cities, but as of now, none compare to Hong Kong. It has so many cultures, landscapes, and varieties of experiences...not to mention the skyline is unbelievable. In fact, I am starting to feel like Hong Kong is home...at least for now. By the end of all my trips I always say, "I am ready to get home to Hong Kong!" I feel comfortable and like I know what I am doing here, and that is a great feeling when you are traveling constantly around Asia. But the coolest thing is that I get to go through the Hong Kong residents line (not the foriegners one) when I go through customs...people look at me like I am in the wrong line, but I get up there and show them wrong! I am definitely now a HongKy (the term people in Asia use to refer to Hong Kong residents) and it feels GREAT!

Also, I have been meeting lots of local students, especially people from my hall. I talked about (in a previous blog) the group of students from my hall that call themselves Fourster (I have a video of them doing their stomp dance in the atrium in a previous blog). Well they are constantly putting on activities and they are all really nice too (the other students here say that they are the CRAZY ones, but I think that is just because they are outgoing and don't study constantly). So I have been going to all the activities they put on and I have made friends with a bunch of them including Darren, Evan, Kenneth, Desiree, So John, and many more whose names escape me at the moment. Last night they had a cook out and I ate some delicious food and got to know more people. They offered me chicken bone to eat (there isn't any meat on it. They just eat the bone....I guess it is kind of soft), but I decided I would have to take a little while to gain the courage to eat that one. I also went to a soccer game to support Hall IV. We were playing our rivals (Hall III...apparently the rivalry is so fierce that when students from Hall IV count to 4 they say "1, 2, 4." ha.) The soccer game was great. They LOVE chanting (and if you know me, you know how I also love chanting and cheering), but they always chant in Cantonees. So I got pretty good at saying "Ja MU! Ja MU! Ja MU!", which I guess is just the name of our hall in Cantonese. They loved that I was there cheering on.
Anyways, those are some of my most recent interesting Hong Kong experiences. I haven't actually been around Hong Kong all that much recently. In fact, on this upcoming Monday (the 9th) I will have only been in Hong Kong for 3 of the previous 11 days. Right now is just perfect for traveling since the workload is light. After my trip to Guilin, China this weekend, I will be staying in Hong Kong for 4 weeks before my next trip. The life of an exchange student is great, isn't it?!