Finally- Nick Writes About Hong Kong (instead of the US)

As promised, I will deliver on the post about Hong Kong- this time with photos

But first, I'm going to describe the amazing flight on Cathay Pacific:
- The food was pretty good, while not incredible, it was clearly the best airline food I had ever had
- The service was impeccable, I was never passed up and was treated very kindly the entire flight
- I was given travel socks(?) as well as toothbrush, along with the usual blanket and pillow
- Each seat was powered
- Alcohol was free
- The entertainment was top notch- I was expecting some new movies, but the system that Cathay Pacific used was like a Video On Demand, with movies like Inglorious Bastards, District 9, and Slumdog Millionaire. While it wasn't the fact that they had so many great movies, it was that you could pause the movies to relax/ sleep. They also had an extensive collection of CD's within the console including La Roux, The Killers, and the soundtrack to Spinal Tap.

Shortly after arriving, we were placed into a hotel (where we will stay for the next 3 or 4 nights) with a random person. I must have won the awesome lottery, because my roommate happens to have relatives here, I probably won't make anything of it, but if I need a good place to get a suit, I'll know where to go. Then, a few of us went out to take a walk around the neighborhood. The verdict on the neighborhood is yet to be decided, mainly because it is really busy (nice), but we were ripped off at the diner around the corner (not nice), but we have a lot of stores surrounding us (nice), but no bars (not nice). I'll figure out whether I like (or not) it in a couple of days. The key to the neighborhood is to watch your street- it feels like the Vegas Strip almost everywhere you look, mainly because EVERY STORE USES NEON SIGNS(I carefully picked this photo out to show that I'm halfway across the world).

Aside from the crazy partying (sleep) I have been partaking in, I have visited Victoria Peak, the highest point in Hong Kong with a gorgeous view of the Hong Kong skyline, City University of Hong Kong (all one complex- still a ton of students), and my neighborhood of Yao Ma Tei- and surrounding neighborhoods of Mong Kok, and Prince Edward. (Oh and a jumbo floating restaurant- kinda touristy but cool)





The cuisine here is pretty normal, kind of like any Chinese restaurant, just with a lot more choices, better food (usually), and the main utensil is chopsticks (I've gotten better with them). Oh yeah, there are also a lot of these restaurants. Its not all Chinese/Asian/Hong Kong food though, I've seen some fast food as well, Pizza Hut is really fancy here. I'll eventually get around to eating there, but for now, I'm trying to take everything in, including by tastes.

So tomorrow, I leave for China- I'll be going to Xian, Beijing, and Shanghai. I don't know whether or not I'll have internet service, or the ability to post, while over there. I'll be gone for two weeks, so any post that I make (there will be posts-- I'm required by my class to write at least 12 pages- at least four every 4-5 days) will be retroactive to the date that I wrote it in. Hopefully I can tag some photos with the posts, but no promises. If I'm too lazy, I might just create a flckr account and post them all there for you to gawk at.

Now, I'm off into the deep abyss of mainland China, hopefully I'll meet you on the other side singing its praises. Until then, enjoy The 25th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration as well as National Dress Your Pet Day. I'll let you decide which one is more important to celebrate.

Until next time,
-Nick