Hong Kong!

I can not think of a very good word besides different to describe Hong Kong. Many things are not good or bad...just different than what I know.

Yesterday, when we first got here we had free time for the whole day and even though it had been like 40 hours since we had last REALLY slept (cat naps on the collectively 17 hour plane ride dont count!) and we were wearing the same clothes and had no idea what was going on we decided to start the 4 month trip off right and go on an adventure! First, we walked about 30 min through the crazy and busy streets of HK. Then we got on the Metro which is like a subway and rode it for a good 40 min or so. Then we walked through a mall to a bus station and took an hour and 15 min bus ride to the top of some mountain, where the Po Lin (i think?) Monestary is, which means... BIG BUDDAH! We climbed all the stairs and walked around the big statue. It really was cool! The drive up and the drive down though were on really windy roads so I had to sit at the front of the bus to be sure not to get car sick. The heat and humidity made the trip almost more than I could stand. But it was incredibly interesting, we saw a few monks and people go inside the bottom part of the buddah where you worship I guess. We werent allowed to take any pictures once we were inside. There were 3 levels... on the bottom was a big wooden buddah and beautiful lights and flowers, etc. The middle level had paintings and pictures and prayer beads. And on the top level was "The Relic". I want to learn more about the Relics because they are a big deal to the Chinese people. The black relic is hair, the red relic is the flesh and the white relic is the bone. This Temple or whatever it was, was devoted to the White Relic. So we got to see that which was basically a glass case with really beautiful crystals and flowers, and statues inside.

After seeing the Big Buddah, we were kind of hungry so we stopped at a bakery and I got some bread and a chocolate mousse cup. The bread was just salty bread, and the mousse cup was DELICIOUS! The best part was, that was about 8$ HK which is like $1.15 US! After enjoying our Chinese pastries, we showered and went to bed...and man was I tired! This morning we started a tour of the city around 8:30am and went to Victoria Peak which is basically just a look out point for the city. When we were up there I saw a really beautiful HK spoon I wanted. It was $30HK which is not quite $4US. But I only had 2 $20HK so I asked the sweet old man for change... and he gave me a fake $10 bill! Luckily I knew the difference, so I could pick which $10bill I wanted from his stack but I was slightly taken back that that happened.
We also went to Stanley Market which was really awesome shopping! Things seemed pretty cheap but Amanda says we can get them for cheaper in mainland so we didnt buy anything. It was still a really fun experience and it was cool to see the things we can buy.
There is a big tunnel in HK that goes from HK island to Kowloon island and it is UNDER the harbour. So you pay a little bit and go through the tunnel. I haven't been that claustrophobic in a long time. Our sweet tour guide Matthew who has lived in HK his whole life told us that HK is made up of 3 parts. Hong Kong Island or Hong Kong City is the most densly populated city in the world. 2 million people living in just a few square miles. Then there is the New Territiories (I personally think they should come up with a better name for this!) and there is about 1 million on that island, and on Kowloon there is over 1.5 million. Can you imagin that many people crammed in to such a tiny space? Me either, and I walked through it today! You can really tell though when you are walking around. Everyone seems to be in a huge hurry and there are so many people everywhere you look. The streets are also very narrow and I was sure our bus was going to crash when we were on the tour. But they know what they are doing, and they are great at defensive driving. If people drove like they do here, in America I think there would be %50 more accidents. It really is crazy.
We also went to the Hong Kong Temple today. It is tiny! Absolutely the smallest temple I have ever been in. There are walls with a small courtyard around the bottom and once you step in the gates its like a wall of silence...it is pretty cool especially because the HK streets are crazy and busy and full of honking! We didnt have to wait too long...at least I didnt. We had a group of 22 people and only 2 could change at a time. One had to change in the bathroom and the other in the shower! Also, I am pretty sure EVERYONE who was working at the temple that day was down in the baptistry. The Temple President was the one marking the names so that was pretty cool to see him involved with us. They sounded like they were speaking complete gibberish While they were praying, etc. it sounds like they are just mumbling or stuttering or something. However, the peace and comfort inside that building was the same as it was 4 days ago in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple so something is right there. It was an awesome experience.

We then went on the search for some edible food. We were starving and wanted something of substance! Just down the street from our hotel was a small dumpling shop. It was like a little cafe. We tried the beef, korean spicy, jade, and the house special dumplings both steamed and pan fried. They were 3$HK each and we got 5 plates so it ended up being a little more than $10US for 3 of us to eat. We were really full too! The dumplings were delicious and they had little containers with different sauces and garlic and some red pepper relish that was REALLY hot but so good! We came back to the hotel and some girls took a nap but I hung out with Amanda and Shalise...we talked and looked at pictures it was really fun. We were going to go down to the pier to see the laser show, but we missed the last bus and we all had $100 HK (about $13US) to spend before we leave tomorrow. (Mainland China and HK$ are not the same.) So we went shopping on Nathan Street! It is the most popular and busy street in Hong Kong. We saw a small cooler sitting on a stool as we walked past and it had like small easter egg looking things inside floating in water...except they were round like balls. I was curious so I bought one for Amanda and I. The lady opened the ball in to a plastic bag and a white ball fell out. I thought it was like a frozen slushee or something. IT WAS JELLO! It was the weirdest thing I have ever ate. It was really gelatinous like jell-o but it didnt have much flavor besides a sweet vanilla that was very subtle. I hated it! We all tried it but threw it away. We also tried some soy ice cream which was pretty good. It also had some small jell-o like pieces on the side as a topping along with bananas and mini marshmallows. really strange. I bought some really cute shoes at the shopping mall... The lady first wanted 150$HK which is a little less than $20US. I told her it was too much and walked away...after some bargaining I got them for $50HK which is like $7.50US So I was happy! I am exhausted after yet another really long day. It is so fun here, and I am loving it, but I can not wait to get to Guzhen so we can settle in and not live out of a suit case in a cramped hotel room anymore.
I dont think I will have facebook in mainland China. I am pretty sure the government blocks it, so checking the blog, email, and skype are the best ways to communicate. I think we will have to get on either late at night for me, and early in themorning for you guys, or the other way around because otherwise, one of us should be sleeping!
I also can't upload any of my pictures here for some reason. It is really frustrating and I am trying to figure it out so check back later! I am thinking it might be because my internet connection is not the best...hopefully that will change. I want you to see what I am seeing! Its pretty unreal!
I love and miss you all!!!