Bryan in Hong Kong

After we heard the news that the historic Star Ferry was moving to a new pier, and that last night was the final run of the current route, we decided to head downtown to be a part of history. Of course, everyone else had the same idea, and it was packed with people. After taking the ferry to Central from Tsim Sha Tsui (the Central pier is the one scheduled to relocated), we found giant crowds of protesters and banners objecting to the move.

Later though, we found a map that showed the location of the new pier, which is just a very short walk from the original (in fact, despite riding the ferry twice before, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed the new move, though I guess there’s also a historic clock-tower that’s being lost in the switch). Anyways, it was fun to see the commotion.

Also, I cooked my first meal in Hong Kong (perhaps first meal anywhere? haha, no) which consisted of tacos at a friend’s apartment. I couldn’t find flour tortillas at the grocery so used pita bread instead which worked out well. Combined with the ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce, grilled peppers, Japanese shredded cheese, and authentic Old El Paso refried beans, it was quite a tasty meal. Pictures later…

The MSc econ students had a basketball game today against the MSc IT students. Referees and everything. A lot of fun, and we even won by three points. Apparently some of the other master’s programs have teams too, so this could become a semi-regular event :)

Just finished my last midterm exam yesterday, which means exams are over until finals start next month (though still have a big project due soon).

Also, some new photos up.

No econometrics class today because of the Chung Yeung festival.

Here’s a traditional poem read during the holiday:

As a lonely stranger in the strange land,
Every holiday the homesickness amplifies.
Knowing that my brothers have reached the peak,
All but one is present at the planting of zhuyu.

Hmm… is my family planting zhuyu back in the US without me?! Has Sam already reached peak? Am I the one not present?!

According to Wikipedia “…it is customary to climb a high mountain” today. So that’s exactly what we did… click on the photo below for more…

Last night I went with a group of classmates to Ocean Park on the south side of the island. It’s kind of like Hong Kong’s Disneyland (before there actually was a Hong Kong Disneyland). Every year Ocean Park has a special Halloween event with haunted houses and everything. It’s amazing how universal amusement park rides are: the log ride, the free-fall drop, the rollercoasters, they pretty much had all the standard stuff though drastically enhanced by the fact that it’s situated on the side of a mountain overlooking the ocean instead of in a cornfield (no offense Holiday World!).

In other news, I also sent my absentee ballot back to Evansville yesterday. Looking forward to November 8th to see what happens.

Ocean Park rides.

A pic from a recent trip downtown.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I hope everyone is eating plenty of mooncakes.

Ok, this post is actually just about how my friend Jin Gu and I hiked through the woods to the beach and then took some posed photos, but I thought it deserved a better title. So here’s the story…

Everyday for the past month, I’ve looked out along the coast and seen a sweet beach just beyond campus. I tried to get there by walking directly from the other beach in front of campus, but it appeared impossible. However, last week a friend showed me a path through the woods that lead there. Yesterday I finally made the hike with another friend. It was incredible.

It takes about a half hour of walking through the woods, but the path is very nice. It’s actually not that far from campus, but because there’s a mountain in-between, it takes a while to get there. Other than an old man swimming alone, it was empty. Hong Kong is famous for it’s hiking trails, so I guess this is sort of an introduction for me. I plan on buying some hiking maps soon and trying out some real paths.

As you’ll see in the photos, we found some old bamboo staffs which inspired some creative picture taking.

Well, now that I’ve got my government issued Hong Kong ID card, I guess I officially live in Hong Kong. I wonder what’s stored on that chip…

I went to my first movie theatre in Hong Kong today to see The Banquet, a new Chinese movie released Thursday. Overall the movie is pretty good and I’m glad it was the first one I saw in HK (though I should really see an HK-made movie next time).

After the movie we headed downtown to the Central district on the island. From there we took the tram up the mountain to Victoria Peak. The peak has an amazing view out over the entire city (see pics). The unique thing about Hong Kong is that it’s one of the only mega-cities that is literally on a mountain. It makes for amazing views. A just posted a few photos.