On Thursday, the 23rd of July, I arrived back in the states a little after noon. My first stop was to pick up a sim card followed by a visit to my neighbors whom I hadn't seen or talked to for a couple years. The next day I rode my mom's motorcycle to visit all my coworkers/friends at my old college and later I renewed my license.
On my third day back I went to hang out with some old friends from high school and university. I met up with Josh and we had some Taco Bell with Loi before heading to Seattle to see Paco and visit our alma mater - the University of Washington.
On Sunday, July 19th, I had breakfast at the airport with Chu Sum before saying goodbye and boarding my flight to South Korea. When I arrived I was met by some friends who took me to Ansan where I met with my friend Testimony and saw my other friend Aaron who is from New Zealand. This was a surprise for both of us, especially when you consider that we weren't even in an English speaking country. Testimony then took me out for some of the famous Korean BBQ and later we all went for some Korean ice dessert.
The next day Testimony took me out for a traditional Korean breakfast (mostly bean sprouts and lots of spice!) and showed me around a bit. Later I went to meet my friend Jeong, who I met while working in Milford Sound, New Zealand, and we walked around Seoul. We visited the National Assembly Building (parliament), sat by the Han River and went to Burger King.
On day three I went to check out Seoul with Aaron and Jeong. We had some really good Bulgogi for lunch and then Aaron had to head back so Jeong and I went to an art museum.
While we were at the museum I got in touch with my friend Suji (a former colleague from the UW) and we agreed to meet up in Insadong. Though, before heading over there, Jeong and I decided to go to Bukchon (North Village).
Bukchon had a lot of really cool traditional houses and some great views. After walking around in the hutong-like alleys and seeing the sites, we met up with Suji for coffee at the Insadong Shopping Mall. Finally, Jeong and I went to meet up with another friend from Milford (his girlfriend, Ellen) for a big hotpot buffet dinner. Hot pot is great - you just grab a bunch of tasty meats, veggies, noodles, etc. and chuck it all in a boiling pot in the middle of the table. I reckon its probably one of the most popular things to do with friends in Korea.
The next day Aaron, Testimony and I had another Korean breakfast, some bubble tea and went to Hanyang University. Then we went for lunch at an interesting restaurant where I had a very interesting meal, a Korean specialty - dog soup.
It wasn't the most flavorful meat but the soup wasn't bad as they did a decent job adding spices to compensate. After lunch we went for a walk in the park before heading to the airport... Today was the day. For the first time in three and a half years I was finally going home. I boarded my plane for the 11 hour flight that would bring me back stateside... to America.
On Friday, July 17th, it was my last day of hanging out in Hong Kong so I went to Ocean Park with Chu Sum for a visit we had been planning since I first arrived. After arriving on the bus, we took the cable car up to the rides area and had a look around. We went on a few small ones to warm up but I wasn't going to let Chu Sum leave without going on some of the bigger rides - he had never been on one of them before.
Well, we soon discovered that Chu Sum is actually quite fond of the big rides and couldn't get enough! We probably would have been riding the rides all night if we didn't have somewhere else to be. Still, between the roller coasters and repeat visits to the drop tower, we managed a visit to some of the interesting animals of Ocean Park.
The next day I finished packing my bags and had dinner at Chu Sums. The following morning would be my last day in Hong Kong and my first day in South Korea.
On Wednesday, July 15, Chu Sum, Waji and I went to Tap Mun (Grass Island) for camping. After arriving, we made our way into the jungle and soon found ourselves surrounded by giant Golden Orb spiders which are the same spiders as some in Australia that are known to eat birds.
We continued hiking around the island until we found ourselves back at the beginning of a loop. We walked a bit further before setting up camp and, after an attempt at swimming in some shallow waves in low light, starting dinner. We decided to cook up some BBQ using our custom camping stove that Chu Sum put together with toilet paper, lighter fluid and some empty cans. The toilet paper acted as a wick and the lighter fluid fueled a flame that was surprisingly effective for cooking. That night it was so hot that nobody could sleep... though I'd have to say I probably made the most effort to that end. Meanwhile, the others were out running around and playing with fire...
The next day we woke up to a beautiful sunrise and went for a swim. This time we had a bit more light and we found a place where the water was easier to access without walking on too many sharp rocks. The deeper water made it easy to swim around between the boulders and explore which was a lot of fun with the use of my goggles.
Finally, we headed back to the main village, had some breakfast at a little restaurant and took the ferry back to Ma Liu Shui Ferry Pier in Sha Tin. That night I enjoyed a big dinner at a nice restaurant with some of the water polo guys. I now only had two days left in Hong Kong before heading off to South Korea and then back to the USA.
On Monday, July 13th, I went to Tai O with Anita to see the pink dolphins (Chinese white dolphin). We left from a fishing village with lots of boats and stilted buildings and it was there that we also saw some strange little temples. I suppose they're pretty common in Hong Kong but I was a bit taken aback by this one which had a warrior statue giving us the finger...
Temples are not really my thing anyway but there wasn't much else to see in the village. They also have a lot of dried fish but, again, not something I'm really interested in.
The boat took us out for about 20 HKD (about 2-3 USD) and we had a good half an hour or so to look for the dolphins. While we weren't able to get any really great shots, we did see quite a few of them. Overall, I'd say it was worth it just for the experience and I'm sure that a lot of people manage to get better photos/video than I did.
Over the last couple weeks I saw some friends for the last time as I would soon be leaving Hong Kong. I had another dinner in Causeway Bay with Sarah, Peter and their family and went swimming with friends in Tuen Mun after a big feed at Grace's. On Thursday, 2nd of July, I went for traditional noodles with Anita and Chu Sum and we visited an interesting museum with displays showing the lifestyle in Hong Kong over the years.
About a week later Chu Sum and I went swimming at Shek O. This time we joined the crowds at the main beach where they have floating islands you can swim to. We body surfed, played "find the rock" and dived off the floating islands - it was a fun day.
June was the month of cliff jumping. On Tuesday, the 9th of June, Ayden and I took the MTR to Choi Hung Station, the minibus to Sai Kung and another bus to Sai Wan Pavilion. From there, we hiked 40 min and arrived at our destination - Sheung Luk Stream. We jumped off the cliffs and swam for a few hours then realized that we would be too late to take the bus back. So we hiked... for three hours to another village where we could catch a bus back to Sai Kung.
About a couple weeks later, I went back with Jurgen, Chu Sum, Isaac and Juanito. We jumped all day as well but, this time, we took a taxi back from the pavilion.
May was a strange month in Hong Kong... First, there was the ridiculously expensive student fashion show sponsored by a big fashion company in Hong Kong. Our students, and a couple of teachers, were provided thousands of dollars of clothing and trained for their performances on the catwalk. Next, there was the incident where I got in trouble for standing between two of my students who wouldn't stop talking/swearing in my class because they felt I didn't have the right to disrupt their conversation... Then I got stung by two jellyfish while playing water polo at Deep Water Bay during a lightning storm. Later, I got in trouble again because my students could see my nipples through my shirt... well, maybe in the right light they had a point, but then you have to wonder why they even care... I'm a guy. And finally, of course, there were the Chinese bagpipers at the fancy school dinner during which our eccentric hosts made jokes and called out lottery numbers.
To be clear, I did NOT take part in the fashion show. The blond guy was a coworker who is apparently not entirely uncomfortable wearing makeup... I, on the other hand, have my dignity. Though, I did have to push a fat lady out of my way to get off the train that morning - she wanted my seat and I wanted off the train... well, in the end, we both got what we wanted.
As for "nipplegate" (as my coworkers so graciously labeled it), I've just decided not to wear my light-yellow shirt anymore as Hong Kong is way too fricken hot for an undershirt. Of course, the students were also concerned about my bellybutton because it shows sometimes when I go to tuck my shirt in... but I'm not paying for a tailor to make a shirt my size so they're just going to have to get over it. As with all Western things in Hong Kong, the prices are considerably higher than buying the local standard. Also, I don't like spending money for things I already have.
Lastly, while the fancy school dinner was a bit unusual, it was also very, very nice. They gave us some kitschy gifts, played live music and fed us some wonderful food: suckling pig, fish, tasty chicken and noodles, sweet Chinese red bean soup and some nice wine... so yeah, not bad!
On Saturday, the 25th of April, Erych and I hiked the Dragon's Back on Hong Kong Island. It had been a few weeks of working and the exercise and fresh air were needed. Located on the East side of Hong Kong Island, the Dragon's Back is recognized as one of the best hikes in Asia (or at least one of the best near a major city). The coastal views and characteristic rolling ridge create a unique and dynamic hiking environment - a worthwhile hike.
About a week later, we had another opportunity for some outdoors fun in Tai Mei Tuk. After a massive BBQ and ice cream, we hired some bicycles and went for a ride. Of course, while the Dragon's Back had admittedly a few people on the track, Tai Me Tuk was about as busy as you would expect a place in Hong Kong to be - packed. From the start we had to fight traffic just to find enough space to actually mount the bikes!
For our last day in Beijing, Chu Sum and I made our way to the Old Summer Palace. Having seen the other Summer Palace, we had considered other ideas but it seemed a good opportunity to compare the replica with the original. After having some breakfast and stopping by the post office, we played with the cheap flapping bird toys in the park for a bit and spent a few hours walking around the ruins.
It wasn't until we saw some depictions of the palace in original condition (from before it was sacked by the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900), that we realized just how ruined the ruins really were.
Later that evening we flew back to Hong Kong and I broke into my locked apartment with the help of building security and a crowbar... seems my flatmate had latched the door from the inside before entering a state which I can only describe as comatose!
Today Chu Sum and I went to the Summer Palace with some friends. Yet again, I was able to use my expired student card to get a discount. We wandered through various sections of the palace grounds for probably a few hours until we arrived at a bridge. At that time we decided to split up from the group and visit a small island section across from one of the main palace buildings.
After looking around a bit at we decided to head to Wangfujing snack street for some... snacks.
This is China though so the "snacks" are sometimes a bit like fear factor. We ate our typical meat kebabs and ice cream of course, but I just couldn't leave without trying the scorpions.
They actually taste a bit like a buttery chip - not bad for a deadly, scary looking insect! Next we went over to the souvenir area and gave haggling a go. Now, neither of us are without experience in this department and, in general, going from 135 RMB to 45 RMB seems like a pretty good accomplishment. We walked away thinking we had made the deal of the day... until we saw the same souvenir with a sticker price of 35 RMB. We learned an important lesson there: look around a bit before you make a purchase!
This morning Chu Sum and I ate in a random hutong and took the MTR to a bus station. At the station we waited in line for about an hour (as you do in China), during which time I enjoyed the wonderful experience of being cut in line by a local - one of the aspects of Chinese culture, such as the spitting, of which I am not a fan. In fact, I'm not proud of this, but I may have intentionally given her one or two flat tires as we slowly moved toward the bus.
Next, after taking the bus to one of the last stops, we hired a minivan to take us to another bus (this is not the first time I've had to use several forms of transportation to get somewhere in China) and that bus took us to the Great Wall at Mutianyu! Once we arrived, we bought tickets for the chair lift up and the toboggan ride back down. Unfortunately, after walking up and down the the majority of the wall in this section, we found that we were too late for the toboggan ride... I was very, very disappointed.
We took the chair lift back down and waited in line for the bus that would take us to the car to the other bus which went back to Beijing. Overall, a really cool place to visit with lots of historical significance. Despite the setbacks, I definitely couldn't recommend it enough! I mean, it is a great wall after all ;)
On Friday, April 3rd, I went out from the hostel to explore the "hutongs" - narrow mazelike alleys which probably make up a majority of the neighborhoods in Beijing. Needless to say, you can get lost in them pretty easily. Of course, if you have a reasonable memory and/or sense of direction, you can quickly find your way back into familiar territory. After having some wantons at a local hutong restaurant, I grabbed some street food as I found my way back to the hostel.
A while later we were ready to have a look at Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. On the way, some salespeople on the street tried to get us to buy tickets for a trip to the Great Wall but, thankfully, we had done our research and knew that this particular section would be crowded and slightly less spectacular than other areas.
We walked around through many security checks (nothing new - security checks are everywhere in the mainland) and eventually made our way to Tienanmen Square which, as it turns out, is right at the entrance to the Forbidden City. All in all, it all probably took about four or five hours before we finally reached the end and decided it was time for dinner. After a decent feed, we went to the Olympic Center buildings.
The Olympic Center buildings were designed and built for the 2008 Summer Olympics and for future use in 2022. The one on the right is the Beijing National Stadium AKA the Bird's Nest and the one on the left is the National Aquatics Center AKA the Water Cube. We spent about two hours there shooting rubber band helicopter things into the air and then headed back to the hostel.
On Wednesday, April 1st, I got off work and went to Chu Sum's for dinner with his family. The next day we got up at 5am and headed off to the airport. At the check in desk we asked for an exit row but were refused. We didn't mind as we were just happy to be on our way to Beijing. We thanked the lady and headed to our gate. As we were boarding the plane the ticket guy stopped us and took our tickets. We weren't sure what was going on but then he handed us another pair of tickets and we boarded the plane. In the plane the stewardess checked our tickets and told us to go left... into first class. It was then that we realized that the nice lady at the counter had upgraded our tickets. Well, there's a first time for everything!
After a very comfortable flight with Hong Kong Airlines, we arrived in Beijing and caught a bus into the city. We wandered around looking for a couple hours and eventually found our hostel... right near where we had gotten off the bus. After checking into our super cool (yet amazingly cheap) hostel “Shindom Inn Beijing Zhushikou”, we grabbed a bite to eat and crashed at only 6pm.
On Saturday, March 7th, a bunch of us went to Lantau Island to hike Sunset peak. It was a rather foggy day but, despite the lack of visibility, it was actually perfect weather for climbing a mountain. As we reached the top we found ourselves in the middle of a river of fog flowing over the peak. We had hoped to reach a point above the fog, and we were certainly close at this point, but the experience of walking in the clouds would have to suffice.
A few days later, I had an interesting chat with another English professor. Apparently we both had different interpretations of a particular idiom. While languages are arguably nothing without their rules, it seems reasonable to suggest that we are all rather quickly moving away from the type of pedagogical society that cares - texting as an obvious example. Of course, colloquial language in general is informal and thus doesn't require much in the way of rules to function... just try telling that to an English person.
Now, maybe you would agree with my British friend, and indeed it is quite possible that I was being something of a "stick in the mud", but the phrase, "no use crying over spilled (or spilt if your of the pommie persuasion) milk" seems to be primarily related to the futility of "sweating the small stuff."
On the other hand, I fully acknowledge that the accepted interpretation is that there is, "no use being upset about something that has already happened and/or you cannot change."
Okay, I get it - you cannot change the past... you can clean up milk though. For that reason I might even suggest that my definition is contextually more practical... and appropriate. For example, I strongly feel that you would have to have something of a death wish (no pun intended) to go to a funeral and mutter such a poor choice of words... just saying. My point here is that, while my interpretation appears to work 100% of the time, the official one clearly does not. What do you think?
Neither the Americans nor the British are doing a great job of preserving the language (just try talking to a scouser from Liverpool, a Louisiana Creole person, or reading anything written in English 500+ years ago,). Sure, we could argue all day about which culture is most... creative with the vocabulary, but the fact is that the main function of language has been, and likely always will be, communication. For this reason, I suppose you could say that the rules are important - until they're not.
Life in Hong Kong can be quite interesting at a glance. Sure, I'm not a big fan of the crowds or the pollution but, as far a cities go, Hong Kong does have some perks. Day to day expenses are certainly not too bad if you leave out the cost of accommodation: a meal is about $3-5 USD, same for laundry services; transportation to anywhere in the city ranges from fifty cents to two bucks, etc. Hong Kong also has plenty of things to see and do for all types of people. Believe it or not, aside from the massive number of street markets and such, Hong Kong also has a great outdoors scene. Hiking in the New Territories is quite popular as they have dozens of places that actually get you out of the city, crowds and pollution! I was also rather chuffed to learn that the city actually has people who get together to play water polo - and not just in the pool, but at the beach!
Using floating goals and anchors, the beach polo team has regular sessions just a short bus ride away from my place in Kennedy Town.
Most people in Hong Kong spend the majority of their free time eating out with friends or playing sports if they're athletically motivated enough. My friend Chu Sum and I like to go to the pool a lot and sometimes we go hiking, traveling or surfing. Otherwise, the main thing people do in Hong Kong is work... a lot.
On Saturday the 28th of February, I went to work at 9:30am for one of the school's primary PR days where we show off our school's vast resources in order to encourage primary students to apply at our school (yes, students have to apply for high school here!). Seeing as people aren't paid for showing up on Saturday in Hong Kong, as it is simply expected here, we weren't super pleased about waiting around till 11am to start the presentation. We were even less pleased when the principal decided it would be a bright idea to send us in a bit early, without preparation, to have a nice chat with the students. Of course, working with a bunch kids who are terrified of the English language is hard enough with preparation, but what's worse is when the parents are standing there judging you and thinking (in Chinese), "I don't get it - he never shuts up at home!"
I can't complain too much though. At least I have other NET teachers to share my pain - most NETs in Hong Kong have to do it all alone! In fact, as a first time teacher, I couldn't be luckier. Having two experienced teachers at your side means that, when things get tricky (and they certainly do in a band three school where the weaker students all go), I've got someone to turn to for help. In general, things at my school are actually not all that bad. My daily routine generally goes something like:
- Up at 6:20am, throw some hot water on some oats and get dressed
- Grab some banana, blueberries, flax, etc. and inhale the oatmeal
- Off at 6:50am and arrive at 7:40am on the MTR
- School assembly at 8am and some quick prep before my first classes
- Walk down to the basketball court to fill my water bottle and snack on crackers, muesli, etc. in my office between classes
- Lunch around noon (duck, meatballs or sushi)
- Buddy reading practice for students who read with primary school students
- Leave at 5:15pm and arrive home at around 6pm
- Chuck a bunch of veggies and fish in my rice cooker and eat a half hour later
- Church meeting or relax until 9:30pm
- Sleep
On Thursday, the 19th of February Kevin, May and I went hiking up to the peak of Perhentian Kecil. At the top we found some wind turbines and solar panels as well as a fantastic view out over the ocean.
After returning down the mountain, we went to Long Beach and made a really great sandcastle... Kevin thought it was ugly, but who asked him anyways. That night we had a big seafood feast to celebrate the first day of the Chinese New Year. We had crab, freshly caught fish, potatoes and other great stuff. Even the octopus, which I usually don't eat, was really good.
The next day was my last day so we hired a kayak and did some beach hopping. One of the beaches had some really cool huts on it which were apparently part of some sort of environmental initiative.
Before we knew it the day was over. I had my last burger from our friend Jeffrey at the Sunset Cafe, slept my last night in Kevin's tent and had one last delicious breakfast the next day at Dinnie's Cafe. After that I caught my boat out at noon and took the budget bus to Kota Bharu for 6 ringit (about $2 USD). The driver was either on a very loose schedule or no schedule at all. He kept stopping to get off and walk somewhere and, judging by the fact that he had a no smoking sign but smoked anyways, I'm guessing he didn't have much of a standard to keep... After over two hours of a supposedly one hour trip, I grabbed a taxi to the airport for 30 ringit and barely caught my flight back to Kuala Lumpur as it was boarding. I found out that I didn't even have to check my bag because nobody cares! That saves time. Back in Kuala Lumpur I found that I hadn't left enough time for my connecting flight yet again. Considering that it's technically an international flight I probably should have given myself more than an hour and a half before checking in, let alone boarding! No matter, seems they make allowances for this kind of thing, or maybe just don't really care here. I just had to check my bag at a last minute luggage check in station and then I was able to board my flight as usual - no worries!
On Tuesday, the 17th of February I made my way to the airport via MTR and bus. Nothing was running at 4am when I woke up so I actually had to wait around for about two hours. After arriving at the check-in desk I was greeted with uncertainty as the nervous staff weren't sure if I would be able to catch my connecting flight. Well, they were right. My flight was delayed and thus I had no chance of catching my flight which was in an entirely different terminal. I actually had to catch a train to get to my next flight which was in the domestic terminal. Thinking I might still make it, I ran right past immigration and almost got arrested. In all fairness, they didn't actually have any signage or even gates so, as far as I could tell, they were just information kiosks!
Anyway, I had to re-book my ticket and it didn't cost a whole lot so no big deal. I got to Kota Bharu and went out to catch the bus. As I was waiting, the taxi drivers told me that the bus would still be another hour. This time they were telling the truth but, in any case, I managed to catch a ride with a new friend who was waiting for his buddy to pick him up. After arriving at the bus station, I found that there were no more buses to Kuala Besut (the town where I would catch my boat to the islands) so I ended up paying for a taxi driver in the end. This guy loved to drive fast and, as we were nearing our destination almost an hour into the trip, we got in an accident. Some cars ahead of us had stopped for some cows and we smashed into a big SUV. Luckily, it didn't cause a whole lot of damage to either vehicle as we had squished right up under it. The drivers shook hands and we were on our way again. That night I made a new Russian friend at the hostel and we made plans to meet up on the island.
The next day I got up early to go buy some stuff, since I knew it would be more expensive on the island, but all the shops were still closed and I had a boat to catch. A while later I arrived on the island and met up with my friends Kevin and his wife, May for snorkeling. I saw my new Russian friend as well, but she wasn't feeling up to it so we went on our way.
The first stop was an area with lots of coral and cool fish - we even saw Nemo. After that we went to swim with the sharks.
The guide was swimming around with a chewed up fish so I'm pretty sure these were a friendly variety of shark... or maybe he's just crazy. In any case, our next stop was to swim with the turtles.
We looked around for a while and soon found one, then another and eventually we were swimming with three turtles, big ones. Much bigger than the one I saw at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In fact, everything during this trip was better than the GBR. Someone once told me the coral and fish life here were better than in Australia, and now I can confirm it.
After having lunch at a nearby restaurant, we set out again - this time to a light house.
Of course, I jumped off it. After that, we headed back to the island and that night we celebrated Chinese New Year by watching a special TV program. The show had a little Chinese guy driving a taller Chinese lady around and it was funny because he couldn't see over the dash. Also, the lady told a police officer that the little guy was a professional basketball player. I didn't get much more than that because it was all in Chinese.
