India!

Over Chinese New Year, I went to India to see my grandparents and for a wedding. I started off my journey by rushing to the airport after class. After multiple people laughing at me as I frantically raced around the MTR, I finally made it to the airport. After check-in and security, I went to eat a pizza as I had not eaten anything all day. I went to Pizza Express and ordered myself a pizza. Don't let the name fool you. Pizza Express has painfully slow service.

The waitress quietly judged me as I destroyed the pizza in twenty minutes. I boarded the most boring flight possible with the worst movies. I arrived in India and was welcomed by the complete incompetence of the immigration staff along with malfunctioning wifi. Eventually, I was greeted at the gate by my grandma, dad, and cousin. 

That night, my dad and I went back to my grandparents house. The following day, my dad and I went to Khan Chacha, a kebab restaurant, in Khan Market with my cousin. Khan Chacha serves both meat and vegetarian kebabs and kebab rolls. It was so good that we ended up going another time. I had completely forgotten that in India everything is labelled as vegetarian or non-vegetarian. Vegetarian does not include the consumption of fish or eggs making eggless bakeries common. In America, we easily forget that having meat in every meal isn't a requirement. 

 

The following day my dad ended up getting really sick, so our wedding plans were cancelled. My Nani, maternal grandmother in Hindi, and I ended up spending most of the day with my dad at his parents' house. I spent the next day shopping with my cousin Radhika. I also got eat chaat at Halidrams and some ice cream at Häagen Dazs, which is a sit down experience complete with optional fondue. 

I spent Saturday shopping with my aunt and Nani at Delhi Haat. Delhi Haat consists of a bunch of stalls made up of extremely touristy items set up to look like an authentic market. If I'm in Delhi, I always go.

Just before leaving, I was lucky enough to eat a Mango Dolly. In American, mango flavored ice creams are generally sorbets and very fruity. In India, mango ice cream is really milky and it's absolutely delicious. I had a quick and busy trip, but I feel privileged to be able to make the trip. I can't wait to return. 

Malls Malls Malls!!!

This morning we set out to go on the Dragon's Back Hike. It rained quite heavily, so we decided to go on a smaller 15 minute hike up a hill a few stations away from campus. As we were leaving campus, it started raining again, so we decided just to explore the town near the second planned hike. 

One thing you notice quite quickly in Hong Kong is the malls. They are generally connected to each MTR station and then to one another. In the closest MTR station, Hang Hau, we have 3 malls connected to each other and the station itself. 

Chinese New Year is approaching, so all the malls are decorated beautifully in pink, red, and goats, as it is the year of the goat. There are mandarin orange trees everywhere as they are customary gifts and decorations. 

Malls in Hong Kong contain any store you would need. There will be furniture stores right next to grocery stores, which are adjacent to Chanels and Diors. The mall that we went to in Yao Tung had a whole floor dedicated to children and their entertainment. 

Malls are also a great place to go out to eat. They are filled with a variety of cuisines from traditional Chinese to cafes to Thai. We went to a Thai-Malaysian fusion restaurant that had a beautiful view of the bay along with interesting dishes such as boneless chicken feet. 

Restaurants like Pizza Hut are relatively expensive sit down joints here.

Stanley

Brittany, Oliver, and I went to Stanley on Saturday. Stanley Market is on the south side of Hong Kong Island, about an hour away from campus. We hopped on the MTR, mass transit rail, and went to Chai Wan. Afterwards, we took a minibus to the other end of the island. Stanley overlooks Repulse Bay, which got it's name after the high pirate population there. 

Stanley Market consists of small connected alleys that sell loads of souvenirs, trinkets, and fake designer purses. I picked up some great presents for friends along with a silky kimono for myself. Brittany searched for some gifts for family and friends, while continued to blab on about how his robe was superior to the ones we saw.

We walked through one portion of Stanley Market until we reached the promenade. We climbed the rocks near the beginning of the promenade and stopped to take in the breathtaking beauty of the bay. The juxtaposition of the skyscrapers and the natural beauty continues to baffle me. Less than 5 minutes away, there are apartment complexes over 40 floors high. 

We had lunch on the promenade at a lovely Italian place and watched a replay of a rugby game. It was really nice to have food other than Chinese food, which Brittany and I mainly eat while on campus. 

After lunch, we walked to the pier to help digest our carb-heavy lunches. We passed Murray House, a Victorian-era building that has housed government offices for the past century. 

As we were leaving the promenade, we found the cutest coffee shop and bakery called Stanley Cave. If you want to hear more about and see some more pictures, Oliver has a blog post about it on his blog here. 

On our way back to bus stop, we walked through some back alleys that were sprinkled with beautiful flowers and plants. 

I'm really excited to have more day trips around Hong Kong. Stanley was an amazing place to visit, and I can't wait to visit more places around Hong Kong.