Manila!!

My mom came to visit me over the weekend, and we had a packed four days of adventure between Hong Kong and Manila! We visited family in Manila and got to enjoy the city two days. My mom went to the Big Buddha and then we met up at the airport, celebrated by a selfie. 

We arrived at night, and I started feeling sick. The next day we headed to Tagaytay, a city with a volcano in the middle of a lake. Our hour and a half trip was ended short with a traffic stopping accident. The whole time I was pleasantly asleep only woke up after we turned around. On our way back, we stopped at a giant rest stop that reminded me of Buccee's. Manila reminded of Houston with it's ten lane highways. 

In Manila, a popular form of public transportation is the Jeepney. It's basically a stretch keep that's low to the ground with an open back. They are decorated like a car from MTV's Pimp My Ride. One jeepney had Ferrari spray-painted on with flames. 

My family's neighborhood reminded me of Memorial. The houses matched Memorial is size and grandeur. The only thing they lacked were large yards.

 Saturday night, we celebrated my aunt's birthday at Hossein, a Persian restaurant, in an area that resembles City Centre. It was a big area full of shops and restaurants that people walked around. We celebrated her birthday at midnight with a donut pyramid!

Even though Philippines seems a lot like the US, there are a few differences that remind me of India. I saw everything from GAP to TGI Friday's to Krispy Kreme. 

Sunday afternoon, we concluded our trip and flew back to Hong Kong. I found this hilarious Cebu Pacific ad that described the ariline as "juan in a million."

My next post will have more pictures of my mom's trip in Hong Kong!

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.