新年快乐! Happy New Year!

The week leading up to Chinese New Year was very much like the week leading up to Christmas - crowded stores, crowded streets, people more on edge with each other, decorations, crowded trains and planes, etc.  But in China there are a billion more people than at home so it's about 10 times worse then what we're used to.  I thought about traveling somewhere but the thought of traveling at Christmas back home reminded me how much worse it would probably be here.  So it was a very relaxing week watching movies, reading books, catching up with a few friends, and occasionally studying some Chinese. 

Chinese New Year is like our Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It is spent with family, all the shops close, eat lots food, and shoot off nonstop firecrackers.

The holiday lasts for 15 days.  There are different traditions on each day mostly to attract good luck and good fortune for the upcoming year.  I'm writing this on day 5 -  a day to eat jaozi (dumplings) and shoot off MORE fireworks - which explains all the noise this morning!  It sounds like New Years all over again. 

The color red is everywhere.   According to Wikipedia this started because they believed a legend about a mythical beast called the Nian.  He would come the first day of the New Year to eat food, people, and especially children.  They figured out red would scare him off so they started putting up red decorations and wearing red.  The firecrackers would also frighten him. 

This past year was the year of the Rabbit and now it will be the year of the Dragon - supposedly the luckiest year of all the zodiacs.

I'm excited for a lucky Chinese year!

Chinese New Year's Eve!

(One of the many places to buy fireworks on the side of the road)

The best way to explain Chinese New Year's Eve is if everyone did their own personal fireworks show on the 4th of July - where ever they wanted.   I was on the roof of my apartment at midnight.  The fireworks were everywhere even before midnight.

The fireworks went on like that for an hour but didn't stop for hours.  I woke up to them at 6am in the morning.  I guess the Chinese don't sleep on New Year's.

I'm so glad I got to experience this! The Chinese know how to celebrate!

再见 Hong Kong!

As I suspected Hong Kong was really an amazing city.  I knew before I arrived that I would want to live there some day.  I didn't know I would discover that it is where Asia meets all my favorite cities-
*The hills of Los Angeles

 

*The beautiful skylines of New York and Chicago

*The British influence of London - driving on the left side of the street, signs telling you which way to look when crossing the street, etc.
*I didn't get to spend much time on the beaches but I believe them to be like the beaches in Mexico - clean and blue.
*European streets and shops

*The bustle and diversity of Chicago, New York, and Boston
*The beautiful parks of Chicago surrounded by skyscrapers

*The night lights of China
*Foods from all over the world 
*The Asian markets

One of the things I was most impressed with was the many modes of public transportation.  Ferry's to get to and from the islands, the subway, tons of buses, taxi's, and even an electric tram.  I never had to take a taxi because everything else was so easy to use and convenient.  I love cities where all you need to get around is a public transit card and your feet.  Everything is clean, not as crowded as China, and there's wifi everywhere - even on buses.

Maybe I've been living in such a strange / inefficient country for too long but Hong Kong really has it going on where efficiency is concerned.  Lines separating the direction of foot traffic.  The public transit cards can be used in stores and restaurants.  There are maps and clearly marked signs everywhere.  It's easy to walk places.  Pedestrians have the right of way! 

There must be something I didn't enjoy right? No city is perfect (that's debatable about HK though). Kowloon was soooo crowded.  I was there for New Years so that probably amplified the foot traffic.  When I returned to Xi'an I realized that even if there were more people walking around in Hong Kong at least it was somewhat organized on the sidewalks.  In Xi'an not only are you walking with so many other people but there is no organization to which side of the sidewalk they're walking, there's nothing stopping the motorbikes from driving on the sidewalk, and sometimes people walk so slowly it seems they will just stop - sometimes they do.  No one walks with any sort of purpose - UNLESS they're racing / pushing to get on the bus or pushing to cut infront of a queue.  AHHH!!  It's enough to drive me a bit mad now that I've been reminded of the ways all the other big cities I've been to operate.

I can't wait to go back to Hong Kong. 

Apple Hostel - Hong Kong

Apple Hostel was different than other hostels I've stayed at.   There is no common area so if you're looking to meet people it's best to stay in a dorm room.  At first I was very intimated by the building the Apple Hostel resides.

It's a huge building with restaurants, apartments, hostels.  Supposedly 4,000 people live there!  You have to queue for the elevator.   There are people hassling you to buy phone cards, DVD's, phones, and rooms as you make your way to the elevator. The building is called the Chong King Mansions.  I've never been surrounded by such a diverse group of people while waiting for an elevator.  By the last day I was completely amused by this process instead of annoyed. There are people from all over world in the queue but I think most were from Africa and India. There is an elevator attendant to make sure everything goes smoothly. There are TV screens so you can watch the uncomfortable, cramped elevator rides. It's quite entertaining.

The hostel was very clean, it was a small room but fine for the 2 of us.  There was a TV with one english station and the beds were comfortable.  You had to hold the shower head but otherwise the bathroom was fine.  The people who work there are nice and helpful. It's very safe. The price was reasonable for Hong Kong and it's totally convenient to everything.

We couldn't believe there was no line for the elevator on New Years Eve!

Stanley - Hong Kong

 

(Who is this flat boy in my picture??  It's Flat Stanley!  I was taking pictures with him to send to my friend in America.  I forgot to take a picture of the sign without him.)

Stanley is about a 40 minute ride out of the city.  It's really beautiful and once you're through the market it doesn't have much of an Asian influence.  The beach and hills are beautiful.  The restaurants,  with a sea view, feel European.  There was a very American cafe - it even had Ferrara Pan Red Hots.  Yum!  Many of the people were non Asian.   I think this must be a popular place to live for expats. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2012!!  It was a great night in Hong Kong.  We watched the pyrotechnics show from a boat between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.   When we walked out of our hostel all the streets were blocked off and there were lots of people everywhere.  We were so glad we didn't have to deal with the crowds.

One of the buildings had a countdown to midnight.  Then fireworks came out of the buildings.  I don't think I've seen anything like it.  There's a video below if you want to check it out.

I'm excited to see what's ahead for 2012.  2011 was obviously a big and challenging year for me. I wouldn't change any of it.   I have no idea where I'll be, what I'll be doing, or who I'll be with a year from now.  Can't wait to find out!  Hope everyone is having a great 2012 so far!

Macau - 澳門

Last week I made a trip to Macau and Hong Kong.  I met up with my friend who lives in Thailand.  Our first stop was Macau!

Macau was a Portuguese settlement in 1887 and remained that way until 1999 when the mainland of China took it back.  However, Macau operates its own legal system, police force, customs policy, immigration policy, and has its own currency.

To get to Macau we took an hour ferry ride from the Hong Kong airport.   We had to go through customs entering and exiting Macau.

We found a recommended restaurant our first night.  We ordered African Chicken and what we thought was a beef dish.  The beef dish turned out to be ox tongue!   We didn't realize this until after we ate it.  It was some of the best meat I've had and definitely a nice change from the food I eat in China.

We took a cable car up to Gula Hill.  It was a beautiful day and so much warmer than China.

We found some interesting local markets.

Overall Macau was very quiet compared to the busy cities we come from.  We didn't even see a lot of tourists until we got to Sao Paulo church.  The streets felt very European.

Pork on a bun = soooo good

Portuguese egg tarts were everywhere.  They were warm and not too sweet.

Beautiful sunset on top of the Macau museum.

Money!

Macau and Hong Kong each have their own currency.  In Macau you can pay for things with their money or with Hong Kong Dollars.  Change is given in both currencies.  It reminded me of Cambodia where you can pay in Riel and in USD.

All of the money kind of looks like play money. 

My favorite is the 10HKD note.

10 is the smallest note they make.  Carrying around so many coins is heavy!

Macau casinos

Most people go to Macau to visit the casinos.  There are currently 33 on the Macau Peninsula and nearby Taipa Island.  Most of the casinos have slots and tables on different floors which makes them weirdly quiet.   I didn't feel like I was in Vegas until I went into the Venetian.  It's the same as the one in Vegas but with less people.   Supposedly all the Macau casinos bring in more money than Vegas.

Tanya had a nice win the first time she sat down at a slot machine.  She won almost $180USD.  Not bad!  That goes pretty far in Hong Kong.