Hong Kong & Shanghai China

Chinese medicine

Fish Market: Shanghai, China

Shanghai @ night

Rugby Sevens party in Hong Kong

Hong Kong @ night

Hong Kong

YUM!

rugby flags

Wet Market

shrine in Hong Kong @ Stanley Market

Stanley Market Harbor

light show

at the market, crazyyy!

fish market

"Seeing once is superior to hearing one hundred times" -Chinese proverb

China was everything I thought it would me; way too many people, way too many shops, and way too many weird things to eat. When I first walked off the boat in Hong Kong, it felt like I was in San Francisco. The harbor was in the most industrialized part of the city and the streets were filled with one designer store after the next. There was a Starbucks on every single corner- it was very westernized; there was even a California Pizza Kitchen. After lunch we met up with one of Kyle’s friends from Colorado who happened to be studying in Hong Kong, he took us all around the city. If it weren’t for him, I’m not sure we would have been able to manage getting anywhere! We learned to use the subway, which was great. We walked around the city and went to a few of the famous markets; the “ladies market” and the fish market. The ladies market was nothing different from the past 10 cities I was in, but the fish market was pretty new to me. I assumed it was going to be a market where people came to buy fish to eat; however, it was an ENTIRE street of pet stores!! I’ve never seen (or smelt) anything thing like it, one shop after the next filled with tons and tons of animals, and more people than I’ve ever seen on one street, I guess everyone was in the market for a pet.

The night was SO much fun, rugby sevens were in town and there a street completely lined by pubs, and FILLED with rugby fans from ALL over the world, I don’t think I saw one Chinese person all night, how weird. It was probably my favorite night out of the entire trip. It was so much fun meeting people from all over while still spending time with my friends from the ship. Everyone looked like they were having the time of their life, it was such a good time, and everyone was dressed up in strange costumes which just added to the entertainment.

The next morning I woke up early and walked around Hong Kong for the day, exploring the streets. We went to a great Dim Sum restaurant, Superstar Seafood, which like most things took us FOREVER to find because none of the taxi drivers spoke a word of English! Once we found it we ate our meal like most other meals in Asian countries, family style, sharing many dishes so we were able to try a little bit of everything. We were al pretty exhausted from the night before so after lunch and more walking around the city, we went back to the hotel to relax by the pool for a couple hours before going out to dinner. For dinner we took a taxi to “the peak”, which is the highest point in Hong Kong where you can look over the entire city and it’s beautiful skyline. We ate at a fabulous restaurant called Pearl that had an incredible panoramic view overlooking the city; it was such a beautiful sight with all the lights.

My last day in Hong Kong I went to a few more markets, a “wet market” that actually sold fish for eating not for pets. Besides the smell, it was really cool. There were hundreds of different types of fish and other marine life for sale, and TONS of people purchasing them. It was weird to see because they were all alive and flopping around in tiny tins with just a little water in them. We also made our way to Stanley market, one of the most popular markets in downtown Hong Kong, known for selling mostly tourist souvenirs. It was nice, but very overpriced for what was being sold. The market was along a waterfront lined with lots of great restaurants and a pretty view of the water. Also around the market were a few small temples, but nothing extravagant compared to the other countries I’ve visited, because most people in Hong Kong are atheist. Hong Kong was a fun experience, a bit overwhelming at time, especially struggling to get around and finding something to do besides the markets, thankfully we flew to Shanghai the next morning.

Shanghai, like Hong Kong, was a big industrialized city, but had a little bit more to offer as far as sight seeing. There were many large temples around our hotel we went to see. The first was the Temple of the Jade Buddha, which we happened to visit on the day of a festival celebrating those who have died. The temple grounds were filled with hundreds of monks dressed in their brightly colored orange robes chanting prayers that echoed throughout the temple walls. There were lots and lots of Buddhists there to celebrate and pay their respects to Buddha and His Teachings by lighting incense and walking around the various sites. It was so interesting to be able to see this and being able to compare it to the Hindu celebration I saw on my visit to the Kanchipuram and Mamallapuram temples in India. The Temple had many things to see, including a jade Buddha similar to the one I saw in Thailand at the Grand Palace. There was a little tearoom with a well-known Chinese artist was doing calligraphy.

We also went to an area known for their art galleries. It was pretty interesting to see some famous Chinese art; it was nothing like I’d ever seen, lots of bold shapes and colors. That night we went to a restaurant/bar walking distance from our hotel, it was a real fun atmosphere, and great food. The next couple days in Shanghai I did nothing but wonder around. Walking through the streets of downtown we were approached about every block by a new person asking us “handbag? Watch?” and once we nodded we’d be lead down a few streets and basically ended up in some basement or back room. Behind the walls of the real store we were lead to was like a candy shop for a girl. It was every single designer handbag, wallet, belt, or any clothing item; basically anything you could imagine, they had. I would say it was the most overwhelming shopping experience I’ve ever had in my life. We all agreed after about three hours, it was time to get away from the hectic market area so we walked over to the Huangpu District where the harbor is. By that time our ship had just got in from Hong Kong and we were able to see it across the water. The skyline, like Hong Kong, was so pretty!! The craziest shaped buildings I’ve ever seen, and very colorful too! We wanted to make the best of our time before getting back on the ship so we went on a hunt for basically a roadside stand we had read about in a New York Times article. We literally went through THREE taxi drivers and more blocks of walking than I can count, before we found our destination- Wujang Road where Yang’s Fried Dumplings, like we had heard, had a line of people down the street. This is DEFINIELY my favorite meal in all of China, we stood in line and paid 75 CENTS for four of the largest most delicious dumplings I’ve ever had; SO worth the wait!! China was an extremely interesting country I’m not sure I have a desire to ever return to, maybe I’ll come back one day to see the Great Wall, but no plans of a return anytime soon.