Hong Kong

 Classes ended on December 2 - was that really two weeks ago? - and the very next day, Angie, Jess, and I celebrated by going to Hong Kong.

Angie's Uncle Tony lives in Hong Kong and has an apartment he isn't using in New Territories (the northern part of Hong Kong).  So, Saturday afternoon, after I proctored the SAT, Angie, Jess, and I took the ferry over.  Even though Hong Kong is our nearby neighbor, I've still only been there three times, and each time I go feels like an adventure.   

Waiting to board the ferry...

It's funny to think that before 2007, I had only driven through or briefly visited major metropolises.  I went to Washington D.C. for a week and Atlanta for a day in the eighth grade, but besides that, Chattanooga (pop. 500,000) was the biggest city I was familiar with, and I only visited it sporadically.  So, I get it now when people talk about cities having a certain kind of feeling to them.  

I'm reading "Eat, Pray, Love" right now, and in it, Elizabeth Gilbert tells how cities can have their own word to express them.  She says she thinks Rome's word is SEX, funny enough.  To me, Hong Kong's word is FORWARD.  It feels like Hong Kong is on the edge of the future.  Maybe because it's to vertical (all the buildings are so close together, it's like a city in the sky) and it's so vibrant - so green, so full of different cultures.  

Anyway, all of that is to say that I enjoyed myself in Hong Kong.  Looking out of Uncle Tony's apartment was surreal.  We were surrounded by lush, green mountains, and apartment buildings that stacked themselves skyward.  Jess commented that every sci-fi movie about the future times must be based on Hong Kong.  I have to agree.  Actually, when I first saw Hong Kong out of the airplane window (when I arrived in August) my first impression was that Hong Kong reminded me of the island in Jurassic Park.  I first saw the mountains rising out of the water, and Hong Kong felt immediately like an undiscovered tropical island.  Then the next mountain I saw was covered in high-rises.  Literally, I couldn't see the mountain.  The view from Uncle Tony's apartment only captures a little of that feeling.

      

The weekend was spent eating, shopping, hiking, and generally being happy that the semester ended well.  I'll go to Hong Kong again before classes begin and may try to get in some more hiking (there's lots of hiking on the outlying islands).

The view just after leaving the ferry.

Just waking up - it was cold in the apartment - no heat!

Flowers from the hike, which was up a mountain near the apartment.

Hong Kong Island in the distance.

Looking the other direction, toward mainland China.

A short video from the hike.

At the top:  Angie, Jess, Winnie and Carol. 

Trying to keep the sun off, as always.