Lams2China

Pictures: Summer Palace

2009-07-26T14:17:00.001-07:00

The door where the concubines were measured.
Some artwork along one of the corridors.

A rock brought in by the empress; believed to have brought bad luck to the dynasty and and to bring bad luck to anyone who touches it today.

A view of the longest corridor in the world.

A gazibo in the long corridor.

The boat that took us across the Kunming Lake.

The Seventeen-Arch Bridge

Beijing, Day 2: The Summer Palace

2009-07-26T14:11:00.001-07:00

It wasn’t until after surviving Day 2 that we found out the temperatures were higher than they had been in 20 years! We left the hotel at 8am for the Emperor’s Summer Palace. Essentially, he got bored with his Forbidden Palace and decided to build himself a resort (i.e. a second palace) on the Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill – just kidding about the boredom part, but the Summer Palace was designed as an escape from the Forbidden City during the dangerous heat of summer months. The palace is so incomparable to anything I have ever seen. It was a very open design; you had to walk outside in the open to get from one building to the next. The art and feel of the whole thing was very oriental and it captured such intricate detail. The view from any point in the palace was gorgeous – the hill to one side, holding the palace tightly in its foliage as it climbed up the hillside; and the calm lake to the other side which was just a picture of serenity. We walked down the longest corridor in the world; it is 2,388ft. long and displays over 14,000 paintings. The emperor selected the paintings to capture the most beautiful places in the world in his corridor. Stories of the terrifying Empress Dowager, ruler of the Qing Dynasty for over 40 years, pour from the palace walls because under her reign, the palace was rebuilt twice after two different invasions. One story told of the seven maids who had to bath her each day. Each were assigned to a different part of her body. Another had the specific job of combing her hair; if the empress saw any hair come out during the combing, she was stick the maid with a sharp object so the maids had to be very skillful at hiding the hair in their sleeves if it fell while they brushed. Another, concerning the emperor, told of the rule by which he could not take more than two bites of one dish because if the word got out that he liked a certain dish, someone would try to poison him. But more than that, when the emperor ate, many dishes were set before him and he would then stare intently at the specific piece of food he wanted. His servants had to figure out which piece he was staring at select it for him. If they selected wrongly, they were punished.

If I had to name one thing that struck me most about the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, and really Chinese culture as a whole, is the deeply imbedded symbolism behind everything they do or make. To this day, certain objects are left untouched because they are believed to procure bad luck. Colors are chosen for aesthetics but also for the meanings behind them. Architectural structures are designed to imitate certain creatures or beliefs. Even the number of arches or statues in place has significance. The direction of buildings too is taken into consideration. Selecting processes were used such as a height limit for concubines; if a prospective concubine exceeded a certain height, she was not worthy of the emperor. For another position, the candidate was placed underneath a glass ball hanging from the ceiling; if it fell on them, they were not the right person. Things like the amount and location of moles are a sign of the person’s fortune in life. It felt like there wasn’t an object in China that we could point at without learning of another story or belief tied to it.

After walking around one side of the palace, we took a lavishly decorated boat across the lake to the Seventeen-Arch Bridge which links the island to the mainland. The bridge is lined with 17 arches and over 500 identical lion statues. On the other side was a very oriental gazebo and stands with people selling souvenirs.

See next post for more pictures!

Beijing 2: Olympic Sites and Tian'anmen Square

2009-07-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Once again, big apologies for the delay in posting!

I left off on our first day in Beijing. After the dumpling meal, we hopped back on the bus and drove to the Olympic Center from the 2008 Olympics. Of course we were most excited about the Water Cube because of all the swimming in our family. We actually got to spend time walking around inside and outside of the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. It was crazy to imagine the best athlete’s in the word standing on the same tracks that we were a year before. I remember standing down on the corner of the track and looking up at the stands and imagining that I had just ran a race and the seats were full of people from all over the world, cheering and screaming. I had a feeling that I was standing where so many athletes experienced some of the greatest moments of their life. The Bird’s Nest stadium was designed to look like a bird’s nest to represent a place where new life begins. At night, red and yellow tones of light beam out of the structure which creates a very triumphant image.

The Water Cube was spectacular – even more so than the Bird’s Nest, I thought. The colors of the world flags created such a vibrant image against the white of the seats and bright blue of the water. Philip wanted to touch Michael Phelp’s block and swim in the water but it was only open for swimming at certain times and even then you have to take swim and health tests and pay a fee. But it was so inspirational just to be in a place like that, where the highest physical excellence is defined.

From the Olympic sites, we rode the Olympic Green Station (a metro station built just for the Olympics?) to the bus which then drove us to Tian’anmen Square. Tian’anmen translates to ‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’ – this gate, located on the north side of the square, separates it from the Forbidden City. Some of you may have seen pictures already of the long, red wall adorned with Chairman Mao’s portrait. It is located near the center of Beijing. At the square are a few historical sites – The Monument to the People’s Heroes and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong which (supposedly) holds the preserved body of Chairmen Mao. On the west and east sides of the square are the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum of China. Several significant protests have taken place here. It was extremely hot walking around. The Monument to the People’s Heroes was very tall and narrow and so created a long, skinny line of shade in the middle of this wide open area. We laughed when we saw a very large crowd of people shrink from the sun and pack in beneath the shade of this monument as if they would touch lava should they step outside of the shadow. The Chinese are much more interested in protecting their skin from the sun to prevent aging. Almost everyone carries an umbrella and very rarely do you see them standing in the sun at all.

After the square, we went to a huge shopping center (there are a lot of those in China…). There was an indoor mall but a lot of the shops also had doors to the outside so you could walk along the strip inside or out. In Beijing, there seems to be a lot of things that are built just because they could be and because they were really sweet. So the overall image of even the Nike store is so much louder and bolder than a typical US store. If they can make the lights bigger, they do; if they could make the Nike swoop as big as the building, they did. We walked down an outdoor street with no cars; it was filled with people, some local Chinese but also a lot of tourists. There was an obvious difference between Beijing Chinese and Hong Kong Chinese. Beijing guys are taller and the girls are generally bigger and have more round facial features. Though less emphasis seemed to be placed on fashion, the clothing styles were more westernized – actually, the city in general was surprisingly westernized.

Eventually, Dad took Philip and I to an outdoor bar stop. It was basically a bunch of tables with umbrellas and a concession stand selling beer. Dad said it reminded him a lot of Amsterdam where he used to just sit at a table on the streets and watch people walk by. We did the same thing here; it was relaxing but also a very new experience to just sit and let this other world walk by. We saw so many different kinds of people. Dad had a lot to share with us – old stories or even just reading the billboards to us and explaining what it all meant.

Back at the Loong Palace hotel, I had dinner with dad in the lounge then we discovered some of the most comfortable beds I have ever experienced. I don’t think I moved once the entire night.

Beijing - Part 1

2009-07-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

How do I begin to recount everything we saw and experienced during these 4 days! I'll share the mundane details to give you an idea of the setting: Dad, Philip, and I woke around 4am on the morning of our flight, had a breakfast of pineapple buns and english tea, then took a taxi to the airport where we flew from HK to Beijing. We joined a Cantonese-speaking tour (it was a third of the price of the English tour) at the airport in HK and stayed with them all 4 days we were in Beijing. The flight was about 4hrs and pleasantly short compared to the haul we made to get to HK from the states. Both airports were so impressive; they were like high end shopping malls! We had never seen such huge airports. They even had fancy moving walkways that went in up or down slants or sideways curves. One of the most exciting things about the trip itself was when the Singapore Airline staff walked by. I don't know if many of the readers have ever seen their team but it is quite an experience in itself. There were several male pilots followed by about 25 young, gorgeous asian women("Singapore Girls"). Dad told us that when you apply to be a flight attendant with Singapore Airlines, there are certain requirements that must be met: they must be under 23 years old, attractive...actually I just looked online to try to find the list. The rules, among others, state that the girls must have black or dark brown hair, bright red lipstick and nail polish, no dangling earrings, eyebrows must be shaped and not drawn, etc. Their uniform is a very traditional, oriental gown style. They certainly demanded attention as they passed.

Also very notable about the airports was the sanitation level. In Hong Kong, we had noticed how pervasive sanitation and swine flu precautions were. But everything increased as we made our way to the mainland. Hand sanitizer dispensers are all over the places. In many bathrooms, there is a line for the stalls and before you can enter a stall, a person assigned to cleaning the bathroom will go in and clean the stall after each use. And of course the sanitation clearance (check for swine flu) which you have to pass to enter and leave the airports. I can't remember if I already wrote about this but it is a custom in Chinese culture to wash all of your dishes before having a meal in a restaurant. The restaurant provides a pot of hot water or tea which is used to pour over your dishes. Also provided is a large bowl to pour the water/tea into once you have cleaned everything.

Once our baggage was claimed and we met up with our group, we piled into a bus that would be our main transportation for the duration of the tour. We were excited to meet a few English speaking people on the tour, including a young couple who reminded us a lot of our parents because she was from the south and he was an immigrant from HK!

Driving around Beijing felt oddly like DC. It is significantly lower than Hong Kong; i'm not sure of the reason but the buildings are not very tall. The buildings seem much more historical than in HK but also very distinctly oriental. One of the biggest differences between Beijing and HK is that Beijing wasn't influenced by Britain and so does not follow Britain's drivings rules and such. So cars drive on the right side of the road and drivers sit on the left. Dad and I were laughing that we kept running into people wherever we went because we are programmed to walk on the right like we do in the states but its the opposite in HK. Then just when we were starting to get used to that, we switched back to the right! The problem grew funnier when we returned home and found ourselves once again on the wrong side of the walkway, but this time the language was the hard part because we were saying "excuse me" in Chinese.

Our first stop was food. It's almost painful to talk about the food we had in Beijing because it was so incredible. We went to a restaurant famous for dumplings. Our group was divided into 3 tables and we kept the same group at every meal for the rest of the trip. Hot tea, coke, and beer were placed on the table along with a large bowl of rice. Typically, in Chinese restaurants, the tables are round with a spinning center piece so that each person can turn it and serve himself as needed. Chopsticks and a spoon are also provided to serve the food with so you don't have to stick the chopsticks you eat with into the main dishes. We were served 8 different types of dumplings along with some other very tasty dishes (vegetables and meat mostly). My favorite dumplings were the Goldfish dumplings, which surprisingly didn't have goldfish in them but were just shaped to look like goldfish.

Aside from the flavors of the food (we have tried so many tastes I've never even imagined before!), the best part of the restaurant was the bathroom. I went to wash my hands and happened to see inside a stall. Instead of the expected toilet bowl approximately 2 feet from the ground and resembling the appearance of a stumpy, white chair, there was a hole in the ground! It was made of the same stuff as a toilet but it was simply a flat hole in the ground with a foot pedal behind it to flush. I was so excited that I went to the bathroom even though I didn't need to and promptly told Dad all about it when I was through.

Dim sum with the Lam family!

2009-07-15T10:14:00.001-07:00

Also just before leaving to Beijing, Dad arrived! I had been counting down since we got there for Daddy to come. His arrival only enhanced how incredible it was to be right there where he spent his childhood. Despite all the changes made in Hong Kong over the years, my dad still seemed very familiar with his surroundings. It was really neat for us to see him interact so fluently in Chinese. He was able to open up a lot of new doors for us because he tried hard to translate signs and conversations as we went around. He was also excited to go shopping because it is so shop there! We met with his parents and 3 of his 4 siblings and their kids for dim-sum one day. Philip and I couldn't really remember meeting our aunties or cousins so it was very special for us and for everyone to finally come together.

(Dad was taking pictures of us in the reflection on the glass in the metro station)

Second Sailing Trip

2009-07-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

Just before leaving for Beijing, Uncle Leung took us a few of his college graduate employees sailing. We made meet sandwiches on the boat and drank orange juice. It was very relaxing! As we moved along the water, the sound of chanting grew louder. It was coming from two boats linked together in the middle of the water. They were both full of people - regular Chinese of different ages along with monks in their blood red robes. The chanting was such a gorgeous sound. As they sang, they were pouring live fish out of the boat down slides into the water. Our friends explained that this was a traditional ceremony, an offering to the god of fishermen. We circled around the boats a few times and were able to get a close-up view of what they were doing. Even small children, with their parents' assistance, were lifting crates of fish up and dumping them over the sides of the boat. As we sailed away, the sound continued to linger over the water. We were lucky to come across such a distinctly Chinese event in the middle of the water of all places! After navigating around for awhile, we anchored the boat at a beach and swam to shore. On the beach, not far from the ocean water, was a stream of very cold, clear water coming from the mountain. This was a very enjoyable outing.

Home Safe

2009-07-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

We returned home safely last Friday (July 3). Since then, we have been getting over the jetlag and craving Chinese food but it is very good to be back with mom and the kids. I am still quite behind on posts but I will do my best to atleast touch on everything else we did. Thank you everyone for the encouragement with writing and pictures! We had such an incredible time and it was so much fun to be able to share a little of the experience with people back home. More posts and pictures to follow shortly.

Cheung Chau Island

2009-06-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

Yeye and Grandma took us on a ferry to a nearby island. The ferry went along the Hong Kong and Kowloon skylines and showed us a lot of incredible views of the cities. The island was really neat because there are no cars on the island, only bikes. It was small enough for us to walk around the whole thing; just houses, shops, and a beach. We walked through the streets and past the beach and then ate lunch at McDonald's before taking the ferry back.

Tai O Fishing Village

2009-06-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Tai O is a small fishing village where we went after Ngong Ping. We spent a little time walking through the streets, which were full of several-story apartment buildings, old bikes, and people selling sea food and hats. We ate a local restaurant and had some delicious sea food. Actually, when my grandpa ordered the shrimp, the guy walked outside into the market, bought the live shrimp and ran back to the kitchen to cook them! Everything tasted so fresh.

Shoutout to the YOTA coaches and teammates!

2009-06-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

To all my YOTA coaches and teammates, this is Philip...checkout our visit to the Beijing 2008 Olympic site!

And I even met Phelps!

Apology for the delay!

2009-06-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

I am very sorry to our readers for the long delay on posts! We have been in Beijing for 5 days and were unable to update the blog because we didn’t have capable internet. I just gave you a glimpse of the Big Buddha. I need to post about a couple islands we visited last week as well as another day of sailing then I’ll try to communicate how great Beijing was. What a city! God bless!

Big Buddha (Ngong Ping)

2009-06-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

We did one of the stereotypical tourist activities and visited the big Buddha in Ngong Ping. We took the MTR (metro) to Tung Chung. From there, we would have taken the cable cars to Ngong Ping but they were closed for the day so we rode the bus. We happened to sit by a Catholic priest and his friend and got into a conversation with them. The other guy was a teacher from the states. It was such a treat to make some friends along the way!

The ride to Ngong Ping was very scenic. We were very close the waterfront the whole way. As we winded through the mountain roads, we watched the ocean come in and out of view. The water was the same greenish tint we had seen from the boat and the mountains were weaving in and out of it. At certain points, we could see the big Buddha (which looked like a tiny spec from a distance) quietly perched on the peak of a mountain. The strangest thing is that in many places along the drive, random cows and bulls were just minding their business on the side of the road. I’m sure they belonged to somebody but it was so funny to see cattle walking around like they were regular townies. The bus let us out at Ngong Ping, a small village catered to tourists. We walked down a little strip of oriental-designed souvenir shops. They sold all the classic oriental souvenirs (chop sticks, hats, fans, silk clothing, fake pandas, Buddha statues, etc.) and we enjoyed looking around. From there, we walked a block or so to the bottom of the stairs assenting to the big Buddha. The whole place seemed a bit arbitrary – just plopped down in the middle of the mountains but it was fitting with peace-oriented character of Buddhism. I didn’t see any houses or actual local life, just the shops, the big Buddha and his stairs, and a seminary for Buddhist monks surrounded by a couple temples.

There were so many stairs leading up to the Buddha! It felt like the sun dropped down lower just to hover over us as we climbed the stairs. But the climb was well worth the sweat; I’ve never seen such a gargantuan, rotund statue. The platform around the statue is circular. There are six Buddhist saints represented in smaller figures around the big Buddha. Underneath the Buddha and inside its shelter are crematory walls (worth millions of $$), a couple shops for jade and such, some informative literature, and a small temple. We walked around inside for a minute to cool down and took several pictures outside. You can climb to another ring even closer to the Buddha and see the saint statues at a different angle. Up there, we were again surrounded by mountains sneaking into the clouds. You could see so many people climbing up and down the stairs, stopping to snap pictures, panting for breathe at the top, and scurrying around like ants far below around the temples and seminary.

The temples at the bottom were quite elaborate. The entrance to one had 4 gods captured in bigger-than-life-size, golden statues. Offerings of incense and oranges were laid before them. A big huge god was in the middle of the room with a lot more offerings around him. The entrance to the seminary (which was behind the chapel we walked through) was more fancy than most Catholic churches I have seen. There is so much color (esp. red, gold, green, and blue) in Buddhist artwork. The ceilings were covered in dragons. Elaborate wood work dripped from the buildings. On either side of the giant alter were huge rooms with square cushions for prayer. The ceilings were lined with spiral wood frames that looked like honey combs – they were incense lamps.

It was a great experience to explore something so tied with the Chinese culture. Even though I’m not Buddhist, it’s nice to simply see devotion. It’s a very peaceful and ornate practice with a lot of symbolism. It’s so distinct from any religion I’ve ever seen and yet similar in the way that all religions are similar if only by the common intention of looking toward something higher than ourselves and longing for the perfection that we can hardly comprehend.

A Walk Back: Through The Streets and Cemetery

2009-06-21T01:22:00.000-07:00

Onto yet another corner of Hong Kong...

Yeye and Grandma took us the oldest street in the city. It is a stone street that rises in very wide stair-steps. It intersects with main, car-accessible roads. We walked up the whole thing. Lining either side were more shops; most of these were selling all sorts of costumes and hair things. The area around the street was also very historical. We visited the oldest Buddhist temple in the city and I snuck a couple shots inside. The oldest police station was also there not far from the oldest convict home (neither are still being used for the original purpose). Down another street were all sorts of oriental doo-dads and antiques…ladies had entire tents full of jewelry, jade and ivory and wooden statues, old Chinese coins, little tassled items for each animal (the year a person is born in is marked by a different animal and each animal is said to indicate characteristics that that person will carry). The shops behind the tents along the sidewalk had more of the larger antiques for sale, things like giant gongs or huge Buddha statues or oriental pots. It was fun just weaving around these tents and seeing the thousands of Asian souvenirs for sale. Philip bought a small guide to the years and their corresponding animals, characteristics and coins.

After this, Yeye took us to his parents’ grave. They are buried at St. Michael’s Cemetery. Mom had told me how special this would be and how important it was to Yeye. We bought some flowers from a little old lady sitting outside of the graveyard and brought a bucket of water along with us. The graveyard was a maze. Graves literally touched each other on every side of the stones. It was quite a big area too; white and stone slabs seemed to replace the ground all around us when we entered. Many had large statues erected over them, statues of crucifixes or crosses draped with roses. The pieta stood taller the rest in the midst of everything. On the opposite side was a white wall adorned with rows of flowers and small pictures. It was the crematory wall. Most of the graves, despite being cracked and un-level, had small pictures embedded in the stone of the person buried there. Grandma knew right where to lead us. We walked around near the crematory wall and turned into an uneven row of graves. At first I felt bad stepping on other peoples’ graves to get to our great grandparents, which was tucked somewhere in the middle of the row, but I quickly realized that there was no other option. There was a big tree hanging over a few of the graves and we had to duck under it. Then suddenly it was there beneath our feet. There were two pictures: one of my great grandma, Monica, and my great grandpa, Joseph. Yeye looked so happy when we were all gathered around it. He read the writing to us and showed us where his name was among the list of the 13 children. He looks a lot like his mom! Monica had been a very devote Catholic from what I hear. I think her daily prayers and faith have made a big difference in the Lam family even today. We set the flowers in a small jar that was on the grave and filled it with water then we each said a quite prayer and said goodbye and left. It was a really neat experience to visit my great grandparents’ grave even though I never knew them. I was also cool to think that my mom had done the same exact thing 22 years ago :)

After the cemetery, Yeye took us to Aberdeen for more fish balls, which were again delicious. Apparently we have cream soda in the states but I had never had it until last week and now I’m hooked. It’s super delicious :) On our way to the bus, we stopped by another bakery (they are everywhere and they smell soo good) and picked out some buns for breakfast the next day. The bakeries are normally at random points along the streets and they are all open like almost every shop here. You go in, take a tray and a picker-upper, and just pick out whatever buns you want. There are sweets ones and ones with meet and plain ones. We always get the pineapple buns (I don’t know the proper spelling but it sounds like “bua bowa”). I hope we can learn to make some of the buns on our own one day :)

More Pics From Sunday With Uncle Leung

2009-06-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

Another Day With Uncle Leung

2009-06-19T05:42:00.000-07:00

I am very sorry for being so behind on posting! We don’t actually have internet in the apartment so we spend the majority of our “computer time” placing the computer in strange, contorted positions around the room trying to pick up a connection and when we succeed, the internet is usually too slow to function. Fortunately, we just found a hot spot beneath a closet window so here I am.

This past Sunday, we went to mass at St. Theresa’s on Prince Edward Road. I won’t go into a lot of detail right now but basically, the liturgy was unsettling for both of us. Please, pray for the Church in China.

After mass, Uncle Leung picked us up for another exciting and packed day. First, he took us to a university here in HK. The campus was giganormous and really scenic. Philip and I walked around the gardens and ponds while Uncle Leung got breakfast. The gardens were oriental style; Uncle Leung said that’s getting harder to find around here. When we had walked around, we went up to the cafeteria to meet Uncle Leung. He was having fried fish for breakfast. Philip bought soymilk and mango juice from a vending machine by the table. I walked through the cafeteria to the bathroom and, for some reason, I was expecting to see a normal cafeteria with things like burgers, fries, and salad on the menu. But instead it was a bunch of flat stove tops, asian chefs, and really Chinese food options and roasted ducks and chickens hanging in the window. I was trying to imagine eating Chinese food for every meal of the day at my school. As much as I love it, that’s strange to think.

After the university, we went to the coolest place yet: Monkey Mountain. I thought we would go to a little walking trail and see a couple chimpanzees walking around then leave. But Uncle Leung dropped us off while he got gas and we started walking…and walking…and then suddenly we were on this downhill street heading toward a reservoir and framed with thick trees on either side. On the streets, on the walls, in the trees, on the telephone wires, on the bridge, under the signs…were monkeys! Hundreds of little tan-brown monkeys of every size. There were fat pregnant ones and old man ones and naughty kid ones and little big-eyed baby ones holding onto their mommies. Some were picking through each other’s hair, some were nursing, some were playing, some were chilling. We just walked right into them and they didn’t even care, actually a lot of them followed us as we walked. If there weren’t notices everywhere to not touch them, I would have had five in my hands in no time. But I had to settle for taking pictures instead. Since grandma loves monkeys so much, we’re going to talk Dad into letting us go back there when he comes :) I wish the other three kids could have gone there too.

Next Uncle Leung took us to the poorest place in HK. It was jammed packed with markets. Every little tent had enough to fill a gas station inside. Anything you can imagine was being sold from clothes pins to knock off apple computers to electric guitars to poki-mon dolls. The streets were full of people too. To give a better image, as you walked down the center of the street (which was blocked from cars obviously) there were tents lining either side but in between the tents were small gaps or walkways that led to the sidewalks. Along the sidewalks were tiny shops (indoor) full of the same things. We spent most of our time in the “mens’ area” so there were dozens of camera supply stands, backpacks, tools, random maintenance things, watches, etc. Philip bought a mini blow-torch for a little over a dollar US. I bought a hiking backpack for 30 US and a polarizer for my camera for the same price. I think the streets went on forever like the one we were on…some sold food, others sold clothes and on and on. We went into a multi-story building that was entirely technology stuff. You could buy anything in there having to do with electronics and in any variety too. It was packed with people. Philip, who was having withdrawals after a week out of the states, looked like he would keel over and stop existing if we didn’t go to McDonald’s for lunch so we did. It tastes different here – less salty and kindof soy-saucey. We went into several electronic shops before we left. It was really exciting to walk around there. O ya and there was a big croc shop (and I’m pretty sure they were authentic) selling crocs for about 4 US dollars!

Next, Uncle Leung took us to one of the richest places in the city: a mall called Elements. Half the experience was the parking garage. EVERY car was a dream car. There were a few I’d never seen before. With the cars and McDonald’s, Philip was in lala land. The mall was just as untouchable as the garage. It was quite a contrast to where he had just been. Uncle Leung asked which we liked better and we told him that honestly, the streets were more exciting and realistic because we could actually afford things there. But it was cool to see such polar opposites in one day. Like I said before, it seems like every day, I see another face of Hong Kong. There are so many.

Next we went to the docks where you board ferries to get to the famous floating restaurant, Jumbo. It is a huge tourist attraction and was almost over-done with oriental flavor. We accidently got on the ferry to the restaurant (Uncle Leung only wanted us to look :) and then came back when we realized our mistake. But I’m glad we messed up because it was cool to walk around the outside of the restaurant and take pictures of the giant, golden dragons and colorful fountains.

While on the theme of inflating Philip’s lala-land day, Uncle Leung took us to one of his yacht club locations to swim. We swam across (?) channel. The water felt incredible in the heat (its soooo hot here). I found some pretty shells there too. After swimming and showering off in the locker rooms, we went up to the bar and had a drink with Uncle Leung. There were a surprising amount of white people at the club – probably people from Europe who have memberships to things like that all over the world. The view was gorgeous and I was kicking myself for leaving the camera in the car. The sun was beginning to set and it made the water turn gold between the shadows of the mountains. The mountain directly infront of us was Ocean Park (a theme park here) and we could see the chair lifts moving all the way across the mountains. There was a rainbow hot air balloon rising and falling at the entrance to the park beside the mountain. There were boats all over the water – either anchored or gliding by, sail boats and yachts and speed boats and kayaks. There were a lot of dogs walking along the paths on the other side of the channel. The golden sunlight sprinkled the mountains too as it got lower. We took a small taxi boat back to the shore when we were done. It was so relaxing.

After that, we went to Repulse Bay and walked from one end to the other. There were quite a few people on the beach, playing volleyball or laying around – a lot of tourists here. The water was pretty calm and there were a lot of islands at different distances when you looked out. The mountains moved in between the islands and water. On the left were a lot of palm trees and shiny buildings (some of the most expensive living places here). Once we got the other end of the beach, there was a huge Buddhist temple with more extremely extravagant statues of animals and Buddhists saints. It’s really crazy how much color seems to be used in Buddhist temples and sites.

Finally, Uncle Leung took us to one of his favorite bays. It was a very quiet corner of the water, tucked into the mountains. There were a few boats but not many. A couple people were on the square dock we walked out on and they caught a fish while we were there. The fog was lowering around the tops of the mountains and it was starting to get dark…it was so peaceful! But we had to go.

For dinner, we picked up Auntie Josephine and went to a famous restaurant – famous for their pigeons. It was all outdoors and actually, while we were there, a few police came and ticketed the manager. That’s when I realized that our table was actually in the middle of a right-hand turning lane on the street. Its kindof a custom here for the women to wash all the dishes at the table with the hot water pot before anyone eats because you don’t always know how clean the dishes are. When Auntie Jo finished washing, she dumped the water into a big bucket full of water just for that purpose. The food came: a plate with a whole, cooked pigeon (including the head); chicken wings; two whole fishes, fried and seasoned with something lemony; a bean curd dish; carbonated vinegar; and the usual rice. Guess what! The pigeon was delicious and I would eat it again right now. The chicken was good too as well as the fish. But the bean curd brought up too many foul senses even though it wasn’t the smelly kind. The carbonated vinegar was pretty weird mostly because it smelled like what it was; vinegar. I was shocked when, after trying to neat about picking meat off of pigeon bones, Uncle Leung took my plate, told me that sometimes you can't try so hard to be a lady, and dumped the bones on the table to make room for more! He said I had to be like Princess Diana in these cases; whatever culture she entered, she picked up the appropriate costums. That's why people loved her so much, because she worked so hard at understanding their place and reaching them there. The whole meal was a really cool experience. There was a funny guy working there. He was wearing a white undershirt, old shorts, some kindof head set in his ear and a phone hooked to his pants. His hair was every which way and his face and eyes looked like he had just robbed a Starbucks…with his mouth. He was so wired. His job was to stand on the street and yell at people walking by to come and eat there. He never stopped the whole time we were there! (Except when the police came). It was so funny to watch him.

We had a great day with Uncle Leung! He was so generous to take us out again. Thanks, Uncle Leung and Auntie Jo!

(See next post for more pictures!)

HK is hot.

2009-06-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

One of the best feeling in the world is being so hot that you want nothing more than a cold, cold shower and then getting it. One of the worst feelings is getting out of that shower and realizing that you're still sweating. Today (June 17 here), I saw the first clear blue sky I've seen since arriving! I'm a couple days behind on posting so i'll have to jump out of order after posting this but I wanted to write while things are still fresh on my mind. Grandma took Philip and I to Mong Kok today to walk around the market shops. We bought a couple things and Philip bought the biggest lollipop ever and other candy (big surprise). After Mong Kok, we came back to the appt. to cool down then went out with our cousin to the IFC, Central, and Soho (i hope i'm getting that all right). We walked into a couple art galleries and small boutique shops. The area we were in was very cultural but youthful and it was fun to look around at all the different art and things for sale - stuff you wouldn't find in the states. We hit up the asian bakery before heading back tonight :) The bakeries here are soo delicious because the things in them aren't too sweet. We've gotten different sorts of buns for breakfast a few times now. At home, the Asian Market in Cary sells the same buns for around $2 a peice but here, they are around 50 cents! We will miss the buns a lot when we go home :/

On a different note, I saw a couple things today that upset me. On one of the corners in Mong Kok, a average-sized man was lying face down on a cardboard box on the street. He had old shorts on and no shirt. His face was buried in his arm so no one could see. The man had no legs - barely even stubs - and what he did have was plainly visible out of his shorts. The arm that wasn't hiding his face was holding a bowl with a few coins in it. There was a folded up wheel chair on the wall behind him. I felt so bad walking by him. I wanted to touch his head and raise his face and tell him that someone loved him. But it was like any notion of helping him was a hundred miles behind the pace of the street. Everyone was walking by, everyone was looking anywhere else, but no one was there with him. I wish things like that didn't happen. A while later, we were walking somewhere else. On the side of the walkway was an elderly lady a little overweight. She was wearing a raggy dress printed with what probably used to be flowers and she was sitting with her legs out against the wall, also on a cardboard box. Her hands were stretched out infront of her and she was smashing her head against the cement floor over and again. I guess she was trying to get people to pity her so they would give her money....but to that extremity? I had a really strange feeling in my gut walking by her. I felt dirty for letting someone physically suffer like that and not doing anything about it. I felt guilty. I could hear the dull thud of her head hitting the concrete as I walked by, over and over. I winced when I heard it. I wanted her to stop so bad but I didn't know what I could do. I suppose I could have grabbed her arm and tried to talk to her. For things like that, it probably doesn't matter whether you speak the same language or not; the message communicated is that someone cared enough to stop.

Both incidents were really strange for me. It was like getting jerked out of a race around the track unexpectedly. You're going and going, almost systematically with a one-track mind, one goal in sight. And then suddenly your eyes spin around to a different object and its like tripping over yourself at a high speed. And then you have a new object in view and you don't know how to handle it because you were so zeroed-in on the one thing you were prepared for, the one thing you were comfortable reaching. How many people have to walk by that man with no legs and no dignity? How many people have to let that lady dehumanize herself? How many before one stops?

Victoria Peak

2009-06-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

Definitely a must for anyone visiting Hong Kong. It's a tower on top of a mountain (the top of the tower is shaped like a wide bowl) and it over looks the Hong Kong and Kowloon Islands on side and a harbor and the mountains around it on the other side. It was incredible to see the skylines laid out like that. The cities are even bigger than I thought from the ground! In between the two islands is a chanel full of all kinds of boats and carriers and supply yards. The day we went was clear enough to see everything but there was still a layer of fog around the mountain tops and hovering over the water. It was so much to take in. On the otherside of the lookout was a large harbor wrapped up by the mountains. The mountains were all different shades of green depending on the light and how close or far away they were. There were a few really rich, lucky houses around the peak which must have had the most gorgeous views. The tower itself is full of restaurants (Yeye said locals call it the "food tower") and souvenier shops. We bought some 5 dollar t-shirts and Philip bought shot glasses for a friend. Also, the Disney Land ticket counter is in there along with the entrance to Madame Toussands. The pictures will have to supply the rest of the description because I don't know what else to say except that you must go there if you go to Hong Kong. It's worth the few dollars and the tram ride up is fun :)

Thanks, Philip :)

2009-06-16T07:37:00.001-07:00

Philip just cleaned up and re-did all the panoramic pictures we have on here - Thanks Philip!

The Lam Family: Martial Art Masters

2009-06-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

We have tried hard during our visit to practice total emersion into the Chinese culture, the culture of our ancestors. In line with this endeavor, we have worked strenuously to revisit the internationally esteemed skills of the Lam/Li Martial Arts Collaborative Association Ltd. Here are a few shots of my grandma and I sharing our talent with a fellow master.

Pictures from HK

2009-06-15T06:09:00.001-07:00

We Love You, Gramma Jenny

2009-06-15T05:48:00.001-07:00

Day5:

Philip and I took a walk with Gramma Jenny. I wish I could do the memories from this walk justice in writing but I know I can’t completely. We just walked around the apartment complex and found a stair path that climbed the mountain behind us. The stones with red dots I mentioned before are grave stones for local people here. Only descendants of those specific families can be buried there which is nuts because it is so hard and expensive to be buried, or even to have your ashes storied somewhere, in Hong Kong. Gramma Jenny was such a trooper – we walked quite awhile up the steep stairs, got eaten alive, walked back down, and then continued down the main road even longer!

Before this trip, I never realized how funny my Grandma is. I can relate to her in some ways because I’m also really goofy. I’ve never known anyone like her in my life. My dad has always talked about her so lovingly and told us such quiet, heroic stories about her but now, this week, those stories are all unfolding in real life for me. I kindof feel like I’ve read about a saint my whole life and suddenly, I’m meeting her in person. I would bet anything that she goes through her whole day without ever thinking of herself. She just lives to do things for others and she is so indescribably happy the whole time. No matter what we are doing, she’s always cracking up about something or smiling for no reason or just doing what she’s supposed to do with such perfect contentment in her entire disposition. She is always doing and saying things to make my grandpa laugh and she’s always making silly faces at us and talking to the dog about anything. She never every complains and never takes food for herself unless there is enough after everyone has been served. You can almost physically feel her presence light up everyone around her. When she talks to strangers on the street, they immediately light up and she has them smiling and chattering away in seconds. I know, without any doubt, that when she gets to Heaven, she will be right there with Mother Theresa smiling and making others smile. It doesn’t matter that her English isn’t perfect. In fact, Philip said he likes it better that way. We haven’t regretted the language gap at all. It’s like it adds to our conversations with her and brings more out of our time together because we communicate in other ways.

Gramma Jenny confessed during the walk that monkeys are her favorite. When we got home, She went straight to her closet and pulled out about 10 monkeys to show us. She set them all up on the coach for us to take a picture. My grandpa was calling her crazy the whole time but I think he likes it. I hope I can learn from her this month. Anyone who can emulate her will be a very, very happy person. She’s told us repeatedly how happy she is.

Tak Sun School and Cway Bay

2009-06-15T05:15:00.001-07:00

Day 4…

Grandma and Yeye took us to our dad’s old school, the Tak Sun School. Yeye took us to the front of it which was cool enough in itself but then Yeye, who has been trying so hard to make this whole trip really meaningful, walked right up to the gate and asked the guard if we could come in. I think he told her we were the kids of a previous student. She was very friendly and welcomed us into the court yard and showed us the outside of the building and a small fountain in the corner with a statue of the Blessed Mother. It was such a neat feeling! I tried to imagine my dad as a kid there going to class and playing sports at recess. It was a tall (big surprise), off white building with a black fence blocking it off from the street. I’m so glad that Yeye took us there.

After the school, we rode a tram through the market streets. There are countless little vendors selling wholesale items. Walking around are so many people, mostly elderly, carrying small grocery bags of food. There are men in straw hats quite frequently along the streets pushing wagons, sweeping, lifting bags into trucks, etc. There is also quite a bit of construction and construction workers. It seems like everyone in Hong Kong is doing something; everyone has some kindof job and they are all trying to make a living. I think that most of the unemployment comes from mainland Chinese and even they usually end up back in the mainland when they can’t get work. The attitude of the people, too, seems to tend toward the idea of giving everyone a job. No one ever clears their tables here, not even in places like Starbucks, because it’s somebody’s job to clear it after you. So the tram was fun even though Philip and I were tired. I think the jetlag caught up with me a little today.

After riding for about an hour, we met our dad’s cousin, Angela, and her daughters, Stephanie and Natalie, who are our age, for dimsum. Incase any readers don’t know what dimsum is, my grandpa described it as snacks that make up a meal. It typically consists of hot servings of small pieces like egg rolls, meat balls, buns, etc. In a restaurant setting, there are usually servers pushing around carts filled with these small dishes and you take them if you want them. Sometimes, you have to just order the dishes but not usually. In a home setting, you would just cook the food yourself and eat it like that, instead of having it roll around individually. It’s the most common meal for breakfast and lunch for Chinese and usually more lengthy because it takes awhile for all the dishes to come around. Hot Chinese tea is always served with it. (FYI there is a fairly decent place in Durham called Hong Kong something, in DC there’s good ones in China town, and in Seattle, they are everywhere).

When we finished eating, Philip and I left with our two cousins to Causeway Bay and the arcade. “Cway Bay” is apparently a big hotspot for young people. When we got there, we saw why. Outside was a bustling, colorful, lively street full of giant advertisements, stores and lights, and young people. We went into a fancy building with very new-age buildings maps. To call an elevator, you laid your hand on this glowing block standing infront of the elevator. The arcades I have been to in the states have typically been kindof dark, greasy places more on the sketch side of things. But this place was completely not what I expected. It was so clean and new and lit up. The people in there were the most interesting. It was mostly kids hanging out after school. But I think some of them actually lived there. A group of guys were on the car racing games. They were chilling in their seats like they were all that, driving perfectly with one hand and their ipods beating in their ears. The car racing was nothing for them. It was kindof hilarious how common-place and cool something like that would be to kids around here. There was one Japanese game – a beat game in which you use drum sticks to hit these drums to keep the beat and score points. The sticks of course are attached to the machine but, my cousins told us that some people were so into this game that they had their own customized drum sticks that they would bring with them to play. Wow. There was a huge section dedicated to photo booths – the ones that a bunch of people can get into and take pictures. I’ve seen them in the states; they spit out a strip of goofy pictures and that’s about it. But the booths here had two benches and monkey bars to create stranger poses inside, and a variety of backgrounds to choose. After you took all your pictures, you went to a different booth to decorate and personalize the pictures and chose the format you wanted them to print in. You could put all sorts of decorations and drawings and words on them.

So the arcade turned out to be an interesting experience. Next, we met our cousins’ mom and our grandparents in a mall for Chinese desserts. The first thing I thought when I saw this mall was, “This must be what the inside of an ipod is like.” It was so white and modern; I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone popped out a lightsaber feature from their cell phones in there. The desserts were really tasty and different from the usual American sugar tsumanis. They were less sweet but more flavorful. We enjoyed chatting with our cousins about what young people do around here and laughing at their British accents. We definitely got a different taste of life in HK today. It helped make up Philip’s mind to try to go to school here in a couple years and it confirmed for both of us how embarrassing it is that we aren’t bilingual. My cousin (you 4 languages, right, Stephanie?) asked casually, “So what other language do you guys speak?” We told her she probably shouldn’t ask Americans that question and except a very good answer everytime. We are both determined to learn a second language very soon now.

Shoutout to Molly!

2009-06-13T02:28:00.000-07:00

Hi Molly! I hope you're knee is feeling better and that you are having a great summer and smiling every day :) China is amazing but i miss you and all the smushies! I took these pictures just for you haha. Take care and God bless! HUGS!

Stanley Pics

2009-06-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

Stanley Military Cemetary for WWII:

Downtown HK and Stanley

2009-06-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Random Fact: Chinese people hate the rain. I think I’ve heard my uncle and grandpa make negative comments on the rain more than any other comment about the weather. Philip and I find it relaxing; the only problem is that it prevents good picture taking which is a shame because we’ve had to let so many good photo opportunities blow by for the rain. (See mom, we’re taking good care of your camera :)

But despite the rain, my uncle risked his life (or rather his dry clothes) to show us around Hong Kong Island. He is the uncle Philip is named after and his godfather. I think I already said that Philip and I can’t believe how many similar habits Dad and his brother have. They make the same faces and gestures and laugh the same. But Dad enjoys the rain :) I’m very sorry I don’t know the names of all the places we have gone or the pictures we have taken. Uncle Philip was going to take us to a French art exhibition but when we got there, it was the one day it was closed, haha. We still had fun going there though and by art museum was a viewing deck. It was located on the opposite side of the harbor across from Hong Kong so you climb up the stairs and suddenly, you’re in what feels like a 3-D, I’ve picture of Hong Kong’s skyline. It was so, so big and so close that we had to turn our bodies to see the whole thing. I still can’t believe how big HK city is – not just the skyline but everything. I asked my cousins yesterday if they lived close to the restaurant we were eating in and they were like, “Yeah pretty close, just 45min.” 45 minutes! But I guess you have to take into consideration that almost everyone uses public transportation which typically takes longer because buses and the metro are making stops the whole way. Anyway, we go some neat pictures below the viewing dock (out of the rain) of us and our uncle and the panoramic skyline in the background. The overcast skies make for some really contrasting pictures sometimes. I’ve enjoyed taking pictures in it.

Uncle Philip took us around Hong Kong – it kindof felt like those ants in Bug’s Life, the ones that are walking around at the roots of the grass and when they look up, they can barely see the tops of the grass leaf. Actually, I think I spend more time looking up than I do straight ahead here. I keep telling Philip to stand under a building for a picture but then I can’t fit him and the whole building in the frame! Land in HK is very limited considering the number of people and thus very expensive. The tall buildings and other things are very telling of the efficient, progressive mind-set here. Everything is for efficiency and progress. Everything is made to get the maximum valuable out of it. Hence the skyscrapers and graveyards that look like…well have you ever seen nurseries with a TON of statues and stone fountains and stepping stones all heaped up on a small piece of pavement? Some of the graveyards here kindof look like that to me but they are usually built into the sides of mountains. I’m not exactly sure how you would go visit a gravestone in the middle of it all but it works out somehow. It’s pretty unromantic. I get the impression that most people prefer to be cremated here mostly because it takes up less space. We saw a big crematorium (also numerous stories high) on the top of a mountain.

The architecture on a lot of the buildings was really tripped out. Some – especially the tall buildings – are quite unique to HK. Well, ok, I haven’t been everywhere in the world but I’ve never seen anything like it. But other areas of the city are quite westernized because of the British influence that is everywhere here. There was one specific place that I commented to my uncle how westernized it was – I felt like I was just walking around some city in the states for a minute. We passed through a district criss-crossed by more narrow, stone roads that went every which way. Lining those roads were a million bars and nice restaurants. Uncle Philip said that’s where all the important people come after work. There were lots of nice cars here :) I’ve seen more nice cars the past 3 days than I have my whole life. In the middle of the city is a big and what looks like a really beautiful garden that’s gated off. It almost seems out of place to have a garden, of all things, in the middle of a giant, fast-pace city but then again, it seems like the only thing you could put to give a little balance. We didn’t get to go in but a lot of the plants were coming out of the gates and we passed them as we walk. The palm trees are so neat here. I wish I knew the names of all the plants here. It’s been really cool with the rain because they are usually covered in rain drops when we see them. Uncle Philip was an interesting tour guide. I think we got the version that the official tour guides aren’t allowed to give ;)

We went to dimsum in the City Hall. It was the biggest dim sum place ever! And one whole side of the hall overlooked the bay and the construction area just outside and the sea-side restaurants and the skyline on the opposite side. Again it was all cloudy and rainy but the view was still amazing. Uncle Philip’s girlfriend, Judy, joined us here; she was so nice! After lunch – o yeah, we ate chicken feet here! – they took us to Stanley Market. To get there, we rode a double-decker bus and sat at the second level in the front rows so every time we came to a stop, it felt like we would just topple over the car in front of us because the front of the bus was flat. We had to go through a bunch of curvy mountain roads that often overlooked the ocean. And when we went over a one-way bridge with a giant, deep, treacherous reservoir on the left and a nice welcoming drop off into a valley on the right, I felt really safe and comfortable. The bridge we went over was actually a 100+ year old damn for the reservoir. The reservoir was so gorgeous…the color of the water was so dramatic that it almost seemed artificial. It was a bright but deep blue-green color (like the ocean when we were sailing but much more so) and it made a really bold contrast with the orangey, clay-colored sands around it and then the dark foliage behind that. I wish we had pictures. Everyone was laughing at me because I kept thinking that broken or over-flowed drain pipes were waterfalls on the side of the road. But actually I did see some real waterfalls, which are my favorite! I haven’t seen any pandas yet. Or monkeys. Uncle Philip said there is a place called Monkey Mansion near where we are living and it’s basically a mountain that you walk up and there are monkeys everywhere! (Dad, I told him that you would be thrilled to take us – I know you’re really excited). He said it’s dangerous now though because the monkeys are so used to people that they will just walk right up and take your food. Philip wanted to know what would happen if you didn’t have food :) I really want to go there.

Anyway, Stanley Market used to be a fishing market. It was a very historical area and pretty neat because there was a building, some columns, and a pier that used to be located in Central but they were chopped up and relocated to Stanley Market to preserve them. You could see the sealed cracks on the building where it had been separated. On the pier that was also relocated, there was a bridge and groom having their pictures taken! Aww :) But we weren’t sure if they were for real or just posing for a magazine or something. Either way, I wish I had snuck more pictures of them. It was one of the most touristy areas we’ve been to so far. There were the sorts of shops you would expect in a tourist area and also some market-style shops down a little path in between the buildings (where were still tall!). We bought a couple things for the skirts (2 things for you, Celeste :) and Philip for a swim suit for like 6 American dollars. After walking through the market, we climbed up to a small Buddhist temple which was more for tourists than actual worship. There are real temples located pretty frequently everywhere we have gone. On the streets, I’ve seen quite a few little shrines (just a foot or two tall) with places to burn a candle or incense as you walk by. But my uncle said that not too many people are true practicing Buddhist anymore. Actually, it seems like there aren’t many truly practicing faithful of any specific religion. Philip commented, “Religion doesn’t seem like a very big deal here.” I suspect he is right but I have more to learn.

In Stanley, we also went inside an old firehouse that is now being used as a convenient store. We walked a little ways to the Stanley Memorial which is for the soldiers who died in WWII. It was on a hill so you could see the ocean through the trees as you walked around the graves. Almost all the names were Chinese and most of the men died very young. After this, we took a bus (same seats :) back to the city and walked around a mall for awhile (Ceci, we’re looking for something you really want :). Uncle Philip took us home (2 metro lines and a taxi). We had a great time!

Next: Pictures from Stanley

Brits Influence

2009-06-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

Being here in Hong Kong, well actually on the Kowloon Islands, its funny to see how the British have influenced the Chinese here. Though Hong Kong is no longer under British rule, as of 1997, it retains the British educational system, this is largely due to the 50 year lease with China. If you attend school here then you are almost guaranteed to learn English (not necessarily fluent) from either an Australian or British native. Thus, when we met our cousins today they spoke with a funny British accent. It's hilarious to hear asians speak in a European accent, it makes me jealous. Personally I think the Chinese here have the best language skills, not only do they speak one of the hardest languages in the world to learn, but they speak English with the coolest accent ever!

Alot of the practices in Hong Kong come from the British rather then the Chinese, for example driving on the left side of the road with your steering wheel on the right side of the car is common in Britain, while in the mainland they drive on the right side of the road with the wheel on the left. Anyway I'm shot so I'll post more tomorrow!

Yacht Club and Lights (Part 3 With Uncle Leung)

2009-06-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

Uncle Leung took us to his Yacht Club from dinner. We ate outside right under the Hong Kong and Kowloon lights. At 8pm, the lazors shot out from the tops of the buildings. Ferries, cruisers, and other ships were also all lit up and moving between the two cities in the harbor. I've never seen anything so spectacular or so huge! We had the curry buffet for dinner. It was the fanciest buffet I've ever eaten. After dinner, we walked around the ship yard - basically a parking lot for giant boats. They were so big and really expensive. It was so incredible to see all of these things...Hong Kong is amazing because it has so nany different faces. One minute you're in the busy, crowded, dirty markets and the next you're under the brightest lights of your life. Thank you for taking us out, Uncle Leung! We really enjoyed it :)

Sailing (Part 2 With Uncle Leung)

2009-06-11T05:42:00.000-07:00

I'm laying in bed right now trying to figure out how to describe sailing and everything we saw from the boat. I wish I could just copy/paste my mental images onto this file. But apple hasn't designed that hardware yet so I'll do my best.

It stayed overcast the whole time but Uncle Lueng said it was perfect; it wasn't too bright out and there was a good breeze for sailing and the water was just choppy enough to give us a pleasant ride. We were out for a few hours. It was so relaxing. The water seemed really clean; it was a deep blue-green color. As we passed different islands and beaches, Uncle Leung pointed out which ones he and dad spent a lot of time camping on and swimming as kids. I

kept imagining dad as a kid hanging out there. The whole thing

was a huge treat and we're hoping to go sailing again in a few days.

Day With Uncle Leung - Part 1

2009-06-11T04:45:00.000-07:00

Yeye brought us to University Station, about 45min. from the appartment, to meet Uncle Leung at 11am. Uncle Leung is a childhood friend of our dad's. He's extremely sarcastic and funny :) He works in the HK science park. We were amazed at how high tech and eco-friendly everything was. The architecture was fantastic and in the middle of the complex was a gianormous golden egg or "time capsule". We didn't get to go inside but I think it was a conference room. The man-mind ponds around the buildings had big machines that made bird noises to attract real birds.

Before going to lunch with him and his wife, Philip and I walked to the waterfront to take some pictures. Uncle Leung said that dad used to spend a lot of time riding his bike along the path we were walking. Apparently, you can bike all around HK on it. The view from the path was beautiful...it was overcast (it has been since we got here) and the skline was tucked against the mountains with the fog wrapping around everything. The water and the sounds were so peaceful. Philip was leaning against a rail when some local fishermen yelled up at him, "Hello! Good morning!" Philip replied and asked how the fishing was going but their English didn't go that far :) Philip has been so curious and inquisitive the whole trip. He hasn't hesitated to ask a single question about our family, the language, or the costums and culture of China. I'm proud of him and impressed by his relentless effort to learn as much as possible and I have learned a lot by listening to his conversations. He is keeping a journal of linguistic and culturual things he learns.

After our short exploration of the paths around the science park, Uncle Leung and his wife treated us to Japanese food. It was very delicious. Next, we went to his appartment which has a nice view and a funny dog named Fafa. He showed us his new toy. I think it was actually a hypnosis machine. He put this thing on our heads that squeezed and released and massaged your scalp. Then he put headphones in our ears which tried really hard to tell us to breathe deeply and count to 20 and that we were relaxed and comfortable but we were both laughing so much that the hypnosis wasn't as affective :) From there, we went to Saikun.

Saikun is a famous seafood market. There were creatures for sale that I've never imagined before! And there were fish the size of Rozi, no exaggeration. It was really gross and really really cool. The market was right infront of the harbor. Personally, the drive to Saikun was better than Saikun itself. In fact, that's where it happened; I decided I love China. Unfortunately, I don't have very good pictures of the scenery but the mountains and houses and the fog whispering around the tops of the mountains was breathtaking. At the same time but on our lefthand side, the water was such a bright blue-green color and contrasted so dramatically with the mountains. buildings, and boats around it. Along all the curvy, mountain-side roads we've been on, their are a bunch of little steep-staired walking paths that branch off from the main sidewalk. Uncle Leung told us that dad used to walk all over those mountains on the paths we saw. He and dad were boy scouts together.

Next post: Part 2 with Uncle Leung - Sailing and Yacht Club :)

Pictures!

2009-06-11T04:26:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry we didn't have time to post yesterday. We were so tired after a full day with Uncle Leung that we both came in and fell right asleep. It was my best night's sleep yet (6hrs. non-stop)! I wanted to put a few miscellaneous pictures up before writing about our last couple days.
1. Hey, mom and dad, I ate these dead, dried-up fish whole. AND Philip and I both ate smelly beancurd (do you have any idea how bad that is?), a different kind of dried fish, muscle curry, and *drum roll* the renowned chicken feet! The muscle curry was actually not bad but it was so chewy and the chicken feet - I can't believe I'm saying this - were actually really good. We are being really brave with food; you would be proud :)

2. Philip hanging out with Boogie

3. The inside of a dragon fruit

4. Some flowers around HK

Day 1, Part 2 - Visit With Uncle Daniel's Mom

2009-06-09T08:41:00.001-07:00

After the markets, we took another bus to the appartments where Uncle Daniel's mom lives. Philip was excited to find a large swimming complex in the appartments. He is eager to find a pool to swim some laps in and hopes to take a dip in the Olympic pool in Beijing.

Auntie Irene met us infront of the building and showed us in. They have a very nice place. It was wonderful to see Mama's devotion to the faith. She has several beautiful statues and other holy objects on the furniture in her house. We gave her the oranges and a plaque of the Holy Family which Dad and Philip had blessed by the pope during their trip to Rome a couple years ago. It was a nice visit though Philip and I didn't understand much at all :)

(Tiffany! I was thinking of you :)

Our First Day in Hong Kong, Part 1

2009-06-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

This is the view from the window by my grandparents' kitchen table. In the distance is the building that our Uncle Daniel's mom lives. Looking out, I was surprised at how many people were in long pants and even jackets! It's so hot outside! I couldn't believe how stylish some people were dressed and how they kept their makeup from melting off their faces. My grandparents said that everyone just gets used to the heat and humidity.

Philip and I both woke up around 4 or 5am and sat in our rooms and watched our windows and journaled. We ate breakfast around 6:30am - hot buns (Christian, I had cha siu bow :), fresh lichee nuts (a local fruit that is in season right now), and english tea. Delicious :) After breakfast, we got ready and set out for the day. We took a bus to the market area. It was crazy riding the bus and watching so many Chinese go about their daily routines. The adults were all taking public transportation to work and the kids were all in school. Exams are coming up and, as Ye-ye said, that is the most important day for the kids here and once they pass, they can go on summer vacation. He compared Chinese education to Peking duck. The ducks are plucked of their feathers and held by neck, then, with a wooden spoon, food is litterally crammed down their neck to make them as fat as possible so they taste better. Its the same with school for the kids here. He said it is incomparable to education in the states.

Another difference - perhaps similar to the observation in Tokyo - between the people here and people in the states is that people here seem to be more focused and simply minding their own business. I've been trying to answer for myself how tourists/visitors are treated and really I can't answer with one extreme or the other; the locals are just minding their own business and going about their days and could care less about tourists and such. In the market, we bought oranges to bring to Uncle Daniel's mom and dragon fruit. I had never seen a dragon fruit before! You can see in the picture, they are hot pink and lime green on the outside and they are kindof peeling like avacadoes. But on the inside, they are white with little black seeds/dots everywhere. Its so strange! The taste is a subtle sweet taste kindof like a pear but not as sweet. Yeye also bought us fresh-squeeze sugar cane juice. It was a green color and had a bit of a soy taste - it was a cool treat :) All kinds of things were being sold in the market area. All kinds of fresh foods and random things like fans, jewelery, etc. We stepped into the fish market briefly. Live fish were in flat buckets all over the place flopping around in the air. Men in big, bloody aprons were chopping live fish in half and throwing their heads in a pile. The heads were still living and moving around. Gross. There were huge buckets of eel swimming around like mad. There were also a lot of butcher/meat stands. At one of them, There was a big NOSE connected to the skin of its face and its ears but nothing behind it - so it was like this slimy mat with a real, wet pig snout on it. Hanging around it was the rest of the mutilated creature. Its heart was near its snout. Grandma Jenny told me she doesn't eat that stuff but Yeye likes it.

Yeye pointed out a lot of different significant buildings and sites as we walked. He knows all about the city. We even got to see a couple of the appartment buildings that Dad lived in as a child!

After a couple hours of walking, we stopped at the one and only McDonald's for a break and a splash of AC. Philip, Grandma and I walked upstairs to find a seat and wait for Yeye. Yeye came upstairs laughing because 3 different girls had stopped him and asked who the handsome boy with him was! Maybe Philip shouldn't wear a tank top tomorrow ;)

I can't believe we're here...

2009-06-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Where do I start! We flew out the next day as planned with no problems. We were layed over in Detroit for 4hrs and in Tokyo for an hour. Philip and I were both surprised at how quiet the Tokyo airport was despite being full of people. We commented about it to my uncle later and he said it was just the tradition. I think it just surprised us because we're used to the endless and usually aimless yapping of Americans. A swine flu note: before anyone could deboard the plane in Tokyo, two medical officals (they looked like those scary people in ET all covered in sanitary paper from head to toe with masks and gloves and clipboards) came on the plane and surveyed everyone for flu symptons. We were cleared and able to deboard. On the flight to Hong Kong, we had to fill out medical clearance forms to report any flu symptons. Before going through customs, we had to turn the forms in and get clearance to continue. Also, Philip and I have noticed several locals covering their faces when they walk by us - I guess to avoid germs that we might be carrying from the states.

As soon as we landed in Hong Kong and it hit me that I was actually in the same place my dad grew up and I saw how gianormous the airport was, I just wanted to cry. Not because I was sad but because I was overwelmed. I kept choking back tears the rest of the night the more and more we saw and the more I tried to imagine my daddy living here when he was my age and younger. (I found out later that mom cried a bunch when she was here when '87... Yeye told me, Mom :) Yeye, our granddad, and Uncle Philip picked us up. We hadn't realized how similiar some of Uncle Philip's characteristics are to Dad's - that was great because we really wanted to see our parents and it was like some of dad was there. They gave us Octupus cards and a temporary cell phone. Octopus cards are essentially the all-purpose card. For locals, it would be like having their credit cards, costco cards, metro cards, etc. all in one. Whenever you need to use it, you just touch the card to a sensor and it automatically subtracts your money or whatever you need it to do. You don't even have to take it out of your bag; you can just touch the whole bag to the center when you get on the bus, etc. It's pretty neat. There are 3 types of taxis: red for the city, green for the suburbs, and blue for the island that the airport is on. We rode a red taxi for about 25 min.. It was dark but we still saw so many huge buildings, bridges and mountain sillouettes. The cars drive on the wrong side of the road with the streering wheels on the opposite side of the car. The majority of people here just use public transportation and don't own personal vehicles. It seems that personal vehicles are more of an upper class thing because most of the private cars are really nice ones like BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, etc.

My grandparents live on the 15th floor of a 32floor building. Now I know why my dad thought it was so fun to throw things out the window when he was little. His parents told us that he threw things out the window every day trying to hit people - even live turtles and fishes and their expensive chop sticks. Daddy! :) The hallway from the elevator their door is narrow and all the appartment doors are doubly protected by a steal-bar door. Yeye told us to watch out for the dog when we walked in and he was right; Boogie peed about 5 times when we met him :) The appartments are very small compared to the average American house. Before we left, dad warned us to expect things to be very basic. Like he said, people live very minimally here. They only have what they need and they don't collect any junk. I like the simplicity. The window in the room I am staying overlooks a mountain which is directly beside the appartment building. The foilage is different from what you what you would see in the states; its the kindof scene i'd expect to find pandas in :) On the upper part of the mountain are stone faces scattered around between the trees. On the stones are large, single, red dots. There is a walking path way up there. Yeye told me it is actually a grave yard for local people. It was been really special to visit with my grandparents so far. We have spent a lot of time talking about things. They are teaching us about their country and telling us stories about our dad and his siblings and about their own families. We have been telling them about the kids and things we have done recently. I'm learning a lot about my family and myself by getting to know them.

I was scared to wake up the next morning after arriving because I didn't know what the day would be like. So far, this all has been 100% out of our comfort zone which, I think, we really needed.

We're off!...and we're back

2009-06-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Current Location: Raleigh, NC

Well we were all ready to go when all the hydrolic fuel from the plane leaked and we had to de-board. After an exciting morning in airport lines, we are checked in for the same route tomorrow (Raleigh to Detroit to Tokyo Nirita to Hong Kong). Mom is happy because now Philip can clean his room :)