Hong Kong - Day 2

Deborah teaches kindergarteners near Ladies Market, so she took me there and then we split up for the day so I could go exploring on my own. 

It's a pretty cool market, but I wasn't in the mood for shopping and my favorite souvenirs are usually photos, so let's continue: 

A big part of Hong Kong is food. I tried to get as much street food as I could, but it really just wasn't filling enough, so I ended up going to McDonald's. I just couldn't resist. $3 USD for a Big Mac meal is a deal that I can just never pass up!

Hong Kong is a pretty easy city to navigate, so I did most of my exploring without a map (or actually Google Maps). By hiking up a hill I came across King's Park. I think if I lived in Hong Kong I would come up here and play soccer with my friends. It's a pretty nice little park just in the middle of the city. Well, in the middle of the Kowloon part of Hong Kong. 

The hike down was pretty crazy. I decided to take another route which ended up getting me to the point where I couldn't descend with a trail anymore. So I started descending down the gutters, and eventually ended up in a little alley. It was pretty fun because I really had no clue where I was going. 

Clock tower by Victoria Harbor

Taking the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island. 

It's not the best photo, but that's a Chinese Junk in the distance and I think they're awesome-looking sailboats. Here's a photo of one I pulled off the internet: 

Took the trolley to Victoria Peak. 

One of the cool things about the peak was a trail that I went on. Apparently tourists usually don't go there, and I pretty much only met locals along the trail. I decided to hang out with these two guys for a few minutes because they were waiting for the sun to go down and get some night photos of the Hong Kong skyline. They're both college students from Hong Kong. They kept asking me why I was coming to visit Hong Kong, haha, they couldn't figure it out. 

These girls stopped to me to make a Christmas wish!

"For christmas I would like to have a boat" - That's what I already got! 

A 22' MacGregor Sailboat!

I took the Star Ferry back across the harbor to get a good view of the Hong Kong Symphony of Lights

I enjoyed the show, but the music definitely seemed dated. I would say that the light show is cool, but it has waaay more potential. Maybe they could put it to a song by Lady Gaga or something. Or Calvin Harris! That would be awesome. 

Before going over to Japan, Mike went to Hong Kong. While he was at an Adidas store here he heard this song that he got hooked on that I got pretty hooked on too. "Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat" remix by Calvin Harris. 

Check it out: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIcW36J-h7Q

Up until this point, I liked Hong Kong, but I wasn't completely convinced that I loved it. This is what sold me on Hong Kong: Street Performers. I love street performers and Hong Kong is super cool because it seems like anyone can just find a spot and start playing no problem. 

So there I was, enjoying a few songs, and then this guy starts talking (in Cantonese) while telling a love story. Then he PROPOSED to his girlfriend in front of everyone!! It was awesome. 

Meeting back up with Deborah and her friend Ricky. 

We went to a dance club for a little while which was a lot of fun, but we couldn't stay too long because Ricky had work the next morning. 

Overall, a great day in Hong Kong! 

Hong Kong - Day 1

Hong Kong baby!! I was stoked to make it to Hong Kong because: 1. I hadn't been to Hong Kong in years, and 2. I was still in the mood for traveling and I love the excitement of spontaneous trips!

At first I thought I had a friend that I could stay with while over there, but that didn't end up working out, so I was really really lucky that Deborah (seated on the far right) was willing to host me for a couple nights.

We met up at a metro stop and then went to meet a couple of her friends to grab drinks. Next to me is Wayne (like Bruce Wayne) and Ivan (aka Iron Man). 

They were all pretty surprised that I wanted to drink Orange Juice. Hahaha.

Gotta keep up on Vitamin C to stay healthy! 

View from the balcony of Sugar (the bar/lounge).

Ivan (next to me) thought that our waitress was really cute (the girl next to him) so Wayne did him the favor of embarrassing him by asking if we could get a photo with her. Haha. It turns out she's also a mixed blood like me, but she grew up in Hong Kong. 

We're trying to get Ivan to go back and ask her out on a date, but we'll see. 

He says he's forever alone. 

Anyway, then we just went home and went to sleep. Deborah lives with her dad and brother in a nice little apartment. She let me sleep in her room and I think she slept in the same room as her brother (they have bunk beds). It was pretty late and I was exhausted so I had a great night's sleep and slept in for awhile the next day. 

Guam

This kid is a stud. His name is Ben and he totally saved me from just hanging out in the airport all day. 

So what happened is I was trying to get to Manila, but the flight was full. So then I decided to go to Hong Kong instead (this was at like 7 in the morning), and the flight to HK wasn't until that evening. 

So I hopped on couchsurfing and messaged a few people to see if anyone wanted to hang out for the day, and Ben came and picked me up to show me around Guam! It was awesome. 

First stop: breakfast. It. was. so. good. 

yum : )

So this is what I understand of the story: There were two lovers who couldn't be together because the girl was arranged to marry a Spanish captain (because the Spanish were occupying Guam). Her and her lover were chased to the edge of a cliff by the Spanish soldiers. Her and her lover braided their hair together and jumped over the cliff, and ever since Two Lover's Point has been a symbol of true love.

It also has beautiful views.

Someday I'll have to come with a girl and attach our luggage tags here. 

So 90% of the tourists in Guam are from Japan, and lots of Japanese couples actually come to two lovers' point to get married. There are ton of names of people who have come here to get married (the tiles go on and on)

Like two palm leaves coming together to symbolize peace.

We came across an LDS church, so we decided to stop in and say hello! We met a couple members setting up for their Christmas party so we decided to help set up chairs and lights for a little while. 

Next we went to Ben's work Christmas party!!! It was awesome. This is his old boss. Tons of the people at the party were from Taiwan, so that was way sweet!

There was plenty of food and it was quite delicious!

So Ben works at a furniture store. I was exhausted from traveling and was suuuper stoked to take a break on a massage chair. It was wonderful. 

The beach!

Guam's mini-Statue of Liberty

Yep, that's a live water buffalo. And during the night market people take it for rides

View of Guam

The Chamorros (native Guam people) used to build houses on these. That way when there was a tsunami or something, the houses would be up off the ground. 

This was awesome. When the Japanese were fighting on Guam they built a bunch of tunnels to get around in. You can totally go in these! (AT YOUR OWN RISK). So we did. Unfortunately they had most of the tunnels blocked off, but we were able to get around between a few different exits coming out of the hill. 

Kmart!! Guam actually has the world's largest Kmart! 

That's it! I had a great day in Guam and now it was time to head to Hong Kong. I'm happy to have made new friends on this little island, and I look forward to the next time I can stop by and visit again. : )