Day 77 - Nov 12

Just a normal day at school... until we trekked up to the Buddha!! Check this one off the hiking bucket list. 10 km of stairs but completely worth it. Pictures tell a better story than I could with words..

Day 76 - Nov 11

Another busy work day, and eventually met up with Dad again this time on the island. After Vietnamese food and a stop in Lan Kwai Fong went back to campus and worked until late.

Day 75 - Nov 10

Made it back to Hong Kong! I had a really crazy experience going from the Shenzhen airport back to Hong Kong island, and the charter buses are not really something I want to venture on again. The customs/immigration checkpoint was absolutely insane. People yelling, lines not making any sense, constantly getting directed different places as if I couldn't figure it out on my own then capped off by getting stopped at immigration by an official who didn't know his own department's rules. But it was smooth sailing once I was back on the Hong Kong side. After going to my classes, crossed the bay to meet Dad for dinner in TST. After a great time catching up at an Irish pub (of all places) checked out Harbour City and made plans for the next day. After a beautiful ferry ride across the bay I was back on the island and back to philosophy papers.

That familiar haze

Waitresses with Irish accents too.

Day 74 - Nov 9

Last full day in Guilin. We had a different tour this time to the rice terraces. Cut deep into the valleys northwest of Guilin, they were apparently really well rated and a must see. After a long drive out there, with one section of the asphalt completely missing - think Indiana Jones at Disneyland for 3 or 4 miles, we made it to the first stop. Here we saw a show at the long haired village, which was a bit strange and kind of awkward. It seemed really disrespectful to the actual traditions and people in the village. Later, after grabbing lunch with the Europeans in our group went up to the actual terraces and village up there. The fog obscured the view from high up but at about halfway up the mountain we were able to take some good shots of the terraces. In my opinion the villages itself was as interesting as the terraces that brings tourists out. Here, the all wood structures are built into the mountainside and boast the oddest mix of traditional and random goods for sale. Also, there are some western restaurants up there as well, among the cloth merchants and bone carvers. After the terraces and back in Guilin we headed to elephant hill park, which I'm still not totally sure what it is. The actual center was closed, but we saw beautiful pagodas along the river, and ended up walking the perimeter of the lake. After that, we went in search of a well rated korean/northern Chinese restaurant. We eventually found it, but ended up walking a good amount of the city (which was nice).

Day 73 - Nov 8

Ridiculous full day in Guilin. Took off on an early tour that would take us down the river on bamboo rafts, to an old village, feed water buffalo and among other things. But we lost our tour guide before we even got onto the first rafts. So we stood at the dock and tried to figure out how to get down the river but apparently the boats can't go down past 10:30. So we then had a rather questionable bus ride to the village and met up with the tour. After arriving in the second village we had our doubles bamboo raft rides, which seemed almost like a gondola type setup with the conductors using long bamboo poles to guide the boats down the river. Later we fed a giant water buffalo (obviously gets fed all the time by tourists). We had the tour bus drop us off at the night market which was pretty solid, but to be honest my feet were freezing and my shoes absolutely soaked so I wasn't the most gleeful there. We grabbed dinner and made it back in time to play some pool and get ready for the next day.

Day 72 - Nov 7

Guilin!! Left HKU at 4:30 AM for the MTR to the Shenzhen border and then to the airport. Got there a hour early and with no customs line at the border. After our quick flight took a bus and then got ripped off by a cab driver to get to our hostel (this might be a common theme here). Once there, we took off for the Reed Flute Caves, which are pretty incredible especially with how they use the lights to showcase the stalactites, stalagmites and the huge cavern underneath the hill. Then we took a walk up to the pagoda on top of the hill and a great view of the seemingly random mountains sticking up out of the flat lands. It's a beautiful area and while its still crowded (talking 5 million people) and still busy, it was a nice break from Hong Kong.

 Cliche

Day 71 - Nov 6

Another long day spent in class but this one in anticipation before Guilin! Went out with some friends for dinner and packed! Also got some free pocket squares and a gift card randomly. Seems legit.

Eating in alleyways with cockroaches.

Day 70 - Nov 5

Another food driven post. Got out of discussion before noon and ate some great pizza, arguably the best I've ever had in Hong Kong (not saying too much). Straight chillin, good day and started planning out Guilin!

New York Style!

Day 69 - Nov 4

Interesting day of class today. Spent 2 hours with tinker toys apparently proving that first mover advantage isn't real in business. Some people got real creative and stuck them up in the ceiling tiles. After that headed out to Soho for sustenance and got back in time to work on some political philosophy. Also went to now my favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurant, Mana. Good times, what a ridiculous day of class though.

 Look up at the top left of this picture. This is entrepreneurship at its finest.

It may not look like much, but this Mana Bliss wrap is solid. Cucumbers, spinach, hummus and avocado. Ridiculously good.

Day 68 - Nov 3

Pretty normal Monday all things considered. Went to my hours of class and then got dinner in Central and worked out plans for Chiang Mai. One of those quick blog posts to glance over.

It's the little things that remind you of home (in this case UCLA).. Habibi Cafe is also the name of a Westwood classic, and a place that people like Shaq allegedly hang out at.

Day 67 - Nov 2

Woke up to see the sunrise but didn't actually really see much. After that we set out for cliff diving up the river. The picture may not look like much but from on top of the rocks that drop is pretty far. Think a high dive but about twice as tall, jumping from a rock. We then took an incredibly fast and choppy speedboat back to the pier and then did the usual - minibus, train, train, bus back to kennedy town, then had 3 PM dim sum for a change. After a quick nap I took off again for the peak, this time at night with some of the UC crew. We made it to Peak West and got to see the lights of the city illuminate the sky ( a little too much, really couldn't see any stars). Today was probably the busiest day I've had actually at Hong Kong proper.

yes, she's 5 and she jumped too. PC Bonnie

Day 66 - Nov 1

Set out for Sai Kung, which meant taking a bus, train, train, minibus, taxi, then hike for a half hour. This area is up in the New Territories of Hong Kong on the eastern coast toward the mainland. Known for scenic beaches, cliff diving, and historical pirate caves. The coastline in places has deep inlets and the rocky outcroppings that just lend themselves to smuggling.
We spent the day getting to the campsite, and eventually arrived in the late evening. After some drama with tents, we eventually figured everything out and built a bonfire on the beach with the help of some incredibly nice Germans who hosted surf camps at the beach. After hours of guitar, relaxing, and some disc (on the ridiculously clean beach, until the tide came in the next morning) we called it a night.

Day 65 - Oct 31

Halloween! Luckily I had the day off the prepare for the night. What originally was supposed to be a hiking day just turned into a chill day before the concert. Later we went to Central to see Morgan Page at a pretty fancy club completely decked out for the holiday. People everywhere were rocking costumes and the whole district around Lan Kwai Fong was out of control. Police cordoned off areas and then forced foot traffic to go only one way (quite annoying) but eventually we made it and had a solid time. After the concert we went into the McDonalds (all of them are 24 hours in HK, and pretty much every other country I've seen them in) where there were people asleep on the counters, various parts of costumes everywhere and crazy lines. After deciding to walk back after catching a glimpse of the cab line, we eventually made it back home pretty ridiculously late.

Sorry, not really too many good pictures, my phone ran out of memory so I had to delete whenever I wanted to take more~

Morgan Page

Day 64 - Oct 30

Pretty chill day on the night before Halloween. Spent the morning in class and then the afternoon doing work. Then went out to the awesome local thai restuarant, which was closed, with a sign that according to my friend had something to do with the health department. Fun times. Then went to a dumpling place instead. Afterward took off to Wan Chai and hung out there for a while, eventually making it back in time for more roof chillin', late night talks and then 3 AM Dim Sum, a Hong Kong U tradition.

Wan Chai, PC Bybee

Day 63 - Oct 29

Oktoberfest at the racecourse! While casinos are illegal in Hong Kong, betting and horse races still thrive. The track is actually right in the city too, just a few blocks from the Causeway MTR station, showing its antiquity. We watched a few races and saw the horses fly by, just feet in front of us.

Day 62 - Oct 28

Gave a presentation on our entrepreneurship business plan. After class had our second high table dinner. At these functions basically our whole hall dresses up, buses to a hotel somewhere and then eats mountains of food while getting to know each other better and listening to speakers. This time we had a solid buffet with sashimi (great common theme) and listened to a speaker who went from venture capital to organic farming.