Playing catch up :) The HK is keeping me busy.

Horse Races, another Sunrise, Stanley Market, Party Tram, Nunnery, & More...

First, how about some new fun facts about Hong Kong Culture??

• You know how little kids will wear light up shoes? Well here they wear squeaky shoes (similar to the sound of a dog toy)! At first it was adorable, but gets slightly irritating sometimes. :)
• Water is not served at the dinner table, but hot tea and water is served and is complementary.
• It is rare to find wheat anything here (pastas, bread, rice, etc.).
• Almost all food is served "family style."
• Everything is disinfected multiple times per day, which is nice because most places feel and apear very clean.
• They eat much more dark meat here than white meat.
• There are many British terms or spellings used here: "Lift," "Queue," "Colour..."
• Ladies nights here actually mean free drinks for ladies, rather than "discounted" drinks in America. (Mom you told me to save money...!)
• We have been out on the ocean a couple times, and have yet to see an intertube or water skis -- they most commonly use banana boats and wakeboards.
• Last one: Everyone seems to have gotten sick at some point since being here, when it was my turn to go it was such a bizarre experience. You walk in, pay $150 HK ($19 US) and wait to get sent to a doctors room. When you get to the room the doctor is waiting there for you. Basically they ask you a bunch of questions and 10 mins later you have a list of 7 prescriptions that are filled 10 minutes later in the lobby (and covered in your original $150 HK fee). 

We finallllly made it to the horse races. They have them every Wednesday and Sunday, but the last race of the season happened to be a couple weeks ago. It was such an incredible experience to see, it was filled with many Europeans who dress up and go to socialize and have a good time. It is exciting and thrilling as the thousands of people scream and cheer in hope that the horse they bought money will win. I wish there were more races to go to, but it was still awesome. PLUSSS the first time I went to the races, I bet on #11 and won :)). 

Here is a video of horse #11 winning! You can hear how crazy the crowd gets...

Here is the horse arena. People who come to these races either there to have fun and socialize, or they also could be business executives who "shmooze" their clientele or else hardcore gamblers who are only there to win money-- they sit there with a horse stats and calculators so that they can figure out the best way to win.

Okayyy so we saw the sunrise again, and it was even more breath taking (last time was very overcast). This time we woke up at 3:30 am and we made it to the beach by 4:30 am. You can see the sunrise picture progression in my Facebook Album: More Magical Moments in Hong Kong http://on.fb.me/q3JLah

Around 5:00 am all of a sudden a bunch of older locals came to the beach apparently go to for a morning swim. It was actually very awesome to see because you can tell they do this every morning for the sunrise and it is a time for them to get their work out and also for them to socialize. As much as we tried to appreciate the beauty of the culture, it was a bit comical to see some of their work out routines... For example here is one of the women warming up before taking a swim... 

The beach we spent the day at in Stanley :) It was so relaxing to spend the day by the beach, drinking smoothies, shopping in the market, hiking to temples, and hanging with the BEST FRIENDS EVER. 

That night we were invited to Amanda's co-worker's birthday party which was a "party tram." Apparently going on these party trams is a very popular thing to do, and I understand why because it was truly a blast and such a beautiful way to travel through the city. We started out the night at one of the friend's flats which happened to have a rooftop balcony and an indescribable view of the city.  However, I definitely rediscovered my fear of heights being all the way up on the roof top...  Nonetheless, it was a great time meeting some of the expats who now lived in Hong Kong, we met people from London, Germany, America, Liverpool, etc. It is incredible to hear each of their stories and understand why they fell in love with Hong Kong.

The Four Girls (aka Mayhem) before we went out for the night :)

Us in front of the Party Tram!!!

The next day we spent at the Chi Lin Nunnery and again it was in the middle of the city. Despite the fact, it was silent the entire time and there was an spiritual feeling in the air -- it was so peaceful and beautifully made. Apparently because of the style of architecture that it was built in, there is not one nail in the entire building. 



Here is a video from the nunnery, and you can see the Buddhist monks.  

For Kristen ♥ Rest In Peace.