A Hong Kong Thanksgiving

A friend and I went to Hong Kong for American Thanksgiving. We arrived late on Wednesday night and stayed through Sunday morning. Here are the highlights:

Thursday - Disney Land

Friday - Star Ferry to Hong Kong, Stanley Waterfront Service, Lan Kwai Fong, Symphony of Lights harbor show, Temple Street Night market

Saturday - Massage and facial, the Jade Hawkers Bazaar, The Shamrock Pub


Disney was a wise choice for American Thanksgiving. We had lunch at the Starlight Cafe and as I was enjoying my fried chicken and looking around I was remembering all of my other Disney times. It was nice to be looking at such familiar surroundings on a day that should be spent with family.

The time I spent in Hong Kong was way different than my trip last year. Last year my buddy and I had wandered about SoHo just taking in the sites but with little direction. Then we experienced the great Dragon parade. It was an adventure, but there was much of Hong Kong to explore.

In preparation for this trip I inquired about places to go and things to do. We were directed to an area of Hong Kong called Stanley. This was a wonderful choice. Much to my surprise this area of town is on the other side of the island so it was longer taxi ride than anticipated but well worth it. The shopping was great. I was able to pick up some things for me and some things as gifts. After a few hours of shopping and lunch we ran into some colleagues who pointed out a grocery store and some other fun shops. We were able to pick up some spices and pudding - both of which are hard to come by in Seoul.

The night market was interesting. It was a last minute plan so I had already had dinner. I would have preferred to eat at the market as the food looked and smelled great. We soon realized that the night market had all of the same stuff as the Stanley market. A lot of junk with only a few treasures. The shopping was much better in Stanley as there were more stalls with authentic goods (or so I hope).

Saturday was very similar to my last trip to Hong Kong minus the typhoon. I meandered through the streets of Kowloon taking in the site and turning down about 100 offers for a tailor, watches, and bags. I enjoyed an inexpensive and relaxing massage followed by a facial. The jade market was good and I picked up a few more pieces for myself and others.

Returning to school today was a little hard to do given the amount of work I DIDN'T do over the break, but I was happy to see my students. I was able to touch base with a few that have been struggling a little and to hopefully encourage them towards biology success. With mid-terms coming up stress levels are sure to be increasing from already high levels.

In less than 3 weeks midterms will be over, college apps completed, and I'll be on a beach somewhere in Australia. More to come later.