Hong Kong, Shanghai, and etc.
Since I've already established the inaccuracy of my memories in the previous entries, I figured I should do a better job at recording how I'm actually feeling on this trip so I can have something to reference the next time I think about going to Hong Kong.
Last year when I was in Hong Kong, I recall thinking that I wouldn't need to return anytime soon. There are so many other places I rather visit. Knowing that, I was obviously still really excited for this trip, but within a day of coming back, I immediately remember why I had previously thought that. As much as I love my parents, traveling with them isn't exactly the most thrilling experience and there are just certain unavoidable annoyances. It also doesn't provide me with what I am looking to gain from my travels anymore.
When I was younger, I like going to Hong Kong to shop and eat. While I still love my food, my urge to shop is no longer as strong. There was a sale at Sogo the other day and seeing the all the Asians there seriously scared the shit out of me. My tendency to shop online is making me less adept at shuffling through crowds and digging through piles. I think I'm becoming less and less Asian.
Anyway, we wanted to go on a trip this time, and decided on Shanghai. Old Asian people apparently love tour groups, even in a country where they can speak the language. It's convenient and easy to not have to do any planning I suppose. We joined this 5 days, 4 nights Shanghai-plus-other-places-that-I-don't-really-know tour. It has a lot of sightseeing, but I find that I no longer mind that as much-I've definitely gotten older.
Day 1 - Hangzhou
The most eventful thing of the day was riding a boat at Xihu Tiandi, but that was actually really boring and there was nothing pretty to look at. Part of it probably had to do with the seasonality of our trip, but even if it was spring and the flowers were blossoming, I still can't imagine it to be particularly thrilling. Let's just say I've seen a lot of prettier sights. A bunch of people fell asleep on the ride with the day tour guide's historical storytelling as the background lullaby (day tour guide because we had different tour guides-a HK one, a China one that stayed with us the whole time, and daily ones that changed). If we're going to do a sightseeing tour, is it too much to ask for them to at least give me some pretty sights to see? Anyway, later that night, we went to watch this show/performance that was alright. Some dancing, some acrobatics, lots of lights. They sent us back to our hotel by 9:00 pm. This tour is definitely meant for old people.
Day 2 - Hangzhou / Wuxi
They took us to this tea place in attempt to persuade us to buy tea. It's supposed to be super healthy or something, but it was quite tasteless and very expensive. As much as the thought of drinking tea to lose weight appeal to me, I didn't particularly feel like spending 5800 RMB on tea. After lunch, they took us to a chrysanthemum tea place where the tea tasted better and was lots cheaper so we gave in and bought some there. They then brought us to this little town that's actually very cute and traditional. Went on another boat ride that was like the Chinese version of the Venice gondoliers. More entertaining than the previous boat ride. Ate a hairy crab dinner that I don't know how to truly appreciate because I enjoy the meat more than the orange stuff that I thought was fat but now know is roe and sperm.
Back at the hotel "nice" and early again so that the old people can get their sleep. Since there are three of us, I had to share a room with someone random who turned out to be the HK tour guide. Worked out better than sharing a room with my parents since they tend to wake me up when they wake up. The tour guide was on the phone for like two hours that night but since she didn't want to disturb me (or have me eavesdrop on her conversation I suppose), she stayed inside the bathroom the whole time. The only thing was, that bathroom omitted a TERRIBLE smell. Don't know how she managed to stay in there. Very impressive.
Day 3 - Wuxi / Suzhou
They took us to this place that makes teapots out of "purple sand." Had to googled it afterwards to figure out what it is (and I still don't really know). I was extremely tempted to buy a teapot and I think if I weren't travelling with my parents, I might have. There was a small set for 350 RMB but it's probably better I didn't buy it because the likelihood of me using it is quite low. I bought a teacup for 150 RMB instead. Let's see if I'll actually use that one.
They took us to buy pearls afterwards but I'm not a big fan of pearls so I basically sat around and stare off into space like the men in the group. Ate lunch at a monastery where boys and girls had to sit separately and we had to finish all our food and eat in silent. Luckily my mom was with me so I gave her all my mushrooms. The place was actually really pretty and quite modern for a monastery, but to be honest, nothing too exciting. Took lots of random pictures at this Buddhist museum-ish place afterwards. One of the drawbacks of being on a Chinese tour is that I never know exactly where I am because I don't know the English name of the destinations and trying to remember the Chinese names is not an easy task. If it weren't for Google latitude, I wouldn't even be able recall any of the cities I was at aside from Shanghai.
Arrived at Suzhou afterwards where they then took us to look at a temple-absolutely thrilling as you can imagine. After dinner, they brought us to a street market where I got to try some interesting food at least. Food really is my greatest love. If you want to bring me to some boring places, at least distract me with some food. Back at the hotel around 9:00 again.
Day 4 - Suzhou / Shanghai
Went to a museum in the morning. Don't have much to say about that. Finally arrived at my desired destination in the afternoon-Shanghai. They took us to Xiantindi which is a tourist area with really expensive bars and restaurants. It was pretty and it reminded me a little of the Rocks in Sydney. Went to eat street food afterwards which I enjoyed immensely. Had this 生煎包 that was amazingly good-thin, crunchy skin, overfilling with juices. Also had this really amazing carrot puff thingie. Yum yum. Walked around the Bund after (which I only found out was called that when Jen mentioned it). It was really similar to the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, except with fewer buildings.
After they dropped us off at the hotel, I met up with Jen and her cousin for drinks. She took me to this very pretty and pretentious rooftop bar where you can see the Bund, except they turned off the lights by 11 so it wasn't as pretty. This was where I learned that apparently there are a lot of French people in Shanghai. A guy started talking to us who is half French, half Spanish. Can you say HOT? He was totally my type.
I LOVE the fact that there so many international people in places like Hong Kong and Shanghai, mainly because I think Europeans are really hot and I want a fling with a European boy. In the US, it's hard to find an international bar with Europeans (at least to my knowledge) because they all seem to blend in with all the other white people. Argh. That is really unfortunate.
The next bar that she took me to was in a garden and was really cute. After that, she took me to a lounge by my hotel where we saw a bunch of Asian girls dancing with these two really ugly white guys. One was had a beer belly and the other was wearing a cowboy hat. Yes, it was an extremely disturbing scene. In Jen's words, you can clearly tell that they are nothing wherever they came from, and yet in Asia, they managed to get all these girls dancing with them just because they're white (albeit the girls were not that great looking either). Took a cab back to my hotel but it was so close the meter didn't even jump haha. The driver must have hated me but it was clear I didn't know what I was doing.
Day 5 - Shanghai
The next day, they took us to the Saudi Arabia Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. It was actually really cool, but not cool enough to have to wait like 8 hours for it, which was what the guide said the wait time was during the actual expo. But you do feel like you're flying across different places around the world, kind of like the Soarin' ride at Epcot. This was the best place we went to during the whole tour.
Overall, half of the tour consisted of them trying to make us buy stuff while the other half was looking random sights that really weren't that exciting. I won't say that I didn't enjoy it because it was pretty relaxing and I actually really like the other members in our group, even though most of them were older. Some of the old people were actually quite hilarious. But still, it made me realize I'm seeking more from my travel experiences. I didn't learn anything new from this tour and it didn't leave me with any lasting impressions. I would like to visit Shanghai again on my own / with friends though. I think it's a city that I'd really like.
BACK TO HONG KONG
The rest of the Hong Kong trip was enjoyable, but to be honest, nothing particularly memorable either. Ate some good food, wasted some money buying useless things, had to leave before we knew it.
When we got back to Hong Kong, we luckily switched to a more expensive room at the hotel that had a living room so I was able to sleep in even when my parents woke up way earlier than necessary in the morning. We also had access to the lounge which provided FREE ALCOHOL. YES, FREE ALCOHOL. It was really unfortunate that I had no one to drink with and since I'm not alcoholic enough to drink on my own, I didn't get to take full advantage of the lounge. I went to see if there were any cute international guys lurking there but it was mostly old people and families. Sigh, depressing.
We happened to be back when Miriam was having a concert, so we went to that. I no longer like her like I used to, but hearing her talk about life still makes me happy. She just has such a good attitude about things and it always reminds me of how important it is to remember to be happy.
Saw my cousin who moved there two months ago with her husband because his company relocated him there. We just sat around and drank that day and it was actually really nice. I am definitely looking for something different in my vacations now than before. I want to relax and spend time with friends or have something exciting or just learn something. This was a good vacation in the sense it was really relaxing, but it definitely doesn't compare to the Peru trip earlier this year.
During our tour, our HK guide talked about her Africa trip and it sounded REALLY cool. I used to have no interest in nature and animals, so I don't know when exactly this transition occurred, but I'm suddenly really interested in experiencing something like that. Life is short. There's so much to see and learn. Got to make the most of our travels.
Last year when I was in Hong Kong, I recall thinking that I wouldn't need to return anytime soon. There are so many other places I rather visit. Knowing that, I was obviously still really excited for this trip, but within a day of coming back, I immediately remember why I had previously thought that. As much as I love my parents, traveling with them isn't exactly the most thrilling experience and there are just certain unavoidable annoyances. It also doesn't provide me with what I am looking to gain from my travels anymore.
When I was younger, I like going to Hong Kong to shop and eat. While I still love my food, my urge to shop is no longer as strong. There was a sale at Sogo the other day and seeing the all the Asians there seriously scared the shit out of me. My tendency to shop online is making me less adept at shuffling through crowds and digging through piles. I think I'm becoming less and less Asian.
Anyway, we wanted to go on a trip this time, and decided on Shanghai. Old Asian people apparently love tour groups, even in a country where they can speak the language. It's convenient and easy to not have to do any planning I suppose. We joined this 5 days, 4 nights Shanghai-plus-other-places-that-I-don't-really-know tour. It has a lot of sightseeing, but I find that I no longer mind that as much-I've definitely gotten older.
Day 1 - Hangzhou
The most eventful thing of the day was riding a boat at Xihu Tiandi, but that was actually really boring and there was nothing pretty to look at. Part of it probably had to do with the seasonality of our trip, but even if it was spring and the flowers were blossoming, I still can't imagine it to be particularly thrilling. Let's just say I've seen a lot of prettier sights. A bunch of people fell asleep on the ride with the day tour guide's historical storytelling as the background lullaby (day tour guide because we had different tour guides-a HK one, a China one that stayed with us the whole time, and daily ones that changed). If we're going to do a sightseeing tour, is it too much to ask for them to at least give me some pretty sights to see? Anyway, later that night, we went to watch this show/performance that was alright. Some dancing, some acrobatics, lots of lights. They sent us back to our hotel by 9:00 pm. This tour is definitely meant for old people.
Day 2 - Hangzhou / Wuxi
They took us to this tea place in attempt to persuade us to buy tea. It's supposed to be super healthy or something, but it was quite tasteless and very expensive. As much as the thought of drinking tea to lose weight appeal to me, I didn't particularly feel like spending 5800 RMB on tea. After lunch, they took us to a chrysanthemum tea place where the tea tasted better and was lots cheaper so we gave in and bought some there. They then brought us to this little town that's actually very cute and traditional. Went on another boat ride that was like the Chinese version of the Venice gondoliers. More entertaining than the previous boat ride. Ate a hairy crab dinner that I don't know how to truly appreciate because I enjoy the meat more than the orange stuff that I thought was fat but now know is roe and sperm.
Back at the hotel "nice" and early again so that the old people can get their sleep. Since there are three of us, I had to share a room with someone random who turned out to be the HK tour guide. Worked out better than sharing a room with my parents since they tend to wake me up when they wake up. The tour guide was on the phone for like two hours that night but since she didn't want to disturb me (or have me eavesdrop on her conversation I suppose), she stayed inside the bathroom the whole time. The only thing was, that bathroom omitted a TERRIBLE smell. Don't know how she managed to stay in there. Very impressive.
Day 3 - Wuxi / Suzhou
They took us to this place that makes teapots out of "purple sand." Had to googled it afterwards to figure out what it is (and I still don't really know). I was extremely tempted to buy a teapot and I think if I weren't travelling with my parents, I might have. There was a small set for 350 RMB but it's probably better I didn't buy it because the likelihood of me using it is quite low. I bought a teacup for 150 RMB instead. Let's see if I'll actually use that one.
They took us to buy pearls afterwards but I'm not a big fan of pearls so I basically sat around and stare off into space like the men in the group. Ate lunch at a monastery where boys and girls had to sit separately and we had to finish all our food and eat in silent. Luckily my mom was with me so I gave her all my mushrooms. The place was actually really pretty and quite modern for a monastery, but to be honest, nothing too exciting. Took lots of random pictures at this Buddhist museum-ish place afterwards. One of the drawbacks of being on a Chinese tour is that I never know exactly where I am because I don't know the English name of the destinations and trying to remember the Chinese names is not an easy task. If it weren't for Google latitude, I wouldn't even be able recall any of the cities I was at aside from Shanghai.
Arrived at Suzhou afterwards where they then took us to look at a temple-absolutely thrilling as you can imagine. After dinner, they brought us to a street market where I got to try some interesting food at least. Food really is my greatest love. If you want to bring me to some boring places, at least distract me with some food. Back at the hotel around 9:00 again.
Day 4 - Suzhou / Shanghai
Went to a museum in the morning. Don't have much to say about that. Finally arrived at my desired destination in the afternoon-Shanghai. They took us to Xiantindi which is a tourist area with really expensive bars and restaurants. It was pretty and it reminded me a little of the Rocks in Sydney. Went to eat street food afterwards which I enjoyed immensely. Had this 生煎包 that was amazingly good-thin, crunchy skin, overfilling with juices. Also had this really amazing carrot puff thingie. Yum yum. Walked around the Bund after (which I only found out was called that when Jen mentioned it). It was really similar to the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, except with fewer buildings.
After they dropped us off at the hotel, I met up with Jen and her cousin for drinks. She took me to this very pretty and pretentious rooftop bar where you can see the Bund, except they turned off the lights by 11 so it wasn't as pretty. This was where I learned that apparently there are a lot of French people in Shanghai. A guy started talking to us who is half French, half Spanish. Can you say HOT? He was totally my type.
I LOVE the fact that there so many international people in places like Hong Kong and Shanghai, mainly because I think Europeans are really hot and I want a fling with a European boy. In the US, it's hard to find an international bar with Europeans (at least to my knowledge) because they all seem to blend in with all the other white people. Argh. That is really unfortunate.
The next bar that she took me to was in a garden and was really cute. After that, she took me to a lounge by my hotel where we saw a bunch of Asian girls dancing with these two really ugly white guys. One was had a beer belly and the other was wearing a cowboy hat. Yes, it was an extremely disturbing scene. In Jen's words, you can clearly tell that they are nothing wherever they came from, and yet in Asia, they managed to get all these girls dancing with them just because they're white (albeit the girls were not that great looking either). Took a cab back to my hotel but it was so close the meter didn't even jump haha. The driver must have hated me but it was clear I didn't know what I was doing.
Day 5 - Shanghai
The next day, they took us to the Saudi Arabia Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. It was actually really cool, but not cool enough to have to wait like 8 hours for it, which was what the guide said the wait time was during the actual expo. But you do feel like you're flying across different places around the world, kind of like the Soarin' ride at Epcot. This was the best place we went to during the whole tour.
Overall, half of the tour consisted of them trying to make us buy stuff while the other half was looking random sights that really weren't that exciting. I won't say that I didn't enjoy it because it was pretty relaxing and I actually really like the other members in our group, even though most of them were older. Some of the old people were actually quite hilarious. But still, it made me realize I'm seeking more from my travel experiences. I didn't learn anything new from this tour and it didn't leave me with any lasting impressions. I would like to visit Shanghai again on my own / with friends though. I think it's a city that I'd really like.
BACK TO HONG KONG
The rest of the Hong Kong trip was enjoyable, but to be honest, nothing particularly memorable either. Ate some good food, wasted some money buying useless things, had to leave before we knew it.
When we got back to Hong Kong, we luckily switched to a more expensive room at the hotel that had a living room so I was able to sleep in even when my parents woke up way earlier than necessary in the morning. We also had access to the lounge which provided FREE ALCOHOL. YES, FREE ALCOHOL. It was really unfortunate that I had no one to drink with and since I'm not alcoholic enough to drink on my own, I didn't get to take full advantage of the lounge. I went to see if there were any cute international guys lurking there but it was mostly old people and families. Sigh, depressing.
We happened to be back when Miriam was having a concert, so we went to that. I no longer like her like I used to, but hearing her talk about life still makes me happy. She just has such a good attitude about things and it always reminds me of how important it is to remember to be happy.
Saw my cousin who moved there two months ago with her husband because his company relocated him there. We just sat around and drank that day and it was actually really nice. I am definitely looking for something different in my vacations now than before. I want to relax and spend time with friends or have something exciting or just learn something. This was a good vacation in the sense it was really relaxing, but it definitely doesn't compare to the Peru trip earlier this year.
During our tour, our HK guide talked about her Africa trip and it sounded REALLY cool. I used to have no interest in nature and animals, so I don't know when exactly this transition occurred, but I'm suddenly really interested in experiencing something like that. Life is short. There's so much to see and learn. Got to make the most of our travels.