I cannot believe that my journey in Hong Kong has pretty much come to an end. Tomorrow I have my last final, and then I am leaving to go backpacking around the mainland for an entire month! I have put so much planning into this trip and feel so prepared that the only thing I am worried about is how I am going to pack. During my trip, I am also going to meet up with Sarah Chappel!
Because China has blocked many websites, I will not be able to access Facebook or Google, which includes my Email. This also means I will not be able to blog along the way, so when I come home, expect a months worth of blogging (of course I will not be able to do it in one blog, it will probably take me several). Below, I have posted a link to a map I created which includes specific travel detains and some things I plan to do along the way.
China Backpacking Trip
Now, I am going to go paint my toenails red for good luck! See you in a month.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Done With School!!!...Almost...
Before I begin this blog, I just want to write that I left out a crucial part of my trip to the Philippines, and I want to write about it now because it is something I don’t want to forget. When you fly on Cebu Pacific Airlines, they play games. They claim they are the only airline that does this, which frankly, I do not doubt. Troy, one of the guys who went on that trip, said that last time he flew on Cebu Pacific, the flight attendants sang karaoke, and it wasn't good. They did play a game though where you had to hold up whatever item they said. Of course, out of my competitive nature, I won. I won this cute little toiletry case with their logo on it. I also won the game when I was flying back, but gave my prize away to an Australian girl named Ivy that I met waiting in the airport. Ivy actually is studying at Hong Kong University right now as an exchange student. We became quick friends as we bonded over our peeling backs and even started to peel each other. It was gross, yet still kind of cool.
Okay…so I haven’t blogged for quite a while because I just finished school—except for the two Chinese finals I have next week. Last week though, I literally stayed up for two days straight studying for my finance final (I maybe got four hours of sleep) and I still don’t think I did well. Apparently, most of the exchange students taking finance here are on the verge of failing. I went to my teacher’s office hours and she kept saying things like, “don’t focus too much on the math because from what I have observed in the past, exchange students are not nearly as good at the math as local students.” Which I also think is true. One of my friends, Ryan, is a math major and told me that every local student in his class always gets 100 % assignments and test. My professor told me to focus on more of the conceptual stuff, which was still difficult given that my notes suck. I have things written down in my notes such as, “you must lost customers and suppliers and loss competitive decision,” and, “the firm will more likely in bankrupt”. I spent most of my time deciphering what she was saying in class rather than taking anything in. And of course I couldn't tell her that I didn't understand her English, so I basically had to teach myself everything. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens…
Besides my finals, last weekend I visited Tai Po Market, Tsang Tai Uk Walled Village, Man Mo Temple, and Lan Kwai Fong (during the day). When I was at Tsang Tai Uk with Lena, she said, “you know you have lived in HK for too long when these things start becoming tourist attractions.” She said that because the walled village looked just like a cement wall with a parking lot. We weren’t even sure if we were at the right place. We only stayed there for a little bit. It is places like this, though, that really show you the contrast in lifestyles in Hong Kong. Other than that, I have gotten to the point where I really feel like Hong Kong is my home. I am not afraid to go out by myself, I know the city really well, and I have done almost everything (some stuff I have saved to do though when Sarah Chappel comes to visit at the end of May.) Don't worry though, even though Hong Kong is my home now, and I love it, I could not ever permanently live here because it is so humid and you can never see the stars.
Okay…so I haven’t blogged for quite a while because I just finished school—except for the two Chinese finals I have next week. Last week though, I literally stayed up for two days straight studying for my finance final (I maybe got four hours of sleep) and I still don’t think I did well. Apparently, most of the exchange students taking finance here are on the verge of failing. I went to my teacher’s office hours and she kept saying things like, “don’t focus too much on the math because from what I have observed in the past, exchange students are not nearly as good at the math as local students.” Which I also think is true. One of my friends, Ryan, is a math major and told me that every local student in his class always gets 100 % assignments and test. My professor told me to focus on more of the conceptual stuff, which was still difficult given that my notes suck. I have things written down in my notes such as, “you must lost customers and suppliers and loss competitive decision,” and, “the firm will more likely in bankrupt”. I spent most of my time deciphering what she was saying in class rather than taking anything in. And of course I couldn't tell her that I didn't understand her English, so I basically had to teach myself everything. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens…
Besides my finals, last weekend I visited Tai Po Market, Tsang Tai Uk Walled Village, Man Mo Temple, and Lan Kwai Fong (during the day). When I was at Tsang Tai Uk with Lena, she said, “you know you have lived in HK for too long when these things start becoming tourist attractions.” She said that because the walled village looked just like a cement wall with a parking lot. We weren’t even sure if we were at the right place. We only stayed there for a little bit. It is places like this, though, that really show you the contrast in lifestyles in Hong Kong. Other than that, I have gotten to the point where I really feel like Hong Kong is my home. I am not afraid to go out by myself, I know the city really well, and I have done almost everything (some stuff I have saved to do though when Sarah Chappel comes to visit at the end of May.) Don't worry though, even though Hong Kong is my home now, and I love it, I could not ever permanently live here because it is so humid and you can never see the stars.
A women peeling pomelos, one of my new favorite fruits.
Tsang Tai Uk Walled Village. A Hakka village which took 20 years to build.
Inside the Ancestral Hall which is currently under construction.
This is a small courtyard between the houses which people still live in.
Man Wo Temple. So much incense that it is hard to breathe.
Free incense!
Central-Mid-Levels Escalator. It is the longest escalator in the world. It is not continuous though.
LKF! The famous bar area in Central.
LKF during the day.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Pilipinas aka Land of The Most Delicious Mangos
Our day started out very early because we had to leave I House at 5:00 am in order to make it to the airport on time. The MTR was not running that early, so we took a taxi to Sha Tin were we then took the bus. Surprisingly, the bus was full. We had to get on, so instead of standing for an hour in the aisle, some of us just sat on the floor.
When we arrived in Manila, it was hot! The airport was empty; which was a huge difference from the Hong Kong airport. One thing I immediately disliked about the Philippines is how they charge you for everything! We had to pay a fee to get into the airport terminal to catch our connecting flight. Good thing some of the people I went with had pesos so we could pay. Other than that, the Philippines is super cheap. Cheaper than any country I have ever been too.
When we arrived in Busuanga, we soon realized there were no beaches and just a small town about 30 minutes drive away from the shack of an airport. After we got a hostel for the night, we searched the town for some deals to go to the nearby islands. We ended up getting a deal where we got a boat and a boatman for four days to take us wherever we wanted to go. They also would cook our meals because there were no restaurants or places to eat on any of the islands, and we were planning on island hopping the whole time. All of this was only $1700 pesos each ($35 USD).
Before I went to bed, I desperately needed a shower because not only was I hot and sweaty from the weather, but we were going to be staying in nipa huts for the next three nights where there would be no showers. On my way to the bathroom, I ran into a man who asked me in is thick accent if I was looking for a good time. Confused and not exactly sure what he said, I replied with a “what?” And then he asked me again if I was looking for a good time. Maybe he didn’t understand exactly what he was saying so after I said “no thank you,” I realized I was wrong. He then said, “if you want, I pay.” I was thoroughly freaked out and just pretended like I didn’t hear what he just said, and then he told me to let him know if changed my mind. What creepy man. Other than that guy, everyone else we met the entire time we were there were some of the nicest people ever.
The next day we all woke up bright and early to the sound of roosters crowing and pigs being slaughtered. Then it was off to the local market where we did our shopping for the next four days. We bought tons of mangos, vegetables, fish, pork, and crab. One kilo of crab was only $100 pesos (that is only like $2 USD!) We also made sure to buy tons and tons of water. Then we hopped on our boat were our boatmen took us an hour and a half away to Banana Island. We had two boatmen, Randell who was the 19 year old captain and Eric who was 18 years old. Randell looked about 19, but all of us are certain that Eric was lying and was only 14 years old!
Once we got to Banana Island, we settled ourselves in a nipa hut and hung out on the beach while Randell prepared dinner. None of us were expecting the feast we got, and all of the food was so fresh and delicious.
After dinner we watched the sunset, and then I laid in a hammock for a wile while listening to my iPod and watching the stars. Before I went to bed, I rinsed myself off with fresh water from a bucket and fell asleep to the sound of this weird fish. At first, none of us knew what the sound was and we thought it was some kind of insect or rodent in our room, but the next day, Randell informed us that it was a fish and we didn’t need to worry.
The next morning I woke up to a crowing rooster again, this time I was certain it was in our hut, but it wasn’t…it was just right outside our door. Once we ate breakfast, we went to Wally Wally Island where there was only one hut, which meant we got an entire island to ourselves. After we got situated, we headed over to Malcapuya Beach for the day. We spent the afternoon swimming and laying in the sun and ten we headed back to Wally Wally for dinner and the sunset.
We decided to stay another night on Wally Wally and take advantage of having our private island. So all day we just hung out on the beach. Some island hopping tour came by and hung out on our island for a few hours. There was this one little boy—about two years old—who got me confused with is mom while I was laying in the sand with a hat over my face. He was running towards me yelling “mommy, mommy!” Their boatman, who was playing with the boy, was trying to hold him back, but he was certain I was his mom even when I got up and looked at it, which made it hilarious to watch as he was wrestling with the boatman. Then I spotted his mom and pointed at her. The boy looked over, saw she was his real mom, and ran to her. It was pretty funny. I guess he was confused because we were both tan with dark brown hair and black swim suits.
As the sun was setting, we got Randell and Eric to take us out fishing. We went to a nice calm spot where we used just a line with a hook and weights and some of our squid as bait. It was really relaxing and fun. I didn’t catch any fish though because I couldn’t pull the line up fast enough, but Eric caught about four fish in a row!
The next day was our last day before heading back to Coron Town. At this point we had run out of food and all we had left was enough mangos for each of us to have one for breakfast. We set out early in the morning and went to explore Coron Island.
First we started out at a snorkeling at Skeleton Ship Wreck were we saw part of a ship wreck and some really colorful corals. Then we went to Banul Beach, and finally to Kayangan Lake. Kayangan Lake is the cleanest lake in Asia and you can snorkel there. There were no fish in the lake, but it was pretty awesome because there were these huge cliffs that went straight down into the water and the water was so clear you could see the sun beaming through. We wanted to swim around the whole lake, but about a quarter of the way we got too tired. The lake didn’t look that big from the point we started, but when we swam around one corner, it went on forever and we realized we would never make it.
When we got back to Coron Town, we tipped our boatmen and went straight to dinner because we were all starving. After dinner we met a Filipino woman working at our hostel. She was telling us how she wants to go to Canada to work and make money and then come back to Coron and start her own business. She said that it is hard to make money in Coron and her monthly salary was only $6,000 pesos! That is only $130 USD. We had tipped our boatmen about $700 pesos which was really nothing to us, but to them, it was probably more than they made in those entire four days. It is crazy how different things are in the Philippines from the US, and it is things like that which really make me appreciate everything I have.
On the last day, I woke up, ate some breakfast, and then took a trike to a souvenir shop so I could get a magnet (I collect magnets from all of the countries I have been too.) Then I went to buy some mangos and bananas because I was going to have a long layover in Manila before my flight to Hong Kong. Little did I know, you cannot take mangos even on domestic flights so I had to eat them before I could get on the plane. I ended up just giving most of them away to locals.
When I got home around 2:00 am, I realized I had lost my pone. So the next day I had to get a new one. Luckily, phones here are really cheap, and after filing a police report for my lost sim card, PCCW replaced it for free, gave me my old pone number, and transferred all of my prepaid minutes.
Overall, my time in the Philippines was fantastic and I definitely would love to go back someday.
When we arrived in Manila, it was hot! The airport was empty; which was a huge difference from the Hong Kong airport. One thing I immediately disliked about the Philippines is how they charge you for everything! We had to pay a fee to get into the airport terminal to catch our connecting flight. Good thing some of the people I went with had pesos so we could pay. Other than that, the Philippines is super cheap. Cheaper than any country I have ever been too.
When we arrived in Busuanga, we soon realized there were no beaches and just a small town about 30 minutes drive away from the shack of an airport. After we got a hostel for the night, we searched the town for some deals to go to the nearby islands. We ended up getting a deal where we got a boat and a boatman for four days to take us wherever we wanted to go. They also would cook our meals because there were no restaurants or places to eat on any of the islands, and we were planning on island hopping the whole time. All of this was only $1700 pesos each ($35 USD).
Before I went to bed, I desperately needed a shower because not only was I hot and sweaty from the weather, but we were going to be staying in nipa huts for the next three nights where there would be no showers. On my way to the bathroom, I ran into a man who asked me in is thick accent if I was looking for a good time. Confused and not exactly sure what he said, I replied with a “what?” And then he asked me again if I was looking for a good time. Maybe he didn’t understand exactly what he was saying so after I said “no thank you,” I realized I was wrong. He then said, “if you want, I pay.” I was thoroughly freaked out and just pretended like I didn’t hear what he just said, and then he told me to let him know if changed my mind. What creepy man. Other than that guy, everyone else we met the entire time we were there were some of the nicest people ever.
The prop plane we took from Manila to Busuanga.
This was the airport in Busuanga.
Some home in Coron Town. We stayed right by here the first night.
Some of the town.
Me with some Filipino kids.
The next day we all woke up bright and early to the sound of roosters crowing and pigs being slaughtered. Then it was off to the local market where we did our shopping for the next four days. We bought tons of mangos, vegetables, fish, pork, and crab. One kilo of crab was only $100 pesos (that is only like $2 USD!) We also made sure to buy tons and tons of water. Then we hopped on our boat were our boatmen took us an hour and a half away to Banana Island. We had two boatmen, Randell who was the 19 year old captain and Eric who was 18 years old. Randell looked about 19, but all of us are certain that Eric was lying and was only 14 years old!
Once we got to Banana Island, we settled ourselves in a nipa hut and hung out on the beach while Randell prepared dinner. None of us were expecting the feast we got, and all of the food was so fresh and delicious.
After dinner we watched the sunset, and then I laid in a hammock for a wile while listening to my iPod and watching the stars. Before I went to bed, I rinsed myself off with fresh water from a bucket and fell asleep to the sound of this weird fish. At first, none of us knew what the sound was and we thought it was some kind of insect or rodent in our room, but the next day, Randell informed us that it was a fish and we didn’t need to worry.
The fruit and veggie area of the market.
The meat area. We bought pretty much all of the white meat of the chickens you see here.
Eric on the left and Randell on the right.
Welcome to Banana Island.
There were tons of hammocks on the island.
Victoria, Troy, and I each bought our own bottle of rum so we could be pirates over the next couple of days. Each bottle was only $75 pesos...or $1.60 USD. And it was pretty good rum.
The first dinner Randell cooked for us. So yummy!
I took this picture for all of my blog readers. I miss you guys!
Before I fell asleep, I looked up and said “I am sleeping in a hut.” I had to take this picture so you could see what I saw right before I shut my eyes and fell asleep. Pretty awesome.
The next morning I woke up to a crowing rooster again, this time I was certain it was in our hut, but it wasn’t…it was just right outside our door. Once we ate breakfast, we went to Wally Wally Island where there was only one hut, which meant we got an entire island to ourselves. After we got situated, we headed over to Malcapuya Beach for the day. We spent the afternoon swimming and laying in the sun and ten we headed back to Wally Wally for dinner and the sunset.
Who can complain about a rooster waking you up when you open the door to your hut and this is what you see?
This was our island...Wally Wally.
The beach on Wally Wally Island.
This was the hut we stayed in. We slept in the top, and one night it was so windy, you could feel the whole hut swaying back and forth.
Hammock relaxation.
Malcapuya Beach.
We decided to stay another night on Wally Wally and take advantage of having our private island. So all day we just hung out on the beach. Some island hopping tour came by and hung out on our island for a few hours. There was this one little boy—about two years old—who got me confused with is mom while I was laying in the sand with a hat over my face. He was running towards me yelling “mommy, mommy!” Their boatman, who was playing with the boy, was trying to hold him back, but he was certain I was his mom even when I got up and looked at it, which made it hilarious to watch as he was wrestling with the boatman. Then I spotted his mom and pointed at her. The boy looked over, saw she was his real mom, and ran to her. It was pretty funny. I guess he was confused because we were both tan with dark brown hair and black swim suits.
As the sun was setting, we got Randell and Eric to take us out fishing. We went to a nice calm spot where we used just a line with a hook and weights and some of our squid as bait. It was really relaxing and fun. I didn’t catch any fish though because I couldn’t pull the line up fast enough, but Eric caught about four fish in a row!
Sunset on Wally Wally.
The next day was our last day before heading back to Coron Town. At this point we had run out of food and all we had left was enough mangos for each of us to have one for breakfast. We set out early in the morning and went to explore Coron Island.
First we started out at a snorkeling at Skeleton Ship Wreck were we saw part of a ship wreck and some really colorful corals. Then we went to Banul Beach, and finally to Kayangan Lake. Kayangan Lake is the cleanest lake in Asia and you can snorkel there. There were no fish in the lake, but it was pretty awesome because there were these huge cliffs that went straight down into the water and the water was so clear you could see the sun beaming through. We wanted to swim around the whole lake, but about a quarter of the way we got too tired. The lake didn’t look that big from the point we started, but when we swam around one corner, it went on forever and we realized we would never make it.
When we got back to Coron Town, we tipped our boatmen and went straight to dinner because we were all starving. After dinner we met a Filipino woman working at our hostel. She was telling us how she wants to go to Canada to work and make money and then come back to Coron and start her own business. She said that it is hard to make money in Coron and her monthly salary was only $6,000 pesos! That is only $130 USD. We had tipped our boatmen about $700 pesos which was really nothing to us, but to them, it was probably more than they made in those entire four days. It is crazy how different things are in the Philippines from the US, and it is things like that which really make me appreciate everything I have.
The care taker talking to Eric at Skeleton Ship Wreck.
Banul Beach. This was our boat.
Me and Victoria. There was a ton of limestone at Banul Beach.
Kayangan Lake. The fresh water was so nice to swim in.
This was the dock around part of the lake.
On the last day, I woke up, ate some breakfast, and then took a trike to a souvenir shop so I could get a magnet (I collect magnets from all of the countries I have been too.) Then I went to buy some mangos and bananas because I was going to have a long layover in Manila before my flight to Hong Kong. Little did I know, you cannot take mangos even on domestic flights so I had to eat them before I could get on the plane. I ended up just giving most of them away to locals.
This is the highway in Coron Town.
Michael, Caitlyn, and I on a trike.
When I got home around 2:00 am, I realized I had lost my pone. So the next day I had to get a new one. Luckily, phones here are really cheap, and after filing a police report for my lost sim card, PCCW replaced it for free, gave me my old pone number, and transferred all of my prepaid minutes.
Overall, my time in the Philippines was fantastic and I definitely would love to go back someday.
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