Ozone and Woobar

Fridays are Fridays... no matter where you are. Partying, clubbing, drinking... you know, the works.

Exchange students seem to really enjoy the clubbing scene here, especially in Lan Kwai Fong... (another post for another day).

Just so you know, I am not big on the whole partying scene. For one, I'm allergic to alcohol, so that already kills everything for me, LOL. I mean... okay, yeah, you could have fun sober, but really, it's not that fun when everyone around you is not sober. Oh, yeah, and getting back to CUHK after midnight is a mission too. -_-

Also, if you're trying to hit up bars or clubs in less than conservative clothing, public transportation, especially the MTR, can be a little... weird. I am not speaking from experience. :)

Anyway, I met up with a few other exchange students to go to some fancy bars on the Kowloon side of HK.

Ozone (Ritz Carlton Hong Kong,1 Austin Road West, Hong Kong, China (West Kowloon))

Ozone is the highest bar of the world. It is located on top of the Ritz Carlton on the 118th floor of the International Commerce Centre (ICC).

Fancy right?!

View from the Ozone

Even the restroom is fancy!

We didn't stay for too long. There was no cover fee, but a table was about 3000HKD (~$400!!) or something... Yeah, no. They did have little tables with no chairs scattered around. Most of them were taken though. We weren't trying to stand in the corner or anything, so we left.

Ozone had a dark, club feel to it, but it didn't have a dance floor. There's a part of the bar that's outside in a patio-like place. I guess because of the altitude, the wind was crazy out there!

I have to say though... it's a really nice place. Seriously, see it for yourself if you can!

--

Woobar (6/F W Hong Kong, No 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon Station, Hong Kong, China (West Kowloon))

Woobar is located in the W Hotel. Yup, it's another super fancy bar. There wasn't a lot of people, but it was a pretty nice place. No nice view, but the atmosphere is good.

It wasn't a dark bar or anything. It was pretty well-lit. I think it's one of those bars you go to just to relax after a long day.

Of course, everyone got a drink... and I got watermelon juice, hahaha. Nothing interesting happened... but we did get complimentary shots from the manager. :D

Note: The MTR stops running around 12AM. So, if  you have late night outings, you can either go home via mini buses or taxis. Mini buses are much cheaper, but you will have to kind of do some research ahead of time. Usually with mini buses, you get dropped off near the entrance of CUHK. So... you will have to walk back to your dorm because the school buses don't run after 11:30pm. :( Of course, if you take a taxi, you can get dropped off right in front of your dorm.

Jenn

Disclaimer: Most of these pictures are not mine.

My First Month in Hong Kong

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the overdue update. I've been busy exploring my new surroundings! My first month in Hong Kong passed by in a blink of an eye! I still have about eight more to go.

On academics...

I actually like my schedule very much. Most of my lectures are on Wednesdays, so my other days are pretty relaxing. My language classes are pretty easy. I'm taking two general education classes. One is called Evolution, Human Nature, and Behavior. The other is called Choices in Life: Self Development. The workload isn't heavy either. I just have to worry about a project, midterm, and final. My last class is Operations Management. I think with the exception of Operations Management, all my other classes are rather interesting and engaging.

Since I get out by 12:15PM three out of five days, I usually just hop on the train and explore Hong Kong.

On my living situation...

I'm living in United College, Chan Chun Ha hostel. My dorm room is alright. Some parts of the closet and walls have strange stains, but I don't really notice them anymore. I think my dorm was built in 2004. It's one of the newer ones, so I really wonder what the older ones look like.

The pictures above would be the view from my window. Yes, yes. I get to wake up to lovely construction every single day. -_- I guess I should be grateful though because the people that live on the other side of my dorm look at a side of a hill. It's like a high wall, so they don't really get sunshine. I know some people that have nice lake views, but they live in other dorms.

Canteen food is rather bland here. The better canteens are near the quad, but I don't always feel like going all the way there to eat (not that it's really far). I haven't tried the one near my dorm because I have heard nothing but bad things about it. And... every time I step in there and look at the menu, I always end up walking out because there's nothing that I want to eat. The good thing is that there's a kitchen, so I can cook my own food.

My room mate is a freshmen. She's only 17. We have like this four year age gap going on, but she's really nice. She's part of my dorm's student association. They basically plan activities for the dorm and what not. She's always out past like 2AM doing her activities. Poor thing.

Anyway, one thing I realized is that the clubs in CUHK vote for cabinet members in the beginning of the school year. I just find it strange because we usually do it at the end of the year in America. That way, the members kind of know who is capable of what and if the potential people can work together. o_o

On exploring the city...

I haven't really went to many places that were worthy of being blogged about. I went to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha, but I forgot to bring my camera that day. =( I had to use my phone's camera, which takes less than stellar pictures. Anyway, it wasn't all that interesting to me. I went with my uncle and his friend. I think there are several ways to reach our destination, but we took the cable car. For those of you that don't know what it is, you get transported from point A to point B in a container that is suspended in the air. I think we were in the cable car for at least half an hour. If you're afraid of heights, I think they also have boats that can take you there. Overall, I wasn't impressed, but it's still one of those places that you should go to if you're in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is famous for its street food so that's what I've been eating a lot. :p Most of the foods that I've tried have been delicious, but I would say that these street vendors aren't very sanitary. I think most people already know that and don't mind. I have a weak stomach, so I'm usually a little hesitant to try some things.

I LOVE egg waffles. It's like crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I love that combination!! It comes in different flavors too. Again, it's one of those snacks that you have to try if you're in HK. 

On shopping...

I haven't done a lot of shopping for myself. I think most of my money goes to food and transportation. There are places where clothes, shoes, etc. are really cheap, but you usually get what you pay for. The quality is so so, and the style is kind of strange (at least that's what I think). Other than that, if you go to a regular shopping center/mall, I think most of the prices are similar to America. It's just that we don't have to pay for tax here. If you're going to shop in HK, don't assume everything is cheaper than US. I guess it would be smart to do some research before hand. I think my friend said that certain Clinique items in HK are double the US price. o_O

I think the single most useful thing that I brought with me from America is my universal power strip, so if you're going to study abroad, please keep that in mind! I think I only have two wall outlets here which wouldn't have been enough for me. I currently use four of six of the outlets on my power strip.

Until next time...

Jenn

Shenzhen

I spent my first long weekend in Shenzhen.

Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) was on September 30 (Sunday), and the National Day of People's Republic of China (國慶節) was on October 1 (Monday)... So, to make up for Mid-Autumn Festival, we had October 2 (Tuesday) off too. Four day weekend. ^__^

Mid-Autumn Festival

 
 

For those of you who do not know what Mid-Autumn Festival is, it is a traditional holiday celebrated on the 15th of the 8th month on the Chinese lunar calendar. As such, the date usually varies from year to year.

I'd probably compare this holiday to Thanksgiving Day of the States. Traditionally, family members get together to eat moon cake (月餅) and appreciate the bright full moon. A full moon is a symbol of peace, prosperity, and family reunion, so that's why many family reunions take place on this day.

Some other customs include playing with lanterns (燈籠) and viewing dragon and lion dances (舞獅舞龍). I think it's also a popular custom for people also eat rice balls (tang yuan - 湯圓) on this day. Tang yuan is supposed to sound like tuan yuan (團圓), which means reunite in Chinese. It's kind of like... family members reunite to eat rice balls.

After school on the September 28 (Friday), I left to Shenzhen (深圳). The best way to go to SZ from CUHK would be to take the East Rail Line from University Station straight to Luo Wu, which is where you would cross the border from HK to SZ. It takes about half an hour. But, that doesn't include the time that you need to go from your dorm to the train station (add another 30 minutes -___-). You will need a China visa to cross the border, so do try to get that done at the Chinese Embassy or Consulate General of your home country.

Luo Wu is the busiest border crossing in HK. A lot of people live in SZ but go to school/work in HK because crossing the border isn't really a big hassle or anything. But, you can be sure that the day before any holiday, trying to cross the border is going to be a mission. A lot of HK people have family in China, so everyone's rushing back to be reunited with them. So, be prepared to wait in line for a million hours... OH! And, if you have a student MTR card,  you usually get 50% off train fare, unless you want to take a train to any of the border crossing places. It's full fare, and I think no matter where you're coming from it's at least 24HKD(?).

The border crossing on a normal day

The border crossing before and after holidays

I went to SZ because my aunt and a few other cousins from my mom's side live there. Like I said, going there and coming back was terrible... When we cross the border from HK to SZ, we go through the foreigner channel, so the wait might be bad but not unbearable. But, from SZ to HK, I think we wait in line with all the other HK people... or is it just me? I had an HKID because I was staying there for about a year, but I also had to bring my passport. Hm, I'm not sure now.

Anyway, on the day of Mid-Autumn Festival, I had dinner and moon cake. This is pretty standard for all Asian families. Back home, we'd eat rice balls too, but we didn't do that here. This was probably the only time I felt homesick. I was kind of teary-eyed after dinner because I realized that everyone was with their mom and dad, except for me. :(

National Day of the People's Republic of China

The National Day of the People's Republic of China is celebrated every year on October 1.

I went to Shenzhen's Splendid China Folk Village (锦绣中华民俗村) on the 1st. According to Wikipedia, it "is a theme park including two areas (Splendid China Miniature Park & China Folk Culture Village) located in Shenzhen, People's Republic of China. The park's theme reflects the history, culture, art, ancient architecture, customs and habits of various nationalities. It is one of the world's largest scenery parks in the amount of scenarios reproduced."

There are 56 ethnic groups in China, and this theme park is built to help people get a taste of each one. Literally just a little taste though. There are performances scheduled throughout the day. You get to watch different folk dances or special rituals. You can buy different foods and souvenirs specific to certain ethnic groups as well.

I went to the Splendid China Folk Village the day of China's National Day... There were SO much people everywhere and a lot of them were waving China flags. I guess this is the day to be extra proud of being Chinese, haha.

This place is really more for sight-seeing. For those who are curious about China culture, this place might be of interest to you. Be prepared for a lot of walking and don't miss the special performances.

That's all I really have to say about this place, LOL. :( The Splendid China Folk Village was highly recommended by my uncle. He said that it's a really fun, interesting place. I went with my cousins (who are from China) and we were like... how is this place fun... lolol.

I left SZ on October 2. As expect, the Luo Wu Border Crossing was not a pleasant experience. At least, it only takes half an hour to get back to CUHK.

Side note: My skin got really bad ever since landing in HK. I had acne back in the States, but it got TEN TIMES worse in HK. Ugh. :(

Jenn