May 12th-13th, Hong Kong
The bigger you are on the street, the more right of way you have. The crosswalk light ticks like a bomb and if you're new to this and as nervous as I am, you run those 10 feet. Our bus driver stops on a dime and maneuvers the bus around the tight streets and other vehicles like a pro. The cars are nice; they're newer. Hong Kong is very wealthy; it's also crazy and fast-paced. Our hotel room is small with low beds and electricity the only turns on but you put your room key in a special slot. Its surprisingly cozy. Renae(my roommate) and I thought the A/C only had 2 levels: ice box or off. So the first night we sweated through.
On the southern side of the country, it is mostly seafood. You eat the food, ask later--if you really wanna know. I declined pigs feet, peeled a shrimp's head off, and tried squid. The first breakfast of Hong Kong was ramen, bacon, and spam in some sort of broth. The coffee was espresso with some sugar and cream. The place where we ate breakfast was open to the street. Much of our food came late.
We travel to St John's building for a briefing with Melinda Meador on the US Meat Export Federation and USDA Ag Trade. Some of the stats included were where the US stood with trading with China. The United States sits third in Hong Kong import of pork in the world.
The group also traveled to the Happy Trails Race Track and Ocean Park. Ocean Park was an amusement psrk park that I participated little in. The only ride I found safe enough to clamber on was The Rapid. It was a flotation tire that seated 9 and took you a long twists and turns and sprayed you with water--perfect for as hot a day as it was. And people taking pictures of us as we float by, screaming. People took pictures of us everywhere. It's like we were the exhibits rather than the seals, walruses, arctic fox, and penguins. We also got to look at a giant panda who was so effing adorable, I wanted you to take him home and count that as my check luggage.
Renae and I were asked to be in a picture with some random Asian dude. We also were purpose backgrounds of many other tourists photos. They just like people to know Americans do exist, I guess.
Renee and I went back to Happy Trails later that night to watch the actual races. Thousands of people cheering on 12 horses will give you a rush while you eat unsalted McDonald's french fries. There were so many ethnicities; we asked a nice British lady how to get into the general admission entrancd. She responded, "Go clear to the end if the stands and you shoildhristy and is of the stands and you should get right in. Have any problems just come back and I'll walk you in." Everyone was either dresses in ties and suits or shorts/jeans/tshirts. I love to know how much money goes through there in 1 night.
Continuing from that nigh,t Renae, Erin, and I managed to get lost in Hong Kong we want for close to 20 minutes for stopped at another hoyel. They lent us a map, pointed us in the right direction. We also kept our eyes on the golden dragon; he means to bring luck so I named him "Lucky". Go visit lucky in ever in hokage.
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