Mmm, might as well update you guys as much as I can while I still have a stable internet connection.
Today started way early, as we are leaving Taiwan and jumping on a plane to Hong Kong. We rode on Cathay Pacific, a Hong Kong airline, and my god, for a two hour flight, it was a pimped out plane. Normally, any flight that doesn't really last more than an hour or two, won't provide any food, since it's like up and down in air time. We got a full plate of breakfast: a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, fruit salad, a cup of orange juice, some Gruyere with crackers, and a roll. Nice.
After arriving in Hong Kong, the airport is huge. We went through immigration and customs faster than Usain Bolt ran the 100m, so that was a plus. My dad is here for a meeting at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), so a contact of his picked us up from the airport and drove us nearly an hour to the mountainous campus of CUHK. We stayed in the Guest House, which for a University isn't half bad, but that isn't really saying anything...this place makes the Knight Center at WashU look like a 4-5 star hotel, but I guess that's not a fair comparison. Let's just say even the internet connection was iffy until I set up a VPN connection through the school's dial-up network. At least that didn't take too long.
Aside from the Hot and Humid weather that I'm already used to from travelling around in Asia, Hong Kong is still organized much like the British system, where the driver's seat is on the right side, and everyone drives on the left side of the road...disorienting...silly Brits. After dropping all the luggage in the rooms, we went to grab lunch...at the CUHK student cafeteria. Now before you all cringe at the fact that I went to get cafeteria food, remember, this isn't University of Michigan cafeteria food (I'm not sure all of that is edible, sorry guys.), this is Hong Kong. You go up to the counter, and you pay first for tickets of whatever it is you want to eat, and then go to the correct booth (noodles, stirfry, japanese, grill, etc) to get your food. I got Roasted Duck + Rice, cost about 20 Hong Kong dollars (that's about $2.60!). Hell, after this trip to their cafeteria, I wouldn't mind being a student of CUHK just for their food, haha.
So we came back after lunch, and went back to the Guest House. The entire campus is like carved into the mountainside, so the roads are all either uphill or downhill...tiring. I'd be in great shape just walking to class. There is nothing else on the TV, other than Cantonese children's cartoons, and AlJazeera...haha, at least I get my world news from AlJazeera.
While my dad went to give a seminar for professors about his research, my mom, my sister and I went to the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong to get some more HK dollars. Coolest thing ever: Hong Kong has a new 10 dollar bill, which is not made of paper. Rather, it's plastic and "washable." Man, these guys think of everything. Now people who are forgetful and put money through the wash can rest easy that their 10 dollar bills won't be phased what-so-ever by the wrath of their washing machines.
I tried contacting Jessica and Liz since they were both in Hong Kong at the time, but only Liz replied, and due to a dead cell phone that doesn't work in China/Hong Kong/Taiwan, I'm stranded. Bah, so close and yet so far.
We'll continue to explore Hong Kong tomorrow.
As expected, picture time!
CUHK Campus: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/40thanniversary/1024x768.jpg
CUHK Cafeteria: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ow6S8PmFACM/SWtEhUfOsnI/AAAAAAAAAFY/ZPkEmoqODUk/DSC00016.JPG
Roasted Duck + Rice: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v61/monophoto/leap%20day/2pm.jpg
Washable Money: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GZ0htXDae4lLsiuYWEOhu4iXlxT_e1w0HTxEJg4ZoIr6_tbWfM8ZON8ZqDEbRYU7vM9ZA64gq088DTGtHTtWkxzFD6sOQQThNgIUyzLJgOZMUBPzkjS-xIsFuyUUVTqieFrOe9nF8Mw9/s320/hk-money.jpg
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