This past weekend we went to the island of Macau, which is basically the Vegas of Asia. We took an hour ferry ride from Hong Kong and stayed in the Sofitel hotel, which was damn nice! Macau was a Portuguese colony up until about 10 years ago, so it's full of beautiful old Portuguese architecture. The hotels and casinos are pretty nice, and Steve Wynn invested $1 billion into the Wynn hotel which is one of the nicest hotels there, after the Venetian (which is 3 times the size of the Venetian in Vegas!) Not only was there this crazy water/fire show in front of the Wynn hotel, there was a dragon show in the lobby. A huge dragon came out of the floor, and then the ceiling opened up to a ring of fire. That Steve man is creative! Macau is nice for a day trip, but isn't anything special compared to Vegas. There's no real nightlife and unless I'm in the mood to gamble with some real serious old Chinese men, I probably won't need to go again.
Today was my first day of class. It was in the city only 2 MTR stops from my apartment, 15 min, but I had to go to the campus first to register, which is a 45 minute subway ride. After getting lost and following 2 girls with backpacks hoping they would lead me to the right place (they did) I reached CUHK, which is this enormous campus on top of a mountain. It consists of new and modern buildings, and is really spread out with bus stops all around campus. My evening class had around 20 students, and was a mixture of locals and exchange students. I'm the only American so far, but I met some cool people from Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium.
Our apartment is basically in the times square of NY, but much crazier. Causeway Bay is considered the shopping district of HK, so I walk out of the apartment directly into madness...hundreds and hundreds of people everywhere! I love it though. I have no tv and all my classes are at night, so I'll be getting lost and exploring as much as I can during the day. Some things I've noticed about Hong Kong so far:
-Everyone has fancy footwear and no one wears flipflops. I guess flipflops are considered shoes worn inside the home..but what am I gonna do with my 15 pairs?!
-Hong Kong women are obsessed with breast enhancement. Everywhere you go there are ads for bust serum. The massage lady even told she wished her breasts were like mine. Umm, awkward?
-Everyone is really nice and helpful. I was expecting the complete opposite, but I haven't met one rude person yet. Well, maybe the security guard in my building. I always smile and say hi and he always just gives me the same hard face. What's up with that Mr. Yung!
-The food is bangin, and cheap! I eat breakfast at home, but lunch and dinner combined costs me approximately $10 total. I already found 4 places around my apt that I like, but I really haven't had anything bad yet (I stay away from frog legs and chicken feet). I've also become slightly obsessed with Haagan Daaz green tea ice cream. Why the f don't they have that in the US??
-Tea is a staple with every meal. They don't give you water, they give you tea. I've been drinking so much tea I'm constantly wired, going to the bathroom, and am having a hard time falling asleep. Maybe that's why Hong Kong is so efficient?
-Everyone is ridiculously thin and I haven't seen any gyms so far. Maybe it's the tea?
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