Take a hike!

Today I went with my family to an island in Hong Kong called cheung chau. Its Approximately one hour by ferry. The "no cars allowed" island. I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of bikes,cats,and mosquitoes. It was a boiling 32 degrees and as I was frantically searching for an air conditioned restaurant.. I took some pictures along the way! Cheung chau island isn't a very fancy island, the apartments are small and not renovated, and the streets are bumpy and crooked. Yet that just made the place more unique. When we finally found an air conditioned restaurant, it was busy and pretty full. We had to share a table with an older couple and immediately started talking to them. They proved to know a lot about the island and guided us to a place we could hike. At first I was skeptical about hiking a long trail with too many stairs in 32 degree weather.. But this hike proved to be a gorgeous place for photos! We hiked all the way up to this small wall called the "The little wall of china". Unfortunately I now have exactly 16 mosquito bites.. But it was an overall good experience... Minus the Mosquitos. I'm on a ferry at the moment heading back towards home.. Jut another bus, ferry, and seawall away! ... Yay!

Transportation

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been able to post much lately! I've been out for the whole day everyday! Anyways, since I've been out I have seen so many new things! I appreciate transportation A LOT more now. In hong kong, ways of getting around differ greatly from Vancouver. It's so strange to me because now, I take a ferry just as much as I take a bus! Ferries, busses, and taxis are the way to go in hong kong.

First let me tell you about the busses. I was surprised to find that the busses have two levels,TVs, and are INTENSELY air conditioned. Since hong kong is so humid it's nice to get on a bus that feels like a fridge. This would of course not be helpful in Vancouver because well... You guys know how cold it is.

The constantly getting on a ferry thing is pretty new to me. For me, getting on a ferry meant I was going somewhere pretty far, and was only something I would do once in a while. But in hong kong, getting on a ferry is just an everyday thing that takes about 15 minutes! (depending on where you are headed of course) but the general amount of time is 15minutes. Most of the ferries are air conditioned as well. Although some just have natural Air conditioning... (opened windows). Personally, this 'natural air conditioning' doesn't seem to work.. Since the wind in hong kong is somewhat warm.

"If all else fails, take a taxi!" that's what I've said ever since we got to hong kong! During the first couple days here, my family had gotten somewhat lost a couple times. Being lost in a big city like hong kong is pretty scary actually. Taking a taxi always seems to be the easiest route. One thing about taxis. They drive.. Fast. One of the first taxis I was in was doing at least 75 in the city! Just normal city streets! Taxis in hong kong seem to enjoy weaving in and out of traffic tremendously. Finding a taxi isn't hard.. From what I see, there seems to be more taxis here than cars!

Taxis and busses seem to make up the road traffic in hong kong. Not only are there taxis, busses, and ferries.. There are also much more unique ways of transportation. Such as the victoria peak tram. Basically it's a train that takes you up a mountain using tracks and a single heavy duty wire. This type of transportation uses a counterbalance method. When one train is going up the mountain another is going down. The view is spectacular from the top of the mountain! I attached a video of the view from the very top!

Then there is the most used type of transportation. Possibly one of the slowest.. And most treacherous way.
...walking.
I'm telling you. Walking slowly in 30 degree weather... Oh man. Sweat slowly trickles down your face and back as you trudge up hills. The humidity of it all makes you want to jump into the nearest fountain. You spot a fountain. You just can't take it anymore.
YOU JUMP INTO IT!
....
dammit. the water is warm.

Victoria peak tram

"when all else fails.. take a taxi"

Flying again!

When I first got on the plane.. I thought this said "Pain progress" ... 

I'm finally on another plane now! Off to Hong Kong I go! Apparently it is going to be delayed because they found a problem with the plane.... Now I'm just a tad freaked out. I guess while I wait I'll watch these amusing animations of things not to do on the plane... It's around 3am Vancouver time at the moment! I'm starting to feel sick.. and somewhat tired. The pilot just informed us that the air conditioning isn't working.... Well isn't it my lucky day! One thing I found really cool about this plane was that they have live video footage of the take off.. And also live footage of whats beneath us while flying! It's pretty sweet to be able to see just how fast we are going! I guess it kind of makes up for the no air conditioning problem.. Almost. Not quite.

First stop... Tokyo!

I have finally gotten off my plane and have reached Narita airport in Tokyo! The flight was pretty smooth! I had chicken teriaki for lunch, coffee, chocolate... And More coffee. I found it somewhat hard to sleep in the plane so I ended up watching around three movies.. I would recommend tangled! The chameleon is adorable! Finding something to do for 10 hours is actually quite the task! I'm pretty sure I managed to play with the table that unfolds in front of me for a good 15minutes straight... I didn't find the mickey mouse video games very amusing and the radio stations were mostly Japanese.  Plus there are only so many movies one can bare to watch.. And only so many times one can re-read magazines with Japanese pop stars' faces plastered all over them. The staff here at the airport are very friendly and quite helpful when it comes to directions! I have just gone through the duty free area.. It reminds me of a larger and much more expensive daiso! The little shops within the airport have.. Shall I say.. Unique things? Maybe refer to the picture of the samurai men.... While walking through the airport I found many window displays of fake food and drinks! If there hadn't been glass between me and the displays I'm sure I would have tried to eat it.. Looks so realistic! Food seems to be quite expensive in Japan. I found a box of FOUR peaches that were 7000 yen... Which is around $70 Canadian... !!!! I think I'll stick to Costco when buying peaches....

Beginning my adventure

It's around 11:30 am Vancouver time! My family and I have managed to force our three carts of luggage towards the ramp where we continued to check in and ask repeatedly what time we are leaving. We are waiting patiently for our10hour flight to Narita, Tokyo! As I wait, I can't help but to overhear certain conversations and notice an astounding amount of cultures all around me! Sitting to my left there is an old Caucasian couple conversing about their trip to Germany. To my right there is a mother and son speaking quickly in Korean. In front of me there is a sweet Japanese couple kissing goodbye. Behind me there is a Spanish family opening packages. Then there is my family; the half Chinese half Caucasian family. We sit drinking coffee and listening to the chatter around us... Or well.. I am. My dad seems to be shouting Cantonese into his phone and my mom is reading a paper. I sit back quietly and observe. It is most interesting and almost amusing to watch as all this unfolds because there is a swirl of so many languages mixing together. It made me realize how I should really try to explore other cultures than my own. They all have something unique to offer.. We just have to make an effort to go out and explore them. I am extremely excited to be going around Asia! Since I have never been out of America, this will be a completely new experience for me.  Lets see how I do . :)