Life's too short... Travel the World!

Life's too short... Travel the World!: March 2013

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Ten things you should know about Hong Kong

Obligatory Remarks: My apologies for not posting in a while. I have been sick this week, but I can't explain the past year of late posts by anything other than procrastination.


With that, I'd like to give you a list of ten things that you should know about Hong Kong, and my experiences here. By no means to I consider myself an expert, but these are just some things I have found here, and thought you might be interested to know.

1. Hong Kong is not it's own country, nor is it China - it exists in an on-the-fence state.
          - It used to be a British ruled territory, with land leased from China.
          - In 1997, the British handed it back to the Chinese
          - Hong Kong is now a SAR - Special Administrative Region of China
                    (So technically yes, it's China)
          - It's governed independently, enjoys different freedoms, and seems like it's own country.

In layman's terms - it's hard to explain. 

2. People speak Cantonese here. 
          - Almost everyone I've met can speak some degree of English - very few people I've met can't. 
          - A large majority of the population can speak Mandarin as well
                    (due to proximity with the Mandarin-speaking mainland)
          - The Chinese characters mean the exact same as Mandarin, but are pronounced differently.
                    (Written Cantonese and Mandarin are the same thing)
          - Most public announcements / signs are in Canto, Mando, and Eng. (Very Helpful)
          - Cantonese is difficult to learn. Trust me, I'm trying.

3. You don't need to speak Cantonese.
          - It truly is an amazing city, as a large majority of people here speak English.
          - People speak it so much, that entire universities offer courses all in English.
          - It's actually difficult to learn cantonese because of the overwhelming English.

4. The MTR is the best and worst thing in the history of the world; mostly just the best.
          - It's the subway system of Hong Kong; it goes everywhere, and is always on time.
          - You get to be touched in ways bordering on sexual harassment during rush hour.
          - It all operates on a system called the Octopus Card, and it is amazing
                     - You load your card with cash, and can use it anywhere - not just the subway
                     - Almost every restaurant and store has it, you can buy things from beer to ipods.
          - Being able to stand without holding the hand rail, signals you've been here too long.
          -  Who doesn't want to tseng mukkao gun tsei mun? (Tsing buyao kaojin chu mun).

5. It can be incredibly exhausting.
          - One week of being in the city makes me want to lock myself in a floatation tank.
          - It's loud, there's light everywhere at all types of the night,
          - There is seldom space to swing your arms around (sound of music style).
          - Take a break now and again as you'll need it, but it's definitely worth the turmoil.

6. It's not just a metropolis - there's nature here too!
          - A 30 minute Minibus ride away, and you can be on amazing beaches.
          - There's plenty of hiking trails, and plenty of forest lands; check the New Territories.

7. The food is out of this world.
          - Dim sum. Nuff' said.
          - There's plenty of world-wide food. We regularly go for Mexican, Western, Thai, Chinese, etc.
          - It's dirt cheap (most of it). Unless you go to SoHo; then you'll pay an arm and a leg.

8. People are nice - unless you go to the ladies market...
          - People are welcoming and accepting, and are generally respectful of you...
          - Though there have been times when I've been pushed back onto the MTR train I just exited.
          - If you ever want to be gutted for your money, visit the ladies market in Mongkok.
          - If you'd like a discount, speak any word of cantonese, or flash your HKID.

9. You will wreck your bank account.
          - Not much to say to this one, I don't know where my money goes half the time.
          - Never put a lot of money on your octopus - it disappears 4X faster than normal.

10. It's amazing, you should go.
          - Overall, it's probably my favorite City in the world. As exhausting as it can be sometimes, it's a fantastic place to live, with a bunch of things happening all the time.
          - If you're worried about not fitting in here, people are very accommodating  and the expat community is huge - I doubt you'll have a problem.

Monday 11 March 2013

Une autre langue.

Alors, Je veux écriver en français, parce que je veux améliorer mon français - c'est une bonne raison, non?

Maintenant, je fais mes devoirs (pour biologie, chemie, francais et chinois - qui sait que j'ai devoirs... je suis une etudie l'exchange!). Apres ca, je vais aller au une restaurant dans Central en Hong Kong, pour mange tout la norriture je peux mange. La restaurant a trois étage pour manger, et une menu qui est plus grande, je ne saurai pas quoi choisir!

Oh, et evidement desole pour l'errors gramatique, fautes d'orthographe, etc etc. Je parle habituellement - pas écrive - mais je veux le changer.

Bref, j'ai faim, donc je vais aller manger. A bientot!

Tuesday 5 March 2013

Taiwan in 4 Minutes or Less

Please excuse me for not posting an update in a while - I skipped class to go to Taiwan.

Instead of the regular picture taking, I decided to use the video function on my phone - I think it turned out well - let me know what you think!



Make sure to watch in HD for the full experience! Also since I spent forever uploading it to an HD server. Stay tuned for more updates!

Also, here's a picture of me riding a giraffe.