Still in Hong Kong...

I'm currently sitting in the Hong Kong airport because 3 people are very stupid and missed their flight to Beijing and now have to wait until 3am until the next one. Retards. Someone smack those bastards.

But let's rewind before I get to that point.

Back to Shanghai.

We took the bus from the airport over to the city center of Shanghai to my parents' hotel. The bus was less than $2 for a little bit over an hour ride. We met a French guy on the bus who asked us for directions to his hotel which my mom became the translator between him and the bus driver. Mom's somewhat tri-lingual as she's managed to pick up quite a bit of Mandarin in the past years. Good for her and helpful since Dad doesn't really speak Mandarin (he speaks English to his Shanghai staff). Dad speaks embarassingly loud in English in public but since I haven't seen them in awhile, I let it slide.

The bus ride gave me a chance to gather my first impressions of China. I've been to Hong Kong twice but that was when it was still under British rule (it was returned to the Chinese government in 1997). Right outside the Pudong airport are a bunch of empty high rise apartments which are supposed to fill up within the next few years because of a growing number of international corporations moving into Shanghai. The city was congested as most big cities are so that wasn't a big shocker. There are a ton of high rise buildings, ships, and PEOPLE. And bicycles! Jesus, a shitload of bicycles.

When we got into town, we grabbed some lunch first because Dad needed to get back to the office and mom and I went back to the hotel. It was also HOT and HUMID as a mofo, I'm guessing the pollution hasn't been helping matters. Crossing the street can be hazardous since there are not only a ton of bicycles but scooters, buses and cars as well. Mom and Dad actually got hit by a scooter a few days into their trip but Mom was the one that ended up with the injuries. Poor Mom.

The hotel is designed for long term business residents. I got a cot in the "sitting area." Sigh, still no space of my own. At least the hotel was clean and I didn't have to hear my parents snoring. I was dead tired for jet lag so Mom let me nap a bit before Dad came to pick us up for dinner.

Two of the girls that works for Dad offered to treat us to dinner which was really sweet. I was able to try some typical Shanghai dishes which included a steamed egg dish that was really quite good. It had the consistency of tofu with mushrooms and clams. I don't usually like clams but it was subtle enough for me to enjoy.

One thing that is cheap in Shanghai are the taxis which start at 10RMB which is less than $2 US. It doesn't go up very much during the ride either and they tend to be quite honest. We mostly took taxis everywhere because they're cheap, reliable, and convenient. We did walk quite a few places but due to the heat and humidity, it could be QUITE uncomfortable.

Mom also took me to the open air market a few times. She negotiated her jade necklaces and we shopped around. The market was quite interesting with all the foreigners and sellers. The sellers would type their offer on calculators and the buyer could bargain down (usually more than half off) which the buyer could accept or reject. Most of the time if they rejected it, the buyer would then offer their price to which the buyer would refuse and start to walk away. After a very brief reconsideration, the seller would then chase the buyer down, sometimes even grabbing them by the arm. Quite hilarious. The first time we went, it was god awful hot and I had to wait for mom to do her negotiations for about 45 minutes. I thought I was seriously going to pass out. The second time it was much cooler because there had been a lot of rain (due to the typhoon... I always bring the rain with me) and we bought a few other items. This one seller tried to set an exorbient price for some coin purses to which my mom laughed at him and walked away. He said my mom must have shopped there a lot to know how much she should pay. I think she took a lot of pride in that! Then she told them that I was from America and the guy said, "Give her to me instead!" Ha, ha, ha, very funny.

One day my mom brought me down to the "bund" which is basically the waterfront. Across the water is the city of Pudong where a lot of businesses are. Mom and I went over there to lunch at the Grand Hyatt at this really fancy tea room. You know what the bill ended up being? $20 for both of us! All you can eat dim sum. I mean, you should've seen this place too, super ritzy (as I was in my flood pants and tank top and Reefs).

At lunch I asked my mom, "So, Mom, what are we going to do while I'm here? You know, besides eat and shop."

My mom looked at me blankly. "What do you mean? What else is there to do?"

I kinda laughed. She had to be kidding. She continued. "No, really, there's not really any museums here or anything."

She wasn't kidding. I went to the Shanghai museum with her (while I was inside, it started storming and I thought the museum had sound effects) which took only a few hours. But the people and setting were enough to keep me entertained as well as my fake Burberry scarves. Apparently Shanghai is much more international than most Chinese cities although not as Western as Hong Kong, although they are trying. I did notice there were a lot of baby boys and very few baby girls (I think I saw one the entire time I was there and I was pretty sure they were tourists). Some parts are still very poor and there is a lot of construction going on.

I wanted to take more pictures but I've found it to be difficult because I almost feel ridiculous. One, here I am as a privilaged tourists, oh look taking pictures of the natives. Also because these are my people (in a manner of speaking) so it just feels odd to me. Asia is entirely different than anywhere else I am pretty confident, quite unique as most continents are in their own rights. I suppose what I found to be the most odd was how much globalization and consumerism has hit China. I was surrounded by Burberry, Dior, Chanel, Prada, McDonald's, Starbucks, Omega, and even the Kenny Rogers restaurant chain! Crazy.

The rest of the trip was relatively quiet, our last night we had all you can eat Japanese food with the same girls, one of their boyfriends, and another manager. They were all really sweet and the boyfriend of Gina named Chris will also be in Beijing when I will so he offered to take us out to eat. Which is helpful since he speaks Mandarin and we do not.

We departed Shanghai for Hong Kong on Saturday afternoon and arrived at the YMCA with little problem. The YMCA was quite gross, worse than a Motel 6 I think. It's just really old, run down and not the cleanest of places. The lobby was realy nice though, that's how they rope you in! Thank god we only stayed there for a night. That evening, my aunt (dad's older sister) and her husband took us out to eat vegetarian. We walked to the restaurant so that gave me a chance to see Hong Kong for the first time in 10 years. It seemed less shocking as it did at 12 and 14 years of age but still had that lively night time feel. There are neon lights every which way and shops are open really late. Not to mention wonton restaurants. Hong Kong is quite Western since it was under British rule for a hundred years. It even calls their metro cards "octupus cards" like the UK. Many people in HK also speak English (especially the younger generations), much more than the rest of China. My uncle was really funny when he tried out some English words on me.

The restaurant was the bomb, it was all you can eat buffet but all vegetarian. As expected, my aunt gave me some shit for not speaking Chinese but was pleasant otherwise. I can't imagine living so far away from my siblings and only talking to them a few times a year. I guess that's just how it is with my dad's side of the family. I'm glad I grew up with my mom's side in Oakland. Anyway, we went to my aunt's apartment afterward. Most people in HK go out to dinner at least 3 times a week because their apartments are so small. And usually dirty and old/run down. My aunt and uncle moved into new government subsidized housing about five years ago so their place is actually really clean and new looking. We watched some crazy Hong Kong tv shows which were much funnier than Mandarin shows, probably because I could at least understand what was going on, ha ha. It's really interesting to get to Hong Kong and suddenly understand mostly what's going on after being in Shanghai and not knowing a word of Mandarin. Or being in Europe. I don't speak but I can understand pretty fluently and it amuses me to no end when my ears suddenly perk up when I hear Cantonese.

After we got back, Mom went to hang out with one of her old high school friends and Dad and I walked around the humid evening. We walked over to Temple St. and I could tell Dad was thinking about how much Hong Kong has changed. Kinda nuts but they've now lived in the States longer than they lived in Hong Kong (29 years vs. 31 years). Anyway, Temple St. is an open air night market that sells everything from watches to tshirts to Sanrio stuff. Although I would normally at least least want to browse, I was irritable from the heat and plus my mom is way better to shop with because she bargains. It was interesting to see the market though since I remembered it from 10 years ago and buying food for a cart on the street.

After a restless night at the YMCA, we checked into our new hotel and simply from walking into the hotel and smelling it (it smelled like fresh gardenias), I knew it was going to be about 50,000 times better than the YMCA. Although our room wasn't quite ready yet, my sister and Keith had already checked in so we went up to their room. WOW, talk about plush! King sized bed, flat screen HDTV, bathroom with rainfall shower, full bathtub, robe, slippers... ah. I love nice hotels, such a guilty pleasure. The hotel had every amenity possible including free internet and free DVDs for rent. I could've lived there.

Anyway, after one of the best showers ever, we went out for some dim sum with my aunt, uncle, cousin and his girlfriend. Hong Kong chinese (cantonese) food is THE BEST. I found the food in Shanghai to be quite mediocre as it was pretty greasy and bland. But Hong Kong food? The shit, I tell you.

We went over to the harbor at one point but didn't take the Star Ferry across the way to Hong Kong island. I barely recognized the area, it's been built up a lot. My mom and dad reminisced how it used to be popular place for couples to go on dates. Ew. ha ha, just kidding. It's funny though. Mom and Dad dating, what.

Less than a week in Hong Kong is too little especially when there are so many friends and families that you need to share meals with. Every night but one was booked with people outside our immediate family. Meals and food are an incredible social activity for Chinese people and the often last at least 2 hours for dinner.

We were able to visit my grandfather's property out in New Territory. Three of the units are rented but my grandfather's unit is still the same. We looked through photo albums and took a few to copy. It was trippy to see a photo of me, my sister, and two cousins with my grandfather and (step)grandmother from their trip to the States when I was 6 years old, framed on top of the TV. There was even a blown up version of the photo (which included my dad and uncle) in one of the albums. It was just a bit surprising as I've only my grandfather once in my life and my grandmother twice. But sweet at the same time.

Dinner that night was with my mom's high school friends. She was SO excited to see them, she hasn't seen some of them in years. The food was inconsistent, some dishes were wonderful while some of the others were crap. The ladies were really sweet, one of the Grace, lived in London for awhile so she spoke relatively good English. After dinner, the ladies went out to the coffeeshop, my sister and Keith went off to the bars, and me and dad being tired old poops went back to the hotel. But hey, I can't say no to a hot bath, a DVD and the down pillows on my bed. Lovely I tell you. I haven't had my own space in over two months and my own private room, I was perfectly content maxing and relaxing. And Love Actually!

Before the end of the trip, we headed up to Po Ling Monastery where there is a giant Buddha statue. Although it was deathly hot and the vegetarian restaurant not very good (but hey, we're supporting the monks) the place was very very cool. We were able to see inside some of the temples as well as climb to the top to the base of the Buddha statue. Amazing.

Our last night's dinner (after I had a relaxing massage at the hotel spa, so spoiled) was again with my aunt, uncle, cousin, my other cousin Andy (who's getting married), his wife Tessa, her immediate family (awkward), my cousin Carmen and her daughter Stacey (who's really cute. she wasn't even born the last time I went to Hong Kong!). The atmosphere was quite uncomfortable at first since we were late (my aunt was po'ed at us for a bit) and we didn't all know each other. Family meeting the other family is kinda weird at first. Things loosened up though and afterward, my cousin Andy and his brother (who doesn't have an English name and I have no idea how to spell out his Chinese name) took us out for beer. They were hilarious and kept asking if I could understand what they were saying. I guess the younger cousin (who's actually like almost 40) said that he had been afraid to speak to me because he doesn't speak English and I don't speak Chinese. But at least I can understand what he is saying. They were great fun though, really nice guys and I'm glad we got a chance to go out with them. Too bad they can't visit the States more often, it costs them $100 (american) to get a visa plus it's a difficult application process. Hopefully we can come back soon and see them again.

Now I need to take a nap because our plane takes off at 3:00am. I'm in this hotel lounge right now where you can rent beds, eat food, use the computer, watch TV and stuff. It's for people with long layovers and need a place to sleep. Weird. So weird. We're so stupid. Oh well, what can you do now? There have been points where I just have to bust out laughing because it's so ridiculous.

Anyway, off to Beijing where I doubt there will be any internet service. Maybe limited as it seems our hotel will have one. But alas, it won't be the Langham Place, sigh. Oh well, it's all part of the adventure of traveling! I love it for all it's bumps and bruises! Hope you are all having as funny adventures as I am! More reflections and details later, I've been hogging the computer for way too long.

Much love!