Hi from Hong Kong!!

Sorry I am only just updating this now.. been too busy with only one week in HK to use the internet. Here are the highlights:

3/21- got to the hostel around 9pm, checked out all the other hostels in this one giant building (ChungKing Mansion) and got to see in person the places we'd been looking up online. switched into a different one for the rest of the week where the two ladies running it were real real nice. and it was very clean. a combo shower/bathroom is an interesting thing.

3/22- met up w/ Mahalia in Mong Kok (lucy, we totally approve of this area, very full of stuff to do and seems pretty safe.. we also have a restaurant recommendation for you: Yoshinoya). later in the day we met up with Edwin Tang from SEG and he helped us negotiate prices at some night markets and then treated us to some Hong Kong food. I now have a really cute present for my baby cousin.

3/23- went up to the peak on the peak tram. the tram was pretty cool; very steep. too bad it was a little foggy. walked back down and then went to a tea appreciation class which was really good actually. sampled a bunch of teas and bought some to bring back. you'll all be drinking it with me stanford people! then wandered around some more and had thai food near the lan kwai fong area (happening night spot)

3/24- met up with a friend of mahalia's friend(s friend?), kayi. despite it being a distant connection, she was extremely nice to us! we had dim sum with her and her mom, who helped us order (basically we all just pointed at stuff that looked good), then had lunch somewhere else, shopped around, had dessert (custard treat), shopped around some more (didn't really buy anything.. with all this shopping i'm really just talking about looking around), then dinner, then more dessert? really it was a crazy day of eating. very good and verrrry tiring. by the end of this day i was starting to feel how much work traveling can be! oh, and we've also ridden almost every form of transport in hk: airplane, bus, tram, MTR, ferry.

3/25- we took it easier this day. slept in a tiny bit, met for lunch at a place recommended on openrice.com (hk's yelp?), then journeyed a little farther to the chi lin nunnery. this place was soo pretty and peaceful and it made us actually feel like we were somewhere foreign. thus far, it's mostly felt like being in a very large chinatown in the us. lots of tourists, english, easy to navigate and pretty western. oh, and after the nunnery we went to a taoist temple. lots of incense and this thing where you shake sticks with numbers on them to get your fortune. very colorful and some cool statues. we might put pictures online now or later if we have time.

3/26- had to switch hostels this day because kyoto guesthouse was booked (the one with the nice ladies where we'd been staying).. except we wanted to leave to see big buddha before the checkin time of our next hostel. the ladies watched our bags for us for the day (nothing too important inside and they'd previously watched them, so it was all good). we took a ferry, another ferry, and a bus, then journeyed up the 280 stairs or so to the big buddha. who really is quite big. had lunch at the top, came back down and went over to the thai fishing village which wasn't as exciting. had stilted houses though.. then we went out that night for dinner (the yoshinoya place.. basically healthier asian style fast food chain?) and stopped by an irish pub where there was live music (but i was pretty much just trying not to tip over from being so tired, so this didn't last very long). then to bed.

3/27- moved out, got food and batteries at the grocery store (so much cheaper here!!), and now quickly using internet with our last bit of hk monies, then heading early to the airport (kind of rainy here today and not much to do with all our bags on).

ok, that's it. i will try to blog more often in the future! yay for indiaaaa!