Art walks, March madness, Ocean Park, Shisha and other musings from HK

Links to photos I've been taking while here can be found on my Flickr photo site, so check it out if you want to

Why I thought keeping a regular blog would be an easy thing just goes to show how I sometimes overestimate my communication/writing abilities (which is, as many of you know, pretty bad, but I choose to ignore this obvious fact) and underestimate the time needed to hit my stated goal of once or twice a week. In reality it's not that hard, so the real excuse is that I've been extremely lazy and need to get my ass back in gear (excuse the expression).

So what's been going on since my last post about happy valley (my talib kweli music video, obviously doesn't really count)? Where do I start? I guess a synopsis of the last few weeks followed by my musings will be the way to go here.

FYI: For much of this I'll be mentioning neighborhoods and places that some of you probably have no idea about so instead of writing a several paragraphs trying to explain the neighborhoods here's a link to Fodor's section on the HK neighborhood you can check out if you really do want to know about them. Otherwise just pretend you know exactly where the places are and enjoy my ramblings

I've been exploring much of Hong Kong--so far it's been mostly the "familiar" areas on Hong Kong Island where areas like Central (a ton of expats and has a slightly European feel to it), Soho, etc...provides an endless array of shops, a variety of restaurants with food from all over the world, art galleries, hookah lounges, clubs, etc..., to explore. I've discovered some incredible places to eat, great art/photography galleries and so on.

About three weeks ago there was an Art Walk charity event that took place for one day that was quite simply sublime. For HK $90 (about US $12 the  student rate, regular was US $64; being a student definitely has it perks) we got to tour a plethora of participating galleries located in several districts along with all the free wine, snacks, beer, etc..., you could consume. I've got some pictures (insert link) but they really don't do justice in capturing the night. The surreality of walking up and down the steep, narrow streets found in the Soho district, slipping through crowds of mostly Europeans (and a good sprinkling of Aussies, of course) while sipping on a glass (okay, a plastic cup) of some unknown white wine and dipping in and out of dimly lit galleries is really hard to describe; suffice it to say it's an experience I'd encourage everyone to go through if the chance ever presents itself.

Let's see, what else? The other week, a few of the student ambassadors (local students from the university we're going to who have been assigned to help us out if we need it; it's quickly turned into more of a "let's go hang out and have fun relationship" which has been great) organized a barbecue at Tai Mei Tuk, a beach in Tai Po, which is in the New Territories. Gotta tell ya, Hong Kongers don't play with their barbecuing. Good times, amazing beach scenes and good people. Good times all around.

A place I've really enjoyed visiting is Kowloon Park in the Tsim Sha Tsui district, an amazing oasis in the middle of a very busy shopping area. The aviary has some amazing specimens in there and you get to observe so many interesting people and sights.(Images coming soon!)

Two weeks ago I got to go listen to Rob Gifford speak on the topic of whether "Is a Peaceful Rise Really Possible for China? Impact on Southeast Asia and the World," which was hosted by the Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival.  Rob Gifford has, according to the poster for the event, "served as NPR's China correspondent from 1999-2005 and traveled widely in East Asia for NPR. He has covered elections in Taiwan and East Timor, diplomatic visits to North Korea, and produced a range of features from Christian missionaries in Mongolia to Internet start-ups in Hong Kong. He has also reported widely on Islamic issues from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Southern Philippines in the wake of September 11th. Mr Gifford holds a BA in Chinese Studies from Durham University, UK,and an MA in Regional Studies (East Asia) from Harvard University." Quite a mouthful. Anyway, it was a great lecture and had some very interesting thoughts and opinions about issues like Taiwan, China's place in the global economy, unrest in China, etc...(if you really, really care about any of this, shoot me an email and we can have a great discussion about it).

This past Sunday I went with a few friends to Ocean Park, a marine themed amusement park. Yes, I went to an amusement park, and quit judging me, damn it! The views of the ocean surrounding it are spectacular and the sea life in the aquariums were an amalgamation of the weird and beautiful all rolled into one.

I've met a few Americans out here (there are surprisingly few Americans out here) and true to form, they've somehow found a way for us to watch March Madness. Thank God!!! We've been spending evenings watching games via satellite, talking trash and making friendly wagers.

In the next week or so I'm planning to go to Macau, hop some of the 235+ islands that make up Hong Kong, go see if I can scalp a ticket for the Hong Kong Sevens (a supposedly ridiculously fun annual rugby event held here), visit the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas, and start planning the rest of my travels through Southeast Asia (planning on going to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and hopefully Bali in Indonesia).

I've met up with a few Nigerians here who I'm becoming good friends with. Sola (he's the younger brother of my friend Wale who lives in Chicago with me) works at HSBC and I met Chris, a colleague of his, through him. Really good guys. It's been nice to have some friends closer to my age and who have also experienced living in several different cultures. There's definitely something unique and familiar for those of us who have grown up that way that puts us at ease among each other. They've been great and have introduced me to some great spots like Makumba, a great West African restaurant/lounge in the Soho district and Sahara, an amazing hookah lounge (pictures coming soon!). I've enjoyed sharing my perceptions of Hong Kong and its people with them*--both the great things and the not-so-great things--and hearing about their experiences during the time they've lived out here.

*more on my thoughts in the next couple of days, hopefully =).