You would think that after hearing how dangerous Shen Zhen is, I would not step foot in that city, but are mistaken. Today with the accompaniments of Anthony, Ivy, Seven, and XX we made our way into Shen Zhen via the KCR rail service.
Now having been to Shen Zhen I can say it is not as dangerous as people make it out to be. It is not at all safe, but if your are careful enough you should have no problem visiting this emerging city.
Shen Zhen is one of China’s more developed cities. It is home to a financial center and hundreds of high rises. For an American, goods are fairly cheap, except for branded electronics that is. You also have to cautious of the goods your are buying, they might just be really good knock offs.
After a long week of assignments, we rewarded ourselves with a midnight snack. Anthony, Ivy, and I went out to Cause way Bay for dessert after class. Anthony chose the place, and boy was it good. I wouldn’t minding coming back to this place, but I don’t think I know how to get back to this place.
Celebrating China National day was amazing. It was indeed my first time, but I can really get use to this. Thousands of locals and visitors packed the TST pier to catch a glimpse of the highly anticipated event of the year. The event consisted of a light show, projected on various skyscraper along the Hong Kong side followed by 30 minutes of pure fireworks. The video embed was the view that I had from the ferry side of the pier, directly opposite the central area.
Here is a link to some pictures as well: Click Here
Here’s a good laugh to start the week. My friend, Yummy tries his best to win a doll at a local Hong Kong vending machine. Guess how many tries it took to get one doll?
We finally made good use of those Barbeque pits by the sea side in the HKUST campus. The students of the MSc IT program had a BBQ get together to celebrate the Lunar New Year. It was lots of fun. My first BBQ experience in Hong Kong and one that I wont forget. Big thanks to XX to organizing it and to all the people who went to buy the food.
Tonight after work, I went out with Connie, Polly, Alvina, and Eva for a hotpot dinner at Little Lamb. I have to say the food was really good and the experience was really awesome. I stuffed myself to all the fish balls I can eat while watching Chinese dramas…lol
Alex, my good friend from HKUST took me to the Computer Arcade in Sam Shui Po today. As an American when we here the word arcade, we think of a gaming machine, but in HK an arcade is referred to as a marketplace or shopping center. Thus, you can imagine my surprise. Never-the-less, the Computer Arcade in Sam Shui Po is awesome. It is filled with computer and gaming electronic retails that have very competitively price products. You can find just about anything electronic related in this shopping center, but beware you may start to feel faint after an hour or two in this place. It is extremely crowded, with thousands of people shouting out specials of the day/week/month, and hundreds of lcd monitors at every angle you turn.
After a short visit to the computer arcade, we took a walk down awpe lu gui, which is a second hand market place for electronics. Here you can find anything from bolts to wires and hundreds of repair shops.
Finally we visited the dragon shopping center (the shopping center with an indoor skating rink and roller coaster) and had a Korean dinner in Cause Way Bay.
Today they had a meet and greet for the post graduates of PG Hall 2 and I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend this event. While there, I was able to meet / network with a host of Hong Kong, Mainland, Indian, and even American students and professionals. There was also free food which is always a plus, but overall I had a very awesome time.
My first Yum Cha event in HK and it is with my Nottingham Crew. Today I meet up with Joyce, Polly, Alvina, and Eva for Dim Sum at the Dynasty Scenic Restaurant in Wan Chai. Afterward, we walked down to Cause Way Bay and did a little shopping. Connie, later on joined us for dessert at Honey Moon.
The quality of Dim Sum dishes in HK is not all that different from NY. In fact, I prefer the Dim Sum carts in NY over HK’s place to order method for Yum Cha.
Many of you know the news already, but for those that are unaware I have temporarily relocated to Hong Kong for work and school. I have been on Hong Kong soil for a couple of weeks now and will be here for the next few months.
I am currently residing at PG Hall 2 in the city of Clearwater Bay, Kowloon and working in Central, Hong Kong Island. At night I attend classes at the University of Science and Technology, where I am working towards a masters degree in Information technology.
The transition from life in the US to Hong Kong has been difficult. I constantly miss my family, friends, and Cody! However, my Hong Kong friends have been very helpful and supportive by including me in their daily plans / activities. Thanks for making me feel so welcome!
You can’t knock Hong Kong for being a shopping paradise. From cloths to electronics and even food it is by far my favorite destination for shopping. However, employment and education in Hong Kong is another story. The workplace in Hong Kong is not as flexible as America, hard work is forced upon, and creativity is very limited. The education I am receiving in HKUST thus far has been very broad and a bit stressful to say the least.
Needless to say nothing compares to life in New York. Why is New York so great you may ask?
Because Cody resides there and I love that woman!!!
