Hong Kong

We are incredibly spoiled by Hong Kong. It is a fact I am reminded of everytime I return to our hotel room. I say hotel room, I mean executive suite in the Hyatt. What is an executive suite? Well it is where all five of us guys live. Two rooms each with their own bathroom complete with large bath and rain shower. The rooms have comfy beds, a large desk, and a large television. The two rooms are connected by a common room with a couch, another Tv, and a kitchen. The best part is the view, from our window seats (where I eat my meals and drink tea) I can see the city,the mountains, and the harbour. The hotel also has a heated pool and a hot tub. I have been using the kitchen a lot. Not that there isn't good street food, I've found green peppers, eggplant, and tofu fried in batter as well as waffle balls (exactly like it sounds, balls of cooked waffle dough). But most the rest of the food is meat based. Luckily the markets sell tons of vegetables so I have been able to do stir fry, eggplant parmesion, avacado Mac and cheese, quiche, and even apple crisp. (It pales in comparison to my moms and grandmothers, but I like to try). Hong Kong itself is a special city. The train system is excellent. The people are nice, and many speak English. Everything is quick and efficient. As we are several hours ahead of everyone we constantly joke that Hong Kong is the city from the future. During the week we have been busy with class, which is the most difficult part (I'm afraid I have no talent and little interest in Chinese art). But on the weekends we take advantage of the location going on hikes all day. Last weekend I took some of the group to see Hong Kong play Guam in the opening stages of the eastern Asian cup. It was a pretty small venue, but a decent game. I was just happy to watch some football again. Its been a long time. This last weekend was possibly the best yet. On Saturday we took the ferry to Lamma island. It was first sunny day since we arrived and we took advantage of the weather. We roamed around the island, stopping to take in the views at regular intervals. Once we reached the top of the mountain we could see the whole city of Hong Kong accross the bay, settled in the mountain. Once we got back we decided to go out to celebrate the 100th day of Global. We left late with a somewhat silly plan, the last train runs at 1, so we would stay out until the first morning train ran at 6. It was fun, the night scene downtown is crazy. We got nachos at a hard rock cate. Then we went to some clubs (with me and Doug in our suits we had no issues getting in). We quite literally danced the night away. Then, tired out we found an overnight diner and I ordered a full English breakfast; eggs, toast, tea, baked beans, fried tomato, mushrooms, even veggie sausage. We returned and slept till 2. Our instructors had prepared some ice-skating at 3, so we rallied and headed to the mall. I forgot how much I liked skating. It put me in an uncharacteristically Christmas mood. I'm thankful now for all the time I spent on our frozen pond with my family. I guess years of messing around on the ice qualified me as a pretty decent skater within the group. Sudip (who was skating for the first time) and I skated the full two hours, running loops with the mountains rising in the background. When we were finally escorted off the ice my feet were killing me but I was grinning from ear to ear. I can not wait to ski in south Korea. Its been great so far and I cant wait to see what else the city has to offer. We are going to see the hobbit in three days so that makes me happy as well. Till next post. -Jordan