Today’s my last day in HK.  I’m kind of sad that my vacation will be over.  I wanted to do some last minute shopping today but a cyclone hit Hong kong and throughout the night, the winds were CRAZY and now, it’s windy AND pouring like crazy.  I’m kind of sad that my last day has to be like this.  I wanted to go out and get some more gifts for people.

(edit: I went out despite the weather because I really needed to do some last minute shopping.  The rain was horrid!)

I enjoyed my stay here in Hk.  I really love my relatives because even though they couldn’t spend much time with me, they really made me feel at home and they’ve been very kind to me.  But I kind of liked the fact that I learned how to take the buses and subways by myself.  My relatives are too busy and I didn’t want to burden them so I learned my way around some places.  It’s nice to be by myself sometimes.

I won’t miss the humidity and the schizophrenic weather though.  I can deal without those things.  I wonder when I’ll be able to travel again like this.  Hopefully not when I retire.  I’m glad I got to relax and gain some insight on a lot of things.  I’m glad I was able to be more independent.  I’m glad I got to spend time with Kat in a place other than NY.  I’m glad I got closer to my relatives in Hawaii and in Hong Kong.  I’m happy because a huge weight has been lifted off in the time I spent away from home and school.

I’m going back tomorrow to NY.  I hope I don’t automatically go back to who I usually am.  I hope that I’ll still be able to retain this peacefulness that i have gained and bring it back home with me.

Well! I guess I’ll see you back in NY!

Here will be some random pictures:

When my uncle and I were walking to yum cha, I came across a tree that had a face drawn/carved on it.  It was pretty cute!

This is the view of the sunset taken on the bus when I was going back to my uncles house:

This is me on the bus again.  This is the bus stop that I always get on to go to other places:

This is the view of the sunrise when I was on the plane from Narita, Tokyo to Minniapolis, Minasota (going home to NY)

My cousin and uncle took me to yum cha again and then I walked around shopping for souvenirs for my family and friends.  Later on in the afternoon I met up with my cousin’s aunt (Yee Ma) and her daughter at Tsuen Wan and we ate Thai Food.  I couldn’t forget the yummy Thai iced milk tea so I chose Thai Food.  It really really good but some of the dishes were a tad too spicy for me.  The bill came out to be HUGE for Hkers and I felt bad.  But they never let me chip in or pay =/

They’re not my relatives.  They’re my relatives’ relatives but they treat me as if I’m part of the immediate family.  They’re really kind people.  I’m happy that I got to spend time with them.  I’m happy that they’re so accepting of me because even though I’m sort of part of the family, I’ve  more of a stranger since it’s the first time I’ve met them in this trip (except yee Ma).  I’m thankful to have met them.

I went to Ocean park today with Kat.  Ocean park is an aquarium/theme park.  First we went on this water ride where we sat in this fake log and then enjoy a nice water ride and then…it went up…and downward and i screamed like a little girl.

The second ride we went on was this roller coster ride.  It was my first TRUE roller coster ride and…I felt like I was near death every time it went down.  As we were ascending,
Kat asked me, “This isn’t your first rollercoster ride is it?”
Me: Yes it is
Kat: oh…don’t be scared!

Too late for that!  Holy Crap! I felt so weak and scared after the ride and I kept asking Kat if I’m alive.  she said, “You almost died but you didn’t.”  Then she continued telling me how the rides on Six Flags were ‘better’ because it has more ‘rush’ to it.  Well, I was pretty rushed on this ride.

The third one was called The Dragon.  It was okay mainly because I kept my eyes closed half of the time.  This one has the loops unlike the last one which wasn’t as bad as the falling part.  But dang, it was scary~

We also went to see coral reefs and the fishes that dwell among them.  There were fishes half my size and kind of weird looking too.  We went to see Sea lions being fed (They’re SO CUTE!!) and we went to see jelly fishes (which looked like aliens).

After that, we rode on the gondola back to the entrance.  The sigh was really pretty and the ride was short but relaxing.

We left Ocean Park and went to Sha Tin to eat dinner.  We ate at Hakata Ramen (YUM!) and ordered hot sake. Drinking age in HK is 18 years old so we were legal :D.

Sake tastes very bad.

It was painful drinking it because it tasted so nasty haha.

Today, I went with Kat and her uncle to a race course.  I’ve never been to one before; I’ve only seen people watching it and betting on a horse in the OTB’s.  I never knew what was so exciting about it.
Today’s weather forcast; HOT AS HELL (@#$%)

It was so hot that i almost fainted.  I don’t even know how I got through the day.  I think I forced myself to not faint so I don’t have to deal with the embarrassment later on.  Anyway, the race course was really big!!  I found out that the race jockeys are REALLY short because they need to be light so they don’t put more stress on the horse in order for it to run faster.  It was really fast though, I didn’t see the horses much as they raced because they zoomed by so fast.

My uncle told me to place a bet on a horse because it makes it more exciting; you’ll be yelling and cheering on the horse you’re betting on.  So I bet on horse #7 because of ‘lucky #7′.

Well, horse #7 wasn’t so lucky after all.

Then we went to either Tai po or Sha Tin (or somewhere in that area) and walked up a small mountain.  Kat and I were bitten by mosquito’s and her uncle kept saying that we’re so busy warding off those buggers that we’re not taking time to enjoy the scenery and the tranquility.

Mosquito’s should suck on each others blood.

It was actually a very nice walk up there and the view was very pretty.  It kind of remindes me of my last family trip back to China.  I forgot where it was but my family and I hiked up a huge mountain for a long time and took pictures of the goregeous view.  I wish I can go back there.

I went back home and I slept because the heat caused a throbbing headache and made me feel as if i was going to throw up.