Masses of people

First of all, in case I didn't put it in my other post, please pay attention to the links on your right. You'll notice one entitled, "Mau's HK photos." The purpose of this link should be obvious, but for my obtuse friends, I'll clarify. It's my photo website! http://www.flickr.com/photos/mau_the_grump/

Today was the first day I've had off. Normally I've been running around doing things for orientation week, but today was just for me.

I wanted to make sure I know where to go for classes tomorrow, so I dragooned some friends into going for lunch, then exploring campus finding classrooms. The expedition turned out to be short and sweet since most of the buildings were locked. Silly chinese people and their security concerns.

Since the campus exploration plans were kinda nixed, Kristin, her friend Miki (from Japan) and I decided to go shopping. I wanted to buy a cell phone like Kristin's because it was super cheap, so we went to Shatin mall. Lemme warn you against going to Shatin on a Sunday. Walking there reminds me of water slides... Once you get on, you have no choice but to go where the slide sends you until it spits you out - whether you want to stop of not. Literally, you couldn't move in this mall.

It didn't help that Kristin couldn't remember where the store she bought her cell (or mobile as they're referred to here) was. I'm not surprised though - the mall is actually several malls connected together, each with a minimum of 3 floors. Thank goodness for english speaking mall staff. With vague descriptions ("it's a store that sells cell phones and starts with the word 'cyber'") we got there. I bought a cheap mobile phone and sim card for $448HKD. That's $68.50CAD for you in North America.) So if you ever feel like wasting money on an international phone call, just email me for my 8 digit phone number. :)

Afterwards we wandered around the street outside the Shatin mall (we were just preparing ourselves for the upcoming onslaught of going back into the mall to get to the subway.) We found some cool non-touristy market full of merchandise I don't know how to use and foods I can't identify. (Okay, that's a lie, I recognized the dried octopus. Or was it squid?) I think Miki got ripped off because she was speaking English... She got charged $18HKD for a bowl thingie that probably should have only cost $10HKD.

Instead of going back to our dorms, we decided to go to Mong Kok, a region in Kowloon. Damn that was a good choice! Mong Kok is what I envisioned Hong Kong to look like before I even came here!

The streets were even more crowded that the mall were, but it was worth it. There was store after store after store. I don't think we even managed to scratch the surface of the area. We found an alleyway that was full of small stalls that sold everything - watches, jewellery, purses, clothes - you named, it, they had it. I even tried my hand at bargaining for a few things, but I don't know if it was a big bargaining area. When I refused a woman's price for a purse and began to leave, she grabbed my arm (little sucker was strong!) and was like, "No no! $4 off!" It was an educational experience.

Despite the fact that I was surrounded by stores, the only thing I managed to strike off my shopping list was a fan. I got a small 9" desk fan for $99HKD. (Approximately $15CAD - is that a good deal?)

Miki, Kristin and I went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. I think that food is my biggest problem here. Not that I can't find anything to eat - as a matter of fact, there's too many choices, but ordering it is really hard. I'll say the name in English, and if that doesn't work, I'll point to a picture. But the waitresses will ask me something and I can't answer. It's tough man.

Anyways, we were pretty wiped when we finally got back to campus.

Speaking of campus, I've finally taken photos of my room. As you can see, I've got a decent sized double room. My bed's underneath the air conditioner. More photos of my apartment can be found here.

That reminds me of another thing I didn't think about before coming here. In Hong Kong, every apartment has air conditioning. I'm not just talking about the single airconditioner Canadians are used to either. EVERY ROOM has an air conditioner. The pain with a/c here is that it's too hot to leave it off all night, but if you have it on all night, it gets too cold. And the a/c in this student apartment is too retro to have any kind of time control device on it.

I've met another roommate thus far. Her name is Emily and she's from Hong Kong. That's all I know about her.

Anyways, I have class tomorrow and I'm pretty tired. I guess I'll email the blog's URL out to everyone then go to bed. Take care y'all!