Arrival in Hong Kong

When I opened my eyes after a lousy nap of three hours and two movies, I looked out of the window and saw a bunch of small islands everywhere. The sun was shining and there was not one single cloud in the sky. My tiredness faded away and I was just so excited.

Soon after I landed on Hong Kong, Lantau Island, where the rollfield is about 10 meters away from the water. I got my luggage and made my way to the exit to catch the 25 minutes Airport Express to Hong Kong Island. After having troubles with my heavy luggage, the train ticket and the ATM machine....I finally sat on the train and the new unfamiliar landscape, tropical forrests, smaller and bigger hills/mountains, small islands everywhere with the ocean and boats in between. We crossed the ocean through a tunnel from Lantau Island to Hong Kong, Kowloon side and again from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, the island I was going to live on!!! The first thing I saw in the city, Kowloon side, was sky scapers, apartment buildings that did not seem to end, clustered together in all different colors. Modern ones and old, shabby ones that seem to collapse every other second. And the Airport Express was going so fast.

After I got of the train I met my buddy, Jenny Cheung, who stood there with a sign saying my name. As always, Trisha, was wayy too late and overestimated the efficiency of public services.
Together, we took a taxi to the west of the island, to Pok Fu Lam and my student residence. Since I was one of the last girls to arrive, I did not get the expected by view room, however it turned out there was only 3 rooms where you could see the ocean. The other 147 where either looking up to the hill and the Queen Mary hospital or into another apartment skyscaper("apscaper") I put down all my luggage, my roomade seem to be from Thailand, she wasn't here yet. I had a desk, a bed, a closet and it all looked pretty clean. The matresse however was soooo hard, I couldn't believe it, but I mean, aren't hard matresses good for you??? We left the place soon after and made our way to Causeway Bay, to buy a prepaid card and other things I needed. It was almost 7 p.m.

Causeway Bay, the New York of Hong Kong with Timesquare and Timesquare Plaza, was a place that did not seem real. Either my tiredness kicked in or it was really what it is. Thousands of people making their way through the streets on the street and the sidewalk, with cars passing through quite slowly or not at all. Different lights and signs everywhere and tiny tiny stores. I looked at the prices, how cheap is this????!!!

After I bought all the necessary things, we went to go eat at a Chinese fastfood restaurant:
Cafe de Coral.(notice the name sounds french) First food in Hong Kong, fastfood, was good enough. Bony chicken with rice and yummy yummy vegetables.

That same night I was supposed to go to the first International Exchange Student party at 10 p.m., however we did not come back until 11.30 p.m. and I did not want to be rude, therefore I didn't rush, we went back to my place and yeah, I was sooo glad my buddy was with me the whole time, therefore things were easier to sort out and she told me a lot about what, where, why......

I realized she had to go on a 1.5 hour busride back to the New Territories, to go home and I walked her down to the door. Because of gratefulness, exhaustion and all the other emotions kicking in...I hugged her, which seem weird for her since they, the people here, rather wave goodbye, which I found out later...