We awoke Monday morning to find almost every surface outside our apartment to be completely wet. The last week has been freezing cold with temperatures reaching as low as seven degrees (Celsius), however today the temperature is said to be back to a normal twenty or so degrees. Although, with this came an incredible amount of humidity like I had never felt before. Our tiled apartment stairs were completely wet as we walked out to go to uni. The sidewalks were also slippery and when we arrived on campus it was like the whole place had been hosed down. Caution signs were placed around the university and these specific air-blowing machines were moved around the campus all day to dry out the wet floors. I was astounded at how intense the humidity was, everything was drenched!
After the gym that night Owen and I decided to try a local Indian restaurant in Kennedy Town called 'Riya'. It certainly was not a restaurant you would chose to eat at by looking from the outside. It was basically a small room with a counter-top bench, a few tables and stools. However, the food was quite nice. For $84HKD ($11.00 AUD each) Owen and I each had a butter chicken with rice, a serving of garlic naan bread and a serving of samosas. It is a locally owned restaurant with the family both serving us and cooking the meals. I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a nice Indian meal at an affordable price. Compared to Australia this is relatively inexpensive. Back home I would expect to pay at least $40-$50 AUD for such a meal, making me question why is Indian food so expensive on the Gold Coast?
Everyone that is going on the Singapore/Bali/Malaysia trip during Reading Week got together so we could arrange our final flight home plus accommodation in the three countries. For Singapore and Malaysia we will be staying in hostels as we will mostly be out exploring and only need a bed to sleep in. However, for the five days between Singapore and Malaysia that we will be staying in Bali we have managed to secure a six bedroom mansion that can sleep nine people and has its own private chef among other features. Oh the beauty of travelling in a big group. For Malaysia we are going to Future Music Festival. Some of the guys have purchased the three day pass however, as we are only there for three days I decided to only buy a ticket for the final day (when Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are playing) and go sightseeing for the other two days.
I have been hitting the gym pretty hard, only allowing myself to have two days off a week. It helps to have the other guys such as Jeff, Mihir, Gary & Leon text you asking if you are going to the gym because if you don't well lets face it you just feel bad that they are going and you are not. Occasionally, after I have been to the gym I have been cooking myself mass bowls of pasta and trying different sauces, getting those carbohydrates into me and experimenting what I can cook my minimal kitchen supplies.
Wan Chai Wednesday - It was Felicia's 21st Birthday and she had her mind set on having pre-drinks at hers before going to Wan Chai to a karaoke bar, later followed by the famous Carnegie's. We had good fun at the karaoke bar as I am sure you can tell by the videos below. I managed to reserve myself from drinking too much that night but it was good to see the other guys have such a good night and for Felicia to celebrate her birthday in Wan Chai style.
Whilst I managed to reserve myself for Wednesday, Thursday however was a completely different story. After a hard session at the gym, Mihir and I grabbed some dinner from our favourite Chinese restaurant in Kennedy Town before coming back to my apartment to start a few pre-drinks before heading to Lan Kwai Fong (LKF). After a few beers, Mihir decided to surprise me with a 1 litre bottle of Smirnoff Green Apple Vodka that he had purchased for ($18.00 USD) from The Philippines. Before we knew it half a litre was down and we were on our way to LKF with another beer in our hands. Now Thursday nights are not traditionally the busiest nights, these are mainly Friday and Saturday naturally due to the end of the work week. However, with Friday and Saturday nights come cover charges to enter the nightclubs. So what better night to go out then Thursday where you can drink from 7-Eleven in the street and meet lots of new people before choosing which club to go in with everyone to dance, which is exactly what we did. We also had the opportunity of meeting the guy that hangs out in LKF that we all know as 'Hong Kong Gollum'. Gollum was popping open people's beer tops with a bottle opener in exchange for money inside the 7-Eleven. Once again it was another fantastic night with Mihir, many other exchange students and even new people that we met along the way.
I will not go into too much detail as to how the night proceeded, but to sum it up I awoke the next morning not in my bed but on the other side of Hong Kong, that being Kowloon. It was that sudden realisation when you look across the water and see the side of the island you are supposed to be on and realise that you are not in fact there. With a tear in my jeans at the crouch, a random mobile phone in my pocket, a heavy head and a slight sense of loss of dignity I quickly made my way back over to Hong Kong Island. The chain of events that were discussed when everyone met up that day was incredible; those that came raved about how great a night it was and those that stayed at home were kicking themselves for not having come out.
Dragon's Back 2.0 - Mihir was desperate to complete the rest of the Dragon's Back hike at Shek O Peak as last time we took a shorter path so we could visit the local beach and swim. To Mihir's credit, he did his homework. He guided us down a narrow but popular road that led us to the amazing town of Stanley, also famous for 'Stanley Markets'. After a few hours of hiking nobody was really up for shopping but we were indeed hungry. Stanley was like being home again, along the beachfront bay area lay a long walkway adjacent to a strip of local restaurants and bars.
We found a small restaurant alongside the water where we sat out the front, ordered fish and chips and chose from a wide selection of alternative beers. I chose a 'Banana Bread' flavoured beer, Felicia had a honey flavoured beer yet Esther was the clear winner with her alcoholic ginger beer. It's safe to say that bananas and beer are two things that should never be mixed together. We finished our lunch and sat around whilst we continued our beers before grabbing a soft serve ice cream, wondering around town and eventually catching a bus back home. For a spontaneous day out it sure did turn into a nice relaxing afternoon. Stanley is definitely an area I would like to go back and visit again and even come back to spend the day with everyone on the beach when the weather warms up.
The visit to Stanley and hike was definitely the highlight of the week as the rest of the weekend I spent mostly inside catching up on uni work and studying for my International Financial Management exam on Monday morning. I have now mastered lunch at home by making a fresh salad with some seasoned chicken that I cook to mix in with it. Salads and fresh vegetables are the one thing I am definitely missing over here.
No comments:
Post a Comment