Shopping in Mongkok

I officially dub Hong Kong the shopping Mecca. 

Last Saturday Kessie (Canadian Exchange student from UBC - but of Chinese descent) came with me to Mongkok on the Kowloon Island-side of Hong Kong. (For those of you who aren't familiar with Hong Kong- even though Kowloon is another island that forms part of Hong Kong it is literally only about 20 mins away from me by bus or bus+MTR (subway)). 

After a few weeks of not really shopping (due to the fact that we had to settle in and any shopping I did was only subsidiary to my main task that day) I have to honestly say I went nuts! The malls there are much more like China/Tokyo youth malls i.e. massive buildings with many floors and each floor with about like 50 tiny tiny shops. Of course, you get to haggle. (My island, Hong Kong island seems to be a lot more luxurious so Kowloon seems so much more affordable for me! Albeit quality is not that great!)

So anyways my intention was to go there and get a new digital camera- of course I ended up blowing my money WAY before that. (The camera was in fact the LAST thing i purchased before turning home.)

And with Australia's exchange rating all of a sudden soaring to $1AUD to every $7HKD you can imagine how excited I was shopping.

(SOME) of my purchases.

$80HKD (yeah so like $11AUD)- for these amazing wedges. So in right now! I love how they rip off all the latest styles in magazines/catwalk.

I regret this buy- it was my first bargain and I wasn't up to my normal standards. I paid $170HKD for these 2 pairs of flats. So like $30AUD for two pairs (although really it's not that bad either)

Smells like balenciaga ;). It's a mini mini clutch/coin purse but it comes with a long over the shoulder strap.

$80HKD - LOVE!

$80 HKD- jealous yet?

This is the smaller version of the Balenciaga I already purchased in Shanghai- $120HKD. Less than $20AUD

Fake Miu Miu Satchel- $120HKD.

On top of that I bought all sorts of dresses, tops, make-up etc. 

I ended up spending $4000HKD that day. (Gosh, it's easy to forget the value of money in places like that). I barely conquered one floor- so I'll have to go back. But my next shopping trip will focus on accessories!

The $4000HKD was inclusive of the camera I got. It's an Olympus M-5010. So good. HD video recording capability, super macro, beauty mode, 14 mega-pixels and a shittonne of features I dont understand. But apparently it's like the girlier version of the new Canon S95.  I paid $1840HKD for it. So not bad at all.

I can't wait to purchase my DSLR.

HK is my No 1 Love.

xox

J

Oh and just a photo Kessie took of me because I was literally going nuts with the shopping and she wanted to document it :)

High Table Dinner

I feel that I really should post about the High Table Dinner I did a few weeks ago (before uni classes actually started.) [This is for you Joy!]


So CEDARS (The Centre of Development and Resources for Students) hosts a free Dialogue Session with Alumni and Teachers and then a High-Table Dinner as an induction for all Freshman and International students.  So being the excited eager beavers that us girls all were, we decided to sign up.


The Dialogue Session was really great actually- I was in a group with an Alumni who worked for Google and also the Head of  the Arts Faculty. I cant remember the Head of the Arts Faculty name but she was very inspiring and fun. She told us about all the NGOs she had started, the research she had done and she was also fluent in English, French, Japanese, Mandarin and Cantonese. Right now she is working closely with the Hong Kong film industry. Furthermore, in her youth she was (well she still is!) an activist. When the Tiananmen Massacre happened she filtered news into China with numerous other Hong Kong University students hidden in Porn Tapes. She did this so people in China would actually know what was happening, as the Chinese Government tried to hide it from their own people.




The highlight however, really was the High Table. It was sooooooooo amazing. High Table is a tradition from the United Kingdom. You do it to " to promote intellectual exchange among the participants. Through attending the dinner, students learn to handle themselves in a formal dinner and develop a sense of pride and identity with the University. For many students, it is the first formal dinner they have ever attended." It was like we were in Hogwarts. We all got the green robes to wear, sat in big long tables and the teachers table was above us. The food also was really, really good (especially since it was free). I had Russian Soup as an entree, Chicken with mixed mushroom sauce and vegetables for the main and a decadent Chocolate Brownie with mixed fruit for dessert (so decadent that i didn't even finish it!)


Then we had an amazing guest speaker who did a talk about Globalisation etc. 


Being at the High Table dinner made me really realise what a great institution HKU is- far far far better than anything in Australia. There is a reason why its ranked in the Top 20 in the world!




Anyways some photos:

Waiting for the Teachers+Distinguished Guests to Arrive

Some of the Girls from Patrick Manson

This was taken by a professional photographer and on the HKU website. Haha- im famous!

''

The Original PM Girls- Left to Right: Yoyo (Nigerian but from the UK), Andrea (German/Indonesian but from the UK, ME Chinese but from Australia, Tea from Norway, Antea from Italy)

Me at the East Entrance of Hong Kong University

The Menu

Macau

I am writing this blog even though I am currently bed-ridden and in so much pain.

That being said, however, IT WAS TOTALLY TOTALLY WORTH IT!

We went to Macau this weekend even though it was pouring down rain and thunderstorms were predicted for the whole weekend.

So we left Patrick Manson at the dismal time of 7.30AM on Saturday morning to catch the 9am ferry because that was the only time we could get ferry tickets. (The rest of the people were able to buy tickets for the 11am ferry before it all sold out.)  By the way, the ferry tickets are so cheap: $146HKD for a Premium Economy seat and the ferry seats are so nice and spacious! I'd love to see what first-class is like.

Upon arrival at Taipa (an island in Macau) we were lucky enough to find the free shuttle bus to the Venetian (the most amazing 5-star hotel I've ever been in). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Venetian_Macao . Because we had to wait for a few hours before check-in and for the rest of the party to arrive we decided to head down to Taipa Old Village (a whole street full old buildings+ food streets).

Unfortunately for me however, I managed to break my camera within the first hour of being at Macau so had to rely on my iphone + other people's camera for photos.

After exploring Taipa Village it was time for us to head back to The Venetian (it seriously looks so amazing as its meant to look like we've stepped into Venice) and check into the hotel.

After spending an hour or so exploring the shops in the Venetian + trying to locate the others since apparently none of our mobiles had service (Note to future travelers- your hong kong sim card will most likely not work in Macau if it isn't on roaming) we finally we able to get into our suite.

The rest of the trip consisted of the usual
- drinking copious amounts of extremely cheap duty free alcohol. I think it was something ridiculous like $150HKD for $1.5L bottle of Smirnoff Vodka. (that's like $20AUD for 1.5L!!) crazy!
- having a messy + loose pre-party in our amazing suite
- hitting up the casino (we were one big bunch of loud, silly exchange students)
- losing $600HKD in roulette
- going to D3 (an amazing club in the main casino strip of Macau- near MGM Grand etc) and dancing all night
- having like 3 hours sleep as a bunch of 20 boisterously drunk students tried to fit into a suite (4-5 girls per bed and the floor was just covered with passed-out guys- I wish I had a proper photo of the true outrageousness of our sleep!)

Due to the bad weather we were not able to do as much as we planned on doing (I was lucky as I was part of the early-arrivals to Macau so I at least got to explore some of it while the others on the later ferry didnt get to do any due to the shit weather+hang-over the next day).

So now that we have had our "party weekend" we plan on going again for a "cultural weekend"

Things to do on our cultural weekend
- explore the Ruins of St Paul
- do the highest bungee jump in the world
- watch the Cirque de Soleil


Anyways here are a few of the photos I managed to get- I'll have to wait to get the rest of everyone else's cameras.

us the morning after- no sleep, hung-over but still AWESOME.

Just one of the many walkways in the beautiful Venetian Hotel/Casino

Again in the Venetian- the shopping area!

You can go for a Gondola ride if you are sick of shopping/gambling!

 

AJ with the cutest Hello Kitty Phone 

I bought one of the famous Portuguese Egg Tarts- sooo yummy!

At D3

Tea and Tomi

Inebriated at D3

we are the sad losers of money :(

How some of the guys slept- Ian is under the table! hahaha

How some of the girls who got beds slept- you can see me on the bed on the right-hand-side (on the far right)

I really, really wish I could go into much more detail and spend more time blogging but I really can't afford to waste time in a city that never sleeps! So see my facebook for the rest of the photos.

xoxo

Jane

Back to Black

After getting my hair dyed this awful orange colour I went back to the hairdresser (on Pokfulam Road- around the Hollywood Road/Soho/Mid-level area in Hong Kong) and demanded it to be fixed. Instead of the chocolate brown I wanted in the first place I now have black hair! But to be honest I don't really mind. I quite like it. Besides I feel that after a few washes it will end up being dark brown anyways =).

Tea (my Norwegian Barbie) + I before hitting LKF last night.

Me and Tea with Asian Elvis- we found him walking around the streets of LKF

Last night was really good! We had pre-drinks at Patrick Manson with everyone and then headed out to LKF to bar hop. (P.S. Oysters @ LKF has $35HKD Long Island Ice teas!). But the best place would definitely have to be PI. That club was amazing! It's on the 28th floor on the corner of Wyndham Street! But be warned because they do have dress codes- they even rejected WESTERNERS who were in thongs/flipflops. (In case you don't know Westerners are pretty much allowed free reign in Asia). Oh and outside PI on my way home while I was sitting on a chair some Cantonese guy asked me how much it would take for me to kiss him. HAHA. Then he tried all his cheesy lines on me. I swear its a common occurence for guys in HK to think they can buy girls? All my girlfriends get prepositioned when we are going out (and I swear we are not dressed like hookers!) 

Also, the prostitution seems rampant in Hong Kong. I was on the elevator at HKU to go to the Law faculty with this White male and his tacky, female escort. They clearly had been making out in the elevator beforehand as they looked all shifty and jumped apart when i got in. Anyways the scenario went down like this (I overheard their convo in the elevator because they didnt try to hide it from me)

Asian Prostitute: *giggling and grinding up against the White man* "Do you think anybody saw us?"

White man: "I think they have cameras but it doesn't matter"

Asian Prostitute: "ooooooh you are sooo naughty" *giggle* *giggle* *grind*

So needless to say I got off on the very next floor. I wonder which faculty this guy is from and what he teaches. I also saw him again at LKF last night with ANOTHER prostitute.

*shudders*

Anyways, it's rainy today so I didnt go to the Beach Party @ Lantau.

It's been good to just have a relaxed day where I'm not doing anything

Backtrack

Now that I am in HONG KONG (loving it!) and finally have my Macbook Pro fixed I feel that I should just inundate you all with another dose of touristy narcissism on my last few weeks in China (shanghai) so I don't forget.



SHANGHAI:

A picture taken during the "light show tunnel ride" that Calista and I took from PuXi to Pudong. It is as tacky as all the reviews say it is- but it's still a must do- especially if you could get a carriage all to yourself so you can snigger together. (We took the metro on the way back but).

 Me + Expo.

At the observation desk of the Middle Bauble of the Oriental Pearl Tower. I always laugh at this photo. It actually was really scary to walk on the glass- my knees were shaky the whole time!

A self-love photo I took with my AWESOME lollipop while I waited for Calista to get ready one night in Shanghai.

Calista and I after a few too many drinks in front of Barbarossa. This place is seriously so beautiful! It's a Moroccan themed bar with Shisha pipes etc and divans for you to lounge on in all your glamour. It is  located on a beautiful lake in the middle of People's Park. I really wish there were places like this in Australia. And most importantly, Wednesday night is Ladies night so you get free drinks all night on the rooftop level if you are of the female variety.  Very popular with trendy locals and westerners.

Calista and I decided it'd be a great idea to Karaoke-it-up after we got nice and sloshed from Ladies Night at Barbarossa. It was really cheap + fun.



- The Insect and Bird Market, Shanghai (Sophia made me go! Just the name made my skin crawl)

There were sooo many different types of turtles. I had no idea there was more than one type of turtle. Oh the ignorance!

I was shuddering the whole time that I walked past this. They are like some sort of worm/centipede...not sure I didnt want to get too close in case it overturned onto me.

I still don't know why people would want to keep crickets, grasshoppers or locusts as pets. But apparently they do. You can get these disgustting critters in a variety of sizes. (P.S. they ARE alive)

The Bund + The Huangpu River Tour

Backdrop: Pudong

Backdrop: Puxi- The Bund. I love love love the old colonial buildings- especially at night.

The view from our side (PuXi- The Bund)

Us on our river cruise.



That's all I really have time for now. Need to walk down Hollywood Road+ Soho Road with Beth and try and find a place to cut my hair.
(EDIT: really sad about my hair. It turned out way too light- I need to make another trip back to get it the right colour >.<).

Lan Kwai Fong last night was incredibly fun too (and it wasnt even Ladies night). I will update with those stories later.

xo

Jane

Broken Laptop= best way to dampen your holiday spirits

A bottle of water battled it out with my Macbook Pro.

Unfortunately, it appears the water won.

My keyboard seems to be utterly fried- it works but each key on the keyboard seems to do something it is NOT supposed to do- i.e. if i press F an asterix will appear instead. I tried googling it...prospects don't seem great.

Life continues in Shanghai- Calista and are are going out clubbing with an old high-school friend of mine (Tony) tonight. He promises us a night to remember.......so I'm pretty excited.


All blog posts will have to be put on hold until I find time to visit an Apple store. (this will probably be when I get to Hong Kong at the end of next month.)


x0x

Day 3 Shanghai with Calista

Yesterday was a pretty chilled day.

After breakfast, which consisted of a bag of soy bean milk + a sweet and spicy chicken sushi roll (for me) and a pack of mini sushi rolls (for Calista) courtesy of OUR (we call it ours because we pretty much live there) Family Mart, Calista and I caught the subway to the People's Square (人民广场).

On our way to the FenShine markets yesterday, we noticed that there was a massive underground mall adjoined to the People's Square Metro Station. It was massive and full of the sorts of shops you'd expect at Harujuku in Tokyo. So we spent our morning getting lost (many, many, many times) while wandering through the myriad alleys and backstreets of the underground mall. We admired/lusted after the pieces we couldn't afford, laughed at the stupid clothing/things for sale (we even found a hilarious sex shop) and tried on clothes that we could afford but didn't really want to spend the money on.

I ended up buying 2 different hairpieces (fringes) made out of real human hair. I got a blunt full fringe and also a side fringe. So coooool, I can't wait to wear them! Calista reckons I look like I'm about six years old with my bowl-cut fringe. I think its ad-or-a-bubble! haha

We also ended up getting out nails done. Calista got acrylics+ OPI nailpolish for $80RMB ($16AUD) while I just got a manicure + OPI nailpolish (matte white of course) for $40RMB ($8AUD). Gotta love the cheap labour in China!!

Our nails. (sorry for the bad lighting, this was taken in the dim lighting at the Bluefrog bar we went to last night)


I also got my eyelash extensions for the total sum of 150rmb (30AUD). There were also the option of cheaper ones for 100rmb but they were faker and made of plastic, while mine is real hair. I really do love them: it's so natural-looking but at the same time it gives you that extra "wow" factor. (Also no need for mascara everyday). I wish I could get them done for so cheap in Australia.

(Note: the process takes around 1 hour and it doesn't hurt or anything but if you are sensitive about your eyes you will need to really work hard to relax, I found that if i got too tense I would start blinking rapidly and it was hard for the poor girl to glue the eyelashes on.)



For dinner/drinks Calista and I decided we would go to the Bluefrog bar and restaurant because it had a lot of good reviews and also because it was mentioned in my travel book. Unfortunately however, after we go off the subway station we realised we forgot to look up what number it was on Maoming Rd. So we were at the middle of the road and had to decide to go either North or South with no idea how long the road went for and where the actual restaurant was. Add to that the fact that it had been raining previously and it looked like it would storm. Luckily we chose to go down the right direction first and found it JUST as it literally poured down (torrential rain-like). It really was one of those "moments"- like finding a gold nugget =p. Calista saw the restaurant first and exclaimed in delight, only to find me running off across the road towards it screaming at the top of my lungs as it started to rain. (I have to admit i squealed like the big girl that I am.)

Anyways, it was excellent because it was 2-for-1 drinks + 2-for-1 burgers as well. So I got a Peach Margarita (50RMB) and an Apple Margarita and Calista got 2 Apple Margaritas. (sooooooo delicious!!!!!!!!!) The burgers were also scarily massive.

Calista with her Apple Margarita.



Me with my Peach Margarita.



Calista with her Aussie Burger (typical).



Me with my Montana Burger- look at my shocked (edit: down syndrome) face! I only posted this so you could see how massive the onion rings were. The same size and thickness of the meat patties!



Us exploring the streets after dinner:



(Calista has a slight obsession with Haribo the World Expo Mascot *sigh*)



(Me infront of the Bluefrog Bar, unfortunately you can't see it properly)



The cutest dog eveer (I can't wait til i get back home and buy my own ^^). I found him and his owner sitting outside a department store enjoying the night. Calista was embarrassed by the way I was gushing over it. This was the best photo I could take coz it didn't like the flash :(.



On the corner of some street infront of the Cathay Theatre. We plan on going there for a matinee one day.



Calista loves the fairy lights on the trees on either side of every street.


Me with my old-school phone in our hotel room. Lol



Calista on our way to dinner, about to enter the subway and brave the peak hour rush. We were literally doing the stereotypical subway ride that you see in the Asian/Indian films. If my hands weren't nailed to my sides by the thousands of people surrounding me and totally invading my personal space I would have attempted to get my camera out and taken a snapshot.



xox