I Think I Found a Home in Asia
This past Saturday I came home from a pleasant excursion to Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Taiwan was pretty low key. Went and saw the largest building in the world called Taipei 101. Of course it will only be so until 2008, if Dubai finishes off its building that is. Even if something goes amiss there, the building will still be overshadowed by the Freedom Tower in the works for 2009. Honestly, while walking towards the building me and my traveling partner really didn't feel like we were approaching an incredible piece of human structure. I suppose this had something to do with the lack of anything of substantive height in its vicinity, but man did that take the bite out of the experience. Random sky scrappers in New York City seemed taller. Although Taipei 101 does have other claims to fame.... Apparently it also has the fastest elevator in the world! We got up to the ...(totally forgot how high we went) in 37 seconds (they were kind enough to post these facts all over the place;) )! Now this I thought was impressive. ;)
No language problems to note. We seem to get by well with just English. Which was a blessing because neither of us knew a lick of Mandarin or Cantonese.
Macau was beautifully picturesque. As an old Portuguese colony, I felt like I was in Europe again walking around the cobblestone streets. The marble and architecture were quite a sight. You sort of get taken by surprise to find this European jewel right in the middle of east Asia. Mostly famous for its gambling, we therefore couldn't leave without checking one of the major casinos. My partner played several games while I served as his helpful sidekick. Such an awesome day trip.
I loved loved loved LOVED Hong Kong! Imagine Tokyo, but a bit crazier. Wild, eh? The people here are definitely more open with expressing what they feel. You know if you've offended someone or have made them happy. ;) Thus, the constant stares made me well aware that I was probably one of the first few colored women they'd ever seen. A big preparation for my trip to China in December. But, in a nutshell Hong Kong is full of vibrant colors, eye catching ads, tall buildings, old buildings, British history, street vendors, cheap merchandise, and straight forward people rushing here and there for the next train. Transportation was amazing! So cheap and very convenient. The whole place was an eye opening experience. After living in Japan, I thought Asia wasn't the place for me, but visiting Hong Kong completely changed that for me. Although I don't speak any Chinese, the frankness of the people there was immensely refreshing. I'm not saying that rudeness is better, but with me you can't go wrong with saying what you really feel.
You just can't. ;)
Taiwan was pretty low key. Went and saw the largest building in the world called Taipei 101. Of course it will only be so until 2008, if Dubai finishes off its building that is. Even if something goes amiss there, the building will still be overshadowed by the Freedom Tower in the works for 2009. Honestly, while walking towards the building me and my traveling partner really didn't feel like we were approaching an incredible piece of human structure. I suppose this had something to do with the lack of anything of substantive height in its vicinity, but man did that take the bite out of the experience. Random sky scrappers in New York City seemed taller. Although Taipei 101 does have other claims to fame.... Apparently it also has the fastest elevator in the world! We got up to the ...(totally forgot how high we went) in 37 seconds (they were kind enough to post these facts all over the place;) )! Now this I thought was impressive. ;)
No language problems to note. We seem to get by well with just English. Which was a blessing because neither of us knew a lick of Mandarin or Cantonese.
Macau was beautifully picturesque. As an old Portuguese colony, I felt like I was in Europe again walking around the cobblestone streets. The marble and architecture were quite a sight. You sort of get taken by surprise to find this European jewel right in the middle of east Asia. Mostly famous for its gambling, we therefore couldn't leave without checking one of the major casinos. My partner played several games while I served as his helpful sidekick. Such an awesome day trip.
I loved loved loved LOVED Hong Kong! Imagine Tokyo, but a bit crazier. Wild, eh? The people here are definitely more open with expressing what they feel. You know if you've offended someone or have made them happy. ;) Thus, the constant stares made me well aware that I was probably one of the first few colored women they'd ever seen. A big preparation for my trip to China in December. But, in a nutshell Hong Kong is full of vibrant colors, eye catching ads, tall buildings, old buildings, British history, street vendors, cheap merchandise, and straight forward people rushing here and there for the next train. Transportation was amazing! So cheap and very convenient. The whole place was an eye opening experience. After living in Japan, I thought Asia wasn't the place for me, but visiting Hong Kong completely changed that for me. Although I don't speak any Chinese, the frankness of the people there was immensely refreshing. I'm not saying that rudeness is better, but with me you can't go wrong with saying what you really feel.
You just can't. ;)
posted by Shrls at 12:12 AM
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