Cultural Tour #3

Our third outing organize by CUHK was to Ocean Park. I was under the impression that this was a water park and targeted mostly towards little kids. Turns out that it is more of a zoo like attraction with a couple of rides and shows.

My friend from HK was super excited every time she talked about Ocean Park... But that was back when we were in middle school... But nevertheless I'm glad I went because it is a major tourist attraction in HK.Relative to the other cultural tours, very few people went to ocean park with us; it was only two tour buses as opposed to 10 for the first cultural tour. A lot of people began to travel to other countries for the weekend so that's probably another reason there were so few of us today. We had the option of going to either Ocean Park today with no extra charge or go to HK Disneyland for an extra $100HKD. Honestly $100HKD is really nothing but we preferred to go to Ocean Park instead.





It was actually a miserable looking day but that didn't bother us much. The lines were much shorter than a sunny day's would be. And for the most part the skies were threatening and not really raining.

My friends and I followed the road from one end of the park to the other to try to cover as much of the park as possible. We saw animals first then went on the cable car to go to the part of the park with the rides.



We then had lunch at the terrace cafe. It was pricey but it had seating and we were really hungry by that point.



After lunch we hit the roller coasters. If you are expecting sixflags-like coasters you're gonna be disappointed. The rides weren't really scary at all... In fact there were old people lining up for rides left and right! Lol. But it was my first time going on a ride that swung you upside down for a couple of seconds... Kinda like that pirate boat ride... Yeah... I'm sure you know what I'm talking about :p





Lastly we hit the souvenir shops cause I was dying to buy something cute!! There were pandas galore and I'm a sucker for cute stuff >_<




Overall it was a good day with my girls. We went to eat in Shatin afterwards. Oh and last bit of info! There is no bus taking you back to CUHK!! Which means you have as much time as you like but that also means you gotta find your way back :(

But its no prob! There's a bus outside of the park that takes you right back to Central and from there the MTR will take you back to University Station :)



<3andrea

Tim Ho Wan Restaurant

There’s a little place in HK with a major reputation. It’s a Michelin-starred restaurant :) and you know you’re at the right place when you see a lowkey dimsum place with a HUGE crowd in front.

Tim Ho Wan 添好運點心專門店
Shop 8, Taui Yuen Mansion Phase 2, 2-20 Kwong Wa Street, Mong Kok
旺角廣華街2-20號翠園大樓2期地下8號舖



There cha siu bao’s are to die for!





Both times I went the line was crazy long! If you go you better allot for an hr+ long wait cause its packed from opening til closing.

If you have the time I suggest you go. Its not an outrageously far trip from campus and its only 2 blocks away from ladies street. And even if you think it didn’t meet your expectations, at least you can say you’ve been to a Michelin starred restaurant! :)



<3andrea

Cultural Tour #1

For every Saturday while studying at CUHK, there are organized trips for students to sightsee HK. It’s a great time to go out with those students you know are in your hall but you haven’t hung out with them yet. Our first one was the Hong Kong Tour.

Meet up time is at 9am in the lobby for Kuo Mou students and New Asia parking lot for Daisy Li/Grace Tien. They say 9am but the buses actually came at 9:30am -__-;;

First Stop: Avenue of the Stars
It was quite hot out today so sunscreen and shades are a must. If you wanna be Asian (which is obviously acceptable here) you can whip out your umbrella to shade you from the rays. If you don’t have your own then make good friends with someone who has one cause umbrellas > sunnies.

Avenue of the stars is a strip hugging the harbor that’s lined with stars on the floor with famous actors and actresses names and handprints. Most of them were Asian so I was like ehh. There’s also a bruce lee statue that everyone likes to take pictures with.





Second Stop: Lunch at Tack Hsin Restaurant
It was supposed to be dimsum because this restaurant is famous for its dimsum, but we just got regular lunch. My girls and I got a table of our own so no awkward moments there :)











Third Stop: Stanlet Market
This was nothing special to me. It's definitely for the tourist looking for cheap goods. Maybe it is because I can't bargain to save my life so its very frustrating to shop here. Honestly the vendors don't give you a very big discount but it makes you feel better even if you only get 10HKD off your stuff. when in doubt say "wahhh so expensive! I am only a college student with no money!"


Fourth Stop: Victoria Peak
This is the highest point in HK. If you are lucky it will be a clear day and you can see the pretty skyline. The tour drove us up to the peak so you miss out on the famous tram ride up. My girls and I actually went to the peak the day before so we got to take the tram up and go to Madame Tussaud's. I suggest if it's your first time here then take the tram, you get to see the buildings look like they are at a 45 degree angle!


We were supposed to go to Repluse Bay but I guess we did not have enough time to go visit. I'm hoping to make a day trip there since it's such a well known beach here!

<3andrea

Girl's Day Out

HK has been really fun so far! Going out and making lots of new friends, it’s great :D
So the girls in my hall and a couple from other halls decided to go out and do a little sightseeing.


@ university station




on the peak tram


iconic peak tower


@ madame tussaud's




@ starbucks. it's 50% off petite desserts on fridays :)


just a little thing on the ground showing how far home is :)


@ central station watching the protest
(friday was the anniversary of HK's independence)


there was a lot more policemen but I couldn't get a good picture


@muikee cookfood stall restaurant in TST


freaking cutest picture ever <3


my fave dish: fried eggplant



There are cultural tours that the university sets up but to see and experience more I suggest you go out with your people to see HK for yourself :)

<3andrea

p.s. Don't forget to study!! lol

Forgotten Something?

Go to Jusco!
It’s a store that sells things for around $10HKD
Kinda like a dollar store just converted into HKD :)

I personally bought snacks and a shower caddy
But my friends bought bowls, chopsticks, hangers, a pillow, etc.

The closest one to the university is in Fo Tan; only one station away!
It is in Shatin Galleria
But I suggest you Google earth it or check for specific directions

Good stuff you guys! And cheap too. Woo hooo :)




This pic was taken by Hannah :)

<3andrea

Orientation

The program I am in for the summer is called the International Summer School (ISS)
At the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

Students living on campus move in by the 27th and orientation is on the 28th

I took my campus tour on the 27th but there is designated time on the day of orientation for students who come in very late the day before.
On the tour we went to the office of academic links (OAL) to fill out some forms and get our student id cards
Lucky for us it was a nice day out so walking wasn’t a problem.
At the OAL they also give you your orientation package which consists of your id card, forms, schedule, info packet, gym card, souvenir tshirt and an umbrella (the umbrella was the BEST thing in there since its rainy season here).



The rest of the tour was to see a bit of the rest of the campus but the OAL was by far the most important stop of the day.

Day of orientation all of the ISS students gathered at Shaw college lecture theatre to learn a bit about the school and regulations


Louis Wong, the person most students kept in contact with for questions before coming to HK, spoke to us about the MTR, school facilities, visiting hours for dorms, professors, etc.
He also told us this is a dry and smoke-free campus. if you wanted to take a smoke you have to take the bus to the MTR station, cross to the other side that's not part of campus, smoke and take the trip back up to your dorm... that’s a LOT of travelling for just one cigarette, so just save yourself the trouble and don’t smoke :)



We also took a picture with all of the ISS students. I didn’t realize just how many students were in the program until we all gathered that day.
I will post up the picture when CUHK uploads it.

After orientation students can take the campus tour if the haven’t done so already.
For those who have they had some time before the welcoming dinner at 7pm

Kuo Mou Hall students (that’s me :D) and Grace Tien/Daisy Li students got on different coach buses and met up at the restaurant
We went to Superstar Seafood Restaurant in Tsuen Wan.
The bus ride was around 40mins to the restaurant but time passes by quickly when talking to your new friends :)



For our welcoming dinner we got a 12 course meal to give students a taste of a traditional Chinese dinner
I’d say it was a good dinner and it definitely made me realize (again) just how many students are in ISS; we pretty much took up the whole restaurant!



But...in my opinion it would have been more authentic if we got white rice.
To my fellow Chinese students, no white rice with your dinner sounds just absurd doesn’t it?!


Bbq platter


Steamed buns with bamboo fungus filling


Clear soup


Pan fried prawns in XO sauce


Sweet and sour pork


Deep fried fillet in sweet corn sauce
*my fave*


Mixed veggies braised in broth


Crispy chicken


Fujian fried rice


Braised e mein with shrimp roe


Sweet red bean soup


Split pea and coconut cream cake

I’d say it was quite the welcome. Thanks CUHK :)

<3andrea