Wai Wai..Hallo Hallo..

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  Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Sunday, April 22, 2007

Wai Wai Hallo Hallo! Thats how we answer phones here in the HK!

Let me start off by saying that Hong Kong has blown my mind! This place is CRAZY! The energy that flows through the city is electric! There are officially about 7 million people in this tiny city..but i'm told in actuality..its more like 8-9 million. The views are breathe taking...Everywhere you look..you see GIGANTIC skyscrapers and apartment buildings. I can't think of any skyline in the world that can be compared to that of Hong Kong's.

I have spent 6 ACTION-PACKED days in Hong Kong so far. Its been action packed mainly due to my poor planning. I did not allot enough time to properly see Hong Kong. There will be many things that I won't have time for!! I tried to extend my ticket for a few days..but unfortunately the flights are booked solid until May 25th..and I don't have the funds to stay that long! So I just have to make the best of my time!

I am currently staying with my "LOOK YEE" which means Aunt #6. I just recently found out that Hong Kong is actually divided up into 2 main parts...There is HONG KONG, and then there is KOWLOON (which incidentally means 9 Dragons). I am staying on the Kowloon side, in a SUPER CRAZY busy area known as MONG KOK. My Aunt Cecilia (Aunt#6) and her family live smack dab, right in the middle of the action!! Everytime I go out for a walk at night ..I'm stunned by the sheer volume of people roaming the streets. This place is busy ALL THE TIME! There is no shortage of restaurants, stores, markets..or pretty much anything in Mong Kok! There is a street that sells clothes, another that sells electronics, shoes, jade, gold fish, flowers...you can pretty much find anything around here!!

One of the highlights for me so far has been meeting my family. In Hong Kong..I have my Aunt#5, Aunt#6, Aunt#9 and my grandma. My grandma lived in Toronto a long time ago..but I haven't seen her in a very long time! I've met Aunt 5 and 6 before when they came to Canada to visit..but I had never met their children(my cousins) before. So finally..I got to meet them, and my Aunt#9!!! It took me 29 years..but I've almost met all of my cousins now..There is just one more I haven't met!

Another one of my highlights was meeting Ord Drup Gyud Rinpoche. While I was in Thailand I had some custom muay thai shorts made for 9 Dragons. I also bought a MONGKON (which is the headband-like object that a fighter wears into the ring) and some PRAN-JITS (which are armbands worn for protection by fighters). Mongkons and pran-jits are normally blessed by monks in Thailand. However..I decided to have our Mongkon and pran-jits blessed in Hong Kong. I also intended to have the shorts blessed as well...I believe that I've stated before that I'm not a particularly religious person. But I'm very open minded of people and their beliefs. My aunt Cecilia is a follower of Tibetan Buddhism, and when I asked her where I could get my stuff blessed, she brought me to see Ord Drup Gyud Rinpoche. I'm not that familiar with Tibetan Buddhism (I've read a few of the Dalai Lama's books..and interestingly enough..I recently read one of his books while in Thailand). My aunt tells me that Rinpoche is the 7th re-incarnation of some lama, or somebody (again..I don't mean to sound ignorant..but I'm not that familiar with the terminology, and the actual intricacies of the religion, and sometimes much is lost in translation because of my mediocre cantonese). Rinpoche normally lives in India, but happened to be in Hong Kong.

I had never met Ord Drup Gyud Rinpoche before, but the moment I was invited into his quarters and saw him..a very warm smile crept across my face. He looked at me and smiled back..and signalled me to come closer. Lama Tenzin, also a very friendly man...translated for Rinpoche. Rinpoche took my hand and said "Welcome..you've had a long trip here"...and let out a very comforting laugh. I'm not saying that he is a psychic or anything..but I know my aunt didn't tell him where I had come from...or that I had been travelling...for me..it was just a very nice way to be greeted! But I will say this..there was an amazing energy in that room! Without getting too SPACEY and stuff...Rinpoche went on to give a lengthy blessing of protection for 9 Dragons and all of my students. Afterwards..he also gave me a blessing and a necklace to wear with a prayer inside of it. Even though I'm not Buddhist..to me..it was a very nice gesture..and I am honoured to have met this man! I am told that his teacher Karmapa will actually be visiting Toronto..sometime in June or July.

Sorry for going off topic....now back to super fast paced Hong Kong!

In my first 2 days here..I think I must have had dim sum at least 5 times!! They love their dim sum here! The food in Hong Kong is awesome! Its amazing to me, the fact that there are so many restaurants in Hong Kong..and it seems that all of them are always full!! People are always waiting for seats!!

Since I don't have much time in Hong Kong..my Aunt Cecilia has tried to show me as much of Hong Kong as possible in the past few days!! Its like a Cole's Notes version of Hong Kong. So far I've been to..(TAKING IN A DEEP BREATHE..)...Golen Bauhinia Square in WAN CHAI, Stanley Market, Murray House, Repulse Bay Beach in REPULSE BAY, Apliu Street Market in SHAM SHUI PO, Temple Street Market in YUA MA TEI, the Clock Tower and Avenue of Stars in TSIM SHA TSUI, WONG TAI SIN, Giant Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, the Wisdom Path in LANTOU ISLAND, and of course to THE PEAK..to take the mandatory photo of Hong Kong from the mountain top.

Along with all of that..I managed to fit in (and by fit in..I mean WATCH), 3 tai chi classes (that my aunt does..but I actually got to try my first ever tai chi class for 1 hour!) 1 kung fu class (that my cousin Humphrey takes).

Then there was my grandma's birthday dinner. Dinner with my cousins. And dinner and drinks with my old highschool friends Pedro and Jovian.

I'm sure there are quite a few things that I've left out..its been a whirlwind of a time so far! Tomorrow I fly to Beijing for 5 days..I will be seing the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall of China..along with a whole bunch of other things..I'm very excited! When I get back..my grandma will then take me back to her village in China, and hopefully I can fit in a visit to Toi Shan..where my dad grew up...but thats still up in the air..as I'm running out of time.

So..thats it for now..I apologize that I didn't really go into as much detail as I would have liked...I hope to write one more blog when I return from the mainland. In the meantime..enjoy the new pics I've uploaded.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HONG KONG PICS

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