Day 4 - Adventuring on One's Own

T-2 to Orientation Day! I've just been assigned to South Island School, in Aberdeen (unfortunately, Roy is elsewhere), so I'm probably going to need to figure out how to get there tomorrow. Apparently, it's going to be a loooooooooooooooong commute. :(

Anyway, the science museum was closed today, so I decided to check out the space museum instead. Also, I went to IKEA for the first time. :)

Note: This is an image heavy post. And for the record, I hate Blogger's formatting options.

The HK Space Museum website claimed that it was located about 10 minutes away from the TST East MTR station. So, once I hopped off the subway and emerged into fresh, humid air (I think I might start carrying deodorant around, like everyone else), I started walking. Little did I know, however, that when they said 10 minutes, what they actually meant was 10 feet. That's right - the museum was right in front of my face. However, I became incredibly distracted by the ships and the water on my left (I'm a desert girl - every time I see water, I have to stop and enjoy it.). I soon drifted past the space museum, the art museum, and the cultural centre, and instead of doubling back, I decided to see if I could just circle around.

This was, in fact, a terrible, terrible mistake. You see, Hong Kong does not believe in jaywalking. You could try, but it would involve jumping over the metal fences that have been installed all along the streets. In fact, you can only cross at the crosswalks, which means that if you spot something interesting across the street, it might just take you awhile to get there, which is most unfortunate. Needless to say, it took me approximately 20 minutes to get back to where I had originally started, just because I had to find places where I could actually cross the street! (Also, I got distracted by all the stores. And I saw tourists for the first time!)

  Unfortunately, though, the space museum was a little small. As in, I did all the exhibits in about 10 minutes (it was pretty much astronomy 101). At first, I was so impressed by the fact that my Yale ID meant that I only had to pay 50 cents (USD) to get in, I added on a $3.00 (USD) IMAX ticket to see THE POWERHOUSE OF THE STARS. The film was pretty good, actually. Being in the middle of a nebula is always  overwhelming, and seeing stars being formed is...wow. However, all of this breathtaking majesty was interrupted at the halfway point, since the filmmakers decided to insert a little "history of astronomy," in the form of a cartoon dog and his various masters: Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and Einstein. There was also a bit about astrolabes, which was cool because Megan and I went to that exhibit last year in Philadelphia that had at least a couple dozen astrolabes on display.

 

I'm far more interested in taking pictures of people, rather than scenery. However, sometimes people take offense, so I wish I had some sort of sneaky camera. Or had bought a better phone, perhaps? People keep assuming I'm a local, so I feel kind of guilty when I take my camera out, just like everyone else. Oh well. These were taken on this "viewing platform," along the waterfront.

Ah, to be reminded of Vegas...Wynn really is everywhere, I'm afraid.

Oh, so as it turns out, HK has an Avenue of Stars, Hollywood style! I looked at every star, but it quickly became apparent that I don't watch enough Asian films (me + foreign films = lots and lots of French films), because I only recognized these guys: 

Of course, Jackie Chan. He even has his own touristy kiosk thing. Look! Handprints!


 










Andddddd...Bruce Lee.













And, of course, Jet Li. I also spotted Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh, but since I'm not a fan of either, I'm not putting those pictures up.

Lastly, just one note about the subway system (or MTR): it's amazing. I mean, if the Boston T system ever got wind of the MTR, it would simply disintegrate out of shame. The system is fast, it's clean, there were hardly any homeless people...also, HK seems to have a thing for putting malls right around the MTR station, sort of like the Pru stop on the T, but for every stop. And the Octopus card is so convenient! You don't swipe, so most women just slap their purses onto the scanner, without even having to look for the card (yeah, I tried it and just looked like an idiot). I even saw a little boy hold up his watch - I guess he put his card's chip onto it or something? - and walk through. Also, you can use your card kind of like a preloaded debit card - it works in most convenience stores.



Remains of the day:
- Yup, IKEA for the first time. Strange, strange, place. When I saw all those couches and stuff, though, I started thinking about the superspecialawesome suite I'm in next year. Can we get cool rugs? And chairs? I'm psyched.
- The laundry service is not a good place for my clothes. It's cheap, but my jeans are a hideous shade of blue now, and my white shirts are no longer white. -_- Since I actually have detergent and everything, I think I may just handwash most of my stuff.