Day 4 (Max)

Today was my first day in the city by myself. To keep things simple, I decided to travel more locally. I started my day by walking down Nathan Road from Jordan to TST, which would take approximately 20 minutes. Pollution warnings aside (though I would only learn about this after the day was over), the day went off without a hitch.

I started by exploring The Park. Actually, I was looking to go to the museums but I saw a rather bland ramp describing how it was a path to a local public area. Seeing as I had a whole day to explore the area between Jordan and TST, I thought, "what the heck, why not?". It was like peeling an onion, as the boring ramp led to a wide open, well-maintained space with a nearby pool. After finding a nearby map, I learned about all the other different areas The Park had to offer. One fascinating exhibit was a nearby aviary. There were giant birds with two massive colorful beaks - one used for eating, one used as a decoy/decoration. Additionally, a chinese garden, a hedge maze, multiple fountains, various tree farms and sculpture gardens all beautified The Park. I also took the opportunity to explore a nearby pier. Even Hong Kong's more mundane buildings tower to obscene heights, with more elaborate "H" shaped buildings and hotels standing side-by-side. It puts NYC's skyline to shame.

Once finished with the Park, I walked the remainder of the distance to the art and space museums. The art museum was smaller than other art museums I've seen but still enjoyable. Their take on modern art seems to be focused on environmentalism, political statements and optical illusions - a bit easier to manage and understand than the modern art I've seen in the USA. Other exhibits included historical ceramic pieces, black and white paintings on parchments and a series of paintings based on China-Western trade (all of which were historical and focused on accurate portayals, rather than something more emotional, abstract or impressionistic).

After the Art museum, I needed to kill some time before the space museum, so I went to a movie walk of fame. It had the same feel as a disney exhibit but, aside from Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, I didn't recognize any of the actors.

Finishing up the walk of fame brought me to the opening time of the Space museum. Unfortunately, the Space museum was a disappointment. After completing the whole museum in under an hour or so, I walked back to Sam's apartment for a bit of R&R.

When Sam returned home, he, his roommate Rob and I all went out for long tail sushi. Long tail sushi is a sashimi/sushi hybrid - the fish/protein used is long enough to extend far beyond the piece of rice it is tied to. I purchased a variety dish, which consisted of 6 normal pieces of sushi, 6 long tail pieces, 3 massive pieces of california rolls (I almost considered getting a fork and knife to eat it!), and two miscellaneous pieces. As the night before, the sushi was extremely varied, fresh, delicious and incredibly cheap - about $18 US.

After dinner, Rob headed back to the apartment while Sam and I went out for drinks. We went to a row of Bars with outdoor seats. Sam and I settled on a bar that was a bit quieter and didn't have someone openly harass us to enter their establishment. We both settled on Hoegaarden, placed in what looked like pint and a half /2 pint glasses. Beers finished, Sam and I trekked back home for some well earned sleep.

Cheers!

Max


**NOTE FROM SAM**
The "Park" that Max refers to is Kowloon Park, the largest public park in Kowloon.