January 15th-17th

Wednesday, January 15th

After a full day in Shenzhen on the 14th, we were given a free day in Hong Kong on the 15th. Some groups went shopping and sightseeing and enjoyed the local markets and cuisine. Yours truly and a group of three others took a trip to Ocean Park Hong Kong, a local theme park and zoo. The bifurcated park is connected by a cable car ride that gives spectacular views of the South China Sea and the park and was well worth the hour long wait to ride.

The theme park was complete with roller coasters, ferris wheels, and spinny rides. Our first ride of the day was called 'The Hair Raiser', a roller coaster that gave you an upside down view of the South China Sea.

After several rides the group indulged in some local fair food. We all ordered hot dogs, complete with tomato meat sauce, onions, and lettuce. Not quite your average fair hot dog. Vendors were also selling popcorn, noodles, and fried squid.

In addition to the theme park were several animal habitats. We got to see everything from penguins, to an artic fox, to sea mammals, to a dolphin show, and to our favorite, two giant pandas.

Ocean Park is also home to the largest indoor aquarium, containing more than 5,000 different fish and sea creatures. We even got to pet a starfish. At the end of the day there was a sound, light, water, and pyrotechnics show called Symbio, that told the story of how two fighting dragons of water and fire came together in peace and harmony. The show was spectacular and was a great way to end a fantastic day at the park.

-Courtney
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Thursday, January 16th

Today a group of nine students went to Mong Kok to enjoy an afternoon of karaoke. We were given a private room to ourselves for four hours. The room included six microphones and two flat screen T.V.'s.  Lunch and endless songs were provided for the afternoon. We sang the best classics of American history at the top of our lungs.Time flew by and everyone left feeling like it was an unique experience that we were all happy we were able to enjoy.

-Kaitlin
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Friday, January 17th

Today we took a day to sleep in and relax in the morning before meeting up for a Dim Sum brunch. Dim Sum is a local Cantonise cuisine made up of many different types of small dishes of steamed buns and rice noodle rolls containing various ingredients. Of course our Dim Sum meal was also served with tea.

After Dim Sum, we all hoped on the MTR and headed to Hong Kong Polytechnic University to meet with professors and students for a software company visit. The company we visited is named Abacus. They specialize in software for travel solutions and travel bookings. They partner with Asian-Pacific Airlines and travel agencies to provide time and cost efficient travel options to consumers. We were given a two hour presentation on their business practices and development.

After the presentation we were free to spend another night exploring the city. My group went to visit more of the local markets and sat down for dinner at a local congee & noodle restaurant off Nathan Street. I got a huge bowl of noodles, greens, and broth for only $20HK or less than $3US. It is always great to end the day with a full belly of delicious local food.

-Courtney