Hong Kong has an intricate public transportation system. There is an underground railway called the MTR. I have had the opportunity to ride the MTR on two separate occasions. The interesting or should I say important thing to know about the MTR is that it will take you to the destination and then it has several exits and if you take the wrong exit at the right stop, you will not be where you want to be. It is a bit like the airport with all the different gates. All the exits are labeled and you need to pay attention to exits. We are hoping to get more acquainted to the MTR in the near future. There is also a subway system. It isn't what you would think. Subways are underground walkways. There are millions of pedestrians here. Everywhere you go you have to do a considerable amount of walking. For instance we walk 3/4 of a mile to catch a bus that takes us about 6 miles (under the harbor). The bus does drop us right in front of the office. On the way home we walk another 3/4 mile from the bus stop. We use the bus system daily. Another option for transportation is taxi. There are hundreds maybe thousands of taxis. The roads are filled with buses and taxis. By the way, pedestrians do NOT have the right of way in Hong Kong. If you are run over by a bus (which I am shocked doesn't happen daily) you are at fault. It is a busy bustling place. Some times of the day are busier than others. Carlos and I are beginning to be a bit more brave and wander off the beaten path. But mostly we are escorted by other missionaries who are familiar with the area.
I find the people to be delightful. Most times they seem aloof and distant and then I am surprised by their interest in me and their warmth of each other. They seem to be loving and family oriented with each other. It is common to see a group of women or teenage girls walking arm in arm or holding hands as they walk down the street. They are happy and smiling and friendly with each other. On the other hand, they can stand 4 inches from your face on the bus (they crowd a hundred or more on each bus) and not acknowledge you at all. It really is quite humorous mostly because I have to quiet my childish urges to get them to engage with me.
The variety of food is interesting. Last night while the men attended Priesthood meeting, we (the sister missionaries) went to dinner. There were 18 of us. The Chinese are a rigid rule following people. A favorite restaurant of the missionaries here is an Italian restaurant called Al Dente. One of the more persuasive sisters had to talk the manager of the restaurant into letting us eat at their restaurant. He would not, however, let us each have a separate ticket. He wanted us to double up so he didn't have to write 18 tickets...and then he booted us out at 6:30. We laughed and had a good time. I forgot when talking about transportation, the ferry was the option last night after our dining experience. We went out with other friends on Friday night to an American restaurant called Dan Ryan's. Great food, very spendy. We spent over 300 Hong Kong dollars for a hamburger and a salad. Carlos had the hamburger and I had the salad. For reference 100 Hong Kong dollars equals $12.88...so the dinner wasn't really that bad...just feels like it when you are forking over the money.
I am including some pictures and will try to label them but haven't really figured this out yet.
Carlos and I are doing well. I had a bit of a setback this week but am totally recovered today. In our mission office is a doctor who we can walk in and consult with whenever he isn't busy. He is a wonderful, friendly and kind man. If we know what is going on, he recommends an antibiotic and then we find a drugstore willing to give us antibiotics without a prescription which most are willing to do. So Carlos talked with Dr. Heiner who told Carlos what he recommended and Carlos went hunting and was home with the needed medication.
So here are pictures. Katie and I were talking about a vegetable and I told her I would post a picture of it. I have no idea what it is but it is wonderful in stir fry..
The pictures reminded me. Carlos and I frequently walk what is called the promenade. It is a walkway that goes along the harbor. If we walk to both ends of it, we have been told that the complete walk is about 5 1/2 miles. When we go west it is called the Avenue of the Stars and like Hollywood Boulevard has handprints of Chinese stars in the cement so one of the pictures is of that. The promenade is fairly new, I think within the past 5 years, so Bruce Lee had long passed away prior to its creation. His star is there without handprints but there is a statue of him. The one picture I got of handprints are of Jackie Chan. Most of these pictures are along the promenade including the boat with red sails. The other pictures on the water are taken from the ferry. It is the year of the dragon which is the picture of what looks like a rock dragon hanging from a frame
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