Monkey Mountain

Even if I never went to Monkey Mountain, just knowing a place with such a name existed would be enough.

Armed with bananas and Octopuses we headed to the MTR. First--lunch. We went to Tuen Mun (actually the opposite direction, but only one stop away) to one of those cramped, crowded restaurants of awesomeness. I ate cuttlefish balls (yum) and a noodle. Seriously, the noodles in that soup were so long and knotted together, I'm 70% certain it was just one really really long one. Actually, I'm -100% certain; I don't want you to actually think it might have been just one noodle, because that would have been pretty amazing. It just felt like it.


After a brief stop at TMT Plaza (they've hung "Happy New Years" signs inside, if you can believe it) and another brief stop somewhere else (someone had an errand to run at another shopping center in another town, but the store was closed) we arrived.

Oh, and a third brief stop to a bakery while waiting for the bus. Our directions had been left behind at the lunch table (along with the accompanying monkey illustration) but they were fairly straightforward. At this point we remembered the instructions as "Take Bus 81 and ask the driver which stop is for Monkey Mountain." Actually, the driver couldn't tell us, but a nice couple on the second deck of the bus could. Also, the bus stop is swarming with monkeys.

There really weren't that many baby monkeys. I've just disproportionately represented them. Because anyone who dislikes baby monkeys possesses a cold heart indeed. Or none at all.

Although, please don't take offense if you actually don't like baby monkeys. I suppose it's possible. I mean, they might have fleas.


First of all: why would you bring your dog to a monkey-filled forest?
Second: nothing. I'm still puzzling over the first question. The only answer I can think of is that monkeys scare you, and dogs scare monkeys (in Korea dogs and monkeys = cats and dogs). But then why visit Monkey Mountain?


We were not supposed to feed the monkeys. But one member of our group did. And a whole swarm of monkeys started running up from behind us. And he tried it again later, and just the sound of the plastic bag crinkling got the monkey all agitated. So: DON'T FEED THE MONKEYS!!! Unless the thought of being ripped to shreds by a family of feral monkeys appeals to you.

On the other hand, watching the monkey peel apart the orange was pretty fascinating.






The path led to the reservoir (if I remember correctly and that's what this is) and then to a little barbeque picnic area and then deeper into the forest. We stopped seeing monkeys so we turned around and found a larger picnic area that also had two of those metal bars for doing chin-ups. Chin-ups are boring, so we disobeyed the stick-figure illustrating the concept of "chin-up" and swung from them monkey-style until the sun started setting.




On the bus ride back I tried photographing this amazing bridge. Well, I shouldn't say "tried;" I did take a photograph of the bridge. It just looks more like a heart rate.

Dried fish and raw fish

I'm just walking along, dum de dum, heading back to campus from the Park N Shop when--woah!--a rope-full of dried fish! Like a garland of Christmas ornaments, only smellier and less sparkly. Naturally, I hadn't expected to stumble into a collection of fish that morning, so I hurried to my room, grabbed my camera, and returned.


And here's a photo that should technically belong with Thanksgiving, but I didn't take the photo until yesterday. After my Master gave me those adorable little chocolate chip cookies, I gave her some chocolate truffles. And then she made this rose out of the wrapper! Secret Angels is the best game ever.

Okay, back to Friday. We needed to listen to presentations in Environmental Economics and I almost wished I could have done another presentation instead, because times flies faster that way. Actually, I liked the first presentation, on plastic bags. They knew what they were talking about. And I'd never really thought much about plastic bags before. But the other two...meh. It's okay though, because...SUSHI for dinner! Yumyumyum. We went to the good place this time, and by some amazingly (I originally spelled "amazingly," "amazling"--oh dear) wonderful chance the line was incredibly short. Salmonsalmonsalmon! I also learned that in Cantonese only the tone disguinshes "spoon" from "napkin." So someone ended up with two spoons and no napkin.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, so I actually didn't think much about Thanksgiving until the evening. Not like I forgot, or anything, but it's hard to feel excited and holiday-ish when a) there's a finance presentation to prepare before dinner, b) it's possible to walk outside without a jacket and c) you're not even 100 percent sure the hostel will be serving turkey.

The reason I could not be certain about the turkey is because the flyers simply said, "Ready for some turkey?" without actually specifying that my readiness would be satisfied. Or, they could have been planning to serve turkey and it could have caught on fire, like in the movies.

But no worries! I filled my bowl with turkey, cranberries (!), cornbread (!!), stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli, fruit salad (with dragonfruit), banana nut bread, apple pie, and pumpkin pie (!!!). I could not believe all the traditional foods they'd managed to find! I only wish I hadn't left the memory card for my camera in my laptop (grumble) because it might be difficult to visualize eating all this with chopsticks.

Yay yay yay! Thanksgiving!!!

The room was packed, mostly with exchange students, but some local students too. "What's that?" "Pumpkin pie. It's delicious." Everyone kept wanting to know how to make it; I felt awkward saying we just buy a can of the filling and plop it into a pie crust. How do people make it from scratch? Do people make it from scratch? I bet the cans grow on special pumpkin pie vines.

Anyway, after finishing I left with some friends to another hostel for more Thanksgiving dinner! This gathering was smaller and the spread of food less expansive (but no less tasty!). I ate: egg salad, mashed potatoes, Mr. Juicy orange juice, some kind of casserole-ish thing, and a slice of Sara Lee cheesecake. And I got to explain the story of the first Thanksgiving to the French students, from what I recalled from elementary school. And then someone else asked me why the Americans killed the Indians, and I said something about greedier settlers coming along later. That's how it goes, right? The same pilgrims who shared turkey with the Native Americans didn't turn around a few months later and eliminate their friends? Right?

After eating, we used crayons to trace our hands on colored paper to draw turkeys, like in kindergarten. And everyone was curious, because at first they couldn't see the resemblance between a handprint and a turkey. Or why we would trace our hand instead of just drawing a turkey free form. After writing what we were thankful for ("that I'm not not not not not a cow") we taped (or more accurately, used bits of that blue putty stuff) the turkeys/cow to the wall. Yay!

Then, in true Thanksgiving style, we sat around talking in the first floor lobby because we were too stuffed to do anything else. Ahh...wonderful.

And then we watched Love, Actually. Because it's okay to think about Christmas now. Plus that movie puts me in such a stunningly happy mood I could watch it in May and not mind in the least.

I love love love coconut milk

Okay, so sorry I've neglected to write for the past several days. Mostly because stuff kept happening when I'd normally be writing.

For instance: Wednesday after classes and studying (necessito 学习 汉 语 for examen on måndag. my life goal is to become fluent in several languages, then speak them all at once. and train a pet parrot to do the same, so I would have someone to talk to) I went to the night market for coconut milk! I thought I would just be going with a couple of friends, but when the group left at midnight for Fu Tai there were at least 12 people.

When we were waiting for our food to arrive, I tried the exercise/playground equipment with a friend. It looks like playground equipment, but less fun. The first one is a set of two bars and a plastic wheel (that doesn't turn and according to the instructions serves no purpose) to sort of do push-ups with? I loved the second piece of equipment better. A square platform with four footprints on it and a metal handrail going 3/4 of the way around. Instructions: Place your feet over the first set of footprints. Step backwards so they cover the second set. Move them back forward. Repeat.

Then happiness in the form of sweet coconut deliciousness arrived.

What a ridiculous day

I think someone kept flipping a coin all day to determine whether the next moment of my life would be amazing & fun or frustrating & miserable.

I'll write about the amazing & fun:

1. Sunshine and overall pleasantly perfect weather
2. A description of the menu for our lunch this Sunday. DELICIOUS!!! I can't wait!!! My favorite is the dish our teacher translated to "as delicious as crabs." But it doesn't contain crabs. There will also be roast chicken, roast duck, spring rolls, what sounded like scallion pancakes, pork, shrimp, duck bone soup, deep fried banana............mmmmmmmmmmmmm...
3. A present from my master! (No, still nothing from my secret angel--but this might be better). In the lift I saw a note on the board for 505's angel, in English this time. It told me to look in her mailbox for a gift. A teeny plastic bag with two thumbprint-sized chocolate chip cookies and a note: "To my Dearest Angel. Thanks for your love and care. [some Chinese characters] :) (I made it!!)" Awww...so sweet!
   

The real Monday

I forgot to specify that the previous post's adventures did not take place on Monday, hopefully that was assumed.

Monday proceeded as usual. Mandarin class followed by intensive practicing of characters (exam next week) and then the last fencing practice!

Yup. That was my day.

Also, in the evening there were people in the lobby handing out tiny plants. I wanted one, but I highly doubted customs would approve. Plus I wouldn't want to try smuggling it home, in case harmful pests were to stow away on the leaves and then invade America and destroy all the native plants. I would feel so guilty.

And in the evening my roommate handed me another gift from some sponser's. I'm not sure what these sponsor's are sponsoring, but sure, I'll take a free folder. Especially one equating the latest PDA with "pure joy."

That was sarcasm. I'm pretty sure a lump of modeling clay would provide me with more joy than "the privilege of owning ingenuity."

Ping Shan Heritage Trail

For once, we found our destination without complication. Actually, getting lost would have required some skill. We rode the MTR for three stops. We looked out the window at the station. We saw the pagoda.

Inside: crocodile!


We followed the map and five minutes later ended up here. In someone's driveway. We realized we must not have been following the map correctly. So we turned around to face the lady waving and shouting and gesturing in the correct direction.

A pond!


The Old Well. Filled with nasty water and litter. Also, the grate lifts open, but we threw pebbles in and determined that the water wasn't very deep. Probably because people keep throwing pebbles in.


Then we crossed a grassy field--had forgotten what that felt like--to arrive at the shrine of the Earth god. The little table in front held lots of awesome little statues.


Like this one.


Off to the side we discovered a pile of trash containing several broken heads and headless bodies, cups filled with ashes and incense, colorful ceramic shards, red cardboard plaques with Chinese characters, and a disgruntled bee.

After the bee settled down we rummaged for souvenirs. One of my friends found me what looks like a snowglobe minus the water and glitter. Inside are a gold plastic buddha sitting on a lotus and tiny plastic quarters (even inscribed with "E Pluribus Unum") and British coins of some sort. A friend told me the characters on the outside of the globe say something about a nice person having a happy life. I can't remember exactly.

Later, walking towards some ancestral halls, we spotted a ribbon-covered car containing a bride and groom in traditional wedding clothes. So we followed it around and for several minutes stood awkwardly in their driveway debating whether or not to ask for a photograph. We were spotted by one of the guests, who welcomed us closer and asked the groom, who said yes. The bride was busy inside the house. However, because I need some photographs to share when I return, you'll have to content yourself with this one, where the groom is that red and gold speck in the background.


Next we turned around and went to the traditional market behind us. We bought fried noodles, chicken congee (it's like porridge), and red bean soup. The lady couldn't speak any English, but my friends could speak some Chinese-- so we managed to get three spoons for the congee instead of three bowls of congee. She wondered about the dirty souvenirs we'd found and we tried explaining they'd been thrown away next to the shrine. I'm not sure if she understood, but she gave us a plastic bag to keep them in. She kept talking, but I understood only two words of the conversation--the word for "England" (was I from England?) and "America" (no, she's from America). She kept asking which state I came from, maybe hoping I'd say the name of someplace she knew. Sometimes she'd look straight at me when she asked a question, and I thought maybe if I concentrated hard enough I'd suddenly understand. Nope. We wanted our picture taken with her, but she absolutely refused. Also, she likes the Korean dramas.


I remembered to photograph the delicious red bean soup just in time!


This was the door inside one of the study halls, I think. So many of the doors along the trail had these awesome guards painted on them.


Here is the view from the public washroom. There were artificial birds hanging from the ceiling and sparkling clean sinks. And, as you can see, a circular entranceway. All in all, quite impressive.


In the shop across from the restrooms: dried snakes!
Also, dried turtles and a ceiling fan.


Inside the temple, the next stop on the heritage trail. It looked like the garbage bags contained lots and lots of paper. In this room there were also two paintings of a utopia, several bicycles, and a heap of stuff. And I'm not just using "stuff" because I can't remember the contents of the pile; this stuff epitomized "stuff." Like if someone had asked me, "What does the word, 'stuff' mean?" I could have turned and pointed.


We walked and walked some more, past the bright white trees I would have touched if I hadn't noticed the pesticide warning sign--it didn't contain any amusing illustrations, so it would have been easy to overlook. Then up a long hill to the gallery.


The gallery was converted from the former police station. It contained a bed, baby high-chair, wedding headress, darts for use in martial arts, Oh! And did you know people used to gamble on cricket fights? At first I saw the word "cricket" and thought England, but that didn't make sense with what I was looking at: tiny ceramic bowls (one with a cricket painted inside), a few wispy feathers attached to a stick, and several wooden containers.


The view from outside the gallery. All those cement structures along the left are tombs. That long gray line in the background is train tracks. And those pointy triangles way way in the back are mountains.


You mean it's not a crocodile after all?? Bummer.
Dragons are cool too, though.
I suppose.


We finished up at a time too early for dinner. So we continued the adventure!
To Ching Chung Koon!

Remember, remember? That temple in Tuen Mun I tried finding ages ago! It's really easy to find if you take the light rail (and it would have been easier if we hadn't missed our stop. luckily the stations are spaced close enough together that we could just follow the tracks. sort of. because at first when we tried following the tracks we became trapped in a garden, but after we'd backtracked and crossed to the other side of the tracks we were ok). The light rail has truly amazing "mind the gap" stickers on its windows. It looks like the stick figure is leaping into the gap. Maybe belly flopping. The picture came out dark and blurry, though. Also, the light rail is amazing because in addition to regular seats it has semi-seats--these slanted boards that you can sort of sit/stand against to rest a little while not consuming as much space as if you were sitting in a genuine yello plastic seat.

Ching Chung Koon temple contained:

1. bonsai trees with (relatively) large ceramic figures. some creepy. some friendly
2. a tree filled with birds. really really really loud birds
   
3. the miniature model of utopia featured above
4. a man who wouldn't allow me to accidentally squeeze past a statue into a roped off area (short story short, I didn't see the ropes)
   

We tried to find the restaurant with the large sushi that I'd eaten at before.
After some wandering and map-staring and calling of people...we found it! Quite on accident, however, because the person I called was giving me directions to a different sushi place--the one with genuinely large sushi--not the one I'd been to before that I thought was the large sushi place but I guess might only be medium sized. Anyway, the hostess couldn't tell us how long the wait was and after learning we were not number 88, but 98, we walked five paces to the left to another sushi place.

This restaurant served us particularly small sushi, but salmon in any quantity is fine by me.
We also ordered this stew-type thing with an egg plopped on top. And I learned the most awesomely fantastic way to break apart wooden chopsticks.


We concluded the evening with a trip to the Park N Shop. That red and white rectangular stack in the background consists of tiny bottles of yogurt. Only I'm not convinced it's real yogurt, because clearly they don't need to be refrigerated.