Megan's Trip

Back in early November, my friend Megan Yoder came out to Hong Kong to visit. She and I went to grad school together at Mines. She got a Masters in Stats, so we weren't in the same department. But, we worked together for the same grant called the Bechtel/GK-12 grant, where grad students are put into elementary and middle schools to help improve the curriculum and get kids excited about math and science. We met on the first day of that job, and, after going out to lunch together, were friends ever since! Megan has been a great friend, seeing me at some of my worst moments, including throwing up in public while on a lunch date (I was sober, by the way. I blame it on the sour cream), and not judging me. Her kindness also includes coming to visit me here in Hong Kong. Everyone knows international flights are not cheap, and there are so many other places in the world she could have gone, like a beach in Thailand, but instead she came to visit me here, spending a lot of hard earned cash and vacation days in the process. So thank you, Megan! Hopefully you thought it was all worth it, but I had a wonderful time! 

Megan is very easy to please, so I had no trouble coming up with a long list of things we could do together, including the History Museum. I had been to this museum before with both of my sisters, and they, specifically Stephanie, had begged me to skip the first section which is all about geology and, well, rocks. One lady nearby us actually said "I didn't come half-way around the world to look at rocks, I REALLY didn't!" Steph had nudged me and said, "My thoughts exactly." Megan, on the other hand, was the exact opposite and wanted to learn all about the geology of the area. Seeing as we both went to the Colorado School of Mines, where geology is pushed on you whether you want it or not, it's easy to see how we both have an appreciation for it. 

After the museum, we went to one of my favorite spots, 1881 Heritage Square, which was all lit up for the holidays. We stopped by the Stables Grill, the old carriage house that has been converted into a bar and grill, for a glass of wine. Lovely! 

We, of course, went to several of the popular tourist spots, including Victoria's Peak for the view. Megan is one of those people whom I always have fun around and can talk with endlessly, so going to these old, familiar haunts with her was great. Plus, I love seeing people discover things about the city for the first time. Maybe my true calling is to be a tour guide!

We also went to Stanley for some good eats, a lovely sunset, and a tour around the market. Megan bought me the coolest t-shirt I now own, Bruce Lee in all his awesomeness. You'll see a pic with the shirt in a bit. 

One of the new things I got to do with Megan was go to Ocean Park! Ocean Park is Hong Kong's own personal amusement park, themed on the sea and everything in it, as well as some Chinese things, like Pandas. Hong Kong also has a Disney Land here, but everyone says Ocean Park is better for adults, while Disney Land is more for kiddos.

First we visited the aquarium. While the educational info here was a bit lacking, they still had some cool things, such as these cute cuttle fish. We also saw amazing jelly fish, sharks, giant manta rays, turtles, etc. 

Next, on to the pandas!

We got to see this little guy at feeding time. Did you know red pandas are also called firefoxes, hence moxilla firefox? Thanks Megan for that piece of trivia knowledge!

This panda was taking a snooze. He looks like he just ran a marathon and fell down in exhaustion, but I think pandas are just rolley polley like that.

There is also a recreation of an old Hong Kong street, including street snacks and actors walking around being silly, hence the picture below with Megan and the curler lady.

Ocean Park is built on this peninsula that juts into the ocean, and it's very steep. The park is actually separated into two sections, with a cable car bridging the two. The cable car ride was fantastic, and that alone would make the entire park worth going to.

The views of the south side of the island were stunning! The beach on the left is Deep Water Bay.

While the front side of the park is mostly about animals, the back section is mostly about rides. We went on the hair raiser roller coaster on the far right, which was really fun as it is perched on the side of the hill. At some points, it feels like you are flying over the ocean! They could use a new theme for that ride though; not really a fan of clowns. 

We also got to see a group of penguins! The house they were in was frigidly cold, so we could only bear to stay in there for a few minutes. They were cute though! The one second from the right needs some grooming! 

On Megan's last night, we, along with Andrew, went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Lily and Bloom. 

While it's not Asian, I ordered the CO rack of lamb, and it was delicious!

Also, Andrew and I are suckers for a plate of oysters. So delicious.

Thanks so much Megan for coming out to visit! I hope you had a wonderful time, and I can't wait to see you again!