BS 34-37

this is my first CNY which i am simply present in hk. first year i was in beijing, then 3 CNY's after that i was home doing grand scale vacations. but since i just went home last christmas and im sure my family does not miss me yet, i decided to just stay in hk and spend it with friends. and boy did i have a good time!

CNY eve i was with friends having a turkish dinner and we capped it off with the craziest chocolate ice cream i've ever had. im a chocolate ice cream lover but this one has got to be at the top of my list! then we headed to a new bar where we had shisha, then ended the night out with one set from a pinoy band with mojito. aaaahhh! and the holidays havent even started yet! thank god for chinese people!

first CNY holiday i went with friends at the nan lian garden and chi lin nunnery. i've been to several temples outside hk but i have to say this one gives those temples a run of their money. i couldn't believe that in the middle of hustle bustle of a kowloon residential area, there lies such a beautiful tranquil place. we tried the vegetarian restaurant inside the garden but it's quite expensive. it's still a good experience but i dont think i'd go there again. we went to honeymoon dessert as our last hurray. i got a taste of the durian pancake and i think once is enough. it's like eating a creamy bitter white shit! aaaahhhh!!!

i did not plan anything on the second day. but i ended up seeing friends for dinner where we had italian food cooked by pinoy chefs. as in we can hear them gossiping from our table. we ended the night with a night out watching a live band and smoking and eating tapsilog at 2am.

third day was a test of our knees and calves. we hiked the highest peak in hk. we saw 4 different waterfalls and we saw the beauty of the new territories. it's really a spectacular view up there. the hike ended after 5 hours and we ended up in a very local area where you see the infamous wishing tree where locals attach a pink card with a plastic mandarin toy and throw it into the magic tree. on the same area we also saw the floats from the night parade two nights prior. my legs are still hurting until now!

today is the last day and i made it my geek day. i went to the art museum to see 18 replica of the more famous sculptures of the louvre museum. then i headed to the science museum to see the marvelous works of leonardo da vinci. he was called 'the most talented person who ever lived' and after seeing his inventions and masterpieces, it's really hard to deny him that title. if i lived during his time, he would have been my life hero.

my four bs were from our last hike, here you go: