Hong Kong - Heritage and History (Part 1): 9th ASAHK Conference in Hong Kong University and My Own Adventures

Prologue:

- My paper was accepted to the 9th ASAHK Conference entitled " Culture and Society in Asia: Thematic Issues and Methodologies" held at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on March 14-15, 2014, and organized by the Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong (ASAHK.) My paper was entitled "Bollywood: The Answer to India's Problems?" and discussed the relationship between Indian politics and Bollywood, as well as Bollywood's execution and resolution of political and realist themes. It was a term paper I submitted for my class on Indian politics and governance.

- I had to pay for everything, from my flight, lodging, surprisingly even my food during the conference. This was a first for me (and many of us who went to the conference, I found out later on.) Since it was going to be in Hong Kong, it was quite accessible, which also meant cheaper flight tickets when the right promo comes along. I was also able to find a good hostel in Tsim Sha Tsui, inside Chungking Mansions; Chungking Mansions is an old building with a lot of budget hostels and some residential units, with the first two commercial floors containing many South Asian and African stores and eateries/restaurants.

- I have been to Hong Kong in 2008 with my mom, but I was certain that this second trip to Hong Kong would be more special. This was the second time that I was travelling alone, which excited me because I knew I could have a more flexible schedule, and that I was in Hong Kong for an international academic conference. I also got more excited when I realized that I'd get to meet some friends who are based/temporarily-based in Hong Kong, whom I haven't seen in a long time.



The First Few Days:

- March 13-15, 2014, Thursday to Saturday.

- I arrived at 10am in Hong Kong International Airport after a short two-hour flight via Cebu Pacific, and messaged my friends that I have arrived, thanks to the super fast and free airport wifi. It didn't take me long to get used to the subway system since Hong Kong's subway seemed like a simpler version of Korea's subway system. Some stations resembled Korea's train stations too, although Hong Kong's train stations were smaller than the ones in Korea; transferring from one line to another wasn't as tiring as in Korea.

- The octopus card that I bought was awesome. Since I was a tourist staying in Hong Kong for less than two weeks, I had the option of buying an octopus card with a special promo. The 300HKD octopus card was the same price as the normal octopus card, only that my card had a free round trip pass to the airport railway, and 3 days unlimited use for the MRT and buses.

- I arrived at Apple Hostel (Block 2, 3rd lift/elevator, 10th floor, Chungking Mansions) at Tsim Sha Tsui at around 11:30, checked in, settled down, and prepared my things for my afternoon trip. My room was the tiniest room I've ever had in my life (with the tiniest bathroom I've ever been in.) It was good for one person, but it had all amenities except for shampoo. I had to leap over my big bag whenever I needed to go to the restroom, but other than that, I thought my room was awesome. The staff of the hostel were mostly Filipinas, so communicating with them made me feel like I was back home!!

My teeny-tiny room.

- My first trip in the afternoon was a brief visit to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) near Po Lam, not to be confused with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) situated at Pok Fu Lam Street. Both universities are really far from each other too, and are not affiliated with each other. HKUST is famous for its science-based courses, obviously, for from a tourist's perspective, HKUST is famous for its red sundial at the main entrance. I decided to visit HKSUT to get a friend a school jacket since he likes the school; it was also an excuse to see the red sundial.

The red sundial in HKUST.

- On the way back to my hostel were three consecutive MTR stations with popular tourist destinations. The Diamond Hill station is famous for the Nanlian Garden and the connected Chilin Nunnery; both do not need entrance fees. The Nanlian Garden is a serene contemporary garden home to some small museums, a vegetarian restaurant, and a golden pagoda named "Temple of Absolute Perfection."

Nan Lian Garden.

Temple of Absolute Perfection.

Nice watermill.

- The nunnery on the other hand, looked liked Japanese temples, especially with the golden horn-like things sticking out of the nunnery's roof (despite it supposedly following the Tang-Dynasty architecture.) The nunnery was founded in the 1930s, but was rebuilt in 1990. The nunnery had many big Buddhas that were not allowed to be photographed. Both the garden and the nunnery do not allow tripods, for some strange reason, so I wasn't able to have a photoshoot there; photos and videos are allowed, just not the tripods.

Chilin Nunnery.

Devotees praying to one of the Buddas inside the shines.

Back at the Temple of Absolute Perfection.

- After going to the Chilin Nunnery and Nanlian Garden, I went to the next station, Wong Tai Sin. Wong Tai Sin station is named after the famous temple (Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin) located beside the MTR station. The temple is named after Wong Tai Sin, a healing god. Also, the temple is also averse to the use of tripods (haha!!) Well that's pretty much why I didn't stay too long too.

Sik Sik Yuen.

Just before the guard saw my using my tripod.

- My last itinerary before dinner was a trip to Lok Fu MTR, the third of the three consecutive MTR stations. I walked for five to ten minutes to the Kowloon Walled City Park, but decided to visit Hau Wong Temple first since it was right beside the park. This particular Hau Wong Temple was built in 1730. The temple was quite small, but it was worth the visit.

Hau Wong Old Temple.

Look at that wall!!!!

- The Kowloon Walled City Park right across the street from Hau Wong Temple is located within the same compound as a typical park/playground for children, but the "walled' city park has its own part in the compound. Chinese pavilions and walkways now fill the park, where the original Kowloon Walled City once stood. Remnants of the old gate can be found here, which I thought was the best part. Also, I got to do a small photoshoot; the park wasn't averse to tripods.

Kowloon Walled City Park.

Former gate.

Fire and Ice!!!!

- I went back to my hostel, freshened up, and met my college blockmate in Wanchai, and had dinner in Agave, a Mexican restaurant. It was great to catch up with her personally; I haven't seen her since we graduated from college three years ago. We also had dessert at this dessert place serving fruit-and-sago desserts that are famous in China and Taiwan.

My "home"!!

With Kat during dinner.

We were both in plaid!!

- I hopped to Temple Street after dinner and dessert. I was able to get a pair of reasonably-priced Indian shoes for my presentation at the conference. I bought them from a Nepalese store that I went to six years ago.

Temple Street!!

- The following day, I got up early and went to the HKU for the conference. The school was big, and had plenty of stairs connecting buildings which looked like crazy slides from water parks. Since the university is situated on a hill/mountain, going up was a big chore; it didn't have a lot of escalators too.

Declated Monument: the main building.

Unique sculpture.

Hello!!

- I met Karen in the conference, a Filipina who graduated from my course a year ago. A common friend asked me to look for her. I also got to know an Indonesian named Retno, who I indirectly encountered during my university's international graduate student conference.

Hello Karen!!

With Retno.

- After lunch, Karen and I spend the next session not attending any sessions, but exploring the university instead. The university had some declared monuments by the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) of Hong Kong, such as the main building with the clock tower. The Fung Ping Shan building, which houses the university museum, is not a declared monument, but is one important historical building in the university. The Fung Ping Shan building has collections from all dynasties of China, such as Ming pottery, Longshan and Yangshao pottery, Tang Dynasty paintings, Shang Dynasty inscriptions, Yuan Dynasty seals, etc. Some contemporary paintings were also there.

Fung Ping Shan Bulding.

- I attended one last session before leaving the university. As a slight detour, I decided to visit the university's geological museum on the way out. The museum was better than I expected: it was a small semi-interactive dinosaur museum that can appeal to children, and those who are children at heart. It did not only have fossils, but had a section on precious/semi-precious stones that can be found in China.

Skeletonnnn!!

Really biggggggg (or medium-sized??) amonites.

- As the sun was about to set, I headed to IFC at Central to have dinner with my twin friends from high school, Oi Hing and Oi Kwan. Since I was there very early (in fear of getting lost, which I sort of did,) I had a pre-dinner dessert in one of the nice small restaurants in the mall. I late met the twins and had dinner in Crystal Jade. Compared to the Crystal Jade here in the Philippines, I think that the Crystal Jade in Hong Kong was better, and had a more unusual/special menu. We loved the food.

A public performance in the subway. We can't/don't have this in the Philippines.

HELLO TWINS!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

- My third day in Hong Kong was similar to my second day, only that I wore my Indian clothes for my "awaited" presentation on Bollywood and Indian politics. I presented right after lunch, and was attended by a good number of people. I shared the panel with Vietnamese Tuan Anh Vu on social media and censorship in Vietnam, and was moderated by Matsuoka Masakazu from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Me!!

- I moderated the next panel session, which was also on media and politics. It was the first time that I moderated a panel session in a conference. It was a nice experience, only that as a moderator, the hardest thing to do was to cut someone's presentation due to time constraints. Each person is usually given around 20 minutes to present, then the next 10 minutes for a short Q and A.

- I left the university soon after the conference closed (no closing ceremonies and all, but the conference was over,) went back to my hostel to leave some things, and went to Causeway Bay to meet Oi Hing and my long-time-no-see elementary classmate Ming Mei. The three of us met at Din Tai Fung, an apparently popular dimsum/xiaolongbao chain, similar to Crystal Jade. I liked the xiaolongbao in Din Tai Fung better since it held more soup in those little bulbs of delight.

Some of the staff in Apple Hostel. "Mommy" Sioni, the one in the far left, is the most well-known.

Dinner!!

- We had a stroll within the area, had some street food, passed by Times Square, and had dinner in a fruit-and-sago place as well. The fruit-and-sago place was packed with people, and thankfully we were able to find a spot for us.

Streetttt foooood!! :D:D:D:D

Time Square!!

Dessert.

- The three of us were very full after dessert, and we had to roll home afterwards. I went back to my hostel to prepare my things for the following day. It was an adventure I had been curious about. Not knowing what exactly to expect other than the photos I had, I felt this nervous-excitement giddiness. I was going to explore Hong Kong's heritage trails.