I was lucky enough to have my mom and grandparents come with me to help me get settled in Hong Kong. Since they were coming too, we got to take a short family trip to other parts of Asia before I planted my roots here. We began our travels in Taiwan, a country I had never visited before! My grandpa has friends he's very close with in Taipei, so they showed us around for a few days. Of course one of our first stops was Taipei 101! Even though it was a pretty cloudy day, there were still amazing sights from the building! While Taipei is packed with buildings, it was really interesting seeing how they fit a lot of green spaces into the city. There were rooftop gardens, tons of small parks, and strips of trees planted between building or roads. It made the city seem a little less gray. Along with visiting Taipei's sites, we also went out to the countryside to eat some seafood! From Taiwan we next traveled to Hong Kong so that I could get a taste of the city. We had dinner with family members I had never met before and got a few items of business completed, like exchanging currency and visiting the place I would be staying while in school. One of the best things we got to do was visit a temple on Kowloon. My grandpa told me that his grandmother used to say that all wishes made at the temple would come true! There were a ton of people giving offerings and participating in fortune telling activities. Our next stops were Zhuhai and Macau! Zhuhai is a province in China, right across the border from Macau and just a short ferry ride away from Hong Kong. My grandpa's family use to have a village there, a few generations ago. After his great grandfather passed away, the village homes got passed down to each of his great grandfather's sons. While everyone who used to live there either moved or has passed away, some of the homes along with the rooms dedicated to our ancestors are still around today. I visited Zhuhai for the first time 8 years ago, and I was really excited to go back. Everyone says that it takes a village to raise a child - in this case it was a village for many children! Below is a photo of my ancestors who lived in the village. Zhuhai is undergoing some pretty large changes, as it will be connected to Hong Kong via a bridge as a route to Macau. Since the government and developers forsee many more people passing through Zhuhai, there's a ton of new buildings and shopping malls being constructed. Of course with construction of new things comes the destruction of old. Government surveyors are currently speaking with residents of the area our family village is in to see if they would be willing to sell their properties, since the area is old and run down. It's strange to think that the village may not exist in a few years, but I'm grateful that I got a chance to go back, pay my respects, and take photos before it is gone forever. The day after we visited the old family village, we crossed the border in Macau. Macau is fascinating because it's a mix of so many different places. Part of it looks like the other cities we visited during our trip in Asia, part looks very European because of the Portuguese influence, and part looks like Vegas! Most people go to Macau to gamble, but since I'm not old enough to do so we just went to sightsee. While we visited the extravagant casinos, my favorite part was the town square. This is where the European influence was most prominent. There were adorable buildings, cobblestone streets, and fountains! I hope that my pre-school travels are only a taste of what is to come! I can't wait to explore more of Asia!
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Emily BallBorn and raised in Aiea, HI, traveling to Hong Kong to study Human Resource Administration. Archives
January 2019
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