To whom it may concern:
I moved back to the US last week (the 11th of August to be exact), and my relocation has been anything but easy. For the first week, I had trouble readjusting to the time change. I was falling asleep at 8pm and waking up at 5am everyday. It took me almost an entire week to completely adjust!!! Also, adjusting to the food has been difficult. The meals in the US are a lot more filling than the meals in Hong Kong. I have found myself not being able to finish entire meals in my first week back. It is hard to believe that I spent the last 3 months in a different country, literally across the world! Upon arrival to the Seattle airport last week, I thought to myself, "It feels like I was flying out to Hong Kong just last week". The summer truly flew by. It came and passed at the snap of a finger. But it was filled with great work experience, great life experience, and a hell of a lot of memories; good and bad. I would not change a single thing about how the last 3 months played out. I learned more about life this summer than I have in the last 3 years of school. Hong Kong, cheers to a great summer. One full of tons of new friends, a plethora of life experience, and a newly acquired travel bug. Signing off for one last time, Chris Bowers
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As I prepare for my last 3 days on the other side of the world, I have found myself reflecting on my experiences this summer. I have come a long way both professionally and personally. I have grown, developed, and changed the way I act and think. However, one thing has stayed constant throughout my time here: my close group of friends. We have been through a lot together. We have tried different food together, met new people together, and gotten lost together in 4 different countries. We have helped each other through hard times and been there to celebrate the good ones. Things like this only strengthen bonds between people and bring them closer together. This is a group of people that I have no doubt will stay in touch upon our return to the states. Thank you for letting me lean on you, and I was happy to lean back on you when you needed it. These pictures are from a photo shoot we had this past weekend. Pictures courtesy of Madison Alvarez and her Cannon EOS Rebel SL1. This weekend, my friends and I hiked one of the most famous trails in Hong Kong: Dragon's Back. The trail is named accurately so because the mountainous ridgeline closely resembles a dragon's back. The incredible views from the top made the quarter mile of stairs totally worth it. From the top, we could see Shek O Country Club and Big Wave Bay to our right, and Stanley and Repulse Bay to our left.
Part of what makes Hong Kong so spectacular is its wide variety of landscapes. The country features bustling city streets, ancient fishing villages, mystic jungle waterfalls, and everything in between. Yesterday, we got a taste of this variety. As I enter my last week in Hong Kong, I am creating a bucket list of things to do before I leave. Yesterday, I happily checked Dragon's Back off the list. Yesterday, I took a trip to the Shenzhen. For those of you don't know, Shenzhen is the 4th largest city in mainland China, and it resides right on the border of Hong Kong and China (since Hong Kong is not technically in China). As I stood and gawked at the skyline of this communist megacity, I got my first real taste of what it is like to be in a dictatorship. I looked at my phone, and none of my apps or internet would even open. This is because the Chinese government is gradually cutting off its citizens from the outside world. They are doing this by censoring websites and apps that most of us consider essential to our lives. Things like Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, and even Google are not accessible to the general public, and the stream of information that they do have access to is heavily controlled by the government. Abashed, and useless phone in hand, I quickly made my way back to Hong Kong. China is set to take back total control of Hong Kong in 2047, but many people think it will be sooner than that. China has already begun the process of dissolving the border by trying to control which officials Hong Kong can elect. in 2014, China offered Hong Kong 3 official candidates and told them that they had to choose one of the three to run for office. Furious, young activist Hong Kongers revolted and staged protests all throughout the city (some of which got violent). This movement was dubbed the "Umbrella Movement" because Hong Kongers would use umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas dispensed by officers. If it were up to Hong Kong, they would remain independent as a democratic territory forever. After all, they certainly have the economy to sustain themselves. The thing Hong Kong lacks is a military. Aside from a military, Hong Kong has all of the prerequisites for a new country: land, economy, population, and even its own currency! Until Hong Kong has its own military, they are essentially trapped, with nowhere to go figuratively and literally. The fate of this territory lays in the hands of its young population. Until a full generation of people are raised in a completely autonomous Hong Kong (not under Chinese or British rule), Hong Kong will not have the voice it needs to truly stage a revolution. ![]() This past weekend, a few friends and I got the chance to visit the dynamically beautiful country of Vietnam. We spent the weekend seeing historic sites, exploring the Mekong River, and being amateur food critics. We had the opportunity to explore both the swift city-scape and the carefree countryside. In this passage, I will offer my comprehensive review of this interesting country by comparing and contrasting the countryside and the city. I will also post a video of our trip in the coming days. But first, I will start with a brief history lesson.
The Vietnam War (referred to by the locals as the American War) devastated the country of Vietnam. The country was bisected into the China and Russia-backed communist North, and the American backed democratic South. To the Americans, the war was necessary to contain the spread of communism, but the Vietnamese considered it a very dark time of civil war and poor living conditions. As the American military fought their way north from the capital city of Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City), they battled gruesome guerrilla warfare from the Vietcong (short for Vietnamese Communists) and the North Vietnamese Army. Troops would face bamboo-spiked booby traps, snake pits, and severe disease as they fought a seemingly endless war. After the resignation of President Nixon and the US Congress becoming mostly democratic in 1974, American troops began to leave Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army was able to take control of Saigon and declare Vietnam a communist country. Affects of this war were seen everywhere throughout the country, and this was extremely evident in the wild countryside of Vietnam. As we drove down the long country roads, we saw rice farmers tending to their fields and cattle. We visited the village of Cu Chi. This small town was an epicenter of the war, and is now a large museum. It played host to a 250km network of tunnels where the Vietcong would hide during guerrilla warfare. It was a somber experience to see the living conditions of the soldiers as they faced harsh jungle landscape and dangerous wild animals. After that, we took a boat down the Mekong River to get an idea of what living in the countryside would be like. We floated past small fishing villages which would be considered poverty by American standards, but were completely normal to the locals. We stopped at a village and were treated to a delicious lunch of Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancakes) and grilled mouse. After lunch, we napped in hammocks and enjoyed the slowtown vibe before hopping on bicycles and touring the village. Children waved as we rode past, as we were the first white people many of them had ever seen. The Vietnamese back country is slow and carefree, and a place that will be imprinted in my brain for a long time. On the other hand, downtown Ho Chi Minh city is a fast paced mecca of motorbikes and large businesses riddled with communist propaganda on every billboard. There are more motorbikes than people, and the word "ground is synonymous with "trashcan". Crossing the street is a daunting journey because there are no traffic laws. You must be brave and find a gap in the traffic and cross while praying that you don't get hit. The nightlife is vibrant, exotic, and diverse. People walk around hoisting pythons, blowing fire, and offering drugs to every foreigner. Beer is also 25 cents a pop which makes for a very rowdy crowd. Quiet rooftop bars reside on every street corner to offer refuge from the wild streets. The city has many markets offering anything from t-shirts and trinkets to coffee and raw pig brain to eat. You mustn't pay full price for anything, as bartering is a way of life here. No trip to Vietnam is complete without a steaming bowl of Pho, a delicious dish of rice noodles, beef, and every vegetable under the sun. You are never more than 2 minutes from a Pho shop which makes it both convenient and satisfying My trip to Vietnam was packed full with beautiful scenes, great memories, and loads of culture, but one thing stands out in particular: the people. No matter where you are, the Vietnamese people are among the most hospitable and content that I have ever met. On our last day, as we were standing on the corner waiting for a motorbike taxi, an elderly woman approached me and told me that "life must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards." As she left me to contemplate, she gave me a rose and went on with her day. In a country still struggling with the affects of a 20 year civil war, the people are extremely optimistic and maintain high moral, and that says more about a country than the economic systems, governmental policies, and GDP combined. As promised, here is the video of our white water rafting experience in Chiang Mai Thailand. We rafted on the Mae Taeng River through thick jungle and quick rapids. We saw a few elephants along the river and were lucky enough to not get trampled as we swam past them
Cheers to Thailand, I plan to be back one day... I would like to apologize for my lack of blogging recently, as I have been very busy and not had the time, or energy to post daily. That being said, I have been very busy recently and have a lot to talk about!
This past week, my parents flew to Hong Kong to visit me and get a taste of the city. They were here for 8 days, and we did not waste a second of it. Saturday and Sunday, we went on a bus tour of the city. This featured commentary and some historic sites, which was really cool to see. On Monday, we went to Lantau Island (featured in my previous post) and had a nice dinner. Tuesday, I went to work while my parents did some more exploring in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay. Tuesday night, we took a nice dinner cruise tour down Victoria Harbour which offered stunning views of the city at dusk. The tour then took us up Victoria Peak for a nice American meal at Bubba Gump Shrimp. I took the day off Wednesday and we hit the beach at Big Wave Bay for some swimming and surfing. After that, we payed a visit to the Hong Kong Beer Co and got an exclusive tour of the brewery. On Thursday, I went to work again while my parents took a walking tour of Tsim Sha Tsui, the area near PolyU's campus. On Friday, we headed back to Tsim Sha Tsui for some drinks and shopping at the Jade market and the Ladies market. Here, we bargained and bartered to our hearts desire and scored some pretty awesome souvenirs. Overall, it was an incredible week, and one that I will remember forever. I am extremely grateful that my family would fly 8,000 miles to support me and hang out with me. I am very lucky to have such awesome parents and I truly believe I won the parent lottery. I love you mom and dad, thank you so much for coming:) On Sunday, I got the opportunity to go on a boating excursion with all of my new friends. We took a 50 foot yacht up to a cove in Sai Kung Country Park where we spent the day tubing, wake boarding, swimming, and hanging out with friends. There was a total of 30 people on the boat and it was amazing to see people from all different backgrounds and ethnicities. The sun and ocean claimed a few casualties throughout the day including a $300 pair of Ray Bans, a cell phone, and countless sunburned college kids. Nonetheless, it was a great day and something that I will remember forever. I wont soon forget all of the friends I have made and the relationships I have cultivated.
My wonderful parents have traveled all the way across the world to spend the week with me in Hong Kong!! On Monday, we went on a tour of Lantau Island, the largest of all the islands in Hong Kong, and also home to the famous Big Buddha statue. Upon arrival on the island, we took a beautiful 25 minute cable car ride up the side of the mountain (this particular cable car is rated top 10 in the world). The ride lived up to the hype, as it offered us stunning views of the Pearl River Delta and northern Lantau Island. Once up to the top, we visited the beautiful Po Lin Monastery and found tranquility in its intricately painted praying halls. We also payed a visit to the Tian Tan Buddha statue, the 2nd largest seated brass Buddha statue in the world. The size and beauty of the monument was incredibly humbling. After seeing the monastery and statue, we took a boat ride through the ancient fishing village Tai O. All of the houses are built on stilts over saltwater canals where the main method of transportation is boats. We road on the boat a few more miles up the coast where we could see the worlds longest water bridge from Hong Kong to Macau across the Pearl River Delta. The bridge is so long that halfway across the delta, it turns into a tunnel and goes under the water... Talk about an engineering marvel!! Overall it was a great day with my parents, and we got to see some pretty amazing things. Are you the type of person who would love to play with elephants, float down a majestic wild mountain river, and visit ancient jungle temples? If so, Chiang Mai Thailand is the place for you!!! This past weekend, I got the chance to visit this beautiful slow town nestled deep in the mountains of northern Thailand. This trip lasted 4 nights and 3 days and every second was packed with great memories and beautiful sights for me and my two friends from UC. Friday June 29th: Today started off with a short sunrise bike ride to a local coffee shop. Next, we headed out for our elephant filled day trip to the rural back-country of Chiang Mai. We pulled up to the elephant sanctuary and were immediately greeted by, you guessed it, elephants. We got he chance to feed them and greet them. After that, we followed the creatures up into the hills and watched them as they grazed and fed in their natural habitat. Next, we got the chance to bath the elephants in a mud pit, where we rubbed hand-fulls of mud onto their thick skin. After that, we walked the elephants to a watering hole where we swam with them and rinsed off the mud. It was an incredible experience it was beautiful to see how happy these elephants were as opposed to their circus-performing domesticated cousins. Saturday June 30th: Once again, today began with a long bike ride throughout the streets of Chiang Mai. It was nerve wrecking because here, they drive on the left side of the road. So we followed par and biked on the left side of the road (very carefully I might add). Then we headed out to hit the Mae Taeng River for some white water rafting. The water included fast, turbulent, heard pumping rapids as well as slow, calming laminar flow water. Our tour guide was a hoot and decided to throw us out of the raft, and we responded by doing the same to him. As we floated down the river we, saw more elephants drinking from the banks in front of a mountainous tropical back drop. It was an endearing scene and this is the moment I fell in love with Thailand. Because we were swimming, I could not bring my camera phone to take pictures, so a GoPro video is soon to come of our white water rafting experience. Sunday July 2nd: Today we were too exhausted to ride bikes, so we slept in to rest our bodies. We got up around 9 and headed to the mountains for a jungle hike. Halfway through the hike, we encountered an ancient jungle temple called Wat Pha Lat. We witnessed monks in their practice and found tranquility in this quiet, overgrown sanctuary. We continued up the mountain and visited the famous Wat Phra Doi Suthep. This is an intensely intricate golden temple where thousands of tourists flock to every day. After a few minutes of gawking in awe, we headed back to the city for a few famous Thai massages and dinner. We also headed to the market for some bartering and souvenir shopping. This trip was truly a lifetime memory and something I will keep dear to me forever. I only hope that I get the chance to visit this beautiful country again someday. |
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Chris Bowers
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