The end of vacation

So my blog sort of fell of the face of the earth during my second week of vacation. After my backpacking trip I was pretty dead. I did a lot of relaxing, caught up on Greys, watched movies, ate delicious food, oh and learned how to knit.  Well, if you ask my mom I "learned" how to knit. She ended up knitting through my first roll of yarn.

The Friday before I left we went to Va Bene for dinner. It was probably the most amazing meal I have had there. I'm sure I have said that a million times before but it was seriously delicious. I got truffle pasta. That's all that I can say about Va Bene because it's making me way too hungry now that I'm back in China living a mainlanders life on a teachers salary.

The boat

The Sunday before I left we went on my dad's bosses boat. It was AMAZING. I'm not sure calling it a boat isn't even correct. Maybe a yacht? Or a cruise? Haha kidding.. probably a yacht. Either way, we had a great day. We took the boat out to an island where we had a great seafood lunch and then took a "hike". It was more of a walk/stroll. Along our walk we passed a bunch of bulls. Of course we had to step into the bushes since they took over the path. I would tell you about all the people that were with us, but I am still unclear of their connections. The main thing I got out of the day is, I probably went into the wrong field if I want to live a sweet life like that. I think my dad secretly planned this day so he could sway me to go into business. And you know... I just may!

My parents on the boat

So as you all know I had pretty much a month in Hong Kong before I left to go back to Ma'anshan. When did I decide to buy all the food I wanted and run all the errands I needed to run? That's right... the two days before. Typical. Every time we were in a grocery store my mom would say, "We're here Rachel, lets just pick it up now." I always said, "next time, I'm here for so long". Yeah, well I regretted that quickly.

Packing..... until the night before I left to go back to Ma'anshan I have never successfully packed without having a breakdown. This time, I did it. I have no idea how because I had to bring back stuff for Henry that his mom sent him, all my winter clothes, all my spring/summer clothes, all my christmas presents and of course all the food. So, to make things easier I took an extra suitcase. I'm pretty sure I had as much stuff going back to Ma'anshan as I did going the first time. I may start giving my clothes away as prizes in class. I really don't understand how I accumulate so much stuff.

The Year of the Snake

Chinese New Year in Hong Kong.... FULL OF MAINLANDERS. My mom and I went out shopping the Wednesday before CNY and I couldn't handle it. I couldn't wait to get home.

Parade

February 10th was the first night of CNY which was the parade. I met up with Caroline and Ami (two girls I met at training in Beijing) and their friends at Deck n' Beer. We all had a glass of wine and then left to find a spot to watch the parade. The parade was okay, nothing exciting.

Fireworks

February 11th is the night of the fireworks. Caroline, Ami, Michael and Lindsay all came over to the apartment to celebrate the 2nd night of CNY. We planned on going out after watching the fireworks but we ended up drinking with my parents till 3am. Everyone ended up sleeping over. If you have been to the HK apartment or seen it on skype or pictures, you know that it can't fit 7 people comfortably at all. But we made it work. The next morning my parents cooked us a great breakfast and then I slept all day. We all had a great time. I'll end it with that. 

January Backpacking Blog

Many of you have been asking when my blog is going to be up and the answer is... Today! 

I left for my trip on January 10th and returned on January 28th. After this post you will find 18 journal entries from my trip. I journaled after every day of my trip, which I then turned into these blog posts. 

Below is a list of the stops I took and a map.  Under the map is a link you can click on that will allow you to view the map from the website. 

Click the following link to be able to zoom into each stop on my trip!

January Travel Map

This backpacking trip is a trip that I will never forget. It was an experience of a life time.  I learned so much more about Chinese culture. I slept in hostels with smelly boys. I showered maybe 6 times in 18 days. I learned how to eat (tolerate) spicy food. I met people from all over the world. I did things I will never do again.  I stepped outside of my comfort zone.

I hope you enjoy reading my "Travel Journal"!  

Make sure you scroll down to January 10th and read on up to January 28th. Or you can click on January in the "archives" section on the right and click on each post.