Museums in Hong Kong

By Maggie Muth

            Have you ever had plans to do something awesome and then realize you can’t do it? That’s what my day last Wednesday felt like.

            Because it was Wednesday, I wanted to go to the art museum with mom (all museums are free on Wednesdays). So we rode the subway down to Tsim Sha Tsui and walked to the art museum. Yay! Right? NO! It was closed and moving to a new location. But before I could cry, mom said, “Let’s go to the space museum!”

“Okay sounds fun,” I said. So we walked over to the space museum and saw a sign that said closed. As soon as I saw that sign I got so mad I tripped over my own shoes. “Let’s go find the science museum,” I said gloomily to mom. Mom was fine with this, but it was going to be a long walk.

After walking around for half an hour, I saw an escalator going up to a skywalk, and mom said, “Let’s go up there.” So we did. When we got to the top I saw this amazing garden. This was not a skywalk, it was a garden for movie stars! I saw a sign that said Star Gallery and I pointed it out to mom. So we went in that direction only to find a playground. Mom said I could play for a little bit, so I went right ahead. After playing for about an hour we kept walking towards the science museum. But first we went looking for lunch. Mom found this little restaurant and got wonton soup. I found a Subway (the restaurant not the station). So we walked and ate and finally we found the science museum! I finished my lunch super quick and ran inside. I was immediately overwhelmed by the contents. There were cars and planes and video games. There were optical illusions, mirrors, dinosaur skeletons, and electronics. There was even a giant marble run! We naturally spent three hours there and then headed home.

I guess our day ended up okay. I definitely learned that things don’t always go as planned, but there’s always a good story to tell.

In the director's chair at the Gallery of Stars

"Lights, camera, action!"

Feels good to be back on the playground!

Natural monkey?

Mirrors are awesome at the Science Museum!

When Up is Sideways

One of the “Top Ten” sites in Hong Kong is the view from the top the 1400ft Victoria Peak rising out of the harbor adjacent the downtown skyscrapers.  Now I will admit that the twinkling lights of the city at night viewed from above were quite nice, reasonably peaceful and worth the 30 minute wait to catch the tram but it was the tram ride itself that made the experience something to write home about.

Back in 1888, the Brits thought it would be a good idea to build a gravity-defying cable car that runs up the side of the peak.  Now for the last 127 years tourists have been braving the 48% incline up the side of the mountain.  For some perspective, the “steep” hills in San Francisco boast a whopping 32% incline (amatures!). 

But what does a 48% incline really mean?  What does it feel like to be stuffed in a cable car and hauled up the side of a mountain?  Weird.  Pretty dang weird.  Once we got on board and started the white-knuckle journey to the top (only about a ten minute ride) I glanced out the window and it felt as if I had stepped into and M.C. Escher painting.  While all around me everything was normal, the skyscraper outside the window appeared to be leaning at a rather precarious angle as if in a state of mid-tip over.  Going back down was even worse because we rode backwards (to prevent us from falling out of our seats) and we could look up through the skylights to see the buildings looming down on us as if they were in the process of falling to crush us like grapes at harvest time.

 

Needless to say getting there (and back) was definitely more that half of the fun.

Hong Kong Aviary

Hong Kong is a dazzling city, a feast for all the senses.  It is also incredibly easy to get around, making it a veritable playground for a tourist willing to get out a try a few things.  As part of the home school program I’m implementing with Maggie this month (Grace & James are actually taking the University art course, so they are excused from most of the home school activities for now), we are attempting to get out and explore this amazing city. 

On Monday, November 30, we thought we were going to go to the Science Museum.  But in a wonderful turn of events, Grace and James did not have to go to class and so asked to come along on our adventure.  James had picked up a guidebook and found the Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Gardens entry describing what sounded like a wonderful adventure that was free.  He plead his case to the girls, convinced us all it was a good plan, and we left the hotel ready for an adventure.

Never let it be said that I have a good sense of direction.  I freely admit that this is one of my weaknesses.  I’m good with landmarks and reading maps, but just going on gut instinct about east vs. west is really not my thing.  So when we got off the subway and had to take a bus to get to the park, it was no surprise that I walked us toward the wrong bus station.  And then also had us get off the bus one stop too soon.  AND then walked us in the exact opposite direction of the Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Gardens.

But there is lots of good news with this mistake.  The first is that my kids are learning to be ok with making mistakes.  We learn from them, and it gives us the opportunity to try and correct the mistake.  Second, sometimes the mistakes lead to really fun adventures, which was the case on this day.  Instead of finding the Zoo, we found Hong Kong Park, this fabulous oasis of green space in the middle of one of the most bustling urban areas in the world.

Right in the middle of Hong Kong Park is a wonderful aviary.  We entered the netted area (still thinking we might actually be in the zoo, by the way) and found ourselves in a tropical wonderland.  The space is built into the side of a hill, so the elevated boardwalk which served as our path went from the top of the hillside down to what was almost street level.  Every 10 meters or so there was a small platform allowing visitors to view the area on all sides.  As we made our way along the path, we were stunned by the number of birds we saw.  Many were hiding in the trees far off the path.  Several were feeding on the fruits and seeds that had been set out for them.  A brave few ventured onto the railings of the path and even approached visitors hoping for an extra treat.

In reality, the aviary in Hong Kong Park is probably no more spectacular than many aviaries in parks and zoos around the world.  But for us, I think the real joy of the day was finding it by accident, and then being able to delight in the experience so thoroughly. 

Subway Adventures

by Maggie Muth

When I ride the subway in Hong Kong, it’s an adventure every time. My mom and I walk to the subway station, and as we walk we see a man  roasting yams and it smells like a campfire. We get to the station and use our octopus cards (like debit card) to get in to the station. Beep! goes the machine. Now we are in the subway station. Mom and I go up the stairs to the trains. It’s not very crowded at this time of day because most people are at work or at school. Right now we are at the University station on the light blue subway line. We have two options: one, to go towards Lo Wo and Lok Ma Chau; or two, to go towards Hong Hom. We are going to Sha Tin, two stops down the line. Hong Hom is down the line at the end so we get on the train to Hong Hom. The slidey red train doors open with a squeak, and we get on the train. The person behind us almost falls into the big gap in between the train and the platform. A cold blast of air hits us from the air conditioning vent as we walk in. I grab on to the bumpy red pole and smell French fries. The train doors close with a slam and we’re off. Zoom! Everyone is talking in different languages when we lurch to a stop at Fo Tan. People get on and people get off. The doors close and we’re off! Again. The train stops at Sha Tin, and mom and I get off to pick up the laundry. Talk about subway adventures!     

Using the machine to put money on my "Octupus" card - which lets me ride the subway

Entering the subway after scanning my "octopus" card

The train with the slidey red doors

Happy Thanksgiving, Hong Kong style!

In the Muth family, a traditional Thanksgiving goes something like this: A.) we make plans to spend the day with family (usually the Lewis-Mead clan from St. Paul, but sometimes the other half of the Lewis clan in Baltimore, or the Muth clan in Wisconsin); B.) we watch some football; C. ) we eat a fairly traditional meal of turkey, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes and stuffing, with very important mashed yams, green bean casserole, and corn pudding included; D.) we go for an after dinner walk; and E.) we return from the walk to eat pie.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Hong Kong made many of our traditions impossible - so we had a wonderful time creating new ones.  Here is how our day went:

A.) We couldn't be with family, but we have been able to connect via skype, phone, and email.  We also gathered today with our traveling family of 17 St. Olaf College students and our two fabulous hosts in Hong Kong, Vivian Chiu and Morton Holbrook.

B.) We thought we'd try to play football instead of watching it, but couldn't even find an American football in any of the sports stores around.  So we settled for watching some Discovery Channel on the hotel TV.  Turns out that we all like watching shows about explosives.

C.) We were lucky enough to be fed a delicious gourmet Thanksgiving lunch that included turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.  We even had soup and salad to begin, and a lovely fruit plate and nut tart for dessert.

D.) Our after dinner walk was probably the most exciting part of the day.  We took the metro over a couple of stops and explored one of the classic local wet markets.  We found vegetables for stir fry, lots of interesting meat cuts, some roasted chestnuts, a grilled yam, a winter jacket for Greg, replacement ipod cords, and a bag of candy.  We even picked up some desserts that could serve as the pie substitute.

E.)  Since our feast was really lunch, and we didn't cook for ourselves (so no leftovers), we needed to cook some supper.  So we had another feast involving shrimp and noodles, the grilled yam, a sliced cucumber, and the roasted chestnuts.  Our dessert was not quite up to our usual pie standards, but the spongy cake and coconut cookies were certainly interesting.

We are incredibly grateful for a wonderful day, for this amazing opportunity we have to be traveling the world, for safety and good health, and for the love and support we feel from all of you.  Happy Thanksgiving!!
The Muths

A Little Slice of Paradise

You know that feeling when you go on vacation and you can’t quite relax? The nagging sensation that you should be checking your work emails, or taking care of that last project, or even starting something new so you won’t be behind when you return?  Our vacation time in Thailand started out that way.  We arrived in Bangkok at about 6 am after traveling all night from India (via Sri Lanka).  We managed to negotiate about 2 hours of sleep before loading all 22 of us back on another bus to go on another city tour.  It was lovely and interesting and entertaining, but we were all so tired (physically, emotionally, spiritually) that we just weren’t getting that much out of it.  By the end of the evening we were all so ready to go our separate ways that we hardly even said good-bye to each other.

The transition for our little family of five wasn’t much smoother the next morning. We were at each other all day as we checked out of the hotel and then traveled by taxi, airplane, van, long tail boat and pick up truck to finally reach our little island villa. Word came in that one student had lost an ATM card. Another was waiting to meet a friend whose flight had been delayed. We were worried but trying to let go at the same time. By the time we arrived and settled in we were frazzled and not exactly relaxed.

But the next morning, we woke to discover that we really had arrived in paradise. About 30 meters from our front door was the pristine beach.  It stretched out in both directions with no visible development and almost no people.  The small line of chairs under umbrellas beckoned us to come and relax. So we agreed to try.

Over the next six days we managed to give in to the desire to rest and relax.  We alternated between doing nothing and going on adventures.  The week included an elephant trek, a river canoe trip, pedicures, a snorkeling trip, thai massages, a visit to a national park, many hours reading under beach umbrellas, many hours playing in the ocean, daily walks on the beach at sunset, rescuing flow fish from the high tide, countless plates of pad thai and glasses of lemon juice (really a form of lime-ade that was DELICIOUS), numerous cheeseburgers for the kids, and access to internet communication with the world.  It was delightful and exactly what we needed.

Our trek back into Bangkok was far less exhausting.  And when we arrived we had plenty of energy to go out exploring the farmer’s markets and night markets. Our time in the “Land of Smiles” was far too short, but it was long enough to get our smiles back!

Video Reflections

Here is a slideshow of a few of the many images from India.  Make sure your audio is on, it has a righteous Bollywood soundtrack.