The Adventure Continues...in Asia!

the title of my blog is temporarily inaccurate and should take on the name "Asian Adventures" for about a week. 2 hours after my last final exam, i was boarding a plane to Singapore to catch up with some old friends from Sask. Aleasha and Jamie have been teaching abroad for the past 6 years and it was soooo good to see them and to meet their two adorable little kids, Jaxon and Ruby. seeing familiar faces and hearing people talk the same way i do was a much needed gift after 5 months of feeling like a freak (try saying the word "bunnyhug" to anyone outside of Sask's borders and you'll know what i mean!). we packed the maximum amount of tourist activity with a good amount of relaxation and all around fun times into my 3.5 days in Singapore. the mix of 3 cultures in Singapore is fascinating - the population is split between Chinese, Muslim and Indians. we went to Little India and Arab Street to take in a mini-version of these people's homelands. saw lots of interesting (and scary-looking!) foods to eat and gorgeous art work, hand made clothing and wares. Singapore is probably one of the cleanest cities i've ever visited. the government has completely regulated the society to the point where they have limited the number of cars that are on the streets to reduce gas emissions, have illegalized the chewing of gum (to prevent littering!) and are still allowed to cane people! it kind of made me think of a city in a bubble, being controlled by the powers above. despite all this, singapore is a bustling city with beautiful jungles within the city, friendly people and lots to see and do. spending some time with leash and jamie was a ton of fun and reminded me of how kind, generous and down-to-earth my fellow saskie's are.
and now, here i am in hong kong, continuing the journey through asia. this is my last stop before i head to cairns and sydney to complete my final travels before i head home. i'm sitting on the 32nd floor of a sky rise overlooking hong kong city, amazed at the view before me. another old friend, harmony mcmillan, is teaching at a school in hong kong as well. i spent my first day yesterday walking around with my jaw dropping at the size, activity, number of people and busyness of hong kong. i've never seen anything like it before. harm took me out for a night on the town that included some delicious chinese food from one of her favorite spots, a trip to some market stalls to check out the latest knock-off products and my first ever chinese foot and shoulder massage! good food, good shopping and good rubbing made for a good night. today i'm doing a hike on hong kong island called the "Dragon's Back Hike" which is supposed to be one of the best short hikes here. i think the biggest challenge will be finding my way through the cities public transport to the starting point of the hike. sadly, tomorrow i'll be leaving harm and her hong kong life, but i'm looking forward to seeing Cairns. i'm meeting a friend to do our PADI scuba diving certs while we're there- can't wait to see the Great Barrier Reef up close and personal! pray that the sharks will be full next week. :)
life is full and i'm loving the adventures of new places, new sights, new faces....not long til i'll be back seeing some familiar old ones in the homeland. until then, cheers!