Just got back from a last minute trip from Hong Kong, sadly, not too many (if any) really good pics. It was just super fast paced, hardly any time to stop.

Got to try both dim sum and Kung Fu, and I loved both! The dim sum in Hong Kong is obvious. It's like going to NYC for the first time and not seeing the Statue of Liberty. I didn't know what was more fun, catching the cart ladies as they sped by, filling up on treat and tea, or watching all the families and happy people around us.

I was really excited about Kung Fu, I made my husband go with me. You see, my father loves the very old Japanese samurai movies, Toshiro Mifune, Akira Kurosawa, and some very old style spoken Japanese. The man can tell you the Japanese equivalent to just about every spaghetti western made. No one else in my family can stand those movies! But me and my brother did end up become big fans of Asian cinema. My brother perfers the Korean stuff, I dig through the discount bins for anything Bruce Lee/Jackie Chan/Jet Li. So when the chance came to go to a monastary and learn some Kung Fu, even if only for a day.. hells yeah!

I hear that on mainland China, the process is very comercialized. Shaolin is like a brand name. But this place in Hong Kong was quiet, peaceful, not even a gate at the entrance. While they were teaching us (all in Mandarin!) people could walk in, watch, mimic the steps... It was impossible to tell the ages of the master and the students. They could have been anywhere between 15-45. It acts more as a heritage center than a money machine. And the lunch ladies kept trying to feed us til we popped!

I really liked it, as it involved flexebility (which I have), strength (which I don't have), mind (which I need), and a certain element of grace (HAHAHAAAA!). It's probably the closest I'll ever get to ballet dancing! I've been looking for a martial art to learn while living in Asia, and I think I might have found it.