So I had a pretty good day today. I woke up and everyone was out to breakfast. I had decided that I wanted to see the Ng Tung Chai waterfalls today. By midday the group still hadn’t returned from breakfast so I decided to put on my big girl panties and venture out into the wide, wide world. I got off the bus where I thought was the right stop and I followed this couple that looked like they knew where they were going. Turns out they knew where their house was. SO, I had followed them home by accident. I then tried a different trail that led to a dead end. Discouraged, I went to wait for the bus. After about 15 minutes I decided that it was my mission to find these waterfalls and I wasn’t about to give up yet! Sure enough, as soon as I had walked away from the bus stop one went by with all my friends on it… I kept walking and walking and couldn’t find a new trail to try. I had finally admitted defeat; I got on the next bus and was going to head home. Then, I noticed that the next stop was Ng Tung Chai so I quickly indicated that I wanted off at this stop. Alas! I had finally found the right road!! It was about a half an hour hike; maybe longer. When the road ended and I was finally at the trail, some nice people told me where to go  The trails were very nice and when I finally arrived at the falls, they were stunning. At the falls, there was this huge family making food. I found my own rock to sit on and I was taking pictures when one of them came over and indicated that they wanted me to join them (they spoke no english).

I went and sat with them and they kindly force fed me some wine. Every time I wasn`t doing anything they would clink my glass and make me drink more. After sitting with them for a bit I decided to go swimming. They all laughed at me because I went swimming fully clothed. After that, almost every family member took turns taking pictures with me. When I got to the bottom of the hill at the Kadoorie Centre, I was exhausted. I was walking up this awfully steep hill and half way up I noticed a monkey butt less than 5 feet ahead of me. I turned my back on him because he hadn`t seen me and I didn`t want to give him any reason to think I was a threat. Once he was back in the forest I continued walking calmly. As I was walking I noticed that he was keeping pace with me in the forest. He looked over every so often as I did the same. Eventually he couldn`t take the bush any farther so he let me get ahead and started following behind me on the road. When I got up to the buildings we parted ways. I`d say that I have had a pretty awesome day. 

We went to the Peak yesterday. It takes you up high and gives you an awesome view of Hong Kong City. We were there during the day and at night.

We Went to the wet market today and here are some photos from the day. It was quite awful. The fish are put in just enough water to barely breath, the chickens and frogs are stacked on top of each other and unable to move. The turtles are shoved into bags unable to move. As you go from vendor to vendor, each person is yelling at you trying to convince you that their product is fresh. Some leave the fish out of water to flop around, showing the freshness, they then put it back in the water just before it dies. 

Some photos of the Hong Kong landscape 🙂

A little bit about me….

Hi, my name is Krista Bouwman and I’m a 3rd year Biology student at Nipissing. I one day aspire to be a Veterinarian and that is what landed me in Sal’s Animal Rites course. I was thoroughly interested in the topics of the course and I required an ethics class before applying to Vet school. The topic of the Hong Kong trip came up very quickly and it peaked my interest. I knew this was an experience I did not want to turn down. I am very interested in increasing my knowledge on the ethics of animal trafficking and the pet industry. I hope that this course will open my eyes wider to the conflicts around the world in relation to animals. Though I know many experiences on this trip will be hard, I know I will be stronger because of them. I will also gain more insight and be more aware of how my actions truly impact the lives of animals. I am very excited to be working with exotic animals; I wish to be comfortable with a wide variety of animals and this trip was a sure way to do so.