#ipehongkong

My time in the beautiful city of Hong Kong has come to an end. Although I am saddened by the thought of leaving, I am eternally grateful for the opportunity that I was given to study abroad here. The places that I have seen, the experiences that I have obtained, and the connections that I have created will remain with me for the rest of my life. I lived in Hong Kong during a very interesting time, an ever-increasing amount of protests occurring frequently throughout the city in response to a proposed extradition bill. I never mentioned this in past blogs as I did not want to potentially deter people from choosing to study abroad in Hong Kong, but it is an important contributing factor to my stay and should be brought up. Since I do not wish to get political by any means, I encourage everyone to do a little bit of research and learn about what has been going on these past few months in order to understand what has been going on.

All of that aside, this past week was amazing. Although I will admit, the beginning was pretty rough as I studied like crazy in preparation for my physics final. I didn’t do anything else other than review, but after the exam was completed the real fun began – right after I found out that I passed both of my classes ahaha. After getting some personal tasks completed, I went out with some friends to a nice pub in Tsim Sha Tsui. We played some darts, some pool, and enjoyed some nice drinks until we decided to hit up a nearby McDonald’s before making our way back to campus. The definite highlight of that night was when I hit two back-to-back bullseyes!

I woke up relatively early the next morning and went hiking on a small trail located at HKUST that winds around one of the hills off to the side of the main campus. At the very end of it was a beautiful pagoda, where I stayed reading a book for a couple of hours in total peace. I then got lunch and went out to the city to site see with my friend Wen Jay before hitting up a delicious Malaysian restaurant with some other friends. We checked out the Man Mo Temple, PMQ market, and Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts. We then went back to the campus for a little bit before going out to LFK for the night, a long night full of fun that stretched across several bars, clubs, and street food vendors. We made it back to campus around 6 am, the sunrise following closely on the back of our heels.

I woke up somewhat early the next day and made my way to the library to read for a while before getting lunch. I then had the chance to relax for a long time before heading out with some friends to my all-time favorite restaurant, Din Tai Fung, for some amazing Xiao Long Bao and spicy peanut noodles. Normally, HKUST offers a farewell dinner for the ISP students but it was canceled this year due to complications with ongoing protests. That didn’t hinder us from enjoying the night, walking around the TST promenade and the Avenue of Stars as we took in the beautiful Hong Kong skyline one last time. We made it back to campus around 12:30 pm, and would go on to enjoy the following hours reminiscing the good times and having some last drinks before everyone went back to their respective dorms.

I actually write this blog at 5 am, getting some final tasks completed – such as this blog – and watching Netflix. I will leave HKUST around 7:30 am for the airport, a long journey back to the US ahead of me. Thankfully fall semester starts in three weeks so I have some time to relax and recharge my energies, but for now, the only thing that I can say is that this truly was an amazing opportunity and that I really recommend choosing Hong Kong for your study abroad destination!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering

This past week really flew by. Although I know that I didn’t utilize it to the best of my abilities - both in regards to studying and exploring - I still had a lot of fun. I didn’t do anything the first two days after returning from my trip, as I was catching up on much needed sleep. Those days consisted of a lot of eating, a lot of sleeping, and a little bit of sports with some friends. On Wednesday I reviewed everything that I had learned in my physics class before the first exam and on Thursday I finally began to try and catch up to the class. After a semi-successful day of studying on Friday, I went out with some friends to the Ladies night market and get some amazing szechuan food before making our way over to LKF. We had a good time, and the best part for me was that one of the bartenders that I had really befriended a few weeks ago remembered me and called me over for some free drinks and laughs. I woke up the next day to study for a while before heading out with some friends to go check out Ozone, a fancy bar that is up on the 118th floor with some amazing views. I had a nice time hanging out before continuing the night at LKF.

I write this blog Sunday morning, from the comfort of my bed. Although I’m quite far behind in my physics class, I am confident that if I put the work in I will be fully up to date by the end of today/tomorrow. I’ve had an amazing time in Hong Kong so far, and it’s crazy to think that I’m about to start my last week here - my test is on Thursday and I fly back to the US on Sunday! All the studying aside, I have an exciting extended-weekend planned for the few days remaining after my test and before I fly out that I’m super eager about. That’s in the future though, for now I’m going to start studying so that i can do good in the class.

Until the next and final time!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering

Thailand was also so incredibly beautiful. While I will detail certain aspects of my trip, the best thing that I can do is provide you all with many pictures. Within this amazing portion of my trip, I checked out Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Hope you enjoy! PS. sorry for the formatting, I’m submitting this blog on my phone...

We woke up around 7 am in order to eat some breakfast (another delicious Susan Banh Mi) and make our way to the Da Nang airport. After a quick flight, we arrived in Chiang Mai around 12:30 pm. Since our other friends wouldn’t arrive until 6:30 pm — and we didn’t want to see certain things twice — we decided to simply head out for some food at a wonderful restaurant named Dash and walk through the nearby markets. There are so many temples scattered throughout the old part of Chiang Mai that we were able to keep ourselves occupied until the others arrived. When they did, we went on our way to get some dinner at a local hipster-market and then strolled throughout various night markets. After a while, we we went back to the Airbnb for some chill drinks and card games to end the night.

We left around 10:30 am the following day to check out Wat Phan Tao, Wat Chedi Luang, and Wat Phra Singh (all very beautiful temples). We got lunch at a very quaint little home-style place called Nun’s before heading to see the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep on the outskirts of the city. From there we went back into the city to check out the Night Bazaar Market again (where we all bought some typical Thai pants) and eat food at the local hipster market once more. We then decided to attend a Muay Thai event, where we got the chance to see six separate fights ranging in age, weight, and sex divisions. It was very cool to see how Muay Thai is in person! Afterward we made our way back to the Airbnb for some more drinks to end the night, laughter and conversations continuing until 5 am.

We woke up and left around 11 am the following day to get some amazing food at Khao Soi Khun Yai before heading out of the city to check out the Wiang Kum Kam area. We got to see some very ancient ruins before making our way over to the airport. Our flight arrived to Bangkok around 6 pm, and from there we dropped our stuff off at a nice little hostel before hopping on some tuktuks to the Asiatique Riverfront market. We enjoyed nice street food and strolled through the boardwalk for a while before heading back to the hostel for a chill night that went into the very early hours of the morning.

We woke up and left around 11:30 am the next day to check out Wat Traimitr and Wat Pho before getting some late brunch at a nearby restaurant. From there we headed over to Wat Suthat, which ended up being closed for prayer, so instead we took a tuktuk to the river for a river tour down the stream and to see local houses. The tour took us to a floating market and also dropped us off at Wat Arun for a beautiful sight of fine details. We then made our way back to Wat Suthat to check it out before taking a subway to the Ratchada Roy Fai train market. It had a very hipster vibe and was real cool. We got back to the hostel around 11 pm before showering and chilling for a good while.

Although we wanted to check out the Grand Palace and Wat Kraew while in Bangkok, it turned out that our stay had coincided with the King’s birthday so it was closed down. We therefore left the hostel around 10 am for Wat Saket, a gorgeous golden-domed, mountain-placed temple that offered a nice view of the city from up top. We then went back to the hostel area for lunch since half of the group had an afternoon flight, before the remaining party left to go explore Lumphini Park. It was a very nice area to walk around in, and we even got the chance to watch and play Sepak Takraw with some locals. We were not good at all but at least we managed to get a few good sets in ahaha. We left to hit up a nearby Irish pub for a while before grabbing some amazing Japanese food and checking out Patpong night market. It was quite interesting to say the least, the surrounding area attracting interesting crowds. We then strolled around for a bit until we were finally able to find a store that sold Takraw balls, a friend and I buying one to treasure the memories. From there we headed back to the hostel for some drinks before taking an hour long nap and heading out to the airport for our flight back to Hong Kong.

I write this blog on the airplane, recounting the amazing times that I’ve had on my trip in Thailand. Chiang Mai and Bangkok were absolutely stunning, and I am glad to have been able to travel to this beautiful country with my friends. There are only two weeks left of the ISP program, so I will make sure the make the most of it. Talk to y’all soon!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering

Vietnam was so incredibly beautiful. While I will detail certain aspects of my trip, the best thing that I can do is provide you all with many pictures. Within this amazing portion of my trip, I checked out Hanoi and Hoi An. Hope you enjoy! PS. sorry for the formatting, I’m submitting this blog on my phone...

We arrived at the Noi Bai airport and took the city bus to our Airbnb, getting there around 5:30 pm. Although it was too late to see any of the temples or museums, we were able to head out to the Old Quarter area above Hoan Kiem Lake and wander through all the shops and street markets. Exhausted from the previous nights lack of sleep as we had celebrated the conclusion of a difficult week, we got into a small cafe where we tried egg coffee! We also explored the Dong Xuan Market before stopping at Blue Butterfly, a recommended Vietnamese restaurant for some delicious spring rolls and Pho. I lowkey messed up my Pho though by not believing the waitresses warning that the extra spices were very very spicy ... a lesson hard learned after pouring in all of the chili’s and two servings of sauce. I think a little bit of me died as I got through my meal. The night being young as it was, we continued venturing through the area until settling down at a bar for the night. The walk back to our Airbnb was very interesting, the previously crowded and bustling city deserted in the early hours of the morning.

We left early the next day for some classic Banh Mi before hitting up what Hanoi had to offer. First, we headed to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology where we learned more about the wonderful minority races and local peoples. Then, we checked out the gorgeous Temple of Literature before walking to see St. Joseph’s Cathedral. We had a long food journey for lunch, enjoying some of the best street food in the Old Quarter as we slowly made our way up to the Bach Ma temple. Unfortunately it was semi-closed under renovation, but we were able to go inside and see the shrines within. From there we checked out the Heritage House and then proceeded down to the National Museum of Vietnamese History. Afterward, we made our way back up to the Hoan Kiem Lake area and checked out the beautiful Ngoc Son Temple, a Confucian temple accessible only by crossing a bridge into the lake. Looking back at it, from there we could have gone back to the Airbnb for a quick nap but we made the opposite choice and ended up drinking a lot of coffee each. No longer tired, we began the night excursion by bar hopping around the area. We met some cool people along the way, but the absolute best part was being able to drink Bia Hoi (local draft beer)... it cost less than US$0.30 per full beer mug! At some point we got hungry again and hit up another street food place, where we ate some pigeon. It was actually very good, and to top it all off I even ate the roasted pigeons head - brains and all! From there we kept bar hopping for some time until we decided to call it a night and made our way back to the Airbnb.

We checked out around 10 am the following morning to get some Banh Mi and hit up the Hoa Lo Prison Museum before making our way to the airport bus shuttle station. From there we took a flight down to Hoi An and made it to our Airbnb around 6:30 pm. Since most of the temples were closed by then, we walked around the night markets and checked out the Japanese Covered Bridge for a while. It was so beautiful, the entire area eliminated by colorful lanterns everywhere that one looked. The river was full of small, lantern-filled boats that took people up and down the stream and the entire place was packed with people throughout. My friend and I did another street food haul, eating a type of meat-filled bread, octopus, and frog. It was all so good! From there we hit up a wonderful bar called Dive before leaving for some more US$0.30 Bia Hoi at a nearby restaurant. We then returned to the bar for the rest of the night, having fun and sharing stories for the rest of the night before making our way back to the Airbnb.

We woke up around 9 am for a Banh Mi breakfast provided by Susan, our amazing Airbnb host, before heading out to the check out all that the city had to offer. Some of the things that we checked out included the Futian Assembly Hall, the Old House of Tan Ky, and the Quan Cong Temple. My favorite part happened while strolling through a local market, when a street vendor approached us and first said to me “Baby boy, you very handsome,” and then turned to my friend and said “And you look Vietnamese!” We finished seeing most of the attractions within the city by 11:30 pm, so we made our way back to the Airbnb to relax for a little while and grab bicycles in order to explore the surrounding countryside. We biked to the Chuc Thành Pagoda (it was unfortunately closed), Tra Que Vegetable Village, An Bang Beach, and Cua Dai Beach. We didn’t bring clothes meant for getting into the ocean, but we dipped our feet in and walked up and down the beautiful beach before hitting up a restaurant for some delicious, fresh sea food. I won’t lie, the roads were rough at times due to traffic but definitely manageable. I did get into a small motorcycle accident early on while rounding a corner, but was fortunately able to pull back somewhat when I saw the speeding object so that the oncoming motorcyclist only hit my left arm and leg. Also thankfully the driver was quick with the brakes so that the only remnants of this experience was a small graze running half the length of my arm. We returned through a scenic path, the winding streets going past fields and farmer’s houses. Exhausted and sunburnt, we took a long break back at the Airbnb before heading out again around 8 pm for some delicious Cua Lo at Mr. Son’s, a nearby recommended food spot. We then hit up Dive bar once more, where we met some very cool Australians who had some interesting stories to tell.

I write this blog early in the morning of Wednesday, recounting the amazing times that I’ve had on my trip in Vietnam. Hanoi and Hoi An were absolutely stunning, and I am glad to have been able to travel to this beautiful country with my friend. Our flight to Thailand leaves in a few hours, the commencement of an exciting new journey, so for now I leave you all to see if I can get so sleep. Talk to y’all soon!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering

It was bound to happen at some point, right? This past week was the most challenging week at HKUST so far, five weeks of class culminating in an intense midterm/final week. I don’t think that I did anything else but study these past few days, making sure that I was prepared for my physics 2 midterm on Wednesday and my linear algebra final earlier today. On one side, this week was a horrible, neverending battle of mental fortitude in attempting to find the resolve to keep studying and pushing to see its completion while on the other, every day brought me closer to ultimately obtaining greater tranquility. A real storm before the calm.

What I’ll miss the most

I write this blog at 5 am on Saturday, eager for what lies ahead …that and I was getting ahead on homework until 2 am when I decided to meet up with a few friends for some drinks in celebration of a difficult week gone by. I will leave HKUST in four hours for the airport, a nine-day mini-vacation awaiting me. I will be backpacking across Vietnam and Thailand with some friends that I met here during my stay, an exciting change of environment soon to come. I laugh for we still have not planned what to see or do at any location, but am sure that all will be well no matter what.

This was a short blog for there was not really anything to share from this week, but stay tuned for my next one which will be full of what I did in Vietnam. Until next time!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering

Another week of school has flown by and I find myself beginning to begrudgingly accept that I must at some point study for my upcoming exams. This week saw the end of the linear algebra course material and the electric-portion of my physics class, with a final exam and midterm scheduled for next week. At the moment, I do not find myself fully prepared for either but will make sure to review (or in my case learn) the material so that I can pass both. 

Happy Valley Racecourse

Although nothing too exciting happened during school itself, I did happen to go out to the Happy Valley Racetrack with some friends on Wednesday in order to attend the final race of the season. Horse racing is huge here in Hong Kong, and after experiencing it for myself it is easy to see why. Cold drinks, cheap food, and a whole lot of betting made for a fun time – even if we only stayed for three races. From there we headed over to the ISP-famous Mr. Wong’s for a crazy cheap all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffet feast before making our way to a nearby karaoke bar. Even though there weren’t a whole lot of songs, it didn’t stop us from having a great time – I even got the chance to sing my heart out with some locals. 

Sunrise, Victoria Peak

Then on Friday, I left campus around 5 pm to go to the Golden Computer Arcade in Sham Shui Po, a large discounted electronics store. From there we popped on over to the Temple Street Night Market for a little before making our way to Lan Kwai Fong for the night. Around 3 am we decided that we might as well stay up for sunrise, so we left for Victoria Peak to relax and see the views. And wow, it was beautiful. The generally packed area was completely empty, so we got to truly enjoy the peace and quiet of the sunrise. We finally made it back to campus around 7:30 am, and it was quite funny hearing a “good morning” from my roommate. 

I spent most of today (Saturday) relaxing, but starting tomorrow the study grind will start. I don’t think that there will be a whole lot to share in regards to what will happen this upcoming week but after my final exam on Friday, I am going to travel to Vietnam and Thailand for ten days!

I’ll let y’all know how it goes!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering

Beef & Liberty

I got the chance to head out with some friends to the Lan Kwai Fung beer & music festival on Sunday and tried out a few drinks before popping on over to an amazing burger place called Beef & Liberty. They sell an amazing plant-based impossible burger that tastes exactly like a normal meat burger. 10/10 would recommend it! Afterward, we headed out to a bar for a night of fun. Since we didn’t have school on Monday, I relaxed throughout the whole day until around 9 pm when I left campus with some friends to go prawn fishing. It is a restaurant with deep water containers that are regularly filled with live prawns. People sit comfortably around the sides, equipped with small fishing rods and bait, and attempt to catch as many prawns within an hour or so. Whatever you catch is what you eat, and the restaurant will usually provide you with additional prawns for your efforts. I ended up catching the most out of everybody with two prawns! #fishingchampion

One Dim Sum

The school week itself wasn’t that exciting, but I guess that’s what happens when taking linear algebra and physics two over the summer term. 0/10 would not recommend it… hahaha. The arrival of the weekend brought with it a nice change of pace and on Friday night I headed out with some friends to One Dim Sum – a small, wonderful, and former-Michelin star restaurant located in Prince Edward. After a very delicious meal, we made our way to the Ladies Market where we would barter ourselves some wonderful deals. I bought a new backpack and my future Halloween costume; a rainbow unicorn onesie. We got back to campus around 11 pm and went on to enjoy some refreshing drinks and play card games until 3 am – perfect for our ensuing early morning wake up.

Ruins of St. Paul’s

Macau skyline, part one

Macau skyline, part two

Views from Macau Tower

Guanye Street

ISP students who had registered for the Macau trip had to meet up at the atrium around 7:45 am in order to make our way to the TurboJet, a rapid ferry service that provides regularly intervaled trips between Hong Kong and Macau. Upon our arrival to Macau, we headed on over to the Macau Museum and Ruins of St. Paul’s, two of the most famous tourist attractions in the city. We then went to the Macau Tower, where we would eat an amazing Portuguese-style lunch and enjoy some breathtaking views from the top. I particularly enjoyed the glass floor area which offered views of the incredible height. Afterward came the Guia Lighthouse, an old colonial building that further highlighted the interplays between Portuguese and Chinese cultures. From there we were taken to and given free time to explore the Parisian, a beautiful casino, and Guanye Street, a wonderful street full of delicious foods and music.

Mixing pot of culture

Marvelous city

Finally some Portuguese!

It was there that I first heard Portuguese in this marvelous city – an Angolan band playing traditional music in the central plaza. I expected to hear more of it throughout the day but was astonished to learn that although considered a main language of Macau, only 2% of the population actually speaks it. Regardless, it was a magnificent ending to an astounding day, one full of laughter, excitement, and beauty. Something I found particularly interesting was the visible parallels of the lasting effects of colonialism and casino culture, the relatively rugged city splattered with intricate colonial-style buildings and towering golden casino behemoths. 100/10 would definitely recommend this fantastic adventure!

Until next week!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering

The past school week consisted of trying out new campus restaurants, playing an ever-increasing variety of sports, and hanging out late at nights. While I didn’t get the chance to go outside of campus during the week (my classes are scheduled at relatively uncomfortable times), I did get the chance to do so many cool things. I played soccer and volleyball, I ate at an Indian food stall and a Turkish restaurant, I had a Netflix marathon and even played poker (I lost everything … talk about foreshadowing for Macau next weekend). While all fun and studying, nothing compares to the excitement that accompanies the end of the week. This weekend, in particular, is extra special – a three-day weekend meant to commemorate the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, marking the transfer of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China. Throughout the entire weekend, festivals are being held in all sorts of areas ranging from club districts to family parks.

The Crystal Ballroom

To kick-off the festivities, HKUST hosted a Welcome Dinner on Friday at the Crystal Ballroom of a nice hotel. All 250 summer ISP students were dressed in smart casual attire as we watched an introductory university video and ate a lot of good, free food. Following the dinner portion of the event came a series of fun games hosted on the main stage such as random food tasting, a chopstick game where teams competed by transporting small items from bowl to bowl in a race against time, and flip cup (with orange juice of course). I competed in two events, having volunteered for the chopstick game and being a member of the winning team for the Welcome Dinner-wide flip cup game, although we would go on to lose in the grand finale by giving up a 3-1 lead. I won a set of decorative bamboo chopsticks and a dragon bottle opener as a result of my participation, a welcomed surprise for what was already considered a good start to a fun night.

Lan Kwai Fong

After the wonderful event, I left with some friends to “Club” 7-11 in order to really kick-off the night with some cheap drinks before heading over to Lan Kwai Fong (LKF), arguably the best party district in all of Hong Kong. We went semi-bar hopping for a little bit until we decided to go to PLAY, a recommended club in the area. While the majority of the group went inside, I decided to leave with a few friends to hit up Club 7-11 once more, where we would run into another group of friends and bring them with us to the club. Packed and full of good music, I ended up staying until 5 am before beginning the hour-long commute back to campus.

HKUST Sunrise, 6:00 am

The sunrise commenced as we began to arrive at the university, its beautiful colors illuminating the horizon as far as one could see. Undeterred by the long night of partying, the small remaining group and I ran back to our dorms in order to quickly change into our swimsuits and then headed on over to a small, rocky beach that is off to the side of the campus. 

Rocky Water Chilling

Chilled drinks and deep conversations carried on for the next hour or so before we began to swim further out, reaching a large jutted rock that allowed us to climb out and jump back into the water as a fun diversion. We finally called it a night around 8 am and headed back to our respective halls, where I would considerably have my best shower in Hong Kong so far.

Traveling around Hong Kong

Although I deemed myself exhausted from the night before, I was unable to sleep more than 3 hours as I woke up excited to tackle on another day. Around 2 pm, I left campus with some friends to go on the Monkey Hill Hike located in Kam Shan Country Park. It was a relatively long journey to get there, but one that offered amazing sights of what Hong Kong really is. The park was beautiful, full of monkeys located everywhere that one looked. After walking through the main area of the park, we split up and I went with some friends to go explore the adjacent two-mile long running trail. Although we didn’t see any additional monkeys during our journey, we were able to capture nature at its most serene and caught glimpses of different wildlife throughout.

Kam Shan Country Park

Monkey Lifestyle

Monkeyin’ Around

We arrived back at campus around 7 pm for some delicious dinner and hung out for a bit before I finally called it a night, no longer able to hold off sleep’s demands. I write this blog Sunday morning, having stayed in to study a little bit and finish off some last minute homework in preparation of going out tonight to the second day of the Lan Kwai Fong CHILLAX Beer & Music Fest 2019. 

See ya!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering