Back to Hong Kong (19. May)

Whoa, I see it's been almost 2 months since my last post (about Cherry Blossoms).
What has happened since?

I joined the Masan Teachers' Chorus again. We'll meet until the end of June (only meeting and practicing together for 10 weeks/10 times). There's another foreign teacher! Yay for not being the only one!

I signed my renewal contract. I did and passed the medical check. I had an appointment to extend my ARC (Alien Registration Card)/visa sometime this week.

Ah, I had a long weekend and spent 2 days overseas for it.

My long weekend was May 19. - 22. May 22 was Buddha's Birthday (it's a national holiday in Korea), and my school gave us that Monday (May 21) off. So I went to Hong Kong (again).

Back to Hong Kong

I booked the cheapest flight I could: fly out Saturday (19. May) at night, and return Tuesday (22. May) morning. Literally 2 days and 3 nights. Not what I would've liked, but to have more time, I would've had to fork over around $200 (give or take) more. Nevermind, I'll just do what I can with the time I got. Thanks, Hong Kong Express!

Just playing with light in Busan's airport.

Like waves, but at the ceiling in Hong Kong's airport.

As for accommodations, I couchsurfed this time. My host lives in Discovery Bay, which is conveniently within 30 minutes from the airport (on Lantau Island). Another convenient thing is Hong Kong's public transportation--and how it runs 24/7! Maybe this is normal elsewhere, but not in Korea. Even Hong Kong's ferries and buses run all night long (every hour and half-hour, but all night long nonetheless).
I arrived at the apartment just before midnight. My Couchsurfing host was not there, but a friend of his was. She was very kind and cooked dinner for the both of us. Since she is vegetarian (but eats seafood as well), the meal was perfect for me!

I went to bed sometime after 1am and was wide awake by 6:15am. I did not plan this; it just happened. I blame the bright sunny morning. When I walked out to the living room/dining room area with the balcony, I was blinded by the brilliant sun shining in all it's strength directly into the 16th-floor apartment--oh, and the sun reflected off the bay too, so add that into the equation. Not only did it shine so brightly, but the apartment felt like an oven! Both light and heat radiated inside. As much as excessive heat is not my favorite thing, the experience was pretty cool (paradoxically and no pun intended).
I guess I could share that for a nano-moment, the thought came to my mind of, "Wow, I never thought I'd be in Hong Kong when Jesus returns!" I kid thee not, that thought actually crossed my mind, it was that bright.

It was such a beautiful view, I had to take pictures. But then... Has it ever happened to you, when you snapped a few photos then give up because the shot(s) could never do the moment justice? It was like that. I took the picture below, facing the NE (northeast). If I aimed my camera due East, all you would've seen was white. Can you see the photo only gets brighter as you look to the right?

What a view.

I was up. I had an appointment at 11:30. Alright, about 5 hours to kill. Join me in the next post to find out how I spent said time--and what the 11:30 appointment was for.