Des Voeux Rd. (Dried Seafood Road)
Sight: Heaps of dried flesh, fish, seahorses, sharks' fin, scallops
Smell: Nauseating fishiness, not able to escape the odor as the street is lined with stalls with massive bags (the Costco) of dried seafoods
Sounds: shuffling feet, bargainers shouting, taxi cabs honking, chatter from the old man chewing on things, burping
Feel: out of place, claustrophobic, culturally insensitive but gagging is a reflex
I-house/my housing (Common room)
Sight: 4-5 tall American/Danes lounging around a TV on peach leather sofas with a subwoofer and speakers and probably either milk tea or cheap beer on the coffee table
Smell: chlorinated cleanliness, cheap beer or milk tea
Sounds: the automatic lock beeping when a new person walks in, absurdly loud audio of movie to compensate for the "courteous" flock of asian karaoke stars squaking and standing right by us as we try to watch the movie- most likely a DeNiro movie, war movie, Terminator, or any movie that 5 guys and one girl would like, a mainland student clicking on the common computer disgustingly slurping on uber sweet Chrysanthemum tea ... he just belched and sneezed a fine mist of sweet nasty all over the keyboard
Feel: sweaty stickiness of the couch and vibrations of the bass from the subwoofer (with violence a theme in most movies the explosions really shake the room, don't worry it's not that violent)
The MTR
Sight: a never-ending train that is very clean but filled with not so clean people, lots of masks, lots of old men, very very few Caucasians, average height 5'5", shopping bags, no children under 3.5" (illegal for them to ride), no eating or drinking visible as it is also illegal
Smell: depends on where you get to stand/sit, sometimes its awful othertimes its just smelling yourself because I usually hold onto the ceiling of the train not to knock anyone with my elbows
Sounds: although there is a quiet car, it's always noisy, shockingly loud cell phones ringing and singing, and even louder responses "Why? Why?" which means Hello or Hi it's me on the phone, the news on the TV alternating with the kind woman's voice shouting the destination name in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin, and also reminding us to Mind the Gap, the beeping of the doors about to close - no one really tries to sneak into the doors
Feel: exhausted, standing up for an hour, balancing over the balding heads of Chinese women while the MTR slings you around, frustrated that their sense of being in the way is non-existent, most MTR-ers just stand in your way, do not move logically, and most of the time step into your path of motion and stay still, no sense of heirarchy for who should sit down vs. stand up
Boracay, Philippines
Sight: clear blue water with little waves and some fine seaweed, Muslim vendors trying to sell things, women offering massages, all ages tanning, shops line the beach with palm trees in between the beach and the shops, unbelievable (and quick) sunsets
Smell: Hawaiian Tropic 70spf, salt, bbq-ed meats from vendors
Sounds: "Mam, Sir, Massage, Sunglasses, second pair, extra, all you can eat buffet, Mam, Sir!" Blenders making mango shakes on the side of the sand street, Australians talking loud, but our Americans talking louder
Feel: Heavenly relaxation with a bit of antsiness from lack of internet, course & salty hair, wet bathing suit, and definitely some stubborn sand blended into the sunscree
Manila, Philippines
Sight: Motorbikes welded with cabs to hold people dodging traffic, run-down buildings, big billboards, a McDonalds, a Catholic church, crazy stunt devil taxis, pretty women/men on the streets -can't tell if ones one or the other
Smell: pollution, beach residue, Chris' deodarant thank goodness he loaded that on in the backseat of the taxi, Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen left over
Sound: honking tricycles, Jeepneys, cars, vans, taxis, men saying, "Hi Mom, Hi Sir," women squwaking in their Filipino high pitched compaining tone, the occassional rooster, diesel engine
Feel: relief to find smiles throughout this chaotic/dangerous/blessed/joyful/busy/sprawling city of Manila
Little India, Singapore
Smell: Masala, curry, and fresh, sweet flowers almost Plumera but borderline sweet like B.O.
Chinese New Year Markets, Prince Edward Rd.
Sight: State Fair of China, vendors, games, cheap junk to win and buy, overwhelming with young Chinese salesgirls and boys trying to get you to buy plush tiger paws for the New Year, also a flower market with few flowers but mostly mandarin orange trees
Sound: too much Chinese chatter, high pitched and noisy
Smell: Flower market was more like rotting produce stand with the oranges, smell of too much sugar in the air from the sweets for the New Year, never a good smell
Feel: fair less culturally enlightening than a flower market I was imagining although at the same time summing up Chinese culture with loud noises, overwhelming crowds, unnecessary purchases, sweet cakes and candies, and odd smells does a good job. Again out of place and exhausted from looking for our tour guides Vma and Jessica (2 small Chinese girls from UNC - yeah, really easy to find in the crowd)
- Feel: quaint, adorable, low buildings inside the protection of the towering skyscrapers, European, maze-like, WOW! are we in New York City?! The little cafes off the busy streets remind me of the places my sister finds in NYC.
- Sights: gnarly trees line the streets, gnarly gnarly trees, makes it look Asian even though I'm confused when Boston and New York became Shanghai style, low buildings because the Petrol workers lived in some of these buidings
