~:[CH5 - Day 332]:~ Out of the Ordinary

~:[CH5 - Day 332]:~ Out of the Ordinary

A part of exploration is to find that hidden gem or just something that is worth discovering and boy was today a true discovery. I woke up for a morning food tour where most everything was ordinary. coming from an Asian community, the dim sum, wonton noodle soup, milk tea, char Sui and egg tart. I did get a good history of things, however, which was a great addition to my Hong Kong experience. It was nice to walk the streets of the wet market, watch a soccer match in the middle of the city, and to sit with a stranger in a cramped and crazy restaurant. I also enjoued seeing all the dried seafoods and hearing the reasons, purposes and uses for them. After hanging out with a friend in the afternoon and resting for a short bit, I headed out to Jordan to meet my second tour guide. His service was not as well organized as it was just starting up but was definitely the more memorable of the tours. Along the streets of Jordan, I was able to enjoy some cuisines that most would fine scary, gross and maybe even appalling yet much like in life, I always feel that sometimes you need to give things a try (especially when it comes to food). We ventured from.a stall that served stinky tofu and cow organs in an "aged" broth to a store with a cleaner marinade where they had duck tongue and pig ear. That was just the start. We ventured around to grab some pork and snake soup which had five different types of snake in it. It was delicious. They also had some interesting wines and not being a regular consumer of alcohol, I didn't want to get it, but I let my adventurous side go. They had three wines - snake gallbladder, snake penis and gecko. Yes, you heard me right ... gecko. I know what you're thinking. Let's just say I didn't try the gallbladder and despite getting a full shot of the other two, I only took in a third of each. I ventured to a Michelin rated restaurant (at one point) that served garlic fried frog legs. It was much like the crab I had the other day as garlic was fried and pile on, but boy was it delicious. Of course, on a food tour, I couldn't eat too much. I wrapped up my dining cuisine with desserts. I started with a gelatinous herbal black tea with turtle she'll in condensed milked before heading next door to get egg next soup and a dessert made from the fat of fillopian tubes. Yes, I know what I ate. All in all, it ended up being a grand adventure and while it ended up costing a little more than planned due to it just being me on the tour (otherwise it would have been canceled or I would have tried less), it was worth every penny and still fairly inexpensive as he did not charge a tour fee and left me with some beautifully self-designed maps. In the end, I ventured to a lounge to meet a few other friends after they got off of work and stayed for just a bit before heading back to my hotel. I've gotten very familiar with the MTR and the neighborhood so quickly, yet tonight realized that as comfortable as I am with navigation, there is still a lot out of the ordinary that I may never get used to,,which may be the case in every place I visit. In the end, I met some great people and enjoyed this wonderful day and while I was beat and exhausted, I realized it was worth every ounce of energy expended along the way.