It's Tuesday afternoon here and I just got back from the clinic. I somehow managed to pick up a rash in Hong Kong that is pretty itchy so after waiting for about an hour I managed to walk away with some pills and cream. The doctor said the rash on my forearms, hands, and face is due to the cold weather in Hong Kong which I find hilarious. Going from 30 plus degrees everyday to 14 degrees can apparently take a toll on you! Unfortunately, I wasn't fully prepared for the HK climate change, bringing only one sweater but I'll get to that later.
4 other NTU girls and I took a taxi to the airport at 4 am Friday morning. Our flight took off at 6:30 and we arrived in HK at 10:20. We flew Jetstar and the flight was great, minus being at the back of the plane with little leg room, but at least we all got to sit together. When we arrived in Hong Kong we got stamped, and left the airport to find a taxi that could fit us 5 girls. Luckily, HK only uses 5 person taxi's which worked out well. It took us about 20 minutes to leave the island that the airport is on and arrive at our hostel on Kowloon island. Fun fact: Hong Kong is comprised of just over 260 islands. This was a surprise to me, I didn't expect so much water and mountains to be apparent. We got out of our taxi and made our way through a little shopping centre to get to the elevator that would take us up to our hostel. Shelby, from Western, pre-booked 2 rooms at the Canadian hostel so it was easy to settle in. We checked in and then headed out for some much needed food. First food in HK? SUSHI. The girls and I had the largest sushi pieces we have ever had, some green tea and some other treats and then we decided to go back to the hostel and prepare for the day. After putting on a little mascara and brushing a comb through our hair the reactions from the locals was astounding. Walking through the shopping centre consisted of unneeded cat calls and compliments - I found it funny what a little mascara could do. Although it was an uncomfortable walk to and from the elevator each time we went back to our rooms, I did feel safe at night because so many people were always present.
Stayed at Canadian Hostel ... for $30CAD each/night
Our first adventure of day 1 was to find the Peak Tram. This is the trolly that takes you up to Victoria Peak where you can see the beautiful city of HK. There are both shops and places to eat, one could really spend a full day up there. For less than $10CAD we took the tram up the mountain and arrived at the beautiful peak. I was blown away at just how pretty the city looked. It was not only city but had so much water and mountains around it, I fell in love.
Bottom of the Peak Tram
Waiting to get up to the peak ... A trolly takes you up
On our way up - so steep
The city of HK!
Love on the peak!
Hello Hong Kong! With my friend Shelby
Miss you mom and dad!
Night time skyline .. worth the 1.5 hour wait!
We ended up staying in the viewing patio area for quite some time in order to see the HK skyline at night. What we didn't expect was just how cold it would get. The weather was tolerable during the day with just a sweater, but as soon as night time grew close the temperature got really cold. We were cuddling together to get body heat, and I knew from that moment on I would regret only bringing my one sweater. Sarah joked that I looked like a cartoon character all weekend with the same distinct sweater - I can't think of anything more true haha.
Michelle, Sarah, Tanya, Myself, Shelby .. the 5 of us on the trip
Vietnamese Pho Bo Soup
After sightseeing at the view point we went to a Vietnamese restaurant nearby. I'd never had this type of food before and I definitely liked it. I have Pho Bo which is noodles, and raw steak in hot broth. The steak cooks in the broth because it's so hot, definitely a must have. Following dinner we waited a painful hour out in the cold in order to catch the tram down. Then, we headed for our next stop: Temple street. Let me just tell you, the markets in HK were amazing. Markets included so many things including but not limited to:Jewelry, handbags, ornaments, ties, electronics, clothes, food, and even the tackiest lingerie known to man. I would show you pictures but there were strict no photo signs all through the markets. After a couple hours of shopping on Friday night the girls and I walked away with bags of things. My favourite purchases were some bracelets and some Marc Jacobs bags. I think Marc Jacobs was the theme of the trip. We were debating whether to go out to see HK nightlife but we were all too tired from a day or traveling, shopping and sightseeing. We wanted to wake up early for Day 2 - Cheung Chau and Mongkok markets.
We arrived at the ferry terminal at around 11 am Saturday. We took the MTR (HK's subways) which are so efficient and useful. Toronto really has something to learn from all these efficient and modern subways I've been taking. A lady we met on Friday told us to venture to Cheung Chau island, a well known fishing market. It took the ferry about 40 minutes to get there and it was well worth it.
Day 2 - Ferry to Cheung Chau
Ferry terminal on HK island
On Cheung Chau we walked around and enjoyed some amazing food. The food included freshly made dim sum and grilled vegetables and meat. For so cheap we ate so much and it was definitely a favourite of meals so far in Asia. We spent about two hours on Cheung Chau also doing a little shopping. I loved the amazing view of all the boats and the mountains.
Arrived at Cheung Chau
Grilled veggies ... 3 skewers for $1.30 CAD
Freshly made dim sum
Saturday night we enjoyed the Mongkok market. We also went to a jade market where I bought some sculptures of Buddha and back to Temple street for a fortune teller where Tanya and Shelby got their fortune told. The fortune teller only spoke Mandarain so these Hong Kong ladies were kind enough to translate the fortunes to us. On the walk back to our hostel I found Pitt Street and enjoyed the laugh!
Found my street!
Hong Kong ladies that helped us translate the fortune teller
Shopping = success
Sadly, for every trip there has to be a last day and Sunday was the day for this trip. I was really sad to go because I fell in love with HK but I plan to come back again sometime, whether it be on this trip or later in life. Day 3 started off with a walk of Kowloon's waterfront. It was very pretty and also fun to walk around because they still had some lunar new year decorations up. We walked along the waterfront, passed an olympic torch from Beijing and walked through the avenue of stars. The top name on my list? JACKIE CHAN. We ended up finding his star and taking some really funny pictures. Bruce Lee's star was also there. Unfortunately, my camera died Sunday morning so these pictures are from the girls cameras. Reminder when traveling: always bring your camera charger and charge it at night.
Day 3 - Heritage centre near Kowloon harbourfront
Jackie Chan's star!
With Jackie Chan haha Doing my best Bruce Lee
After checking out of our hostel we made our way to Lantau island to see the big buddha and to walk wisdom path. We took a 40 minute bus ride up (the cable car was not running) up to the village where you could get to all these places. We climbed all the way up the never ending stairs to see buddha and it was amazing. Although it seemed small when I saw him on top of the mountain on the drive up, in person Buddha was huge!
Spotted: Big Buddha after the 40 minute bus ride up!
At the top of Lantau island Headed up to see Big Buddha
Made it to the top of big buddha
We didn't have too much time on top of buddha because we also wanted to go to wisdom path. By the time we walked to wisdom path and walked back past buddha we saw the gates to the stairs closed. Thank goodness we did buddha earlier, it closed at 5:30, something we didn't think of. SO thankful it didn't effect us because being at the top of buddha was the highlight of my trip. A 15 minute walk from buddha took us to wisdom path. A bunch of monuments on top of a mountain. The view was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I felt like I was in a dream, or on a Survivor reward.
Wisdom path
We took a bus from Lantau island to the airport and arrived in Singapore at 1:30am. Hong Kong is such an amazing fusion of city and forest, it was such a pleasant surprise. Off to Vietnam on Thursday. Is my life real? XOXOX
looks like a great trip! XOXOXO
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