This week has honestly been crazy. From traveling for 30 hours to exploring Hong Kong, it's been an adventure.
1/4 & 1/5 - Waking up at 3:30 AM to start a 30 hour travel day is alway fun. I went from San Jose to Seattle (where I left my brand new Yeti š), Seattle to Korea (we were delayed by 2 hours and just sat in the plane on the runway š), and Korea to Hong Kong.
After arriving in Hong Kong, I promptly checked in to the Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong (conveniently connected to the airport) since I arrived at around 2 AM and knocked out.
1/6 - Prior to coming to Hong Kong, I signed up for the free shuttle that would take me straight to the student residence in Ma On Shan. At 2 PM-ish, I went back to the airport to meet with the City U students from GEO (Global Engagement Office) to take the shuttle to the dorms. During this time I got to meet exchange students from all over the world and made good friends with Jay (US) and Sarah (Canada).
Once we arrived at the dorms, Jay, Sarah, and I went shopping for essentials like sheets, blankets, pillows (etc). But tell me why I bought a pillow for $367 HKD (around $47 USD) and its not even comfortable š.
1/7 - Jay and I had our College of Business advising/orientation where they basically just gave us advice and told us rules regarding Hong Kong. During the orientation, I met Emma (US) who is Jay's roommate and goes to the same school as her in the US. Afterwards, we went to get our student ID's and met Cindy (UK) and Maureen (US) while we were there. Later, we all went shopping in Festival Walk (the mall connected to CityU and the MTR).
Shopping is always a lot of fun, but it can be a little dangerous when all the prices are in a different currency. Pro-tip: familiarize yourself with the conversion between the local currency and your currency before you overspend. Later that evening, we met up with Sarah and her roommate, Sammie (Canada) for dinner and ate at Pepper Lunch 10/10 recommend.
1/8 - We had more orienteering games and free lunch with the College of Business, where we had to basically do a scavenger hunt and familiarize ourselves with the campus (it's still super confusing... lol). Also, tell me why there is a full Chinese restaurant in one of the buildings on campus. Food was pretty good tho, ngl... just interesting to see.
Later, we met up with Ben (US) and decided to go to the AIA Carnival in Central. Rides were kinda expensive $150 HKD for two rides, but the vibes were good and it was super cute. After, we took the Star Ferry from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui and got really cute pics of Victoria Harbor during sunset and walked to Tsim Chai Kee Noodle (this wonton soup place) for dinner (6/10).
1/9 - We went to Mong Kok and got lunch at Red Tea (7/10) and explored Mong Kok for a few hours. There is this pretty cheap cosmetic store called Lung Fung where I got my LancƓme toner, a weird mascara thing, and a Fino hair mask for $367 HKD (thats a steal). I also bought 3 Stray Kids Albums and card pack for $495 HKD (also really cheap).
There is so much to explore in Mong Kok that we barely scratched the surface! We will definitely be back to check things out!
1/10 - Waking up bright and early after a night out isnŹ»t really fun, but the organized field trip to Lantau Island (it cost $120 HKD) with the college of business was something that I couldn't miss (and had to make sure I got my moneys worth). We met at the school at 9 AM and headed to the Big Buddha Statue on Lantau Island. Honestly, it was a sight to behold and doesn't really feel real until you're at the top of the 268 step stair case. The views from the top were amazing and the statue was so detailed it was shocking. After spending sometime up there we went down to the Monastery and had a vegetarian lunch. I am by no means a vegetarian, however, I must admit that I really enjoyed the food served to us. It was amazing how they could create so many different dishes with simple ingredients, and crazy the amount of different ways they can make tofu (it was surprisingly good).
After our time at the Buddha, we went to a small fishing village called Tai O. As we walked to the town square, vendors and little shops lined the path selling different goods. While there, we explored the shops, tried new foods, and took in the surroundings. One common theme with lots of the shops were that they were selling a lot of dried seafood (shrimp, squid, starfish, etc). I bought dried ika (cuttlefish) and dried crab (I think); however, I did try to buy dried starfish because I thought it would be cool to eat until Emma asked (in Cantonese) the shop owner if you can eat it, to which he replied "No, you are supposed to boil it to use in soups, and you also need to clean the starfish before you can do that". Thank god for Emma because I would have actually tried to eat it if I didn't know any better. Before we left Tai O we went on a 20 minute boat ride through the village and into the ocean to take in all the scenery Tai O had to offer. I would definitely want to go back one day (if I ever learn to speak Cantonese).
1/11 - Saturday was a pretty chill day. I grabbed some lunch with my friends, yapped, and explored around the dorms. We decided to go check out the beach nearby and ended up at Whitehead Beach that is conveniently located right next to a driving range. Although it is way to cold to be swimming in this weather, being at the beach and being surrounded by the nature of Hong Kong really reminded me of home. I can definitely see myself visiting more in the future to just relax.
1/12 - Sunday was uneventful. I basically just rotted in my bed and relaxed after a busy week until I got hungry enough to go grab dinner. I went to this roast meat place near the train station that I have been wanting to try and got 2 Char Siu with rice plates for only $68 HKD!!! (which is really cheap (also I go two because I can't speak Cantonese and didn't know what was going on... lol)). Honestly, the Char Siu there was pretty good and I definitely want to go back and try their other meats (but maybe with someone who can speak Cantonese). Unfortunately, I stayed up until 3:30 AM and had to wake up for classes the next day at 7 AM (bad decision), but that's a story for another day.
TL;DR - Got to Hong Kong, checked into my dorms, made some friends, explored some parts of Hong Kong, went to see the Big Buddha and Tai O on Lantau Island, checked out the beach, and got some bomb food.
Miles Walked: 50.2 miles
Places Explored: Ma On Shan, Wu Kai Sha, Kowloon Tong, Central, Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Victoria Harbor, Big Buddha, Tai O, and Whitehead Beach
Tips: Make sure you know your currency conversion (or at least use your calculator app to convert HKD to USD), don't be afraid to talk to people (there a lots of people who are also on exchange and wanting to make friends), sign up for activities hosted by the university (its a great way to make friends and see new places), and try to make friends who speak the local language (they can help you when you need to talk to locals)!!!
Sorry for the long post! I promise to make it shorter next time!
Wow! Hong Kong looks so great!
Looks so fun !