Hong Kong: The Land of Efficiency

Goodbye sweat, cheap food, motorbikes and roadside squatters and hello efficiency. After a long layover in Bangkok, we made it to Hong Kong. Upon arrival it was immediately obvious that we were no longer in a developing country. Nope...we were definitely in a SAR. 

Stop 4: Hong Kong 

Highlights:

*SARs. What is a SAR, you ask? Well, it's a Special Administrative Region, of course! I literally knew close to nothing about HK before arriving, but luckily, Megh did her homework and let us know that HK is a SAR of China, having its own set of laws and policies. And not only that, but Macau, one of the islands of HK, is also a SAR. So I am pretty much a SARs pro now. I'm kind of a big deal.

*Efficiency. HK reeks with efficiency. It is impossible to get lost in the city because there are signs pointing you in the right direction wherever you go. There are a surplus of escalators and travelators taking you where you need to be when you want to be there. The subway system was top notch, and the accompanying Octopus Card made our lives so much easier. It's essentially a one tap plastic card that gains you entry onto most forms of transportation (ferries, subways, trams). It was our best friend for the week. 

*Good vibes. Hong Kong was definitely a unique city. It had a NYC/San Francisco vibe while still completely maintaining it's Asian culture. It is a very trendy spot. 

*Victoria's Peak. The view from the peak was absolutely stunning. First you take a tram up an extremely steep mountain, which provided unbelievable views. But the best was obviously yet to come. Once at the top, we walked along a quiet trail, away from the majority of the tourists and took in the gorgeous view of the entire city. We arrived later in the afternoon and stayed until the moon was shining. It was great to experience the view in daylight, sunset and nighttime. We noticed that a lot of photographers were hanging around in anticipation, and when we asked what they were waiting for, one man responded "For the moment" to which we asked "What moment?" and he said "THE moment." Clearly, we had to stick around and wait for THE moment when all of the photographers started snapping away as the night light hit the buildings perfectly and allowed for the ultimate photo to be taken. 

*Kowloon. We spent a bit of time on Kowloon island- shopping, wandering, eating. Kowloon was home to many specialized markets (Goldfish, Bird, Flower, Jade, the Ladies Market and the Temple St Night Market), as well as some delicious restaurants. Every night, there is also a pretty entertaining light show, where many buildings along HK Island participate in a laser/light show in the sky to the accompaniment of music. I was impressed. 

*FOOD. I know...I'm always going on and on about food, but that's one of the best parts of traveling- experiencing the different cuisines. And when it's something as glorious as Dim Sum, how could I not gush about it? We went to two different Dim Sum spots and both left us more than satisfied. I could eat dumplings everyday and be very content. One of the spots, Tim Ho Wan, had quite the reputation and we felt the need to test it out. We went to the restaurant at 10am to wait in line to get a seat number. When we finally got to the front of the line, the woman handed us a menu and said come back in 2 1/2 hrs. So we did. And we still had to wait another hour before we could squeeze into the 30 seat restaurant and then delight ourselves in one of the most insanely delicious meals I've ever had. I wish I could find the proper words to describe the deliciousness that was the BBQ pork bun. I kid you not- I am salivating at the memory of them right now. We seriously spoiled our tastebuds this week because we also had the pleasure of going to Duecento Otto, an Italian restaurant where the executive chef is a friend of a friend. Beyond Vinny (the chef) being one of the nicest people ever, he also delighted us to an amazing meal. We ate an embarrassing amount of food, but only because it was ridiculously good. Mmm.

*Jumping Shots. Put Sarah, Megh and I together and you are going to get a whole lot of jumping pictures. We basically jumped our way through the entire city, but given the backdrop, we couldn't contain ourselves.

*The nightlife. LKF was bumping. It is an isolated area of HK Island, but people fill the streets, overflowing from the many bars. It was very different than the scene I was used to (You mean I can't wear fisherman pants and a layer of sweat and fit in?), but it was a great change of pace. 

Not so highlights:

*Black and White. We arrived in HK fairly late (around 10pm) and after clearing up a little chaos at the hostel, we wanted to celebrate by eating something tasty and drinking a Chinese beer. So we meandered around until we found a small Chinese food joint that had an English menu. We were so proud that we found an authentic restaurant, but we were all horribly disappointed in our meals. We laughed as we slurped up a never-ending pile of salty, shrimpy noodles while trying to chug giant beers as the place closed up around us. Food fail.


*It's expensive!!! Baht does not go very far in this city. 

*Macau. Since we had enough time, we wanted to head out to Macau (the other SAR) for a day. We had been forewarned that Macau was basically the Vegas of Hong Kong, but that it was worth seeing. It wasn't a good start when a girl close by on the ferry was puking up a storm for the entire 50 minutes over there. Once we got there we had to find our way to the southern part of the island which involved multiple local bus rides. We walked through The Venetian, and Megh even took her turn at the slot machines, but lost her money within 30 seconds. Nevertheless, exploring Macau was fine. It was the process of getting in and out that ruined it. Since it is a separate SAR, you have to go through immigration to go in and out, and each time the lines were huge and the process took way too long. From HK alone, we gained another 6 stamps in our passport. Yowza. 

*Saying goodbye to Megh. It had been an amazing, amazing few weeks. Not only did I get to travel to new places and have this incredible experience, but I got to do it with two of my best friends. It meant so much that Megh came out here and that we were able to do this together. Saying goodbye at the airport was really hard and it got a wee bit teary. I'm still in a little bit of denial that she went back to the States. 

After months of anticipation and weeks of planning, our backpacking journey came to an end. Not only did I have a ridiculously awesome time, but I also learned a whole lot about all of the places I visited. I was slightly depressed to go back to Suphanburi, but in reality, I didn't have time to dwell. After 36 hours I would be off to Chiang Mai for one of the greatest celebrations on Earth....SONGKRAN. 

Victoria's Peak in the afternoon

Sunset!

THE Moment

Ferry ride to Kowloon

JUMP

Verrry MJ

Macau

Dim Sum! Yum!