Over our October term holiday I took the opportunity to visit what I think might just be the greatest city on Earth. I decided to visit Hong Kong for a few reasons; I had always wanted to see the city and I have several friends who live there.
I stepped off the jetway at Hong Kong airport just after midnight Tuesday morning. While school ended on Friday afternoon, I had taken the weekend to pack and get organized before my trip. Interestingly enough, the first thing that struck me was how easy it was to enter Hong Kong. Despite officially being a part of the People's Republic of China, since the handover from the United Kingdom in 1997, Hong Kong has effectively been allowed to govern itself as part of the PRC's "one country, two system" policy. So while it's a bureaucratic nightmare to get a visa to enter mainland China on a US passport, Hong Kong didn't even stamp my passport. They just stapled an entry card in and waved me through.
I was greeted at arrivals by my old friend, Evan. He and I graduated from Baylor together in May and were both three year members of the BU Global Community program and down-the-hall neighbors in our apartment.
We ran through the airport trying to catch the last train to town before the subway closed, but we weren't quick enough. Instead we took a city bus, which took over an hour, but gave us a while to catch up. As we drove into town on a very British-feeling double-decker bus, Evan handed me an Octopus Card. Hong Kong had learned from cities like Bangkok where you need a different card/method of payment for every type of transport. In Hong Kong, everything from the bus to the subway to the ferry across Victoria Harbor all can be paid with an Octopus Card. It's reload-able. You can top it up at any 7-11. You can even use it to pay at some restaurants, Starbucks, convenience stores etc. It's basically a reload-able debit card that works throughout the city. Very cool.
It was nearly 2 in the morning and the streets were empty as I checked into my hotel. After dropping my luggage off, Evan and I headed across the street to the only place we knew would be open at that hour; McDonalds. Yeah. I broke my rule.
Anyway, after we ate (and paid via Octopus), Evan pointed out where the harbor was. It turns out that my hotel was in pretty much a perfect location to get everywhere in town!
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| A junk crossing Victoria Harbor |
The next morning, I decided that the first thing I should do is ride Hong Kong's famous Star Ferry. It's been running since the 1880's, and is still the best way to get from Kowloon (the mainland part of Hong Kong where my hotel was) to Hong Kong Island where pretty much everything is happening. It's a great deal too; the trip takes about 10 minutes, and costs 2 HKD; about 30 cents US! While crossing, you can get a great view of both Kowloon and the island. I really liked the ferry, it was actually one of my favorite things to do. I rode it every day, sometimes just back and forth for fun.
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| the Star Ferry |
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| Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon Promenade at dusk |
In the afternoon I met back up with Evan for a delicious dinner at a Cantonese restaurant. Then he showed me around Kowloon's famous Temple Street Night Market. I'm happy to say that food is a very important part of Hong Kong culture. In fact, it's common to go out for dessert after a meal. Dessert cafés are really popular.
Since I had a week in Hong Kong, I really wanted to make the most of my time. Over dinner, Evan and I looked through my guidebook and he helped me plan my trip. Because school had been so busy the last month or so, I hadn't really gotten much time to plan, other than just a few top things.
I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've updated on here! I'll get the rest of my time in Hong Kong up as quickly as possible.
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