A break from Asia....almost

(update from Oct 21-23)

Due to a flight cancellation I was able to squeeze a quick three day trip to Hong Kong into my itinerary. Unfortunately for my credit card, but fortunately for me, all reasonably priced hotels were already booked so I splurged on a nice hotel that was the perfect treat in between developing countries!

I initially thought that my plane landed in London or New York and not Hong Kong – everyone spoke excellent English (a huge relief after two weeks in mainland China), there were ample Western restaurants, American TV channels and more shopping than would fit in my backpack. My cousin said it perfectly – shopping the day after Thanksgiving in the US doesn’t have anything on HK shopping! My first day was spent exploring the area around my hotel and running errands – I got my whole wardrobe washed for $3.50! I knew I wasn’t quite out of Asia as all the stores had raw meat hanging in the window and the grocery store offered more seafood than I knew existed.

The city is very concentrated so it was easy to get around and see all the main sights in a short amount of time. I took the tram up to Victoria’s peak one morning and for a peaceful walk and fabulous city views. I started out in a very lush, rainforest like area where I was often the only person on the path. It was a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and made for a relaxing morning. As I continued, the path curved around the mountain and all of a sudden the city appeared – you could see all of the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island as well as across to Kowloon.

Later that day I ventured up to the Ladies’ Market (which was nothing compared to Beijing’s Silk Market) via the subway and then wandered all the way down to TST. I did some shopping at the Jade Market, walked down Nathan Road, rode the mall escalators and found a park to escape from all the people for a bit! I opted to take the Star Ferry back across to the island and it was one of my favorite experiences; it only costs 25 cents and offers great views from the water! I finished off my ultimate tourist day with the moving walkways in Soho and the night light show.

I’m really happy I was able to visit Hong Kong and next time I’ll make sure to book a longer trip! After a final meal of noodle soup – which I still haven’t mastered how to eat with chopsticks – and dumplings, I dodged all the airport stores and made my way to the gate. I immediately knew I was in the right place; everyone was wearing hiking boots instead of high heels and they were carrying backpacks instead of Gucci purses! Thanks to Typhoon Megi changing course at the last minute, we were off to Nepal without any delays.