A Whirlwind Weekend in Hong Kong.

To be honest I am not usually a massive fan of big cities. Some people love the anonymity, variety and fast pace that living in a big city provides. As a rule big cities are where you find the good jobs and best money, so people often have to sacrifice clean air, open space and a more relaxed outlook in order to survive or prosper. On my three weekend visit (3 October to 5 October) Hong Kong really impressed me, and has left me gushing about how great it is. As clichéd as it sounds, Hong Kong provides a melting pot of Chinese and Western cultures, with all the resulting contradictions. Plus, the skyscrapers in Hong Kong didn’t feel like they were overwhelming me (which is the impression I was left with in New York, or more specifically Manhattan), and despite the fact the city is geared largely towards the financial world and shopping I had an absolutely incredible time.

I was very lucky in that I had a fabulous tour guide, Alice, my awesome room mate when I was studying at Washu. Even though we only had a short three day weekend she made sure I saw all the major sights and made sure I had a great time, and for that I am so grateful. All weekend there was a level one typhoon warning (level 8 is the typhoon) which meant lots of rain and mist, but luckily the weather was gorgeous on the Saturday.

On the Friday we went to Victoria’s Peak on Hong Kong Island. It was windy and misty, but I could still appreciate the impressiveness of the skyscraper laden skyline. I liked the individuality of most of the buildings. We then went to Times Square and some of the shopping malls around that area. Seriously, there must have been a shopping mall on every corner, and everything was ridiculously cheap. I have no idea how I am going to get everything home next April.

On the Saturday Alice had to work for a while so I went to the Harbour in Kowloon and admired the skyline from a whole different perspective. We went back there in the evening and watched the 8pm lights and laser show-the buildings are lit up and the skyline is displayed like some really expensive Christmas decoration, but it sure looks good! Earlier in the day I got a ferry over to Wan Chai to check out the Reunification Monument (from 1997 when the British gave Hong Kong back to China) and the statute of the Golden Bauhinia, the symbol of Hong Kong. After the return journey on the Star Ferry, Alice’s friend Nora met me and took me to the Hong Kong Museum of History, and provided a more human telling of the history of Hong Kong. I get bored reading all the signs, and like Alice, Nora is lovely so it was really refreshing. Alice took me clubbing in Central, along with Nora and 4 other friends. It was a really good day!

On the Sunday we (Alice and I) checked my bag in, despite the fact it was tiny, to save me carrying it around and to give us more time sightseeing! I felt a bit daft checking in such a small bag, but when I got back to Incheon and saw how small some of the bags were on the conveyer belt of doom I felt a bit better. We got on the bus and made our way to Ngong Ping, Lautau Island to see the big bronze Buddha statue and the temple there. The weather had taken a turn at this point, but I was very fortunate in that it cleared once we reached the temple, and we managed to get some good photos and our fortunes told before getting the bus back to the airport and saying our goodbyes. The plane was then delayed for 3 hours because of the typhoon winds, but I was still on a natural high from having such a good weekend.

Food wise I got to experience sushi, fish balls, hot pot and pig ear…I loved the first three, the pig ear not so much! There was so much choice in Hong Kong, something I always miss in Korea. I do like Korean food but sometimes it would be nice to have Chinese, Thai, Indian, Japanese, Italian or Mexican (could go on) food without having to trek to Seoul and spend a lot more on food than I am used to out here. But if you ever make it to Hong Kong make sure you have a hot pot. Basically in the middle of the table there is a simmering pot of stock-you can pick a couple if you have a big group who can’t agree, and you cook the ingredients (variety of meats, dumplings and vegetables) yourself. It’s delicious.

One of the biggest drawbacks to working in a hagwon is the limited amount of time off I get. As I have said before, I get 8 days off as holiday in this 12 months-as well as public holidays. Hagwons don’t have summer holidays or winter holidays so while I am here I don’t have a couple months off to sample the delights and beauty of Asia. I am extremely limited in the travel I can do outside of Korea as a result, but I am so glad I got the chance to see Alice again and visit Hong Kong.