After my goodbyes in Nanjing I went to visit Cynthia (a classmate from Belgium) in Suzhou. I spent two days there, before leaving to Hong Kong, to pick up Caroline, my best friend from Belgium. Together we planned to kick-ass in Hong Kong City!

As my plane landed in Hong Kong, the stewardess noted that the outside temperature was 33° and 86% humidity… Oh boy… I could picture me and Caroline in this weather. Bad hair days and sweating like pigs. A few hours later Caroline’s plane landed. I saw her walking through the gate and we immediately greeted each other with a big hug and huge smiles! As soon as we walked outside, we felt the heat and humidity hit us like a truck. ‘Amaaaai’ (= dutch slang for DAMN) was Caroline’s first reaction. ‘It’s like a sauna here!’.

We took the A21 airport bus to Lee Garden’s Youth Hostel in Kowloon. It was pouring rain outside, but we were chatting away. We found our hostel pretty easily and checked in to our mini-room. Seriously, mini. Barely 2 meters wide, just long enough to put to tiny beds behind each other and the showerhead was right atop the toilet. But, I was warned Hong Kong was going to be like this, and it didn’t really bother me. I was happy to be there with my friend, ready to hit the town!

It was already dinner time when we left the hostel, so we ate some fried wonton and went to the ‘avenue of stars’ to take a look at Hong Kong’s amazing financial district. This is where the money rolls. Huge buildings in weird shapes, row after row and neon lights dancing on the façades.

The next day, we took the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island, a.k.a: financial district. Luis Vuitton, Armani, Prada, Gucci. Fancy people in costumes and high heels. Expensive cars cruising down the road. This did not feel like China. We had lunch in Soho, a hip bar/restaurant district which is easily accessible via automated stairways! Pretty cool… but also, pretty expensive. Especially in comparison to mainland China. On top of expensive prices, restaurants charge you a 10% service fee, something I wasn’t used to any more.

We started walking our way back to the subway station when all of a sudden, we found ourselves amidst stalls of fruit, fish, meat and vegetables (which turned out to be called: Saint Graham’s Market). And just like that, I felt like we were in China once more. That feeling quickly disappeared when we made a turn and found ourselves again on a huge boulevard with fancy shops and shiny new buildings. What a contrast!

We took the MTR (subway) back to Kowloon, where we discovered Hong Kong’s variety of markets. The first one on the list was the Bird Market, although it’s more like a park than a market. People come here with their birds and hang the birdcages on branches. Next to the park, little stores sell birds, food and cages. Walking out of the park, brings you immediately to the Flower Market, where stores after stores try to sell you orchids, cacti and numerous other plants. From the flower market, we ended up at the Fish Market. This is one long street where stores literally display their fish. The walls are covered with plastic bags with little (and sometimes very big!!) colourful fish inside.

The next market on our list was the Ladies Market. The name reveals it all: shops, shops, shops, with everything you might want but don’t really need. Underwear, umbrella’s, cell phone covers, bags, shoes, jewellery, massage machines, cleaning utilities, notepads, tailors, stickers, towels and so much more. You name it, they’ve got it, and they probably have it in 5 different colours.

On our second day in Hong Kong we took the bus to Stanley Beach. The bus takes you through beautiful bays and green hills. After about an hour, we reached our destination where, off course, stores and stalls greeted us with scarves, sunglasses and dresses! Everywhere we went, ‘shopping’ seemed to follow us! We spent a few hours there, when we took the bus back to Victoria Peak. This is the highest point in Hong Kong, which gives you an amazing view over the financial district and a part of the Kowloon district. A little tram takes you all the way up the very steep hill! When we were up, it was raining cats and dogs and the mist covered the buildings. But the view was still pretty impressive!

After our little HK city trip, we took a bus to Guangzhou and flew to Chengdu, where Caroline and I met my parents! It was exciting to see them again after almost 8 months! More on that trip later!

Stay Tuned!

Maggie