New Year, New country.
As if one country wasn't enough. From the laid back beach vibes of the Philippines, we flew on to Hong Kong for fireworks, skyscrapers, and a foodie adventure. My feet ached and I ate too much at every meal, but when there's so much to see and the cheapest Michelin Star restaurant in the world is just around the corner, it's a no brainer...
We started the trip with a day long exploration around the city and bay area, stopping to pop our heads down small streets, dive into local markets and relax in the various parks dotted around the city. The sticky heat of the Philippines was replaced by a refreshing and very liveable 20 degrees - I could still wear my flip flops but there was a welcomed breeze. It was the best weather for exploring the city, and there wasn't a rain cloud in sight.
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After checking out the aviary in Hong Kong Park, which was free and well worth the visit, we made our way to the start of the Victoria Peak hike... and ordered an Uber. I promise we had planned to walk... but after already clocking up 10 kilometres of city exploring, we decided it would be best to go a little easier on the first day. Victoria Peak was packed, but within reason. We stood on the skydeck as the sky darkened - and sadly the fog rolled in - and watched as the city came to life one building at a time.
We then caught the ferry back across the bay... or what we thought was the ferry back across the bay. Without even looking where it was going and assuming that there was only one real route the boats took, we ended up on a hour long ferry to one of the outlying islands at 9pm at night. Not ideal... but the view (before we ventured into the blackness of open sea) was pretty spectacular. Once we got there, we ran back through the security barriers and boarded the same boat we had just sat on for an hour, laughing at how stupid we had been.
We decided that the last day of December was the perfect day to go for lunch at the Michelin star dim sum restaurant we had heard such great things about. Had I taken more photos, it would have warranted it's own post for being such an experience, but I got so caught up I actually only took one picture. Therefore the mere story will have to suffice!
Tim Ho Wan, the most affordable Michelin Star restaurant in the world, was set up as a hole-in-the-wall place by two chefs who already ran a three-starred restaurant. Though it only started in 2009, it was deemed for great things from the get go. We used Google Maps to find the location, but turned it off about 50 meters from the actual place, for the enormous crowd that was gathered outside told us everything we needed to know - we were in the right place for sure. Not known for their queing etiquette like us Brits, I was unsure how to get my name on whatever list it needed to be on to ensure we got in for lunch. With a number allocation system, I simply had to barge to the front and ask for a table for two. Obviously the woman I needed to give me said ticket was busy yelling out numbers and customers were waving green slips in the air like bingo tickets and being ushered inside. A young local saw our obvious confusion and explained to me what was going on, then got us our very own green ticket. We were number 121 and simply had to wait until our number was called.
This of course, was problematic, as neither my friend David or I could speak Chinese (Japanese is enough thank you). After wandering around for 30 minutes in the local market, we came back and did our best to spot which numbers were going in, by looking at the number on their tickets compared to ours. We enthusiastically waved our number in the hope it would soon be our turn, much to the hilarity of some of the locals and the 'number lady'. Finally, and without even calling our number as we were stood right under her nose, the number lady pointed at us to cheers from those around us. It was finally our turn! The whole waiting experience just added to the adventure and made the food taste all the better. Signature sweet BBQ pork buns, shrimp dumpling and vegetable rolls were devoured in complete silence as our taste buds went completely nuts. It is to this day, one of the best meals I have ever had. Ironically, we were squashed up next to a Japanese couple, who we spoke a little bit with over our plates and plates of dim sum. To say I absolutely stuffed myself at a Michelin Star restaurant and only parted with about £8 is nothing short of a miracle. Food needn't be expensive and when there are really raw experiences like this one, it trumps a fancy expensive dinner any day of the week.
We walked off probably one bite of lunch and meandered through markets before making our way back to our semi shady hostel for some downtime before heading out to the bay for some new year celebrations. The city truly came to life, and the waterfront was packed with families, couples and friends all enjoying each others company, the mild evening and the new year festivities. At 11.59 everyone got to their feet for the countdown and breathtaking fireworks lit up the night sky.
We then followed the masses and made our way to Lan Kwai Fong for the street party atmosphere. The streets were packed and so were the bars but the atmosphere was great and we soaked it all up with beers from a street vendor. No champagne this year! After a long day we headed home and crawled into our bunks - oddly noone else in the hostel seemed to have gone out and were all fast asleep when we got back.
For the final full day in the city, we headed out to Quarry Bay to find the often Instagrammed 'Monster Building'. After a little bit of hunting, I was completely blown away by the immensity and densely packed nature of the buildings. There was a part of me that felt conflicted about visiting this place as ultimately, it is a lot of people's homes. For one, I know I wouldn't be too happy to have a hundred tourists hanging around under your balcony, and there is some discussion as to whether visiting a place like this is simply capitalising on the resident's poverty simply for an Instagram post. I'm still not sure whether it was okay to visit, but considering there were no signs, the only tourists there were those who knew about it. Although that's still a lot of extra traffic, hopefully signs don't go up in the future and it remains ultimately an interestingly beautiful residential area.
On the aeroplane over to Hong Kong I saw a tiny article about a Harry Potter cafe hidden in a 4th floor tower block in Mong Kok, and to the delight of my superfan travel bud, we decided to make a reservation and stopped off for lunch on the way back from the Monster Building. We sipped on Butterbeer as the movie soundtrack played in the background and marvelled at their large collection of wands, brooms and glasses. Appropriately decked out with all the Harry Potter gear, it was a fun addition to our adventure.
The final destination for our city break was the Rainbow Village - another group of residential houses sandwiched together and brightly painted at every floor. Another frequently Instagrammed destination, we headed over to Choi Hung to see what was at the end of the rainbow.
Standing on the rainbow basketball court that acted as a meeting place and central ground between the surrounding buildings, we looked up at the towering rainbow walls of rainbow buildings with rainbow washing lines. It was chaotic and lively but also the everyday reality of this council housing. I found it somewhat ironic that on this trip we specifically visited two different council estates to witness their beauty - certainly not something that would happen in the UK. In Japan, my student accommodation balcony looks onto a five storey council block and it is grey and cold. Perhaps, the rest of the world can take some inspiration from the housing crisis of Hong Kong and at least make the effort to make jam packed close quartered living easier to get on with. I know that it would make all the difference to me if I lived in one.
Equally, while we had come to see the building, the other people who came to see the building became our primary focus. Tourists, skater kids, 'professional' Instagrammers, couples, locals, and kids just wanting to play basketball all mingled together in the afternoon sunshine surrounded by colour and the people were as much of a rainbow and the buildings.
Now it's time to stop gallavanting around Asia and get back to Japan to do what I came here to do - study. It's only one month until my Australian partner in crime leaves Japan for good and we've got two weeks worth of catching up to do. I'm also currently planning a trip to Vietnam with my mum, and an adventure to Bali with one of my home gals. Life doesn't wait for anyone, and neither does the world. What a way to start the year!
Molly x
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