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The second part of my China series left off with the end of my tour of Beijing and the Great Wall of China with The China Guide. You can also catch up on the first part when we arrived in the port of Shanghai too. I had an amazing time with the only downside being the heartbreaking loss of my camera. I was now off to Hong Kong to meet back up with the MV Explorer which had sailed on from Shanghai while I was in Beijing.
Hotel Hostage
Checking out of our hotel was a long and frustrating process as the hotel was collecting keys and checking rooms in seemingly no order. I waited about forty minutes after turning in my room key without getting approval to go, but we made it out eventually. The tour company had a bus pick us up and take us all to the airport. The flight was pretty uneventful other than the constant turbulence that we had to go through. In Hong Kong’s airport, we met a Chinese girl who was studying to be a translator, and told us a lot about life in Hong Kong and China. It was really interesting and made the airport much less confusing since many signs were in Cantonese.
Getting a Piece of Home
After getting back to the ship, I met up with some friends and we found that Pizza Hut that had proved so elusive in Beijing! Strangely enough, in Hong Kong, it’s a fancier restaurant more like a 4 star restaurant than the casual family eatery found all across the United States. Definitely a change from what we were used to, but the luckily the pizza tasted just as delicious as at home.
This was also a great chance to start looking for a new camera so I set off through the mall that served as the port terminal to see what I could find. There were several places that sold cameras, but many seemed over priced. I really just wanted to get the same camera that I’d had since it was such a great camera. That night a lot of us were going out to celebrate one of our fellow students’ birthday. We went out in the SoHo neighborhood and I was really surprised that in such a large city, how many Semester at Sea students were in one area of it!
Forbidden Snacks
First thing in the morning, a friend and I went to a grocery store to get supplies since snacks are a necessity (and scarcity) on the ship. I picked up some chips and salsa since I had been missing Mexican food the most during the voyage. However, I wasn’t sure if I’d be allowed to bring the salsa on board the ship since there are very strict rules regarding what students can bring on board. I was hoping a jar of salsa would be ok, but unfortunately they wouldn’t let me bring it on board. Rather than let my delicious snack be tossed out, I turned back around and ate it in the port terminal for my lunch.
It was wonderful and I regret nothing.
Victoria Peak
After savoring my salsa I met up with some more Semester at Sea students and headed out to visit Victoria Peak. This is a must-see in Hong Kong as it affords the best views of the city and has a lot of shopping and restaurants. We chose to take Peak Tram up to the top which was pretty cool, and definitely added to the experience. Do be prepared for long lines though. During the ride up, passengers are at a 45 degree angle as the tram climbs to the top. The view at the top overlooking the city was awesome since we were above the level of all the buildings, quite a feat in this vertical city. Despite being a cloudy morning, we lucked out when the sun decided to show its face and made the view that much better.
New Camera
On the way back to the ship afterwards, I made a last ditch effort to find a camera. Eventually I managed to find the exact camera model as the one I’d lost for a decent price and bought it. I’m still kicking myself for losing my camera (I likely always will) and all those pictures, but at least I was able to take pictures again!
Zàijiàn (Goodbye), China
I really enjoyed my (far too short) time in Hong Kong, and wish I’d had more time to explore. Despite having spent eight days running around the country visiting a couple different cities and visiting my first Wonder of the World, I still felt like I’d only scratched the surface of this vast country. I had explored ancient sites and bewildering street markets, while navigating the modern and crowded streets throughout the country.
China: amazing to experience, yet impossible to define.
Read more about my adventures on Semester at Sea!
Is there a destination you only got a taste of and can’t wait to re-visit?
We felt like our hotel was holding us hostage in Bali but instead during the check in process. We were SO tired and had been traveling all week. Plus, we are Americans so the time difference and travel is for realssssss. We got to the hotel a few hours after check in but the room wasn’t ready still?! They sat us by the pool for an hour with coconut water. We kept asking if we could check in now and go to our room…so frustrating. We have patience….but not that much.
Oh no, that sounds awful! Jet lag and the exhaustion of a long travel day can be seriously rough. I suppose there’s worse places to be made to wait, but still… Why on earth wasn’t the room ready? Or why didn’t they put you in a different room that was ready?