After 48 hours in Hong Kong, I was starting to worry that my whole time in Hong Kong was going to be a bust.
My late arrival at my Mong Kok hostel on Friday night meant that I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight. I woke up early Saturday morning, eager to explore the city. Despite the lack of sleep, I easily could have pushed through the exhaustion. However, after getting some dim sum for breakfast and moving to my next hostel in Tsim Sha Tsui, I gave into the temptation of just a quick nap.
Seven hours later, I woke up at 9:30pm and spent the rest of the night cursing my foolishness.
After a sleepless night, I got dressed on Sunday morning and went out for breakfast at a nearby veg Indian place. I don’t know if it was the fact that I hadn’t eaten for 24 hours or that I hadn’t slept all night (or both), but as I finished eating, I was hit with a huge wave of nausea and I knew I needed to lie down as soon as possible, or it was going to turn into a vomit and/or fainting situation.
I paid my bill and rushed back to my hostel, where I kicked off my shoes, threw myself into bed, and immediately fell asleep.
Six hours later, I woke up and once again cursed my foolishness.
Luckily, it was early enough that there was a little daylight left. I went outside and walked to Victoria Harbour, where I enjoyed the view of the Hong Kong skyline amid the sunset haze.
I walked around a little bit, got dinner, and then went back to my hostel and got to sleep at a reasonable time. If I was feeling fine in the morning, my plan was to go to Disneyland, although I wasn’t fully committing to it, based on how ill I’d felt earlier in the day.
On Monday morning, I popped right out of bed long before my 7am alarm went off. Disneyland was happening! I got ready and walked down to the MTR station just across the road from where my hostel was in Chungking Mansions. Roughly an hour later, I was stepping off the train and onto Disney property.
My two days at Hong Kong Disneyland deserve their own post, which I will be sharing soon. I do, however, have a video about my time in Hong Kong Disneyland for anybody who simply can’t wait until then!
Needless to say, I arrived back at my hostel on Monday and Tuesday nights in a euphoric state after having had such a magical time at the happiest place on earth!
The following day was also packed full of excitement, as I made my way back out to Lantau Island, this time to go to Ngong Ping village and then later to Hong Kong island to see Black Panther with some new friends. This thrilling day deserves its own post as well!
On Thursday, I had to move hostels again, this time to the same building that I stayed in on my first night in the city, in the neighborhood of Mong Kok. This was the area where I stayed when I visited Hong Kong 4 years ago, and it was just as exciting this time as I remembered it being then.
I wish I could say I did so many cool and exciting things on the last 4 days of my trip, but I didn’t do anything mind-blowing. Instead, I walked up and down Nathan Road, exploring the various areas of Kowloon. I went shopping, I squeezed through the tight spaces in the outdoor markets, I saw all the Chinese New Year decorations, I found some amazing vegan places to eat, and I took a zillion photos!
Despite the lack of super-interesting activities, I loved every single second. Those days passed in a wonderful blur, in which I constantly imagined what it would be like to live in this amazing city. A few moments do stand out though:
After a week of eating delicious Indian food every day, I was craving some American fare, and I found a veg place called Green Common, a block away from my hostel, that did a vegan cheeseburger with Beyond Meat and Daiya slices.
On a whim, I decided to climb 18 flights of stairs to the top of my Mong Kok hostel’s building, and I was rewarded with rooftop access.
Though the evenings and mornings were cold, the days were warm enough to justify getting vegan ice cream from the Victoria Harbour location of Green Common.
An impulse led me to veer off Nathan Road on one of my walks between Mong Kok and TST, and I accidentally discovered the near-empty Temple Street one morning.
Another accidental discovery was a veg dumpling window. I bought a few and had a little dumpling picnic at Kowloon Park.
I walked almost ten miles each day and was too exhausted to stay out too late, but I did get a chance to play around with a few long exposure shots in Mong Kok.
And just like that, it was the end of my stay.
On Sunday, I woke up early to do a load of laundry and then it was time to pack and check out of the hostel. I made my way to the airport, already dreaming of my next trip to Hong Kong.
Love, Elizabeth
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