To celebrate the end of our Chinese course and to relax before we begin our internship in Beijing, my friend Kelly and I decided to take a spontaneous weekend trip to Hong Kong. That was also the day when more than half of the interns who were here with us in the past month had to leave, so we got to accompany some of them to the airport. We booked a backpackers hostel at one of the most central areas but did not realize that the apartments, hotels and hostels here are very short on space. After overcoming the initial shock (the space between the beds was less than 20cm), we decided to go explore. The first thing we’ve noticed is that Hong Kong never sleeps – the buses run all night and many people are out late even on weekdays.
The next day we decided to check out Victoria Peak, which is the most beautiful observation point in HK. However, it was a cloudy day and as our bus was going further and further up the hill, we could see less and less of the city below us. We quickly changed our plans and drove to Stanley Island, where we found a really nice market by the sea. I’d recommend having lunch there at some point, as there are many local bars and restaurants around. That evening we decided to check out the famous floating restaurant, Jumbo. After almost getting lost a couple of times and having two nice local ladies walk us all the way to our destination, we finally made it. As the restaurant is located offshore, you have to take a boat to get there which was also quite the experience.
One of the most spectacular places to visit is in Lantau Island and is called the Big Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha). To get there you can take a bus or a cable car. I’d recommend taking the cable car there and spend some time exploring, climb the 268 stairs to reach the Buddha and then take bus number 11 down to the fishermen village. We paid less than $3 to go on a short cruise around the village, where we were lucky enough to see pink dolphins. As for Hong Kong’s nightlife, there’s only one place you really need to know – Lan Kwai Fang (LKF). Basically, it’s a hill with numerous bars, clubs and restaurants, and it seems like that’s where everybody is at Thursday through Saturday. Ladies night is on Thursdays which is a huge plus if you’re coming here on a weekend. For shopping, I’d recommend Ladies Market located right by the Mong Kok Metro Station (and a walking distance from our tiny hostel on Nathan Road). Be ready to do a lot of bargaining, but it’s worth it!
The day after we came back from Hong Kong I received a message from one of my local friends telling me that the Israeli Chamber of Commerce opened it’s new venue right by my apartment at the 798 Art District. Two hours after we landed I went to the opening ceremony and met some Israeli businessmen and even the Israeli Ambassador to China. On Monday I started my internship at an environmental NGO that has been doing some amazing work with carbon reduction research; my job here is to assist the policy makers. It’s only been a week and I’ve already been to a China-Japan Policy Conference (and met a Georgetown Alum there!), made calls to their partners and research experts, attended an interview with one of the most well-known thinkers in the industry and helped with the company’s media and communications. I’ve been having a great time and hopefully I’ll manage to do as much as possible in these last three weeks I have in Beijing.
More updates from this weekend and the second week at work soon to come!
The post Pink dolphins and The Big Buddha – Things You Must See When in Hong Kong appeared first on CRCC Asia.
No comments:
Post a Comment