#TitaMargaTravels: Hong Kong
October 22, 2017
Victoria Harbour facing Hong Kong island
Sometime ago I mentioned that I've never been abroad; in fact, my first time to ride an airplane was just last March. But exactly one month ago, that all changed. I finally set foot in another country!!! Hong Kong was truly an experience, and I couldn't have been any happier to have made it the first ever country I've been to.
So we stayed at Dorsett Hotel in Mong Kok on Kowloon Island. There are a lot of Dorsett hotels though, that's why I was specific. I highly recommend this particular one though because the service was great. Whenever we asked for directions or anything we needed (like a foreign exchange), they knew where to point us to. The rooms aren't exactly big - in fact the bathroom was so small you could barely turn a full circle in it - but it was clean and new. That's what was most important to us. Besides, we weren't there to stay in the hotel anyways. We literally were just at the hotel to sleep because we seriously spent the entire day every day outside exploring. Aside from the service, the hotel's location was great - it had McDonald's, 7-Eleven, a grocery, a foreign exchange as I mentioned earlier, and couple of great authentic (and cheap!) restaurants downstairs. It's also just about 12-15minutes walk from the MTR Station (I'll get to how awesome this is later!).
Mong Kok area, Kowloon Island
What I loved the most about Hong Kong was the place itself - it was SO different from Manila in so many freaking ways I don't even know where to begin. The people are far more disciplined from us. For example, if the pedestrian sign (which ticks by the way; I missed hearing it when I came back to Manila) says stop, even if there are no cars passing by, no one crosses; likewise the cars really stop when it was time for the pedestrians to cross. This is one of my crazy pet peeves, you see. So I was really in awe when I witnessed that there. Like, wow, it was actually possible to follow traffic and pedestrian signs!
Another thing was the insanely fast wifi. We had wifi EVERYWHERE there! Our hotel room had a pocket wifi which we brought everywhere with us (so even at Disneyland we had wifi, can you believe it!). It was so fast that I almost cried when we got back home to the slow ass wifi of the Philippines.
But my favorite thing about Hong Kong (aside of course from Disneyland) was the train system. Holy. Crap. I WAS SO AMAZED! My cousin was right when he said literally everyone who's anyone uses the MTR. It's the daily grind of the people. I never saw anyone hail a taxi whilst there. My cousin said you only ride the cabs when you're super rich. Otherwise, the MTR is the way to go. It literally connects Hong Kong. There are places where we went to that were so crazy far from our hotel (and I'm talking like probably Manila-Baguio crazy far if by car), like Ngong Ping, but it took us only 30-45 minutes by train. CRAZY. When we went to Disneyland, it only took us about 15 minutes. I am so in love with their transport system. I swear you'd never see me at home if the trains here were like that. I also fell in love with their trams! Unfortunately, trams are only on Hong Kong island. Kowloon didn't have any of those. That's why my feet was pretty much dead at the end of each day because we had to walk from the station to the hotel. Every morning and every night. But it was all seriously so much fun that it ended up not bothering me at all.
So on our first day, we went to The Peak and Sky Terrace via the Peak Tram. It was a Friday, so it was expected to be super crowded. We were supposed to catch the sunset but ended up reaching the Peak by evening. It was still super worth it though! My fear of heights were taking over instantly and it was crazy! We were SO HIGH up the skyscrapers (yes, skyscrapers, not buildings) of Hong Kong looked like Lego toys. The wind was so cold as well while it was so hot in the city, so yes, we definitely were so high up. It was great too because we had some souvenir photos that were so cheesy because the photographer dude choreographed our poses hahaha it was fun though! Then after we had dinner with my cousin who lives in Hong Kong; he took us for some authentic dimsum, yum!
Sky Terrace 428, The Peak , Hong Kong
Day two was basically Disney day. This was the day I lost it. Seriously. From the moment we got on the Disney train, I was so ecstatic. If there's a word for more than ecstatic, then that was what I was feeling. I became a kid in a matter of minutes; I nearly teared up when I saw the sign. The freaking Welcome to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort sign made me tear up. Yup, I've totally lost it.
Even the fact that it was drizzling that morning didn't bother me at all. I was all smiles the entire day! I honestly think that was the first time in a really long time that I was genuinely happy. :) We tried to go to every ride, but we made it to all the different areas! (I think we may have spent a little too much time in Tomorrowland though hahaha I blame Star Wars for this lol) My favorite rides were (Hyper)space Mountain and Grizzly Gulch! I also spent too much time and money on merchandise. Believe me, I tried my freaking very best to control myself, but it was too late. There were so many Tsum Tsums (!!!!), shirts, mugs, keychains, magnets, and anything else you can think of!
Of course, let's not forget the parade. It was very timely because we were having lunch at Main Street when the parade started, so I abandoned my food and my boyfriend to go outside to watch. And man, I teared up. It was crazy!!! I couldn't even describe how I felt that moment - okay I'll try. You know how all your life you've just been seeing this on television or in the movies or in someone else's photos? And you were wishing back then, I wish I could see this myself one day. And I did. It was a simple joy but it was one of the greatest joys ever. I saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Winnie the Pooh (!!!!!), Tigger, Piglet... To me, it felt like my childhood - something I can never bring back - was coming alive right in front of my eyes. It was really a special moment, truly irreplaceable for words.
That was probably the highlight of my Disney day - and the fireworks. This time I really cried. I couldn't help it anymore this time. Seeing the castle light up, hearing the classic music - it was nothing but nostalgia for me. I asked my boyfriend to record the whole show so I could watch it whenever I feel sad. :') There were so many more moments I wish I could write down but let's just leave it as it is - all forever in my memory and in my heart.
Now on our last official day, we had a few more things left to do - the TramOramic Tours, which was an hour tour of Hong Kong island via the tramways, and Ngong Ping Cable Car and Village (with a visit to the Big Buddha) tours. Aside from the my boyfriend and I decided that it would be our shopping day as well. After the trams, we spent the entire afternoon in Mong Kok shopping for gifts for our family back home. And we may have spent a little too much time doing so because we still had to travel to Ngong Ping, which I mentioned earlier was about 30-45 minutes from the hotel/main city. Ngong Ping was already near the airport, so it was really quite far; sort of like out of town, as we call it here. It was actually a bit of a bummer because we didn't know that Ngong Ping would close by 5:30 - we arrived there at 4:30pm. Amazing, right? As a result, we only got to go around the village for about 15 minutes, take a few photos, and ultimately we weren't able to go see the Big Buddha up close. Night was already falling and I was already quite traumatized from the cable car because it kept swaying in midair and there was nothing but the freaking ocean beneath us!!! My boyfriend and I even got into a little argument about it, but hey we eventually looked on the bright side and took it as a learning experience. And at least now we surely have a reason to come back to Hong Kong! Also, the view on the way back to the city was breathtaking and totally made up for what happened.
Golden Tickets to TramOramic Tours
Tramways on Hong Kong Island
Doggo of Ngong Ping village
Incredible view of Hong Kong International Airport from the Ngong Ping cable cars
If the past three days were the happiest I've ever felt in a while, the last day was probably the saddest. You know those airport scenes in movies when the character is already in the departure area? I suddenly was that character. I feel like I was about to wake up from a dream - a dream that I've been waiting to happen for so long, and now it's coming to an end. At the same time, I was also looking forward to going back home because the homesickness was slowly creeping in. That's why the moment I saw the plane of Philippine Airlines approaching the boarding gate, I teared up. It was a real bittersweet moment, I couldn't explain it. Even until now. It all still feels like a dream, like I took all those photos from the internet or something. When we arrived back home, I honestly didn't know how to feel. Of course I felt disgusted when we arrived at the airport because it looked like a bus terminal compared to Hong Kong's lol but mostly I still felt nothing but bittersweetness - like the end of an adventure into Narnia or something (if you've seen the films, you'd understand me haha).
I know it's not even the most beautiful country in the world, and it's not usually on the top of everyone's bucket list, but Hong Kong was really remarkable. Like I said, it was more of the experience itself. What made me feel all these emotions was the simple fact that I was finally able to achieve my dream of setting foot in another country. I'm one step closer to my life goal of traveling all over the world. Anyone who truly knows me would know how much traveling means to me. And being able to do it for the first time ever was just the greatest feeling. I honestly can't wait for my next trips - I feel like there's so much more adventure out there that awaits, and I'm hopeful enough that I'll be there soon.
♥, Murgaloo
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