Hong Kong. What can I say? If our holiday in Vietnam earlier this year got us excited about travelling in Asia, our recent trip to Hong Kong took the excitement to a whole new level. In short, Hong Kong turned out to be everything we had expected and more: an amazing city with a lovely atmosphere, delicious food and tons of interesting things to see and do.
What’s more, we got very lucky on this trip: almost everything went as smoothly as it could have. The flights were long but easy, and we were seated together on both legs (something we didn’t take for granted after having had to spend 12 hours apart on our flight to Vietnam). The hotel was nicer than we had expected, and the location was pretty much perfect for first-time visitors. The weather was great – I don’t think it rained once, even though we were warned that May weather in Hong Kong can be very unpredictable.
The other thing we had been warned about was the food: apparently, it can be quite difficult being vegetarian in Hong Kong. We had almost no problems with this during our short trip, however, and were pleasantly surprised by how helpful the restaurant employers – and, on one occasion, fellow diners! – were in helping us find suitable options. Last but not least, even though we had both been super busy with work in the weeks preceding the trip and consequently done almost zero planning beforehand, we still managed to tour almost all of Hong Kong’s main sights and find interesting things to do for every day of the holiday (though to be honest, with everything that the city has to offer this was this was quite an easy task).
Overall, we had an amazing time: I think it’s fair to say that our ten days in Hong Kong made for one of the best holidays I’ve had in recent years.
Trip in a nutshell: Hong Kong
What, where, when?
A working holiday in Hong Kong, May 2018.
With… my boyfriend
Occasion: We travelled to HK for a conference my boyfriend was presenting at and stayed on for a (well-deserved, at least in his case!) holiday.
Duration: 10 days.
Booked… independently.
Where did we stay?
Novotel Century Hong Kong, a four-star hotel based in Wan Chai, one of Hong Kong’s busiest districts. We liked both the hotel and the area a lot and could see ourselves staying there again on a future trip.
What did we do?
Work, explore Hong Kong, discover the local food scene and enjoy the amazing weather by, among other things, spending hours lounging around and swimming in our hotel’s lovely rooftop pool.
The highlights:
The city itself. I love big cities in general, but what I particularly liked about Hong Kong is how manageable it felt: the public transport is fast and efficient (and, in case of the Ding Dings, super cute!) and there are plenty of hiking paths, beaches and other outdoor adventures around if you feel like escaping into the nature. (Obviously, I’m speaking as a tourist here – I know that many locals work such long days they don’t have time for these escapes.)
The food. I really love dim sum, so food-wise Hong Kong was pretty much the perfect destination for me. (My boyfriend is not such a big fan of Chinese food in general, so he didn’t enjoy the food scene quite as much).
Tea! I was born in Russia and live in England, so it’s only natural that I absolutely adore tea and drink several cups each day and miss it a lot when travelling. Not in Hong Kong, where you would automatically get some tea brought to your table as soon as you entered a restaurant. (This is something that my boyfriend also loved).
Swimming. Before the trip, when I thought of Hong Kong I would think of busy streets and skyscrapers – now some of the first things that come to my mind are ocean views and sun loungers. I never expected to swim as much as I did in Hong Kong – but I’m so happy that I did!
Anything to improve?
To be completely honest, I can’t think of a thing: the trip was pretty much perfect.
Have you been to Hong Kong, or is it on your list of places to visit?
I hope you enjoyed reading this post! If you have any questions about visiting Hong Kong, leave me a comment below, and I’ll try my best to answer. For more pictures from our holiday, check out my Instagram feed (and stay tuned for future posts!). You can also follow Studying the World on Facebook and Bloglovin.
This sounds like such a fun vacation! We haven’t been to Hong Kong yet but it looks amazing. How cool that you got to spend 10 days there!
Thanks for sharing a crisp review.we are planning to visit hongkong this year.it will be really helpful
Hong Kong is such a fantastic city to visit and work in, I worked there doing summer school at the British Council a few years ago – It was a great experience. I love your photographs, especially the one of Hong Kong at night. Thanks for sharing