Hong Kong

Right before I made the surreal move from Australia to China, I found myself on the verge of hyperventilating while making a 2AM Skype call to my Dad. Now, although there have only been a few instances when I've been in tears on the phone with my parents while traveling, I always have a freak out moment either right before, or within, the first week of making a big life change. College? Cried the whole 12 hour ride there. Australia? 5 days in (on my birthday) I couldn't get the internet to work and cried on the floor of our gross house. China? The 2AM Skype call. What a baby.

The ins and outs of the conversation basically consisted of, "I'm allergic to everything! I will die!", "I don't know the language. I will die!", "I've never, EVER even heard of Xi'an. I will die!", and "WhatshouldIdowhatshouldIdowhatshouldIdo?". As much as I wanted to rock up to Xi'an with a little backpack swagger (Pshhh, this city? - I've wanted to go here for years!), I needed a little reassurance that I was making a good choice (and that I was not going to die) from someone who knew the country. Insert David Meyers. What happened after that can put me into one of two categories... A) The Big Spoiled Whiny Girl Category or B) The Scared 23 Year Old Daughter Who Needed Some Comforting Category. But yeah, my Dad flew out and met in me in Hong Kong for the week. Who does that?

Map on the plane there!

Testing out my peace signs to get in with the locals!

Hong Kong was ridiculously cool. I know I sound like a dork, but it was... it was just COOL. Even the train from the airport to the city is awesome. It goes 80 mph and was very clean. But to be honest, I had just come from living in a hostel room with six people, van with two people, and on couches for the last couple of months... so really my standards of clean were pretty low. The city was hot, bright, and busy. All things you would assume Melbourne would be, but isn't. The first thing I noticed was all of the clothing hanging out to dry from windows 30+ stories high! The signs, in Chinese of course, where all over the place. Let's just say you could not miss them. There was color everywhere.

Walking down the streets in daytime.

Walking down the streets at nighttime

So many buildings look liked this! Or with even more clothes hanging out the windows!

Stepping into the hotel was like stepping into a completely different world. I had been worried about spending more money on the BBQ baked beans than the regular ones for the last four months, and here I was! I had clean towels, a huge bathtub, air conditioning, and an amazingly comfortable bed. I had died and gone to backpacker heaven! After a quick scrub, we went exploring. My Dad had been to Hong Kong more than 50 times during his years working, so the city was not new to him. Although, being a tourist instead of a businessman was. We tried to see as much as we could between getting my visa sorted out and doing my health check. We hit up the Flower Market, Goldfish Market, and Bird Market in boiling temperatures. As attractive as this is to say, we were literally soaking through our clothing. 

Bird Market

Enjoying the view of Hong Kong Island

Flower Market

Goldfish Market

I immediately loved Hong Kong. Ah, the smells of Asia! Dried fish and meat hanging in shops, barrels of spices on street corners, sizzling food everywhere. It was my first glimpse into the world that I was headed into. Surprisingly, it was not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. I was more curious than anything. And the amount of people! However upon arriving in Xi'an I was put into place, and realized that Hong Kong (along with Shanghai and Beijing) was nothing like the rest of China.

The Visa getting into mainland China (you can stay in Hong Kong up to 30 days without a Visa) was the reason I was in Hong Kong in the first place. I marched straight up to the visa office with all my papers, invitation letter, pictures, and whatnot excited to be granted official entry into the country! What I did not count on, was being straight out rejected. Apparently the rules had become a lot stricter and I needed a complete health check. Easy? No. On the form there were things like, "Psychosis", "The Bubonic Plague", "Cholera", and "Small Pox". Really, THE PLAGUE? By now, my list of Asian firsts was getting bigger but I was not prepared to have my first visit to a Chinese hospital that soon after arriving. It was more like a funhouse of rooms where nobody could tell me in English what was being done to me and I had to guess. At the end, the Doctor gave me an eye exam and then after completing it asked me if I wore contacts. Hmm.

Not fun whatsoever

Passed with a souvenir

Long story short, we sat around the hospital for hours waiting for my name to be butchered and me to be hooked up to all sorts of machines. It was hilarious, because we had to wear face masks the whole time and that is always fun, but it was a stresser because we didn't know if we'd get the results back and get my visa processed in time for my flight. If anybody is going to Hong Kong to do this, do not leave it for a 3 day period!

After we sweated it out (pun intended) in the hospital, my Dad surprised me with afternoon tea at one of the most beautiful hotels in the city! The Peninsula Hotel is on the Kowloon side and I had to make a mental note not to leave my mouth hanging open. It is the kind of place that makes whispering feel like shouting. I felt very fancy sporting a dress and heels instead of flip flops and shorts, but did not compare to some of the outfits we saw! There was a soft music being played, delicious food, and hot tea! The British definitely rubbed off on this city during their rule. It was wonderful!

Being proper

Since most of the time, things have a way of working out... I was able to pick up my visa on the day that I was scheduled to fly to Xi'an! I loved (and still do) seeing the visa in my passport. For Australia, you don't get a physical visa... which I always thought was disappointing. Now that I knew for sure that I did NOT have the Plague I was a happy girl. Phew, dodged a bullet there! Jumping up and down and saying good-bye to my introductory city, we made our way once again on the cool, zippy train to the airport!

Finally have my visa!

Saying goodbye in the airport was hard stuff because this time I was completely on my own. Moving to Australia with your best friend is not really in the same league as moving to mainland China by yourself, and I hadn't completely understood until that moment. Waiting at the gate was where I first started playing "Spot the Foreigner"... and I realized that besides me, everyone else was Chinese. It was definitely going to be an interesting year.

What I couldn't have predicted at that moment was that I would find a career path that I would fall in love with. I would feel a sense of purpose, interest, and solidity in teaching that I hadn't experienced before. I would meet friends that I would visit in England a year and a half later. I would meet a certain boy who was as unexpected as he is wonderful. And I would bring two amazing friends from Canada and Australia to come teach with me. I couldn't have imagined on that plane ride in August 2011 that I was going to be sitting at home in March 2013 planning my life around experiences that I was yet to have. Oh China, you were a life changer!

So cheers to Hong Kong, the city that welcomed me into Asia! Fast forward a year and I was walking around the Peninsula Hotel with not only my Dad, but my brother, sister, and mom as well. Does everything come full circle, or is it just me?

Here are some highlights from the trip!

Thanks for reading, XO

Em

Out to dinner at an Australian restaurant celebrating being together! 

View from Victoria Point! Definitely a must.

On the Star Ferry going between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island!