This month I spent weekends traversing the HK Islands to Stanley, Cheung Chau, and Sai Kung.
Stanley- Very tourist-y. My cousins and I only visited here for an hour or so, as we only made it a pit stop from where we were going to eat dinner. The view of the harbour was very nice, and the breezy weather made the walk around the town very comfortable and relaxing.
Cheung Chau- We went on a packed and toasty Saturday afternoon, with the sun rays shooting down on us like lasers. We spent the majority of our time there eating (as per usual), and enjoyed sporadic moments of walking on the boardwalk (fearing the UV rays, we went back and forth from the boardwalk to the shade). Belly fillers included frozen pineapple, glutinous mango desserts (it tastes better than how it sounds, I promise), and fried tofu skins. We had an incredible dinner at one of the many outdoor seaside restaurants, where in that time, the weather became a beautiful breezy air with the sun setting off into the distance. Razor clams, fried squid, and steamed garlic scallop w/ vermicelli galore. I'd have to say this was my favourite meal in HK thus far. We took a ferry to and fro, which made me a little nauseous both ways- but nothing a little sleep on the boat couldn't fix!
fried tofu skins
6:00 pm
7:00 pm
Sai Kung- I went wakeboarding with a friend and some of her friends here in HK this past weekend. We took a 小巴 from Mongkok and met up with the others along the way. The weather was quite bipolar, with bouts of heavy rain and total sunshine. But the relatively cloudy day made it perfect for being out on the waters- no sunburn and tan lines for me! As this was my first venture into wakeboarding, I sought guidance from my experienced friend and the wakeboard instructor/driver, and (kind of) succeeded in getting up and holding on for a little while. I still need to work on straightening my back (which haha...doesn't even happen off the waters, #hunchbackproblems), but it was all in all a fantastic experience. We ended off the day with round 2 of seaside dining; this time with lai liu crabs and other delicacies of the sort. It was nice to meet new locals around my age and to spend the evening with them.
my best smile ft. saltwater in my eyes
Work
Around mid-June was quite exciting, as I had the chance to work at the Transformers 4 premiere here in HK, and the Imagine Dragons concert which presided afterwards. It was a tiring event to put on, amassing record-breaking working hours, but a great learning experience throughout. This was the first time for a world premiere for a Hollywood film to be set in Hong Kong, so it's a relief that everything came together in the end. I was fortunate enough to be able to invite some friends to see a pre-screening of the movie, as well as tickets to see Imagine Dragons, so I hope they had a good time as well.
I became closer with my colleagues this month, with several events and projects that had me in and out of the office, working with several different teams within the department. I also became good buddies with the only other intern in the office (!), and am looking forward to another great month at the company.
Sights and Sounds
I spent a Saturday with my uncle and aunt visiting Ocean Park. I hadn't been since I was 8 years old, so it was nice to re-experience the park with older eyes. I favoured the zoo and aquarium exhibitions of the park a lot more than the amusement rides, and found that my favourite attraction by far was the cable car ride. The view was spectacular- the 5 minute ride was a great way to get away from the usual hustle and bustle of the city.
plushies galore
The Sunday afternoon afterwards I was with my cousin Janice, visiting the Hong Kong Heritage Museum near Shatin. Although we originally went for the Studio Ghibli (Totoro, Spirited Away, etc.) exhibition, we arrived only to see a two hour queue- just to enter. After entering, many had to wait another half hour to forty-five minutes to enter certain galleries, so we ultimately decided to view the other exhibitions and come back another day for the little Ghibli creatures.
Along with some colleagues after an event on a Friday morning, we went up to SoHo and visited the 1,600 display of papier-mâché pandas at PMQ. The sun was burning and shining down on us, but the pandas (and photo-ops) were worth it.
Later that night, I met up with Stephen and Joseph to eat some delicious (albeit overpriced) Korean bbq at KimChee in TST. Although I admit, the premium on its prices was justified by the stunning view of the harbour the restaurant had. Afterwards, we traveled north to Mongkok for some karaoke at Neway, which is surprisingly expensive for HK standards- $140 HKD/person for 2 hours (around $20 CAD). In Mississauga, my local favourite Kbar is $20 for a room/hr (so in a group of 5, that's only $4/hr, and $8 for 2 hrs)! Even with a complimentary drink, I'd say HK karaoke isn't worth the money.
June passed by way too fast―now only a month in HK until i go back to Canadaland. Although I'm missing home for its people, I'm excited to have a another month ahead of me. To new adventures!
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