Xiamen and Hong Kong

Upon arriving in Xiamen, we took a bus to the hostel (which was actually located where it was described!!!). During the bus ride, we could still see the destruction caused by a typhoon on September 15th. Fallen trees, broken branches, and torn tarps/facades were everywhere! People were still busy with the cleanup. So, we were lucky in a way: if we hadn't had to postpone our trip for 3 weeks due to Stephan's injury, we would have been in the region during the typhoon and would have had to change our plans...

The hostel was nice and had a beautiful communal area. Unfortunately, there weren't many guests, and the ones who were there were Chinese and couldn't speak English. There were some shops and restaurants near the hostel, although calling them restaurants may be a bit exaggerated; they were more like food stalls with plastic stools... We finally found a place and ordered a delicious fish soup in a restaurant that was cooled down to freezing temperatures. However, at around 10:30 PM, we realized that the other hostel guests weren't eating out but cooking in the kitchen, and we could smell it in our room :-(

During the next two days, we explored Xiamen: the pedestrian zone, the shopping street, the harbor, the Nanputu Temple with the adjacent rocky hill and viewpoint, the beach, and the university's botanical garden. Everything was beautiful, and it would have been even nicer with good weather. But as often happens, we weren't very lucky...

Despite that, we felt very comfortable in Xiamen, although we expected more English speakers and had read about it being a student city with bars, etc. Well, on the third day, we cooked dinner for ourselves. It was the first time since we left! Even though it was just noodles with fresh tomatoes and spring onions, they tasted Asian when stir-fried in a wok ;-)

On the last day, we strolled through a market and had some food. The Chinese really know how to do it! Just choose the things you want, add some rice, sit wherever there's space, and silently enjoy your meal. In our case, we sat at a table with three nice gentlemen from the garbage collection service (or some other organization; they all had the same work uniform). They were amused by us but also impressed by our chopstick skills.

On the way back to the hostel, we walked through Nanhu Park, where apparently all newlyweds took advantage of the almost sunny day to take their wedding photos. However, having just one photographer is not enough here in China! There's an assistant for lighting, one for makeup, and at least one for adjusting the dress :-)

On our last evening, we went back to the restaurant from the first day: eating pork ribs with chopsticks! We're officially pros now!

The next day, we took a taxi from the airport to the hostel in Hong Kong because it was already late (not as cheap as in Fuzhou, but still reasonable). When we arrived at the hostel, we were prepared for another booking fail. We had booked the hostel from Shanghai, but our credit cards were repeatedly said to be invalid. The updated credit card information was accepted by Booking, but 3 days later, the hostel rejected it. This happened three times, and if it weren't for Booking confirming that the reservation was still valid (and cancellation would incur charges!), we would have booked another hostel. Fortunately, the nice young man at the reception made an effort and managed to accommodate us (one night in a 6-bed room and then 3 nights in a double room). We were able to use the 50€ already charged to my supposedly invalid credit card as credit ;-)

The 6-bed room was also quite nice, except for the disgusting smell of sweaty feet in a 10 sqm room without windows! Our roommates were 2 Chinese, 1 American, and 1 Russian. The American and the Russian had good tips for Hong Kong and funny stories to share. Both of them travel continuously and indefinitely, but with completely different approaches: the American wants to see everything the world has to offer, always visiting new countries and preferably remote ones (he says he seeks the challenge). The Russian has also been almost everywhere but prefers to repeatedly visit the same 30 countries and also works remotely in online marketing. They were quite different in other ways as well: when the Russian told us about a restaurant where we could have pizza if we wanted, and he mentioned the price of the pizza, the American commented that it was very expensive and asked how many slices of pizza we would get for that price. The Russian looked at him puzzled and said, 'I don't measure Pizza in slices! I measure Pizza in Pizza!' You can imagine the Russian accent ;-). So, they were both entertaining.

We started our first full day in Hong Kong with a freshly mixed smoothie and walked around. Our hostel was located on Nathan Road, where you can find almost anything on both sides. Unfortunately, the Temple Street hadn't opened yet, but we found another market street, and Stephan practiced his bargaining skills. After settling into our new room at the hostel, we took the subway to the other side to Hong Kong Island and then took the tram up to the Peak. The long queue for a 5-minute ride was actually not worth it... But once we reached the top, we had an amazing view. It was already dark, and the skyscrapers were beautifully lit up. Despite the crowding and noise, there were only about 5 other people on the viewing platform, just a few meters to the left of us! Tourists are definitely herd animals: if you're directed to go right at the entrance, you go right without even looking around :-) However, we took the bus on the way down and let our return ticket for the tram expire. One hour in line?! No, thanks! We had duck for dinner at a restaurant recommended by Anthony Bourdain. It was really delicious, and it was fun to watch the grandpa skillfully chop the ducks with a giant cleaver!

We started the second day with breakfast at 'The Australian Dairy', another Hong Kong tip that is recommended almost everywhere. It was okay, but I wouldn't say it's a must-try. We continued through Kowloon Park to the harbor. By the way, we didn't end up going to Macau. It would have taken too much time, and we wanted to fully enjoy Hong Kong.

The streets really come to life after 9 PM, so on that evening, we headed to Temple Street a bit later. We managed to find a table amidst the crowds and had dinner at 'Spicy Crabs'. Actually, it's not accurate to say 'at' because the restaurant consists of two street corners facing each other, and tables and stools are placed in between and around them. The waiters shout the orders to the kitchen. It's pure chaos, but it somehow works! We ended the evening by going to a bar district, but we decided that paying 7€ for a beer wasn't worth it to party longer with mostly tourists... Well, we're Swabians after all ;-)

On the last day, we took a trip out of the city and went to the west coast of Hong Kong Island. From there, we had a great view of the many small islands, and we could enjoy the sea for the first time! I think Hong Kong was our favorite of all the Chinese cities, although Beijing and Shanghai had their own charm. We can do without Fuzhou ;-)

Now, we're looking forward to Vietnam and hoping for some beautiful beach days!

P.S. Since our arrival in Beijing, we have traveled a total of about 3000 km!