Hongkong-Stopover

1st Flight: Frankfurt-Hongkong

Early in the morning, I take the train to Frankfurt with Mom and Dad and have to say goodbye to Mika at the train station. It feels really strange because it feels unreal not to see her for a whole year. Once I arrive in Frankfurt, I quickly check in and then we have some time for a café. Shortly before I have to leave, Rieke and Finja come by (our friends from Amrum who live in Frankfurt). We chat for a while and then I have to go. Now the second big farewell. And this time too, it feels strange because I somehow don't want to realize that I'm disappearing for a year. The flight goes quite well. I have nice seat neighbors (2 girls who are flying to Australia for an au pair year with an organization) and time flies by with chatting, eating, watching movies (there were very good ones!) and sleeping. So I arrive in Hongkong early in the morning at 5 o'clock local time.

Hongkong:

After my arrival in Hongkong, I stay in the Wi-Fi zone, called Airport, for a while to write to various people and to arrive. Then I take a bus to the hostel, and on the one-hour bus ride there, I can already see a little bit of Hongkong. After checking in and unpacking, I sleep for a few hours before I set out on foot to see a bit of the city. Big mistake! I promptly get lost and can't find myself on the city maps. So I walk around for quite a while until I have a rough idea of where I am and finally try to find my way back to the hostel. On the way, I want to withdraw some cash. But somehow it doesn't work. This leads to my first little crisis on the trip. After finally finding my hostel after a rather long time, I call Mom somewhat agitated and explain my problem with my credit card to her. Then I call the company of my credit card and sort everything out. Now I dare to go out again for a short while and try to get my money from a different ATM. This time everything works out, and so I finally have "Hong Kong dollars" in my hand. After this exciting first day, I go to bed early because I want to get up early the next day.

Getting up early doesn't work. I sleep until 2 pm and then make my way to "Hongkong Island" because I want to go up to "The Peak". So I try to find the way to an MTR station on foot, which takes some time. Once I arrive on "Hongkong Island", I go to the Peak Tram, which I can ride up after a bit of waiting. By now it's already dark outside, but the view from up there is breathtaking, so the trip was definitely worth it! On the way back, I stroll across the "Temple Market".

The next day, despite my alarm clock, I wake up again around 2 pm. Now I have to hurry because I want to go to "Lantau Island" to see the "Big Buddha". Although it's already late, I set off and am rewarded. I may not have much time to explore everything in detail on "Lantau Island", but I can briefly enjoy the view at the "Big Buddha" and visit the "Monastery". I go back on the Cable Car, which was also really nice. When I arrive at the harbor, I am there in time to watch the Symphony of Lights Show. Really beautiful!

I make my way back via the Ladies Market.

Now it's already my last day in Hongkong. This time I manage to get up with my alarm clock and check out. Then I go to the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas. After spending some time there and looking at the beautiful temples and statues, I head back to the city. I spend the last few hours in the shopping centers of Hongkong before picking up my things from the hostel and going to the airport. Again by bus, so I can say goodbye to the city.

All in all, I can say that Hongkong is a really interesting city with its many skyscrapers, many people (who automatically form queues everywhere), a lot of traffic on the streets with masses of bus lines, but also small parks in between, a beautiful harbor, beautiful viewpoints and attractions, as well as temples. Even though it's not completely my thing, I'm glad I've been there once.