15 hours, 3 movies, and a sore back later, I arrived in Hong Kong.
Before I devote the rest of my life requesting paid time-offs, I decided to visit my motherland for one more time. During our vacation in Hong Kong, my mom and I also travelled to Shenzhen, China and Taipei, Taiwan.
Let's talk about Hong Kong, aka the Pearl of East. One of the best things about Hong Kong is that it is the Asian version of "The City that Never Sleeps"; you are bound to be in a sea of crowds even when the clock hits midnight. Within the 20 days that I stayed, I ate out almost everyday. It's hard not to; this city has the best places to get endless cuisine options—Japanese, Thai, Korean, Chinese, etc. Let's not talk about how much weight I've gained. Aside from food, this city is a shopping heaven. I bought new clothes and skincare products that I hope to share in another post. Hong Kong is also the perfect place for photography. The architecture there is absurd, as you already saw from my Instagram posts. Within 10 steps you can see old architecture blending with the new ones. I was excited to see Zaha Hadid's building at Polytech University.
My relatives and I took a little trip to Shenzhen for 2 days. It’s rather easy to get to China from Hong Kong but the security process has become more serious. Subway stations in Shenzhen is a mini airport where people have to put their belongings down for security checks. I vaguely remember how this city was when I last visited but this time it was eyeopening. It has transformed so much with new shopping centers wherever you go. I tried several amazing and affordable Chinese cuisines and drank the best kind of bubble tea from this place called HEYTEA (110% recommend). Bubble tea places are EVERYWHERE. Shenzhen has transformed into one of the best cities for shopping and leisure. Highly recommend anyone to visit while in China.
Now onto Taiwan. My mom and I travelled to Taipei for 4 days. This city is also a food heaven itself. Taiwanese, I noticed, love to offer food samples wherever you go. Their hospitality is impeccable. Taiwanese are super friendly! We stayed at a hot springs hotel in Yilan for the first night; the hotel provides private hot springs in the bathrooms. Yilan is a rural area, but it still has night markets for locals and tourists to try authentic Taiwan street food. For other days we stayed in Taipei. We went to places such as Shifen Waterfall and Ximenting. While at Shifen, my mom and I got to release a lantern, sending it off with our blessings. Ximenting is a popular youth outdoor shopping district. Needless to say I bought a few pairs of shoes, clothes and beauty products. Overall I had a great time in Taiwan learning about its culture while trying different traditional food.
Though 20 days aren’t that long, I feel like I traveled for a month in Asia. If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat you probably remember I had my last dinner at an All-You-Can-Eat Japanese restaurant back in Hong Kong. My favorite fish to get at a Japanese place is raw salmon. Having unlimited salmon that night was the best way to end my Asia trip. Stay tuned for more photos from this trip on my Instagram. Till next time, Asia!