Happy 22nd birthday to me! I’m incredibly grateful that I’ve been able to spend my last 2 birthdays outside of the United States. Last year I was in Greece, and the activities we did on my birthday happened to be my favorite day of the entire trip, and this day in China was definitely one of the best days so far, as well.

We started the tour of Hong Kong with a Sampan Boat Ride. We went on a smaller boat throughout a harbor with absolutely beautiful weather. We then visited a jewelry factory and the Stanley Market. The Stanley Market was pretty cool to see, but after visits to multiple markets, I didn’t really have much money left to be spending at a market. We then found the Stanley Pier, which was right on the ocean. The culture in this area was very cool to see. There was a big circle with a lot of different food stands, both local and Westernized (Starbucks), someone was playing live music, there were people playing sports, and everyone just seemed generally happy.

We then went up to Victoria Peak for a stunning view of all of Hong Kong. After this we were given some free time, and were told to meet in the city at the “World’s Longest Escalator” (no lie!). After walking throughout the city a lot, it was easy to see that the culture of Hong Kong was extremely different than that of Beijing. Everyone seemed a lot more relaxed in Hong Kong than in Beijing, where everything seemed a little frantic at most times. Hong Kong was also much more diverse, probably resulting from the Western ideologies imposed on the city.  

We ended with a great dinner and took a ferry through Victoria Harbor back to the main island.