Travel guides and transformative journeys
Leaving Hong Kong isn’t easy, honestly. We’ve got family here, and there’s just so much we love—the people, the food, the walks, the markets… all of it. We’ve been lucky to visit quite a few times, and even spend the last three years coming back regularly. Staying in Sha Tin was new for us, but it turned out to be such a good experience. We’ll definitely be back.
So this was a day for packing. We return home tomorrow so it all has to come together today. The many things we’ve bought and the limited space left in our suitcases? Somehow we found time and money to buy those last minute items and squeeze them into what are already bulging suitcase
It’s Sunday, day of the ‘maids’ in Hong Kong. This is an extraordinary phenomenon, experienced intensely if you’re walking the streets of Central Hong or practically in any public space in Kowloon. There are something like 400,000 “domestic helpers” (“maids” to some, “servants” to a few) in Hong Kong. Yes, that’s a lot for a city/region of about 7.5 million. They are overwhelmingly female, and from the Philippines or from Indonesia.
The Sha Tin Bike paths run in many directions but the ones that attract border the Shing Man River which runs through the length of Sha Tin and then out to the estuary. There are bike paths on both sides used by cyclists, walkers and joggers. We got a couple of basic bikes (e-bikes are said to be illegal in Hong Kong!) from the bike shop next to the hotel. We cycled out towards the river and then East to the Chinese University for coffee and a nice piece of carrot cake.
It’s literally pouring outside, and today was a total washout. RIP to our plans to walk or cycle. Instead, it was a mad scramble for the umbrella and the hotel shuttle – pure indoor vibes only today. Main character energy today was definitely finding elite eats. Wontons are a whole mood. If you don’t know, they’re basically Chinese dumplings with a thin wrapper, stuffed with seasoned pork or chicken and prawn.
The Kennedy Town Tram? Absolute icon, no notes. Runs from North Point straight through Central and out to Kennedy Town. Lowkey gives huge electrified breakfast cereal box energy (you KNOW the one), but make it wheels. Narrow, tall, stairs built for the tiniest feet imaginable, and it jolts like crazy every time it hits cross rails or points. But somehow it just vibes its way through the absolute chaos that is Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, and Central Hong Kong — unbothered
Sickness bites? Well kinda… Stomach ache really. Maybe it was the meal we had at the local shopping centre last
Warm and rainy morning — not giving long walk energy at all. So we pulled up to the malls to
Today was all about the dim sum. Made it to Sha Tin Central and took the East Rail to Hung Hom