The morning I left from Boracay was a bit sad I will admit. When you think how people go their separate ways after a holiday, it gives you that happy sad feeling. You will never forget. As I reflected back on my time and packed the last few items, a local woman working at the hostel asked me, “was your question answered here in Boracay?”. At first I replied “It depends what the question was to begin with”. She smiled. I’m not sure if I ever had a question coming to Boracay. It sure made me realize that possibilities are endless. It’s still humorous to me when friends ask me how I can travel the way I do. Did I win the lottery? No. Find a cheap ticket and go! It comes down to whether you want to spend your money on lifetime experiences and memories while meeting new lifetime friends or be in debt to cars and houses. Europeans understand this but most of America has not yet… Maybe one day.
I took the boat back to Caticlan and went to the tiny airport for my flight to Manila and on to Hong Kong. Thank God the airport was really close to the port. I learned that in Asia you should always have a printout of your flight info. The Police would not let me in the airport without proof of my flight. In Europe and the USA we do not need this info as they always pull up the flight with our passport. The man was nice enough to ask the ticket agent for assistance and I was let in. The plane was small so they had to weigh each passenger.
The view of the islands were amazing!
I got into Hong Kong at night and met some nice Australians that were sitting next to me on the plane and guided me to the bus that was headed for Kowloon. Hong Kong is separated by water into 2 parts. Hong Kong island and Kowloon area.
The airport and Disneyland are on a 3rd island. The subway and bus systems are excellent here. Probably the best I have ever been on. The bus even had free wifi! The Octopus card was the most economical way to pay for the metro. You can even use it to pay at restaurants and stores. Sort of like a local debit card.
It took me a while to find my hostel. The buildings here are very different than we are used to here. The center of the building is open, much like a castle wall. Google Kowloon walled city. It was once controlled by the government and then the Triads. It has since been demolished and a museum was built.
I decided that my first full day, I would explore local food and the Victoria Peak. Local food was amazing. I found a small place where the cook was tossing noodles in the window.. Who could resist?
When they seat you, be prepared for them to seat other people at your table. It’s weird at first but most of the time they speak English and are pretty interesting people.
I also tried the street food. It was cheap and fast!
Pork and Octopus was popular.
The Financial district and Hong Kong island were very cool. Felt like Manhattan.
The tram to Victoria Peak was such a long wait. I greatly underestimated this.
The ride up has steep and fun!
The pics I took are some of the best in my album…. Jaw dropping. The peak wall goes straight down and the buildings shoot right up~
After taking over 36 photos with diff settings on my DSLR, I headed down the mountain and change clothes and head to the local ex-pat drinking holes to mingle.
Along the way.
Partner in crime that I met on the tram…
Bus station was huge and very clean.
The next day was the dragon boat races and San Miguel beer gardens… So much fun on the harbor. Teams from all over the world came to kick some butt.
Walk of Fame
I met some fun people from Russia and Barcelona at the beer fest. We decided to catch the light show at 8:30 on the harbor front. The buildings put on a dancing light show and music plays with it.. really cool.
I decided to make it an early night as tomorrow was Disneyland!!!!
Super fun day.. Grizzly mountain coal ride was the best ride. Thunder Mountain Railroad on steroids. Faster and more turns. The park music and employees were the same as in Anaheim. Felt like home 🙂
The next morning I packed up and took the bus to the airport. I had booked a flight on Aeroflot and had a 3 hour layover in Moscow. Pretty cool.
I bought 2 bottles of very tasty Vodka for less than $20USD.. And the Burger King served Vodka and beer..haha
Off to Spain now!
UNWRITTEN CHAPTERS 