Hong Kong, or, A Sea of Buildings

 

We visited Hong Kong before I had Jetset Wanderlife, but here goes things to the best of my recollection:

I had no expectations for Hong Kong. It made sense to stop for a couple days on our way to Thailand (LAX to HK to Phuket is just too bloody miserable to do all at once IMHO) so we booked a cheap place (pretty much a closet) and that was that.

We went to the Temple Street Night Market, which was rad to see the city so awake and crazy at like 1am. It was also cool to see all the crazy seafood, so many crustaceans alive in ice and water just waiting to be cooked and eaten. Actually that part was a bit sad, but they looked cool.

And I can say without hyperbole, the dan dan noodles with green sauce and dumplings was my favorite meal I’ve ever had. Part of it was surely the fact I had a slight cold and Hong Kong was chilly and the hot noodles and broth hit the spot, but my goodness I still cry thinking about it. We went back the next night and it was still amazing. The worst part is I took a photo of the sign and posted it to a Hong Kong forum and it’s some really generic restaurant name, so when we go back I just pray I can find it.

We did the tram to Victoria Peak which is SO worth it. I read that Hong Kong has the most skyscrapers for the amount of land or something, and from above it seems like it must be true. Just an insane view. And we took the ferry to/from Kowloon and saw the city light show at night where the buildings light up and do coordinated dances…let’s just say Caitlin liked it more than I did, but whatever. We also went to the famous statue garden and the national museum, which was so rad and free!

Just go. It’s crazy and amazing and massive yet tiny…if possible.

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GEAR

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I kinda repeat this section on every blog post, but seriously, this is all stuff we have and use, nothing filler. Below are some of the items we took:

Amazon Prime: C’mon, it’s 2018. Get free 2-day shipping (which was necessary since we always found something we needed at the last minute) and lots of good music and TV/movies which make road trips more enjoyable. Try it free and you won’t be disappointed. Plus, pretty much everything below will ship to you free in 2 days in the USA.

AUKEY Powerbank External Portable Charger: This thing has saved us many times. It’s nice to have around the house, but it’s nicer to have during a long flight or a 12 hour day in Paris. It has 2 USB inputs and charges our iPhones really fast. It’s a bit bulky, but we get 2-3 charges from it each time. SO worth having.

Anker External Portable Charger: Yes, we take 2 portable chargers on our trip. This one isn’t as long-lasting, but it’s much smaller and lighter. It’s a bit annoying charging 2 every night, but really worth it to have charged phones the entire day.

My Pants: Ever since my days braving the brutal Wellington rain in a suit, I HATE having wet pants. These Columbia pants were perfect to put on over my jeans each day. Never got even a drop under them. Well worth it.

My Bag: As I said above, we travel LIGHT. Especially with Wow Air, where things are expensive, having a versatile bag is a must. This bag is not incredibly nice, but it has a lifetime warranty and it can cinch down to unbelievably small sizes. It’s made it through Thailand, Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Iceland with no problems yet.

Towels: These ones are awesome because they fold up small and dry incredibly quick. One of my favorite things we took! We got an off brand, Loinz has an original Packtowl which he raves about. Your call.

Space Saver Bags: These have proved invaluable on our travels, particularly with Wow Air’s tiny baggage limit. It’s amazing how small clothing can shrink down to in one of these! Highly recommended.

Outlet Plugs: Of course, when traveling overseas you need a plug
adapter. We’ve had these exact ones for at least 5 years. We’ve taken them to 4 continents and they’re still going strong. And, they’re super cheap and have everything you need all in one, so you don’t have to bring a bunch of different parts. Highly recommended.

Aux Cable: You probably already have a million of these. Our car had a USB that connected directly to the music, so we could charge our phones and blast tunes at the same time. The longer cable is nice so if someone is in the backseat they can still charge and control the music or navigate or browse Instagram or whatever)

MacBook Air: OK this is probably pushing it for necessities, but I do have to work on the road and it’s perfect to take with us. Small, lightweight, powerful, and mine has a pink cover for good measure.