Time seems to take on different properties when you travel. What feels like an eternity in regular, day-to-day life can seem compressed when you’re travelling. It’s almost as if it moves differently.
Having two days to experience a destination might seem like a waste to some, but for me this was enough time for a creative breakaway. With some fine travel footwork, I managed to book a flight that would leave Jeju International late on Friday night and arrive in Hong Kong in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Step 1 was getting a ferry from my town to the well-known holiday island of Jeju. No stress, I managed to sneak out of school early and boarded my ferry well in time. A couple of hours later and we’d docked in Jeju. I caught a bus to the airport, checked in painlessly and dug into a Lotteria burger to satiate my appetite. I arrived at Hong Kong SAR at around 1am local time; the golden lights from the New Territories illuminating the low-hanging clouds as we descended.
This travelogue is not so much an account of what I did over my 48 hours in Hong Kong (I’ve written all about that over at Tripzilla), but rather about how travel can be a creative tonic when you’re worn-out. For the past few weeks I’d been so focused on client work that I’d been neglecting my personal projects a little – my YouTube uploads have slowed, I’ve hardly published anything new on my website (despite doing a faIr amount of domestic travel) and with summer vacation still a month and a half away, I was searching for something that would re-ignite the creative spark. As much I’m grateful for all the paid work I get to do (and that it pays most, if not all, of my travel bills), there’s something undeniably satisfying about putting your heart and soul into personal projects.
On that note, I’ll be taking August off for travel and to focus on building out my website a bit more. One of the projects I’ve got planned is an expat-focused podcast, chatting to friends who’ve chosen to make a life abroad. I’d also like to build up a proper mailing list with regular communiques around blog posts, travelogues, tips, wallpapers and all-round value.
Alright, back to scheduled programming.
Hong Kong in particular, is a city which I find massively alluring. The skyscrapers, the streets, the crowds and of course, those hypnotising night-time views – a far cry from the homogenous South Korean streets. A weekend in Seoul would have cost me probably just as much and taken me just as long to get there, in all fairness, so I figured why not make the trip.
I’d planned on only paying to stay one night in Hong Kong, but on arriving at around 4am I thought it best to just check in to my hotel and get a few much-needed hours of sleep. Hotel Hart was a welcome upgrade from the regular budget accommodation I’d used on my last visit. Here’s how things played out over the next two days.
Saturday
* Got coffee at N1 Coffee (their latte was fantastic, creamy and smooth)
* Took the train to Central
* After 30 minutes of searching, ate dim sum at Tim Howan (definitely worth the search)
* Took a tram and then walked around Wan Chai (got the most delicious milkshake from Five Guys)
* Went back to the hotel for a nap
* Took the train to Central
* After 30 minutes of searching, ate dim sum at Tim Howan (definitely worth the search)
* Took a tram and then walked around Wan Chai (got the most delicious milkshake from Five Guys)
* Went back to the hotel for a nap
* Walked along The Avenue of Stars in TST
* Took the Star Ferry across the Kowloon Peninsula (it’s super convenient and very picturesque)
* Took Bus 15 to Victoria Peak
* Did a spot of shopping in Central
* Took the Star Ferry across the Kowloon Peninsula (it’s super convenient and very picturesque)
* Took Bus 15 to Victoria Peak
* Did a spot of shopping in Central
