Hong Kong
I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of English speaking natives in Hong Kong, which made a welcome change to the rest of my trip, as I found the language barrier quite exhausting in most other cities. So Hong Kong was quite unique, in that you could experience the culture, weather, scenery and food of Eastern Asia, whilst being able to communicate with ease, which made it far more relaxing and enjoyable. On my first day, I took the Hong Kong peak tram to see the view from Victoria Peak, which was even better at night. I stayed in Causeway bay in a fabulous hotel, close to many interesting city attractions and well connected to the rest of Hong Kong. The next day I went on a tour to see the Big Buddha and monastery via cable car. This was supposed to be cancelled on the day due to a Typhoon weather warning, but luckily they took us up anyway, as the last run, and all tours after us had to be rebooked for the next day. After huffing and puffing my way up the 268 steps to have a closer look at the Big Buddha, I was in awe of the beautiful view, which was a reward in itself. Buddha’s right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction, and the left hand rests open on his lap in a gesture of generosity. Part of the tour included a speed boat ride to see pink dolphins, on our way to the fishing village Tai-O. Although these dolphins were all clearly in hiding, I appreciated walking down the quaint market in the village and enjoyed a lovely day despite the strong wind and occasional rain shower.