I’m back in my favourite city and in love with it more than ever!
I’ve arrived safely and soundly in HK but work (and jet lag) are kicking my butt at the moment. So please excuse the radio silence on the blog! I hope to do a proper update soon. In the meantime, here’s a repost from my Instagram page. Follow me there for more frequent real-time updates of what I’m up to in Asia!
So I’m back in Hong Kong, living here for the 3rd time.
I first moved here in 2009, sight unseen, and stayed for two years.
I returned for another two year stint in 2013, and just when I thought it was out of my system, here I am again.
Clearly my love for the city is strong, but how do I describe what keeps me coming back?
Hong Kong can be a hard sell as an Asian travel destination. It doesn’t have the beaches of, say, Thailand, the air is smoggy, blue skies are in short supply.
The inner city is congested (a claustrophobe’s nightmare), the salubrity of public spaces is sometimes questionable, and some say it’s not as historical/”cultural” as other countries in the region (malls are far more prevalent here than museums and temples, after all).
As a result, I’ve seen people on many a travel forum dismiss the city as not being worth more than a two-day visit (should you even dare to visit at all). So I expect a certain degree of surprise/curiosity when people learn that I have lived here for over 4 years in total, and that I even quit London and New York to do so.
Hong Kong infuriates me in some ways but it excites me in so many others. If I really think about it, the city has encouraged me to be a better version of myself.
For it was in Hong Kong that I learned to swim, started to hike, ran my first race, and found true love (at an Oktoberfest party, no less!)
It was in Hong Kong that I really began to build a career, make travelling a “thing”, dare to be audacious.
It was in Hong Kong that I lived on my own for the first time, paid all my own bills, found my own apartment.
It was in Hong Kong that I learned how to be resilient, cope with being sick all by myself (not fun, but an important lesson to learn), and deal with being very very far away from home.
Hong Kong is the place I’ve lived the longest as an adult and is probably the place that I truly began, well, adulting.
The city, in all its wildness and wonderfulness, taught me that nearly anything is possible if you just say yes.
So when people ask me, with furrowed brows, “Why Hong Kong?” I smile with all my teeth and coyly tell them “Why not?” But that’s not *really* the answer. The reasons, as you can see, run much deeper than that.
Is there a city in the world that you hold near and dear? Which one and why?
62 Comments
Many cities;
Amsterdam…Just because. Lived there for four years and there was always something happening..it’s an alive city.
Nairobi..my home city..it had changed much over the years. The traffic now is worse than Bangkok’s traffic, there seems to be constructions everywhere..then there’s the leel of congestion in the city centre, seems that anyone with something to sell, sells it.
Singapore..According to me is Asia 101..that gateway to the sub-continent I’m growing to love. The heat and humidity is like nothing I’ve experienced..it engulfs you like you’ve stepped into an oven..the tropic girl that I am, I love it! Singapore may be a tiny city state, but it as a larger than life attitude with magnificent buildings and a plethora of eating places dishing up all kinds of foods.
Ugh..forgive the typos..ipad.
Had changed…has changed
Leel…feel of congestion
Tropic…tropical girl that I am
welcome back. Hong Kong is truly a beautiful city. Though I only stayed there for a year. I’ve been away from the travel community for a while and so I can’t answer your question yet.
SO, why did you leave NY?
I completely agree; I could have written something really similar, if you just replaced “Hong Kong” with “London”.
Whenever I go abroad I find it hard to fall in love with cities. I prefer the countryside in the UK too, if I want to go and spend time somewhere nice.
But every time I move out of London, I end up moving back, and I think it’s for similar reasons to the ones you cite about Hong Kong.
London is the first place I went when I moved out of my mother’s house. It’s the first place I lived in a space that actually felt like home. It’s where I fell in love, where I got over the worst of my illnesses, where I went to – and dropped out of – uni, and where I had most of the formative experiences of my adult life.
And there’s just something very special about that feeling. 🙂
Love Hongkong! I will be there again in few months. Can’t wait 🙂
Love this. I’m going to Hong Kong for the first time in March. I’ve got 5 days there, which I know won’t be enough time to see everything, but I’m excited to see a little bit of this city.
Oh I loved this post. Hong Kong is a truly amazing city and I’m always amazed every time I am there! I hope you enjoy your 3rd stint!
Hong Kong is definitely on my wish list. I don’t know of anyone who has been that didn’t enjoy their time there. I suppose as a New Yorker I should not be “impressed” with skylines, but I think Hong Kong’s looks amazing.
Tokyo did it for me! I was there from 2001-2002, then 2003-2012…still hold it dear to my heart and soul.
Compared to all you worldly folks my place will sound lame, but Tampa, Florida for me! Just like you Oneika, this is the first place I lived where I had my own apartment (no roommates), learned how to pay my own bills, built my own network of professional contacts, dealt with food poisioning (on my own) TWICE. LOL This is the city where I first learned about Black travel. It was in Tampa where I was bored in class one day and stumbled upon your blog (which was life changing seriously lol) I lived here for three years and then left and just recently moved back. I love it here. I feel like Tampa is where I really learned to become the young woman that I am today. Some people aren’t fond of it, but it’s a city that’ll always be near and dear to my heart.
Interestingly I followed your blog before I knew we’d move to Hong Kong – and I kept reading it every since. Even after our move to HK in 2011, and your move away. I think I even saw you once on the Mid-Levels escalator but it felt awkward to approach you. Maybe I should say hi the next time? Anyway, welcome back!
Hong Kong is the greatest (total bias since I grew up there) But I am excited to visit this month for a few days. Have you been to the 3D museum in Victoria Peak? I am so looking forward to be back to the shopping central/food galore! 🙂
Just got back from HK and I loved it! This is my 3rd read from your blog and I am so enjoying 🙂
For me each place I have travelled to holds some really nice memories but I would have to say I am torn between Barcelona and London as that is where my daughter and I first went as solo travelers/lived. Hoping to take her to HK this summer. We head to Korea and Japan in May 🙂
Thrilled to have stumbled upon your blog!
Hey Oneika,
Your blog stumbled upon me when I googled ‘ London’.
We shared some very similar experiences – lived in UK before, came back to Hong Kong again and again, intense passion for travelling and now blogging again.
If you fancy a cup of tea, let’s arrange a girly gathering coz I found you a very interesting person with adventurer-spirit at heart.
What do you think?
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