Goodbye 2015

Welcoming in a new year has always been a bittersweet experience. As 2015 was the year I graduated from university, it was as far as my 'life plan' had extended to. This year has been about a lot of self-discovery, which isn't always the easiest or most pleasant thing to experience. I'm hoping for many good things to come in 2016, and to always remind myself to push forward and persevere no matter the circumstances.

Tai Mei Tuk

One of my friends was studying at CUHK (香港中文大學) for the term, so I went to visit as it is also my mother's alma mater. Afterwards, we headed over to Tai Mei Tuk to see the area and walk around the reservoir.

First stop: Chinese University of Hong Kong - 香港中文大學
If you can see the white speck at the right of the photo - while at CUHK, we saw it and wondered what it was...

Tai Mei Tuk - 大美督

Luk Keng

Hiking has become a popular activity in Hong Kong as of late, and many people have been trekking to the mountains in the early morning to beat the heat.

I was invited to go hiking, but as it was a bit of a trek there, it was already 10am when we were on the last minibus up to the mountains.

Rediscovering Hong Kong

I first went to Hong Kong when I was a small child, and the memories I have are of a see-saw at a park, where my sister and her friend both sat on one end, and let me dangle in the air alone. I also remembering having 油炸粿 (yau za gwei) with congee for the first time with my grandpa, who had a stroke twenty years prior and would eat little else besides that.

I should mention that this was also the time of the avian flu and I distinctly remembering covering my nose while passing my caged chickens all along the streets. After that, my sister flatly refused to go back to Hong Kong, and I, ever the follower, decided the same.

Giant disappointments & highlights

Continuing from my trip to the Bay Area circa August 2014...

The disappointments - they weren't that giant, but it felt a little bit appropriate.

Cabs.

I hate taking cabs. However, the first place we were staying at was very inconvenient to get to by public transit, and it was already sunset when our flight came in. So I wasn't expecting much but we specifically told our driver that we were heading to Millbrae, and it was only after we got into the car and he was driving away that he told us he didn't know that area. So he drove us around and around and we had to call our host (who informed us he drove way past where we needed to go), and not once did he stop the fare or apologize for the circle he took us on. Needless to say, that was the first and last cab we took. Tangent: I had my first rideshare experience here via Lyft, and we had really awesome drivers and I was pleasantly surprised.

In-N-Out.

Not sure if I was expecting fast food to somehow be amazing, but with all the rave reviews online, I was sorely disappointed. My friend said the location we went to wasn't as good as others she had tried, so I will give you one more chance when I'm in the West Coast again!

Pier 39.

It was neat and all but chock-full of tourists that it was too overwhelming. I didn't have any preconceived ideas of what it was going to be like, and while I did think it was a gorgeous spot, I always felt anxious there wearing my backpack in the crowds of people.

Other than that, I had an amazing time in San Francisco and I would love to go back again soon. The good memories from this trip are definitely more numerous, and the moments that stand out are:

Hike up to Twin Peaks.

This was an unexpected addition our friend recommended to us, and though we took the long, windy way reserved for cars, we made it up there and got the beautiful (and terribly windy) view of the city.

Palo Alto. 

The weather here was more what we would have expected from California. Warm and sunny, we explored the Google HQ and wandered through Stanford, which was probably the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. It could seriously pass as a resort, and the fact that they had eduroam made me feel right at home.

Berkeley. 

The city is more low-key than San Francisco, and just more friendly and offbeat. The campus of UC Berkeley is beautiful, and we went during move-in day, which brought back fond memories of my own first year. Also, the entire campus is smoke-free! This was probably my favourite area of our trip.

The people. 

Everyone we met was so nice and friendly (excluding our one and only cab driver). When we went to visit the Painted Ladies, one unfortunately was under construction, but we stood around the area taking pictures anyways. A gentleman walking his dog stopped by to talk to us, and said he was the owner of the blue house. He gave us some tips on where to get beautiful shots of the city, and what other houses to see. 

In the bay

Note: Catching up on all my queued posts. This trip is from August 2014.

I've never been on a plane without my parent(s). I finally bit the bullet and planned a trip to San Francisco (and surrounding area) with a friend, and we were, to say the least, losing steam when it came to planning.

There were a few spots we knew we wanted to hit; Golden Gate Bridge, Twin Peaks, Pier 39, Stanford, Berkeley, an In-N-Out, and a bit of hiking.

Here is a picture-heavy recap of our amazing trip. Thanks for being an awesome travel buddy, J.

Sunrise in Brisbane

Getting lost

Navigating the city that never sleeps

This is my terribly long overdue NYC post from... 1.5 years ago. I know, but I couldn't post trips that came after until this was up, thus the nearly year long hiatus. So I resolve to complete it now with a photo update.

Day 2 in NYC

 Enter Smorgasburg.