Hong Kong 2016- Vancouver to Hong Kong Day 1

IMG_2091 1In the beginning of May, I finally got to go on a vacation. I don’t get to go very often and I usually only get to go every five to ten years. ย The last time I went on any type of vacation overseas was 5 years ago and was also back to Hong Kong. ย This year i decided I didn’t want to spend my 3 weeks just lazying at home and do nothing. ย I managed to score an awesome deal for my plane ticket, $600 round trip. ย I was actually planning to go to Taiwan with my best friend but she backed out four days after I bought the ticket since she got into medical school to be a doctor. ย So in the end, plans changed and I ended up in Hong Kong for 3 weeks. ย Let’s start the adventure!ย (/^โ–ฝ^)/

Screen Shot 2016-06-03 at 3.31.32 AM3:00 am
I couldn’t sleep the night before from excitement, sadness and nervousness. ย This would be the first time ever I was going to travel completely alone, with no family, no nobody. ย Me, myself and I.

9:30 am
Got out of bed, got dressed. Flight was at 1:30 pm, boarding time was 12:30 pm. For some reason, my family likes to be two to three hours early. ย I wore my superdry windbreaker jacket, mickey mouse t-shirt, joggers and the hat I got at Daiso for $2. ย This might be the only comfortable hat that actually fits my head without squeezing it to death.

13340574_10157000449700574_1676031984_oA quick tip, make sure to snap a picture of your luggages and backpacks before you get them checked in. ย If it ever goes missing, you’d have a easier time describingย your luggage then telling them “Uhh the purple and black suitcase”. ย Do you know how many black suitcases there are out there?
*Excuse the crappy picture, I had to use my iPhone since I was in a hurry*

13383466_10157000449685574_867252216_oI remembered this one time where my family and I were heading to Florida but got stuck at the Seattle airport. Our luggage was all the way in Florida and we had a hard ass time trying to tell the what our suitcase looks like, what material it was and such. ย So take a picture of it and it will save you a whole lot of salvia and frustration.

IMG_2090I got the airport around 10:15 am with everything ready. ย I also made sure check in online but sadly couldn’t pick the seat I wanted so I ended up with the seat with the washroom right behind me. I prayed for the whole flight that no one would take a fat poop or I’d have to kill someone. ย Just saying…

13383450_10157000449705574_1014448872_oHad to be a tourism in my own town because, well I don’t get to go past the airport gates often and… well POLAR BEARS!!

Vancouver YVRI also never noticed there are actually huge aquariums in the Vancouver airport. ย So pretty!

Vancouver YVR

Vancouver YVR

Vancouver YVR1.5 hours until i have to board. ย A little bittersweet with a sprinkle of nervousness.

IMG_2094

IMG_2102I don’t have a lot of selfies on my camera. ย This might be the only one. ย Bare face, mismatching black brows HAHA.

Air CanadaSo Canadian.

Vancouver YVR

Vancouver YVRPower rangers was actually filming during the time I was in the airport but I didn’t bump into them. ย Instead, I think I bumped into an “Amazing race” taping since there was a ton of crew filming vlog style and the contestants were sitting in the seats right in front of me. ย So if you see me chillin in the background at the Vancouver airport, that is most likely me.

Vancouver YVR

Vancouver YVR30 minutes before I had to board, I made sure to go to the washroom. ย While I was there, I actually bumped into my co-workers who was also flying that exact same day but they were going to travel throughout Southeast Asia for 4 months. ย DAMNNNN 4 months is a long long time. ย We said our goodbyes and I headed for my zone to line up and get onto the plane. ย You don’t know how hard I prayed for the plane to land safely and not go missing. ย Paranoid as f***.

13340497_10157000449690574_1093830088_oThis is another thing I don’t get to hold much, boarding pass!

air canadaOkay, time to go! ย 13 hour flight in economy might be one of the most painful things. ย I’m 5’3, medium sized human. ย I can’t even imagine those who are taller or larger then me, how would you be able to bear with it.

air canadaTwo hours into the flight, we got fed. ย YEY! ย I was kinda getting hungry, so smelling meal time was exciting for me. ย I mean what else am I going to look forward to being stuck on a plane for 13 hours other then peeing, meal time and the occasional nap. ย The options were either pork noodles or chicken and rice. ย I picked chickenย and rice which was actually not half bad. ย But then again, when you are in the air, the high altitude numbs your taste buds so you can’t really taste anything anyways. ย The coleslaw was a little too chilled to the point of being frozen, so I just mixed it with the rice. ย There was also a small bun with butter and for dessert, chocolate cake. ย Along with the bottled water, they offered drinks such as juice (apple, orange, grapefruit I think?), soft drinks and mini bottles of WINE? ย WHAT? ย I don’t drink but I kind of wanted to take one with me.

I didn’t really sleep much since it was super uncomfortable with little to no leg space. For some odd reason, my bum was hurting sooo much. ย Maybe it is because I have little to no junk in my trunk but I had to constantly move around to keep my tailbone from bruising LOL.

Within the five hours, all I did was watch whatever movies they had on. ย Luckily there was a couple of movies I had been meaning to watch but always forget to hit the theaterย when it is released.ย  One of them was Hunger games, that last two ones (I forgot the name).ย  Sadly there was no subtitles, nor did I bring my noise cancelling headphones so I couldn’t really hear anything throughout the whole movie HAHA. Oh well.ย  And I couldn’t find the first part to the movie, so i just watched the second part with no clue of what was going on.ย  I also didn’t read the books, so…. LOL

Other ones I watched were Minions, Sisters, Alvin and the Chipmunks and the whole season 6 of Big Bang theory. ย Needless to say, I was bored out of my mind.

air canada8:00 pm
Finally it was dinner time! ย You don’t know how happy I am to smell and see food. ย This time around, we got the choice of beef + rice or chicken pasta. ย I choose beef since I already had chicken the first time around. ย I was expecting the beef to be tough and gross but surprisingly, it was tender and not half bad. ย Along with the main course, the meal also came with bread and butter, fruit salad with half ripe melons and a bottled of water. ย Again, there were beverages to choose from as well. ย I do have to say, Air Canada’s food portions are a little small, even for me! ย And I don’t have a big appetite. ย They also don’t really have much snacks, only pretzels, cookies and lukewarm orange juice if your lucky.

13334256_10157000449760574_1542546666_oOne thing I was really happy I wore was my hat surprisingly! ย Not only does it block the view of strangers, it also block the light up above. ย It also doubles as a sleeping mask!

Hong Kong airportAfter 13 hours, we finally arrived to Hong Kong, local time 5;30 pm. ย My butt hurt SO bad. ย I’m pretty sure my tailbone was slightly bruised from sitting on those uncomfortable seats. ย Walking out of the plane and into the terminal, the humidity already kicked in. ย How is already so humid in the airport!!!!!!!

Remember I told you about the taping of Amazing race (I think it is, don’t quote me), I see this getting off the plane. ย LOL ย I kind of wanted to join them in the stretching, my ass seriously was hurting real bad.


Getting through customs, now my mission was to find where the heck are my luggage! ย I didn’t see any rotating belts?!?! ย I finally figured it out. ย You actually have to take two escalators down and ride the build in subway. ย You won’t really get lost since it just takes you one stop down, which would be where the luggage is. ย I think this is the first time I had to take a subway to get to my luggage haha.

I finally found it!!! ย Asia truly is different. ย There is even a staff member making sure the luggage doesn’t stack on top of each other and is nice and organized.ย  Even on the ground, there is a yellow line to leave some space so people don’t get hurt when you have to lug your bags off. ย This took about 20 minutes for both my bags to appear. ย Sadly one of my luggage tags came off which was a slight bummer but life goes on.

Hong Kong airportExcuse the crappy photos. ย I had to use my iPhone while walking LOL. ย What can you do…

Hong KongMet up with my uncle and headed to the bus terminal. ย Transportation out of the airport is super convenient with the subway built right into the airport, taxis waiting right outside and a bus terminals to take you everywhere. ย Transportation in Hong Kong is so affordable, you don’t ever need a car here. ย I believe the express bus we took was about $40 HKD ($5 USD) to get to the other side of Hong Kong. ย It’s awesomeee!! ย But of course, SO HUMID! ย My hair was literally converting back to my natural afro. NOOOO, it has begun.

Hong KongOh and buses here are DOUBLE DECKER. ย Not sure where else in the world there are double decked buses, but I’ve only been on double deckers in Hong Kong. ย It is also air conditioned to the right temperature, not too cold, just right. ย Along with that, there were actually monitors to show you your luggage on the first level, just in case someone wants to run away with your stuff. ย Aw HELL NO. ย Weird enough, this bus didn’t turn it on. ย So SHADY! Just kidding haha. ย The bus ride took almost an hour, but it was nice to look out the window and see my homeland.

fried riceMy uncle and I were getting a little hungry, so we ended up at the cafe just downstairs. ย We ordered “salted fish and chicken fried rice” which is one of my favourite and my go to when I have no clue what to eat. ย Sadly this one lacked flavour and salt HAHAHA. ย Like really… there was maybe five pieces of salted fish. ย The heck man!

pan fried noodlesWe also got “Singaporean style fried noodles” which is a curry flavoured fried rice noodle with ham, shrimp, onion, green onion and eggs. ย This one was tasty, I don’t know what the heck happened to the damn fried rice. ย Both dishes were $40 HKD ($5 USD), almost the same price as Canada. ย People here don’t really do take out since it cost extra to get a doggie bag. ย We had to since we couldn’t finish the food and I wanted to take the leftover fried rice home. ย I’m too Canadian haha. ย Don’t want to waste food.

sanrio gudetama9:00 pm
On the way, there was a 7-11 that we stopped at to ask about the phone cards. ย As my uncle was talking to the staff member, all I could see was this. THE GUDETAMA SHRINE! ย I sat on a 13 hour flight for this moment, this GLORIOUS MOMENT! ย LOOK AT ALL THAT GUDETAMA STUFF!! ย I didn’t want to get into it right then and there since I didn’t want to waste my uncles time, but for sure the next day I’m going to come down and SLAY. ย I turned around to walk to the apartment, praying no one crazy for gudetama were to buy everything on that shelf.

We got to the apartment in about five minutes. ย I’m completely pooped but had to unpack as fast as I could so I could brush my teeth and go to bed. ย I also met my twin nieces for the first time. ย 11 month old babies, so energetic. ย Too much for me right now HAHA. ย I’m too tired for you guys. ย Luckily they were already heading to bed. ย After I got everything organized, I knocked out. ย First day in Hong Kong, complete. ย Good night world, hello Hong Kong.

So tell me, do your country have double decker buses? ย What is it like in your airport? ย Is it as organized as Hong Kong’s? ย Let me know in the comments. ย I love hearing about your guys’ stories! ย Please do share :).

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This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. Irene

    Didn’t realize you have your own website! That’s really cool!!!
    Just curious, how did you manage to take 3 weeks off work (that seems like a really really long time)? And why do you only go on vacations every 5 to 10 years (is it your personal choice or just life)?
    Anyway, really love that your article features every detail of your trip, hope that you’ll keep updating, wanna read through your entire 3 weeks journey!
    P.S. I’m inspired to do the same myself when I return to Vancouver or travel the world in future!

    1. Christina

      Haha yep I have my own website :P.

      In Canada, well at least my company, when you work there for 1 year, you get two weeks off and after 5 years, you get 3 weeks off. As for vacation, iunno. I don’t really get to travel that much since I have to get my life in order and it just happens that way sadly. I am trying to see if I can travel more before I truly settle down but for now, I just have to save up.

      I will definitely be updating until I finish uploading my three weeks there.

      And please do make your own blog!! There are sites like wordpress or blogspot that you can use to upload your adventures not only for yourself to look back on, but for people around the world to be able to enjoy your culture and lifestyle.

  2. Trish

    We have double decker buses in Singapore too. London, New York and maybe Sydney too if my memory hasn’t failed.

    1. Christina

      OH! I want to go to Singapore for the food and I keep hearing it is a beautiful place. I did go to Singapore when I was 2, but of course… I got no memory of it haha. Thank you for telling me :).

      1. Trish

        Come visit! I’ll be happy to host you and make a new friend ๐Ÿ™‚

        1. Christina

          Haha thanks for the offer ๐Ÿ™‚

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