Vacay in the City: Hong Kong Diaries

First published in https://blog.gofro.com/vacation_in_hong_kong/

The waves lap onto your feet, as you sit on the beach watching the sunset with a drink in one hand and a book in another. The temperature is a pleasant 24C and the sea breeze wafts over your face as you spot a bunch of surfers trying to catch a hot wave.

The first places that comes to your mind when you read this narrative would possibly be Capetown, Hawaii, Bahamas or Mauritius. You would be wrong. This is a scene from Deep Water Bay, a beach which lies at a 15-minute ride from the center of the densest city on the planet, Hong Kong.

Scene 2: You are in the courtyard of a monastery, which houses over 10,000 Buddha statues, and is surrounded by trees in the middle of a country park. It is prayer time and you can hear the chanting of the monks as the fragrance of incense fills the doorway to the main sanctum. Again, this is not a scene from Bali, Thailand or the foothills of the Himalayas, but from the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery on the Kowloon mainland of Hong Kong

These aren't urban legends, but actual descriptions of my "vacationing" in Hong Kong. Well, that should sound like a normal description of a vacation spot, after all Hong Kong is among the world's most visited city by tourist, but I am a resident of Hong Kong, a place I call home.

Quite often, it is normal for most of us to want to get away from the city we live in to go to another place for a break/vacation. And as a consequence, a lot of planning and head-racking is done to determine where to head, where to stay, what activities to do etc.,. Most of these visits are more tiring to plan than the actual plan itself. And in the need to maximize our break, we tend to go all out expanding our energy such that we come back wanting a vacation to recover from the one we went to.

The vacation in the city can be and is a great option when all you are looking for is a break. Most holidays are born out of the necessity or desire to have a break from what we are doing. And I am not talking about those bucket list trips and experiences one plans every other year or so. Those need to be planned and experienced, after all the wanderlust in our generation is the most defined on traits.

Besides the different types of beaches, Hong Kong has many islands that surround it, each with a distinct culture and flavour to it. From the famous sea Food of Lamma Island to the Sunday markets of Discovery Bay. The gorgeous Sunsets witnessed in Cheung Chau, to the camping one can do on Grass Island. If the holiday is because of a local festival, there is likely to be some form of parade and festivities for the festival in each of these islands in varying degree.

If it is not island hopping you are in the mood of, but rather hiking during the non-summer months, then there are many hikes which can be covered under a day, with a choice of super easy with beautiful views at Dragon's Back to the challenging and extremely rewarding Lantau Peaks. 

This goes hand in hand with the exciting night life that Hong Kong offers, from the non-stop action in the lanes of Lan Kwai Fung on the Hong Kong island to the bustling Nutsford terrace in Tsim Sha Tsui. Add to that an amazing variety of food styles from across the world blending with the aromas of Asia, you have a perfect balance.

The above is a story of Hong Kong, but a lot of this can be seen across the world in many cities. We often take a vacation to get away from where we are living and take a break. What we sometimes forget, is that all we are looking for is a break from what we do daily and if we look around, there are enough experiences near us that don’t require the hassle of travel, while providing us with a new experience in the city we live in. You don’t have to be a wanderlust, you just need a place to wander…..

#blogger #travel #HongKong #Asia #wanderlust

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For more of the photos, vist my page: The Eye of The Panda_HK