Arriving on Christmas Eve after months of freezing temperatures in Europe and North Asia, the warmth of Hong Kong was a welcome relief. Less welcome was the hostel room - which was genuinely the size of a wardrobe. We lasted about five minutes before booking a nearby hotel and treating ourselves to a proper Christmas.
Christmas Day was spent with dim sum, a phone call home to the family, and soaking up the sun in a nearby park - the first time in over two months that I’d experienced weather above 8 degrees. The rest of the week was a mix of eating, exploring and hiking. We took the ferry between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, tried the famous beef brisket at Kau Kee, and hiked up to Suicide Cliff - which was significantly harder than expected and took about 5 hours after we got wrong directions from a father and son duo.
I caught up with Ricky, a local friend, who turned out to be great company. She knew all the best spots and even gave me a photo she’d taken with her Lomo camera as a parting gift. LKF delivered on the nightlife front too - rooftop drinks at Ce La Vi and some late-night bars rounded out the week. Hong Kong is one of those cities where you could eat a different incredible meal every hour for a month and barely scratch the surface.