Hong Kong Layover

Hello to my very small following on the interwebs...

I am back in Doha for my second year!
As I embark on my last (possibly?) year in the sandbox, I am feeling more comfortable and more self aware. Read More...

When I booked my tickets home for the summer and back, I had this really great idea. 

I would book a long layover somewhere cool and exotic and have one last escape before heading back to school. Hong Kong it was!

I must have forgotten my one true love in life: sleep.

After a 13 hour plane ride and arriving at 7 in the morning, the last thing I really wanted to do was wander around in the hot and humid downtown of Hong Kong. I think I walked around for about 10 minutes before slinking back, sweating, to the lobby of my hotel before settling in on the couches and staring at the receptionist until they let me check in early.

I took a lovely all afternoon nap before heading out to watch the famed light show over the harbor.

It was a little crowded.

To be honest, being stuck in a huge crowd and watching a couple lights flash around wasn't really my thing, so I set off down Nathan Road.
Which was just as crowded.

So I bought a mango jelly drink and went back to my hotel. Good thing I payed extra for the view!

The next morning, I headed out for the Victoria Peak Tram.

The views from the top were totally worth it! And I have to say- I felt completely comfortable using my selfie stick! I traveled with it all through Europe and felt like a total tool every time I reluctantly pulled it out.
But in Asia- it's cool! Everyone had them and I was in the majority.

Although some people did take pity on me and took my picture.

After hopping on the Star Ferry back over to Kowloon, I grabbed my bags from the hotel and headed to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha before going back to the airport.

To get up to the Buddha, you get to take this lovely little cable car. When I purchased my ticket, the lady asked "Glass bottom?"
Hell no.

Thanks to the windy Hong Kong weather, I swayed around by myself on the almost 30 minute ride up. But at least the bottom wasn't (seemingly) open.

Eventually I made it to solid ground.

Where there were cows wandering around.

And some pretty awesome statues...

that led up to a pretty fabulous view. As I am still nursing my forever sprained ankle, it was a bit dissapointing to see how many steps led up to the Buddha statue. I admired it from the bottom of the hill before wandering around the rest of the Po Lin Monastery.

Although I might have regretted my decision at the beginning to book an extra two days in Hong Kong, I am really glad I did. Seeing this part of Asia has been my goal in the last few months, so it is awesome to check it off my list, although I know I could have spent a lot more time exploring.

 So concludes my summer of making my way around the world. 

Around the globe in almost exactly two months!

Being back in Doha after everything I have done this summer is surreal. In some ways, it has made me appreciate my situation more. I missed my apartment and I missed my friends. I missed ordering Thai Corner and dare I say I missed wandering Villagio?

Most of all- I missed not living out of a backpack. Although I do love my REI backpack, I missed clothes that aren't wrinkled and I missed having a routine. I would love to be a professional nomad but I almost craved going back to work where I know what I need to do and I know where I need to be. Doha may not be the most hospitable place to be, but for the time being, its home.