There are countless trails in the Hong Kong area with all kinds of views from the mountains to the ocean and everything in between. Now that the weather is quite cool (between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit), hiking is comfortable and spectacular. Also, now that school is over for me, I've been trying to soak in as much adventure as I can and have done two of the most popular hikes:

Dragon's Back
Dragon's Back trail is located in the Shek-O area of Hong Kong. This area is known to have some of the most beautiful beaches. It takes about an hour from HKU by subway and bus to get to the trail head. Once you're there, you can hike as long or as short as you want, but I decided to just keep walking until the trail looped around back to the start. It was absolutely beautiful.​

Lion's Rock Peak
This hike has a reputation as a pretty difficult hike and it indeed was a bit more challenging than Dragon's Back. I like to hike alone when I'm in the mood for a good workout so I can go at my own pace, but because of how far and confusing it is to find this trailhead, I suggest going with a friend or two. Despite the many wrong turns and time spent being lost in an unfamiliar area of Hong Kong, this hike was absolutely worth it. Once I arrived at the nearest MTR station, it was around 45 minutes of walking up a steep road until I reached the trailhead. The entire time, I wondered if I was even going the right way. Even on the trail, I continued to wonder if I was in the right place (haha). Many times, I thought I was going to be lost and considered turning around but I'm so thankful that I kept going because I finally found the Lion Rock Peak! 

Little fun fact about myself -- I LOVE animals probably more than anyone I know haha, and no species are excluded. If you love them too, you should pay a visit to the Kam Shan Country Park for the monkey trail!

Immediately after getting off the bus, monkeys are everywhere! They're not shy so getting close isn't a problem but if you "accidentally" bring bananas like I did, watch your back! The monkeys know and are not afraid to snatch them from you.

Victoria Peak (a.k.a. "the peak")
Anyone who has ever searched the web for things to do in Hong Kong has found this among the top results. It's one of the main attractions as it is the tallest peak on Hong Kong Island and features a beautiful view -- especially at night. They say it's best to get up there right before sunset to watch the sky darken.

There are several hiking trails you can take to get to the peak, one of them starting at the HKU campus. We, however, were lazy one night and took the Peak Tram. The Peak Tram is close to the Central station (3 stops from HKU) and takes you straight to the top -- no work required! (haha). Once you get to the top, I was surprised to find that a shopping mall type of building occupies the peak and you have to pay extra to get to the rooftop area where the best view is. Instead, we walked around the building and found lovely views anyway.

Chinese Dessert
OK so not even exaggerating --> Chinese dessert is a game-changer! I've never had a big sweet tooth because I don't like feeling yucky after eating a big piece of cake or bowl of ice cream so I very rarely want or seek dessert. Chinese dessert, however, is not only delicious but light and (somewhat) healthy!! Here are two of the most popular:

The Mid-Autumn Festival
I'm sure most people have heard of the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, which is a celebration of the new lunar year. Chinese people also celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival! Around the city, there are several events to celebrate and there are many traditions that come with it. It's customary to eat mooncakes and watch the dragon dance on this day. We went to Victoria Park for these festivities -- great energy and happiness all around. 

The City on Sundays

Sometimes while abroad, the best thing to do is just let yourself get lost in a new part of town. You may discover a lot more than what meets the eye.

One Sunday, I ventured from my apartment to the Mong Kok area to do just that. Immediately as I walked out of the station, I noticed hundreds of people (mostly women) who seemed to be of Southeast Asian descent sitting on the floor all over the walkways. Some were on blankets or mats, some were on cardboard boxes, and others were directly on the ground. At first, I thought maybe they were selling something but as I looked closer, they were all just sitting together, sharing food, and chatting. I didn't give it too much thought until I took a tram ride on another day (which I later realized was also a Sunday) and noticed the Central area of the city filled with the same kinds of people -- sitting on the ground on mats FILLING the sidewalks common areas:

What is a foreign domestic worker?

It wasn't until I consulted with a local friend as to why these giant crowds of people fill the sidewalks on Sundays and learned that these are foreign domestic workers -- a term that I wasn't familiar with. A domestic worker is basically a maid who lives and works within a home doing general household tasks (cooking, cleaning, etc.) on Monday through Saturday. They take Sundays off and meet outside of their employer's homes to hang out with each other. The friend I consulted with has domestic worker in his household and was surprised at how shocked I was that he had a maid. Having personal maids isn't a concept that I'm used to but it seems to be extremely popular and accepted in Hong Kong. However, because of the incredible mass of people I noticed (see photos), I thought something seemed wrong with this picture and as I did more research on this topic, I learned that I wasn't the only one who thought this.

What is the industry like?

I googled it (typical haha) and discovered that foreign domestic workers make up about 3% of Hong Kong's population - about half from the Philippines, half from Indonesia, and a few from Thailand. 

I asked one of my professors who had mentioned some problems with this industry in class for more information. Many illegal activities occur in this industry including human trafficking, abuse, and the withholding of wages. He explained to me that a huge problem of this industry in Hong Kong is the employment agencies that act as a middle man between the workers and employers. These agencies often will force the workers through bonded labor by paying for the domestic worker to travel to Hong Kong and then withholding her passport and her income until she pays off the debt. Many employers are told by the agencies to withhold the earnings and pay the agencies directly until the debt is paid off which forces employers to commit the crime without even knowing.

In conclusion...

I just learned of this concept and am learning more as I do more research but sharing what we learn is always a constructive way to gain awareness about any topic. There are also many civil rights groups actively seeking transparency among this industry. It's amazing what I've learned just by making an observation and asking a question! Planning to never stop observing and questioning :D 

There are endless things to do here! I've barely scratched the surface after 1.5 months. Here are some places I've explored:

Big Buddha

Hong Kong is made up of a big chunk of land connected to mainland China, plus a bunch of islands surrounding it. One of these islands is Lantau island which is where the Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is and the Big Buddha! This huge statue is visible from the sky as you're flying in to land at HKG. I got there by hopping on the subway, or MTR, then getting on the Ngong Ping 360 cable cars that take you over mountains and oceans. It was beautiful!

Once you arrive, you walk through a little collection of shops and restaurants, then hike up a few flights of stairs to get to the Big Buddha. There are many other surrounding statues worth seeing as well as an extravagant Monastery nearby.

Repulse Bay

Since I'm from Hawai'i, it's hard to impress me with beaches. I did not have high expectations when going to Repulse Bay, and my expectations were not exceeded (haha). It was lovely scenery but the water was pretty trashy and dark greenish. When standing in the water, I could not see past my bellybutton -- yuck! Either way, it was a great time hanging out with friends and enjoying the sunshine and sunset! I heard there are better, cleaner beaches and plan to have an update for you soon! :D 

Happy Valley Racecourse

​Horse racing is a big deal in Hong Kong! Every Wednesday, Happy Valley Racecourse goes wild. It's only 10 HKD (~$1.30 USD) for entry, but betting on the horses is where you'll find yourself losing (or winning ;)) money -- if gambling is something that intrigues you. Being a poor exchange student with a finite amount of savings, gambling isn't really my thing; however, I still loved the sporty atmosphere and excitement all around!

Quarry Bay

Quarry Bay is an area on the East side of Hong Kong Island and it's famous for the Montane "mansions", which are really huge apartment buildings that gave inspiration for one of the Transformers movies. Many millennials will categorize this as an "insta-worthy" destination -- a place to take photos and post them in Instagram. I'm not sure of anything else that exists in this area, as we went specifically for these buildings. Haha, the things we do for social media!