A Day that Peaked

What started out as "let's go hiking" turned out to be the best day ever!

"Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand."

A bunch of UNC friends decided to go hiking to Victoria's Peak, one of the most iconic spots in Hong Kong. Our taxi driver ended up just taking us to the very top, so it wasn't much of a hike lolll. Alex mentioned that it felt like we were in The Amazing Race when we were navigating directions and plans:) The view at the top was nonetheless gorgeous, even for a hazy day. You can see the central downtown area of Hong Kong!

So pretty:)

They have a ton of touristy spots here as well, so we also went inside the shopping areas. We even saw a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant and a floor with only dog-care-items.

We saw this cute post card spot where you can not only mail out a postcard, but you can choose what day you want it to be delivered (anniversaries, birthdays, etc). Thought it was so cute!

When we went outside, my serotonin levels were through the roof when I saw my dream come true: BUBBLE WAFFLES! I heard about these things years ago in Chinese class, and I decided I just had to get one! Of course I got the chocolate one:)

Delicious! Now that I had eaten enough sugar for the day (or week tbh haha), we were ready for more of a hike. We saw a big hill and decided to keep walking "to get to the top top of the Peak."

Saw so many pretty hibiscus flowers, bamboo, and pretty palm trees.

"One little hill" turned out to be the best decision we made that day!!! A steep incline led us to Victoria Peak Gardens, the most beautiful place I've seen here so far.

But the beauty didn't stop there!! We saw couples getting married, families and their children playing with bubbles, a kid learning how to roller skate, and groups of friends having extravagant picnics and photoshoots. This, my friends, is the best spot for a super cute picnic. (Noted: wear something nice next time instead of hiking clothes hahaha).

We then kept going up the hill, and as golden hour was approaching, we were pretty hungry so we bought some xiao mai (little dumplings with meat inside). They were amazing!

We enjoyed the golden hour and laughed, chatted, and took tons of pictures.

To watch the sunset, we found a little spot that turned out to be the perfect angle. George took a time lapse of the sunset too and it was so wholesome to experience. Everything was going our way today, even the crosswalks turning green every time we approached them! :)

Then we took in the city at night, even more beautiful than the day.

After enjoying the views, we took a tram down to Central and found an 8-person 北京烤鸭 meal (sorry I had to flex the Chinese skills haha). It was only about $10 USD per person, but it was a FEAST. We got to go since you can't dine-in past 6pm due to covid, and we found a little bench and, well, feasted. We got peking duck (literally 2 whole ducks!), noodles, vegetables, and more. It was amazing. As if the night couldn't get any better, we also went and joined some of the Danes at a rooftop garden. Bars are closed, but this is an outside bar where you can bring your own alcohol. I forgot to take a picture of it, but I tried a HK classic drink, which was basically a seltzer. It's so chill here--they don't have any rules against open-carry alcohol, which is a new experience to try haha.

Overall, the perfect day! Travel is the best when you pick a location and then spontaneously live the rest of the moments.

xoxo