Tai Mo Shan 台磨山

Did you know that that the Chinese character "shan" 山 actually looks like the word it describes: mountain?

"Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world."

Idk who's idea it was to go camping on Chinese New Year day (actually I do know hehe), but it ended up being amazing! We went to the same mountain Mr. Zhang took us (Tai Mo Shan), the highest peak in Hong Kong. We bought a tent and sleeping bags the day before, and we hopped in a cab and were on our way. YALL our cab driver had some rooooaaaad raaage let me tell you! He kept complaining about how slow the car in front of him was driving, and as soon as that slow car left, he was ZOOMING and literally missed where he was supposed to turn. At one point he came inches from hitting a pedestrian crossing the road. I was getting a little queasy from being in the backseat with a mask on my face and crunched next to Emily, Allison, and our bags. When he was driving up the main hill to get to the mountain, it was so crowded people were yelling at him that you couldn't keep going, that you had to turn around. I was getting pretty impatient from being in the car, and I was relieved when we could get out. I stormed ahead, lugging my backpack full of stuff and shouldering another bag with our snacks (we cooked up some yummy quinoa salad, some classic PB&J, and a tonnn of junk food snacks and fruit).

Allison called out to me to pace myself since it was an hour hike to the top, but I just went for it. I later told Emily I was mad for no reason and in the ZoZone--sometimes I just try to shut up and bear it when I'm not having it. We saw a wild boar on our way up to the top--a big Pumba.

We made it to the top just as the sun was about to set, an it was pretty chilly out so I put on my hoodie. We joined the CBS girls who were already eating their McDonalds and cracking open some beers. We all made several pee runs before the guys got there lol.

I took a few gopro videos but not many pictures overall since I was simply living in the moment! We set up our tents, chatted, blasted music, and had a great time overall! We learned a fun Danish drinking game where your reward is to drink😂 Don't tell them, but I cheated and used the same can of cider for all three rounds hahahaha. They'd hate that if they knew ;) You divide up into two teams, then throw a toilet paper roll (lol what a strong start to this game) at a water bottle in the middle. When it falls down, your team drinks as fast as you can until the other team sends someone to set it back up. After the game, we played a few more times then just hung out. We had a big dance circle and they shared a Danish song with us called What a Life by Scarlett Pleasure. It's super catchy and now every time I hear that song I'll be reminded of this night in Hong Kong. Since it was super super cold at night we had mini cuddle-huddle circles where we wrapped blanket around all of us to stay warm. At one point Emily and I went for a really long walk at night up to the top of the mountain and looked over the entire Hong Kong area. It took my breath away!! You could see mainland China, Lantau Island, TST, Central, Tai Po, etc. It's amazing! I'm not even gonna share a picture since that wouldn't do it justice--plus it's such a special memory for me:) We had a super deep conversation, and it's moments like these that have me so grateful to have Emily as a friend!! I'm super glad she's on this trip and that we can experience these moments together. I had to pee like a million times in the woods and this in itself became a bonding experience😂😂 Outward Bound isn't ready for us😂

I will share a little pic of when we first arrived to the top of the mountain:

After getting essentially no sleep since we stayed up so late and were kinda freezing, we awoke and hiked to the top to see the sunrise. One of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen!! Dozens of people were lined up with their cameras to take the time lapse videos and pictures. I have a bunch of videos on my gopro that I'll share later! Such a wholesome feeling to experience. Had to borrow someone's picture to share since I was so in awe in the moment that I didn't take any pictures (and my phone was dead let's be honest hahaha). Let it take your breath away too!

xoxo