During spring break, you might have some time off. If you are thinking of traveling somewhere internationally, it could be nice to travel someone east or as Nick Young would ask, “What about us taking an adventure east?” in Crazy Rich Asians.
Reconnecting with your roots
If you are Chinese-American and you have not been to Asia in your life, it would be a great time to go to a Chinese country to experience it for yourself, such as modern Hong Kong. The weather is a little chilly and not too hot at this time of the year. There is the convenience, safety, culture, and food. Of course, it would be ideal if you can speak Cantonese and Mandarin, as those two languages are mainly spoken (but locals prefer to speak in Cantonese than Mandarin). People do speak English here and you can get an English menu if needed in some places. Hong Kong preserves its old buildings, but there are many new buildings as well. Walking through the streets will be charming itself, but having the opportunity to interact with the people will be cherry on top of the trip.
You can never get enough of food
In America, everything is far apart and there is a need for a car. Food is everywhere, but portions are huge and there is a need for doggy bags and that would probably be dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. In this sense, there are lesser opportunities to try different food in a period of time. However, this isn’t the case for Hong Kong. The portions are smaller and there is a huge food culture here. Instead of going to the movies at Westwood or Santa Monica for a beach day, people plan to go out for food. One day it could be Dim Sum (a style of Chinese cuisine prepared as small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets) for lunch, then a famous Hong Kong style cafe like Mrs Tang Cafe for dinner. Then there is also the option for snacks like fried chicken and other small eats due to walking around a lot – starting at Goldfish Market to Sneaker Street and eventually, Lady’s Market could last for hours. The probability of getting hungry will be very high and when that happens, there are many food shops around to get yummy snacks from.
There is a lot of things to do
As I implied before, there is a lot of walking to do as everything is close to each other. The MTR (short for Mass Transit Railway) is very convenient for both locals and tourists. People barely drive in Hong Kong, even when they do have driver’s licenses. It is too expensive and unpractical to own a car in Hong Kong. So it isn’t a shocker when there are many things to do in Hong Kong. For instance, there is a lot of shopping to do. There are sneakers, imitated branded bags, goldfishes, and clothes to get from. There are a ton of varieties and when one is tired, there are plenty of beauty parlors to choose from as well. There is just an abundance of everything here. I would definitely recommend getting a massage when you are tired of walking and shopping. There is also the option to play darts for HKD 5 (about USD$0.64 at Joe’s Billards & Bar) at night or taking the ferry to see an amazing city view – filled with lights everywhere.
The Final Closer
The air ticket to Hong Kong ranges from USD$400-$700 during spring break and it is a round-trip ticket. It is not too expensive if you are planning to go on an international trip. The food and transportation will be affordable and living at hostels would be a great way to save some more money too! It’s an option, but I would definitely recommend a trip to Hong Kong and one week will be plenty of time to explore this beautiful island.
