Hong Kong
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First things to do in Hong Kong
By Gemma Dignam (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) Hong Kong surprised me with its endless list of things to do. Even though I expected it to be a small, dense city, it also has beaches, hikes and islands to visit to keep you entertained for the whole year. When you first arrive, you’ll probably want to spend time settling into your accommodation, meeting new people and walking around the city which might be a bit overwhelming. Here are some places I recommend visiting in your first weeks, to get started!
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Sustainability at HKU
By Gemma Dignam (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) When I arrived at HKU, I was interested to find out if it was a sustainable campus and what I could get involved in regarding the environment. Here’s what I’ve learnt this year and what you can expect if you decide to go on exchange at HKU.
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Sustainable Eating in Hong Kong
By Gemma Dignam (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) One of my favourite parts of living in Hong Kong was the food, but I quickly realised that the food and eating culture here was not very sustainable. It was quite different to my experience in the UK, where I would cook at home and eat out very little. However, in Hong Kong it’s the opposite! Grocery shopping is quite expensive and the kitchen space is quite small in any accommodation, and this along with a busy schedule would mean that most meals you tend to eat out, as this is quite cheap. However, I did notice it came with some…
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Travelling sustainably in Hong Kong
By Gemma Dignam (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) One of the highlights of going on exchange is getting to travel in your spare time, whether that be in your host country, or visiting neighbouring countries or cities. Due to Covid restrictions still being in place in Hong Kong, we are not able to travel abroad without hotel quarantining on our return- which is not an option on our student budget and schedule! Although this was disappointing to most of us exchanges who wished to travel to surrounding countries, we quickly realised the extent of travel options within Hong Kong itself- and most of them can be done in a…
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Quarantining in Hong Kong
By Yiannis Kyriacou (University of Hong Kong) After a 9-hour flight finally landing in Hong Kong, it brought a huge sigh of relief that I had finally made it after all the trouble and work needed to get here. As soon as you get off the plane, it becomes clear that there are still some things that need to be done before you can enjoy what Hong Kong has to offer. That is the two-week quarantine and the covid testing in the airport. It took me four hours of waiting for my covid test at the airport before I could finally be transported to my designated quarantine hotel, which felt…
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Hong Kong: Settling in and Moving Out
Orientation day For my first full day in Hong Kong, it was the orientation and registration day at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), so I was thrown straight into travelling on the MTR! Luckily, the Metro to the University could not be easier- lasting about 20 minutes to the HKU stop, which is right on campus. Travel on all public transport uses the Octopus card, (Hong Kong’s answer to London’s Oyster card), so is a necessity before using the MTR. This is easy enough to purchase from the customer service desk, and top-up at all MTR stops. Not only is the Octopus card used for transport, but can be…
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Hong Kong: Arrival
George Peach (University of Hong Kong) I was particularly nervous on the night before my flight, thinking about every possible scenario for my journey. Could flights be cancelled? Would Hong Kong airport be closed? Would Hong Kong be plagued by endless protesting? Would I lose all my things at baggage claim? Would I enjoy my time in Hong Kong? Would I want to return to the UK straight away?
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Emotional aftermath
By Nooa Karlo ((previously) University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) After finishing my studies in the University of Hong Kong, following the last deadline I had for term paper submissions on the 24th of May, I soon left to travel in South Korea and Japan for almost three weeks. Now, I suppose I could talk about that time, because there certainly would be a lot to talk about, evidenced by over 2000 pictures I took while travelling. But looking back at things now that it’s been a few months since I returned home and now that there’s an entire summer between Hong Kong and me reveals that I really do…
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Looking back on academic differences and moving on to whatever’s next
By Nooa Karlo (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) It’s finally the end. After a long four and half months, I’ll be leaving Hong Kong on Monday morning. It really doesn’t feel as long when looking back on the final day, though. It feels like the exam period that’s lasted for the past four weeks represents a kind of escalation in the perceived speed at which days have been passing. I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels this way. Everyone’s busy during exams, and I was especially so because I had so many modules that required final papers instead of exams, and the deadlines for those papers were…
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Doing everything vs. staying sane
By Nooa Karlo, (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) There’s a common and stereotypical image of exchange students as these endlessly spirited and energetic creatures that will take every and any chance to find new experiences and opportunities. They’re people who are always smiling, going out, organising and participating in activities, partying, exploring and experiencing. Sometimes this also includes studying hard, sometimes not. In any case, it has been clear to me from the beginning that I did not fit well into this image.
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Some first impressions of Hong Kong, coloured by secondary reflections
By Nooa Karlo (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) It took me a long time to start writing this text, which goes to show how busy I have been with various things after arriving.
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Field Trip Opportunities
Riva Japaul/Anthropology/CUHK One of the things that I love at CUHK is how many field trips we go on. I loved the latest one I went on so much that I’m now writing my final paper on it. The field trip we went on was to visit Operation Dawn, a faith-based drug rehabilitation centre. Operation Dawn is situated on Dawn Island, an incredible remote island. The journey to the field trip only enhanced my love for Hong Kong, as our lecturer hired out a private boat to take us across to the water to the island. The hour long journey was amazing as it was a really sunny day and we…
