The last couple days in December and the first two weeks of January passed by in lightning speed. The first couple weeks in December was mostly spent in Fort McMurray for work and on my last shift I worked a couple days extra just to make sure there were no issues, although I still question the reasoning of me being there. Then one week was spent in Edmonton where I got to catch up with some friends, see my parents who were over here visiting. Then on December 29, 2008, I embarked on a journey out east, to two places I’ve always wanted to go pretty badly. And it was a journey with friends, one that I’ve not done much of.
Actually, come to think of it, I have not done much vacations period. Places I’ve been to are limited. I hear stories of someone’s travel and most of the time, I am envious. So I am glad I have some stories I can share to my family and friends. Below is a very brief account of that trip.
Destination Hong Kong and Tokyo were made well in advance, 2nd quarter of 2008 to be exact. Once I had booked that ticket going to Hong Kong, I had known it’ll be good times, no matter how I look at it. I wasn’t too excited about it at first because it was a couple months before I get to go on vacation. However, as the date creeps nearer, my excitement grew, up until the point where the plane took off and land at the Hong Kong International Airport.
Was only in Hong Kong for 2 days before I had to leave the place again, temporarily, for the 2nd destination of my vacation, Tokyo. Now, I have always been infatuated with the Japanese culture for the longest time and am quite excited to finally have the chance to visit the country.
Tokyo is quite the amazing city to be in, the shear amount of people jam packed in a city is amazing! Being born in Brunei and only being in Edmonton for a couple years, I’ve never experienced such a dense population. I was uncomfortable at first but slowly got used to it. Food, sights, other sights, and shopping in Tokyo was really fun and unique and good of course. I will not go into details of the things that has happened in the trip as that would take forever, just know that I’ve gotten to experience the culture of the Japanese people, a lot of them being very polite and nice and gentle, almost to the point where I feel bad not leaving a tip.
From Tokyo, I headed back to Hong Kong where I’ll be spending the week! Hong Kong has a similar population density as Tokyo, however, the people in Hong Kong aren’t as genuine nor gentle as the ones I had experienced in Tokyo, so again, I have to get myself assimilated into their way of life. Life as a Hong Kong person is always none stop and it’s a go go go, and a cutthroat environment to work in. I, for one, don’t think I am cut out to live there as I think I will get eaten alive! Otherwise, the food, shopping and stuff is as cheap as cheap can be! I’ve also found out that trying to spend all my money is apparently hard, when I don’t know what I am looking for!
Aside from Hong Kong and Tokyo, I also had the chance to visit a city in China, Shenzhen. Now, I’ve heard a lot of bad things about the city and I was hesistant at first, to follow my friend up there. However, upon disembarking the bus, it changed my view of the city right away. In my mind, Shenzhen is a run down city with a lot of shady places and buildings. It was totally opposite of what I had imagined. Towering skyscrapers, amazing architectural buildings would rival that of any city in Canada. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw and I had a wonderful time in that city. Only spent a day and a night there in total, I would definitely like to revisit that city in the future, to explore more. Did I mention that shopping, eating in Shenzhen is cheaper than that of Hong Kong, and I already considered Hong Kong to be dirt cheap
When it was time to leave Hong Kong, yes, I did feel heavy hearted and sad that my Vacation is coming to an end(only because I know that when I return, I’ll be coming to Fort McMurray for work), on the other hand, I was also ready to come home. To be away from home for 18 days, and walking around so much, there was no chance to really stop and relax! I had thought to myself that I needed a vacation to just recover from this vacation! This trip has opened my eyes as to how other countries operate, how people from different style of life lives. I can say that I have absorbed a lot from this experience and its something I would share to everyone! It has also make me want to visit other places more and plan on travelling a lot more, because that’s where my interests lie, to see lots and lots of different places, and eat!
But to summarize this trip, I came, I played, I shopped, I ate, I saw! It was everything I had hoped for and even more.
posted by bcaiwong @ 10:33 a.m.
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