How to become an Aussie girl ;)

We met with Heini at the airport on Tuesday 6th. The flight to Milan was ok and steady, but after arriving to Milan airport, I have to admit that it would have been much easier to just stay in Italy…Anyway, the connection flight to Hong Kong was delayed with 5 hours and almost every other flight were canceled, so we had to be grateful that ours was not. Flight to Hong Kong was ok, but too long. They had some tv problems so me and Heini had to seek new seats if we wanted to see some movies. The service was excellent, all the time the crew brought some food (which was actually eatable), and the crew was very nice.

When we arrived to Hong Kong in the morning on Wednesday 7th, the “culture shock” hit us. We had to take train in order to go the baggage pick up, so it was a bit larger airport than in Helsinki… We thought we were clever to change some Chinese renmimbis beforehand, but when trying to buy tickets to our hotel, we found out that Hong Kong has its own currency. So we had to change the money anyway. We found our hotel easily, and the room was nice. I was actually surprised how well everything is signed in both Chinese and English letters, so as a tourist it was comfortable to travel with the public transportation or by walking. My first thoughts of Hong Kong were: 1) Noisy 2) lots of high buildings 3) too much people 4) very high pollution. The people were really nice and helpful, and we got along with English. The first day we just walked around the city and visited some shops (almost 90% of the shops were Gucci, Prada etc high fashion brands, these we did not visit as our backpacker budget cannot afford it). In the shopping center we got useful tips from our personal info girl who we called via “stand”(a wall where I pressed one button after which the girl appeared in the TV screen), this showed us that we are most certainly in the technology land! Funny little things that we do not have in Finland (or in Europe)… The weather was too much for me: everyday approx 31 degrees PLUS the thick pollution air with different bad smells in it..USCH! Inside the shopping centers was then almost too cold, since the air conditions were always in maxi speeds.

The second day we met our “local guide” Mikko, who was very very kind to show us places. We started by having a lunch on the roof terrace with some nice organic food (I took pumpkin soup with bread, yam!). We then headed to see the world`s biggest sitting Buddha, and climbed too many stairs  After the Buddha, we travelled back to the center to have a healthy tee (mine contained 20 different herbs, it tasted s***, but it made me feel good), and I also visited a Chinese doctor to see how she diagnoses me. She tried my pulse and wanted to see my tongue, after which she made some questions. The result; I have bad digestion system, and bad blood circulation (both of which are very true!!). She wanted me to have some acupuncture and buy some herbs, but I stayed for too short time to be cured. Anyway, I was impressed by this short consultation since I have been trying to find out what is wrong with my stomach for so many years now, and tried so many things, and yet; no results..I honestly believe the correct herbs could be the answer! After the doctor we went for dinner in nice Vietnamese restaurant where we had to show our skills with eating with the chopsticks. The beginning was difficult, but I managed to finish my soup just by using the chopsticks, hurraaa! After the dinner, we went to Victoria Peak mountain to see the city by night with its thousands of lights and signs..The view was amazing! The 12 hour day was finished with nice drinks at the harbor and walk by the avenue of stars (featuring Jackie Chan, of course). I really want to thank Mikko for being so nice and kind, it meant a lot!! Thanks mate!

The last day me and Heini just packed our bags and visited the city for short time, after which the flight to Sydney was already waiting.. To make conclusion of Hong Kong; it is really big city with many contradictions (in my opinion), but the people are nice. Would I be able to live there? No! But it is definitely worth of experiencing!
The airplane to Sydney was full, so we were not able to sleep at all (just watching movies and eating). The last three hours were constant turbulence, so after arriving to Sydney airport, we were two walking zombies (which I am still a bit). The Jetlag certainly has affected a bit, and also traveling is hard, I don`t want to fly anywhere in the near future!
What was amazing when we stepped outside the airport was that both me and Heini felt immediately we were “home”. Sydney (and I guess Australia in general) is very laid back, people super friendly and I feel here is everything one needs to have a nice life..so guys, I have a good feeling about this!!!! Might want to stay for a bit longer 😉
The first night we went to Toga party organized by the hostel we are staying in, but we left quite early since we are still very tired. It was fun to make a party dress out of sheet, and have to admit, we were quite good at it! Today it is our second day in Sydney, and I am feeling a bit sick, hopefully it passes soon! We went to Haymarket for some cheap bargain, washed our laundry, and hopefully the internet works tonight as I want to talk to my lovely mates and family in Finland, miss you already! So until next time..
G`day mates!!! xxx

P.s the photos I wanted to load were too big for this site, Gonna try later again..Or see my Facebook profile!