Fun fact: One day when I was sitting in an entrepreneurial class in biz school, I accidentally deleted my entire travel blog on Tumblr. It was traumatic to say the least. I saved a few things from the page caches (whatever that means…), and was luckily able to stalk my email and photos to figure out how to blog about this trip 21 months later.

Days OOO: 4*
*Could be 3 days if you travel over a holiday.

Budget Style: Backpacker chic with a NYC budget

I really don’t recommend doing Hong Kong in and of itself this quick and dirty… the jetlag could kill you. I tagged this trip onto trips to the Philippines and Macau for a grand total of 10 days OOO. But should you find yourself in the middle of this crazy place, here are my tips.

Getting there: American Airlines roundtrip for ~$760.
From the east coast I had a short layover in Dallas and then a lovely 17 hour trip to HKG. Wifi saved my life; I think I snapchatted hourly progress. Extreme envy of anyone who can sleep on flights. My tip for long haul flights is to always deprive yourself of movies for several months. If you fly to Asia in late February, they usually have all of the Oscar contenders ready to go.

Where I stayed: Urban Pack for around $30 a night in a female dorm. The bathrooms had pretty modern fixtures which impressed me. Very small… think New York City modern, minimalist, and cramped. The people were a little older, and maybe aged 24-30 because the city is pretty expensive. Location is right next to Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station and walkable to some of the most posh shopping in the city!

What I did:

• Big Buddha- I took the MTR to Tung Chung station which was very easy and safe, then rode the Ngong Ping 360 glass gondola to the top of a mountain. From there, I trekked to the top of the stairs and saw the Big Buddha, as well as the beautiful Po Lin Monastery.
• Victoria Peak- Skip the trolley lines and take the #15 double decker bus to the top for super cheap from the Central MTR station. The hike and views are amazing at the top, and you can grab some tea at a little cafe. I took the trolley on the way down when the lines were minimal so it was still a great experience!
• Ritz Carlton Bar- 118 floors up and the highest bar in the world. Go at night because the skyline is breathtaking! The cocktails are mad expensive. I had 2, enjoyed small talk, took my photos, and got TF out.
• Intercontinental- this I saw in my roommate’s 1000 places to see before you die book. It has a panoramic view of the city… and a pretty good cheeseburger 🙂 A friend of a friend bought me this meal so I guess it counts as a budget haha.

Other than that, I loved exploring and heading out for a night on the town with new friends. Finding a taxi at the time was near impossible and I think I was probably conned by a guy who refused to use a meter… so I hope Uber is a thing by now. Food wise… your mind will be blown. I was a little overwhelmed and sick from jetlag so I ended up getting a bowl of rice soup with chicken in it. Apparently it was a local order because I got a thumbs up! I regret not being able to eat more dumplings. Add that to my to-do list for next time!