11 Jul My First Days in Hong Kong
So I’m finally here! I arrived with a fellow Absolute intern sitting in front of me on the flight but I didn’t have a clue! So FYI, join the Facebook group before you come so you can pair up with other interns – it’s a long flight from London! We waited for the other interns for a few more hours which gave me a chance to get to know the ten or so other interns who had already arrived. After only knowing them for an hour or so, I already knew this month was going to be a lot of fun.
When we left the airport, I felt like I had been slapped by the heat! I was really excited for the coach journey to the hotel to get my first glimpse of the Hong Kong skyscrapers but we were all so shattered that we went out like a light!
After we got settled into what would become our ‘home sweet home’ for the next month, sorted out SIM cards, Octopus cards and Absolute Internship T-shirts, we managed to pack a whole load of activities in before our first day at work! One activity was the bus tour of Hong Kong. Even though it was raining it didn’t dampen our spirits (excuse the pun). We then took to a (much!) higher view of Hong Kong by visiting Victoria Peak. We went by the steepest tram I have ever experienced (so I closed my eyes for half of it!). Though, once we got to the top it was well worth the ride – the skyline of Hong Kong is absolutely incredible! Plus, that was on a foggy day, so I’m looking forward to going up again to see it in its full glory. We also visited the Avenue of Stars. To be honest, the only name I recognised was Bruce Lee, but it was fun all the same to pose with the figures! Moreover, we went to TST to see the light show across the Hong Kong skyline!
To top off the weekend we enjoyed a couple of group dinners. We were thrown right in the deep end with chopsticks and local delicacies. Once I got past the smell and look of the fermented eggs, it was full steam ahead! The only disappointment in the food department is that it seems that sweet dishes aren’t very common and I have such a sweet tooth, but my waistline will be grateful.
When Monday rolled in, my roommate and I were a mixture of nerves and excitement, so we both got up super early (but that habit lasted for about two days). Thankfully, to calm the nerves, on your first day at work, everybody gets dropped off to their office and introduced to their manager. So you can’t use the “I got lost!” excuse from here on in if you’re ever late for work. Luckily where I work is just a twenty minute journey from the hotel and I have the option to go by foot, MTR, taxi or tram, so I plan to mix it up throughout the month. I particularly like the trams as they’re the only double decker ones I have ever seen! Not to mention, it’s super cheap. The MTR is clean and really easy to use because there are signs for everything and it helps that they’re all in English. Whereas, it can sometimes be a challenge to get to your destination via taxi because of the language barrier. I find having the card of the place you want to go to or mentioning a major landmark near to your destination helps!
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