Expedition: Hong Kong 2013cms.its.waikato.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/203576/...Cambodia,...
Transcript of Expedition: Hong Kong 2013cms.its.waikato.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/203576/...Cambodia,...
Expedition: Hong Kong 2013
Inroduction:
Nihao, Wo shi Gao Ming Jun were just a few of the phrases I had to master when I
arrived in Hong Kong. I intended to spend the next four months studying at The Chinese
University of Hong Kong in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, however
after the four most incredible months I decided to extend my stay to a total of nine
months abroad, this being one of the best decisions I have ever made. The Chinese
University of Hong Kong is situated roughly 9200km northwest from the University of
Waikato in South East Asia. I decided to study in Hong Kong to further my
understanding of the Asian culture, values and customs as this was one of the regions
within the world that I was so unfamiliar with and after just nine months abroad I could
most likely answer any question about Asia that I am faced with.
Arrival:
After spending ten great days in Sydney my semester abroad began. I jumped on a
plane from Sydney and took a 7 hour flight directly to the centre of Asia (Hong Kong).
After flying over the thousands of islands that inhabit the South China Sea, seeing the
first skyscrapers, instantly knowing that the Boeing 747 will soon land onto Hong Kong
soil. I grabbed my luggage, got my visa stamped and jumped on the first bus I saw that
was going in the “Sha-tin” direction. As I arrived at the CUHK campus, I was extremely
surprised that the university is surrounded by dense forest in one of Asia’s most densely
populated cities. I checked into the orientation hostel (Lee Woo Sing College) and
prepared myself for a big day of exploring the new and exciting city. On my first day at
CUHK I got extremely lost on campus, found out that most people do not speak English
and that I was not completely prepared to venture of by myself. After finding my way
around and meeting some other exchange students with the same troubles, we
ventured towards Hong Kong Island and entered the vibrant city centre. Hong Kong is
completely different to any other city that I have ever been to. Due to the extremely
high real-estate costs every building is at least 30 stories high and it is difficult to find
buildings that are not considered sky scrapers, thus being completely different to my
hometown of Whangarei. Being a little unadventurous at first, my new found friends
and I decided the safest lunch would be McDonalds, when entering McDonalds we
discovered that it is indeed the cheapest place to eat in all off Hong Kong, with Big Mac
combos valued at a low NZD $2.50, at first this was a dream come true but after
multiple visits to this fantastic franchise I had to crawl out of my shell and be fearless
when it came to tasting the local cuisine. After the first fortnight I was pretty convinced
that I had at least tasted every animal known to man ranging from pigeon – snake –
cuttlefish mouth – suckling pig – an assortment of offal.
After a few days of orientating myself and making a whole bunch of new friends, I
moved out of the orientation hall and moved into I-house, where I would be spending
the next nine months. I stumbled into my new home and instantly thought to myself
that this might take some time getting used too. International House was the oldest
among all the halls of residence, everything seemed as if it was at least 50-60 years old.
However you slowly adjusted and learned to love the place and make it feel as homely
as possible. As well as I-house’s antique furniture, the place came with a bunch of new
rules and regulations that every student must follow, I felt as if I had stumbled back into
my first year of university following the rules of Student Village. Rules ranged from no
overnight visitors - no noise after 10pm.
Before arriving in Hong Kong, I had already pre-selected all the papers I wanted to take
at the University. When I arrived at my 8am class on Monday morning, being the very
first day of academic adventure as well as the earliest time I had woken up in the last 3
weeks, I came to the realisation that I was the only western student in the lecture
theatre. It took a few more moments for me to realise that the language the lecturer
spoke was indeed not English and that I may have made a small mistake when it came
to choosing my papers. Luckily during the first two - three weeks of the semester they
have an add/drop period where students were urged to attend any papers that they
were interested in as well as giving students the capability to change papers that did
not interest them. Luckily for this otherwise I would have been stuck with “Managerial
Accounting” all semester.
The university was located roughly 40 minutes out of the city centre, in the luscious
green mountains of Kowloon. Buses were available to all students, free of cost to travel
around the university. It would roughly take 30 minutes to walk from one side of the
campus towards the other making it necessary for public transport at the University.
Being located 40 minutes out of the CBD in the mountains ensured that the students
had the perfect mix between the vibrant city CBD and the nature New Zealanders are
used to. The Chinese University of Hong Kong also has a magnificent lake (filled with
hundreds of colourful fish and turtles) and a park where students would relax when the
university has had their toll on them. The first month was soon over and it had been
both the scariest and best month of my life so far. Everything you did was something
new, everything you saw was something new, even everything you ate and drank was
something completely new, it was incredible.
My experience:
Hong Kong is a country that is both influenced heavily by the west and the east thus
benefiting us students as there are a significant amount of public holidays. During these
holidays it gives you a perfect excuse to travel to the neighbouring countries such as
China, Taiwan, Philippines, and Thailand. The University is only 30 minutes away from
the Chinese border of Shenzhen. Shenzhen is one of China’s major shopping hubs with
huge department stores where you can buy anything you can even dream of for
ridiculously low prices, however you must learn to haggle otherwise you may not get
the better end of the transaction. Traveling just 30 minutes to Shenzhen is a complete
change in scenery. You will notice that you are the only westerner insight and that you
receive a lot of attention from the locals.
My first trip was to Taipei (Taiwan). Flights to Taiwan are incredibly cheap. I only stayed
there for 4 days (over a long weekend). My favourite thing about Taiwan were probably
the night markets, filled with hundreds of different assortments of Asian delicatessen
for low prices. Another awesome activity to do in Taiwan is prawn fishing, indoor
prawn pools that are open 24/7, where the local Taiwanese spend time after work
relaxing, drinking a few beers and catching their dinner. Fishing for prawns was much
more difficult than anticipated and we ended up spending about 3 hours there with
about 2 prawns/per hour. However the constant supply of beers made it worth it.
If you decide to travel to Taiwan I would highly recommend the prawn fishing, eating
everything your stomach can handle at the night markets, traveling to the cultural town
of Juifen or even traveling east to go for a surf in the freezing cold Taiwanese waters.
After deciding to extend my stay in Hong Kong, and not flying home, I had one month to
spare before the next semester started. I purchased a cheap 70L backpack and a one-
way ticket to Vietnam with the intention of backpacking through all of Vietnam,
Cambodia, and Thailand. I only had 23 days so I created a travel itinerary that consisted
of 11 cities in three different countries. I travelled on an extremely tight budget,
however both Vietnam and Cambodia were more than affordable that I was able to
purchase three course dinners for under NZD$5, relieving me of any financial burdens. I
started my travels in Hanoi, Vietnam and then continued on to Halong Bay and Hue.
Within 5 days I had seen more temples, mausoleums, museums that any human could
bear and decided take a few days break in the incredible village of Hoi Ann. Hoi Ann is a
romantic seaside village in Vietnam and probably my favourite place out of all my
travels. Hoi Ann is simply so peaceful and beautiful.
My journey soon continued, I jumped on a 16 hour night train to Ho Chi Minh City, the
largest city in Vietnam. I spent a few days in HCM city before I crossed the border into
Cambodia, luckily I had received my visa prior my departure and making it simple to
travel across borders. I spent a short time in Phnom Penh, learning about the
Cambodian genocide, visiting various museums and killing fields where 40% of the
Cambodian population were killed during the Pol Pot regime only 40 years ago. I soon
travelled to Sihanoukville to spend a few days on the Cambodian islands to receive my
long needed tan. We rented tree huts on the private island of Koh teh Kiev and spent a
few days relaxing there.
My trip was soon coming to an end with only one week left, I travelled north to Siem
Reap to visit both the famous Angkor Wat and the pub street. Angkor Wat was
incredible, it put every other temple I had ever seen to shame and possibly ruin the
enjoyment of ever seeing another temple. Angkor Wat is a must see sight as it is simply
mind blowing. I spent my new years in Bangkok (what a night!) and then travelled to
Koh Chang spending my last three days on the beach and alongside the crystal clear
water. After traveling for 23 days, jumping straight back into university, was a shock but
I was happy to be home.
The second semester was again completely different. Most of your friends you made
during the first semester left and a whole new bunch of people arrived. It only took a
short while till you made new friends and the adventure started al over again. The
second semester gives you a chance to do all the things you didn’t get to do the first
semester and successfully conquer Hong Kong’s must sees’, do’s’, eats’.
The second semester flew by and my time in Hong Kong was soon over. I would never
have believed that in this short time I had already had the best year of my life and
feared that nothing else could ever compete with the year I had. Going on an exchange
was the best decision I have ever made as it’s truly has shown me that there is so much
more out there and so much more that I want to see. One of the best things about
going on an exchange is that you end up having friends all over the world and where
ever you go, you know there is someone there that will be able to accommodate you
and look after you.
A Few Final Tips Before You Leave:
It is crucial that you organise your Studylink and credit transfer before departing New
Zealand as this will save you a lot of time and frustration.
Organise a multi entry visa to China in New Zealand as this will save you the hassle and
cost of getting a single entry every time you decide to travel up north.
Take every opportunity that is handed to you. Especially the teaching trip to Zengcheng,
China. It is such a great weekend where you learn so much about the Chinese culture as
well as teach English in a Chinese classroom.
Overall I would highly recommend going on an exchange, it will end up being the best
decision you have ever made as it was mine. It gives you the opportunity to see a part
of the world that you have never experienced before, make a bunch of new friends and
study at a completely different university where you can cross credit all the papers you
do. I would like to thank the University of Waikato, for giving me this opportunity and
urge any other students out there to do the same.