“Where are you going for reading week?”
By the second week in HKU, I had been asked this question a million times. As the naïve exchange student that I am, I was confused as to what this “reading week” actually is. I sought out to figure it out.
Reading week is a 7-day break from classes, very similar to our Spring break or Thanksgiving break at Northeastern. I had picked the only school in Hong Kong that gives students a week in the middle of the semester to do whatever they want. We were free from classes, clubs and other responsibilities… GO HKU!
So, guess what I did? If you guessed travelled; you’re absolutely right.
I have expressed how much I want to travel while I am in Hong Kong so immediately I found out, I started researching places to visit and people to go with. If you have read previous posts; I am sure you can tell that I am a very aggressive planner. So that is what I started to do. I found exciting places to visit and a few people who were interested in going with me. The plan was to visit Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia in 10 days (ambitious I know) but it was going to be amazing.
Three weeks before the beginning of the holiday, all my travel buddies backed out. I was devastated to say the least, but I was also determined to make the best of this holiday. I began to search for places I could visit by myself and lucky for me, I had a few friends in two countries I was intent on seeing. So that’s where I went; Vietnam and Japan.
This was my first ever solo trip and for anyone that is wondering, I am all for solo trips! It gives you the freedom to do exactly what you want to do in the specific city you’re in, without the need for compromise. You move at your own pace and if you mess up, you only have yourself to blame. In Vietnam, I got my nails done, got to visit the main Cathedral, the Ben Thanh market, Street food market, the Vietnamese war museum and even went to the Mekong Delta. I did not go to the some of the main attractions but was able to do everything that I felt was important.
Don’t get me wrong, group trips are amazing, but until reading week, I had never explored a city by myself and to be honest, I was terrified of doing it. I had only heard the horrible stories about getting lost, losing things etc. Of course, these things can happen, but they can happen anywhere! However, for anyone thinking about taking the leap and going on a solo trip around Asia, here are few tips.
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Do your research
I do not mean know exactly what you are going to do every second of the day, I mean figure out the essentials. I made a point to find out from the friends I knew who either lived there or had visited not so long ago the basic things. For example, what do I do for transportation? Is it safe to drink the water?, Where are the best places to stay? These are all very simple yet highly essential.
It is important to understand that countries have unique systems and you need to adapt wherever you go. These were very necessary for me, because the countries I visited are at different levels of development. For instance, the transportation system in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam is very different from that in Tokyo, Japan. In Vietnam, I downloaded an app called Grab (the Uber of the Southeast Asia). However, in Japan all I needed to get was a Passmo card and although I had to figure out the complex metro system, it was similar to navigating Boston.
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Have a working phone
I enjoy the thrill of getting lost and finding hidden treasures in a city. If you’re like me, then you definitely need a working phone. There is Wi-Fi, but it is not as easy to come by in certain countries as it is in the US. So, I advise that you get a sim card in the airport that gives you enough data for the duration of your trip.
While I was in Japan, I visited one of the towns surrounding Tokyo. Unfortunately, when I got there almost everything was closed. It was nearly dark, so I was unable to navigate back to the station. Luckily, Google Maps came to the rescue! I was able to get on a local bus that took me straight there (I might have gotten on the bus going in the opposite direction the first time, but that is another story). Moral of the story is, it is very essential; if for nothing else but getting yourself to your accommodation or just back to the airport.
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Be safe
In a lot of cities in Asia, it is easy to spot tourists and sometimes, traders take advantage of that fact. Therefore, it is important to learn about the country. Learn about the level of crime in the area you are visiting. Lastly, make sure someone always knows your plans and is able to contact you.
Reading week taught me that things do not always have to go as planned for it to be a good time and trust me I had a blast. It was an adventure that I had to go on and I am glad I did. I had the opportunity to visit 2 very different countries and I loved both! However, I came back to school to a mountain of work, deadlines and midterms. Apparently, the idea for “reading week” is that students take the time to get a handle on school work. So, I was supposed to be studying in Ho Chi Minh and Tokyo, … Oops!
