Our journey continues, and China with its vastness and its many facets has given us indescribable emotions. But to be able to explore it at its best, we decided to take a small detour: a short pit stop in Hong Kong.
We knew that leaving and re-entering Hong Kong would guarantee us another 30 days of stay in China without needing a visa. Or rather, we had heard it said, but we were not absolutely sure... luckily everything went according to plan!
What we did not expect was how much Hong Kong is a different China. Of course, we knew it was different from mainland but experiencing it in person was a real culture shock. I deeply love Chinese language and culture and couldn’t imagine to find myself in such an autonomous and distinct reality.
Luckily, while we were on the train, Giuseppe had the idea to check some practical details such as payment methods or apps to get around. We were taken aback when we found out that Hong Kong needed a local version of Alipay and that Didi (the Chinese version of Uber) didn’t exist. Luckily, our Visa and Mastercard were more than enough. Danger averted!
But I have to be honest: staying only one day in Hong Kong was crazy. We condensed into a few hours everything that would normally take at least three days. We left the city more tired than when we arrived.
Indeed, the tiredness had already started a few weeks earlier when we started to feel the weight of such an intense journey. At the beginning we were unstoppable, walking for miles, constantly changing cities. Now we feel the need to slow down and give ourselves more moments of rest.
Don’t get me wrong: this experience is wonderful, and a part of me would like it to never end. But the speed at which we are experiencing it is sometimes exhausting. We travel once or twice a week, we hop on buses, trains, minivans, we pack and unpack our backpacks continuously. And in Hong Kong we doubled the pace that is usually 10x.
But once we arrive, how can you give up seeing the most iconic attractions or doing that unmissable trek?
Here's the truth: we are no longer the jaguars we once were!
We return from activities destroyed and on top of that we must work. A lot. Because, contrary to what many people think, the life of a digital nomad is not a permanent vacation. In fact, it's the opposite.
Yes, we are living incredible experiences, but at the same time we work every day to keep this life sustainable. No one helps us, no one supports us financially.
We don't want to be forced to return just because we've run out of money: that's why we work hard, we take care of our customers and we're always looking for new ones, so we can continue living this adventure.
And then, there is the organizational part of the trip which is practically another full-time job!
Every trip requires research, planning, decisions: what to see, where to sleep, how to get there, what is the best area to stay. The trip is not only a discovery, but also a lot, a lot of work behind the scenes.
For the next stop, Bali, we are already daydreaming about organizing the itinerary. This time, however, it will be full of yoga retreats - never done before, but which has always inspired us - and meditation to recalibrate and relax a bit from this exhausting journey.
But you know what? I wouldn't change any of this: this adventure is leaving a deep mark inside me. It is teaching me so much, both on a personal and professional level.
Every day is a discovery. Every moment is a memory that I will carry with me forever. And despite the fatigue, tiredness and sacrifices, we continue to look around with eyes full of wonder and hearts full of gratitude.
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