I am sitting here on the top deck listening to Tim play guitar. Hong Kong’s lights glisten on the water and fog envelops everything. A pretty picture, but I didn’t want to have any part of it today. Now I know what burnout means. People who travel extensively for business have told me that travel really loses its romance after a while. I really don’t want that to happen. I’m sailing around the world and I may never have the opportunity to come back to some of these places, so logically, I should make the most of every minute, right?
I was just so overwhelmed these last few days, and my stomach still hasn’t been acting completely normal, so all I wanted to do today was just sit on the ship in the quiet and be alone.
Etiel and Sandy’s wedding was today, so it was nice to be able to go to that though. I mean, how many voyages get to have a wedding? Etiel is a professor of philosophy here, and he has twins, Lorit and Lidal. It was a very pretty wedding right here on the ship in the library. Lloyd and the Captain presided over it, and it was all very beautiful.
Afterwards, though, I was still feeling anti-social, but I vented on Jon for a while and he decided we needed to get off the ship for my own good. And I’m glad he did too. We had a really good time and it kind of snapped me out of my funk. We took the ferry over to Hong Kong Island, wandered around for a while, and eventually ended up in a Starbucks where a man named Nick said we needed to go to the top of Victoria Peak. So we did. There’s a tram that goes up the mountain, and at the top you’re rewarded with a gorgeous panoramic view of the city. It was dark by the time we got up there, so I attempted some long-exposure shots with my camera. I really hope they turn out! It was a little rainy and really foggy, so you could see the fog sweeping up the hill on the wind, and it was so thick that it completely blocked out the tops of the tallest buildings.
I’m glad Jon got me to go out into Hong Kong. I’m not exactly sure what was entirely wrong with me for wanting to avoid everything, but it really helped to have someone listen for a bit and then say “we’re going out whether you like it or not.”
I’m actually not disappointed to see Hong Kong go. It’s a very nice and clean place, and the people are courteous (though hurried), but it’s just too big for this small-town gal.
On to Vietnam!
