“Hong Kong? I hate Hong Kong. It’s so crowded. Too crowded. And soo expensive.”

“Hiking? In Hong Kong? Not exactly the best way to spend your time in Hong Kong. You need to go shopping!”

“LKF has the best clubs in the world. You’re going to love it!” (LKF refers to Lan Kwai Fong, the infamous nightlife district in Hong Kong.)

“You can hike in Hong Kong? Why would you ever want to do that?”

My younger sister, Magalie, and I heard the same comments over and over from acquaintances in Taiwan. I spent the month of November hanging with Magalie in Taipei, where she attends the prestigious Mandarin Training Center at National Taiwan Normal University.

Back to the subject at hand: everyone advised us to avoid Hong Kong. Even the Huffington Post recently named Hong Kong as the 20th most overrated place on Earth. Lack of personal space is what I believed they listed as the primary deterrent. Basically, the general consensus was: STAY AWAY FROM HONG KONG.

We decided to ignore every single thing that every single person told us about Hong Kong. Our experience turned out to be absolutely incredible and pretty much the antithesis of the hearsay.

Magalie and I did not spend our time dining at swanky, upscale restaurants. We didn’t go shopping. We didn’t go to world class clubs. We didn’t even get a taste of the legendary nightlife of LKF. Instead, we spent three days having diverse experiences: some touristy, some totally off the grid, but all totally awesome.

Below are film photographs taken with my Holga and Lomography Supersampler that serve as a preview of our Hong Kong adventure. Digital photos and details coming soon!

Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to take a glimpse into mine.