I spent the spring semester of 2019 on exchange in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which is in fact located in Hong Kong, a ‘special administrative region’ of China. I made the call to do the exchange during the previous summer, with the prospect of jetting off to somewhere completely different culture-wise on a pass/fail system being too attractive to turn down. It’s hard to pinpoint why exactly Hong Kong was the destination of choice, but I think it’s perfect for anyone looking to venture in Asia while still keeping hold of certain Western aspects of life.

I absolutely could have done more research into the university before arriving. Two important points that I hadn’t grasped were that the university is on the very outskirts of Hong Kong, quite far away from the bright lights of the main city, and also that the university was built basically into the side of a mountain, meaning that there were hills to climb should you come back late from a night out and miss the last campus bus. That said, I grew to really appreciate the campus and how enclosed it was from the rest of the city which could be overwhelming due to the sheer crowds and density of it.

I took four modules while over there, all prescribed by UCD. I appreciated only having to do four courses, but would have liked the option to choose at least a couple for myself. I would have loved for example to take a Cantonese module of some sort, because while it is perfectly okay to get by using only English in Hong Kong, when you head further from the main city you find that less and less locals have English on them. In a massive stroke of fortune, my roommate actually turned out to be half Cantonese (half American) so as well as being one of my best mates while over there, he was also invaluable to have as a travelling buddy around the city, especially to deal with taxi drivers.

As is typical on study abroad, I met amazing people from all corners of the world who I ended up spending quality time with. It made me realise that possibly not coming over with a big group from UCD that I already knew was a blessing in disguise, as it forced me to put myself out there in a big way and I grew in confidence as a result. Study abroad definitely attracts a certain type of person I found, everyone I met seemed to be open, up for an adventure and wanting to get to know you, which was nice given the situation that everyone was in. I made friends for life in Hong Kong which I never thought I’d be saying before going there.

One of the best things about Hong Kong is its location within South-East Asia. It’s very central which is great for travelling during the semester and the Irish passport is quite powerful from a visa point of view when trying to enter countries. I ended up taking trips to Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Cambodia which were so much fun, they’re all beautiful countries though very different to previous travel I’d done which had been exclusively in Europe. Thailand is just a wild experience, it’s a trip I’d recommend to anyone and everyone. Indonesia was a great trip; my uncle lived there at the time which was just extraordinarily handy since I was able to stay and travel with him for the days I was there. We visited Seoul in Korea which is easily one of the most impressive cities I’ve seen. Unfortunately I was only there for a couple of days and was very hungover on the second but it still made a huge impression. Finally, Angkor Wat in Cambodia is stunning; it’s an ancient Hindu complex that needs to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

Finances were a worry before going away; I thought that juggling accommodation, food, entertainment and travel would be difficult and costly. In the end I was more than okay. Staying on the university campus was heavily subsidised, I paid less than a grand in total for the entire semester. It’s a crazy low number that puts UCD/Dublin renting to shame, but I was not complaining. Combine that with Ryanair-level cheap flights, subsidised meals on campus and saving money on nights out by buying from 7/11 stores instead of bars, meant that money ended up being less of an issue than imagined. The only scare came on the day when the accommodation fee was due and I realised that I had a withdrawal limit on my card that left me way under. My roommate (the absolute hero) bailed me out on the day and that was sorted, albeit stressfully. Below are some of the old snaps from an unforgettable exchange.

Above is the university itself. As promised it is in fact built into the side of a mountain. You can imagine the struggle of trekking all the way up to the top at 3am.

Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The complex was built by the Khmer Empire as a religious monument all the way back in the 12th century. Even today Buddhist monks can be seen around Angkor Wat, although they don't live there anymore.

The royal palace in South Korea, we observed the changing of the guard which takes place at midday each day. Entry is supposedly free into the palace if you wear a traditional royal dress, and while we had grand ideas for this, it just never quite happened. Would have been a sight though.