Life is short and the world is wide

How did I end up here?
For as long as I can remember I have had the desire to travel the world and see as much as I can.
After what felt like a long and hard year I decided it was time to take some time out and get back to travelling. Following my A-levels I travelled to Malawi, where I spent 8 months teaching in a secondary school. This was an amazing experience and made me realise that volunteering is defiantly the best way to see the world. It gives you the opportunity to not only visit local communities, but to live with them and become part of that community. It also helps to keep costs down, because most places will provide food and accommodation in exchange for your hard work!
In February, I decided Fiji was the place for me! I applied to volunteer and I have been placed at the Vutikalulu Centre for Sustainable Technology and Rural Development where I will be living until September. My placement does not start until January. However over recent years I appear to have lost the ability to travel directly anywhere, and I decided I couldn’t possibly travel to Fiji without stopping off in other countries along the way. That is how I have ended up in Australia 
The Journey
My journey began on the 11th November 2010. As I left home for Manchester airport I began to question if I was doing the right thing. I was thinking how much I would like a bit of extra time in the UK.
Clearly God, Fate and British Airways heard my thoughts, and collaborated to delay my flight from Manchester to Heathrow. This resulted in me missing my flight from London to Hong Kong. When I had been thinking how much I would like to spend a little extra time in the UK, 24 hours in Heathrow airport was not quite what I had in mind. Although it did mean I got to have Krispy Kremes for breakfast.
24 hours later, I was more than ready to leave Heathrow. I boarded my plane and after an 11 hour flight I arrived in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong
Before arriving in Hong Kong I was not sure it was somewhere I wanted to visit. I don’t really like cities and I had heard Hong Kong can be quite congested. Nevertheless the plane had to stop somewhere to refuel on the way to Sydney, and I felt it would be wasteful not to use this as an opportunity to stay in Hong Kong for a few days rather than a few hours. I was pleasantly surprised by Hong Kong, and would defiantly recommend visiting it. It was, as I had thought it would be, rather congested and busy, but I found the people of Hong Kong to be incredibly helpful and friendly. I also experienced some amazing sights and sounds. I took the MTR from the airport to Causeway bay (where I was staying) and stepped outside the station to see what I thought was bright daylight. After a couple of seconds I realised it couldn’t possibly be daylight at 10.30pm and looked up to see hundreds and hundreds of lights. I stepped out onto the street to see a sea of people, masses of street stands selling food, and lots of cars. I left the station and set off to find my accommodation. After asking for directions several times I finally found where I was staying. I checked in and was given the key to room 2116. I double checked with reception that I needed to get the lift to the second floor, and the lady at the desk laughed as she told me ‘No, you stay on 21st floor’. So off I went to find the 21st floor. I had assumed that I must be staying on the top floor; however I entered my room and looked out the window to find that the buildings on either side of me towered above me! All the buildings in Hong Kong are incredibly tall; the city seems to have expanded upwards rather than outwards!
The day after I arrived in Hong Kong, I decided to take a trip to Lantau Island. This involved a trip across the bridge and the highest cable car ride I have ever experienced. On Lantau island was the giant Buddha. This is the largest outdoor statue of the Buddha in the world, and inside the Buddha is a temple. Following my trip to the Buddha, I visited a Buddhist monastery where I ate a traditional vegetarian Chinese lunch.
Following my trip to Lantau Island I took a bus around Hong Kong and got off at the night market. I spent a couple of hours in the market bartering with the stall holders and managed to get myself a few canvas paintings and a small Buddha figure. After the night market I took a ferry round the harbour and watched the Hong Kong light show, many of the buildings around the harbour are lit up with lasers. My final day in Hong Kong was spent walking round the city, eating lots of Chinese food and getting ready to fly to Sydney the following morning.