Welcome to week twenty-two of the backpacking diaries. I’ll be updating you weekly on where I’ve been, what I’ve been getting up to, and most importantly, how I’m really feeling about this insane decision I’ve made.
As you probably know, I’m currently backpacking through Asia after quitting my job and leaving London for good.
I want to remember every moment of this experience, and document as much of it as I can, just like I’ve documented everything else in my life post-18 on this website.
You can keep up to date with my travels on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube but for now, enjoy week twenty-two of the travel diaries!
If you missed the first twenty-one weeks of backpacking diaries, you can catch up here.
Top tip: for mobile data around Asia, we used the Jetpac eSim. This was super handy and easily installed onto our phones as soon as we arrived in Japan! Get $5 off your eSIM package when you use my referral code: 4293IOA9.
Day 148: Monday 12th August 2024
Location: Macau
Dear travel diary,
We were up bright and early this morning to head to Macau. We left our hotel at 7.30am and it was just starting to rain. Then the heavens opened.
When we arrived into Central Hong Kong, we still had a fifteen minute walk to the pier but thankfully the entire way was covered. It was around 8.30am but the thunder was like nothing I’d ever heard before, it was so loud.
There was also fork lightening and it was lashing rain. It wasn’t really looking like a day that you’d want to be on the water, or want to be exploring a new city. But on we went.
Our ferry was at 9.30am, but since we were there a little early, we were able to board the 9am ferry instead. We had to show our passports and go through immigration as Macau is seen as an independent region off of China, just like Hong Kong.
Once we arrived in Macau an hour later, you would have no idea there were any thunderstorms at all where we’d just come from. The skies here were blue, the sun was out and very hot and it was a beautiful day.
We pulled into Old Macau and explored the area on foot. Macau used to be colonised by Portugal, so there’s a lot of Portuguese influence in the city which is still there today.
The main reason Macau is a touristy place is because it’s the only place in China that gambling is legal. It’s basically the Vegas of Asia and the hotels here are insane and replicas of those you’d find in Vegas.
There’s the Venetian, the Wynn, MGM, and so much more.
Related blog post to read: Las Vegas, Nevada: The Best Hilton Hotel to Stay In
In Old Macau, you’ll find the historical part of the city including Portuguese churches and a lot of European influences. They also have a lot of bakeries selling pasta del natas which of course we had to sample.
The Wynn and MGM hotels are on this side, as well as the famous Casino Lisboa which is quite run down but has a very cool exterior.
In the New Macau you have The Venetian Hotel which is an exact replica of the same one in Vegas with canals going through the shopping area. They also have The Londoner Hotel with a life-size Big Ben outside, red double decker buses, telephone boxes and a fake London Underground tube inside.
The whole area is insane and I’d highly recommend it to anyone visiting Hong Kong.
We didn’t do any gambling, but spectated instead. As we expected, it was also incredibly expensive. We stopped in a restaurant in the Londoner Hotel for a Coke and Diet Coke and this cost £9.60. Almost £10 for two Cokes!
We headed back to the ferry and took the 8pm back to Hong Kong, arriving back in our hotel for 10pm.
Day 149: Tuesday 13th August 2024
Location: Hong Kong
Dear travel diary,
Another day waking up in Hong Kong! Today was a scorcher of a day, so no thunderstorms to start the morning.
We were having a relaxed day in the city today, and took our laptops to work from the cafe we had been on Sunday.
Before heading to the cafe, we took the metro to a digital camera stall that we had seen on Instagram. I’m in the market for a retro digital camcorder, the kind where the screen flips out at the side.
The stall had quite a few that I liked, but were around £90-120 which I wasn’t willing to part with at the side of the street in case it didn’t work.
We then headed to Elephant Grounds cafe to get some work done and have lunch. I had a salad (and vegetables) for the first time in months, some fries and coffee. Himself had a burger, coffees and we also had a Coke/Diet Coke each. Our bill came to £66. £66!!
I know Hong Kong is expensive, but for lunch?! I think we may be too used to Thailand/Sri Lanka prices now that everything seems expensive.
We worked here until around 5pm and then headed to The Peak which is a tourist attraction in Hong Kong. You take a tram up the side of a mountain to a high viewing platform of the entire city.
We had booked tickets for a 6-8pm time slot, but when we arrived, we had to queue for around one hour before it was time to get on the tram.
And when I say this was not fun, it really wasn’t. These tourists have no patience, and you’ll be pushed and shoved out of the way for them to get on first. It was an eye-opener for sure.
The view at the top was incredible and reminded me of being at the Top of the Rock in New York at nighttime with the entire skyline around you lit up.
Related blog post to read: The Best Viewing Platforms in New York City
We made our way back down again and headed for dinner at Mak’s Noodles in the Central area for some noodles and dumplings before heading back to our hotel for our final night in Hong Kong.
Day 150: Wednesday 14th August 2024
Location: Hong Kong & Tokyo, Japan
Dear travel diary,
It’s a travel day today!
We’re heading to country number ten of our trip, Japan!! I’ve been so excited for this leg of our journey, but I won’t lie there is a slight worry that there could be an earthquake while we’re there.
We were debating whether to cancel our trip to Japan all together due to the mega-quake warning but there’s so much unpredictability and they don’t know if an earthquake will happen this week, in the next two years or even in the next thirty years. Or if there will be an earthquake at all.
Basically they’re going off patterns of earthquakes through history. And we don’t want to not go to Japan for the next thirty years in case there might be an earthquake.
It’s impossible to live that way. So we’re going. And our first stop is Tokyo, where we land tonight at 9pm.
We had a nice lie in this morning in our Hong Kong hotel, grabbed an Uber to the airport and had a Starbucks while waiting which is the first Starbucks I’ve had in months and it felt like a small home comfort.
We flew into Tokyo with Hong Kong Airlines and were pleasantly surprised once again to have a TV screens in the back of the plane seats. We were flying for four hours, but there wasn’t much to watch on the system.
I finished a book I had been reading, just in time to start into a Japanese book that I wanted to read while in Japan.
We were also given a small, basic meal on the flight too so this served as our dinner. Once we arrived in Tokyo, we hopped on the Subway, headed to our hotel and checked in.
Our hotel was a little bit out of the city centre, but the area was full of very cute Japanese restaurants and we could already tell within two seconds of being outside the train station that we were going to love it here.
Day 151: Thursday 15th August 2024
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Dear travel diary,
Our first morning waking up in Japan! We had to make the most of today since there was a huge typhoon warning for tomorrow, meaning we’d probably be bunkering down in our hotel room to avoid the worst of it.
We were up and out to wander the city by foot, the only way we know how. Many steps and many things to be seen.
Our first stop was the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing, which was cool to see and do. There was a vantage point from the Starbucks across the road, so we headed up there to capture some footage of the crossing.
This is the definitely the only place in the world that’s felt so similar to New York. With the billboards, big lights, big roads, so many people and fashion. It’s an incredible place.
And just like New York, it didn’t take us long to find another area of the city that was actually really quiet. If you’re wondering where on earth this would be in New York, it’s Soho. One of my most favourite areas of the city.
We ventured to Cat Street in the Harajuku district, which was full of fashion stores, coffee shops and small streets. This area actually reminded me a little of Amsterdam as it looked like the streets along the canals.
Since we were in Japan, we had to try matcha. I’ve never tried one before, so this was my first time. And I hated it. It tasted like grass and smelled even worse. Himself absolutely loved it – I’m not sure how. So I hopped over to a coffee shop facing the matcha shop and grabbed a delicious large iced coffee.
Oh, it’s unbearably hot here.
We kept walking and headed to Takeshita Street – brilliant name – where it appeared ever person in Tokyo also happened to be. It was busy, but full of small shops and stalls selling popular food.
After around 10,000 steps, it was time to find our first Japanese meal. We were back in the main areas of the city and saw the famous cat billboard and Godzilla on top of Gracery Hotel.
We stumbled upon a gyoza spot and had the most delicious gyozas to keep us going for the rest of the day. We shared a plate of fried gyozas and had some steamed in soup.
Something tells me I’m going to eat very well in Japan.
We stopped in a Caffe Veloce for a coffee and to grab some time on our laptops for the afternoon before it got dark. Tokyo lights up at night and we wanted to see it in all its glory.
For dinner, we headed back to the Golden Gai area of Shinjuku to an unassuming ramen spot. It was an open-door stall on a corner that seated eight people at a time, and you had to eat individually to grab a spot. There had been a queue at lunch time waiting to be sat, and it seemed to be all Japanese locals too – which means it should be good.
We luckily arrived at a good time when there were free seats. The chefs didn’t speak any English and the menu was fully in Japanese, but we ordered the ‘number 1’ on the menu and it was incredible. Crispy tempura, ramen noodles, soup, and a soft boiled egg.
By the time we left there was a queue around the corner waiting to be sat. And the meal only cost £2.80 each. Who said Japan was expensive?!
It was now nighttime and dark, so we walked around the city some more to snap photos and see it all lit up. I love it here.
Day 152: Friday 16th August 2024
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Dear travel diary,
A large typhoon was due to hit Tokyo today, and we’d never experienced a typhoon before so didn’t really know what to do.
We could only follow the path of the storm with the Japan Safety Tips app that himself had downloaded, and look at Twitter which would make you think the end of the world was approaching.
It was a little stormy when we woke up, but nothing major. After some Googling it appears that ‘typhoon’ is another name for a hurricane or cyclone. They have different names in different parts of the world.
So we were in our hotel in Tokyo, waiting for a hurricane to approach. We had stocked up on snacks, water and things the day before from 7-Eleven, so were somewhat prepared. The hotel also had a torch in the room as Japan is very prone to typhoons and extreme weather every year.
Since the storm wasn’t due to arrive until late afternoon, we headed out for lunch in the local area and had an incredible bowl of ramen from a spot around the corner. There are so many small restaurants near our hotel that look incredible, but we always venture away from our hotel when it comes to food – maybe we’re missing out.
We had to take a number and come back at a later time due to it being so popular. While we waited we headed to a nearby restaurant for some gyozas to start us off – naturally. Then headed back to the ramen restaurant at our appointed time.
There was a slight communication barrier with everything on the menu being in Japanese, but we figured out how to order and had a very tasty bowl of ramen that was perfect for the wet weather outside.
We headed to another Caffe Veloce across from our hotel for some more of the afternoon as the weather seemed to be fine, and worked on our laptops for a while. Around 5pm, we headed back to the hotel and watched TV for the rest of the evening while it rained outside.
The typhoon seemed to skip Tokyo on its path thankfully, so there wasn’t any storm worth mentioning. Our hotel had recommended we stay in the area since trains usually stop running.
We were well rested for another day out in the city tomorrow.
Day 153: Saturday 17th August 2024
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Dear travel diary,
This morning we were up early to a bright and beautiful day in the city. We headed to Tsukiji Fish Market which is the largest fish market in the world believe it or not.
Also believe it or not, it didn’t stink of fish like the one in Negombo, Sri Lanka.
It was a scorcher of a day, so I decided to use the umbrella I bought for the storm as a sun shield, just like the locals here like to do. And now that I’ve started, I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to going out in the sun without it.
You’ll see me walking down Bondi (when I eventually get there) with an umbrella over my head in the peak sun. No shame.
We grabbed some fresh sushi, himself got a matcha and I got a fresh mango juice. A very tasty morning at the fish market.
Afterwards, we headed to Ginza, the shopping district of Tokyo. Another area that reminded me of New York, 5th Avenue in particular.
This is where the Uniqlo flagship store is located, all 12 floors of it. Himself would wear nothing but Uniqlo for the rest of his life if he had the choice, so he was in his element.
It was time for some culture after the shopping district, so we headed to Senso-ji Temple which was very busy with tourists, as you can imagine.
We may have been in the area to try the viral TikTok stringy matcha ice cream, but I’ll pretend we were really here for the temple.
The stringy matcha was quite the meal, and I’m glad we shared one. Plus, the matcha at the top was too much matcha for me, so he enjoyed it while I enjoyed the ice cream underneath.
Afterwards we headed to a coffee shop for a few hours to work on emails and blog posts, before our very exciting evening activity.
We were about to see some real Japanese culture in the form of sumo wrestling! A bucket-list activity for us, it was so cool to experience this in Japan.
The event started with some hot pot which was all-you-can-eat, so you could keep ordering throughout the event. Two sumo wrestlers took to the stage (ring) and showed us their techniques, the rules and fighting moves.
Afterwards, around ten people from the audience volunteered to wrestle the professionals. Craziness. It was a very entertaining evening, and was something I’ll always remember from our trip to Japan.
We headed back to the temple afterwards to see it lit up at night, and then headed even further out of the city to Shiinamachi Station to see a famous photo spot that looks best at night and finally headed to our hotel for a night’s sleep.
Day 154: Sunday 18th August 2024
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Dear travel diary,
Another slow day to explore Tokyo. We were headed to a famous spicy ramen restaurant for an early lunch, but stopped at a book-town area beforehand.
As fate would have it, I was reading a Japanese literature book a few months ago that was set in a book-town called Jimbocho in Tokyo. I didn’t think it was actually real until I Googled it. Turns out it does exist and it’s an area of Tokyo with 200+ bookshops.
We headed here on the Sunday morning and were quite early before they all opened, but we got to explore quite a few. Most contained books in Japanese, as is to be expected, but I randomly came across a book covered in the Irish flag that was all about the IRA. In Japanese. So wild.
It took us around 45 minutes in the queue for the spicy ramen restaurant before we were seated. By the time we got inside, the queue was around the corner and across the street, so we arrived in good time.
This was the most filling ramen I had during my time in Tokyo, and I was full until that evening. It was delicious, but so much food. Not that that’s something to complain about.
From here, we were going to see something incredibly random. Japan is full of sub culture groups. From anime lovers to Super Mario Brothers enthusiasts, you’ll see many things on your travels in Japan.
We were headed to Yoyogi Park to see the Rockabillies. The Rockabillies are groups of people that get together each Sunday in Yoyogi Park and dress like they’re in the 1960s. They play music from that era and dance. It’s so cool to see so many Japanese men that are dressed like Elvis, with the huge hair quiff as well.
It’s quite something to see, and was one of the weird and wonderful parts of Japan that I’ll take away from my time here.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around more fashion shops and then took the metro out to Shimokitazawa to where the best vintage stores are said to be.
There are sooooo many fashion shops in Tokyo and I’m a little disappointed that I’m unable to do any shopping on our travels because of the extremely limited space in my backpack.
But that only means I’ll have to come back in the future with a bigger suitcase, right?
We finished Sunday with a drink in one of the tiny bars in the Golden Gai district where we fell in with a couple from Manchester that were on a cruise around Japan.
For dinner, we dined at an Ichiran for the first time. This is where you sit in an individual booth and don’t have to interact with anyone. Your meal is served behind a curtain, and you eat in your little booth alone. Quite the experience, but I definitely prefer to be in a bustling restaurant with a good atmosphere.
And that’s the end of another week on our travels! Make sure to check back next week when we leave Tokyo to continue our Japan travels, visiting (and climbing) Mount Fuji and then onto Kyoto!
Leave a Reply