My trip to Hong Kong didn’t go as planned, if I can even claim that I had a plan.

It was more like I travelled with a loose idea of places I should visit, marked in Google Maps, with one place being especially important: The Big Buddha.

This guy.

I visited him on a Monday. Alone. It made me realize things, crazy things, like the fact that I don’t like traveling alone without a purpose. I love sharing experiences with other people. Otherwise you have to find meaningful ways to occupy yourself, which is how I ended up taking series of selfies and smiling at a lot of random people.

Although I didn’t quite find the right insta-filter to catch the mood of this day, I made a video ↓ #plansinterrupted #lonelytraveler

It begins with me sharing my fear of heights with my phone, in a glass elevator cabin far above ground. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy myself while #travelingalone. It simply wasn’t what I expected to do and my memories are colored by this filter I can’t quite name.

Let’s call it Mood E.

The sky looked like it would cry any minute, which it eventually did. Crowds were forecast, but I found a quiet and peaceful place. I waved at Buddha, fired up incense and prayed for patience and forgiveness at the Po Lin monastery. The rain gave me the perfect opportunity to hide in the cute souvenir shops of Ngong Ping village, where I bought these kittens:

It’s nice to be back home.

To be continued…