Feature: Hong Kong Experience

BA (Hons) Interior Design student Chloe Baker, 20 from Barnstaple, recently visited Hong Kong as part of her course. Chloe talks about her experiences on the visit:

“Hong Kong was amazing. It was so different, their traditional architecture which is so richly decorated with colour and ornament contrasting with the endless blocks of flats that seem to touch the sky.

They had busy cramped markets which appeared miles long and required a certain skill in haggling (which I don’t have!). The people never seemed to sleep as the shops were always open, and even at six in the morning plenty of local residents would be out and about.

Each day was jam packed with things to do until our legs and feet couldn’t take anymore battering. By the end of the day the hotel room felt like the most comfortable place on earth! On the first day we travelled to the top of Victoria Peak, which offered beautiful views even on a misty day. But that was nothing compared to the scenery I saw when riding in a cable-car on a clear sunny day up to the huge Buddha statue of Po Lin monastery. The photos I took don’t do that stunning scenery justice.

It wasn’t all about the scenery though – it was also learning about a new culture and meeting new people. Some of the new people I had the pleasure of meeting were students from HKDI (Hong Kong Design Institute) who studied interior design as well. We had the chance to visit the HKDI, and it was really interesting to learn how their university works.

The campus was huge and it surprised me to learn that the students thought it was quite small! The institute was modern and bold from the outside, but kept quite simple and open on the inside which I really liked.

Hong Kong has so many inspiring buildings, and seeing them first hand will really help with my course. It has provided me with fresh ideas – not just for now, but for future projects as well.

Our short trip over to Macau held the inspiration I’m hoping to use in my current project. We visited the ‘City of Dreams’ hotel complex. The interior was so modern with amazing attention to detail, and its use of light enhanced the features even more.

Overall my trip to Hong Kong was an experience I will never forget and I enjoyed it from start to finish. I learned many things about the Chinese culture that I wouldn’t have grasped if I hadn’t travelled there, but one thing I didn’t quite grasp was how to use chop sticks! I’m hoping I may learn this skill yet though, because one thing is certain – I will definitely be going back there again.”