When people look at travel photos, they usually see beautiful landmarks, famous attractions, and smiling faces.

What they do not see are the funny mistakes, unexpected surprises, and unforgettable moments behind every picture.

Back in 2017, I experienced my first international trip together with five of my office mates. Out of the six of us, only two were first-time international travelers. The rest already had travel experience.

Ironically, despite being one of the two first-time international travelers in the group, I ended up preparing much of our itinerary. Looking back now, I probably had more confidence than experience at the time, but fortunately, most of it worked out.

Travel was very different back then. Power banks were not yet common. Mobile data was expensive. Phone storage was limited. Most of our memories survived because of a digital camera.

And honestly, that made everything more memorable.

Our First Accommodation Surprise

One of our first lessons happened immediately after arriving in Hong Kong.

While booking our accommodation, we thought we had reserved a room with bunk beds for our group. When we arrived, we discovered that it was not a bunk bed room at all.

It was a bed space.

Apparently, each bunk was counted individually.

To make things even more interesting, we found ourselves sharing the room with other travelers, including an Australian guest.

Needless to say, that was not what we expected.

The following morning, we immediately started looking for another place to stay.

The Upgrade That Was Not Really an Upgrade

We eventually transferred to a private room.

Technically, it was an upgrade because we no longer had to share the room with strangers.

The problem was that the room was incredibly small.

There was barely enough space to move around comfortably. It even had its own bathroom, which sounded like good news until we realized the bathroom door was made of glass.

Very transparent glass.

The kind that makes you question the meaning of privacy.

We tried to solve the problem by covering parts of the glass with towels. Unfortunately, the towels had their own plans and occasionally fell down at the worst possible moments.

Looking back now, that tiny Hong Kong room became one of the funniest memories of the entire trip.

Disneyland and the Child in Me

One of the highlights of our trip was finally visiting Disneyland.

Like many people, I grew up seeing Disneyland in movies and on television. Walking through the gates felt surreal.

The child in me immediately came back to life.

We booked our tickets through Klook and spent most of the day enjoying the rides. While many visitors focused on taking photos, I found myself more interested in experiencing as many attractions as possible.

Looking back, I probably should have taken more pictures.

Instead, I chose the rides.

And I have no regrets.

The day passed so quickly that I finally understood why people say one day is not enough for Disneyland.

The evening fireworks display was the perfect ending.

As the music played and the castle lit up, I found myself unexpectedly emotional. It was one of those moments that reminded me of childhood dreams and simpler times.

The Day We Visited a Cloud

Another memorable experience was our visit to Ngong Ping and the Big Buddha.

One thing I remember clearly was how lucky we were with the timing.

The cable car was operating during our visit.

Years later, after experiencing similar situations in other trips, I realized how easily it could have been under maintenance on the exact day we arrived.

Fortunately, it was not.

Unfortunately, the weather had other plans.

When we reached the area, thick fog covered almost everything.

Very thick fog.

The Big Buddha was barely visible.

Some of our photos looked as if we had traveled into a cloud instead of a tourist attraction.

The cold weather made the experience even more memorable. Temperatures were much lower than we expected, and I quickly realized that the single jacket I brought was not enough.

The wind, the fog, and the cold air made the entire place feel completely different from the Hong Kong I had imagined.

At that moment, it felt disappointing.

Today, it is one of the stories I laugh about the most.

Tea Instead of Water

One of the small cultural surprises we encountered involved something as simple as drinking water.

Whenever we ate at restaurants, tea was often served instead of plain water.

At the time, I was not much of a tea drinker.

I kept looking for water while everyone around me seemed perfectly comfortable drinking tea.

It was a small thing, but it became one of those travel memories that stayed with me.

Lost at the Night Market

No first international trip would be complete without getting lost.

One evening, while looking for a night market, we somehow lost our sense of direction.

The funny part was that we were not exactly traveling without navigation.

One of our companions brought a dedicated GPS device, the kind commonly used by engineers and field personnel. This was long before Waze became part of everyday travel and before offline maps became common.

Confidently, we followed the GPS.

We still got lost.

At that time, mobile data was expensive and unreliable, so we depended heavily on free Wi-Fi whenever we could find it.

There we were, walking around Hong Kong carrying what looked like professional navigation equipment and somehow managing to lose our way.

After several wrong turns and more walking than we expected, we eventually found the night market.

To this day, I still wonder how six adults managed to get lost while carrying equipment that looked capable of locating a construction site.

When Technology Failed Us

One of the highlights of our Disneyland visit was the fireworks show.

Like every tourist, we wanted to capture the moment.

Unfortunately, our gadgets had different plans.

By nighttime, most of our phone batteries were already struggling to survive. The only device that lasted long enough was our digital camera.

When we reviewed the photos later, almost everything was blurry.

The castle was barely recognizable.

The fireworks looked like random streaks of light floating somewhere in the darkness.

At first, we laughed because the photos looked nothing like the professional images we had seen online.

Today, those blurry photos are among my favorite souvenirs from the trip.

They remind me of a time when we were more focused on experiencing moments than documenting them perfectly.

Ferry to Macau

After our Hong Kong adventure, we boarded a ferry to Macau.

This was before the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge became part of the travel experience, so ferry travel was still the usual option.

The trip was smooth and surprisingly quick.

Before long, we found ourselves in a completely different destination.

Macau Was the Real Upgrade

If Hong Kong gave us accommodation surprises, Macau gave us accommodation redemption.

We stayed at Fu Hua Hotel, and compared to our experiences in Hong Kong, it felt luxurious.

The rooms were spacious, comfortable, and allowed us to move around without bumping into each other. We booked two rooms for our group and finally felt like we could properly relax.

The best part was the buffet breakfast.

Even better, the hotel was surprisingly affordable.

After our accommodation adventures in Hong Kong, Macau felt like a reward.

Ruins, Free Samples, and Fake Confidence

One of the places we visited was the Ruins of St. Paul’s.

The surrounding area was filled with shops offering food samples, and naturally, we accepted every invitation to taste something.

By the time we finished exploring, we were probably fuller than we expected to be.

Someone taught us a simple Chinese phrase for asking the price of items.

Feeling confident, we immediately tried using it.

The problem was that people responded with full-speed Chinese.

Our confidence disappeared almost instantly.

We quickly returned to the phrase we understood best.

“English, please.”

Hotel Hopping and Free Snacks

One of my supervisor’s classmates was based in Macau and generously showed us around.

Thanks to her, we were able to explore several famous hotels and integrated resorts throughout the city.

As government employees, we were careful not to participate in any gambling activities.

Instead, we admired the architecture, explored the massive hotel complexes, and happily accepted complimentary coffee, drinks, and snacks whenever they were available.

Strictly as tourists, of course.

The Blue Jacket Saga

If there is one thing that appeared in almost every photo from Hong Kong and Macau, it was my blue jacket.

From Kowloon to Disneyland, from Ngong Ping to Macau, the blue jacket was always there.

Years later, whenever I browse through the photos, it looks as though I spent the entire vacation wearing the same outfit.

Because honestly, I almost did.

The funny part was that after several days of convincing myself that I needed a proper winter jacket, I finally bought one during our last night in Macau.

The next day, before heading home, we returned to the Ruins of St. Paul’s.

One of my reasons was simple.

I wanted photos wearing my newly purchased jacket.

By then, the weather was no longer as cold.

But after spending money on that jacket, I was absolutely going to wear it.

Looking back now, I realize that my first international trip was never about visiting as many attractions as possible.

It was about experiencing unfamiliar places, figuring things out along the way, and creating memories that still make me laugh years later.

The Disneyland fireworks may have ended up blurry in our photos. The blue jacket may have appeared in almost every picture. We may have gotten lost more than once.

But somehow, those imperfect moments became the memories I treasure most.