【明報專訊】Every journey begins with an escape. In my case, 20 years in Hong Kong has turned all its excitement humdrum if not repellent. Its efficiency was suffocating, its mélange of sound excruciatingly noisy and its diversity a mere facade of Confucian dogma. The familiarity of family and friends crushes a young spirit eager to explore. I desperately needed a get-out to somewhere vastly different. Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, sounded just remote enough for an escape. That's how I embarked on a year-long exchange programme in university.