A Wet Lion and Secret Twins

Right, well I’ve finally found a computer where I can upload photos, so here comes a long entry! The last two days have been so amazing, and London is everything that I imagined it would be. The highlight so far has probably been seeing my friends again, especially Luke (one of my adopted brothers from Tokyo), who I haven’t seen in well over a year.

On Friday, we met up at Victoria station (near where I’m staying) at 12, and went for a rambling adventure to Covent Garden. It was the best thing ever to see him again, and we ended up having lunch at a quaint little pub called the Lamb and Flag after taking red phone box photos.

I had fish and chips with peas, and Luke had a ploughman’s lunch, and we both had a local ale with it. The food was quite good, and the pub had a nice atmosphere.

We spent ages just talking and catching up, before heading back out to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. It started raining as we left. We had a look at Nelson’s Column, then Luke decided that I HAD to sit on one of the gigantic lions at it’s base, because that’s what you do when you go to London. So, in probably one of the least graceful moments of my life, I was boosted up onto a slippery, dripping wet, giant lion’s bum.

Needless to say, my pants were completely soaked by the end of this, so we went into the National Gallery to see the art and to dry off. I really enjoyed the National Gallery – I saw two lily paintings by Monet, a couple of Rembrandts, and one of Van Gough’s sunflowers, although I preferred the painting of the crab that was next to it. Luke knows a lot about art, so we walked around commenting and observing. I think my favourite of what we saw (the gallery is huge so we didn’t see everything) was the British paintings by John Constable. After wandering around for ages, we had afternoon tea in the cafe, before going out into the rainy Trafalgar Square to meet Jasmin and Owen at 5.

Jasmin had got me a ticket to go with her and Owen to see Blood Borothers at the West End, a musical about twins who are separated at birth and end up dying on the same day, moments after they discover they are brothers. Before the show, we grabbed a hot chocolate (again, a matter of being inside to dry off), and caught up on months of news, before finding a place for dinner.

We found a great Thai place off Charring Cross Road, and I had a yummy tom yum soup. The musical was at the Phoenix Theatre, and it was just incredible! The woman who played Mrs Johnstone had the most amazing voice, and the whole production was just spectacular! I jumped out of my seat when the gun shots went off in Act Two, but to be fair, we were sitting right next to the speakers.

After the show, we started to walk back to the Tube station, but it wasn’t raining, so we ended up walking along the Thames, taking photos of the London Eye, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The city is so beautiful, especially at night.

We walked and walked, and ended up just walking back to Victoria station from Westminster, as it wasn’t too far. I got back to the hotel around midnight, so was pretty tired, but it was an amazing day!

The Essential Hong Kong Experience

Ok, so my last day here is drawing to a close. Before I grab some dinner, I want to put up some photos from last night! I met Kawin at Yau Ma Tei station, and we rode the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui, and met Eunice in an area I remember from when Dad and I stayed there in 2007. It was sooooo great to catch up! We found a Japanese restaurant, and had quite the feast – onigiri, nigiri sushi (chutoro – YUM), tempura pumpkin, kimchi pork (yes, I know it’s Korean, but it was still awesome) and, because Eunice (with me in photo below) wanted them, california rolls.

Afterwards, the girls helped me to find an “Hong Kong umbrella” – for those who know my trust blue umbrella in Adelaide with the nifty slide-cover, this is my definition of an HK umbrella! The weather forecast for London is rain, so I thought it’d be good to have a nice umbrella for when I arrive. After much searching, we found one (a Burberry imitation, no less!), and went for a traditional Chinese dessert.

It’s called “soofabing”, and I had lychee flavour with watermelon and pineapple. The best way I can describe it is like icecream, but in little layers… Anyway, it was so, so good!

There’s no way I could have ever tried this dessert on my own, so I’m really glad I had the chance with the girls. We said goodbye around 10, and Eunice caught the bus with me.

Today has been tiring – the weather was much cooler, but my body still insisted on waking me up at 7:30am – sigh. I started off the day by catching the MTR to Mong Kok East to see the Bird Garden and Flower Market. It was an interesting experience. The Bird Garden was a long strip filled with LOTS of birds in little cages. I’m not sure how humane it is, but the constant chirping and the leafy green promenade was nice.

From there, I walked along Yuen Po Street to the Flower Market. For some reason, the smells of the market reminded me of my Grandparents’ old house on the Central Coast in NSW. I think their garden had a similar scent. Anyway, there were some beautiful flowers, and I had fun taking photos.

After that, I grabbed lunch at Ajisen Ramen (I’m loving how easy it is to get Japanese food here!) and headed back. I had a nap at the hotel and then walked over to the Jade Markets. Last time I was in HK, Kawin and her Mum took us there, and I got a beautiful blue necklace. This time I didn’t have Kawin’s Mum’s incredible magical bargaining powers, so I probably got ripped off, but I got 2 delicate jade necklaces, one in green and one in red. They’re engraved, and each bead has a different colour.

I love the Jade Markets because they remind me of Aladdin’s cave with golden treasures sprawling everywhere. Again, I had fun taking photos.

Once I’d bought my necklaces, I wandered down Temple Street for a bit, but it’s not a really nice area so I turned back less than halfway. Which brings it back to now! I booked my airport transfer for tomorrow morning – the concierge said I had to catch one at 5:15am to get there in time…. So that’s nuts. But I am getting ridiculously excited about going to Europe! I’m still getting my head around the idea of going to the other side of the world! Any tips on how to kill 14 hours on a plane? Luckily my book (The Secret History, by Donna Tartt) is fascinating, but hopefully there’s more choice of movies than the Melb-HK leg.

Before I finish and head out to dinner, here is a little list of things that I love about Hong Kong: the mix of old and new, dirty and clean, the bamboo scaffolding, the crazy neon signs, the ridiculously awesome food and the endless energy.

Next post will be from London! xox

One Crazy City

Well, I made it to Hong Kong! The flight wasn’t too bad – there was no-one in the seat next to me, so I could stretch out a bit. The most interesting part of the flight (apart from watching Despicable Me, finally! Super cute), was with about 3 hours to go (it was night), I opened my window blind and saw a lightning storm outside in the distance. It was amazing – the clouds lit up in a dull burst of yellow, like a mini sun. Very, very cool.

I didn’t get to my hotel until about 3am Adelaide time (uugh), so am pretty tired, but loving being back in Asia proper. In my enthusiasm, I accidently started talking to the Customs official in Japanese… Oops. Apart from the surprisingly large amount of Japanese products (and TV stations) available, Hong Kong has a very different feel to Tokyo, but still has something familiar about it.

This morning I decided to go in search of an authentic Hong Kong breakfast, which can only mean one thing… Yum cha! I’m staying in a hotel just off Nathan Road (which I remember as a main drag from my last trip in 2007), so I went for a walk and eventually came across a place that was open (not too many shops open before 10-10:30 here) on a side-street. Basically I picked it because it was open, and the pictures looked good. I’m glad I did! It was like stepping into a local version of the Ding Hao. I was seated on the same table as a mother and daughter, who very kindly helped me get the waitress’s attention and figure out how to order. It’s little moments like these that restore my faith in human nature. They didn’t have to help me, but they did, and it made all the difference to me. Anyway, I ate 3 amazing dishes – steamed chicken buns, steamed prawn dumplings (a favourite!) and rice rolls with beef. YUM!

The rest of the afternoon (so far) has also been about food – I caught the MTR to Central and found the mall Dad and I had explored last time near the Harbour. I grabbed a Haagen-Dazs pomegranete, white peach and orange blossom sorbet (it was divine), and picked up a grapefruit and poppyseed macaroon to try later. I ducked into Zara (oh the joy of Zara! How I wish we had it at home), and bought a beanie, because I forgot to pack mine. I may or may not have also bought a couple of thin tops for work as well…

Anyway, I’m sitting at a cafe in the ifc mall with a sesame bagel sitting next to me, waiting to be eaten, so I’ll sign off. Tonight I’m meeting Kawin and Eunice for dinner (we’re having Japanese). It’s been nearly 2 years since we last caught up, so I’m pretty excited!

Hummingbird Bakery

Ok, so my plan for day one in London has got to be visiting the Hummingbird Bakery (amazingly it’s close to where I’m staying!). I expect that sugary delights are the best way to fight the cold and jetlag. If not, I’m still going anyway!

http://hummingbirdbakery.com/

As an aside, I picked Dad up from the airport this evening and had one of those moments when you realise that yes, I’m actually going away! Next time I visit will be to hop on a plane! Very exciting!

20 days to go.

Laudrée