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!

Boarding for Hong Kong

A Note on Journals

Finding the right journal to chronicle my travels in really important for me. Luckily I stumbled across the perfect travel companions in Sydney a few years back. It was love at first sight when I discovered the Korean-made O-Check Design Graphics journals, notebooks and assorted paper bits and pieces at Pentimento in Newtown.  Since then, I’ve collected quite a few. My favourites are the ones where each page is different – filled with photos and pockets and stamps, so that no matter your mood you can still feel comfortable putting your thoughts on paper. This is the one that I look to Japan last year.

I don’t have pictures of the one I’m taking on this trip, but instead of photos on the pages, this one is full of off-kilter sketches of travellers and maps. I can’t wait to fill it up with my European adventures!

I also love the old-style map (circa 1914) on their website (http://www.o-check.net/index.html) to show where their products are sold

10 days to go.

Let’s Escape

25 days to go.

Laudrée

Flashback: Kusatsu, Japan

With my adopted family; Brenton, Will and Chris.

One of my fondest travel memories is of the impulsive road trip that we took to Kusatsu (草津）, an onsen town, in June 2009. Brenton, Chris, Will and I rented a car, got the car-hire guy to program the GPS, and drove. It was so liberating to say, ok we need to get out of the city, and then just do it.

We saw some incredible sights; a soaring three-pylon bridge half-built, flooded rice paddies, the night sky from the comfort of an outdoor hot spring bath.

Exploring Kusatsu onsen park

We got lost;  instead of seeing ancient Jomon period ruins, we found a lonely mountain path with views of a damn under construction.

Roadside stop with Ariel Sharon (our car), Haruki Murakami and some confused Japanese carpenters.

We had so much fun; water balloons, Haruki Murakami’s Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, a collection of flowers, a road that sung, Ariel Sharon and an Italian place with the worst wine known to mankind. And we became family.

Amandine is talking about getting her driver’s license and us hiring a car to drive from Lyon to Geneva to visit the UN in December.  I can’t wait!