Dec 3-8 Linton goes to Hong Kong!

Because we are lucky enough to be living in the southern hemisphere for a year, our proximity to Asia made it a logical place for us to try and visit this year. We had originally hoped to meet my first cousin, Sheila and her family in Thailand during Christmas break but recent news events and high holiday prices ruled this plan out. We then decided it made sense for me (Linton) to go alone to visit with Sheila and her family who have lived in Hong Kong for the last 13 years. With the help of our fantastic travel agent, Emma, I managed to get a decent price on an airline ticket with Cathay Pacific direct. I left very early in the morning on December 3rd and I have to admit felt quite guilty about leaving James and the boys. The flight was overbooked and I was offered $300 AUD, $100 US, access to the Cathay lounge and $100 in Cathay plane spending money to take the later flight that day. It was very tempting but I forged on. I have always heard Cathay Pacific is a good airline and it did live up to its reputation in my eyes. The woman beside me had never flown before so I was her guide to airline protocol and procedures and assisted her as she felt unwell during most of the flight. This was not exactly how I wanted to spend my nine plus hours on the flight!

Upon arriving in Hong Kong, things got better quickly. I was very impressed with the layout of the airport and the processing of our arrival. After retrieving my bag, I boarded the extremely efficient and painless Airport Express train that took me right into Central station in Hong Kong. Sheila was meeting me there. After a happy and teary reunion (we have not seen each other in a year) we drove back to Sheila’s apartment in their brand new van. Sheila, her husband Andrew and their two beautiful kids live in a great location (Wan Chai) and their apartment is quite spacious for Hong Kong with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and living quarters with a toilet for their helper. Once at the apartment, Sheila and I quickly changed and headed downtown to have a drink at a couple of the high profile hotel bars in Hong Kong. The highlight of the night was crossing over to Kowloon on the Star Ferry and having a kir royale at the bar at the top of the Peninsula Hotel watching the harbour light show on all the city’s skyscrapers. What a skyline! I was extremely impressed. Sheila then took me to her favourite noodle restaurant and we ate some authentic Chinese cuisine – yum – and then to bed for the night. It was a long day for me as Hong Kong is three hours behind Melbourne.

Sheila had suggested an itinerary for me for the day on Thursday and with her helper, Jovie’s assistance, I made my way up The Peak on the bus from their apartment. The Peak is a spot at the top of the mountain overlooking Hong Kong that has a cable car running up to it, a lookout and a tourist walk around the mountain with spectacular views. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed some spectacular views of downtown Hong Kong and the valleys around the Peak. I then rode the cable car back down to Central and caught the bus to Stanley Market. Central Hong Kong is such a busy thriving place it is hard to describe. If you ever want to shop, all the brands are here. Too bad I wasn’t in the market for Hermes or Louis Vuitton. The bus ride to Stanley was equally as picturesque as my morning at the Peak and I was busy taking pictures as we drove through Repulse Bay and up the coastal roads. You really have to be comfortable with heights and winding roads living here. My stomach was getting a workout! Stanley is a beautiful bay that has a very touristy ex-pat market. I did manage to do a bit of bartering and bought some shoes, glasses, a blouse and some little toys for the boys for Christmas. Sheila then generously picked me up after she was done school and we returned to her apartment quickly to get ready for her aerobics class at the local cricket club. The class was led by her fit and gorgeous friend Sandy and was quite the workout but I think I managed to keep up respectably. We all had a glass of wine to celebrate our class participation afterwards. After a quick change back at Sheila’s apartment, we were out for our first of four nights out on the town. We met four of her amazing girlfriends at a cute restaurant (Jaspa’s in Happy Valley) and continued with the wine drinking at dinner. Then it was time to go to Happy Foot for a foot massage (Sheila had booked a private room for all of us) and a post-massage Cosmo martini ended the night. Phew! And that was only day 1.

Although Sheila had suggested a morning itinerary for me while she was at work on Friday, I decided to have a lazy morning and sleep in as I was due to go to Sheila’s school on Friday afternoon to meet her co-workers and her class. Sheila teaches at an International School that is within walking distance from their apartment with amazing facilities and faculty from all over the world. I was treated as though as I was a celebrity by her adorable Year 3 students. They all sat quietly, asked me questions about myself and presented me with amazing cards that they had made. After school was dismissed, I walked home with Jovie, and my niece and nephew back to the apartment to get ready to go their club for drinks and to meet up with some of Sheila’s friends. From there, Sheila and I were going on to the restaurant/nightlife district, Lan Kwai Fung. I have to say the ex-pat lifestyle is quite enjoyable. I was very impressed with the facilities and family-friendliness of Sheila’s club, The Hong Kong Football Club. The kids had dinner and we enjoyed some drinks while hanging out with some more of Sheila and Andrew’s friends. Then on to Lan Kwai Fung to a restaurant called Zest where we met four more of Sheila’s friends who were equally as friendly and interesting from South Africa, Canada and England. On the way there, we stopped at a Russian vodka bar that is literally in the freezer (hence the fur coats) for a photo-op. After a great dinner, we hit the bars and this is the point in the evening where I have no idea what the name of the bars/clubs were but all I can say is FUN! Loud music, Chinese and ex-pat people together and everyone having a good time. I think we got home around 3am.

Saturday morning we all got up and drove up to another teacher friend of Sheila’s who lives in a beach house with her husband and kids at Big Wave Beach. Another windy coastal road with spectacular vistas and apartment building/ houses built right on the side of the mountain. Big Wave Beach turned out to be a beautiful bay and surfer beach so I was in heaven. It wasn’t quite warm enough to go swimming or sunbathe but when Sheila’s new van got a flat (not happy!), I was happy to stay and hang with Sheila and her kids on the beach. After the tire was changed, we went back to the apartment to decorate their Christmas tree and get ready for another night on the town. For my last night in Hong Kong, we were going out for dinner with some more of Sheila’s teacher friends. We had a fun dinner with an amazing couple, Chris & Chris and were later joined for awhile by a stag party of some more of their colleagues. From here we were off to more clubs and bars with Sheila’s colleagues and it suddenly became a very late night. By the end of the evening, I truly felt like I had made some great friends.

When I awoke exhausted and a bit fragile the next morning, I then understood what had kept Sheila and her family here for all these years (besides the 15% income tax), it was the amazing people and the exciting lifestyle that I don’t know if you can duplicate anywhere else. After an amazing all-you-can-eat brunch back at their club, Sheila and I were off to Central to check my luggage and hang out until I was due to go out to airport. We had a very teary goodbye as I was so grateful to her for such an amazing visit and we agreed that we were made closer by this visit. Back to reality as I made my way back to Melbourne on the red-eye flight. I arrived without incident on Monday morning and was very happy to get back to James and the boys (and climb into my own bed!)

THANK YOU SHEILA AND ANDREW!