Holla from Hong Kong

View from The Peak

Diana and I at the MRT station

Good Feng Shui

Faster than the blink of an eye...an accurate cliche for both the pace of life in Hong Kong and the amount of time I spent in this booming city. After spending time in so many Asian cities I thought one more might steal my soul...but Hong Kong kind of regenerated my spirits and eased my transition back into modern life.

I was really fortunate to be able to stay with my friend's mom, Sandra, who lives in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island. She greeted me at the airport and helped me cart all my bags to her place on the uber-efficient MRT train and City Flyer bus. Such a treat to be back in the groove with decent public transport. We visited the wet market in Wan Chai and had some Chinese food to start the day. It's awesome to tour around with a local who speaks the language, because already we've been in restaurants that don't even offer an English menu so it's all a leap of faith!

Sandra and I headed into Mainland China for some much-anticipated shopping that culminated in a 2-hour full-body massage for $8 (there are definitely some redeeming features to the hustle-and-bustle!) Nearly missed the last train back to Hong Kong, but arrived to a deserted Wan Chai at about 1am.

As fate would have it my friend, Diana, from university accepted a teaching position in Hong Kong and was arriving in the city this week to start getting settled and organised for the upcoming school year. We got to spend some time catching up over a cold frappucino and a round-trip on the Star Ferry. Also caught the latest Harry Potter movie at the flashy IFC Centre in the financial district.

Caught a magnificent view of Hong Kong from The Peak -- the viewing venue at the top of Hong Kong Island with a commanding view of the Kowloon side, plus the south side of the island where the smoke-stacks stand as a tall reminder of all those tags that say, "Made in China."

Not too sure what to expect on my budget flight home, but at this point I'm just ready to grab a pillow and slap on my eye-mask for a much-needed snooze. Getting really excited to see the smiles waiting in Vancouver...

Thanks for reading,

L.