The real portion of the trip has begun! After some last minute scrambles to get all that I need, and maybe throwing some money at the problem, I have managed to get my butt over to Asia! A surprise announcement: my good friend Julie Patrick is joining me for the first 3 weeks of my journey! She had some time off, and good opportunity to get away from the dreary month of January, and pulled the trigger on some adventure.
The trip began with a pleasant change of plans. Julie and I had booked two different flights, and I was expecting to have to wait for her in HK for a couple hours after my arrival ( undesirable after 13.5 hr flight… ). However, her flight was cancelled! Booo… But, she was rescheduled onto my flight, and we managed to sit next to each other yay! Random chance is looking better for 2015 than it did for 2014 :).
The flight went by smoothly, we both snoozed it up, and I indulged on some wine and sleeping pills ( the Steve Wilson special ) to help pass the time. Before we knew it, we were in HK and meeting up with my old friends Hollie and Chris Ivany. They were brilliant hosts during my last pass through Asia, and they didn’t disappoint this time. Hollie greeted us at the airport and we cabbed back to their lovely little box in the sky. Hong Kong has the most expensive real estate on the planet, and the skyline is covered with never ending towers of people stacked on top of each other. We found our way to Hollie’s jenga piece in a massive tower, on the 61st floor. Not for those who fear heights! The first evening we were exhausted so we turned in and got some solid zzz’s for the next day.
We awoke the next morning at a normal hour which was great after a 16 hour roll forward of the clock. Some mulling about occurred, and after breakfast we set out on the town to do a bit of exploring. First up was the local underground market near the apartment. For those that haven’t been to a big Asian city, the markets are a must see. The smells and chaos are a bit much at times but really play to your understanding that you are on the other side of the world in a different culture. We passed by some exotic eats, a tub of live frogs, and some poor little turtles in a net, and moved on.
The subway carted us towards the heart of the city, our goal being to hop on the tram system with a couple beers and see a bit of this bustling beast. Hong Kong is an urban beauty, and it really felt great to be back here. It’s quintessential piece being the amazing skyline, and crowded street signage.
After some sight seeing, we were a bit starved and found a fav place of Chris and Hollie’s in an upcoming new neighborhood, Kennedy Town. Recently given its own MTR stop, it has come to life since my last visit, and grown from a expat lazy hideaway to a full blown stop. The food was great, but the jet lag was lingering, and after we clipped it home to chill.
Unfortunately, Julie, Hollie and myself were all getting over illnesses and a new super bug had emerged taking Julie down in the process. Not the best way to begin a vacation. A quick stop at the local doc though, and she had some chinese meds to ease her pains.
The next day we were due to fly to Bali in the evening, so after some good byes with the fantastic hosts in the morning, we mostly chilled all day. We did manage to get out for a hike up the mountain overlooking the neighborhood. It had some great views and serenity given the madness it overlooks. Julie even found a lonely hula hoop and amazed the locals with some tricks! Yes, quite random.
That evening we headed to the airport to dive deeper into the Asian landscape, and visit an old favorite of mine, Bali.
Here comes the sun, doo dooo doo do