Blessed are
we, for having another chance to travel this year. This time to Hong Kong, without
the kids and mainly to escape from our busy, stressful lives in Singapore. It
was such a luxury to be able to 1) wake up at 10am every day and have
uninterrupted sleep till morning 2) watch tv in bed 3) hold the husband’s hands
while strolling and 4) just talk to the husband. Haha, can’t take number 3 for
granted y’know... with two kids in tow, there’s no way your two hands would be
free. So while it was just a short four days break, from time to time it is good to get away. Though to be honest, once you step back home and go through
just the first day of routine, it feels as though you have never rested. So for
me, to actually rest, I find it more effective to take a day off here and there
to just slow down and not rush through the day getting a hundred and one things
done, which is the case every other day.
Anyway, back
to Hong Kong.. As expected of any trip to this city, it was filled with much
shopping and eating. Dim sums, wanton noodles, roasted geese, egg tarts,
pineapple buns… we had quite a feast. And in between all the food, we shopped,
both along the streets and in shopping malls. The kids, as usual, hauled the
most. While it was mostly from international brands, the range there was much
wider which made it feel awesome to shop in - huge stores, huge buildings. I
guess if Singapore were next doors to a giant of an economy like China, we
could have that too. But well.. no thanks. Bad planning in terms of
timing on our part, it was China’s Golden Week holiday and the city was just too
crowded for comfort.
Although this
was not my first trip to Hong Kong but somehow, it left me with a very
different impression, one I didn’t like. I couldn’t reconcile how the streets
of one of the largest financial hub in the world were lined with such old
buildings; bamboo poles and worn out signage hanging delicately above almost
every shop front. As we walked beneath, I was worried for a freak accident
which seemed so probable. The level of hygiene also seemed a far cry from
perceived acceptable standards, and it saddened me to see many elderly hard at
work at not so pleasant environments. But yet, this was the city centre of
modern, developed Hong Kong I was referring to. It just didn’t gel. The
husband, on the other hand, found this surprisingly refreshing. He enjoyed the
unpredictability of the city, of coming across a posh restaurant or quaint
little shop in the midst of dirty, old shop houses, and the messy neon lights
flashing from various nooks and crannies of buildings. Given his nature, I
would have thought the opposite.
Despite
these, as I always say, any holiday is good and always welcomed!
The best
part of this trip in my opinion is not the city but for the husband and I to indulge
in the quiet comfort of each other’s company.
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