Next time you come to add a new holiday destination to your travel bucket list, consider making it Hong Kong. This beautiful, exotic region of China is not only one of the most beautiful and vibrant places on the planet, but it is home to some of the most exciting, interesting and memorable experiences too.
Here are just a few of the reasons, why you NEED to visit Hong Kong at least once in your lifetime:
Have Some Dim Sum
If you love Chinese food, there’s no doubt you’ll be blown away by the flavoursome Cantonese food on offer in Hong Kong. Fresher and a bit more interesting than the Westernised Chinese food we’re used to here, the dishes are a real revelation, especially the dim sum, which is golden, juicy and very cheap! Washed down with a pot of authentic Chinese tea, it’s like your own little slice of heaven right here on earth.
Shop ‘Til You Drop in Causeway Bay
If shopping is your thing, you’ll have the time of your life in Causeway Bay, which is basically a microcosm of Hong Kong’s shopping scene in one place. You can literally find everything from haute couture on the fashion walk to authentic Chinese food, clothing and bric-brac at the bustling Jardine’s Crescent street market. Your senses will be assaulted, and there’s so much to see that you’ll probably want to base yourself right in the heart of the region. There are many hotels in Causeway Bay, which could easily be described as luxurious, so you’ll have a great time.Just remember to pack your credit card!
Ride the World’s Longest Elevator
For the quirky traveller who likes to do something unique, there is the Central-Mids-Level Escalator which is the longest escalator and walkways system on the planet. Thousands of people ride the feat of engineering each day, and it’s surrounded by lots of quaint cafes, bars and restaurants, which you can peruse at leisure. Fans of cinema might recognise the Central for its appearances in classic films like the much acclaimed Chungking Express and comic book adaptation the Dark Knight.
Enjoy a Drink at Lan Kwai Fong
Lan Kwai Fong is the place to go when the sun sets in Hong Kong. Located a stone’s throw from Hong Kong’s Central Business District, the place is literally packed with clubs and bars where the party never ends, and all of Hong Kong’s coolest people go to hangout. Drink, dance and take in the glamorous location for a guaranteed good time.
Do Disneyland Differently
Flying out to Florida to live out your childhood Disney dreams is fine and all, but it’s a bit overdone. If you want to make your Disney dreams come true and do something a bit different, why not head to Hong Kong Disneyland? It has Mickey Mouse, it has the roller coasters, and it’s certainly recognisable as Disneyland, but it has a certain something about it, perhaps an oriental influence, that you won’t find in Florida.
As you can see, Hong Kong really does have something for everyone. It truly deserves a place on everyone’s bucket list.
I am taking part in Donna from What the Redhead Said‘s Living Arrows – which is a celebration of childhood!
We could all do with a little more celebration in our lives!
To quote Donna, “The project originally took it’s name from a poem by Kahlil Gibran,
“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”
and every Monday we share a moment from our week and invite others to do the same as part of this linky.”
Week 38
I’ve been off work sick this week. Had pains running through my back to my legs for weeks and it was only getting worse when I drove. This resulted in a lot of time in the house this week. Mark had a lieu day on Thursday, so he kept the little man entertained. They went for a walk around the nature reserve behind our house – so credit goes to him this week for my living arrows pics. The walk was cut short as our cat sometimes likes to attend and when you get to a certain part of the walk, starts shouting like crazy… almost like you’re at the end of her territory and headed for danger. She’s a bit of a pain with it, so you end up coming back! It was little man’s first outing in his wellies, so probably just as well it was cut short as he came back covered in mud as he was still adjusting to wearing a new item of footwear.
I don’t give my cat, Orla Kitty as much of a profile on this blog as RLT, but she is a super important part of our family. Orla Kitty is a Russian Blue x Ragdoll and came to us by chance really. Mark had cats before and missed them, I’d never had much to do with them and out of curiosity looked at a site called pre loved. A lady about 30 miles away was in need of rehoming a cat urgently. I couldn’t get this cat out of my head, she was only five months old and I had seen previously that these sites were being used by sub-humans buying up cats to rile up dogs ahead of dog fights. I was adamant that this was this cat’s destiny if we didn’t get her – so that day, we did. We turned up to a mad house of cats climbing curtains, kids crying, boxes being packed up and overflowing litter trays.
This cat needed out of there fast, the woman who owned her was leaving her husband and three kids, he gave her custody of the cats and she wasn’t allowed to take more than one to her new home. So the little one had to go. We felt incredibly sorry for the kids and cats in that house. We thought we’d just go to meet the cat that night, but off we left with their loaned cat carrier across the moors ready to take the little cat, named Mabel, to her new home after being witness to three small kids having to say goodbye to their beloved pet. It was so sad and quite an odd experience to be part of given that they were strangers.
We decided to change her name as she only responded to ‘little cat’ anyway. We racked our brains for days then suddenly I realised that as I was fully obsessed with Orla Kiely, it would be only right to name her after my favourite designer, therefore she was known as Orla Kitty from that day on and we registered her as so with the microchip people, vet and pet insurance.
Orla Kitty and I had an ok relationship, I worked close to home so I used to come home for lunch to check on her, she wasn’t particularly troublesome just always around somewhere or on your knee. She was closer to Mark than I because he was better with her, I was a bit jumpy.
All of that changed when two months after we got Orla Kitty I found out that I was pregnant, but sadly the pregnancy was progressing but the baby had not developed in around five weeks. I had to have a medical miscarriage. This broke my heart. I’m not very good at talking about how I feel, but Mark threw himself into work to cope and I sat at home feeling incredibly sorry for myself. I am not exaggerating when I say that Orla Kitty saved me from myself at that time. She never left my side at any point I was on my own, she laid in bed with me every day until Mark got home. If I cried she would sit as close to my face as possible, almost as if she was trying to wipe away my tears with her fur. I was spiralling into depression, I had some circumstances at work which were exasperating this, but this cat showed me kindness when I needed it most and I have never been more thankful to anyone or anything than I will be to her.
This was the day before I returned to work after my miscarriage.
That was almost two and a half years ago now and we have been together through two house moves, another pregnancy and a baby in the house since then. This cat never ceases to amaze me. The kindess she shows to the baby is remarkable. She is so patient and gentle with him.
Some people think it is strange that we have a picture of our cat as the main artwork of our kitchen/diner but as well as being created by a darling friend, mandascat and being one of a kind, they really don’t understand exactly how important our cat is to our family. I may joke around on social media and call her #catjerk but this cat has shown me kindess at a time when people at work and the world did not. I can never thank her enough for what she did for me at that time and for adjusting so well to RLT. So we will continue to treat her like a cat queen! Sometimes we find comfort in the places we least expect and I make no apologies for thinking my cat is wonderful in a world where not many people understand this. I guess this must make me a crazy cat lady.
I am taking part in Donna from What the Redhead Said‘s Living Arrows – which is a celebration of childhood!
We could all do with a little more celebration in our lives!
To quote Donna, “The project originally took it’s name from a poem by Kahlil Gibran,
“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”
and every Monday we share a moment from our week and invite others to do the same as part of this linky.”
Week 37/52 Living Arrows
Seasons are changing
Hats and wellies have been out this week! Brrrr it has been cold!
Little one started French classes this week, baby sessions of Lingotots coincide with my day out of the office, so I signed us up. There are a lack of classes on a Friday, so it was great to have the opportunity to take the little one to something. We also took a trip to Butterfly World at a nearby park with Dada when he returned from his Tour de Mont Blanc at the weekend. Was good to have him back after nine nights away.
As I am terrified of anything with wings, the thought of Butterfly World made me feel sick, but it was actually very beautiful and the butterflies wanted to be near my face about as much as I wanted them to be so we got on fine.
Didn’t realise how much RLT missed his Dada until he returned, he was really clingy with me for the first few hours and kept giving him funny looks. He got hysterical when I put him to bed, but when Dada entered the room he was ok.. I guess he just didn’t want him to leave again. Awww.
Welcome to my brand spanking new guest post series, Mums and Music! As many of us don’t have the time to be going out disco dancing much anymore, this series is to give us mums the opportunity to reminisce about songs we may have forgotten, have a laugh at what we used to think was cool and take some time out to listen to something other than cbeebies theme tunes! This week I am very pleased to welcome the first of my blogging besties – Hayley from Devon Mama. Hayley has been a great friend to me during my time as a mum and often gives me pep talks about work and life. Although, I had to think for a moment about what her real name as she is affectionately referred to as Dev by my other blogging bestie, Nicola from Mummy to Dex and I.
I digress… OVER TO DEV!
A Little Bit about Hayley
Devon Mama is run by me; Hayley – a 31 year old mama and wife living in rural Devon. Along with my husband, son and the world’s bounciest dog, I can usually be found attempting to cook, Googling everything and embracing the strange new world that is parenting. Add in a house with ‘a lot of potential’ and a return to my ‘real’ job as a Company Director and it’s organized chaos at the best of times.
A Song From Hayley’s Childhood
Lionel Richie – All Night Long
I always like Lionel Richie to my childhood. We used to have his CD on repeat as we’d drive down through France on holiday. We would all sing along to it in the back of the car at the top of our voices, badly out of tune! Just listening to the opening bars of it for this has taken me back there – and made me want a holiday NOW!
A Song that makes Hayley happy
Edward Maya – Stereo Love
This song reminds me of holidays and summer time – it was playing on our first holiday together and seems to have followed us every time we’ve been away. Every time I hear it, it makes me think of heat, sun and relaxation!
A song that psyches Hayley up
Macklemore – Can’t Hold Us
If I put this on in the car or in the gym (oh yeah, I went there!) I can’t help but bop along in time with it. I’m 90% sure I know none of the words but in my head I’m word perfect. I turn it up loud and get the blood pumping. Or you know, as loud as you can with a toddler in the back seat…
A song that makes Hayley sad
Eric Clapton – Tears In Heaven
The lyrics, the reason it was written, the slow pace… this song just puts me in a reflective place.
Hayley’s favourite song from a film
Beyonce – Listen (Dream Girls)
There’s just something about this song that gets me – I like to belt it out whilst I’m doing the washing up. Because obviously Beyonce has nothing on me. If you haven’t seen the movie, I would recommend it completely. I didn’t watch it for years because the thought didn’t appeal but it’s really good!
Hayley’s favourite theme tune from a tv series
True Blood
or
The Chain
So tempting to say Eastenders… I mean really, is there anything more iconic?! But in terms of songs that get stuck in my head I’d have to say either True Blood or The Chain, which is used for Formula One. I can’t pick one… I love TV too much!!
