Another level

When a new shop opens in Hong Kong it is customary for friends, family & business acquaintances to send bouquets of flowers. Not just any bouquet - a massive one!!

This is not a new thing, so we are quite used to seeing them. However, the new shop we walked passed on Saturday took it to another level. As you can see in the pics, there were so many flowers that you couldn't even see the shop. I have no idea why this particular shop was so special or popular - but I am intrigued to find out. Perhaps someone famous owns it?

I want to open a new shop just to get the flowers:)

What did you get up to on the weekend? Did you have a lovely Mother's Day?

We had quite a jam packed weekend. Friday night I had a work function, followed by drinks with Em (who has incidentally finished her 4 month dream holiday), and a house de-warming party all in one night. Saturday I took CoCo up to the park with Michelle and her two boys, then headed out to Horizon Plaza (27 story industrial building housing all sorts of shops - and home to our butcher, Pacific Gourmet - num num), then our lovely friends Louise and Kristine popped over for dinner (burgers and these chips)!

Yesterday we did something very random and hired a car (!!), rallied together 4 of our friends, and had a lovely afternoon in the peak park. The dogs played all afternoon whilst we laid around relaxing. The weather was spectacular and we had such a nice afternoon. We popped in to see the Barretts new bub (more on that anon), and then drove out to Shek O for thai on the beach (just because we could - and because we had to fit as much as we could in whilst we had the car).

Sound like a jam packed weekend? It was, I can tell you! I love weekends like this, but then again I also crave weekends where we do nothing. Perhaps we will reserve next weekend for doing exactly that.

Have a lovely week!

PS. For those that are wondering, the shop is actually a Canadian food store (i.e. a store selling Canadian produce).

Day 3

8 May 2010

The (secret) park at the Peak.

The things you find out when you become parents...parents of dogs that is! When Will and I got CoCo we were on the search for dog parks in Hong Kong. A friend told us about a park at the Peak, not the part of the Peak everyone knows, a secret place. You see, the Peak is not actually the peak - if you keep driving to the top (which is quite a way further up), you get to the actual peak of the mountain. That's where the park is!

We were absolutely blown away with how beautiful this place is! In terms of public spaces in Hong Kong, I'm afraid to say that the Hong Kong government usually gets it wrong. This park however, they have got absolutely right! It is wonderful - there are wide open spaces, meandering gardens, blooms galore, streams, park benches - in fact, everything you would expect to find in a park back home in Australia.

Given how special this place is, you would think it would be filled with people all of the time. Quite the contrary actually, the park is always quiet and peaceful which makes it extra special.

The other amazing thing about the park is that, unlike most places in Hong Kong, dogs are actually allowed here. In fact, it is a designated dog park!

Today, the very friend who told me about the park drove CoCo and I up there with her two doggies (also poodles) for a play. We had a lovely morning in the sunshine chatting and playing fetch with our furry friends. What a perfect way to start the weekend.

Day 2

7 May 2010

I work on the 50th floor of Central Plaza. This is the view from my office.

I wasn't intending on capturing this view today. In fact, this is not always the view from my office (and not because we hot-desk)... because most days those mountains in the background are clouded in the most horrible pollution. Yeap, they are usually invisible! Yesterday however, they were as clear as could be, we could even see the satellite towers on top of them. The cloud through the buildings is just morning mist/cloud. I thought it made for the most interesting photo, and a rare one at that.

When we moved here 5 years ago, the pollution was nowhere near as bad as it is today. Some days it's ok (usually after heavy rain), and others it is unbearable! Why do we live here you ask? I don't know, I grew up on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia so I do know what clear blue skies are and if I really knew what it was doing to my health, I would probably feel compelled to move. But complacency is an amazing thing. You just seem to get used to it. IT becomes the norm. The blue skies back home become the unusual...

Incidentally, the view is from Hong Kong island looking back to Kowloon, near Kai Tak - the old airport.

Day 1

6 May 2010

Walking through the Wanchai markets on my way to work. You can see snippets of a flower stall on the right (not my fav one which is down the road a bit further, but one I occasionally buy from).

I don't have to walk through the market to get to work, there is a side road which I could take if I wanted to avoid it. I don't know what it is about the market, but I LOVE walking though there everyday - it makes me feel alive, reminds me that I am living in Asia, and makes me very thankful. Most of all, thankful that I have this wonderful opportunity to live in amongst another culture.

The market is always bustling, and I ALWAYS find new things everyday when I walk through. If you ask any of our visitors, they usually say that they enjoy visiting this market the most in all of Hong Kong. It's only small, but there are so many treasures to be found.

Last night when I walked home through the market I went to visit the local tofu lady (who incidentally also sells bean sprouts - which is what I was after). Just as I arrived she pulled out the fresh batch of tofu and proceeded to yell down the street to alert everyone to its arrival (well at least that's what I could make out of her Cantonese). Then I called into the fruit shop to buy some mango's and got caught buying a bag full of fruit - lychee's just in season, the most wonderfully aromatic guava's, and some cute little pink gala apples (guess what we had for breaky this morning - fresh apple and guava juice! YUMMO). Then I called into the thai shop (one of my absolute fav shops in the market) to buy fresh mint, basil and lime. I had a quick chat to the owner (who incidentally used to be my beautician at the Mandarin Oriental before she opened this shop), before heading home to cook dinner.

I thought a shot of the market was appropriate for day 1 considering how integral it is to my life in Hong Kong, and also, just because I LOVE it so much!

The 365 day project!

That sounds quite daunting doesn't it?

Yesterday I came across an idea which I thought was fantastic. A friend of mine has started a visual diary where she records her days through photo's - 1 pic per day for 365 days. I was feeling so inspired by the idea, that I have decided to try it out for myself. I thought this here bloggio was the perfect place for publication of the pics, considering that the inspiration behind The Holdens in Honkers was to keep in touch with fam & friends back home whilst we were living away. I think this project will hit the mark perfectly!

Hopefully I don't forget to capture each day... wouldn't it be annoying if after 365 days you only had 320 photo's! I guess I could live with that, although I will try my best to complete the project with 365 pics.

My greatest fear is that in the day to day humdrum of life, there won't be much to capture - let's face it, you can only take so many pics of your work desk (which is where I tend to spend the majority of my days). Anyway, I guess it will just force me to get creative which is not a bad thing.

So, here goes. Wish me luck!

I am a bad girl

Instead of working, I am sitting here at my desk dreaming about our upcoming trip to Paris and Spain (Barcelona, San Sebastian, Seville & Madrid). I can't stop thinking about it, and just wish I could fast forward the calender to 15 June NOW!

I really feel like I need a break, not a day off here and there, but a solid block of time to let my mind wander idly, without a thought of work or deadlines or 6 minute blocks of time. I want to be free to roam the streets and discover hidden treasures and spend time with hubby enjoying his company and our general banter about nothing and everything. I want to experience something new and exciting, something exotic and different, something fresh and inspiring - I am hoping for all these things on our trip. I don't think that will be too much trouble considering our destination...

Until then, I need to FOCUS! I have work to do, Will's 30th to organise, in-laws to visit, and loads of other stuff on my plate. 15 June feels so far away today, oh please hurry up and get here!

41 sleeps to go!

To show my appreciation...

for all the assistance the lovely receptionists at work give me throughout the year, I gave them each a little tin full of homemade cookies. I know, it's only a token gesture, but I wanted to give them something little and heartfelt to let them know that I do really appreciate their help.

I felt inspired to make cookies, and came up with the perfect idea of how to use the peppermint Haighs chocs that my lovely friend Louise bought back from Australia for me. I used a Nigella recipe as the base, and added the peppermint chocs (and a peppermint crisp - don't you love those!). Needless to say they were a little naughty (i.e. calorific), but they tasted so yum.

The girls were so surprised to receive the little treats, and I did notice a smile on their faces for the whole day following! Isn't giving such a wonderful thing. The feeling you get when you give is right up there in my books.