I had a fabulous time catching up with the family in Hong Kong. It was only the second time I had spent Christmas over there and it was great.
Shopping centres were relatively quiet
What did we eat on Christmas Day?
I don’t know about anyone else but we had turkey, roast potatoes, sprouts etc, washed down with lots of mulled wine! There were 16 of us altogether, 4 generations (oldest 89, youngest 5) so it was the usual noisy fun!
Aside from spending time with the family, I didn’t do much – went to the cinema (watched ‘Big Hero 6‘ with my sisters’ kids and also watched ‘The Hobbit‘), went out for drinks a couple of times and ate out a lot (Vietnamese, Chinese AND Japanese!).
Two very differing views from my sisters’ apartment windows!
One thing that I did notice was that there wasn’t the usual ‘frenzy’ in the shops that we see on Boxing Day – there were no sales (aside from the usual ones) and shopping centres were not any busier than usual.
I managed to resist shopping pretty much all together – my spending was mostly on eating out and travelling. The only thing I bought were some souvenirs for colleagues – they wanted ‘Fortune Cats‘ (or ‘Maneki Neko’ to give them their original Japanese name). They’re supposed to be good luck talismans so I’ve kept one for myself – kinda cute and hopefully will help bring me good fortune for 2015!
It’s always a little sad to say goodbye to the family. My sisters are always asking why I don’t move over there but while I love visiting the country, I wouldn’t like to live and work there, despite the humongous wages and the 15% income tax! In a similar way, I wouldn’t like to live and work in London, but I like visiting the place – that’s just me.
Still, it won’t be too long before I see them again, most likely in the summer.
Sounds like you had a great Christmas. 16 ppl dinner is pretty big! Must be cool to have 4 generations eating all together. That's excellent quality time.
I'd love to go to HK in the future. Happy New Year!
Hi Tawcan, yes, it was great to have all the family together – the kids had to sit on a little table themselves as we couldn't all fit on the one table! Thanks for the new year wishes – all the best for you in 2015 and perhaps you'll get a chance to go to HK then!
Sounds like a great trip!
Amazing views from the apartment, what floor is that on? Looks too high for me! 🙂
Hi TFS
The view on the left was from the 9th floor on one sister's apartment. The view from the right from another apartment was only on the 2nd floor but the apartment is built halfway up a mountain, hence the tremendous view looking down!
Looks fantastic! I'm a bit of a wuss with heights as you can probably tell. Although would happily go on a bungee jump or tall rollercoaster etc… I just don't like tall buildings, which is a bit odd. 🙂
I don't mind tall buildings (as long as I'm inside) but bungee jumping…..my knees go weak just thinking about it lol!
I'm glad you had a great trip Weenie! I'm like you, in that I would love to visit Hong Kong but not live there.
You're onto a winner with the Fortune Cat too! 🙂
Thanks Huw! Yes, am hoping the Fortune Cat does what it's supposed to do! 🙂