We spent just under a week in Hong Kong, it is completely different that the last two times we came. The last two times were for vacation and this time it has taken on a different flavour. We are staying at my grandmother’s apartment in North Point. I feel like we are caught in limbo between a vacation and trying to find a routine. We are having breakfasts and dinners at home and going out to explore during the day. We spend more time wandering streets rather than with a deliberate sightseeing agenda.

Here are a few of my favourite things so far:

One of our main activities (and my favourite) is working out each morning. Usually on vacation, we take a break from our real lives in every way. This time, we made a commitment to try and make this as much like our real life as possible, exercise being a part of it. So each day, we have woken up and went out to exercise. I really like going to Victoria Park and seeing what the locals are doing. As space is limited in apartments, the park is laid out with so many amenities and many people use it to meet up for tai chi classes, individual workouts and running around the jogging track.

We won’t be in Hong Kong for Lunar New Year. We are going to be in Japan with our friends. I wanted to get some pre-New Year action in and see what it is like. I am pretty big on superstitions and learning about fortunes in different cultures. If I get a fortune or get to make a wish, I put a lot of thought into it, I don’t take this lightly. So, we made a trip to the Wong Tai Sin temple to see people preparing for Lunar New Years. There were people lighting incense and people praying for good fortunes for the new year. I watched many people take wooden sticks to small stools and place offerings of roast chicken, fruits and other treats as they shook the container of wooden sticks waiting for their fortune to come out. I really wanted to partake in this activity and get a fortune, but without knowing exactly how to do it, I would rather not get a bad fortune.

And then there is riding the Ding, the Ding is what they call the streetcar in Hong Kong, my guess is cause it makes a ding sound. The streetcar runs right outside our apartment and goes in the general direction of a lot of things we are doing. The Ding is a double decker streetcar and it costs $2.30 HK which is about 30 cents! You pretty much can’t beat that for a way to get to see the city, the local hustle and bustle and on the cheap.

As the limbo subsides we head out for a long haul trip to Tokyo and back into vacation mode.

Jenn