I am flying to Laos tomorrow to spend another Chinese New Year in a new and exciting destination, one that's been on my "must visit" list for more than a few years now. I'll be heading directly to the capital, Vientiane, and then making my way down south—through Tha Kaek and Savannakhet all the way to Pakse—before flying north to Luang Prabang to finish things off. I probably don't need to tell you that I'm excited beyond belief and can't wait to get on that plane!
I know that once I come back, visions of the trip will amass in my brain, forming the first mega-memory of 2017. However, the new year has gotten off to a great start over these past weeks, and before the details are obscured beneath the shadows of travels abroad, I wanted to take a few moments to appreciate some of the small-yet-precious moments that have occurred since the clock struck midnight on January 1st.
For starters, let me say that, on the whole, the weather has been simply glorious of late! New Year's Day itself was relatively quiet, following an expectedly-late night in Sai Ying Pun and Wan Chai. I took Fredric on a walk and stumbled upon an Indian restaurant in Tai Hang with a lone outside table. After calamari curry (yep) and naan, I sampled a delicious ice cream concoction from Lab Made. It was so good that after I had finished it, I ordered another variety as a second helping, starting the new year off right indeed.
But it was Monday, the day after New Year's Day—the official public holiday because January 1st fell on a Sunday—that was truly the stuff of legend. My friends Ben and Angele had some friends visiting from France, and Monday was their last full day in town. Wanting to show off Hong Kong in all its natural glory, they organized a hike in Tai Long Wan, and Fredric even came along for a beautiful day of trekking in one of Hong Kong's most ruggedly beautiful locales. (In case you are wondering, the work year also got off to a great start after my return to the office on Tuesday.)
Another memorable evening of the young year occurred when Sarah's mom, Shelagh, and her friend Janet passed through Hong Kong on their way to New Zealand for a lengthy vacation. With Sarah now firmly rooted back in the UK, she turned to me and our friend Ailee to meet up with the ladies and show them a good time!
Of course we obliged, spending the evening in Yau Ma Tei at a great Nepalese restaurant called Manakamana, literally hidden behind the stalls of Temple Street Night Market. Although Shelagh and Janet were only in Hong Kong for one night, Ailee and I tried to make it memorable, and it was pure and absolute pleasure to chat with them about their upcoming adventure over momos, lamb curry and draft beer, followed by a lovely meander through the atmospheric market.
The next day was another great one—and almost certainly the most I've laughed in a long time! I'm not sure I've mentioned it on this blog before, but last summer, a good friend from Villanova, Carla, and her husband Matt, moved to Singapore. It's always nice to have 'Nova neighbors in the Little Red Dot, but as an even nicer bonus for me and Christina, Carla has to come to Hong Kong for work practically every month! And we usually take the opportunity to reunite the Wildcats for dinner, drinks or some combination of both.
This time, Carla asked about attending the races. As luck would have it, the races that particular Wednesday evening were not being held in Happy Valley but rather in Shatin, and so after a hearty Indonesian dinner at you know where, the three of us took a taxi to Hong Kong's other racecourse.
As the races were taking place, Christina was also looking up flights for Chinese New Year, debating between a jaunt down to Boracay or joining me in Laos. Using a mobile application called Hopper, she found a flight itinerary to Vientiane direct from Guangzhou, over in China. It was expensive, but looked like the only viable option.
Standing up along the edge of the balcony of the uppermost floor, Carla and I raucously cheered on the thoroughbreds as they flew along the stretch of the sixth race. After they crossed the finish line, we turned around to see Christina sitting a few rows back, looking slightly gobsmacked. "Paul," she said almost sheepishly, "I booked it." And like that, I had a travel companion for Laos!
Saturday was an incredibly busy and memorable day. Kevin has just moved from the Mid-Levels to Happy Valley, so we met for some celebratory drinks and a pizza at the Happy Valley Bar and Grill around 11:30... Over our Asahi's, he announced that his fiancée is pregnant, and he's going to be a father come June!
It was such great news that we indulged a few more of those Japanese beers before I finally had to hop in a taxi to Admiralty to meet my hiking crew, as my friend Kathy was marking her birthday with a walk up to Pineapple Mountain in the New Territories. I'd never even heard of the place before, but it made for a fun afternoon with a great group of people.
It was such great news that we indulged a few more of those Japanese beers before I finally had to hop in a taxi to Admiralty to meet my hiking crew, as my friend Kathy was marking her birthday with a walk up to Pineapple Mountain in the New Territories. I'd never even heard of the place before, but it made for a fun afternoon with a great group of people.
And after the hike, I had to make my way to my colleague Pauline's apartment for a pre-Chinese New Year house party.
Of course, with only a little less than a week to go, nearly all of my attention turned to trip planning, especially now with the added pressure of making sure Christina's folly was vindicated. We met on Sunday for tea and planning in Shek Tsong Tsui, and then Fredric and I wound up walking all the way back to Happy Valley—a good stretch of the limbs at just about ten kilometers!
And as the work week has elapsed over the past days, I've continued growing more and more feverish over the upcoming trip! Obviously, you can expect an update when I'm back detailing our adventures in the Land of a Million Elephants, but as I get ready to set off, I'm also glad I had a quick chance to record this brief summary of the first weeks of 2017!
