Well, I'm ensconced in a booth at the diner in Bali International Airport, the less-than-thrilled victim of a newly-announced (and most tiresome) four hour delay of the Hong Kong Airlines flight shuttling me back home. Still, the images flickering through my brain assure me this trip was definitely a great one.
Nonetheless, as it was, I was meant to land around midnight, so our revised arrival time of closer to 4am certainly isn't going to make an early morning in the office tomorrow any easier. All told, it seems like the best use of my time to squeeze in a few last Bintangs, order a Beef Rendang pizza, and put together a recap of recent recollections.
I've always said you're a fool if you let little unpleasant surprises like this make a sucker out of you. I certainly wouldn't trade my last few days in Bali for a good Sunday night's sleep or a chipper Monday at my desk. In fact, I'd have accepted a way worse compromise to return to the Island of the Gods for a second time.
But, in looking back, my September opened strong, continued strong and is finishing strong. Well... apart, that is, from this benighted holdup.
It began both strong and lucratively, because Sunday, 1 September, not only saw the start of a new month but also marked opening day of the new horse racing season at Sha Tin. And I won a fair number of the bets I put down that afternoon at the track. Several friends joined in the fun, and we topped off our day with drinks in Wan Chai and a hearty Thai dinner at the Chili Club, so I'm fairly confident a good time was had by all.
But the real highlight of early September for me was the visit of my friend Shannon and her husband Ryan. Really close followers of this blog may remember Shannon from a post back in 2010, when my previous employer sent me on a three-week business trip to London a few months after my big move to Hong Kong. Shannon was working for Deutsche Bank in Geneva that spring, and she jetted down to the Big Smoke for a memorable weekend. Sadly, I don't think we'd actually seen each other since then. But when I heard about her impending visit to my adopted city, the excitement factor started ramping up.
Shannon and me in London back in 2010!
Shannon and Ryan arrived on a Friday evening, and I promptly met them at their hotel, the JW Marrriot, for a lobby libation, before taking them for drinks in Lan Kwai Fong, NoHo and SoHo. It was great to finally meet Ryan and, obviously, to catch up with Shannon. And as an unanticipated bonus, we bumped into my buddy Romain, who now lives in Dubai, imbibing on Peel Street, where I had taken my friends for a few beers at a new-ish spot called Shady Acres. He was leaving the next day, only in town for work meetings. It was such unexpected bliss to reconnect that we all joined for several more rounds in another nearby watering hole.
Friday in LKF!
It was, perhaps, unnecessary to finish the night off with a hearty feast in twenty-four hour favorite Tsui Wah. But I'm not sure we had our thinking caps on at that ridiculous hour, after so much catching up and so much fun.
On Saturday morning, my guests met me in Happy Valley, and we squeezed in a jiffy coffee at Happy Alley before catching a cab up the Peak. Although our taxi got into an accident a few turns after we had hopped in (yes, you read that right), it was minor enough that we had reached our destination about twenty minutes later.
On Saturday morning, my guests met me in Happy Valley, and we squeezed in a jiffy coffee at Happy Alley before catching a cab up the Peak. Although our taxi got into an accident a few turns after we had hopped in (yes, you read that right), it was minor enough that we had reached our destination about twenty minutes later.
With Fredric in tow, we completed the stunning circular walk that I'm convinced shows off Hong Kong at its most impressive, with clear views in each direction and ample opportunities to tell out-of-towners about all the various parts of town they either will be visiting or have already seen close-up.
With Fredric atop the Peak
Shannon and Ryan were switching hotels that afternoon, migrating from the JW to the St-Regis, so I let them do their thing while I took Fred home. But a little after 7pm, we met up at their swanky new digs for a classy cocktail. It was my first visit, but hopefully not my last.
In discussing plans with Shannon a week or so earlier, I suggested organizing a massive Chinese dinner at Peking Garden, to which she readily agreed. I put out a general alarm, and received a fair amount of interest. As the acceptances and rejections to my invitation came in, I also began expanding my reach, to ensure ample attendance to truly indulge.
You can imagine my surprise when several of the "maybes" suddenly confirmed and a few "sorry, I can't make its" reversed their decisions in the last days. In the end, I wound up having to split our group into two tables of ten guests each, but it was pretty phenomenal.
Shannon got to smash open the iconic Beggar's Chicken, and we all got to indulge in a truly gluttonous repast, which, in addition to the chicken, consisted of spicy chili prawns, Peking duck, fried rice, xiao long bao, string beans with minced pork, and, ultimately, candy apple dumplings for dessert! And lots of Tsing Tao.
Mega-dinner at Peking Garden
Of course, we continued in Lan Kwai again, first at Brick House and then up at Le Jardin, where participants began tapering off into the night as, again, dawn was approaching. As a very late addition to the fun, my friends Christina and Clement showed up, but I realized I had to be making tracks if I wanted to perform proper hosting duties for my visitors (who had succumbed to jet-lag at Brick House and returned to the St-Regis) on Sunday.
Lovebirds Christina and Clement, late arrivals at Le Jardin
My plan was to indulge in dim sum at the Jumbo, where I shockingly hadn't been since my own birthday last November. Luckily, Shannon and Ryan were on board (pun intended), so we met at Wang Chuk Hang MTR station and walked to the floating restaurant that hot Sunday morning. A shuttle boat was just pulling up as we reached the pier, and we filled the short wait for a table with a gander at the fresh seafood tanks and celebrity photographs (John Wayne, Queen Elizabeth, William Holden, et al.) that line an outdoor deck on the, em, ground floor?
Jumbo Floating Restaurant
Our lunch was utterly fantastic, the third meal in a row where we had over-ordered to excess and loved every morsel of it! From tiramisu (yep) to more xiao long bao, plus all your dim sum favorites, including har gao, char siu bai, siu mai, turnip cake and egg tarts, plus scallop rice paper rolls and generous helpings of roast pork and suckling pig (and, did I mention, more Tsing Tao?), I was in seventh heaven.
And, of course, we donned the traditional Chinese costumes for a little photo session, always the most effective way to ensure you take a little bit of the Jumbo home with you, in the form of the souvenir plate you receive as the end product!
Costumed Fun
Another hotel switch was scheduled to take place that afternoon, ("Ryan likes to hop around when we travel," Shannon explained to me.) so I returned to Happy Valley while my guests made their way from the St-Regis to the Conrad. After their move, I met Shannon for a further night of catching up over wine and cocktails. I was really enjoying getting to know Ryan, but through some unfortunate combination of jet-lag and a mild upset stomach, he opted to stay up in their suite that evening. It gave Shannon and I a perfect excuse to rehash old 'Nova memories and talk in-depth about our lives, first by the hotel pool and later in nearby Lobster Bar, which couldn't have been more fun!
Poolside at the Conrad
I wound up walking all the way back to Happy Valley afterwards, partly because I was on such a high from the last few days and partly because protest-related disruptions had shut down public transportation.
I made an executive decision when I first learned of Shannon and Ryan's visit that I'd be taking Monday off work to show them more of Hong Kong on their last full day in town. And since we hadn't yet ventured across Victoria Harbor into Kowloon, that was where our day was slated to take us... after a healthy jaunt around Wan Chai first, of course!
After visits to fish markets, fruit stalls, a Willy Wonka elevator ride, a temple visit, and a dumpling stop, we finally hopped the tram to Central, where the slightly damaged MTR whisked us across to the "Dark Side."
We rode all the way to Prince Edward, where we hit up the markets. Literally, all of them. We started at the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, then meandered down Flower Market Road, paused briefly at Fa Yuen Street Market, mozzied along the goldfish-lined sidewalks of Tung Choi Street, trekked through the entirety of the Ladies Market, wandered down still-sleeping Temple Street Market, and finally bargained our way (somewhat unsuccessfully) through the atmospheric Jade Market.
Goldfish Market in Mongkok
Obviously a pause at Mido Cafe was in order, where a pineapple bun with butter and Hong Kong French toast made fleeting appearances on the Formica counter tops. I love stopping in this little space in the midst of madcap Kowloon exploration, and this was a perfect example of why. With a view of the street's namesake temple dedicated to Tin Hau, plus cheap-but-cheerful iterations of some of my favorite local dishes, a break here is always a winner.
Pineapple bun and Hong Kong-style iced milk tea
We had dinner that night on Cheung Chau, again, my first visit to the island—that I used to seek out regularly as an antidote to the pollution-clogged downtown where I spend the bulk of my time—since my last birthday celebration. I need to start visiting regularly again. Feasting on salt-and-pepper squid, whole steamed fish and scallops with minced garlic, washing it all down with oversized bottles of Tsing Tao, I kept thanking my lucky stars that life has given me friends like Shannon who have an adventurous spirit and are willing to travel so far from home to explore something totally new! Getting to meet and spend such quality time with Ryan was an equally great pleasure, and I hope both will return to the Pearl of the Orient again, and soon!
Great to have you guys in town!
Shannon and Ryan's plane had scarcely lifted off the runway at Hong Kong International Airport when Mid-Autumn Festival was upon us. I've often singled this festival out as perhaps my favorite among the twenty or so major traditions that add so much to any given year. Although Chinese New Year has got to be the most important from a family perspective and Buddha's birthday might win from a religious angle, I always find the giant, lantern-infused, moon cake-tinged, moonlit party to be one of Hong Kong's greatest gifts to its citizenry.
Mid-Autumn Magic
On Thursday evening of that week, I joined Max, Celine and their darling little Zoey in Tin Hau for the incense-filled fire dragon parade. I lingered long after the new parents took their infant daughter home, and made two new friends, Adrien and Pauline, among the gathered crowd of locals raucously cheering as the namesake critter snakes its way along Tai Hang's tiny streets.
I also invited Adrien and Pauline to join me the following evening on Repulse Bay Beach, along with my pal Debbie. I stocked up on glow sticks and candles, grabbed a newly-uncorked bottle of red and even brought along some exceedingly fitting paper St-Bernard lanterns that had been a complimentary gift after my hike with the giant dogs in the Swiss Alps a few weeks earlier.
Wine, candles and glow sticks on Repulse Bay Beach
I love the Fire Dragon Parade, but to me, the Mid-Autumn Festival is defined by this centerpiece night, where families and friends gather on the sand to admire the brightest full moon of the year. You may recall that a massive typhoon rolled through Hong Kong just a week or so before the festival in 2018, significantly dampening the fun. This time, with friends new and old, I was able to properly celebrate, and I was so glad Adrien and Pauline took me up on my offer!
Full moon
They raised my offer by inviting me to join them for a wake boarding session over in Science Park the following weekend. And, perhaps surprisingly to my dear readers, I accepted. In almost a decade living in Hong Kong, I'd never participated in that singularly iconic activity. And that struck me as rather sad. I decided that not only would I join my new friends in their athletic pursuit in the New Territories, but I also drew up a list of twenty-four other activities and attractions scattered all across the SAR, and I've vowed to tick them all off before my official ten year anniversary on 9 November.
Wake boarding
By combining this list with twenty-five untested restaurants, I plan to average one new thing or place per day for the last fifty days that remain before I hit the big one-o. (The final countdown started last Friday!)
Of course, then came Bali, a way to send of September with a bang! My friends Roger and Mabel, living in Singapore, did me the great pleasure to invite me to their wedding in Uluwatu, and I couldn't have been more overjoyed than to accept!
A truly beautiful evening
The nuptials took place at the gorgeous Khayangan Estate (from the Sanskrit word for Seventh Heaven), where the view out over the Indian Ocean had to be seen to be believed. And you could just tell that the bride and groom were over the moon with delight. Celebrating with them in such style made this one of the most unforgettable weddings in recent memory.
Hello, Bali!
I was welcomed by not only the bride and groom, but also their family and friends, all of whom treated me like part of their clan. And with myriad flower petals, the twinkling lights and plentiful moonlight, coupled with heaps of booze and tasty food, it was such a romantic affair!
"I do..."
Atmospheric Ubud
One day I had lunch at the incredibly popular Locavore, and that same night I had dinner at highly-recommended Room 4 Dessert. All told, it might have been my foodiest day ever!
Frangipani tempura at Locavore
During my time in Ubud, I also hit up some beautiful temples and explored the iconic Monkey Forest, and capped off my final evening with yet another delicious dinner, this time at a warung called Naughty Nuri's, where the southern-style barbecue ribs stand on par with some of the tastiest food I enjoyed on my whole trip!
The famous Monkey Forest
So, yes... as I sit here now, trying to forget that there's still a two hour wait until my plane finally takes flight, I am consoled by the memories of a stellar month... and by the promise of future trips to the Island of the Gods, to explore more of the surreal pleasures waiting to be discovered here.
Four hour delay, be damned! Bali, I'll be back!
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