When meeting and getting to know new friends, you talk of old friends.
You share your thoughts and feelings about home life. You take a trip
down friendship lane. You share the piece of your friends that you
keep in your heart with new friends in new places. Your friends are the ones
you turn to for advice, you listen to them. Your friends support you just as
much as you need to stand on your own two feet and walk away when you are ready
to leave. You're friends say farewell, and pray for you on your way. They
encourage and inspire.
Ten years ago. Wow what a lot has changed. Ten years ago I hadn't fallen
in love. I hadn't been on a plane. I was still concerned about fitting into the
crowd, and hadn't found my own voice. I hadn't realised the beauty of
independence and freedom. I had however, just met a group of friends who
changed my life, and still change my life today. I met my soul sisters. Ten
years on and each one inspire me. I go straight to one of them in times of
need, worry and fear, they ALWAYS know the calling. These aren't friends I talk
to every day. They are not friends I even see regularly, or know when I will
see them again. These are friends that are with me always. These are friends
that years can go by, and not a single day will have passed.
This time next week I will be reunited with one of my friends on the
island of Boracay in the Philippines. This is more than amazing. I have know
Kay for ten years and we grew up streets apart from each other in our small
home town a million, 6866 to be exact, miles away. I will board a plane in Hong
Kong, without much contact or many plans. And I know she will be there. On the
other side of the world, I had a dream that I would spend Christmas on a beach
this year, with Kay in the sunshine. Dreams do come true.
It's been a fun week in Hong Kong. There is excitement for the Christmas
break and people are uplifted with flying home and seeing family and friends.
Each day the office thins out as more people travel across the world to be
reunited with their roots. On Tuesday night I went to a gig. I found myself in
a pub that had an open mic night. I had arrived early and sat in the corner,
with a pint and soaked up every inch of the atmosphere. The Wanch is a great
little place. Real music, real people and a unique little pocket of this
remarkable city. I was blown away with the main performance. Her name was Kristina Lao and she had a soul touching
voice and songs to match.
After the bands had wrapped up, we wandered and talked into the night.
We spoke about inspiration, travel and identity. We watched the urban nightlife
unravel its hidden lives in front of our eyes.
On Wednesday night I went over to a friends house and shared some food
and wine. I also locked my keys in my apartment and had to send out some
'damsel in distress' texts to see if anyone could let me back into my home.
Luckily, or fate has it, or God, I was let in by 3am and was reunited with my
own bed after my friend, very kindly lent me the right side of her bed.
On Thursday night, I WENT TO SEE THE HOBBIT. The film was released on
Thursday and I had booked for the 6.20pm showing that evening. Coincidently it
was also the earliest show I physically could have gone to, and I was
there. I queued, I was given popcorn and iced tea and I was ready. I sat on the
edge of my seat for nearly the entire film. The last time I read the Hobbit was
when I came to Hong Kong in May. I remember a summers day back in 2008
listening to the radio, with two of my soul sisters beside me in the sunshine
at a little outside garden centre, them saying 'The Hobbit has gone into
production'. I was as excited to be watching it after all these years, as I was
the day I heard it was being created. It was fantastic. Three hours of fantasy
and adventure followed by questing and discovering new lands. People asked me
'how was it?' I replied 'Amazing!' 'Is it as good as the book?' they asked, I
replied 'I never compare a film to a book. One is my imagination, and the
other, someone else's. You can't compare the two. You can't compare
the two art forms. One is visual, one is internal.'
On Saturday a friend from university came to town. I met Craig when I
studied at The Academy of Contemporary
Music. Craig is now a Para Olympian and was in Hong Kong competing in
a fencing tournament. I had a day to show Hong Kong off in it's best light. As
a resident of HK, you have to have lots of visitor trips up your sleeve.
Craig is the 5th visitor I have had, in less than five months of being here.
There is a fine balance of showing the Hong Kong you love, and showing the Hong
Kong you think they'll love. Then there is the time they have in town and then
there is the budget. I think about my tours. I love to show people around this
amazing city. I ask for their criteria, what they have read about, what they
would like to see, anything they have already seen. I had a day with Craig so
decided on the following agenda.
Walk through The Peninsula main lobby to see the grandeur. After taking
in the ore of The Peninsula, head towards the Star Ferry, take the ferry across
Victoria Harbour and on to the tram at Wan Chai, a short walk from the ferry
peir. Once on the tram, take it all the way to Happy Valley and back to Wan
Chai, taking in Causeway Bay and its magnificent Time Square, and taking in the
views of Happy Valley race course, not to mention the vast cemetery, full of
history. It really is the perfect way to see Hong Kong, and so very cheap too. Once
off the tram, walk through Wan Chai markets and head for a quick detour into
the glass lift at The Hopewell Centre on Queens Road Est. Once through the maze
of the mall and we’d seen the city from a unique height we head down Queen's
Road East for some lunch at Charlie's, a perfect little East meets West, cheap
and cheerful restaurant. Once sufficiently watered and nourished we jumped on
bus no. 15 to all the way to the top of the Peak for an afternoon coffee in
front of one of the most breath taking views in the world. We took the Peak
tram back down the mountainside to Hong Kong Park, which lay below. We wandered
though, making another detour, this time through the bird aviary, which always
surprises me. To find so much nature in between the sky-high buildings was
pleasant and as close to nature as one can find themselves in a city with more
than eight million people. Within Hong Kong park there is a area dedicated to,
or trying to mimic an Olympic stadium. It’s smaller, much smaller, but Olympic
Park was the perfect photo opportunity with my Olympian friend. From Hong Kong
Park we walked through Pacific Place to the outside art and gardens
in Admiralty, where I had been for the first time only the weekend before.
Down to the harbour to walk along the water front to the IFC. From the IFC the
plan was to head towards the ICC for sunset. We could then sit and enjoy the
view, the skyline and the infamous cocktails while the city lit up, from
natural light, to ultraviolet, neon lights and buildings lit up like everyone
was still at work with the office lights lining each building. The only thing I
would have liked to add onto the end of this action packed 24 hour’s in Hong
Kong is, Night Temple Street market with it’s bright colours, sounds, sights
and everything unusual. I was tired and Craig had been to the Night Market the
previous evening. Craig said I should be
a tour guide. I was flattered and explained that my passion and enthusiasm only
worked, because I cared about the persons experience because they were someone
I knew. I don't think doing it every day, with strangers would be as exciting
or enjoyable. Maybe one day?
I love a visitor. I said farewell to Craig and we went back to, the
opposite lives, country and worlds we lived in.
On Saturday night, I got creative. We played music, took photos, played
dressing up, literally like we were five again and talked about life, the world
and universe. It has been a good week in my beloved Hong Kong. Yes. It has been
a good week.
I wrote this poem:
Maybe this is my
time to live.
To create the
stories to be told
To inspire future
generations and to adapt reality with love.
To begin again,
every day.
In the city of
good soles.
You in you.
And I'll find me
here.
If we meet
again
Well that is
beautiful.
If we don't.
I'm glad I met you
today.
It's almost like
you read my soul,
Or I chose to let
you in.
We have set the
quantum universe on fire. But we don't tell a soul.
No
We don't tell a
soul.
Because ethereal
souls who are awake listen and hear.
And we'll find
them.
We find
them.
Yes.
I found them
here.
It's written on
your face
It's written on
your clothes.
It's written in
your heart.
And you sing
it,
This IS magic, and
I believe it
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