"Life is not measured by the
number of breaths we take;
But by the moments that take our breath
away"
A very
average Sunday turned into the best day I have had in Hong Kong to date, in a
matter of moments. I sat down to an afternoon of watching chick flicks and
painting my nails when the door buzzed. Richie was out, so I thought it was a
mistake, but buzzed them in anyway.
It had
already been a pretty good day, with the epic loaf lunch, but it was about to
get a whole lot better.
Kareem
turned up and announced that he was on his way to the Hong Kong Cricket Club, a very exclusive and expensive members only
club (I had run up to the cricket club in the morning, but ran past it, viewing
it's precious bounty from the fence). He asked if I wanted to join him for a
swim, adding the only downside was we were to walk up to it.
As
mentioned before, Hong Kong is built on, basically a beach at the bottom of an
island made of mountains. Therefore, anything in front of the city is sea,
anything behind is steep, and I mean really steep.
I had
already done this steep climb to the country club once already today, however
the promise of a swim at the top meant I instantly grabbed my bikini (my, not so
country club, cartoon bikini) and off we went. With evening dinner plans on the
horizon, double the amount of exercise in one day was not such a bad idea.
We
arrived at the Cricket Club grabbed some towels and we were in. It was not even
a week ago that I said I'd like to run to Stanley and then go for a swim in the
sea. One week on, and I was experiencing this exact dream. The club was full of
yummy mummies, with rich husbands spending their one family day together. It
was so nice to hear children playing and the laughter of family. Due to Hong
Kong's lack of space, very few people have garden space, or even much living
room/lounge space to enjoy so they head to public parks, or, if you are in the
top 5% of Hong Kong earners, you bring the family to the Cricket Club for
Sunday relaxing and family time.
Not
long after we had had a swim we decided to go on a hike. Even though I felt I
had already completed a marathon today, I went with this idea.
You
have to grab each and every moment in life, because you never know when a
normal day will turn into a dream come true. It had been a good day already; it
was about to top every other day I had previously had in Hong Kong.
We
placed all of our belongings into a locker and headed out of the Cricket Club.
We took only the locker key. I left everything else. I had a feeling I was
going to want to experience this first hand, no phone, and no camera necessary.
Just the world and me.
We set
off, up and up. We arrived at the start of the Wilson Trail, which is part of the Hong Kong Trail. Now, I didn’t realise that Hong Kong was so set up
for outdoor activities. Hiking is BIG here. There
are hundreds of trails all over Hong Kong Island, the mainland and
surrounding islands. Note to anyone who comes to visit: Be prepared to hike!!
We
walked up and up. Step by step. More steps. And some more. The path was lined
with bushes that were slightly too tall to see over (or I was slightly to small
to see over them). Up and up. More steps. Legs definitely beginning to burn
now. Sweat dripping from my elbows, brow and nose. More steps. Deep breaths
now.
"Close
your eyes" Kareem said to me as he guided me blind.
"Now,
OPEN"
And
that was the moment my breath was taken away.................................
Life
is about these moments. The unexpected. The unexplainable. The beauty. The
surprising.
I was
on top of the world, and I actually was.
"These
are the moments that we are living for"
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