| I remember envisioning my 6 months in Hong Kong just a couple of months ago and now looking back at what I expected out of these 6 months and what the reality of it is, I am NOT disappointed at all. Even though my thoughts and the reality of it now are of entirely different ends of the spectrum.
Of course one would expect 6 months of living in an entirely different and unfamiliar country to be absolutely exciting and fresh. The thought of simply just being and LIVING alone in a big city like Hong Kong is so liberating. But instead of exploring the city for hidden secrets in hope of chancing upon a little store selling unique hand-crafted antiques owned by an elderly man with a dragon pearl white beard smoking a cigarette and trying to basically blend in and acclimate, I found myself not doing that all. Instead, I found myself finally freeing up myself from the chains of the world (ie: time constraints, duties & responsibilities, family, friends even) and just basking in a lot of personal time and space. Most of the time or whenever I could afford it, I found myself at the Starbucks just a couple of blocks down from my place cozying up to a nice book or even a magazine for the lack of time of heading over to the Causeway Bay National Library or even the Central Dymocks Bookstore (where I have become a member and only been there once).
And now after 4 months I can very honestly tell you that if you were to come to Hong Kong and ask me to bring you around, I wouldn't be able to. I could bring you to a couple of nice places, tell you about some nice clubs and bars to go to, a couple of local nice eating spots and morning markets to basically feast your eyes and mouths on the array of bright colored fresh fruits that line the hidden stairwells amidst the dense and condensed city central. But aside from that, I haven't (at least not in my eyes) done anything that I would consider too adventurous nor local. All ideas and hopes from 4 months ago of blending in with the locals and eventually living a "Local HK life" have evaporated into nothingness but I'm not upset living my extremely expat life.
To paint a more clear and vivid picture, this is what my daily routine roughly works out to be everyday BUT to be even more detailed and precise, let me use today as an example:
I woke up at 8am and packed my room into a more stately manner (ie. A room state in which a normal human being and NOT a disgusting pig would live) in hope of not scaring and disgusting my housekeeper. Mind you I do this every single Friday of the week as Friday is Housekeeping Day! The irony of cleaning up your room on the ONLY day that someone else that you pay to clean up your room does.
And now I'm gonna cook myself some breakfast (A cup of cereal, some scrambled eggs & a jalapeno sausage). This has actually been a standard breakfast for me for most mornings that I cannot be bothered to head out for a morning munch. I have basically been eating like this the past 4 months which would be considered very healthy but of course laziness kicks in and I end up eating cup noodles and instant food most of my dinner/supper/duppers as well.
Following what already seems to be a pretty effective start to a day, I head off to Yoga class which I am very proud to announce how consistent I am as of far! I recently joined the Ana Hatha Yoga School in Central, HK just about a 15 minute walk away from where I live, 10 minute walk away from my workplace and a 5 minute walk away from my gym & I have gone every single day since I've joined. Maybe because I pay for my Yoga Classes myself. Nonetheless, I really do enjoy Yoga & everything that they they tell you about Yoga online and in newspapers is all true. It is absolutely stress-relieving and I come out of Yoga feeling healthier, stronger and so much more relaxed. 1 hour of Yoga a day really makes a huge difference to your day, you stray away from oil and anything that you feel makes your body dirty/filthy in the sense that Yoga truly detoxifies you and after that you feel so cleansed of toxins and waste.
Such a tai-tai life.
And then after that I head over to my Gym (An all women circuit gym called Curves, they're located in most big cities in the world, there's also one in Singapore and most parts of Asia to my understanding). Because it's a circuit gym with a couple of machines and other small facilities, the size of the gym isn't very big but that's what I absolutely love about it! It's small and personal and everyone knows everybody, the atmosphere at Curves is so different from let's say a normal gym like California Fitness or Fitness First with a million machines that you simply don't know how to operate and you find yourself looking up and down the 4-storey gym for someone who can assist you. It isn't like that at Curves at all because you know there's someone just right next to you who can help you. And they're always having activities such as Food Runs and Weight Loss Challenges. Regular weigh-ins and all the members at Curves are really nice, motivational and cheerful. Mostly english speakers and expats themselves, it is not awkward or uncomfortable conversing with them at all. There really is that sense of camaraderie at Curves and for gyms, that typically isn't the feeling that you would get at all.
After gym if I still have time before work starts, I grab a cup of Hibiscus Blend (Only 20HKD!) or Hot Green Tea Latte at the new Starbucks at Central RIGHT next to my gym at Melbourne Plaza, Central. My life revolves around Central and I honestly really like it. I like my daily routine lifestyle which is weird because I always expected myself to embrace change and a more exciting life. But honestly, I never realized how important it is to really spend time with yourself and be alone. It is absolutely amazing.
I normally end the day with a 9hour work shift where I get to (I guess) live a more local life as I'm surrounded with local Hong Kong people and working a local job. So I guess, I do get the best of both worlds! But what's amazing about alone time in HK is that the city is always bustling and overcrowded with people everywhere at every corner and at every hour of the day that even when you're alone, you NEVER feel lonely! In small local stores, because it's so small but yet they serve up such a mean bowl of Wanton Noodle, during peak hours or actually any hour of the day, you find yourself sitting at small table in the middle of the whole store sitting elbow to elbow with 2 other strangers on your right and left and another one right in front of you. I genuinely savour every single slurp of my Wanton Soup and unlike other locals, I sit there for more than 10 minutes and in the end, end up sitting with more than 10 different people in a single meal!
One thing I learnt, more like a skill I developed as a result of living like this is basically where to look during awkward situations like these.
As of far, Thank you Hong Kong for these amazing 4 months, Full Moon Party Koh Phangan I'll see you in 2 months, Singapore in 2.5 months and Switzerland in 3. Truly feeling and living like a global citizen / jet-setter. I had a guest who called me his "Jet-setter friend", then it hit me, I really am quite the little one aren't iiiiiiii :) |
