Back in Australia
The title of today's post is significant in two ways; firstly, I just arrived back into the country today from a long weekend in Hong Kong and Macau. And secondly, 1 April marks the first anniversary of my departure from the US to relocate to Australia. In some ways the year has flown by and yet, in others, it seems like I have been here forever. Thinking back to when I wrote this post at LAX last year as I got ready to board the flight to Sydney, that time seems so distant. So much has changed!
Oddly enough, I looked back at the post I made on 1 April 2012 and it turns out I also returned to Sydney from being out of town that year as well—that time from Newcastle.
Anyways, as I had promised in my last post, I'm here not to wax poetic about the year I have spent here. Instead, I'm here to share with you just how amazing Hong Kong was. As I covered a staggering amount of ground in just a few days, I will actually split up the trip into a few posts to make it more manageable for me to write (and for you to read). So, first on the agenda is a bit of context:
Back in February, a friend of mine from Brisbane came down for a weekend visit filled with watching sport and catching up. While he was in town, we both acknowledged that things were pretty hectic at work for and that it would be nice to get away for a long weekend to go exploring. As I alluded to in the last post, March was really hectic with PhD and work deadlines, so booking the trip for the end of the month was a strategic post-deadline escape.
And so on the last morning of his visit, we opened up our laptops and the next thing you know we booked a trip to Hong Kong. Neither of us had been before, and there happened to be some good flights available. At "just" nine hours of flight time, Hong Kong is relatively close when compared to other international destinations.
Fast forward five weeks, and we left Australia last Thursday morning, arriving in Hong Kong on Thursday night. With things being so hectic before the trip, neither of us had time to do any planning, but I was able to pick up a guide book a few days before we left and spent some time reading on the plane. With a general plan for the three days, we hit the ground running as soon as we arrived.
And while my expectations were high thanks to many people telling me how great the city was, even those high expectations were far exceeded. We managed to fit so much in, covering more than 35,000 steps each day, wandering from one side of the city to the other, experiencing both the posh and gritty ends of the experience spectrum. All in, the trip could not have been more enjoyable, and I'm already plotting when to go back for more.
But, it's bed time here, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear what we got up to! Here's a teaser photo for you...
Oddly enough, I looked back at the post I made on 1 April 2012 and it turns out I also returned to Sydney from being out of town that year as well—that time from Newcastle.
Anyways, as I had promised in my last post, I'm here not to wax poetic about the year I have spent here. Instead, I'm here to share with you just how amazing Hong Kong was. As I covered a staggering amount of ground in just a few days, I will actually split up the trip into a few posts to make it more manageable for me to write (and for you to read). So, first on the agenda is a bit of context:
Back in February, a friend of mine from Brisbane came down for a weekend visit filled with watching sport and catching up. While he was in town, we both acknowledged that things were pretty hectic at work for and that it would be nice to get away for a long weekend to go exploring. As I alluded to in the last post, March was really hectic with PhD and work deadlines, so booking the trip for the end of the month was a strategic post-deadline escape.
And so on the last morning of his visit, we opened up our laptops and the next thing you know we booked a trip to Hong Kong. Neither of us had been before, and there happened to be some good flights available. At "just" nine hours of flight time, Hong Kong is relatively close when compared to other international destinations.
Fast forward five weeks, and we left Australia last Thursday morning, arriving in Hong Kong on Thursday night. With things being so hectic before the trip, neither of us had time to do any planning, but I was able to pick up a guide book a few days before we left and spent some time reading on the plane. With a general plan for the three days, we hit the ground running as soon as we arrived.
And while my expectations were high thanks to many people telling me how great the city was, even those high expectations were far exceeded. We managed to fit so much in, covering more than 35,000 steps each day, wandering from one side of the city to the other, experiencing both the posh and gritty ends of the experience spectrum. All in, the trip could not have been more enjoyable, and I'm already plotting when to go back for more.
But, it's bed time here, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear what we got up to! Here's a teaser photo for you...
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| The view of the skyline on Hong Kong Island from the rooftop of Kowloon Station, across the Harbour. |
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