jan, 26th - the china club....

day 1075 / 174:

if The China Club was a person, it would be an artist from 1930s Shanghai who has been heavily influenced by trips to England, France and Italy (and has a wealthy patron). it's a person I could happily spend hours with.....

the club is members only and located in the old Bank of China building in Central, Hong Kong. i had a delicious lunch there when I was visiting before Christmas. the homegrown art that is almost as prolific as wallpaper on the walls, is worth a visit alone. the club has a maze of rooms: a main dining room, the Long March Bar, private rooms where cards and mah-jong are played, a library and a roof terrace with stunning views over the city.

 if i was a local and lucky enough to be a member of The China Club, it's where I would escape to for a dose of Chinese aesthetic, mouthfuls of incredible dim sum and comforting wrap-you-in-a-blanket service. it's a lovely, lovely place.

dec, 12th - christmas tree, part II....

day 1032 / 131:

we get to have multiple christmas trees this year.....this is number two in Hong Kong. (next stop Thailand). Limi is getting lots of decorating practise in.....and of course Loving helping her cousins.

dec, 10th - visiting the horses....

day 1030 / 129:

so, there's been plenty of talk of pets in our household recently. i'm voting for a horse, especially the roan (?), below.....Limi is voting for four red cats and four yellow cats {see day 962 / 61} and A. is voting for a potplant. 

we have always had horses in our lives and my sister's family is still heavily involved with them. although i'm crazy about horses, let's be realistic, there is just no room in the Shoebox for a horse or eight cats for that matter....so, it's always great when we're with my sister, to be able to wander the stables, take in that special hay-horse smell and stroke some gorgeous animals.....

this was Claya's first encounter and she seemed intrigued......as did the horse.

dec, 5th - flying...not quite what it used to be....

[the effects of jetlag....this is 9:30am....but don't be fooled, these two were both up at 2am and ready to play]

day 1025 / 24:

we have gone ahead to spend Christmas with family in Asia and A. will join us later. Limi and i have flown together quite a few times (it's a fact of our lives when we have family and friends spread far and wide) and she's always been a pretty good flyer (i wrote about our very first long-haul flight on day 84). this was Claya's first time. i was a bit worried that she would be the 'non-flyer' in the family but she was generally brilliant (by brilliant i mean i didn't spend the flight with a screaming baby or have to do laps of the plane....by no means am i suggesting that i was reclined, sipping a chilled glass of wine and watching a movie...).....seriously, flying is just not what it used to be.....anyway, it was made a whole lot easier by my sister flying at the same time (on a different airline) and helping us on each end....

so, a couple of things (besides what i mentioned on day 84) that i have learnt (through friends, family and my own experiences) about flying with kids under three......

* for babies, the well known fact of feeding on take take-off and landing to decompress their ears. for Limi, i make sure that she has her own bottle of water to sip as the pressure changes

* i get all our hand-luggage down and stack it to make a ledge at Limi's feet so that she has more of a bed to sleep on and it helps to stop her from rolling off the seat

* for this trip, even though Limi only watches T.V. occasionally, we introduced her to two movies (Sound of Music and Happy Feet) for weeks in advance and made sure that we had uploaded them onto the iPad. we packed some kids headphones and although she slept for most of the flight (hooray!) when she did wake up, she was happy to watch a movie that she knew so well (i knew that this would really help if i was dealing with Claya)

* i also never hesitate to ask an air-steward to watch the girls if i need to go to the bathroom or take one of them

* and finally, on this trip, we also let Limi pack her own backpack of toys and snacks to take on the plane (she used her school bag....sweet)

so, besides the airline leaving the bag containing Claya's nappies and travel cot on the tarmac in London (something about a broken carousel) and just starting to change an especially tricky nappy when we hit bad turbulence....we are here safe and sound and looking forward to a festive season with family.......

next step: how to persuade two children that it is sleep time when their bodies are saying that it's midday and time to play.....

p.s. things may be a bit quieter than usual on the blog for a few weeks.....but i'll be back in the new year with plenty of pics to share.

mar, 1st - hong kong lanes....

day 754:

while Limi spent some time with her previous nanny, Jae, who is now teaching in Hong Kong....i had some time to wander some of my favourite streets and market lanes in Central.....

if you're vegetarian, look away now, Hong Kong windows are not for the meat-squeamish......but still completely fascinating in my opinion....

i've never likes towns that feel like they've turned into tourist versions of themselves.....in Hong Kong, you still get the grit and soul of the place and evidence everywhere of real people living and working.....

feb, 28th - dragon-i....

day 752:

do you have your collection of spots that you like to visit when you return to a favourite city? although i love to experience new things, there are some places that make me feel like i'm back in town....like this place in Cape Town {see day 437} and dragon-i in Hong Kong.

it's a nightclub by....well....night.....and a popular (and amazing value) dim sum restaurant by day. so, you get to lunch under fairly dramatic lighting for your dumplings and emerge to a bustling Central Hong Kong. it fits in perfectly with a city that bridges East with West, decadence with simplicity and contemporary modern living with strong tradition and beliefs.

feb, 27th - really seeing....

day 751:

i had a few hours today to wander around the Hong Kong lanes.......what i love most about photography is that it makes you really look at what you're seeing.....

and in looking, you try and find the interest, the pattern, the people and the perspectives.....

it's definitely something that i need to try and find more time for......going out alone with just with my camera and some hours to kill.....