I had a really great, albeit short trip to Hong Kong to celebrate Paul’s 50th. Will took me to Thiviers last Tues where I started my journey. I got the train to Bordeaux, shuttle to the airport, flight to Paris and long-ass flight to HK. It all went smoothly and I managed four hours of sleep. Paul arranged for a car to take me from the airport to their mother-in-law flat, a few mins walk from their place.
I had a quick shower and then Karmen took me out for cocktails and dinner. We started at one of their favourite bars and I had an excellent martini. We then went for sushi and a more drinks at a place in Paul’s building. He came down to join us but only for a few minutes since he was trapped in the office working on two big deals, both with tight deadlines. The bigger deal was meant to be done before the end of April, but the client moved it up to that Friday on a whim. Karmen and I stayed for a bit longer and then she walked me home. Since it was a short trip, I decided not to adjust to the time zone and stayed up until 3am reading.
I slept until 1pm the next day, then headed to a mall for a bit of shopping and lunch. While packing, I discovered that I only have one pair of jeans, with the rest having been relegated to gardening clothes. So I bought a pair of Levi’s that cost three times what they would back home, but they’re super comfy (and quite fashionable too). I had beef noodles for lunch and then made my way back. Before I got there, Paul rang to say he could escape for an hour so we met-up and then went to a place with over 25 beers on tap along with a vast selection of bottles. Thankfully, they agreed to make me a vodka tonic so we each had a few and then made our way back to their neighbourhood. We went out for dinner with Karmen at a place that specialises in Peking duck, and had that along with various other Chinese goodies including short ribs, green beans and shrimp. Paul had a board meeting that night at 10 so he left Karmen and I to stroll around their neighbourhood for a bit. Then we all met up at a Mexican bar and had a few pitchers of margaritas before they threw us out sometime after midnight.
I stayed up late again but woke up around 9am with an upset stomach so I gave up and went back to bed for a few hours. I went out in the afternoon to a place that does Western breakfasts which wasn’t very good. I did feel a bit better afterwards which was good since the big birthday bash was that evening. They had rented out a small bar with food catered by a restaurant next door. Karmen and I went over around 6 to help Ivie, their domestic helper get the place decorated. They went all out on the decor including loads of balloons, tinsel, and loads of photos of Paul. They served a number of specialty cocktails, most of which were bourbon / whiskey based so I stuck with vodka for most of the night. There were around 30 people in all, many of whom I’d met at their wedding. The mood was festive and became even more so after we’d stepped out for some of the green that Karmen had arranged for the night. Before we knew it, 3am had rolled around and the few of us that remained made our way back to P&K’s place. We didn’t stay long and I made my way home via the 7-11 for some pot noodles.
I remember pot noodles from my uni days when they came in small packs consisting of noodles and a flavour packet. I can tell you that in Asia, they take their noodles very seriously, and the pot noodles equally so. The one I selected had noodles as well as five different sachets of sauce, seasoning, powders and who knows what else. It was very tasty, but at that point of the evening, I wasn’t in the best state to decide.
The next day was Saturday and Paul and I hung out for the entire day. He picked me up around 11 along with his daughter Jasmine. She’s a junior this year and in preparation for uni, was taking the ACT exam. This was out of the centre in an area called the New Territories, which is mainly lots of depressing looking government built apartment complexes. We dropped her off and then headed back to town for some hangover food, in this case, burgers and fries. We met up with Ivie and went to the fish market to shop for dinner. We came home to check up on Karmen who was meant to join us but was so hungover she ended up spending most of the day in bed. After picking up Jasmine, we came back to their place and had some sangria for the apero. Dinner was scallops with rice noodles, pepper crab, bok choi and rice, all prepared by Ivie and all delicious. Karmen had saved some special champagne that we opened although no one managed to drink much. Then Paul got out his dad’s cocktail recipe book and whipped up a lovely martini for me, followed by a Minnesota Manhattan, which has vodka instead of whiskey.
I left them around one and made my way home via the 7-11 for a different variety of pot noodle, this one with only four sachets. I got up the next morning around 9 and got packed and ready. Paul and Karmen picked me up and took me to the airport shortly afterwards. I was on the less-desirable day flight and when I went to check in, they were offering business class for a €400 which I found too good to pass up. So I had breakfast in the lounge before heading to the plane. Despite the seats converting into beds, I didn’t manage any sleep so passed the time drinking vodka tonics and reading. I felt fine until I got off the plane in Amsterdam and then felt a bit woozy. I managed to make my way through security and then passport control before the Bordeaux flight. I stayed at an airport hotel which was short walk from the terminal.
I did the reverse journey the next morning and arrived in Thiviers around 1 where Will picked me up. Apart from a bottle of Absolut Mandarin, I didn’t bring back any souvenirs except a cold, which is hardly a surprise. It was a really great visit and I’m very glad I went. Their life provides a nice contrast to ours: time poor and financially rich. They’re hoping to come meet us in Mauritius / Reunion this autumn to help celebrate my birthday.