travelswithalice

January 31, 2013

 

Questionable travel plans?

Have I really thought this through?

Hong Kong is still swimming in semi solid air as pollution indices reach off-the-chart "airpocalyptic" levels. Yet that's where I'm headed tomorrow.

New York is currently in deep freeze mode with the added attraction of a flu epidemic. And, you guessed it, that's where I'm headed next.

And why am I doing this?

Well, there's an anticipated long-delayed gabfest with great friend Bing in New York who hopefully, by the weekend, would have hurdled her friendly tussles in behalf of PNB with the Federal Reserve.

And of course, there's RIGOLETTO at the Met! Set in '60's Las Vegas! What could be more deliciously delirious than a Rat Pack floorshow with music by Guiseppe Verdi?

The circumstances surrounding this basically uncomplicated travel plan give this particular trip the not unwelcome aura of an expedition. Now, I'm excited! Guess I talked myself into it.

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January 13, 2013

 

Smog smothers Hong Kong

The air hangs low and heavy, a murky dish-water brown. I can actually taste it, this sinister looking air. It coats my tongue and catches in my throat.

Although shopping is arguably an indoor activity, I don't relish the thought of being out of the hotel on a day when the public is enjoined to stay home. I quickly get back to the relative safety of hotel air conditioning and watch the brown air descend on the harbour.




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January 11, 2013

 

At home at the Grand Hyatt

Well, that back-to-homebase episode didn't last long.

Now in Hong Kong, at the Grand Hyatt, my home for the past 8 or 9 years, on and off, but lately more off than on.

So technically I'm not really away.

I must admit this is not too bad. Not bad at all.😄



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January 08, 2013

 

Back at home base

Holidays are nice because they come with a well-defined time frame.

At the start of a holiday, you look forward to yet unknown pleasures. As the holiday progresses, you find your rhythm; you now know which places, events, food, drink, etc. interest you and you have an idea of how to get there. At the end of the holiday, your hunger for the unknown and the untried is sated. And you're ready to go home.

I'm back in Manila, our home base. And being here is an exquisite pleasure to be savoured on my own time, at my own pace. I know exactly what everything is, and everything is exactly where, how, and when I want it to be.

If that makes me a bit of a stick in the mud, so be it. I'm home and I'm loving it!

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January 05, 2013

 

The end of a holiday, the beginning of a new year

At Sydney Airport, three A380s all in a row.




Our flight is delayed; we linger over breakfast.

The end of a holiday, the beginning of a new year.

I heard somebody say, because the Milky Way is the galaxy where we live, it's hard for us to see what it's really like. Like if you were a pepperoni in a pizza, you wouldn't get a full picture of the pizza.

It's sort of like what the holiday was for me while I was in the midst of the idling, the exploring, the eating and drinking, the being with old friends, the being alone together, as well as just being alone. Oh, and the shopping.

It'll all have to wait a while to steep. Like good tea.

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January 01, 2013

 

Scenes from New Year's Eve


Sydney sure knows how to throw a party! 

New Year's Eve celebrations were obsessively micro-managed, to the minutest detail. They rehearsed everything a day before. There were strict rules in parks and other vantage points for watching the fireworks on the harbour: no alcohol, no bottles, no glass. They checked bags. There were ushers, monitors, ticket checkers, traffic wardens, all uniformed, all efficiently discharging their duties. There were police on the ground, in cars, and on horseback. 





Stuart and I attended the New Year's Eve Opera Gala and the rooftop party at the Opera House, which of course had an enviable view of the entire proceedings: the fireworks and light displays on the harbour and on the bridge, and the illuminated flotilla of tall ships, ferries, and yachts that followed the show.



Getting there was a bit tricky. On this evening, the Opera House was accessible only on foot.



This called for some compromises in the wardrobe department, particularly for the ladies. Some went barefoot or wore flip flops, carrying their evening shoes in their hands.



All glammed up and ready to party though, most of the ladies chose not to compromise their style standards, preferring to soldier on in party-pretty shoes.




I wore totally inappropriate sandals and Stuart gamely carried my shoe bag for me.



In the end, I didn't even bother wearing my evening shoes at all because having hurdled the long trek from our hotel to the Opera House, I still had all those stairs to negotiate to and from our concert seats!



At the rooftop party, the champagne flowed and we danced to live big-band music into the wee hours.



We walked back home happy, if a little worn out from too much dancing, too much walking, and too much champagne, which in the course of the evening, I'd managed to spill on my dress, legs, and sandals.

Congratulations to the city bosses for how organized the party was, how free of party junk the streets were, and how safe we felt walking the city streets in the dark!






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