Long-life Necklace

Cheeky went to Hong Kong in the search of happiness, she ate bird's nest sundaes and drank mango and sago drinks which was all good for her but she really liked this longevity necklace. She thinks you would like it more!  Check out more photos of the necklace in my Etsy shop.  www.cheekynado.etsy.com

Sorry I didn't have any pictures of the bird's nest sundae's, but the pic above is of my favourite chain of drink restaurants in Hong Kong.  If you're ever there, you should try the drinks. However I advise you to stay away from the brown drinks, I tried it once and found out that it was turtle jelly drink ~ apparently it's good for you!  

Oh and if you want to try the bird's nest sundae which you can here, check out the photo (in the menu on the tables) of translucent jellyish looking stuff on top of ice-cream or mango, they say it's good for your skin. 

So uhm, I didn't quite post the next day ~ oops!

So I left the last post at Ho Chi Minh City.  Well I went to Hong Kong kind of alone as United Airlines wasn't so kind in my request for my parents and I to sit together; yeah right, if one end of the plane to the other constitutes as together then I shouldn't complain!!!  Once in HK, my parents tried hard to change their flight to Canada and allow them to stay two days, but thanks to Oasis Airlines closure there was no way for them to get another confirmed flight and was best to stay on course :( so we said our goodbyes and parted our ways.

It was a sad and lonely bus trip to Fotan where Cherie lives.  I was so hoping that my parents could make it there with me as it's another place for them to visit as I had lived there for a couple of years and seem to be always drawn back to HK.  Anyway I got to Fotan and was to pick up the key from my old school, however they were away for a two hour lunch, so there I sat at the Mac Donald's next door for two hours!!!  It was interesting I even got chatting with a university student, so that was cool.

I stayed in HK for three weeks it was supposed to be a week and then to L.A. with Young-joo however she had some visa issues and had to return to Korea, so I was stuck in HK, but that was okay, it meant a longer stay with Cherie :)  I was a bit lazy too, as I had my own room for the first time in a month, so I slept a lot.  

HK was fun, I got to see more of Wanchai than I did when I lived there.  I met up with Vicki too which was cool.  I  love and hate HK for many things, and this trip made me see the better side of the city, and IF I ever move back I am definitely not living in the New Territories again, I want to be on the island.

I still had to fly to L.A. to get my connecting flight to Calgary, as my Air Canada ticket was carved in stone and I couldn't change it at all :(   I remember last year I was stuck for ten hours at LAX coming in from Maui to Calgary as the flight was delayed, well I thought no way am I going to sit for the four hours layover I had in the same gate again.  So I took off to Venice beach for a bit, which was awesome, if only I knew the last time just how close the beaches were to LAX!  I just relaxed on the beach did some people watching and took a taxi back with the best driver ever, he was from Tanzania and really made my day :)  But that was soon shattered to see that the same delay was about to happen, what are the chances of that???  I was flying the same flight as last year and again there were delays!!!!  I took how many flights on this trip and AC still can't get it together!!!  AARGH!

I finally arrived in Calgary just about midnight, then it's a two hour drive home :(

Anyway life in Canada has slowed down a lot, I mean sloooooooow!  I did get roped into drywalling and painting in the house, even when I visited my brother for a week in Fort Mac my mum and I were landscaping.   My friend Hee-jeong came to visit from Korea, she was to spend three months here, but it got cut short due to her dad's health, but luckily he's not too bad now that she's back there.  So now I'm home alone in Stavely still living out of a backpack, my shipping made it here okay but is now is storage awaiting the next phase.  JOB!  HOME!  In the meantime, I enjoying the creative energy that has recently hit me, I'm painting plates, sketching, painting furniture and playing with shrinky dinks (LOL)!!!

Wish me luck with the job hunt and the reversal culture shock!

Yet Another Hong Kong Trip

When in Hong Kong the first thing that I need is the food and drinks. Let me present my favourite franchise in Hong Kong that has a wide and interesting menu ranging from my choice of mango with mango jelly, coconut milk and sago to turtle jelly drink which I have tried!‘Tis the year of the pig!
Looking up is important there’s so much to see!
Cherie’s apartment has some sweet views I think I would be barbecuing a lot up here.
And lastly, the FOOD! Yeah, no Hong Kong trip is complete without Dim Sum that I managed to get at the airport. I highly recommend Maxim’s which is the same franchise in the city that has those horrid hour long line ups just like all great restaurants on a Sunday!

To be in Hong Kong or not to be that is the question???

I first went to Hong Kong in 1999 to live but then it lasted just a few months, then Canada then Korea for a year then back to Hong Kong for two years then Korea, then Canada, then, then, then! Well there’s some boomerang effect with Hong Kong and myself as each year I find myself back here with a different experience from the last. I'm only here for a couple of days, as I seriously need a refresher, some shopping and time to chat with my dear friend Cherie. I also have the opportunity to move back here and walk straight into a public school position along with the previous teacher's two-bedroom apartment in September.

As some of you may know that I've been having a tough time in Korea, mainly due to my job as it's seriously disorganized and stuck in the conservative patriarchal world that leaves me stressed and pissed off. I’ve also been dating one guy; it's an on/off relationship/friendship. However the most positive thing has been my art, I am currently in a show that opened on Saturday, which received positive feedback. My art has helped me deal with some of the stress as well as my loneliness.

Moving to Hong Kong is no easy decision unlike before. It was easier for me to pick up and leave when I was younger, but these days it’s real headache, as I now long to settle and have a home. I really am unsure of the next move or I should say the next step. However if I stay in Korea I have also been presented with the opportunity to open an art academy along with a friend who is willing to help as much as she can however I need to commit at least three years in Korea. It seems my art has a future in Korea, as I'm surrounded by artists who motivate and support me in so many ways. That is something that I would have to give up if I move to Hong Kong.

To be honest I would really love to move back to the UK, but I have several fears; I am used to a lifestyle that I cannot afford over there and I feel that I need substantial savings to back me up and help me settle in. However saving money in Korea seems to be my weak point. Hong Kong salary is higher as well as legal part-time work andI should mention that while I stay in Hong Kong in preparation for the UK I could also study as there are numerous courses offered here that are not available in Korea.

I consider myself lucky to have all these choices and opportunities. But I feel dumbfounded just like you do when you walk into MacDonald's and stand in front of the vast menu like a deer in the headlights; frozen and unable to move, then order combo number one! Speaking of which, Cherie and I ordered two lunch combos in some Hong Kong fusion restaurant that had no English but did have pictures, to our horror werealized that we ordered noodles with tripe and a side dish of cow tongue! We ended up having two lunches in two different restaurants!