Sunday, March 29, 2015

Lanterns of Hong Kong

Hong Kong was extra festive the first week of March coming off of all the Chinese New Year celebrations.  I loved seeing all the lanterns lit up at night!

Note to self:  Plan all future trips to Asia just after the new year


Star Ferry Terminal 

Star  Ferry Terminal 

Star Ferry Terminal 

Hong Kong Observation Wheel

Holywood Park 

Holywood Park 

Aboard the Aqua Luna

Where have you celebrated Chinese New Year?

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Aloha Sunday Update

Happy Aloha Sunday to you!


Lucky Cat agrees that it's a great day

I spent the first week of March on vacation in Hong Kong and it was awesome!   I think this trip was the shortest from thinking of it to getting on a plane than any other international trip that I've taken.  I thought about it in late December, bought my tickets in early January and was on a plane on February 28th.    Just so you know, airfare to Hong Kong was cheaper than the airfare I'm looking at to fly to Milwaukee or Chicago in June to hang with my family.   That's the price you pay for living on an island in the middle of the Pacific.     

Hong Kong is very easy to navigate as an independent traveler, great public transportation, signs in English and Cantonese,  and so much good food.   If you've never been to Asia, Hong  Kong would be a good first-timer trip to get your feet wet.    It was also very festive since we arrived shortly after the Chinese New Year.   

Every celebration should have giant lanterns
In the past week while sleeping either 6 hours or 12 hours a night, depending on the day, I've read some good articles and posts that I'll share with you.  

As someone who likes to explore my own city / state / island as well as traveling internationally, I enjoyed reading this post on Landlopers:  Travel doesn't have to be  complicated to be life-changing. Travel is personal:  what you like, where you live, what you can afford.   Every experience makes you a richer person.  

Part of the reason I chose Hong Kong for my most recent vacation was to eat.  So much good food.   Like this pear soup from Tim Ho Wan in the Hong Kong MTR station.  


Speaking of food...look at all these amazing street food dishes from around the world.

And then there was this on BBC Travel:  50 Reasons to #LoveTheWorld.   What's your reason?

Going a completely different direction...this post on Huffpost Women about consent.    The author uses the question, "Hey, would you like a cup of tea?" to show how people twist the concept of consent when it comes to sex.    If someone said "no, I don't want any tea" would you spend the next 30 minutes trying to convince them that they  did, in fact, want a cup of tea?  Probably not.  No still means no.    

A blind therapy dog that smiles.   Yes.

Work / life balance.  Google's CFO put in his notice after pondering questions posed by his wife: When is it our time?  When is it your time?  When is it my time?     It may be too soon for you (and for sure for me) to retire, but it is my responsibility to create the balance, I want in my life.   No matter how much you love your job or the company you work for, they aren't responsible for creating the balance.  You are.  And if you think casual Friday is work / life balance, listen to this TED talk.      
Hawaii doesn't celebrate daylight savings time, so it's already Monday on the East Coast.   Anyway...

Have a great week!

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