My Sweet Escape to Hong Kong
Gayle Nerva
First day of the year, and I’ve found myself dipping my toes in the waters of Hong Kong. The city feels so much like my home town of Singapore, busy streets, busy people, lots to eat, lots to shop, so there’s a certain kind of familiarity. But I realized that Hong Kong offers this kind of, je ne sais quoi, a certain old school charm. Maybe it’s in the air, I feel like I can walk for hours and not feel tired over here.
I decided that I’d do things I haven’t done in Hong Kong. I’ve done the shopping and clubbing thing here, so this time, I chose to visit spots outside of the city. I took a windy bus trip out to St Stephen’s Beach. The roads were so narrow and the busses took up the entire lane, it really scared me how close these busses would get while crossing each other in opposite directions! I don’t know how they do it!
St Stephen’s Beach was small, but quiet and peaceful. A few groups of people barbequing along the beach and a few kids making sandcastles, while others set up their fishing rods along the board walk.
After this, I made my way to Stanley Main Street, where there was much more activity, buskers, and street performers, bustling restaurants and shops.
I bought myself a little bubble making gun and started firing away bubbles in the square, all the kids went crazy for them! Running around trying to catch or pop every bubble in sight. It was such a lovely day.
While on this trip, the skies were not extremely kind, as it was rather gloomy on most, but that didn’t stop me from heading to Hong Kong Central where AIA had set up a big carnival! The Great European Carnival! Now, I haven’t been to a carnival in the longest time, and these things are SO hard to come by in Singapore. So I was thrilled when I saw the colorful lights of the rides from afar, and couldn’t help but squeal like a little child and run towards them!
It was still drizzling but I didn’t care! Straight to the bumper cars I went! I then took a stroll around to check out everything the carnival had to offer. From scary rollercoasters to carnival games, and even an ice skating rink, there was so much to do! I ran out of tokens pretty quickly and had to get some more. I think that this carnival is definitely a fun thing to do on your trip to Hong Kong. Especially on a date! I believe they only run till Feb 2016 so you’ll have to check their website for future visits.
Let’s see, what else did I check out in Hong Kong? Oh yes! I finally went to visit Big Buddha! OMG was it super cold and cloudy that day! It was like we were taking the cable car ride through a big giant cloud! Still, it was really beautiful when I arrived at Tian Tan Buddha. After climbing 268 steps (!!!!!), I finally reached the top, and could marvel at this beautiful symbolic statue, as well as the nature that surrounded it.
Now, even though my trip to Hong Kong was a short one, I’m glad I got to experience the magic of the city. I find it exciting when I get to explore new places, and learn about different cultures. I didn’t get to do much shopping in Causeway Bay or Hong Kong Central, or make it out to the clubbing streets. But I loved that my trip was a fun and relaxing one. I can’t wait till I return to Hong Kong! My mission on the next trip? Climb Sunset Peak and watch the sun go down.
Until next time Hong Kong!
Gayle Nerva is a Singaporean musician, writer, artist and singer who gained fame on Singapore Idol at age 17. Since then she has embarked on a number of creative talents that have made her a house hold name in Singapore and gained international recognition for her music videos on Youtube. But that is not all. Nerva also has a secret love for — and talent in — the fine arts. For example, in 2010, she made sequin portraits of Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. It took her two months to complete and she sent them to DeGeneres. Four years later, the former piece was featured on The Ellen Degeneres Show last year. Check out Gayle’s music at youtu.be/o5pWgrQwXjg