How My Day Begins With

It’s 7AM and drifting through my window is the clinking of metal poles as the market is set up for another busy day and Mong Kok comes to life.  I walk through the park and see the locals practicing their morning Tai Chi and school children perfecting their mandolin recital piece before class. 

As I take the MTR away from the city and through the mountains I watch the hustle and bustle of rush hour.   A good topic of conversation among expats in Hong Kong is ‘What did you see on the MTR today?.  From Grandpas cutting their toenails to young girls using their commute to take a selfie from every possible angle – whilst bored boyfriends use their phone as a backup light –  (This is something I have personally seen!)  The MTR is a real microcosm of Hong Kong life.

My day starts with an early morning swim at the local pool.  My leisure center back home was musty, old and smelt very suspicious.  The pool here is open air on a rooftop and heated, looking over the river in Sha Tin. The views are stunning and it’s a great way to start the day before work.  The locals here are very committed to whatever they set their heart on, and I often find myself being lapped by an old man in his 70s in full Speedo attire.  Yesterday morning I swam alongside a lady in a snorkel set.  The mind boggles.

I teach for a few hours and then have a 90 minute lunch break.  As my school is right in the heart of town there is so much to do.  My colleagues and I take bike rides to neighboring towns, visit temples, have picnics in the park, visit the Bruce Lee museum, or simply get McDonalds and go looking for monkeys.  There is so much to do we never get bored.

We rush back to school for another few hours of teaching and with many tea breaks to keep us perky, school is over for another day.  It is time to explore Hong Kong at night!  A typical evening would consist of racing to Sheung Wan for an art exhibition after work, Thai or Korean food with friends at a local wet market, happy hour cocktails on a beautiful rooftop in Soho, and dancing into the early hours in the party district of LKF.  Hong Kong has so much to offer your feet never really touch the floor.  I live on the 15th floor, work on the 6th, the MTR takes you from mall to mall.  It’s like living in a futuristic rabbit warren!  With so many options tomorrow I could be at the races, doing a moonlight hike, boot camp in the city park, taking a boat across the Harbor, or browsing the many many markets of Mong Kok.

Each night I head home in a taxi, my feet aching, jaw hurting from smiling so much and my head full of another day of memories -I’m grateful to crawl into bed for some much needed recharge.  I hear the familiar clinking of the poles as the market comes down again, and the city gets ready to do it all over again tomorrow.