It goes without saying, the great divide exists in many countries, but Hong Kong is a place like no other when it comes to being a ‘city of contradictions.’ Never-ending rows of tall, sleek buildings jut sharply from the side of lush green mountains; tropical islands bask in azure blue seas while giant steel-clad container ships chug noisily by. All-you-can-eat Dim Sum bars and street food stalls snuggle up next to Starbucks and McDonalds. Markets selling cheap wares stand cheerfully amongst shiny designer stores; and ancient medicinal shops displaying traditional Chinese herbs reside next to modern day drug-filled pharmacies. Everywhere you turn in Hong Kong, you’re faced with a torrent of juxtaposing images. For the most part it's a pretty impressive sight! For such a tiny spot on China’s south coast, nowhere more does the old collide with the new, the real verse the fake and the east meet west. But possibly the greatest divide on show in this city - is the blaring gap between the rich and the poor. … [Read more...]
I am woman, hear me roar… 24 Hours in the Philippines
Last week I went to the Philippines for 24 hours. You can do that kind of thing around these parts. For me, it's a bit like taking a domestic flight in Australia but hey presto, blink twice and I'm in another country. Another world! Yep! just me, myself and I. As any mother knows, as much as we would go to the end of the earth for our beloved babes, sometimes there are only so many play-dough pussy cats one can make. There are definitely only so many dirty nappies one can change before you need to down tools and take a well-earned sanity break. … [Read more...]
….all the tea in China
Two years ago today, my life did what you might call a 180 degree turn! At 38 years old I went from being a News Reader with national 24 hour news channel Sky News Australia, where I'd worked happily (mostly) for the best part of a decade, to being an unemployed housewife, smack bang in the middle of one of the world's most populated cities. Until then I had been living in a fairly comfortable apartment in Sydney's not so shabby Neutral Bay with my not so shabby hotelier husband. My close-knit family was just a hop, skip and a jump up the road in Queensland and the tight-knit sisterhood of friendships built on a lifetime of shared experiences, all within 'wine-quaffing' distance. So what happened? … [Read more...]
