Super Typhoon Ragasa

So another super typhoon had come and gone in Hong Kong.

We had been given ample warning and everyone was prepared for the worst.  In the end, it seemed to be bad, but the impact didn't appear to be as bad as some of the other super typhoons I had experienced in the past.  Even during the peak and worst of it, it didn't sound or feel as bad as what we were prepared for.  I wasn't complaining too much, it was always better to be prepared than shocked in these situations.

The next day, on my walk to the bus stop, I could see the aftermath of the storm.  There was debris everywhere and some fallen trees.  Nothing unexpected.

What was more impressive though was the quick cleanup that followed.  This was the case with every typhoon that hit Hong Kong, but it didn't make it any less astounding.

Within a day of my walk through the debris, the sidewalks had already been cleared and there was a constant drone of machinery and chainsaws dealing with some of the larger problems.

Over the next few days, workers continued to fix up and clean up the streets.  Broken things were repaired.  Unsalvageable things were taken away.  The speed of it all never ceased to amaze and impress.
 

Boat party birthdays

Our friends were having a big birthday celebration on a boat out in Sai Kung.  We were happy to join them for the party.

A nice boat had been arranged and after a short trip we were all out next to some islands, enjoying the food, drinks and water.  I took Pickle in for a swim, but he seemed to be more interested in wandering around the boat itself. 

These days out on the water are a special part of living in Hong Kong.  I'm not one of those living here who ends up spending every possible weekend on the water, but when the opportunity is presented to me I'll usually try and take part.

With Pickle, there's now the added benefit of seeing him enjoy all these new experiences as well.  It's far removed from the simpler life I had growing up, but I'm happy that he gets to enjoy all these perks to the life we have.

Thunderstorms in Lamma

We were invited out to lunch at Lamma.

It had been a while since we had been and we were going to a new restaurant being raved about by everyone we knew.  So it was the perfect opportunity for a nice family outing.  

Taking the ferry across seemed to already be enough to keep Pickle entertained, but he seemed to also enjoy the lunch and the walk we had through the small streets of Lamma.

After lunch, I thought it would be nice for all of us to go for a walk over to some of the nice beaches of Lamma.  One of our friends at lunch had lived in Hong Kong his whole life and had never visited Lamma before.  This was shocking to me and I thought we needed to remedy this by showing him some of the more lovely parts of the island.  We trekked through the middle of the island and found ourselves standing of the pretty beaches on the other side.

It turns out this was a poor decision by me.

As we stood on the beach looking out and admiring the view.  The sky began to turn black.  We didn't take too much notice at first, but the change became starker and there was a dramatic feel to the sky.  We decided it was time to go.  Sadly for us, this decision had come too late and the skies opened on us just as we took our first few steps off the beach.

The rain came down in sheets, and we all huddled together under of the nearby sun shelters waiting for it to pass.

Back under the big top

Every time I am near anything Cirque du Soleil related, I feel a wave of emotion.  Cirque was such an important part of my young adult life.  Many of the best and most impactful events of that part of my life were directly related to Cirque or were in some way heavily influenced by Cirque.

So whenever I get the opportunity to go to a Cirque show, I'll generally try to go.  It's always a nice reminder of those great days I had and I know I'll get to see a polished show.

Kooza was making its return to Hong Kong.  It had visited Hong Kong a few years ago before covid hit, and that had been interestingly one of the few instances where I hadn't been able to attend a show in my vicinity (though I had fortunately been able to catch up with my friends who had been working on the show).  This time, there was sadly no one left I knew who was still working so I would have to pay full price for my tickets.

Arriving at the grounds felt surreal.  My memories of Cirque are so heavily linked to Sydney, so it didn't feel right for me to see le grand chapiteau surrounded by the lights and buildings of Hong Kong.  It all felt slightly out of place.  I took Ron and my friends in, I pointed out things I was familiar with and played the role of guide that I used to.  My knowledge still seemed relevant enough and they were all fascinated that I had had such a strange and unique job in my past.

Once inside, we found our seats and waited with excitement for the show to start.  I hadn't seen Kooza before at all.  I knew the history of its development, but I was just as eager as the others to see what this would be all about.  The show started strong.  The large background and stage setting lent itself to a powerful opening that was full of all the best of Cirque.  It was emotionally moving, visually spectacular and fascinating all at once.

The first half of the show was brilliant.  We were all captivated all the way through to the finale before the intermission.  That was itself a great act, with true excitement and nerves.  The artists running and balancing across the tightrope was thrilling and the crowd gasped at each of their stunts.

We went out at the break, explored the grounds, ate some food and chatted about all the great things we had seen.  Sadly, the second half couldn't match the first.  We had a replacement act and the finale had been removed from this show.  Looking up at the large hooped structures in the roof of the tent, I had been waiting patiently for them to drop into place, but they never did.  It was one of the disappointing things that couldn't be avoided at Cirque.  Sometimes acts just couldn't go ahead for a multitude of different reasons.  It was understandable, but still a shame.

It was strange being back in Cirque.  It was even stranger that I was able to take photos.  So much of my time and effort as an usher during the show had been consumed by searching for and stopping people from taking photos and videos.  It was ingrained into all the minds of us ushers, NO PHOTOS!  It was jarring for me to see others now freely taking photos and I felt like I was breaking the law taking photos myself.  I understood the change though.  Cirque was changing with the times and I assumed they had finally realised it was probably better for business to allow people to take photos and post about their experiences.  I still couldn't help but miss the old days.  I loved the dark tent.  I loved the complete lack of distraction and the full focus that you would have on the stage.  This was gone now.  The lights of phones.  The small screens everywhere that lit up during the most wonderful of scenes.  It was a distraction.

Faster than expected

It felt like we had only just moved into our apartment, but we were already leaving.  I still remembered with clarity the excitement of getting the keys.  The agent walking out of the apartment and knowing that I was living in my own place.  Not a place that I was renting, but my very own place.  I had expected to have been here almost indefinitely (or at the very least for quite a long time), and instead after only a few years I was off again.   It had been a far shorter stay than I expected or planned.

As I stood in the apartment, everything being packed away by the removalists, I felt a strange feeling.  It wasn't the same as previous moves.  I remembered those moves.  In those moves I felt clearly the pang of leaving somewhere that was close and important to me, of leaving my home.

I didn't have the same feeling this time.

I had experienced a lot in this apartment and yet it didn't have the same feeling of home to me.  Was it because I had moved too much?  Or was it that I just hadn't been in this apartment for long enough?

Exhaustion

Well this was a new experience.  It was a level of exhaustion I hadn't experienced before.  I had done all nighters before (for both work and fun), I had been through physical challenges in the past that meant a lack of sleep... but this?  This was an ongoing level of hammering that was wearing away at my resistance.  The first few nights had been fine, with baby still sleeping even if for a shorter period through the night.  Now, we experiencing him waking every few hours.

He was just a baby.  I couldn't blame him for any of this.  It was just a part of the natural cycle of things.  Still, it did mean that I was completely and utterly shattered during the days.  The paternity leave entitlements in Hong Kong were far from generous, so I also found myself in the unenviable position of having to go to work each day after having spent most of the evening feeding and soothing the crying child.

When I managed to calm him.  To put him to bed.  That feeling of success and satisfaction was hard to beat.  Yet it was probably just as much to do with relief at knowing I could get a couple of hours of extra sleep.

A baby photoshoot

 Veronica was completely enamoured with Pickle.  He was so small and delicate.  She wanted to capture every moment of his life.  Our phones were filling up fast with photos and videos, but more was still needed.

Professional support was needed to satisfy Veronica's requirements.  She found a studio online that did at home visits to do baby photoshoots.  I wasn't sure how I felt about it all.  It seemed all a bit much.  I loved having Pickle in our lives, but did we need to go to these lengths to capture these early moments of his life?

We probably didn't, but like with many things in life, "need" is a strong word.  We may not need many things, but that doesn't mean that they aren't nice to have.  The pictures came out well.  The photographers seemed to be baby whisperers, able to calm and sooth at all times, which resulted in some incredible pictures.

A new arrival

I had restless night.

It was nothing compared to what Veronica was going through, but I still felt exhausted.  My friend Christoph had been kind enough to let me crash at his place close to the hospital, so I tried to sleep.  I put the phone next to my head and closed my eyes.  I expected to be woken with a call, but nothing came.  After a few hours of sleep, I woke up and made my way back to the hospital.  Even without the call, I preferred to be there with Veronica.

At the hospital, there was still no major change.  Veronica had barely slept and was still waiting.  I sat in the same cafe downstairs and kept waiting until the call finally came that she was being moved into the delivery ward and that I could finally join her.  I packed up my things and moved up quickly to the private room where she had been moved in anticipation of the labour starting.

Inside the labour room, we were still waiting.  Veronica paced around, the pain of the contractions still intense but with no further dilation.  A doctor had come to induce her and to break her water, but there still didn't seem to be any major progress.  I tried to comfort her as much as I could.  One of the nurses came and suggested some deep tissue massages in her lower back to help ease her pain.  Between us, we took turns massaging her back to try to give her some relief.  The nurses left, and I was alone with her as I tried my best to comfort her through the painful contractions.  Baby had decided that the best place to rest his head was on the base of her spine , so every contraction was doubly painful.  The nurse came back to check.  A sudden flurry of activity began as the nurse declared with surprise that Veronica had gone from being barely dilated to now suddenly being fully dilated.  The baby was coming.

The nurses ushered me out of the main area and onto a seat to the side as they prepared the room for the birth.  The bed was changed and Veronica was helped into a better position.  Once ready, I was led back in to be by her side.  I took her by her hand as she began the process of labour.  Something so many people have gone through before, something so intrinsically part of who we are as humans, and yet something which is so foreign and unique an experience to the uninitiated.   

The intensity and the pain that Veronica went through was incredible to witness and to be near.  It was an emotional experience as I tried to encourage and support her as best as I could from my position to the side.  I held her hand.  I spoke as many words of support as I could think of.  I helped her count.  The nurses urged me to be vocal in my support and so I took on as much of a coaching role as I could.  It seemed apt.  I gave her timing instructions.  I helped her with her pacing.  I gave her unwavering moral support.  What more could I do?  I was deeply invested in this and yet I felt incredibly impotent and powerless through it all.  There was ultimately nothing I could really do.  This was something Veronica had to go through alone, with all of us mere bystanders hoping to be of some minor help.

The time went quickly.  It went very quickly.  From when I was ushered out and then back in, it was only forty minutes.  In that short time, it was done.  With one final push and with the firm hands of the midwife, a new life sprang into our world.  A gentle cry started, with eyes closed and in shock.  I felt a huge wave of emotion.  It was a powerful experience to have gone through.  The nurses checked Veronica, the doctor came to make sure everything was fine and to check the baby.

Then the baby was brought to his mother, placed immediately on her chest.  The warmth and the sound of her heart instantaneously soothed him.

It had been nine months.  Now we would commence the next part of our lives together.
 

Waiting for a new arrival

The baby was coming.  It was very clear that he would be slightly earlier than expected so we needed to go the hospital.  Veronica had been experiencing some terrible nights sleep and by the morning, her contractions had started and were becoming frequent.  At each contraction, she froze in pain and had to lay down.  It was difficult to watch, with nothing I could do to help her other than to offer my support.  I grabbed our prepared bags and we made our way to the hospital.  There, Veronica was quickly admitted to the prenatal care ward.  She wasn't quite ready to be moved to the room for labour yet.  So we would have to wait.  With her being in this prenatal care ward, it meant that I could only stay during the designated visiting times. So instead, I found myself a cafe to camp myself and to wait.

I tried to do some work, to clear up as much as possible as I waited.  It was a strange time.  Full of nervousness, anticipation, and anxiety.  Through all of this, I also felt a sense of complete powerlessness.  As with Veronica's pain, there was nothing I could really do.  Even my ability to be physically close to her as she struggled with this final phase of the pregnancy was now taken from me and I was reduced to being a distant player.

I walked around the grounds of the hospital a bit.  I tried to stay calm and rational.  The fresh air helped, but I thought it best to keep my busy so I went back to the cafe and worked.  There wasn't anything else I could do, so I used this time to deal with open work matters and to close things off as much as I could before the baby's arrival.

Once the evening visiting hours arrived, I rushed back upstairs to be with Veronica.  She had been suffering but was still it seemed no where close to labour.  I waited with her.  We walked around the ward together and as I tried to provide her with as much comfort as possible.  The nurse checked her again close to when it was time for me to go.  There was still a lot of time to wait.  She told me that I should go and find somewhere to get some sleep, she even said that it wasn't time yet for me to be pacing in the hallway!  I wanted to stay close, so I called a friend who lived nearby and arranged to crash at his place.

Pavlova Christmas

I was over the moon to have won 4kg of passionfruit from Cheese Club.  Over the last few years, they had continued to grow in Hong Kong and Asia.  I was a big fan of their service and it made buying dairy products far more affordable in Hong Kong.  Their success had also led them to expand into other areas such as fruit.  With the Christmas period in full swing, they had launched a series of giveaways.  I had signed up to everything I could, and the win of the fruit was a very pleasant surprise.

Still, with 4kg of passionfruit, I needed to think of what to do with it all.  The fruit themselves were delicious, probably the best passionfruit I had ever eaten, but I still had too much of it to just casually eat day to day.

Since it was a festive time, it seemed that the best use of it would be for a pavlova.  This cake from my childhood that seemed to be the specialty of every grandma in Australia was still a favourite.  Making a pavlova was easy, but making a good one usually took a bit more effort and concentration.  I had a good recipe, and now that I had the fruit it seemed to be the perfect time.

Fully decorated, it is a thing of beauty.  After our dinner, Veronica's family all took a slice and quickly embraced it.  Who doesn't love a good pav?

Christmas in Hong Kong

A cold snap had hit Hong Kong at the perfect time just as we all started to wind down before Christmas.  It was certainly not a snowy European winter, but it was still a nice change from the heat of Hong Kong.

Down in West Kowloon, there was a decent sized Christmas market that had been set up.  Again, it wasn't anything near the size of the incredible Christmas markets you can find in Europe, but it was nice to visit on this cold night leading up to the holidays. 

There were stalls all lined up around the Great Lawn area.  For what it lacked in the vibe of the European markets, it more than made up for it with the view.

We made our way over to the large Christmas trees which had been set up on the harbour front side.

They weren't real trees, but instead were ultra illuminated and hyper coloured steel structures.  Again, not very European in feel, but that was fine.  Mere replication and imitation often merely makes you yearn for the original even more.  It makes the imitator seem to be just that, nothing but a poor imitation lacking the soul or uniqueness of the original.  I thought this was far more fitting for Hong Kong.

Sharp Peak

The cool weather called for a hike.

I had been out hiking in Sai Kung country many times, but I had never walked out further towards Sharp Peak.

For the views and enjoyment given, it wasn't a difficult hike at all.  There weren't many sections that were too steep or taxing and there were nice spots to stop to enjoy it all.  Near the top, the views opened out expansively and you could see out along all the breaches and out towards the nearby islands.

We made our way down towards Ham Tin beach for a very late lunch.  Somehow, a couple of our friends managed to get completely lost.  They walked down towards the shore and attempted to circle around the rocky coastline to get to us before giving up and doubling back and over the ridge again.

 

None of us wanted to walk out again, so we arranged for seats on the speedboat out.  The waves started to come in hard just as it was time for us to all board.  Everyone boarded quickly as the boat captain and his assistants fought to hold the boat steady.  For some incomprehensible reason, the last couple to board seemed to ignore all the instructions and refused to sit, just standing at the back of the boat as the captain yelled at them to sit down.  There was a clear stress in his voice as his tried to keep the boat from being thrown towards the beach.  

Hong Kong vs Turkmenistan

Living in Hong Kong has been a lot of fun, except for a few years that will be very hard to ever forget.... There's always generally been lots to do, but one thing that has been lacking compared to life back in Australia is access to live sporting events.  Outside of HK 7s, the events are generally much smaller in scale.  I used to go to some local Hong Kong Premier League games with Charlie, but even at their best those games rarely attracted more than a few thousand spectators. 

For this international match, it was very different and there were thousands of fans in attendance.  As the night went on, more and more people seemed to join in and flock into the stadium as well.  Being an international match definitely helped, but the good recent performance of the Hong Kong team probably helped as well.  

The match seemed to be in Hong Kong's favour and they controlled most of the match.  Sadly, Turkmenistan managed to take advantage of their opportunities and the game ended a 2-2 draw.  The fervor was there though and it was an incredible feeling being surrounded by all the Hong Kongers cheering passionately for their team.
 

Heavy rains

The typhoon had come and gone.  So Hong Kong was now back to normal.

Well that's what we all thought.

Instead we were all in for a big surprise.  As I prepared for bed one night, I could hear the rain outside.  It had been wet since the typhoon, so this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.  The rain was getting heavier.  I could hear the rain coming down hard.  It was still nothing out of the ordinary.  Heavy rain can be common in Hong Kong, so much so that there's a system of warnings in place at the Hong Kong Observatory to warning people when it gets too much.  I didn't think much of it as I lay in bed and closed my eyes.  I could still hear the heavy rain.  It was actually quite a soothing sound and I was soon asleep.

I woke up to the sound of rain.

I wasn't sure if I had slept.  The rain sounded as heavy as it had been when I had fallen asleep.  I wondered if it was still early or if I had only been asleep a short time.  I looked at my clock.  There was no mistake, I had slept the full night and it was the morning.  I thought that maybe it was just a coincidence that the rain had been at its heaviest when I slept and when I woke.  Strangely, in the back of my mind I did wonder whether the heavy rain had persisted through the night.

I stepped out of bed and looked out the window. 

It hadn't been a coincidence.  It had indeed rained heavily all night.  We were to find out later that this had been the heaviest rain that Hong Kong had ever experienced.  It was a once in 500 year event that had completely saturated the city and left flooding all over.  There was reports and videos of landslides, flooded buildings and general mayhem.

By mid morning, the waters had started to recede.  Veronica and I went downstairs to look for food and to investigate our surroundings more thoroughly.  Everywhere there was mess and filth.  The flooding had brought with it all the dust and dirt in the city, and caked it all over the roads and sidewalks.

At one drain, we found the remains of an early morning noodle delivery.  It must have been left in front of a restaurant by the delivery drivers only to be carried away by the flooding that came later.

As we turned the corner, we found the biggest sign yet of the true severity of this event.  The local McDonalds, the store that never closes no matter how bad the typhoon, had been shut down by the flood.  Being in the basement of the building, we could only imagine how bad the flooding downstairs had been.  Many of the shops and buildings in Hong Kong are raised a "step", which is normally more than enough to deal with the usual heavy monsoon rains.

This was a different case altogether, and the flooding had gone above that first step which meant a long and expensive clean up for many of the ground and basement stores throughout the city.

Amazingly, the resilience of this city was such that by the afternoon, I could already hear the rumbling of the trams rolling along the routes that had been flooded only hours earlier.

Super typhoon days

It had been years since we had felt in the "typhoon mood".   There had been a few big ones since Mangkhut, but none of them had seemed to impact the city in the same way.  The shut downs that normally come with the typhoons had been short.  The coming of Typhoon Saola seemed like a return to the old days.  The observatory had been warning about it for days in the lead up, with a direct hit on Hong Kong predicted.  Everyone seemed to be awaiting its arrival with a strange nervous anticipation.  It was hitting on Friday and there seemed to be a city wide assumption and agreement that there would be no work done that day.  When the T10 was raised Thursday evening, no one was surprised and everyone was already well prepared for the Friday of work from home.  Shops had been cleared out and everyone had stocked up on the essentials for a weekend in.

The storm started to hit and hit hard.  The city was still shutdown, but it seemed to not be too bad outside.  We went out at lunch for some food and we could see some trees had already born the brunt of the winds. 

We were hungry, so we went and partook in some McDonalds.  Even with everything else is closed, McDonalds seems to somehow stay open during the worst typhoons.  I remember also eating McDonalds the last time there was such a big shutdown.

By the afternoon of the next day, it was gone and the city began the assessment of the damage done.

The worst of it hadn't lasted that long, but there was damage everywhere.  It didn't seem too serious, but trees had been felled and there was garbage and debris scattered everywhere.

What was most amazing though was that everything seemed to be restarting already.  Only a few hours had past since the warning signals had been lowered and everyone was already getting on with their lives.  Chainsaws roared everywhere as the clean up crews were busily dealing with the trees.  We had a farewell dinner planned that night for Rachel.  We had been worried it would be cancelled and yet it all still went forward without a hitch.

A comfortable journey home

The trip was nearly over, but it seemed that the fun certainly wasn't.

On our flight from Rome to Doha, we were informed that there was a change in planes.  So with the new equipment, we were given the chance to try the famed Qatar Airways "Q Suites".

We had enjoyed flying on Qatar Airways on our previous trips, but this seemed to be another level of luxury beyond what we were used to.

Comfortably placed in the middle two seats, after takeoff we were able to push down the middle divider and close the doors to turn our section into our own little private apartment.

As with all experiences so extravagant, I couldn't help but think back to the times I had as a younger traveler.  Simply being able to go overseas in any capacity was already something I had never dreamed would be within reach, so to get to this level seemed to be an absurdity.  I was happy, but also incredibly grateful for it all.  I still couldn't help but wonder what my younger self would think knowing this would occur.

Life changing news

I didn't think it would be so soon.  Ron and I had only been married a few months when we got this very unexpected news.

My immediate thoughts were of shock and disbelief.  It wasn't bad and I certainly wasn't unhappy, far from it.  It was more that this was something which was so far from what I had anticipated.  If anything, I had been expecting the opposite.  I had been readying myself for a struggle and disappointment in future efforts to start a family.  I had sadly been seeing many others around me face the extreme difficulties of trying without success and had assumed that being older that this would be something we would need to deal with as well.  From that perspective, I started to also felt extremely thankful.  That would be a hurdle we would not need to jump and Ron wouldn't have to go through any of those struggles.

Our lives had already changed now that we were together.  Things  were about to change even more.

Coronavirus and it's finally over

I was sitting around minding my own business when I got an alert on my phone.  I normally don't pay too much attention to these random buzzes, but for some reason I picked up my phone and had a look.

 It was over.  It had all "felt" like it was over for a few months now, but this seemed to be the final confirmation that the nightmare of the last three years was now behind us.  Even though it was largely symbolic at this stage, I felt the impact of this announcement.  I felt a bit lighter, a bit happier.  It was a strange feeling of relief, knowing that we were now past the pain and annoyance of the arbitrary and at times draconian restrictions.