A dose of Hong Kong

And so it is over, my one week excursion in Hong Kong, my packed and often way too rush "vacation", an intense but in the end quite fruitful visit with my loved ones. 

This visit, compared to my last few times, brought many conflicting feelings, including doubts towards how I feel about a place I loved so much, and mixed thoughts about what had happened to some of my closest relatives in the past few years. So much has changed with the people I care about here, but my feelings towards them remain the same. Although it had been quite draining, in the end I was glad I spent the time to come back. Through brief chats, through dinners, or even through a day of shooting photographs with a dear cousin, I was able to get back into the lives of my close ones again, ever so briefly. I always feel the unfortunate side-effect of today's global economy and lifestyle is that families are often spread across the globe, each living their separate lives, in parellel paths not always able to break free to intersect one another. However, the advantage we have is that world travel is easier than ever before. A flight is reasonably priced, and although time is scarced, there is nothing prohibiting me doing what I did this week - taking a week off and flying halfway across the globe to meet a few loved ones for dinner. That was the essence of my trip. It was worth every penny and every second of my flight.

 

Despite all that has gone on the past week and all the people I've met, perhaps the most rewarding part of my trip came at the very end when I spend 2 nights and one weekend day with my brother and sister-in-law wandering the streets of Hong Kong. I had feared we would grow apart ever since they had moved back to Hong Kong to work, a move that I might find difficult to do myself given what I do. But as always, hanging out with them brought me incredible comfort. It is always like old times. The way we goofed around, the way we acted silly. I have always felt, that no matter who we become in the work place as we grow older, that we can, and we should, always act silly at home. 

In the end, at the airport, they even brought me an incredibly expensive but memorable watch for christmas and birthday present, wanting to mark my 30th birthday with something memorable. It is, and always will be. Thank you thank you. 

It has been an incredible week. Short but dense. Dense but sweet. Sweet and worthwhile. Worthwhile and very rewarding. 

I look forward to my next dose of Hong Kong, hopefully in the not-too-distant future. I need my regular dosages, to be 

reminded of my home away from home, my mistress city, my inspiration and my deeply rooted love. 

And maybe one day it will feel like home again, even if ever so temporarily. I know I still have the hunger for it.