Being a Tourist - Hong Kong Delights

Pool of the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

The Grand Hyatt Hong Kong boasts an incredible pool with panoramic views of the city and sleek gleaming design.

This is where we had our morning chai and where I penned my hasty missives to the lovelies back home. I have not forgotten you. But if it’s radio silence, then I probably have, so email me your address.

Then we met Bird Man

No, not the rapper, but a man with a little blue hat and a little white bird chained to his rusty steed. Not gonna lie, was a little weird.

Hong Kong Park and the Flagstaff Museum of Tea Ware

Since I drink so much of the stuff, I wanted to check out the Tea Ware Museum, which is a branch of Hong Kong’s Museum of Art and actually located within Hong Kong Park.

The museum itself is an old Colonial building built in 1840 for the Commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong. Sadly, the break neck development has seen most of the beautiful colonial buildings in the city bulldozed in favour of high density property or monuments to modernity, so seeing Flagstaff House in all its splendour was especially nice.

We left the museum and it started pouring…

So in search of shelter we turned to dim sum and then sum

Gao’s Foot Parlour

The first thing you’ll notice in Hong Kong is that reflexology centres are as common as traffic lights, with tens of them on every street, all offering to rub your tootsies for a pittance.

All that walking left us with raw throbbing feet, so we went to Gao’s Foot Parlour, which is part of a chain and considered pretty decent.

Every treatment starts with a shoulder rub. I was sat facing Vanessa, who had her eyes closed in peaceful meditation. Since it was my first time, I didn’t want to miss any of the action and was watching her therapist knead away her troubles.
It was all very serene with the sounds of the sea and chinese instrumental filling the room.
Vanessa’s therapist was working the top of her shoulders, with his face right by her ear. Suddenly I saw him open his mouth and let out the loudest, wettest, most offensive burp imaginable. My slack-jawed shock quickly turned to hysterical laughter as he continued with his work seemingly unperturbed and Vanessa’s eyes flew open in horror. Minutes later I could barely see through the tears streaming down my face. The Chinese take no prisoners, even in a spa and my stern matronly therapist slapped by leg and shouted at me in Cantonese. This only only magnified the hysteria, so I paid her and hot-footed it out of there in stitches.

So word of advice, keep your headphones in and your eyes closed.

Gao’s. Room 15/F, Century Square, 1-13 D’Aguilar Street, Central, Hong Kong