My Week Off

I was fortunate enough to get a week holiday from work last week. I feel like I have just been barrelling forward since Day 1 and I so desperately needed to stop and be still for a bit.

I considered going into mainland China or somewhere else, but my pocketbook wasn't so happy with that idea, so I opted instead to just stay in a hotel in the city and be away from Crossroads for a little bit.

Side note: we all live and work together, day in and day out, which is great a lot of the time but when you take a week off, you don't get much of a rest if you are still here. So ... hence my decision for a hotel. I wanted to be able to go out the front door and not run into 15 people I know.

Back to my holiday ... I searched online and found a reasonably priced hotel in the part of Hong Kong called Tsimshatsui (or TST for short). TST is a hub of acitivity, and there are many MTR (subway) stations nearby, unlike where I live where it takes ages to get anywhere. The hotel was similar to a Holiday Inn ... nice and Western style.

I arrived Tuesday and was put on the 20th floor overlooking Kowloon Park and the beautiful harbour. I couldn't believe my luck! I didn't pay extra for such a view, but there I had it. The room had a TV and two small twin beds, a closet, a bathroom, and a fridge. There was even a safe.

I'm a forward thinker so I had shoved a small DVD player into my bag and was able to hook it up and watch movies and TV shows I had borrowed from various people. It was great!

And it was so nice to be somewhere where I knew my way around, rather than going on vacation somewhere and spending time lost. I knew where to go for food, how to get to the MTR, and knew I wouldn't be lost.

I spent my days wandering the city (it was HOT), seeing some movies (ie Batman, Get Smart), and just relaxing. I think what I enjoyed most was not having to be on constant roach patrol or hear mosquitos buzzing aound my head while I tried to sleep. Also, the nice, glistening white of clean bathroom tile was a joy to see after 5 months of dingy, mildewed bathroom walls.

All in all, it was a great three days there where I was able to get my head straight, have a break, and rest and consider what the next few months here will hold. I am so grateful to have had the time off, and am glad to be back in action now.