The End of the Holiday

Expat Wife apologises profusely for having been such an absent blogger over the Christmas period. She was of course mainly entertaining The Husband and not at all sipping gin and tonics on the sofa in front of Gavin and Stacey and Project Runway. The Husband and I are now back in a very busy Pattaya, right in the middle of the peak holiday season. Before I return to the goings-on on these sunny shores, I must mention a few of the stand-out days and nights over the remainder of our holiday in Hong Kong.

A few days after Christmas the Husband and I, plus our friends Jenni and Adam, went to Disneyland. This latest addition to the Disney empire has in fact been up and running for over four years but, as a loyal Ocean Park girl, I hadn't yet been. I did actually feel a tad guilty as we boarded the Disney train, complete with Mickey-shaped windows and strap-hangers and bronze statues of Disney characters in display cases - there was no mistaking where we were going - as I felt I had sold out to the Disney machine. I silently promised I would return to my beloved Ocean Park, a marine-focused theme park by the sea that has been in Hong Kong longer than I have been alive. It was a fun day out, with the highlights being the parade, the Lion King show, Space Mountain and the teacups (yes, the teacups can be fun, you just have to spin them really fast!), however it doesn't compare to Ocean Park. It's more expensive yet far smaller, with fewer rides and attractions. There are, however, many more shops. Disney has done exceptionally well to provide as many opportunities as possible for visitors to part with as much cash as possible - there's even a top jewellers - but not enough to give us value for the money we paid at the ticket booth. Then again, the Chinese love spending money so maybe that is just what they want to do all day.

As we do on most trips to Hong Kong, we took the ferry over to Lamma Island to hike, play games on a deserted beach, and eat a deliciously fresh seafood lunch. We also drove to Stanley, on Hong Kong Island, where we shopped till we dropped in the market, followed by a well-deserved beer in a bar by the sea. New Year's Eve was a rather drunken affair. I have now discovered that all-you-can-drink deals and me don't go well together. Enough said.

The stand-out event of the latter part of the holiday was certainly the Hong Kong Tennis Classic and the players' party which preceded it. The Brother works for the company that organises the tournament and The Mother runs the Player Services department so they arranged tickets to the party for us where we drank Champagne and nibbled on canapes with the likes of Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams. The Mother and Brother also managed to score free tickets for us in a box for the opening night of the tournament. It was a great line-up, featuring some of the world's best players, though the closeness of of one of the matches meant the evening's matches didn't finish till after midnight. After eight hours of tennis viewing, coupled with the chilly weather, I was more than ready for my bed by the end of it, but it was a great night.

The evening we arrived back in Thailand coincided with two of my cousins' last couple of days in the country so I met up with them in Bangkok for some eating, drinking, sunbathing and shopping. I had my first experience of Chatachuk Weekend Market and what an experience it was. It was vast, hot and slightly suffocating, especially in the warren of lanes in which you could so easily get lost, never to emerge into the light again. Katie bought so much she had to buy a large shopping bag which she then had to lug around Bangkok. Her suncream also exploded in her bag, all over her wallet, i-pod and mobile but we won't mention that.

I eventually made it back to Pattaya on Saturday night when The Husband very kindly picked me up from the airport after saying goodbye to the cousins. So it's back to reality now. At least reality here is sun, swimming pools and seafood and not snow, scarves and sandwiches. I think I can handle this reality.