Hong Kong

There is actually no better feeling than the excitement running up to a vacation, the hurried dash to the shops to get your last minute items, the gloating to friends who have to work and the animated chats about what you will do when you get there. Well, I forgot what that was like until recently. I am just back from what was my first vacation in three years, work commitments, children and financial constraints made it very difficult to get time off to get that well needed escape. I know a lot of people think that living in sunny Sydney is all the vacation you need, but believe me I love nothing more than immersing myself in a new culture and forgetting all about life.

I am just back from Hong Kong, the amazing city that it is. It was very last minute, I found a discount on a daily deals website for a 4* exclusive holiday in Hong Kong. I had never shopped on daily deals websites before, I know a few people who do, I used to live in the UK and I know it is very popular there but it had never occurred to me to check out Australia’s deals. I stumbled across an advert one night on the internet and found lots of sites with the best daily deals Sydney had to offer and I have now subscribed to them and get emails with discounts every day. They really are ace and you can save tons of money, and not just on vacations but on health and beauty, restaurants and unique gifts that would be great at Christmas.

My bargain Hong Kong break was $445 and it was for 4 nights at the popular Harbour Plaza hotel, usually costing $1530 the deal even included a delicious breakfast every morning that was just what we needed to tackle Hong Kong, 25% discounts on massages and treatments at their spa and 2 tickets to Disney World.  It was me and my husband who went so Disney World probably wouldn’t have been at the top of the agenda had we not got the free tickets but it was so much fun and ace to act like kids for the day.

Hong Kong is unimaginable, I have travelled to a few other Asian cities but I have never encountered anything like it. At first it was a lot to take in, trying to navigate your way through the crowds of people chattering loudly, the slow moving traffic and the colours, the bright colours of the city. It was definitely the culture shock I was after and after the first day I adored it. I loved getting lost in the crowds, swimming along with the current of people and listening eagerly to their often English conversations. My husband banned me from using my camera for the last day; he said I was turning into Ken Duncan, because I was so snap happy. All worth it for such a bargain price though and I have the photographic memories.