By Adam
7am in Brussels.
Quentin came to pick me and my bags up and what is now Maxime and Clementine’s flat. Said my final goodbyes to the flat and its new tenants and we were off to the airport.
My worries of my bags being too heavy came true and I ended up paying an extra 226 euros. Turns out, packing ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING YOU OWN into 2x23kg suitcases isn’t easy. I decided to drink my frustration away in the airport lounge.
On the flight I watched ‘I swear’. Great movie.
11 and a half hours of smooth flying later, I landed in Hong Kong. Got through immigration in about 30 seconds! Suitcase number 3 was one of the last ones to appear on the conveyer belt so I ended up losing my newly gained time.
The school’s HR director welcomed me at the airport and joined me in a taxi back to our new flat.
The night before, whilst still in Brussels, I had told reception at our new residence that I would arrive at around 8am local time the following day but could not make any guarantees as I was on the other side of the world. I arrived at 7.50am. Can’t believe I was off by a whole 10 mins…
1st impressions of the flat are positive and there doesn’t seem to be any ‘strange smells’ that Charlotte was worries about.
I asked AI how best to combat jet lag and it suggested I stay up and go to bed at a reasonable hour without taking naps. Basically to stay awake for 36h straight. Starting to think that AI doesn’t know what it’s talking about.
Started unpacking then gave up soon after and ventured into town on the 952 bus. The journey into HK is around 1 hour, but felt a lot shorter for some reason. Sorry AI…
Wanted to get a coffee but settled for tea as I walked past Lan Fung Yuen – famous for its HK-style tea. It sits somewhere between Chinese and British tea. A true blend of cultures. Delicious.
Stop number 2 was for dim sum at Ding Dim 1968. The xiaolongbao were my favourite. Dumplings full of slow-cooked beef and stock. I only had 3 as I knew I’d probably eat more and didn’t want to waste precious stomach storage on 1 type of food.
Right enough, 10 mins later, I had roast goose (Michelin star winning goose no less) at Yat Lok. This was incredible. Sharing a table with other diners seems to be commonplace in HK.
Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering in and out of shopping malls to avoid the heat. A few hours later, jet lag really started to kick in and blisters started to form (note to self: don’t wear new Birkenstocks whilst exploring a new city).
Back on the 952 to the flat and, against AI’s advice, slept on the bus and then again at home.
Great first day.
