Hong Kong & New York

What was a tentative departure date has now become reality: flight booked with Air Canada - duration 18 hr 55 minutes. We have a 4 hour lay-over in Vancouver before heading to Hong Kong. Somewhere in between we actually lose a day (hard to wrap your head around how you can just "lose" a day. But that's time zones for you). Aron's looking forward to flying on the Boeing 777.

Perusing our Hong Kong travel guide & watching "No Reservations", Anthony Bourdain's gastronomic travel tv show, is getting us pretty stoked. The harbor, the lush tropical landscape, all the culinary delights, even the hustle & bustle is appealing. My impression is that it will feel like Vegas with the lights, shopping, money, partying; a city that never sleeps. There's much more to Hong Kong than relentless consumerism & business deals: there are fantastic hikes all over the place, the Po Lin Monastery with the Big Buddha, gorgeous Chinese gardens. But make no mistake, we'll be arriving in the most densely populated metropolis on earth (the irony is not lost on us that our home town is the exact opposite, due to Calgary's urban sprawl). There are over 7 million people in a space 1/4 the size of New York! It's not uncommon for a family of 8 to share a space of 400 square feet! Say goodbye to the wide open spaces of the Alberta Prairie! It's said that Hong Kong is a great place to get lost, and with awesome food available at any turn, it sounds good to me. The best dim sum is found in Hong Kong - and for those of us who dare, one can try anything from shredded jellyfish to stinky bean curd... Hong Kong boasts the most restaurants per capita anywhere.


I also have my week long jaunt to the Big Apple coming up in 4 weeks. The opportunity to participate in a residency at Carnegie Hall to sing Mozart's Requiem is truly incredible. I'll be sharing the stage with over 150 other choristers under the baton of the eminent conductor/composer John Rutter, making music with professional soloists & orchestra. I've pinched myself a million times! In fact, I've hardly allowed myself to believe it's happening. It will be surreal. I've been studying my score religiously, but I've also been poring over the map of Manhattan. There's so much to see & do, yet I've released any expectations. My only plan is that this trip just unfolds organically. My travel-mates have worked on a fairly extensive itinerary, but as much as I do have some ideas, I'd be perfectly content coming out of my hotel lobby & just starting to walk. I'm sure it would take months to feel as though one had fully finished absorbing what New York has to offer. I'm going to let New York come to me and not force my will upon it!

I can't stop thinking about Jo Marsh from Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women". She fell head over heels for New York and I expect I'll do the same.