Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong by Shannon Young

Title: Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong
Author: Shannon Young
Publication: Blacksmith Books (15 Jun. 2015)  
Summary: In 2010, bookish 22-year-old Shannon follows her Eurasian boyfriend to Hong Kong, eager to forge a new love story in his hometown. But when work sends him to London a month later, Shannon embarks on a wide-eyed newcomer's journey through Hong Kong – alone.

She teaches in a local school as the only foreigner, explores Asia with other young expats and discovers family history in Hong Kong, all while trying to hold on to her thwarted romance. The city enchants her, forcing her to question her plans. Soon, she must make a choice between her new life and the love that first brought her to Asia.

What I Think

Living in Hong Kong I have a particular interest in reading books set in this little pocket of Asia and it's an extra special treat to read a book that reminds me what a vibrant and exciting city this is. Hong Kong is multifaceted and each morning Shannon Young leaves "behind one world and enter[s] an entirely different, more Chinese one." 

"The time was right for an international long distance relationship," writes Young about her relationship with Ben, managing to stay in daily contact via Skype, phone, email and instant messaging. This is in stark contrast to the annual letters Young's grandmother sent back to the U.S. She had also moved abroad to teach, met her husband, got married and started a family. In the 1950s they were stationed in Hong Kong. Including fragments of these letters evokes not only the feeling of a different world, but draws comparisons with the physical changes in Hong Kong. 

Living abroad isn't always easy. "Friendship is fast, cheap, and interchangeable in the expat world." Young's writing is full of such insights as she delves further into the Chinese culture, language, her teaching position as the only Native English Teacher and whether she wants to stay in Hong Kong without Ben, or move to yet another foreign place to be with him.  

Shannon Young's writing is as full of life as this city and I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in travel, living abroad, teaching or a good old-fashioned love story. 

About the Author

Shannon Young is an American writer currently living in Hong Kong. She is the author of a coming of age travel memoir called Year of Fire Dragons (Blacksmith Books) and a Kindle Single on student debt. She has edited an anthology of creative non-fiction by expat women in Asia and written e-books including a mini travel memoir, The Olympics Beat, and a novella, The Art of Escalator Jumping.

A graduate of Colgate University in New York, Shannon's writing has appeared in the Hong Kong Women in Publishing Society's anthology, on numerous websites, and on an iPhone travel app. She writes a blog called A Kindle in Hong Kong and likes to spy on other people's books on the train.


You can follow Shannon's work and join her email list at the following sites:

Website: shannonyoungwriter.com
Blog: akindleinhongkong.blogspot.com
Twitter: @ShannonYoungHK

Three Summer Expat Memoirs

Click here to enter a giveaway!

The Good Shufu: Finding Love, Self, & Home on the Far Side of the World 

By Tracy Slater 

The Good Shufu is a true story of multicultural love, marriage, and mixups. When Tracy Slater, a highly independent American academic, falls head-over-heels in love with the least likely person in the world--a traditional Japanese salaryman who barely speaks English--she must choose between the existence she'd meticulously planned in the US and life as an illiterate housewife in Osaka. Rather than an ordinary travel memoir, this is a book about building a whole life in a language you don’t speak and a land you can barely navigate, and yet somehow finding a truer sense of home and meaning than ever before. A Summer ’15 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, The Good Shufu is a celebration of the life least expected:  messy, overwhelming, and deeply enriching in its complications.

Putnam/Penguin, June 30, 2015

Here Comes the Sun: A Journey to Adoption in 8 Chakras

By Leza Lowitz

At 30, Californian Leza Lowitz is single and traveling the world, which suits her just fine. Coming of age in Berkeley during the feminist revolution of the 1970s, she learned that marriage and family could wait. Or could they?
When Leza moves to Japan and falls in love with a Japanese man, her heart opens in ways she never thought possible. But she’s still an outsider, and home is far away. Rather than struggle to fit in, she opens a yoga studio and makes a home for others. Then, at 44, Leza and her Japanese husband seek to adopt—in a country where bloodlines are paramount and family ties are almost feudal in their cultural importance. She travels to India to work on herself and back to California to deal with her past. Something is still not complete until she learns that when you give a little love to a child, you get the whole world in return.
The author’s deep connection to yoga shows her that infertile does not mean inconceivable. By adapting and adopting, she transcends her struggles and embraces the joys of motherhood.

Stone Bridge Press, June 9, 2015

Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong

By Shannon Young

In 2010, bookish 22-year-old Shannon follows her Eurasian boyfriend to Hong Kong, eager to forge a new love story in his hometown. She thinks their long distance romance is over, but a month later his company sends him to London. Shannon embarks on a wide-eyed newcomer's journey through Hong Kong—alone. She teaches in a local school as the only foreigner, explores Asia with other young expats, and discovers a family history of her own in Hong Kong. The city enchants her, forcing her to question her plans. Soon, she must make a choice between her new life and the love that first brought her to Asia.

Susan Blumberg-Kason, author of Good Chinese Wife, has called Year of Fire Dragons "a riveting coming of age story" and "a testament to the distance people will travel for love." 

Blacksmith Books, June 7, 2015

Three Summer Expat Memoirs

Click here to enter a giveaway!

The Good Shufu: Finding Love, Self, & Home on the Far Side of the World 

By Tracy Slater 

The Good Shufu is a true story of multicultural love, marriage, and mixups. When Tracy Slater, a highly independent American academic, falls head-over-heels in love with the least likely person in the world--a traditional Japanese salaryman who barely speaks English--she must choose between the existence she'd meticulously planned in the US and life as an illiterate housewife in Osaka. Rather than an ordinary travel memoir, this is a book about building a whole life in a language you don’t speak and a land you can barely navigate, and yet somehow finding a truer sense of home and meaning than ever before. A Summer ’15 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, The Good Shufu is a celebration of the life least expected:  messy, overwhelming, and deeply enriching in its complications.

Putnam/Penguin, June 30, 2015

Here Comes the Sun: A Journey to Adoption in 8 Chakras

By Leza Lowitz

At 30, Californian Leza Lowitz is single and traveling the world, which suits her just fine. Coming of age in Berkeley during the feminist revolution of the 1970s, she learned that marriage and family could wait. Or could they?
When Leza moves to Japan and falls in love with a Japanese man, her heart opens in ways she never thought possible. But she’s still an outsider, and home is far away. Rather than struggle to fit in, she opens a yoga studio and makes a home for others. Then, at 44, Leza and her Japanese husband seek to adopt—in a country where bloodlines are paramount and family ties are almost feudal in their cultural importance. She travels to India to work on herself and back to California to deal with her past. Something is still not complete until she learns that when you give a little love to a child, you get the whole world in return.
The author’s deep connection to yoga shows her that infertile does not mean inconceivable. By adapting and adopting, she transcends her struggles and embraces the joys of motherhood.

Stone Bridge Press, June 9, 2015

Year of Fire Dragons: An American Woman's Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong

By Shannon Young

In 2010, bookish 22-year-old Shannon follows her Eurasian boyfriend to Hong Kong, eager to forge a new love story in his hometown. She thinks their long distance romance is over, but a month later his company sends him to London. Shannon embarks on a wide-eyed newcomer's journey through Hong Kong—alone. She teaches in a local school as the only foreigner, explores Asia with other young expats, and discovers a family history of her own in Hong Kong. The city enchants her, forcing her to question her plans. Soon, she must make a choice between her new life and the love that first brought her to Asia.

Susan Blumberg-Kason, author of Good Chinese Wife, has called Year of Fire Dragons "a riveting coming of age story" and "a testament to the distance people will travel for love." 

Blacksmith Books, June 7, 2015

Leela Devi Panikar - author interview

I am extremely excited to welcome Leela Devi Panikar to my blog today. I read, and was impressed with Floating Petals, so impressed in fact that I approached Leela with some interview questions and she very kindly answered them for me. I hope you enjoy learning more about this fascinating author and I will be publishing a full review of her book on Wednesday 11th December 2013.  

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself 

I am a fiction writer and author of two published short story collections: Floating Petals and Bathing Elephants. After twelve years of writing it is still a surprise to me that I am a writer. I come from a business background and have owned and operated businesses in several countries and in Hong Kong: boutiques, antique shops, and pub/restaurants. I have travelled a great deal and have lived in Penang, Malaysia; Wales; and Vietnam. Hong Kong is my home now.   

2. Can you give us some background information about the stories within the collection Floating Petals?
Floating Petals was fun to write. I was like a child to writing. The collection is simple and is an easy read, but the stories are thought provoking. The first story, “A Piece of Bread,” is about a child’s longing to attend school so she can read but her first day proves a disappointment. The inspiration for “Homeless Sparrow” came to me when a very large tree near a Kowloon car park was cut down to make way for an MTR extension. It tells of a bird’s search for a new home. We carelessly destroy the homes of millions of birds to make space for humans. “My Gods” shows the beauty of tolerance in a simple and cosmopolitan village. “Green” is absolute fear due to misunderstanding. “At the Railway” holds an amusing memory: it was inspired by the interesting contrast of me travelling with Gucci suitcases and a very efficient barefooted porter in a smartly pressed khaki uniform carrying my heavy cases on his head at a train station in Madras.

3. Why do you favour short story writing over novel writing?
Short stories give me a feeling of accomplishment in a very short time. To me a short story is like a postcard, and a certain jewel-like perfection is required to tell a story within such a confined framework. It’s a work of distillation and I like the challenge that it poses. Before Floating Petals was published I had already written two novels, both yet to be published, and I was writing one of the novels at the same time I was writing the stories in Floating Petals. Short stories were a break for me – they energise me, enhance my creativity. Ideas come bounding up and they require special care to develop smoothly and I enjoy the discipline of restraint. There is no time to ramble, to bring in many characters and scenes, to use a lot of adjectives and adverbs. Depth, knowledge and feeling are condensed.

4. Your book Floating Petals takes its name from the title of the second story about a Chinese woman who is suffering from the consequences of bound feet. Is there a particular reason for choosing that to be the title?

Small feet in delicately embroidered silk shoes were called floating petals in ancient China. This admiration for small feet gave rise to the custom of bound feet. I enjoy writing love stories: love not just between man and woman but among different people and in different relationships, and even amongst animals, as in the “The Homeless Sparrow” where the old male sparrow gives the young sparrow a home. When visiting someone in hospital I saw an elderly lady with very small exposed feet and I was inspired by the serene look on her face. I imagined her past and the pain she endured as a child to fulfil her hopes for love in the future. So it was for love and for the smallness of short stories in general that I chose this title to represent the entire collection. 

5. The introductory story, “Penang,” won the ‘BBC World “My Hometown” 200-word writing competition.’ Tell us about that.
It was the first time I had the courage to enter a contest. As it was to be only 200 words I was comfortable writing it. I did not know I was selected as a winner until a friend in Australia, from whom I had not heard in more than 6 years called me. She was listening to BBC radio while cleaning her bathroom. She said she heard I had won the BBC international short story competition. I was more than shocked. Soon after, when it was noon in Hong Kong, the BBC called me to stand by for a short radio interview.

6. Your stories are extremely varied. Has moving around the world enhanced your creative writing?
Yes, travelling does enhance writing. I have travelled a great deal, lived in four different countries, and in particular I love village life. This has widened my knowledge and given me the ability to see my characters in different situations.

7. Moving on from Floating Petals, what are you working on at the moment?
I am working on my third collection A Phantom Visitor and just about completing a novel, White Hibiscus, about a young girl growing up in a traditional Indian home in Malaysia and yearning to be independent. She leaves her home and goes overseas only to realise that everything she sought existed at home, she did not have to go overseas for it. I have been working on this novel off and on for a long time. I also write travel essays and blog about random slices of life.

8. How do you write? 
I write in waves that match my moods. I do weeks of frantic writing, and then I drop off and pursue other interests. I enjoy reading and photography. I used to paint and I mention it here in the hope that it may get me to go back to it. I seldom watch TV except for news. Coffee-shop writing has currently become chic since JK Rowling first wrote in one, but then her alternative was a small heatless room. I enjoy absolute quiet at home, sometimes with quiet sitar music in the background. 

9. What or who influences your writing or inspires you to write?
No one person or author or writing influences me but I do get a lot of encouragement from my partner Don (which sometimes borders on nagging, which I need). I also get much encouragement from my friends, and some people who have bought my books ask me when they can read the next one. That is a good feeling. Inspiration can strike me at any time – an image, a word, a place or a piece of music. I am never short of inspiration but only of time. I do have to try and squeeze 48 hours into 24.

10. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
I do, indeed. I know several writer friends who worry about what market they should write for. I don’t believe in “writing what sells.” I don’t ask Who am I writing for? but Why am I writing? What is it that affects me passionately? 

The best work comes from your heart, writing about something you want to share. And you use that emotion to just start. I am always amazed at how little I begin with and how, as I write, my pen and my keyboard take over. So much I did not know I knew flows out of me.

Often research is needed once you start writing. When you’re writing about something you think you already know, you’ll find questions arise about the details. Even with short stories I spend a great deal of time doing research, looking for accuracy of facts and those small rough diamonds worth cutting and polishing to enhance the story. 

Start writing, don’t just talk about it, do it. 

Friday Flash Fiction - Not a Day to Remember

Not a Day to Remember

She couldn’t do it. She just couldn’t. No matter how hard she tried, it just wasn’t possible. She’d lost count of the amount of times she’d tried and then failed yet again. How was it possible that she just couldn’t make it work?

‘Sandra?’

She jerked her head up. ‘Yes?’

‘Are you in there?’

She could just picture him standing outside the bathroom door in his three-day old boxer shorts and grey vest. Soon he would rap the door with his hairy knuckles. 

‘Tap, tap, tap.’ 

There it is. Soon he’ll start shouting. 

‘Sandra. Come out this minute.’ 

She turned the taps off and the quiet filled the small dank room for a few seconds. 

‘Sandra!’

She pulled the dressing gown tight around her and felt inside the pocket for her mobile phone. She quickly splashed some water on her face and reached for the striped towel, hanging on the back of the bathroom door. 

‘Finally. For fuck’s sakes. What have you been doing in there?’ 

‘Just showering.’ 

‘Christ, woman, you’d think you hadn’t showered for a year the amount of water you’ve just used. Good job we ain’t on a meter.’ 

‘Sorry,’ she mumbled. 

‘Well, piss off then,’ he said, pushing her out of the way. 

She stood in the hallway looking at all the closed doors, not knowing which way to turn. One day she would send that text, or make that call, to help her get out of this miserable situation, but today was not that day. She walked to the living room, plonked herself down in a tattered armchair and flicked on the TV. 

Laura Besley

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Flash Fiction diary

The challenge to write a piece a day is officially over. I'm so in love with flash fiction that I'll keep on writing it and hopefully still have a piece a week to share with you (my wonderful readers). I would like to dedicate some time to reworking older pieces as well as more time to writing longer pieces. Watch this space!  

This week I got a mention in a local Hong Kong newspaper, the South China Morning Post! It was as part of a book review for the Hong Kong Writers Circle's latest anthology, Of Gods and Mobsters. Click here for the link. 

Flash Fortnightly #16 is a previously published piece from my blog. It was popular, which is why I decided to republish it with Artipeeps! Click here for Down the Hill. 

Hiking in Hong Kong - it's a hard life!

Last week my friend suggested a 'walk'. I didn't have anything planned, so agreed thinking it would be gentle, easy, flat, and other such adjectives. By the time I'd arrived at the ferry pier the plans had changed and this 'walk' was going to be anything but. 

Hong Kong Island in the distance

I don't really like boats (unless they're open sailboats) as I get seasick, but luckily the boat we took was fine. I even managed to drink a coffee, and keep it down! We left Central ferry pier and docked at Discovery Bay, a fairly European-esque area of Hong Kong where many a rich pilot is rumoured to live. We stocked up on snacks, drinks, lathered on suntan lotion and set off with the trail on our smartphones. 

View from the top

We checked how far it was and the phone said the trail to Mui Wo was "6 kms with 20 minutes of uphill". It was extremely hot, 33oC and hazily sunny, but even I thought that I'd be able to manage that. Well...the phone lied. It was a lot of uphill, in fact mainly uphill and as the time ticked ever quicker to midday the sun became unbearably hot. 

It was so green up here, you could
almost forget you were in Hong Kong

As inexperienced hikers we found it extremely difficult. However, I'm very proud to say that we made it and yes, the views were worth it. The end was in sight for the downwards stint and as soon as possible I ran into the water to cool myself down. After a cold drink or two, some pizza and a little chill-out time on the sofa I felt as good as new. Might leave the next hike until it cools down again though!  

The final destination!

Hong Kong Noir by Feng Chi-shun

About the Book

Title: Hong Kong Noir 
Author: Feng Chi-shun
Publication: Blacksmith Books (2012)
Summary: Fifteen true tales from the dark side of the city.

What I Think

Feng Chi-shun is a pathologist and has, therefore, seen a fair amount of deaths, whether they be natural or unnatural. He is also "not unfamiliar with the underbelly of Hong Kong society". He tells us in the prologue "When I was in my forties, I made my worst financial decision ever [...] I invested in part-ownership of a bar in Kowloon City: a part of town where the Sun Yee On triad faction originated." These fifteen true tales are divided into three sections: Losers and Boozers, Beyond Villains and Victims and Sex and the City. 

These stories in Hong Kong Noir don't happen in my Hong Kong. The city that I live in is clean, safe, full of polite and friendly people. I have been morbidly fascinated to read about these tales of sordid Hong Kong: triad members, arranged marriages, street sleepers, riots, tattoos, girlie bars.  

One thing I really like is that each story has a quote at the beginning of it, for example: Story 12. A Hardcore Childhood, "Of all known tortures in the whole wide world, those originating from China are the cruelest" - Anon. Each quote has been chosen very carefully and is very apt for the story. They effectively foreshadow for the reader what the story will be about. 

Extremely varied, each story is intriguing and compelling in its own way. I highly recommend this collection. 

About the Author

Feng Chi-shun is a naturalized US citizen, but considers Hong Kong - where he grew up and attended medical school - his home. His formative years were spent in Diamond Hill, where people were poor but life was rich. 

Trained as a pathologist, he has published close to 100 scientific articles on his medical research. He has also been a columnist for the South China Morning Post, the leading English newspaper in Hong Kong. 

Feeling deprived as a child, he is making up for lost time by living life to its fullest. He is an aficionado of wine and cigars, and a part-time punter attracted to roulette, poker, mahjong and horse racing. In his spare time, he plays golf and tennis, and shoots a mean game of pool. His three US-born children - Angel, Gina, and Stephen - and his Canadian wife Cathy are his best friends. So far, he has two grandchildren, Amirah and Qairo. He intends to live in Hong Kong for the rest of his life. (Blacksmith books)

Show me the Money - Working in Hong Kong!

There is a lot of money in Hong Kong. And there plenty of poverty too. The opulence is everywhere; malls are filled with designer brands; big cars are driven; people are constantly eating out and drinking. But there are also people in tatty clothes cleaning the streets; amputees begging and people living in homes so unstable they flood in rainstorms. 

Hysan Place, Causeway Bay. 17-floor
Shopping mall with nearly 120 top brands

Working, or finding work, is intrinsically linked to where you are from. Click here to read on...

~~~

If you like this article, please click to read more and then facebook like/share/tweet/leave a comment/etc. to help me win a writing prize! Your help is always much appreciated! :) 

It's a Hard Life - International Schools in Hong Kong

Expatsblog are running an in house competition and this fortnight's theme is: schools. I've written an article, but I need your help to win. Please (if you have a minute or two to spare) go to the site and like/share my article. Many many thanks. 


It's a Hard Life - International Schools in Hong Kong

By: Laura Besley 

If you think you had a hard time at school (and maybe you didn’t), you should give going to school in Hong Kong a try. A child’s first interview could be at the age of two-and-a-half to get into K1 (Kindergarten 1). If they fail to get into the right kindergarten, there will be more pressure on them to get into the right primary school. Then they will probably have another interview at five to get into Primary 1. If they don’t do well, and don’t get into the desired primary school, their life is effectively over. Or that’s what the adults around them will have them believe. 

To read on click here...

Need Your Votes!

I've entered a writing competition and I need your votes! Click here for the full article. If you like it, please facebook share, tweet or leave a comment. Many, many thanks. 

A sample below... 

Hong Kong: 10 Things Not to Do!

Don’t spit

Believed to ward off evil spirits, it’s still acceptable to spit in many places in China. If you’re travelling to China, never (and I mean never) put anything on the floor that isn’t a thick-soled shoe. However, in Hong Kong it was already becoming less tolerated, but after SARS (2003) spitting was strictly prohibited. Now you can be fined up to HK$5,000. 

7 Days and Counting by Suvi Lampila

About the Book

Title: 7 Days and Counting
Author: Suvi Lampila
Publication: Frictionist (27 Oct 2012)/Amazon Kindle
Summary: Reads like a modern romance, unfolds like a mystery and at the end opens up for interpretation. Are you looking for something surreal?

MAYBE: "Intensely realistic dialogue, even in the most bizarre circumstances" 
NO: "a quick read for the first time; slow burner for the second" 
YES: "a story that challenges your perception" 

What I Think

As the lives of the two main characters collide, nothing is quite as it seems. Lampila weaves the story backwards and forwards in time with ease and skill. The reader has a little work to do in order to put pieces of the story together for him/herself. This is a challenge and I like that.  

Due to there being two perspectives, you can read certain parts of the story twice. In my opinion these are some of the most interesting passages in the book, as two people rarely experience things exactly the same. It's therefore extremely interesting to read the same scenario from differing points of view. 

Strangely (for me, at least) I got to the end of the book and immediately wanted to start reading it again. I feel that the first time I read it quickly as I wanted to know all the hidden secrets behind the closed doors of the character's lives. However, I feel that on a second, and more detailed read, so much more will be revealed. 

About the Author

Suvi Lampila is the author of IL B L8, a short play written for three actors and a grand piano, and 7 Days and Counting, her debut novel that received a Literary Arts Grant of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. In her previous life she has been a furnishings officer for a British Embassy, an improper Bostonian and a technical services engineer, better known as a computer geek. She creates genre-defying fiction at Frictionist.

7 Days and Counting is available on Amazon US/UK/EU

Christmas in Hong Kong (part 3)

Christmas in Hong Kong is well underway now with decorations and music everywhere! Here are a few more pictures for you to take a look at. 

An interesting window display

A rather impressive tree in Central

Even the beef jerky shop is decorated!

A beautiful tree on the way to yoga class

A nice little display outside the cinema

Christmas in Hong Kong (part 2)

The festive season is here, even in Hong Kong. Christmas songs are being played in the MTR (underground train) stations. Here are a few more snapshots of what Christmas is like in this part of the world! 

Reindeer display in IFC, Central

Not sure what I think of the display in our local shopping mall in Tai Koo. Let me know what you think! 

The stage where no doubt there'll be some 
sort of Christmas performance

And a blue one too!

Massive gold-dressed fairy

            

Christmas in Hong Kong (part 1)

British people celebrate Christmas in a big way! It's interesting to see to what extent Christmas is celebrated in places where Christmas is not part of a centuries-old tradition. I'm living in Hong Kong and obviously this part of the East was under British rule until 1997, so it's logical that Christmas is celebrated a little. Last year I stayed here for Christmas and went out for Christmas lunch and all the shops were still open and it seemed that on Christmas Day local Hong Kongers were mainly shopping! I thought you might be interested in some of the photos of Hong Kong around Christmas time, so here you are...

Display in Pacific Place (shopping mall), Admiralty

Marks & Spencer window display, Central

Taxis parked outside decorated trees & shopping mall, Central

Soho East in Hong Kong

Soho East, a fairly up-and-coming area in Hong Kong, is just a short walk from where we live. As per the Hong Kong way, we could get there by covered walkway and public transport. People in Hong Kong prefer to walk indoors rather than outdoors, due to extreme weather conditions (it can get very hot & humid here, or you can get caught in a torrential downpour). However, in Hong Kong November is probably the nicest month of the year weather-wise, so it would be shame not to walk it. 

A view of Kowloon-side

The walk along the harbour

Soho East (not to be confused with Soho which is in Central) is towards the end of the Island line at Sai Wan Ho MTR (underground, tube) stop. There are many bars and restaurants as well as a multitude of coffee and tea places. A couple of weeks ago I met up with two friends and we went for afternoon tea in a new tea place, Teavers. 

Teavers, Soho East

 There were a vast array of teas available (presented to us in little pots that we were allowed to smell before we decided): a multitude of different green, white, red and black teas available. However, I opted for earl grey. And I have to say it was one of the best earl grey teas I've ever had. 

The Selection of teas available

Very stylish interior

Also, rather traditionally, I ordered a scone with butter and jam. Sometimes Hong Kong doesn't feel like Asia at all! It was a little pricey, but definitely worth it. 

Asian afternoon tea

Ozone Bar - the highest bar in Asia!

This is not somewhere to go if you're afraid of heights! You need to take three lifts to get to the Ozone Bar, which is situated on the 118th floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It has a classy yet relaxed feel to it; soft music is playing whilst the staff mix drinks and deliver them to your table with a smile. 

At the foot of the Ritz-Carlton hotel

Incredibly there is an outdoor section. There are thick glass windows stopping anyone or anything from tumbling below, but as you sit there gazing out over the view you can feel the breeze on your face as there is no roof.  

Looking out over the sea and Hong Kong Island

The density of Kowloon

Although many posh places in Hong Kong have a dress code (which can range from 'no beachwear' to 'no open-toe shoes' and 'no sleeveless shirts for men'), I have been to the Ozone Bar twice and the dress code doesn't seem to be too strict. Both times I have been wearing open-toe shoes. I obviously just look the part!   

Mixing it up!

A Champagne Mojito

 No great surprise that drinking here is not cheap, but it's not extortionate either. All the people I've been with have agreed that it's not much more expensive than drinking in London. And it's worth the little bit extra for the amazing view!

The view from the other side of the bar

Ritz-Carlton Hotel
International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Dinner - 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Monday to Sunday) 
5 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Monday to Wednesday) 
5 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Thursday to Saturday) 
12 p.m. to 12 a.m. (Sunday)