I'll be home for christmas..........

[kaitou]

Today I tried to find the Jade Market, but without much luck. This is probably a good thing for my checkbook though. Then I went back across the harbor to Hong Kong Island. I gawked at the very tall buildings. Then I gawked at the mall with the Mrs. Fields and the mall Santa for even longer. (thanks to construction I had to pass through a mall to get to where I wanted to be) Unfortunately Mrs. Fields was fresh out of cookies without nuts. Nuts.

Then I went to the Flagstaff Museum of Teaware, which is also the oldest Colonial building in Hong Kong. It was a remarkably cool museum, half of it was antique and ancient teaware with displays talking about all the different methods of making tea. I bought myself a beautiful little set, with a small yixing teapot and cups along with a few types of tea. I thought that the Jasmine Pearl tea would be a good souviner for the office.

I wandered around Hong Kong Park for a little bit, which was very nice, and saw no less than three bridal parties. Or was it four? I saw a sign that pointed to a building for marriage licences not far away. Also saw lots of sunbathing turtles.

Then I came back to the hotel and had afternoon tea. It would have been nice if they'd actually given me tea instead of water though.

I leave for Osaka tommorrow about noon, which should give me time to slip back over to the museum store for the presents I didn't have time to get on Tuesday. I haven't seen everything I wanted to see these past few days, but I'm very happy about what I did see. Hong Kong is a lovely city. It's Cosmopolitanness makes me think of New York, but it feels brighter and more open. Must be the feng shui.

That all being said. It's Christmas Eve and I have to ask myself why I'm such an idiot. I could have gone home and I should have. I feel lonely and cut off, and I have only myself to blame.

Comments

[eramundo.livejournal.com]

bah! be happy! your family will still love you just the same whether it's christmas or.... march 28th or some other random day. It's just the nostalgia factor kicking in. :-P Go offer to buy a cute stranger a drink and tell him of your holiday woes :-D Maybe they can find you a crazy hongkong christmas tree.

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

Okay, you can't fix that you're not home, but you CAN do one thing that just might make you feel better just for the pure silliness of it; I did this when I lived in Germany.

1. Call home during some point when you know that at least a few of 'em will be there in a group.
2. Get them to walk outside and hold the phone up.
3. Do the same thing, i.e., go outside with your phone.
4. Count off together, "1 - 2 - 3" and then yell "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" at the top of your lungs at the sky.

Told you it was silly. But hey, it's the same sky over them, right? You're all under the same roof-- it's just a little hard to hear each other without mechanical aid. For some reason, it made me feel a little less far from my family.

Hope it helps! Oh, and if the cops come, just babble at them in English and hopefully they'll just think you're drunk or some such and leave you alone. Merry Christmas!

[thorne-scratch.livejournal.com]

Mm, Jade Market. Funny you mention that, I've been spending all my time in shops looking for jade for my mother. Mostly I just get intimidated by Chinese vendors. I was standing there yesterday trying to bargain some lady down on a bracelet and suddenly thought, 'Wow, Ann's looking for jade too! And we almost have the same name!" ...and then the lady started yelling again.

Hope your Christmas is merry. ^_^

[stormgren.livejournal.com]

Hang in there.

You're doing things right some of us will never have the guts to do.

Think of the stories you'll have to tell to everyone many Christmases from now on. Take strength from that.

I'll be sure to light one more candle here tonight.

[cerisesiren.livejournal.com]

Cheer up. Go drinking with coworkers. Drunken Japanese is always a fun language. You can't get THAT at home.

I'm sure your family's missing you too. And when you do finally go home, it'll make them that much happier.

- frances

Airline Prices

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

Had forgotten you were flying out, but I posted this on my LJ a few days ago:
+++

Current roundtrip prices from LAX to Osaka or Tokyo, as posted on the travel boards at the Mistuwa:

For between 1 Mar - 20 Mar
Japan & All Nippon: $552
Northwest & United: $555
Singapore: $520
Korean: $385
Thai: $420
Varig: $482

Then the prices go up for the last month of March, and they don't have April posted yet. The prices are posted by JTB USA, and they do have a search engine thingie for flying into/out of other Airports. But I think it'd prolly be eaiser/cheaper to fly into/out of LAX.

+++
So, hey. Maybe some of us will be out to see you soon, ne? And if you need prices for a sooner time period, lemme know and I can go and looks those up too. Need to pick up munchies soon anyway. ^__^

((GLOMPS!))

john denver

[twigcollins.livejournal.com]

I've got the old Christmas album up and running, and even though you may be kicking it up in a different time zone, I feel like you're right here too ^^.

Fiiiiive Goooold Riiiiiings... ba-dum-dum!

Miss you hard. This is the last freaking christmas I spend without an Ann around.