Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

Have you ever dreamed of quitting your job and traveling?  Running off and escaping the 9-5 to sit on a beach? Or just taking a longer break to live and breathe and enjoy life for once?  I have met dozens of people in the last five years who have told me this is their dream and they ‘wish they could do what I do.’ Well, if you are a regular reader of this blog – you know it really is possible – without a trust fund, without a partner, and…without a ‘net.’

(more…)

For the first time in several days, I am wheeling my own bag.  Oh, how pedestrian.  No porters or bellhops are in our midst. Well, at least not until we arrive at the Futian Shangri-La in Shenzhen.  Actually I find it quite nice to sort of be on my own again. If you count on your own as being with 3 other writers and 2 public relations people. Okay, not so much.

We hop the clean and efficient train to the border and enter a very modern building.  We are stamped out of Hong Kong and ride across the river on escalators making our crossing onto the mainland.  With very little fuss, we are stamped in and are on our way. Welcome to the ‘real’ China, well, as real as ultra-modern and young Shenzhen can feel.  Since Hong Kong is still its own unique area (considered a SAR – Special Administrative Region), there is no need for a VISA. But crossing into Shenzhen, just about thirty minute train ride to the north, is the real deal.

(more…)

Eating and traveling. Traveling and Eating. The more I travel, the more I learn about food, the more I love to eat. I love everything about it – the background on where it came from, the smells, the preparations, and of course the flavors rolling around in my mouth.  It’s been an ongoing learning process for years now as my taste buds and waistline continue to battle it out.

When I’ve traveled on a budget I’ve had to let go of the idea of being able to try lots of ‘hip’ restaurants or pricey ‘in’ places and just enjoy cheap street food eats which, as I’ve mentioned are often even more tasty and authentic.

But this visit to Hong Kong was completely different. I was being treated to some of the best food around – even going on what was dubbed a “Culinary Journey” at the Island Shangri-La Hong Kong.  Or what I like to call the best restaurant crawl…ever.  We indulged in seven different courses at the hotel’s six different restaurants in one night – starting with flutes of Veuve Clicquot and an amuse bouche in the lobby bar and ending with dessert and live music at the Lobster Bar and Grill with amazing morsels of sushi, savory dim sum, succulent rack of lamb, and fresh seafood, in between.

Between the eating and drinking with every course, it was a decadent night to say the least. I loved every course – and by the end I was stuffed, sated, and sleepy.  I loved the fact that all I had to do is take the elevator up fifty floors or so to my plush room and climb into my thick king-sized bed and doze into a fat and happy slumber.

Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia, Hong Kong has more than 11,000 restaurants, according to the Tourism Board.  Many of these offer some of the best Cantonese and regional Chinese food in the world.  Local must-try dishes are dim sum (tasty Chinese ‘tapas’ or ‘snacks’ including dumplings served steamed in bamboo baskets) and amazingly fresh seafood.

Disclosure:  My trip to Hong Kong was provided by the folks at Cathay Pacific & Shangri-La Hotels.  All views, writing, and photos are my own.