Just the Two of Us: Hong Kong

It’s never easy to leave the kids at home and go overseas for a couple’s getaway.  It’s never easy for us but we try, Euben and I, every year to spend some moment just the two of us.

Two weekends ago, I joined Euben in Hong Kong towards the end of his business trip.  It was just for a few days and so we did only what we felt we needed – SLEEP, EAT and RELAX.

There was no pressure to see everything or anything.  We walked leisurely along Victoria Harbour, entered watch shops at Queens Road but didn’t buy anything, slowly sipped our coffee like we have all the time in the world, and kissed on the crowded streets of Kowloon like we didn’t care who’s watching…

SLEEP

Euben was on the road for most of August and September and with different time zones, I know his sleep was very much interrupted.  And with kids in the house, sleeping in on weekends, to both of us, is a real luxury.

Conrad Hong Kong, our hotel that weekend, gave us the respite we needed.  The big, comfortable bed and the nice view from the windows all made it difficult for us to get out of bed.  Although one morning I had to wake up early to catch Euben on CNBC.

Conrad is located in the Pacific Place complex hence a convenient choice in terms of food, shopping and public transportation.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

RELAX

On Friday night, after Euben’s meetings were over, I brought him to the hotel’s spa for a relaxing aromatherapy massage.  They don’t have couple’s room so we had to do our massage in different rooms.

The treatment packages at Conrad were not cheap, but I knew that my hard-working husband needed a bit of this and so I did not think twice.   There was also a heated outdoor swimming pool, which we had planned to use, but the soft king-sized bed in our room beat the pool.

EAT

For our first dinner together, since we were at IFC building, we chose Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop which is located on the 3rd floor.  The queue was long but we waited because my husband said that their food is good, and they were.  The following day, while I was out in the city by myself, I ventured into the basement of Century Square for an experience at the popular Dim Sum Icon.  On the second night, we had to have rice already, and so went for Kokomi, a Japanese restaurant at the lower ground level of Pacific Place.  That same night, my husband brought me to Café Gray Deluxe on the 49^th level of Upper House building.  He said he had to make a prior booking because he wanted to get us the corner table which had the best view.  And how lucky we were, it was a rare clear night in Hong Kong and small lights from distant buildings could be seen from where we stood.

On Saturday, the only full day we had together in Hong Kong, we slept in, walked unhurriedly to find breakfast, and took our time to finish our latte and cappuccino.

We didn’t have any itinerary but our love for seafood and fried rice took us all the way across to Kowloon trying to find Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant, a Chinese seafood restaurant famous with the locals.  It’s not fine dining, there was clanging of plates and the unrefined service crew, but the food there was worth it.

We took the ferry from Hong Kong Central to Kowloon and back.  It was convenient, fast and scenic.

We went back home to Singapore that night feeling relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated.

Check out some of our recent travels without our kids.  Just the Two of Us.

Bath, London City, Notting Hill, Wimbledon