Two weeks ago, I found myself going on a quick holiday trip to one of my favorite cities in Asia, Hong Kong. This was through the invitation of luxury hotel Kowloon Shangri-La.
For this short holiday, I decided to bring my eldest boy who is technically no longer a boy — but is now a full-pledged handsome 14-year old young man, if this mummy may say so herself. (And as you can see, he is already taller than me now!)
This was our first trip, just the two of us. No daddy, no siblings, no yaya, no lolo, no lola. I promised him that this is going to be a fun “Mummy and Me” bonding trip — since we will be doing everything together!
We arrived on a late Friday evening and the grand hotel lobby greeted us.
Our check-in was quick and easy and we were immediately led to our bedroom…
When we walked in, we were pleasantly suprised to be given the Deluxe Harbor View bedroom, no less!
Check out that amazing view at night from our window!
But all I remember from that first night was that my boy and I were so tired from arriving very late, that as soon as we hit our comfortable bed, we immediately fell right asleep!
The following morning, we woke up to this view outside our window. Although it was a bit cloudy that Saturday, nevertheless we were still happy to see this gorgeous harbor!
As we woke up very hungry, we immediately headed downstairs to Cafe Kool for our breakfast. And good thing, there was a big breakfast buffet waiting for this hungry mother and son tandem!
Look what was laid before us :
There was a dizzying array of breakfast options ready for our taking that it was so hard where to begin…
From freshly squeezed fruit juices to oven baked breads, from English style pancakes, waffles and eggs with ham and bacon to Malaysian chicken curry, Japanese grilled fish, vegetarian Indian paratha and Chinese noodle soup, there were just so many cuisines to choose from!
We were also given a wide variety of cakes and pastries for desserts, plus the best gelato in this side of Hong Kong! You name it, this buffet had it!
But of course… I personally had to stand guard and focus. Given that I cannot eat all of them in one go… I decided to concentrate first on what was essential!
What else will I focus on, but the authentic Chinese dimsum that Kowloon Shangri-La is well known for!
This was my first plate where I started “quite simply” — with their vegetarian noodles, pork siomai, hakaw, beef balls and pork char siu bao (siopao). Everything was hot, steaming and oh-so delicious, that you can just imagine how many more plates I had after this!
And right after getting our tummies really full from that breakfast, my son and I then decided to go walk around and do a little bit of shopping. Our first stop was a 10-minute cab ride : Harbour City!
Here we had lunch (yes, we ate again) and had our little dessert right after (yup, ate again) in Godiva Chocolatier where I stuffed myself (and yet again!) with my favorite dark chocolate soft serve ice cream and strawberries dipped in chocolate…
It was only after all that eating when we started “really shopping”! And boy, did we both shop till we dropped at 9pm — closing time! No judgments here as we were both on holiday mode anyway!
So after a full day of “hanging out” with each other, we came home late that night — and very exhausted from all that walking, shopping and yes, talking!
It was unfortunate that we only had just two nights and one full day to go around Hong Kong!
Sunday morning came too fast and too soon, that we woke up the next day rushing to our flight at 120pm. (Remember that right before that, we still had to conquer our breakfast buffet!)
We almost didn’t make it, as we ended up leaving the hotel at 1130am and by the time we got to the airport — it was 5 minutes before the check-in counter was about to close!
This whirlwhind of a trip I would say, though very short and quick, is still one of my most special and memorable trips ever. My son and I experienced something else — something we wouldn’t have, had we been with the rest of our family. My son and I learned so much about each other from this trip. But more than anything else… I think it was I who really “grew up” after this holiday!
Now that I know the invaluable lessons learned during these intimate family trips, I hope that sooner than later, I can do more of these “Mummy and Me” holidays with my two other kids as well…
Thank you Kowloon Shangri-La for this unforgettable stay in your hotel. We will surely look back on this trip with such fond memories!
Kowloon Shangri-La Hong Kong
64 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel (852) 2721 2111
www.shangri-la.com