Sister time in Hong Kong

‘Unplanned and no expectations’ could be the other title for this travel story, where instead of making a giant list of things to do, my sister Rochelle and I just enjoyed the chance to be able to spend a couple of days in Hong Kong together. Not only did we give new meaning to the phrase ‘long lazy days’ but did it in a way that only sisters can. So let me try and make sense of it for you, our take on the amazing melting pot that is Hong Kong.

Let me start by saying that while we may not have had a ‘list’ per se, shopping was definitely something we both were thinking about. We also packed a bunch of cutesy things to wear (that we assumed would also make for oh-so-adorable photographs) only to find Hong Kong in the throes of winter. Boo. And I mean people in giant coats, with hats, boots, the works. The first thing we did was rush off to buy some warm stuff to wear, more out of necessity than anything else, because the both of us were freezing. We couldn’t resist these matching floral sweaters that seemed to be all the rage, which we found in a tiny store somewhere around the Temple Street Market. After about a million photos, we were in no doubt that they were a great buy. Plus who doesn’t love to use the ‘twinning’ hashtag.

Our journey on day one started at the K11 Art mall which didn’t just provide us with multiple amazing backgrounds for our pictures, but some truly unique art (which you can also find all around Hong Kong) from murals, to crazy art installations to some of the coolest memorabilia I’ve ever seen anywhere. Rochelle was in love with the little doggy with the sunnies, which by the way is a speaker, but since I had shopping authority on the trip, it was a no from me.

It only took us a couple of hours to figure out that there seemed to be a Hong Kong uniform, with every second girl we passed, in variations of pretty much the same outfit. I even took a couple of pictures just in case you guys didn’t believe me. The standard look (and we must’ve easily come across more than a hundred girls), as you can see in the photos – pleated skirt, giant sweater and boyish shoes, most of the time accompanied by a cross body satchel. I cracked up when a picture of Deepika Padukone’s ‘airport chic’ look did the rounds, because my first reaction was to text Rochelle and say- “Look! It’s the Hong Kong uniform!”

Hong Kong is stunning by night and we got to spend quite a bit of time by the waterfront, admiring the skyline. We did everything from take the ferry ride to enjoying the light show, which after all the hype turned out to be a little underwhelming. We didn’t let that bother us though, using the opportunity (of course) to take some fun videos for Instagram. It reminded me of the days when we used to VJ on TV together, minus our trusty producers to keep us on track. I will warn you that when the Rao sisters start talking, its pretty hard to get us to stop. And no we didn’t ride the Giant Ferris wheel (The Observation Deck) that you see in the background, but we did enjoy a great view of it from a different location at dinner.

One of the highlights of the trip was the food, which we dedicated most of our time to, eating everything in sight. From cart food, to sitting at tiny roadside restaurants, to fine dining, we tried it all. I don’t want to go into too much detail because I could probably take up an entire post just talking about what we ate. It was great to be able to catch up with former Miss Hong Kong Tracy Chu, a buddy of Rochelle’s who we had last met at The Miss International Pageant a few years ago in Japan. She took the time, over a traditional Cantonese meal to explain the differences between Cantonese and Mandarin, and the help us pick a few classics off the menu. She was her usual chilled-out self, not giving us an inkling of her celebrity status, which we discovered later, finding her face plastered across billboards all over the city.

And finally, what was supposed to be our dedicated ‘sight seeing’ day turned out to be super fun, starting off with Stanley Bay which is this beautiful promenade with all these amazing cafés to choose from. From coffee to beer, you can grab a drink and enjoy the view, while an assortment of performers keep you entertained. Not to mention all of the beautiful, well behaved doggies strolling about. If I had to give you my top pick, this would be it, and Rochelle would say the same.

Of course we spent a chunk of our time attempting the perfect selfie, which we managed after multiple tries. We had to come back to shoot this one when we realised we had some random guy’s face in the middle of the ‘heart’ I had painstakingly created. We had to then drag ourselves away, to make it to Victoria Peak (the top tourist attraction in HK) to catch the sunset. Turns out it was worthwhile, not just for the view, but for the craziest tram ride we have EVER been on. This is something you have to experience to believe! It was so steep, an almost vertical ride, with us just sitting there slack jawed wondering how we weren’t rolling down the hill.

What we loved about Hong Kong besides that fact that it’s this amazing meeting of east and west, is that there’s something for everyone. Whether you’re a shopaholic, or looking for a dose of art and culture, a foodie, or you want to enjoy some breathtaking views, it has it all. And it definitely got us sisters thinking about what a great idea it would be to host a travel show together. I’ll end with that thought and this awesome graffiti that we came across, interpret it as you will. Happy Travels!