Winter hikes

 

The only time of the year when I hike. Loving the amazing weather this winter.

Chinese New Year 2023: Year of the water rabbit

Nice 5 day break in Hong Kong - pretty relaxed, couple of hikes, couple of catch ups. The office is so quiet, it feels like we're still in holiday mode.

Sydney

Spending close to seven months in Sydney, has made me look forward to heading back even more. The main differences this time around is that we actually had a summer, we actually managed to gather as an extended family for Christmas and I made it into the city for New Year's Eve. Other side notes, lots of friends returning to Sydney, had a classic Australian Backyard gathering in Sutherland, caught up with lost touch uni friends and stayed in my first Sydney Airport hotel. Oddly enough, the Christmas gathering ended up being a mini covid event, thankfully all who contracted it recovered fairly fast. 

Took me a while to acclimatise to Sydney, that Thailand trip did a real number on my system, I remember describing it as if I had a combination of jet lag and insomnia. Will try to make more a conscious effort to get back to Sydney more often. Farewell, again.

Wonderfruit

 

Bangkok

Despite spending majority of the year overseas I find myself closing out the year with a fair amount of annual leave. Unfortunately, work policy has once again changed, with the carry-over leave amount being reduced back to 5 days. 

So here I am, in December, with 12 days of 'use-it-or-lose-it' leave. It also feels like that the "Work from Home" initiative is slowly losing its legitimacy. So with that being said, I decide to spend the remaining 3 weeks in Bangkok and Sydney. 

All, in all, I've spent over 7 months outside of Hong Kong in 2023. 

3: Amber code

So as we round up 2022, Hong Kong as a whole is moving in the right direction. Cases remain high, however the severity seems to have waned. Meanwhile the virus runs rampant in the Mainland, Hong Kong feels to be slowly inching towards a state of normalcy. The fact that we are celebrating the removal of hotel quarantine goes to show when faced with such draconian measures, any progress in the right direction is a win.

So upon returning from KL, I have three days of isolation in the comfort of my apartment. I think this is a great way to return to Hong Kong from abroad.

Wedding

 Frank and Anisa 2022