Goodbye Hong Kong

Hong Kong is great.  The buildings in Central are beautiful, shiny and new.  The streets are filled with a vibe and a buzz that can be attributed partly to the frantic suit-clad men and women bustling about and partly to the old Chinese hawkers going about their business in a calm and methodical manner.  The young and the old. The frenetic and the composed.  The wealthy and the happy?

There are many things about Hong Kong that the Turtle family will miss:

• The constant bustle.
• The view of Victoria Harbour at night.
• The Star Ferry (Myrtle's favourite mode of transport).
• The tram between Central and Happy Valley (Myrtle's second favourite mode of transport).
• The rapid fire of Cantonese, especially by the taxi drivers and even the Canto-pop blaring from their car radios.
• Dim sum (yum cha).
• Our view of Stanley Bay from our apartment window.
• Friends.
• The friendly "Jo Sa-a-an" (good morning) from the security "sook-sook" (uncle) everyday as we left our apartment building.
• The way you can see the rain racing towards land over the sea and, within minutes, being enveloped by a cloud of water.

But, as with all cities, towns and villages across the world, Hong Kong has its downside.  Here are some things we won't miss:

• The pollution.  For the first time since our arrival 8 months ago, Myrtle has developed a cough that arrived with the autumn pollution.  Who knows what the effect of all the smog will be on Tiny's 22 month old lungs?
• The over-the-top rent. Ouch!
• Some of the smug expats.
• The cursed sandflies that frequent the beaches and playgrounds across Hong Kong.

Overall:  a fantastic 8 months.  Goodbye Fragrant Harbour! See ya later!

View without pollution:

View, two weeks later, with pollution:

The Richter Scale of Happiness

How does one measure happiness?  I bet nobody knows for sure, but that doesn't stop the Turtle family from trying.

It is a very simple system:  Out of ten, how happy are you at this very moment?
A ten is not easy to come by and each person has the right to measure his or her own happiness.  Sometimes a rating will be followed by the question: "OK, so you are a six right now.  What would make that a ten?"

Sometimes it's work stress that is the cause of a lower rating. Or worries about an ill family member.  Or an expanding waistline or finances or any multitude of things.

The three Turtles were sitting in their living room this morning.  On the floor, because they have sold or given away almost all of their stuff.  Between boxes, because the rest of their things have been packed.  Tiny was playing, in between sips of her milk, and Tony and Myrtle were sipping their coffee - chatting and watching Tiny.

"How happy are you out of ten, Tony?" Myrtle asked.  "Ten!" came the immediate response.  "Me, too" Myrtle said.  She stood amazed that you can be at your happiest when you have no, or little, possessions.  Maybe the truckload of happiness was caused by the prospect of globetrotting for six months, together.

Mission for the following six months?  To keep that Turtle Scale of Happiness rockin' at TEN!

The Team of Turtles introduced

Tony Turtle:  The husband, the daddy, the tallest of the Turtle family.
Myrtle Turtle: The wife, the mommy, the only one with boobs in the Turtle family.
Tiny Turtle:  The daughter, the toddler, the shortest of the Turtle family.

Tony and Myrtle worked and lived in Johannesburg, South Africa for a very long time.  After 7 years of married life, an opportunity to live and work in Singapore arose.  The two Turtles swam across the Indian ocean to start with their new life and after two more years they decided to lay an egg.  The egg hatched in Singapore and after many tearful mornings, crazy-assed bosses, mastitis and the like, Myrtle took up a part-time job. Tony's life didn't change nearly as much as hers did, what with all the client lunches, travelling to exotic destinations and staying in five star hotels. Just like before.  However, Myrtle's life now consisted of tracking poop nappies, feeding, burping and trying to instill a routine.  This meant that she was rocking (not rolling), singing and humming to get Tiny to sleep at 7pm e-v-e-r-y  n-i-g-h-t.  Not that she was resentful or anything...

When another opportunity arose, this time in Hong Kong, the Turtles swam across the South China Sea and decided not to lay another egg.  When the working hours did not improve and Tony saw less and less of Myrtle and Tiny they sat down and held a bosberaad (conference).  After much discussion, weighing up the pros against the cons, looking at the budget, reworking the budget and some arguments, the decision was made:

Life is short. The Turtles were tired.  It was time to do what they always wanted to:

Take six months off and travel.

The plans include Italy, the Caribbean and South Africa (and possibly more, depending on the mood and the money).

The following posts will detail our travels, with our almost-two-year-old-toddler.  The adventure starts on 3 September 2010...watch this space!