The Backpacking Bride by Janice Horton

Author:Janice Horton [Horton, Janice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2020-05-18T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Hong Kong

Before embarking on my magical mystery tour, I’d never flown long haul before and I’d certainly never travelled first class in seats that were more like luxurious survival pods stocked with Champagne. I didn’t ever realise that I’d feel so cossetted and comfortable, and I have to tell you that I’ve certainly made the most of it all, just as Jon would have wanted me to.

I’ve drunk the Champagne and I’ve enjoyed the finest cuisine; I’ve read the glossiest of complimentary international magazines and watched the latest movie and, if I hadn’t been so excited to get to my next destination, I would have been very happy for this flight to have taken much longer than five hours because I’ve been so spoiled.

A shiver of excitement rushes through me as the captain announces we have started our descent into Hong Kong International Airport. The cabin crew are now busy checking that everyone is wearing their seatbelt. I focus my attention out of the small porthole window and on the bird’s-eye night-time view of the thrilling city below us with its multitude of tall buildings sparkling against a backdrop of mountains and mist. I can hear Jon’s voice in my ear.

Before they built the new airport, you had to fly in through the high-rise buildings and the wing tips of the plane would be practically rapping on the windows of people’s apartments!

I remember my parents telling me the same thing. How amazing but scary that must have been for all concerned before they built the airport out on a nearby island. I peer down to see a sparkling galaxy of city lights below me. My ears are feeling the change in pressure as we descend. A frisson of exhilaration fizzles through me as I see that the famous high-rises are swathed in calligraphy and there are advertising hoards streaming up and down and the flickering lights and colours are being reflected in the inky shining waters of Victoria Harbour. And there are so many boats I can see moving between Hong Kong and Kowloon.

The Star Ferry, I hear Jon saying, is the traditional way to get to the Kowloon peninsula and over to the night market on Temple Street and the famous and most popular Ladies’ Market.

I’m so very thrilled to have this dream come true and right now it’s all thanks to Jon.

Might I have come here on my own if I hadn’t met him and he hadn’t instigated all of this? I’d like to think so. But when? And would I have come here via India?

Perhaps. I’ve always wanted to see the Taj Mahal. I’ve promised it to myself sometime very soon. Jon roused in me a curiosity and an interest in many other parts of India with his amazing stories of life in the ashram and the life-affirming spirituality. He’d made Rishikesh sound like a supernatural place. And, despite my initial scepticism and my experiences of culture shock, what I’d found there in the end was beyond supernatural.

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