I am just back from a whirlwind trip to Hong Kong.
An absolutely fascinating place filled with delicious food, where I kept forgetting my hotel room key and so that I was locked out of my room AND all the elevators. YAY ME! Hey- at least I got my steps in, all seven floors….😂 to do some rooftop, steamy yoga.
The reason I was in Hong Kong was to give a couple of Viva La Vulva talks and to attend the CosmoProf Asia convention. The convention was huge and I wanted to see what developments are going on over there, and globally, as this was a global event. While I was initially very nervous, wondering if my talk would get lost in translation, worried if they would catch my humour, or would they find me and my Vulva Puppet offensive, I needn’t have. Every talk was a smashing success (phew!) and I found the people I met in the meetings to be interesting and interested in my kind of presentation. They wanted me to bring the full show there! Something to think about…
Functional Mushrooms
Hong Kong streets were amazing, full of laughter, hustle and bustle. You can buy anything here- including a massage for this wearing traveller. An experience I’ll never forget!🤭 If NYC is the City that never sleeps, I wonder what Hong Kong is? Everywhere we went there were shops selling food, all day and all night. My favourite shop, of course, was the functional medicine shop dedicated to all things mushrooms! I even got to see a ginormous glass jar of my beloved cordyceps mushrooms, the same ones in my SHROOMS IMMUNE. It was so interesting to see their healthcare approaches and how different pharmacies are there.
The Power of the Global Sisterhood
Whilst walking through the park I came upon a gorgeous group of Malaysian women who had their day off and brought their lunch to the park. Naturally I was drawn to them and they invited me to share their picnic! It was delicious and spicy. I was just bowled over by their welcoming me, a complete stranger, but it reassured me of the power of global sisterhood 💜. Selfies were taken, (speaking of selfies… everyone seems to take pictures of themselves there- It really is a phenomenon) we hugged and laughed. Well, they laughed at me when I dove in BAREHANDED into the meal. Apparently, I was supposed to take one of their gloves. Always learning! What struck me was, despite the language barrier, there was a collective joyful energy. Perhaps it was my Vulva Puppet, but we had the best craic laughing. Women really are amazing- no matter where we are in the world, we seem to support one another and cheer each other on.
Sleepless in Hong Kong
What was less enjoyable was the jet lag. Oh my god.
You know that movie with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson? The one where they can’t sleep and just stumble along in a daze? Lost in Translation? That was me. Luckily it only lasted the whole trip, so… Usually my fabÜ R&R RELAX help with me with any long haul flight issues, but I had packed them in my check-in luggage, and then to my dismay discovered I had packed an almost empty bottle (just two capsules remaining…) I really missed them!
I would sleep for a few hours between 2 and 5am Hong Kong time which was what in Irish time? I don’t know... I couldn’t do the calculations. And then I’d be fine- I’d get up and eat breakfast and then after breakfast my energy would crash and I’d go back to bed, only to wake a couple of hours later and do a bit of exploring around the city. After this, I would return to my hotel for another nap or maybe a bit of yoga on the roof. The roof had a lovely outdoor pool and the temperature was warm and steamy- just perfect for yoga. … Honestly- how do people manage these long-haul flights and the jet lag? I suspect it just takes time, longer obviously, than the couple of days (daze) that I was there. However, even though it was short, somewhat blurry, I’ve made some incredible new friends and colleagues, I met some beautiful ladies for an impromptu lunch, and went on the adventure of a lifetime which I hope I can continue for the rest of my lifetime by keeping fit and healthy, well into my 90’s.
Do you have any sure-fire sleep recipes? Eye masks? Meditation? A cup of chamomile tea? I’d love to hear from you- and maybe some of your crazy jet lag stories too!
Laura x
