NZ's Luxury Lodges

My first ever story appears in Horizon Magazine, the inflight mag of TurboJet, which shunts some 15 million passengers a year between Macau and Hong Kong, Shenkou and Guangzhou.

This piece is about my glorious country's even more glorious luxury lodges (in their wedding issue, no less). Sadly, I have some catching up to do - the only one of this lot I've had the privilege of staying at is Wharekauhau in the Rapa, where we scored a night on a media gig a few years back. It set the accommodation bar so high, it has only been jumped over a couple of times since (a hotel in Dubai and of course at the sumptuous Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong on a media famil earlier this year).  

 Click here to read about these wee patches of heaven.

Hong Kong

If there was a crown for the slackest blogger ever, it would currently be on my head.

The last few days have been a blur of interviews, amazing hotels, shopping and the chaotic-but-fascinating streets of Honkers. Hard to believe it's been five years between drinks, but this city remains one of my favourites. Oh and there was even a day in China (for shopping).

In lieu of words, here are a few images from the last few days.

Is there anything better after a 12 hour flight than to be picked up by a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow? The outstanding Peninsula Hotel made me feel like royalty my entire three night stay.

  
There was a traditional afternoon tea at the historic Peninsula with the PR woman (sadly pics are on the camera and I am running late for a dinner with another PR so haven't got time to download them. Suffice to say it was like being transported to the days of the Raj).

Random pics I do have access to include this one, which illustrates what a day's shopping in Shenzhen looks like.

And this equally random street sign which, in my over-tired and over-caffeinated state made me laugh out loud (and yes, this is how bad the photographic quality gets when I travel without the visually gifted Animator).

Today I moved over to the Gateway Hotel, another outstanding property that I never want to leave. This was waiting for me on arrival:

   I am a very lucky girl.

There is a God afterall

Today came the joyous news from the Hong Kong Tourism Board that after my three nights at the Peninsula Hotel (which has, just quietly, been called the best hotel in the world), I am being hosted at another lovely hotel - but this one is INSIDE the Harbour City Mall, probably my favourite shopping centre in the entire world.

Yes, I had to read the email twice too - my hotel is actually inside the mall. The God of Shopping loves me and he too believes that the path to true happiness lies the way of a credit card-melting shopping spree.

Later, there was a travel commission from a national magazine which is, as they say in the business, a big 'get', and then an email from an international travel magazine asking me if I'd like to write a piece for them. Today it feels as though the fates have saved all their blessings and rained them down on me at once.

Which is lovely, given that the weather has turned feral (getting drenched on the walk to and from work? Check) and I am getting that horrid sore joints/swollen throat thing that signals a flu is cresting the horizon and marshalling its strength for an all out attack. Today, however, I smile in the face of illness; I have been a lucky girl and for that I remain very, very grateful.

   (Pic Credit: The Peninsula Hotel) 

How do you make the hands of the clock spin faster?

I have spent all day in a state of hyper-tension - the Hound is at the vet having his teeth done. Which might sound stupidly simple, but he has to be anaesthesied and there is more than a sliver of a chance he may have to have several teeth extracted. Damn those previous owners and their dental hygiene strike.

To help distract from the canine trauma, I spent the day at the audiologist (don't ask; suffice to say it involved silicon moulds and an indecent amount of cash) and at the second contract, trying to remember how to craft a Ministerial briefing paper. It's best, however, to throw a cloth over both these events.  

In good news, the airline and the Peninsula Hotel stars finally aligned and my media trip to Honkers is confirmed. Running a marathon has been less difficult than organising this famil, for some odd reason. However, one casualty of the ever moving goalposts has been the UK leg - at the last iteration, I would have arrived in Bristol when two of my three besties were off skiing, which wouldn't have done at all. So I pulled the plug and hopefully there will be the chance for a rematch later on. But for now, totes excited to be spending seven nights in one of my favourite places on the planet. Shopping city, here I come....

Aprops of nothing, except that it's Friday, the sun has finally figured out what it's supposed to be doing and I need to fill my mind with thoughts of anything but my poor wee doggy, today's visual is of the fabulous project the Animator is currently kicking major butt on. Thunderbirds are indeed go!