William and Kate of Asia

David and I had the opportunity to attend the wedding of "Crystal and Jeremy". I'm not sure where to start, other than saying I am thrilled that I had the chance to witness such a magical affair. Crystal's father is one of Mattel's biggest venders. He was on the cover of Forbes magazine. Enough said. 

The invitation. In the small red envelopes was money (customary in Asia) and a ticket, which I thought was to get into the event. The ticket was a coupon for the fancy bakeries in Hong Kong. I should have known what was to follow. 

What do you give a Billionaire's daughter as a wedding present? We asked David's assistant. She informed us that money was customary, based on the level of your position in the company. It was gratifying to know that the wedding money given to the couple was donated to charities. My thought is that the bride's father matched the money given and the newlyweds will not be spending their first few years of marriage living off of top ramen like the rest of us.

The reception was held at the Hong Kong Convention Center....think Staple Center, Boston Garden, etc.  We entered the Convention Center to a line of photographers from newspaper, magazines, and T.V. No one was interested in taking our picture.

We signed in to receive our table number and signed one of many pages of the guest book they were putting together. By "they" I mean one of 20 people manning the sign-in desk. 

We then went up the specially designed pink staircase and entered the reception area.

I tried not to gawk at all of the beautiful people.

The bridesmaids were in soft pink dresses.

I was told the Bride's dress was designed by Vera Wang

Pictures of the bride and groom, about six feet by four feet, were placed around the reception area where the bride and groom met the guests. I did not take a picture of all of the posters, but let's just say they were impressive. Pictures in sports cars that you seldom see on the road, father's yacht, personal jet, etc. You'll notice the bride and groom are in different outfits. Different than the outfits they wore the night of the reception or earlier at the ceremony. I'm told that there are about ten bridal changes. For the engagement pictures, the couple flew to Prague. Of course they did. 

The reception line. People wait their turn to go on stage and pose with the bride and groom for a picture. The pictures are given out before the night is over.

Spot a familiar face? Yup, that's Jackie Chan. Apparently there were many famous people there: 

President of Hong Kong (not called "president"), other government dignitaries, Casino owners, Race Track owners, T.V. and movie celebrities. None of which I recognized. 

I had no idea who this man was, but everyone else did.

I did recognize Mr. Chan though.

We were then directed to our sit down dinner at 8:00.  We ate and were entertained until 11:00. An emcee hosted the evening, the music was fantastic, and the food was amazing.

Well, I didn't particularly like the shark fin soup, which I was told was a delicacy. Chicken noodle for this girl thank you.

I am so sad that I did not get all of the changes the bride made during the evening. She was absolutely stunning. With each change came a complete new hairstyle and jewels. 

The bride's mother and sister made a few changes also.

Each person was given a gift for coming. Beautifully designed diffuser bottle with the couple's wedding logo.

And then everyone left in their cars after the magical evening.

David and I took a taxi.

Level 10 Typhoon

Not since 1999 has Hong Kong experienced a level 10 Typhoon. I have to say it was exciting and very scary to experience one of this magnitude. Listening to 88 mile an hour winds while in a high rise can be a little unnerving. Our flat has amazing views, and with those amazing views come very big windows. Gail force winds and rains can be very intimidating while beating up against so much glass. David and I slept very little. 

I am amazed at Hong Kong infrastructure. I felt very safe. And I am amazed at all of the strategically planned spill ways and natural runoffs.

Our shuttle was not in service. It took David an hour to get a taxi, and another hour to take a normal ten minute drive down the mountain. The taxi driver can charge what he wants (he charged David 4x his normal rate), but David was happy to pay it when he saw what the driver had to maneuver through.

I walked Bowen Road to see the aftermath; a path that David and I usually walk on Sundays because the road is level and little effort is needed. The road is always pristine, devoid of even a single leaf. Not today.

I braved hiking the Peak a few days after the storm. Let's say it was not an easy hike. I had to crawl through....

under....

and over.

The daily exercise group was displaced.

The two main streets were a mess.

And the serene waterfall was much more active today.

I knew it was a serious storm when the Hong Kong Stock Exchange wasn't trading. Of course, they were the first business to open up as quickly as they could when the storm lifted. Hong Kong continues to be an "exciting" city to live in.