Author: Nada Al Ghowainim

As I went into the indoor café where the “Samar Night” event has been moved to, I wasn’t sure of what to expect. All I knew from the event’s facebook page was that it is a story-telling event, where a specific number of individuals have been selected to tell a personal story that belongs to them or to someone they know.

The event is hosted by the cozy and homely “Arjaan By Rotana” hotel apartments property located in Dubai Media City. A small group of us gathered in the Arabic themed café “Arabesque” and were sitting in a circle around the speaker or story-teller.

I asked one of the organizers about the objective of this get-together. He explained to me that it was a type of performance art that didn’t exist in Dubai. So they wanted to be the first to bring it. It is an alternative to stand-up comedy and poetry shows, which are now widely spread all across the city.

The group is basically a community group. I learned that this was their fourth meeting, and that they plan to run it on a regular basis; on the last Saturday of each month.

There’s only one simple rule for this social gathering: all the stories told must be true life stories. Either belonging to you or to someone you know, like a friend or a family member.

Some of the story-tellers on the night were professional actors or people who like to act in plays as a hobby. But you don’t need to be a performer or actor to join in the fun.  If you feel like you have an interesting or inspirational story that you would like to share with others, then just make sure that you rehearse before coming to the event to tell your story. As notes are not allowed….and so are boring stories 🙂

After listening to six wonderful and heart-warming stories and having a falafel sandwich in the break time, I was feeling positive, amused and I had a sense of an amiable community spirit.

If you can’t remember a particular exciting or inspiring personal story, don’t worry. You can still join the group as a listener, and collect a discovery duck to take with you to your next trip or adventure.

All you need to do is post a photo of yourself with the duck at your chosen destination or adventure on the event’s facebook page, and be prepared to tell the story behind the photo at the next “Samar Night” episode.

If you would like to meet new interesting people, practice speaking in front of a small crowd, or simply want to get a sense of a friendly and welcoming community spirit, then I would suggest you drop by one of the “Samar Nights” with a fascinating and attention-grabbing story in mind. And don’t forget to skip the notes 🙂

Since it was the weekend, I decided to spend my day at a park and avoid going to the tourist attraction spots which will be overcrowded. Especially since it was the holiday season.

Getting off at the “Admiralty” metro station for Hong Kong Park means that you will have to go through “Pacific Place” shopping mall. A very luxurious mall with mostly high-end designer stores and sophisticated cafes and restaurants; “Pacific Place” is a haven for fashion lovers. The winter sale was on, and all I could think of was finding the nearest pharmacy to get a cure for my upset stomach from the previous night’s local dinner.

Once I got my medical condition diagnosed by a lovely pharmacist who spoke fluent English with an American accent and had my medicine, I was ready for my first tourist attraction of the day: Hong Kong Park.

It was a rainy day with a good amount of showers. Nothing like London showers though. Just a nice drizzle combined with some light winds. It seemed like I was the only person enjoying the rainy weather at the park. As the park was almost empty except for a few care-free tourists, and some people who were passing through the park to get to the other side of the street. I didn’t mind the rain at all. In fact, it made my park day even more enjoyable. I was exploring the different areas of the highly lush and green park, walking down trails, and taking pictures of everything from pretty trees and flowers to cute turtles and fishes in the pond. The rain added a zest of fresh air to my walk at the park, and I was grateful for being able to enjoy a lush green park under the light rain.

I wanted to check out “Jardine’s Crescent” street market; which was in the area, and I spent a considerable amount of the day looking for the market and asking around for it. But with no luck. Some people couldn’t understand what I was talking about, others didn’t speak English, or simply had no idea about a market in the vicinity. Being the stubborn and strong-headed person that I am, I could not forget about the market or dismiss the thought of getting to it. Since it was already a part of my plan for the day! and I had to find it no matter how challenging the process was!

But first, I needed to sit down somewhere as I was exhausted from all the walking and roaming around. I also wanted to eat my lunch which consisted of a banana and a cup of hot tea that I got from a nearby Starbucks. That task proved to be even more difficult than the mission of finding the street market. It was a Saturday afternoon during the busy holiday season in Central Hong Kong and it was raining. This only meant one thing: there wasn’t a single seat available at any of the coffee shops in the area.

Students were sitting at Starbucks catching up, working on their projects, or saving the empty chairs for their friends who will be joining them soon. At another popular cafe a few blocks away, all the tables were taken. And although this was an extremely spacious branch with many places to sit, I was greatly surprised and frustrated when I couldn’t find a single empty place to sit. I continued to walk down the streets with my hot cup of tea in my hand, dragging my tremendously tired legs and body. Until I decided to head to the park across the street which turned out to be “Victoria Park”. Luckily, the rain had just stopped by then, and so it wasn’t a problem to sit at a park bench and finally have my banana lunch and fortunately still warm tea! Yes it was an unpredictable situation and I was glad to have found a way around it.

Going back to my previous challenge of finding the street market, I continued to ask staff at random stores. Eventually, someone directed me to the street that the market is named after: Jardine’s Crescent. As I walked down that street – still asking people about a street market and not getting any clues – I began to loose hope of ever finding that market (which I was certain that it existed). Then, I spot a flower stall and my heart fills with joy! Because I had read an online tip about that market that said: Don’t miss the small wet market at the end of the street (flower stalls). So, as I walked towards the flower stall, I was hoping (and wondering at the same time) that I have finally found my lost market! And I was thrilled that I did!

I walked along the flower stalls to find myself in this twisting little market. Full of a wide range of items from fruits and vegetables to cartoon stationery.

As I exited the market onto the main shopping street, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the sign that I was planning to follow at the beginning of the day when I first started my search for the market! But because I was lost in the busy and densely populated streets and the mayhem of the weekend crowd, I had completely forgotten about that clue that I intended to try out…I was also amazed at the tiny corner that leads to the market. It was more like a whole in the wall kind of thing. Literally! a space in between two walls on the busy shopping street….and next to the store “Forever 21” where the lady at the first shop that I asked for directions had guided me.  Except that I couldn’t find the high-street retail store to begin with!

Oh well, I guess most of us women are not so good in directions.

By the time that my third day had arrived in Hong Kong, I was lost when it came to what to eat and where to eat in the city. In Kowloon, where I was staying, the local food was well, too local! So what I thought would be a smart decision – filling myself up at breakfast – proved to be a very bad and terrible idea. As that, combined with a deep-fried dinner resulted in me getting sick for the next couple of days.

The hotel breakfast buffet included both American and Chinese dishes. I decided to have both! I didn’t want to miss out on the scrambled eggs and sausage, and at the same time I wanted to experiment the authentic local cuisine.

My third day trips included a visit to a legendary Chinese temple, a renowned nunnery and a magical garden.  I spent my time at the temple performing all sorts of prayers, making wishes and throwing coins at a fountain for good luck. First, I did the fortune-telling prayer using the numbered sticks and had my lucky number translated at the palm reader’s stall. Where I also had a palm-reading session. Next, I spent some time walking around in the garden at the back of the temple and exploring the rest of the place. I found a lot of inner-peace while sitting in that temple. The general atmosphere brought a sense of serenity and calmness. And I didn’t want to rush to leave and end my time at the temple so quickly. While I was walking around and watching the locals perform their prayers and make their wishes surrounded by the smoke from the burning incense, I came across a designated area where three statues stood connected to one another. I went up to the lady in charge and asked her what this was for. That’s when she asked: “are you married?” and I replied with: “no, I’m single.”  She then directed me to the statues in front of us and said: “you can make a wish at the Chinese GOD, and then tie the thread at the man statue.” And there I went tying the bright red thread around my fingers as she showed me and faced the GOD statue to make my wish for a prince charming to make his way into my life. But then, when I attempted to tie the thread around the pole connected to the man statue, I was surprised to find out that the thread is too short for the pole, and I panicked for a few moments, worried that all my sincere wishes to bring a perfect match into my life had gone to waste! Luckily, the lady directed me to tie it at any part of the GOD-male-female figure, and so I did; relieved that my wishes hadn’t gone to waste, and excited about what these prayers could bring 🙂

I decided to keep the fortune teller’s reading to myself after a wise friend advised me not to reveal her translation on my blog. But instead, I could tell it to my close friends and the people who I trust. So, in following my friend’s valuable advise, I will just let you in on one piece of information that she said about my future: “you will be happy from age 40 and over.” That means that I still have a long time to go folks! I am currently 32 and a half years old for those of you who are not aware of my age…Which makes sense as I am still going through a transitional phase in my life. So I can totally understand the upcoming years of extra suffering 🙁

My next stop after the wishes-packed temple visit was to the Chin Lin Nunnery. I was told by a security guard at the garden opposite the Nunnery that it was now closed for praying, but the door is still open for sight-seeing. Now I’m not sure where he had the idea that I would be going there to pray. Was I dressed like a Chinese monk? did I look like a Buddhist lady? or was there an invisible halo surrounding my head?I explained to him that I just wanted to have a look inside and went off to the other side of the road to visit the Nunnery before it closed its doors for the day.

It was compact, not much to see. Which surprised me a bit. I took a few pictures before going back to the Nan Lian Garden. It was already dark, but luckily the garden didn’t close early. I was also glad that I arrived there at night, because the lighting and the whole garden looked more beautiful at night. I also found some particular spots very romantic and saw a couple just standing there admiring the view from one of the scenic areas.
After snapping a couple of photos and wishing that I was there with someone special instead of by myself, I headed to a nearby mall to have dinner at a food court that I saw earlier.

After making a round at the different restaurants at the food court, I decided to go for the Hong Kong cuisine for two reasons:

1. Simply because I was in Hong Kong and should be trying the local cuisine.
2. I thought that it would be the most affordable option, since I was still not sure at that time if the cash I had with me would be enough for my whole trip.

Not being able to eat using forks or knives and having to rely on chop sticks was not the problem. The problem was that I didn’t predict or think for a moment that my local cuisine dish of deep-fried fish would give me a terrible stomach ache and would make me miss out on my friend’s mother invitation for dinner at her home…in addition to a strict diet of a banana for lunch and a yogurt cup for dinner for most of the the rest of my trip 🙁

I didn’t feel anything odd while I was having my authentic local dish. The uneasiness settled in hours after I had my dinner. And continued on to the next day, which led me to visiting a pharmacy at the posh Pacific Place mall in Hong Kong Island and asking for a medicine to cure my upset and painful stomach ache.

Luckily, the pharmacist spoke fluent English and was able to clearly understand my condition and prescribe the suitable medication.  And I later found out from my local friend after showing her the pictures of my meal and asking her about the dish, that it is deep-fried fish in a sweet corn sauce and it is called: sweet corn fish. The funny fact is that the batter covering the fish was more than the fish itself!

I will continue my Hong Kong trip stories in another post. For now, have a look at some of the pictures that I took on my third day in the city…