Mint Mocha Musings

LATEST ARTICLES ( 186 )

• Shenzhen! There’s More to China’s Fastest Growing City Than Shopping…

  

  Shenzhen! When you hear the name, you probably think, ‘shopping’ and ‘cheap!’ And you’re definitely not wrong there. This bustling city, just 40 minutes across... Read more

  Posted on 23 February 2014 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Leaving Las Vegas! There’s a New(ish) Kid on the Block – Viva Macau!

  

  Image credit: sepavo / 123RF Stock PhotoMy thoughts are, most people are in one of two camps, those who bet…and those who don’t. Me? Read more

  Posted on 14 February 2014 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Lai See: Lucky Money Or Tradition Gone Mad?

  

  So, to tell you the truth, I’ll be quite glad when this “official” Lunar New Year period is over.Otherwise known as Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival –... Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2014 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Inside a Chinese Kitchen: Dim Sum and Then Some….

  

  Back in the day, as a child growing up in the land of the long white cloud – New Zealand and later Australia – Thursday night was always takeaway night… and it... Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2014 EXPAT, FOOD & DRINK, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Skyscraper Bubble – Living in Hong Kong, the Only Way is Up

  

  Being back home in the big, wide brown land of Australia for the silly season, it struck me just how different ‘living’ in Hong Kong is. Read more

  Posted on 01 January 2014 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• A Tale of Three Cities: What Do Hong Kong, Bangkok and Manila Have in Common?

  

  In the space of a week, I found myself immersed in (and as always) eagerly trying to absorb the cultures of three very different Asian cities….Hong Kong, Bangko... Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Expat View: Why Traveling Will Never Be the Same.

  

  Latest column for Expat Focus Image credit: artisticco / 123RF Stock Photo “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign. Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Why Hong Kong’s Outliving the Rest of the World…

  

  A couple of years ago, Hong Kong’s life expectancy was the highest in the world!! Yep! The highest in the world! On average, a dim-sum-dining local was... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Moving to Hong Kong – 10 Things You Shouldn’t Leave Home Without!

  

  Latest column for Expat Focus Image credit: sqback / 123RF Stock PhotoWhen you get the call to uproot your life and relocate to a new, foreign country, the... Read more

  Posted on 10 November 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Is Online Shopping the New Black?

  

  Image credit: ximagination / 123RF Stock PhotoWe’re among friends right? Depending on how well you know me, you may or may not know, that I’m partial to a good... Read more

  Posted on 29 October 2013 LIFESTYLE, SHOPPING

• Living Overseas as an Expat: Do You Adopt the Local Customs?

  

  My latest column for Expat Focus…Image credit: hugolacasse / 123RF Stock Photo It was Father’s Day in Australia this month, so we celebrated with Sunday brunch... Read more

  Posted on 30 September 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Super Typhoon Usagi Heads for Hong Kong

  

  Typhoon UsagiJust over a month ago I wrote a post about Typhoon Utor transforming the normally bustling Hong Kong into a ghost town…Storm signal T 8 was... Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2013 ENVIRONMENT, WEATHER

• Shopping in Hong Kong: The Word on the Street

  

  We’d just finished Sunday brunch in Hong Kong’s oh-so-sassy SoHo when I announced (with just a hint of mischief) that it was time for us to get a family pet!... Read more

  Posted on 16 September 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• 8 Lessons Learned: 3 Years as an Expat in Hong Kong

  

  My latest column for Expat Focus…Image credit: Irochka / 123RF Stock Photo Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of the victory. George S. Read more

  Posted on 04 September 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• A Foreigner in Your Own Country?

  

  Living in Hong Kong as an Expat — the Trip HomeImage credit: vasvas / 123RF Stock Photo Getting ready to travel from Hong KongYou would think by now, being a... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Typhoon Utor Turns Hong Kong into a Ghost Town

  

  I woke up this morning in a city at a complete standstill. Hong Kong – the normally heaving metropolis from dusk till dawn — a ghost town. Read more

  Posted on 14 August 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• One Night in Manila: Asia’s Forgotten City…..

  

  Image credit: jackmalipan / 123RF Stock PhotoWhen you’re born in the land of the Long White Cloud – the place dubbed ‘middle-earth’ – and then raised in that... Read more

  Posted on 02 August 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• From Castle to Cage: Hong Kong – A City of Contradictions

  

  It goes without saying, the great divide exists in many countries, but Hong Kong is a place like no other when it comes to being a ‘city of contradictions. Read more

  Posted on 22 July 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Fake It Till You Make It: China’s Counterfeit Craze….

  

  Fake McDonalds in ChinaI was at the mighty Mongkok Ladies Markets this week or as the locals call it “Wong Gog” – meaning ‘prosperous and crowded corner. Read more

  Posted on 30 June 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• REINVENTING THE WHEEL: From TV News Reader to Expat Mum in Asia

  

  Last day on air as a News Reader for Sky News Australia My latest column for online magazine Coping with Jane….I want my old life back! You know the feeling... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2013 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION