MATTIE'S BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

March 24-25. Another quick year and it was Matt's birthday again... i went into automatic rack-brain- for-ultimate- birthday-gift mode as i tried to decide what i would do for him. As it turns out, my friend from Uni, Wanwah, gave me the brilliant idea of taking him on a two-day- one-night cruise aboard the STAR CRUISE PISCES! Basically it takes you from the Hong Kong pier just outside into international waters and back again. A big circular circuit, but it isn't where you go, it's what's onboard which is what is fun. It was Matt's first cruise ever and I managed to pull it off as a surprise..? See pic of Matt just about to board the Star Ferry at the new and improved Ferry Pier. He has no idea where he's going, i told him only to pack his swimsuit, toothbrush and passport - the boy says he likes surprises.

Although the whole trip was less than 24 hours, it felt like a mini-holiday nonetheless. The Pisces had a very "Chinese" feel to it. Besides the required many restaurants aboard (Thai, Chinese, Japanese, etc), there was an indoor and outdoor pool, gym, jacuzzi, hair salon, duty free shops, video arcade, piano bar, 2 cinemas, running track. But the classic signature Chinese features were the many gambling halls (horse racing, football/soccer), casinos (blackjack, roulette, backeral, slot machines), mahjong rooms, and of course the staple Karaoke rooms.

There were many activities to keep you busy also: juggling acts, dance exhibitions, Mandarin lessons (!), live performances (dance and music), animal balloon shows, and fruit carvings (see Master Chef at work).

Our favourite was listening to the Piano Man and Trio Band play all-time classics and oldies as we sipped our celebratory birthday sparkling wine. We were amongst a small group of listeners, and during one Elvis song (see singer with turned up collar), a cheery old woman got up to dance, fantastic!

After a yummy Thai supper, we attended the nightly shows, the first one called "Faith" encompassed well choreographed dance acts and pretty incredible acroboatics. Later that night, there was an 'adult show' which required one to purchase tickets in advance. When i booked us for the cruise, i didn't realize they offered such a, ahem, diverse choice of entertainment. Curiosity got the better of me, and well, as for Birthday Boy, it didn't really take too much convincing (wink wink). When else would we have an opportunity to do this anyhow? So we bought our (early-bird discounted) tickets and went to sit near the back of the hall.

Surprsingly enough, we both agreed it was a classy, tasteful performance. The dancers were very talented, very impressive and very topless (even the men, it's only fair i guess). Sorry, no picture-taking was allowed. What surprised us wasn't what was up on stage but who was in the audience. We expected the hall to be full, but there were probably a couple dozen people only, all mainly older men (no surprise there) and some couples. We finished off the night with a Chinese supper and then a final drink back at the Piano Bar, where they serenaded Matt with a jazzy Happy Birthday.

The next day we joined our frisbee friends for 3 hours of fun in the sun (yes, the sun was out and without the usual Hong Kong cloud/pollution coverage, it was HOT). Afterwards a few of us went out for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and then shared a homemade cheesecake for dessert.

No birthday would be complete with a little excitement, huh? That afternoon at frisbee, Matt hurt his ankle by having it stomped on by another person on the other team. It was completely swollen and we thought we should probably have it looked at. Seeing as it was late on a Sunday night, we opted to go to the closest hospital emergency ward. Afer an almost 3 hour wait, he got an x-ray taken. Luckily it wasn't broken or fractured, just a contusion and a very very sore ankle and knee.

So, all in all, a great weekend to ring in Matt's 33rd birthday. Complete with good food, good friends, good music, good wine, good exercise, good news from the hospital and good(looking) breasts, I'm sure it's one that he'll remember for a while - some parts more than others too! Just kidding lovely ;)