1. The view of Hong Kong Central from our room at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and the bustling streets below / 2. Racing through airports at 1am in the morning and waking up to a rainbow breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong / 3. Complete with pork dumplings, dragon fruit and English breakfast tea. Not quite sure if this combination of flavors works for everyone but strangely enough I liked it? / 4. Our suite at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. I would happily take this space and place it anywhere in the world to live in. It had everything we needed, complete with matching slippers, robes and the most comfortable bed I have ever experienced. Oh, and the chocolate bar downstairs too / 5. Shopping in Times Square in Causeway Bay. Here I went a little crazy at H&M, G2000 (kind of like a more corporate and preppy version of Zara) and Sasa (an affordable make-up store). This is also home to consignment stores who sell second hand bags like Celine, Hermes and Chanel but they’re still quite expensive / 6. Discovering quirky boutiques like Voulez Vouz in the backstreets of Causeway Bay and resisting the urge to stuff my suitcase with cute Asian cats, socks and stationary. Life in general is so much cuter in Asia / 7. A much needed time out from shopping at the Lane Crawford and Joyce outlets in Ape Lei Cheu. Crazy to think you can be in the bustling CBD one moment and only 15 minutes later you can be sitting by the ocean, watching old fishermen and wiggling your toes over the sea / 8. The Lane Crawford and Joyce outlets (the equivalent to David Jones and Belinda in Australia) – a must see for any serious shopper. Here you can find up to 50-70% off amazing designers like Celine, Balenciaga, Prada, Alexander McQueen, Chloe, Givenchy. I can’t even begin to explain. Unfortunately photos are banned in these stores but I did manage to take a photo of what I came home with – a pair of Sergio Rossi Mermaid Heels I got for 50% off. You can also visit the Prada and Miu Miu outlet just around the corner which is called ‘Space Warehouse’ / 9. Experiencing the mesmerizing food art menu by Uwe Opocensky at the Michelin-Starred Mandarin Grill & Bar. This was dessert and made completely from chocolate, which took 5 minutes to construct by the chef in front of us. Even the picture frame, paint brushes and crayons were edible so make sure you leave plenty of room for dessert / 10. Riding the longest escalator in the world and wandering the backstreets of the SoHo district. Here you’ll find cute boutiques, fake designer goods and delicious restaurants to enjoy with the family or bars with plenty of vibe for a night out with friends. Lan Kwai Fong had a good nightlife vibe too / 11. Shopping in Causeway Bay at Island Beverly Centre. Easily my favourite shopping mall which was full of pretty, feminine and extremely affordable clothes for the younger market, with a whole store dedicated to adorable jewelry and accessories. Just make sure you know your sizing as most of the stores don’t let you try on the clothes, and also make sure you leave your boyfriend outside as it’s all womenswear and they get bored pretty quickly. Sorry Luke. Clothes are priced between $20-$90 so make sure you go in with a game plan otherwise you may not come out alive. Seriously / 12. Catching the ferry across Victoria Harbor for dinner at Hu Tong, an incredible restaurant overlooking the harbor where we watched the 8pm laser show that’s on every night. This was followed by cocktails the floor above at Aqua Luna, a chic and sophisticated bar with a 360 degree view of the city below / 13. Flowers and pastel buildings on our way to The Peak. Such a beautiful view of Hong Kong and the perfect place to take in just how big this city is / 14. Exploring Central Hong Kong and watching traffic jams from the overhead walkways between the IFC and the Landmark Shopping Malls. Here you’ll find the mainstream stores like Zara, and also the high-end designer boutiques like Chanel, Prada and Celine / 15. Curling up in a ball after a long day of sight-seeing and saying goodnight to this beautiful city

Finally! A chance to upload my Hong Kong Photo Diary in an order I’m somewhat happy with. It was too hard to post these photos without naming the sights, shopping spots and restaurants in between so I hope this makes it easier for you all.

I actually have so many more photos to share but I didn’t want to over do it, nor exceed your data allowance! We only scratched the surface of what Hong Kong had to offer and I ran out of time to visit more shopping destinations like Star Street and the Shueng Wan and Noho area, which is home to many up and coming designers. I could have done a whole post dedicated purely to the food we had here, but I’m sure there’s only so many photos of dumplings one can handle.

In no particular order a special thank you goes out to Miryana, Rainbow, Nina, Chloe, Janet, Emily, Belinda and Karen Tam for taking care of us and allowing me to visit a place that’s been on my bucket list for years. Hoping to head back over very soon but first I need to start planning my trip to New York again!

Photos by Luke Shadbolt and me

In an attempt to cull down my Hong Kong Diary Post (coming tomorrow!) I thought I’d post these photos of my flight with Virgin Atlantic separately.

I’m a very simple girl who has only ever flown economy class before, so naturally and naively I never knew beds on planes existed. And it seems I’m not the only one. After posting this photo (the last photo above) on my Instagram last night it received over 9,000 likes in two hours, with countless people asking if this photo was in fact real. To be honest I never thought I’d get the chance to fly first class and after this flight it’s made me realise how much everyone needs to experience this once in their lifetime. If not for the comfortable beds or fluffy set of pajamas but simply for the fact that Virgin Atlantic has just starting serving high tea on their upper class menus. I know… there are no words.

Anyone who knows me well (or follows me on Instagram!) knows how much I enjoy my high tea and afternoon treats. Scones with jam and cream, cute cupcakes and finger sandwiches are served on a two tier stand accompanied with a hot pot of tea. At 35,000 feet this really is this highest high tea in the world and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Harry Potter, high tea and happiness easily consumed the next 9 hours of my flight.

A special thank you to Belinda, Miryana and Virgin Atlantic for being so generous and making this happen. This already seems like a distant dream, with my head still in the clouds and endless love still in the air. It’s safe to say I’m ruined for any future flights now and will feebly attempt to smuggle my own cupcakes onto my next flight just to relive this experience. Sigh…

Photos by Luke Shadbolt and me

Asos Pencil Skirt / Zara Top and Perspex Heels / Michael Kors Watch / Bunny Earrings & Cat Ring from Hong Kong / Vintage Necklace / Celine Bag

Every Sunday in Central Hong Kong certain roads are closed off for hundreds of maids who bring their rugs, cushions and even pieces of cardboard to spend the afternoon relaxing with their friends on the street. As it’s common for maids to live with the family they work for (which is usually six days a week) it was fascinating to see how these busy streets turn into what looks like a mini festival for just one day. Everyone was enjoying themselves so much that besides the few confused onlookers, no one even noticed Luke and I shooting these photos in the middle of the street.

I spent the afternoon doing some very quick (and extremely impulsive) shopping around Central Hong Kong. I started at The Landmark, a shopping mall home to 200 boutiques spread out over four huge levels. Although the majority of these are high-end boutiques it was lovely to do some serious window shopping, which actually resulted in one of the biggest impulse buys of my life when I visited Celine and later walked out with a bag and three pairs of sunglasses. Before you judge it was my first time in Celine and no one warned me about how much cheaper it is in Hong Kong. Can you believe the sunglasses were only $250 each? I think that alone is reason enough to visit Hong Kong! The Landmark is also attached the The IFC and IFC 2 Shopping Malls, which I would definitely suggest visiting purely for their Zara. The selection they had was even better than the stores I saw in New York/LA and the result will make you want to swing off street poles in the middle of a crowded street. Just make sure you don’t have three kilos of shopping in your hand though as these bags quickly turn into Eco-friendly weapons to women walking closely by…

Photos by Luke Shadbolt

Liam ‘Black Tie’ Dress / Kenneth Jay Lane Bracelets / Vintage Earrings / Christian Louboutin Heels

So even though Luke and I have two more videos from MBFWA to complete I couldn’t wait any longer to start posting about Hong Kong! A few of you have asked why we were there and what we were doing. Hong Kong Tourism kindly invited Luke and I over to explore the city and experience their Hong Kong Summer Event, which runs from mid-June to the end of August.

I’d always wanted to visit Hong Kong after hearing so much about their amazing shopping (which after going I completely understand and I’ve now caught the ‘You-MUST-go-to-Hong-Kong-for-the-shopping bug’). We were there for four days, which looking back was only enough time to scratch just the surface of how much Hong Kong has to offer. From the shopping to dining, to the nightlife and culture, there was so much to see that the only reason Luke and I were ok about leaving was the fact we had already told ourselves we would be coming back very soon. It could have also been the fact I may have done way too much shopping and run out of money, but more on that later…

We took these photos from the balcony in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central Hong Kong. As you can see, the city itself is beautiful and there’s so much to take in. I always get so sentimental when moments like this happen and should remind myself never to be anywhere up high as I get so excited I feel like I could burst out of my skin and jump off a building. Luckily Luke was there to remind me we had to get these photos done quickly so we could be outside exploring the city.

A few moments later we were on a ferry and crossing the water to Harbor City, where we watched a spectacular light show over the harbor. Red seemed very appropriate for this occasion as it symbolizes the romance I have just started with Hong Kong. The sad thing is this is no word of a lie and I bought this dress by Liam specifically for this occasion, moment and location. Here’s me hoping I’m not the only one who is embarrassingly sentimental all of the time, and has a blog where I admit how uncool I really am. Anyway, more Hong Kong posts coming tomorrow!

Photos by Luke Shadbolt

Kate Sylvester Top / Vintage Skirt and Heels / Zara Cardigan / Jennifer Zeuner ‘Love’ Anklet

A lot can happen in just two weeks and I have so much to share with you all. Over the past two weeks I’ve been to Hong Kong and back, attended MBFWA (Sydney Fashion Week) and also made my runway debut opening the show for Australian designer Talulah. It’s been pretty crazy and I apologize for how easy it is for me to go missing when I’m this busy.

Tomorrow I’ll start uploading all of my MBFWA coverage, which also means I can start sharing all of my Hong Kong adventures with you shortly after! Still trying to take in this stunning view from our balcony at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and wishing more than anything I was shopping in Causeway Bay again and losing my mind in Celine for the first time. Hong Kong why didn’t I discover you sooner?

Photos by Luke Shadbolt and me