One of the most popular mid-week activities in Hong Kong is horse racing. It basically consists of: beer, gambling, crowds of screaming fans, and of course the horses themselves. The main races take place every Wednesday, the perfect "hump day" activity, which really helps to break up the week. Julian and I always look forward to it, especially because we get to skip the crowd and instead go to the Football Club box. Here I truly get the royal treatment, from a full dinner buffet to a window table that gives me the perfect view of the races to a TV screen that shows the betting odds and streams the races live. Honestly, Wednesdays do not get much better than this!
The box actually sits right above the finish line, so we got a perfect view of the winning horses. The hardest part is actually seeing which ones came first, since the horses usually are so close together. I personally do not gamble, but Julian liked to trick me into picking the names of horses I liked and then would bet on them for me. You win some, you lose some. I think that's the biggest lesson I learned from this! It is fun though, and the energy of the crowd even in the box is exhilarating. I had only been to horse races once before in Los Angeles, but the Hong Kong horse races are by far unparalleled. Definitely a must-do for anyone coming to HK!
Later that weekend, we decided it was the most gorgeous weather and we needed to take advantage of it. So, we made use of Julian's rooftop at his parents apartment and had a BBQ. Julian fired up the grill and made some grilled corn, potatoes, and burgers. I mixed up a fresh vegan salad and also some yummy desserts for the two of us. We sat outside with some wine and just soaked up the view. Honestly, there is so much beauty in the city!
We stayed to watch the sunset. I will never get tired of this view or of BBQs- the perfect end to a great week in the spring.