We decided, last minute, to take OWL watches to Hong Kong to an international watch fair to see what people from other countries thought of the watch collections.
Our flight left at 9.45pm on Sunday the 3rd September and after a 12 hour flight, we landed in Hong Kong the following day at 5.30pm.
I would like to say we then had a leisurely time going to our accommodation to relax, but we had too much to do for this to happen.
We were lucky enough to know someone in Hong Kong who picked us up from the Airport and it was straight to the Hong Kong convention centre to set up our stand.
The exhibition centre is an amazing building on Hong Kong Island with amazing views over the harbour to Kowloon.
After arriving at our stand, we then needed to prepare the stand. The stand is a white plastic looking stand to start with so once arriving, we dressed the walls, put our displays in the windows along with all the collections and then we were all set for the start of the exhibition the following day.
We had a trip on the ferry to this beautiful little Island where no cars are allowed and is much more traditional.
I love visiting the Island, is such a contrast from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, with bananas growing on the trees and greenery as far as the eye can see.
After a good night’s rest, we had the ferry journey back to Hong Kong on Tuesday to start the show. It’s a great way to travel to work, no rushing and no traffic jams.
With the stand looking great, we had a fantastic show. The show lasted Tuesday to Saturday and we were so busy meeting people and talking about our collections, some days, we didn’t get lunch until after 4pm.
It was fantastic to get so much feedback and hear people from the other side of the world say how beautiful the watches are.
On Saturday, the watch fair opened to the public. Once again, it was great to get peoples feedback, their response to the watches was fantastic. This was for both the men’s watches and ladies’ watches.
One night after the fair closed, we managed to do a bit of sight-seeing. We took the Star Ferry, which is an old boat that has been running since 1920 from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon. The view looking back at Hong Kong Island is just breath taking and pictures don’t do it credit. 8pm at night with an amazing view in 30º heat is just a fantastic experience I would recommend to anyone.
We then took a walk to the garden of Stars where Charlie was over the moon to see the life size statue of Bruce Lee and place his hands in the imprint of Jackie Chan.
There is also some amazing food in Hong Kong. When we think of Chinese in the UK, we all think of rice with meat in sauce. In Hong Kong, it is very different and there are some amazing restaurants with amazing dishes. We went out for an fabulous dinner with a friend and when I say ornate food, I think its an understatement.
Saturday was the last day of the show and it made me laugh, the show finishes at 5pm but everyone in the show started packing up about lunch time so by 5pm, nearly all the stands were empty before the end of the show, this wouldn't happen in England.
With the show over, we had 1 day left to go on the tourist trail. With an unbelievably clear day, it would be rude not to take the opportunity to go up the peak to see the amazing sights across Hong Kong. This is one of the highest parts on the Island and starts with a 45º tram ride up the side of the hill. The tram was built in 1889 and has been running ever since. It goes to a shopping centre where you can see across the whole city. It’s a strange feeling to be on a tram and passing the tops of sky scrapers.
Once at the top, we came out into cool shopping centre where we made our way up to the top of the building where there is a viewing gallery. Stepping out onto the Gallery, in 35º temperatures and blazing sunshine, the views are amazing.
This brought our trip to an end and it was time to head back to get our suitcases and make our way to the airport using the airport express which only takes 30 minutes, to take our flight on the 10th September at 11.55pm.
We have met some lovely people on our trip from all over the world and it has been an amazing week.
Thanks For reading
Annette
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Libby Butler ,Tsuki Pearls and Jewellery
September 15, 2017
Interesting blog! Sounds hard work and great fun in equal measures. So pleased the OWL range was well received. So it should be! I have already sold my first Helmsley and that’s before they are in the shop !