A Day in the Life of Tingting

We’re beginning a regular feature called “A Day in the Life”, all about how Sassy girls in Hong Kong spend their time… First up is all-around action hero Tingting Peng: Yogi, founder of Iron Lotus Fitness and instigator of Karma Collective beach cleanups!

Wake up in the morning, feeling like P Diddy. Grab my glasses, I’m out the door, gonna hit this city…

A typical Saturday morning for me kicks off at 8am, bright and early. Waking up and starting the day early, especially on the weekend, can be excruciating if Friday night was a big one, but I always feel so good to make the most of my weekends. It’s finally “me” time and I can’t let that go to waste! Sometimes I wake up even earlier to squeeze in a run up Hatton Road for a loop around the Peak before the Hong Kong heat settles in. Call me crazy but this is what makes me happy!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for me and I either make myself a quick bowl of cereal at home or grab a Breakfast Trifle from Cafe O on my way to the Four Seasons to teach my 9am Hatha Yoga class. Teaching always gives me renewed appreciation for the practice of yoga; it grounds me, connects me, and energizes me. An hour later, I bring my students out of savasana and offer them the gift of gratitude as they too begin their wonderful weekend adventures.

This weekend, I am checking out the surf scene in Hong Kong and also scouting out a new location for my monthly Karma Collective beach clean-ups. My friend offers me a ride on the back of his motorbike and we zoom off to Sai Kung. From there, we hop on a speedboat headed for Ham Tin Beach, where we pick up some rental boards and hit the waves. There is definitely trash on the beach of Tai Long Wan and I decide that the next clean-up will be a surf & yoga community event right here. The last two beach cleanups were also held in Sai Kung and we had fun kayaking to the beach for trash collection and outdoor yoga.

After surfing I head back into Central and catch a ferry to the magical isle of Discovery Bay to meet up with a few girl friends for an early dinner. We often have these get-togethers where we cook for each other and this time, Katie has drummed up a delicious meal of her famous Malaysian laksa.   I help myself to at least two servings. We take a stroll through the DB Plaza after dinner to let our stomachs settle and sip on a drink or two at Hemmingway’s.

I love how there is wifi on the ferry between Discovery Bay and Central; I chat with some friends over Google Talk on the ride back to Central to make plans for the rest of the evening. Before I go home to change, I stop and pick up a froyo at Yo Mama – regular sized original flavour with strawberries and mocha toppings, yummmmm!

The night takes me to a special Motown show at Grappa’s Cellar in Jardine House. The live music scene in Hong Kong is becoming increasingly more diverse (which always makes me happy), and as an alternative to the usual bars and clubs in LKF, there are now jazz and salsa nights around town, as well as performances by local and visiting artists and bands. Tonight, Grappa’s is packed with a crowd all swaying to the sensual tunes of the lead singer, so I slide off my bar stood and sway along too.

I get home not too late and with enough energy to upload photos from the day. My latest techie purchase from a business trip to Tokyo is the Sony TX5 waterproof camera, which has been so great on all of my beach excursions. As I drift off to lala land, I smile with gratitude for the abundance in my life, which makes every day, every moment, and every experience so sweet and special.