Thursday, June 19
Well, it’s time for Hong Kong Heather to head back home. It’s been an awesome experience, professionally and personally. I must be taking on the airs of a local, as I was asked twice today for directions! And I actually knew which direction to point them in!
My final thoughts:
Won’t miss: Crowds, pushing/shoving, smells, meat/fish market, ox tails (ask Beth-she knows what they're used for), humidity, my hair in humidity, slurping/burping noises, mosquitoes, dividing everything by 7.8 to get the US equivalent, bruises on my calves from the low bed frame, majority of the food, waking up to find 50+ emails from the states while I was sleeping, sketchy phone service at work, and flavors of potato chips (roasted pepper, chicken soup, prawn).
Will miss: Gorgeous mountains and water, walking the hills, energy you feel in a big city, inexpensive transportation, covered walkways to many of the buildings, the abundance of transportation options (ferry, tram, subway, double decker bus, etc.), Prêt-a-Manger, all the great people I’ve met in the region through work, traveling a few miles away and feeling like you’re on a deserted tropical island, the ridiculous slogan t-shirts that make no sense, flavors of gum (green tea, melon, blackberry), reserved seating at the movie theaters, full service gas (not that I got to take advantage of it, but I love the idea) and Friday night happy hour at work.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday, June 18
Wednesday, June 18
Costumes shops can be found all over the street markets. Wigs, costumes, masks. You name it. Apparently Hong Kongians use any festival/holiday/celebration as an excuse to wear a costume. A colleague went to a rugby match and said everyone was decked out as if it were Mardi Gras. I haven't seen anyone in costume yet, but the stalls are always full on the weekends. And wouldn’t you know, when I went to grab this photo one day, I ran into a co-worker who was buying a costume for a Hawaiian themed party later that week.
Food. So I’ve been in ignorant bliss for 8 weeks. Since everything is listed in kcals, I haven’t felt guilty about eating. But then I had some yogurt that listed kcal and calories. Ugh. Good thing there are lots of hills to walk here. Although I go to Pret A Manger just about every day for lunch, I like to think that I’ve had a nice mix of western and Asian food since I’ve been here. I’ve realized that I prefer Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese food to Chinese food. I find Cantonese Chinese food a bit bland. I’ve been told that Sichuan is VERY spicy, but never got around to trying any. Some of my favorite meals: fried mini soft-shell crabs (except for the legs, which embarrassingly accumulated on my plate), local fish prepared by a co-worker’s nanny and the Vietnamese restaurant in Stanley with noodles and ginger beer. Some of my worse meals: Mak’s noodles (fun and glad we went, but the more I think about it, the more I really don’t know what we were eating and it smelled a little like the meat-market to me), some of my shrimp meals – how the heck do you peel shrimp with chop sticks?!, the boring meals I made myself once everyone left (it’s no fun to cook for one in a tiny kitchen without an oven) and the mystery meat at McD’s. But no worries-I didn’t starve ;)
Costumes shops can be found all over the street markets. Wigs, costumes, masks. You name it. Apparently Hong Kongians use any festival/holiday/celebration as an excuse to wear a costume. A colleague went to a rugby match and said everyone was decked out as if it were Mardi Gras. I haven't seen anyone in costume yet, but the stalls are always full on the weekends. And wouldn’t you know, when I went to grab this photo one day, I ran into a co-worker who was buying a costume for a Hawaiian themed party later that week.
Food. So I’ve been in ignorant bliss for 8 weeks. Since everything is listed in kcals, I haven’t felt guilty about eating. But then I had some yogurt that listed kcal and calories. Ugh. Good thing there are lots of hills to walk here. Although I go to Pret A Manger just about every day for lunch, I like to think that I’ve had a nice mix of western and Asian food since I’ve been here. I’ve realized that I prefer Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese food to Chinese food. I find Cantonese Chinese food a bit bland. I’ve been told that Sichuan is VERY spicy, but never got around to trying any. Some of my favorite meals: fried mini soft-shell crabs (except for the legs, which embarrassingly accumulated on my plate), local fish prepared by a co-worker’s nanny and the Vietnamese restaurant in Stanley with noodles and ginger beer. Some of my worse meals: Mak’s noodles (fun and glad we went, but the more I think about it, the more I really don’t know what we were eating and it smelled a little like the meat-market to me), some of my shrimp meals – how the heck do you peel shrimp with chop sticks?!, the boring meals I made myself once everyone left (it’s no fun to cook for one in a tiny kitchen without an oven) and the mystery meat at McD’s. But no worries-I didn’t starve ;)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday, June 17
Tuesday, June 17
Most restaurants and stores have small, red temples outside their main door. Incense is burned and placed in these temples, as well as fruit (I’ve seen apples, oranges and pears). I asked a co-worker about it and she explained that it's a temple set up to worship the gods. Most families have such temples inside their houses. You'll also see glasses of water inside the windows of many storefronts/restuarants. At first I thought it was water to keep the ivory and other wares from drying out. But turns out they are small glasses of wine to make the gods happy. Apparently this is very common in Vietnam and Thailand as well.
I’ve read about some of the wonderful foot soaks and reflexology massages that are in Hong Kong. But as much as my tired tootsies would have loved a soak, I always seemed to be nursing a blister (too much walking) and didn't want to have to blog about why my foot fell off.
Phone service. Not so good. Some days, we can’t even call into China. My blackberry phone was out of commission, except for ½ day in the 4th week when it came on for a few minutes. Funny how much I rely on my mobile phone back home, but how easily I’ve gotten by without it. Pay phones, picking exact meeting times, leaving notes at the house. Guess it’s what we used to do before mobile phones.
Most restaurants and stores have small, red temples outside their main door. Incense is burned and placed in these temples, as well as fruit (I’ve seen apples, oranges and pears). I asked a co-worker about it and she explained that it's a temple set up to worship the gods. Most families have such temples inside their houses. You'll also see glasses of water inside the windows of many storefronts/restuarants. At first I thought it was water to keep the ivory and other wares from drying out. But turns out they are small glasses of wine to make the gods happy. Apparently this is very common in Vietnam and Thailand as well.
I’ve read about some of the wonderful foot soaks and reflexology massages that are in Hong Kong. But as much as my tired tootsies would have loved a soak, I always seemed to be nursing a blister (too much walking) and didn't want to have to blog about why my foot fell off.
Phone service. Not so good. Some days, we can’t even call into China. My blackberry phone was out of commission, except for ½ day in the 4th week when it came on for a few minutes. Funny how much I rely on my mobile phone back home, but how easily I’ve gotten by without it. Pay phones, picking exact meeting times, leaving notes at the house. Guess it’s what we used to do before mobile phones.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Monday, June 16
Monday, June 16
Although I find the crowds here to be very rude (pushing, shoving, cutting in line), there are some very nice customs. When someone pours you tea, you tap your first two fingers on the table next to your cup to say “thank you”. When handing cashiers money or business cards to colleagues, you hold the money/card with both hands to present and they accept with both hands. I learned that one in Japan years ago and was happy to find it here.
Jo San. That’s the one Chinese phrase I’ve learned. It means “good morning” and is said in a sing-song voice. “JO saaaaannnnn”.
One of the fun things here is access to the European fashion magazines. They’re just a little different from the ones back home, and often come with a free gift. So the latest Elle comes with a small Orla Kiely bag. I love her stuff, so decided Elle was the magazine for me that day. Well, apparently in my rush to get a free bag, I didn’t notice that the entire magazine was in Chinese. Hong Kong version vs. London. Live and learn.
Although I find the crowds here to be very rude (pushing, shoving, cutting in line), there are some very nice customs. When someone pours you tea, you tap your first two fingers on the table next to your cup to say “thank you”. When handing cashiers money or business cards to colleagues, you hold the money/card with both hands to present and they accept with both hands. I learned that one in Japan years ago and was happy to find it here.
Jo San. That’s the one Chinese phrase I’ve learned. It means “good morning” and is said in a sing-song voice. “JO saaaaannnnn”.
One of the fun things here is access to the European fashion magazines. They’re just a little different from the ones back home, and often come with a free gift. So the latest Elle comes with a small Orla Kiely bag. I love her stuff, so decided Elle was the magazine for me that day. Well, apparently in my rush to get a free bag, I didn’t notice that the entire magazine was in Chinese. Hong Kong version vs. London. Live and learn.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Saturday/Sunday, June 14/15
Saturday/Sunday, June 14/15
Two words for this weekend - Mr. Softie. I headed to Kowloon to pick up a few last gifts on my last weekend and almost jumped for joy when I saw Mr. Softie right by the ferry terminal. I may try during lunch one day this week, just to get my Mr. Softie fix.
Happy Father’s Day!! It doesn’t seem to be as big as Mother’s Day in Hong Kong, but maybe they just don’t make big red heart pillows saying “I love you mum” for Dads? Nope, it's even bigger here! They make bread in the shapes of faces. Dad faces. You can pick from one with a mean face, a happy face or one with glasses. Too funny. Now I'm sorry I didn't get my camera out while I was in the grocery store.
Two words for this weekend - Mr. Softie. I headed to Kowloon to pick up a few last gifts on my last weekend and almost jumped for joy when I saw Mr. Softie right by the ferry terminal. I may try during lunch one day this week, just to get my Mr. Softie fix.
Jill invited me to a jazz club Saturday night, where her friend was playing the harmonica. They were awesome! You would never guess this little jazz club was hidden in an unassuming building near my apartment. And how funny to hear a true jazz band, and look up to see the throaty voice is coming from a thin, young Chinese guy. The one bad thing about the club was the smoke. I left with itchy eyes and smelling like an ashtray. Since Chicago went smoke-free, life has been a joy! It was nice to get out and actually meet people outside of work. The whole side of our table was from the East Coast! When you’re only here for 2 months, there’s not much incentive to make friends. So it was nice to have someone share their friends with me for a night and see a different side of Hong Kong, where it could actually be fun to live long term.
Bamboo. This is what is used for scaffolding. Amazing. I realize it’s strong and all, but it still throws me when I walk by and see a tall building with bamboo sticking out all around, and then men climbing among the bamboo.
Bamboo. This is what is used for scaffolding. Amazing. I realize it’s strong and all, but it still throws me when I walk by and see a tall building with bamboo sticking out all around, and then men climbing among the bamboo.
Happy Father’s Day!! It doesn’t seem to be as big as Mother’s Day in Hong Kong, but maybe they just don’t make big red heart pillows saying “I love you mum” for Dads? Nope, it's even bigger here! They make bread in the shapes of faces. Dad faces. You can pick from one with a mean face, a happy face or one with glasses. Too funny. Now I'm sorry I didn't get my camera out while I was in the grocery store.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Monday/Tuesday, June 9/10 - Font screwey today!
Monday/Tuesday, June 9/10
Headed to Tokyo for business earlier this week. In and out in 24 hours. A few people from the local office took us out to dinner to a Ninja restaurant. A theme restaurant that locals probably think it tacky, but which was insanely fun. We entered a tiny room and waited for our Ninja guide, who used a paper lantern to guide us through a dark, cramped maze. We were climbing over bridges, under overhangs, deep into a cave until we finally reached our dining room. Shoes off and slippers on. Each course had something exciting in the way it was prepared (soup cooked with hot rocks), presented (clams with a fuse on the plate that they lit and then exploded) or tasted (something that looked like tofu, but tasted super fishy-gag). Photo below was one of our desserts. Bonsai tree was pie crust and ground was pudding. Then a magician Ninja came around and did magic tricks for us. Granted, we were into our third bottle of wine by then, but he was amazing! At one point he put the deck of cards in my hands, hit my hands a few times and when I opened my hands, the cards were gone and I had a glass block there instead. Didn’t feel a thing! The weather was amazing. No rain and about 70 degrees. Absolutely lovely. I woke up early and got to spend some time in the Japanese Garden below.
Headed to Tokyo for business earlier this week. In and out in 24 hours. A few people from the local office took us out to dinner to a Ninja restaurant. A theme restaurant that locals probably think it tacky, but which was insanely fun. We entered a tiny room and waited for our Ninja guide, who used a paper lantern to guide us through a dark, cramped maze. We were climbing over bridges, under overhangs, deep into a cave until we finally reached our dining room. Shoes off and slippers on. Each course had something exciting in the way it was prepared (soup cooked with hot rocks), presented (clams with a fuse on the plate that they lit and then exploded) or tasted (something that looked like tofu, but tasted super fishy-gag). Photo below was one of our desserts. Bonsai tree was pie crust and ground was pudding. Then a magician Ninja came around and did magic tricks for us. Granted, we were into our third bottle of wine by then, but he was amazing! At one point he put the deck of cards in my hands, hit my hands a few times and when I opened my hands, the cards were gone and I had a glass block there instead. Didn’t feel a thing! The weather was amazing. No rain and about 70 degrees. Absolutely lovely. I woke up early and got to spend some time in the Japanese Garden below.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Saturday/Sunday, June 6/7
Saturday/Sunday, June 6/7
I fell asleep to rain last night and woke up to rain this morning. Good god. I really didn’t think the rainy season would be this rainy! I decided not to let a little wetness keep me inside my next to last weekend in Hong Kong. So I headed down to the management office to see if they could tell me how to get to Ap Lei Chan and write a few locations down in Chinese for the cab drivers. Kind William told me that the government was warning everyone to stay inside because of the black rain. Ohhhh! I’d heard of black rain! It’s not actual black rain, but rather part of the governments warning system. Amber, Red and Black. It’s intense, heavy rain that causes flooding and traffic problems. A little black rain never hurt anyone, right? So I pretended to go back to my apartment, but then headed out for the day. Walked outside to find all the stores on one of our blocks completely flooded. Trash and branches littered the streets. Muddy water. And a dead mouse in the street. Ugh.
I made my way to the bus and found one going to Aberdeen, which connects to Ap Lei Chan by a bridge. Yeah! Once there I hopped a cab to Ap Lei Chan and was able to point to the map and get to the right spot. If you knew how bad I was with maps, you'd be so proud of me. Came out and hopped into a cab for the next store. Unfortunately my map and cheat sheet were of no use to my new cab driver. And William hadn't given me the directions in Chinese because who would be out shopping in black rain? The cab driver let me talk on his CB radio to see if anyone knew what I was talking about. It was all I could do to not say “Breaker 1-9, this is Hong Kong Heather looking for Marina Square”. Instead I just sat there saying “Marina Square” slowly into the CB. Nada. Finally, we asked another cab driver who looked at my to-do list for the day “Space Outlet, exercise, presentation, movies”. Nice. Then he said “Prada?” YES! Space is a Prada outlet. 15 minutes later I was there. Walked out empty handed and decided to find lunch.
I made my way to the bus and found one going to Aberdeen, which connects to Ap Lei Chan by a bridge. Yeah! Once there I hopped a cab to Ap Lei Chan and was able to point to the map and get to the right spot. If you knew how bad I was with maps, you'd be so proud of me. Came out and hopped into a cab for the next store. Unfortunately my map and cheat sheet were of no use to my new cab driver. And William hadn't given me the directions in Chinese because who would be out shopping in black rain? The cab driver let me talk on his CB radio to see if anyone knew what I was talking about. It was all I could do to not say “Breaker 1-9, this is Hong Kong Heather looking for Marina Square”. Instead I just sat there saying “Marina Square” slowly into the CB. Nada. Finally, we asked another cab driver who looked at my to-do list for the day “Space Outlet, exercise, presentation, movies”. Nice. Then he said “Prada?” YES! Space is a Prada outlet. 15 minutes later I was there. Walked out empty handed and decided to find lunch.
Oh, I found lunch. McD's was there. Of course. But you know I don't eat there anymore. Then a Chinese restaurant that had some of the menu written in English. Congee - hmm. I've heard of that. Ok. With pig's liver, thousand year egg or fish balls. Gulp. I decided to skip lunch. The bag of gummy bears in my purse would do me just fine. Finally found my way to a bus that went directly from Ap Lei Chan back to Central Hong Kong. If only I’d found that bus this morning…
Here's a photo of the storm around 7pm Saturday night.
Sunday looked overcast, but no sign of rain. So I left my sunglasses, umbrella and bug spray at the apartment and decided to head to Lamma Island. Wouldn't be a day in Hong Kong without a ride on a ferry! Thirty minutes later, I found myself on a dock with colored flags. How festive! Apparently you can walk to the other side of the island and pick up a different ferry home. That sounded good! So I set off. Somehow I got off the trail, but saw a couple in front of me and started following them. 15 minutes later, they were asking me directions. So the three of us kept trying different ways to get to the temple on the other side of the island. It was like we were in a rain forest. Dense vegetation, bugs, noises. Where am I??? Finally we got back on the path and saw many of the same people we'd ridden the ferry with. They apparently took the easier path there. The small hike across the island ended being an hour climb up the mountain. I was dying. Hot, sunny, buggy. But then you get to the top and see a gorgeous view, feel the breeze and it all seems worth it. A few photos below.
Off to Tokyo tomorrow morning!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Monday-Thursday, June 2-5
Monday-Thursday, June 2-5
June is the rainy season in Hong Kong, and boy do they mean it. Rain everyday. But I woke up to sunshine today!!! That sure helps my mood. The covered flyways have been a godsend during the rain. My hair has been a nightmare. I was on the covered escalator to work yesterday and had learned (the hard way) not to try and walk on the escalator in wet shoes weeks ago. Every 30 seconds or so you could hear someone biting it. I just stayed to the right with a smug smile on my face. No doubt karma will bite me in the butt for being smug.
Dinner Tuesday night at a little Mediterranean place on the beach. A 20 minute cab ride takes you to tropical locals that seem miles away from the city. It was raining (of course), but we were able to stay covered and enjoy the most amazing view - mountains, water lit by moonlight. If I hadn't been with a friend from work and her husband, it would have been romantic! And mosquitoes. Is it acceptable to bring out bug spray at dinner? We did. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn we were on some Greek Island. Lesson learned Tuesday night - do not check your emails in the cab ride home, if you don't really know where you are and you've had a few cocktails. The cab stopped at where he thought I lived. It was not. Luckily after a few seconds I realized where we were and hopped out to walk the 3 blocks back to where I do live.
The countdown until the Beijing 2008 Olympics is all over the city. The Olympics begin on 8/8/08. Not a coincidence that 8 is a lucky number in China, as it resembles the word for “wealth”. There are posters & stickers all over the city of the 5 mascots – fish, panda, antelope, swallow and Olympic flame. Apparently each has a matching two syllable name, which is a way of expressing affection for children in China. Nick assigned us each a mascot when he was here. And would tell us all about it when we rode the escalators, which had stickers of the mascots every few feet. “Mom’s the blue one! I’m the green one! Dad’s the yellow one!”. I’m Beibei (fish), Chris is Yingying (antelope) and Nick is Nini (the swallow). When all 5 names are put together (Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni) it says “Welcome to Beijing”. The equestrian portion of the summer Olympics will be held in Hong Kong. Of course it would not be a Nick/Hong Kong outing with some sort of bathroom emergency. See the dance shot below from a few weeks back.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, June 1st
Sunday, June 1st
So what’s a gal to do on a Sunday by herself? Head to the movies! The back of my legs still haven’t forgiven me for yesterday’s “walk”. And going to the movies is one of my all time favorite things to do anyway. So I hit the movie theater. Where it’s cool, the seats are comfy and you get your own reserved space. No pushing, shoving. Just peace and quiet. Ahhhh. Nick and I didn’t find the concession stand last time we went, but I found it this time! Two options for popcorn – salty or sweet. As curious as I was about the sweet stuff, I stuck with salty. Indiana Jones. Ahhhh. Just what I needed. Walking out of the theater, a gaggle of girls were talking about how cute he was with the sword. And I thought “wow-they seem too young to like Harrison Ford”. Nope, they were talking about the much younger co-star. Which explained to me why Harrison got a younger side-kick in this one. I feel old.
I’m missing my back yard today. It’s another overcast day, but not terribly hot. I’d love to be sitting on the deck reading. Unfortunately, all the house-help have the day off, so they’re covering every inch of stair, bench, wall around the area. Homesickness has hit me harder now that everyone has returned to Chicago.
So what’s a gal to do on a Sunday by herself? Head to the movies! The back of my legs still haven’t forgiven me for yesterday’s “walk”. And going to the movies is one of my all time favorite things to do anyway. So I hit the movie theater. Where it’s cool, the seats are comfy and you get your own reserved space. No pushing, shoving. Just peace and quiet. Ahhhh. Nick and I didn’t find the concession stand last time we went, but I found it this time! Two options for popcorn – salty or sweet. As curious as I was about the sweet stuff, I stuck with salty. Indiana Jones. Ahhhh. Just what I needed. Walking out of the theater, a gaggle of girls were talking about how cute he was with the sword. And I thought “wow-they seem too young to like Harrison Ford”. Nope, they were talking about the much younger co-star. Which explained to me why Harrison got a younger side-kick in this one. I feel old.
I’m missing my back yard today. It’s another overcast day, but not terribly hot. I’d love to be sitting on the deck reading. Unfortunately, all the house-help have the day off, so they’re covering every inch of stair, bench, wall around the area. Homesickness has hit me harder now that everyone has returned to Chicago.
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