Fire!

I'm standing outside in a gray, drizzly rain. It's 5:40 AM on Friday morning, and I just ran down 20 flights of stairs after grabbing a cardigan (I don't like being cold) and my phone (I have to call the building's 24 hour number). It's not even close to the time I have to be up, and I just went to bed 3 hours ago.

The fire alarm went off wildly at 5:3-something this morning and forced me and Stu out of bed to look around and wonder what the hell was going on. I grabbed my phone, a sweater, ran around searching for my flip flops which are supposed to be my most accessible pair of footwear, and Stu and I started making our way down the short flights - 20 of them. Stu was super calm as usual, like the time we were bobbing in fjord water thousands of feet deep after being rudely ejected upside down out of a kayak {entry in my other blog!}. He said, "it's okay" in an even tone several times, making me wonder if it was more for himself than for me.

One Chinese guy was wildly running back and forth from the lobby to a storage space outside where the controls for the alarm was located. Another Filipino guy was bringing out one umbrella. We were the only guests of our serviced apartment building standing outside. I swore to Stu that I had seen other tenants the other day. Hmm, maybe they were just visiting the apartments. Fifteen minutes passed, and still no sign of a fire truck. Not good.

The Chinese guy said it was a false alarm (something about the rain triggering the alarm somehow), but the alarm was still ringing insistently. There was no sign of fire or smoke so Stu and I went back up.

So sleepy. Too much excitement for one day. Must give more thought to building's safety codes later when I'm more awake...

Long (And I Do Mean LONG) Weekend in Beijing - Part I

Aside from our very pleasant and fun travel companions, Sofia and Cenk all the way from Londontown, Beijing was not quite the exciting getaway I had in mind. In a nutshell, it was exhausting. It drained the life and fun out of me.

Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. It wasn't all horrible. For instance, the entirety of Saturday was spent away from Beijing and at the Great Wall. That was a good day. And I liked the brand spankin' new architecture which was definitely impressive. I'm sure there were charismatic neighborhoods and splendid sights I didn't get a chance to explore. I'm willing to give Beijing another shot.
Our trip to Beijing in some photos and commentary.
The first highlight of leaving Hong Kong for the weekend was discovering Popeye's at the airport. I have been disappointed to find a plethora of KFC all over the world, in every country and city I've visited in the last several months. But no sign of fast food for the gourmand like an Arby's or Popeye's where the fried chicken is undeniably superior (it's the batter). But at last, mecca:


Not sure of what to expect on a semi-domestic 3-hour flight to Beijing, I made sure I was well-fed and full before boarding the plane. Turned out to be a mistake. I should have known that I'd be taken care of on an Asian airline. Asian airlines deserve every bit of their current reputation - fantastic and friendly service, very decent food, and general cleanliness. We flew Dragonair, and with the exception of a worn and a mildly unpleasant-smelling interior, our flight was very nice which is more than I can say for any airline in the States.

My surprisingly nice sole fillet with tomato sauce and vegetables.

Stu got dim sum!

We had perfect weather in Beijing that weekend, albeit dampened by the dirty haze hanging over the city like a sour expression on an otherwise decent face. Some aerial shots just before landing in Beijing:


More from Beijing to come...

Cooking My First Meal in Hong Kong

It had to be simple. There's no way you can go gourmet (not that I can cook gourmet) in a kitchen with one burner, especially an electric burner with which you have absolutely no control of the heat. Plus there is no counter space. It feels crowded when I'm the only one there. Nevertheless, I managed to whip up a few Chinese dishes. When in Rome...

Remember Fish?

From the The Chinese and Their Names post? Well, here's the entire story behind that name.

Because of unforeseen circumstances, we were forced to ship one of our bags separately from Heathrow as we were checking into our flight to HK. We were told by the shipping company that our bag would arrive in a week for pick up at Hong Kong International Airport, subject to taxes and fees on HK's end. A woman from the receiving company called to inform us of the bag's arrival and that an email would be sent with pickup details. A few hours later, I received an email from a Fish Wu. In an attached invoice, I found charges for a bridge toll and directions to an office in Kowloon.

Well, as you can imagine, we were indignant. On top of handling and unloading fees (fine), we were being charged for an unauthorized move from the airport to a random office . These fees added a whopping 25% to our already steep shipping charge.

I wrote back to Fish's email with questions on the invoice, addressing it to a "Dear Mr. Wu". I was later informed that Mr. Wu was actually a Ms. Fish Wu. I don't know, Fish sounded too informal, especially after I was addressed as Ms. Sandra Hong, and shoot, "Fish" sounds masculine to me!

Stu and I discussed the charges, deciding to schlep over (it's about 15 minutes away by taxi, but it looks far on the map) to this random office and pick up our bag. We also decided to bring up the matter of the aforementioned charges with Fish, or as Stu declared without a hint of jest, "I will tackle Fish while you run off with the bag!"

Be careful what you name your child. It's a great responsibility.

My New Abode

Now, I know that many of you are dying to see my new pad and have been hounding me for photos. Okay, okay, only one of my friends asked, and she only sent me one email, and fine, it was just a postscript. BUT for all of you losing sleep from the torturous curiosity and have been keeping secret the saga of your emotional rollercoaster ride, here they are:

Our elevators. Why did I include a picture of our elevators?

Because it is the door to our apartment. Which leads into our kitchen. Under the pile of dishes there is a stove with one burner. ONE burner. How am I supposed to cook in this toy kitchen?! (You will find out in a later entry.)

Our kitchen/foyer. Please take off your shoes.

A door separates the main part of our apartment from the kitchen. By the way, I can get used to daily maid service. It is a beautiful thing, I ain't gonna lie.

When you open the door, you enter the living room space. And you can see our little balcony with fantastic views of Kowloon. Below are a couple more views of the main space.

That's me in the mirror.

Our boudoir. The bed looks soft and fluffy, but it's really just a nice comforter on top of a wooden box. The mattress, if there is one, is rock hard.

Our little breakfast nook. I bought mint and basil plants recently, and I'm very excited about cooking with them! No more wasting fresh herbs, hurray!

Views of Victoria Harbour from our breakfast nook and balcony.

The W.C.

And last and probably most important in Sheung Wan, an air purifier.

We're only going to be here until July 31. We're hoping to find a more permanent home. If you know of a good real estate broker or agent in Hong Kong, please let me know!

The Chinese and Their Names

I don't think it's news that the Chinese and Asians in general can be very creative in crafting Western personas. Nonetheless, Hong Kongers are surprising me in their above and beyond attitude by thinking outside the box, WAY outside the box, for their Western names.

To give you real life examples [please note that surnames have been changed to protect the identities of the sources], I received an email just today (which prompted this entry) from a "Fish Yeung". Fish. Somehow at some point in his life, he received the name Fish, like some folksy character in a John Irving novel. Forget baby name books! Conventions be damned! I'm going with "Fish"!

A couple of hours before the Fish email, I was reading an article from a real estate magazine called Squarefoot when I came across this quote: "'You can't really find any official data to show how many mainlanders are buying property in Hong Kong,' says Buggle Lau..." Buggle. Now, that's both endearing and creative!

No Scallions!

How do you say "no scallions" in Cantonese?

Itchy

Today is the first day of physical discomfort of any kind since I arrived. Last night, I visited Lamma Island, one of Hong Kong's many surrounding islands. Hong Kong can falsely give one the impression that the region is super developed and urban. In fact, less than 25% of Hong Kong is developed, and the wild, untamed nature I observed a few days ago is more accurate of the square footage.

I found this out first-hand when I went to Lamma Island for a nice seafood dinner. The main drag is dotted with Carribbean-themed bars and seafood restaurants. You peer into the large tanks of live groupers, sea snails, razor and bamboo clams, Australian lobsters, crabs, and you choose your own adventure. The servers will take your picks to the back where chefs will cook it up for you on the spot. The rest of the island is dotted with homes and apartment buildings of locals or 3-storied hotels in various states. Some structures look like they're about to crumble, others look like new developments, and some look like concrete huts with recently added plumbing evidenced by shiny white pipes against old gray walls. The island is navigable by well-marked concrete paths where tourists or locals on bicycles whiz or wheeze by you on the hilly terrain.

Before dinner, we decided to take a walk to a beach on the other side of the tiny island, about 20-25 minutes from the pier where the ferry dropped us off. The slightly humid air and the lush green really hit me: I was definitely in the sub-tropics. I was enjoying the fragrant air and the 'lovely' view of the power plant when I felt something nip my shoulder. Then another and another. By the time we got to the beach, I was being eaten alive by swarms of invisible insects.

The itching was gradual with the first few bites, but as soon as I sat down to have a refreshing peach and aloe soda drink at a beachside bar, the itchiness took a dramatic turn and began to burn insistently.

I have dealt with some horrid bugbites in Peru and New Zealand, but this was a new level of itch. We decided to skip drinks and go straight to dinner, but I was in no mood so we caught the next ferry back to civilization. As soon as we boarded the ferry, the itching disappeared as suddenly as it had started. It was like a Michael Crichton novel.

On a related note, I saw a native cockroach on the street for the first time yesterday as well. They're pretty big, about an inch and change. And they are not afraid to crawl out into the street in the middle of the day. Ugh.

I hate bugs. I really do.

Materialism

Gucci. Louis Vuitton. Prada. Escada. Giorgio Armani. Valentino. Chanel. Christian Dior. Oscar de la Renta. Celine. Chloe. Vivienne Westwood. Giorgio Armani. Giorgio Armani. Giorgio Armani.

Even if I knew nothing about fashion, I would quickly learn in Hong Kong. My God. The stores. There isn't just one gigantuous Louis Vuitton flagship store, there are two, never mind the countless number of smaller branches in Hong Kong's labyrinth of malls. Giorgio Armani has an entire floor of a building (Chater House) with separate stores for all of his labels - Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, Armani Cosmetics and get this, a flower shop, Armani Fiori. Don't forget to stop by his eponymous restuarant or bar for a refreshment after your exhausting shopping spree.

I don't know much about Hong Kong's history, but I'd be interested to find out how this thriving culture of materialism evolved. If I were to run a search in my head about Chinese culture or even East Asian culture in general, keywords like "Confucius, Taoism, Tai Chi, meditation, Buddhism, tea, abundant food, zen" would pop up. All of which I can see and find in Hong Kong, but in a rather Disneyfied form. Can all of this simply be credited to Western influence and inheritance?

Bag lady in front of HSBC

It seems to me as though Hong Kong took Western consumerism and materialism and reduced them right down to their essence. This is consumerism at its most garish and yet, unadultered and without makeup.* Hong Kong gives you what you want: better, faster, and cheaper.

As for me, I will just have to march past these stores and fight the temptations.

* This subject brings up thoughts about Communism and mainland China, but I'll have to put them on the backburner until I've traveled around and observed China a bit more.

Hong Kong whaaat??

The first view of Hong Kong is what you imagine explorers of the 16th or 17th century had seen when they first spotted land. A black smudge in the hazy horizon. Before you can see the iconic superbuildings of Hong Kong, you see somewhat wild-looking mountains with sharp peaks and jagged sides. The island, from a few thousand feet in the sky, looks rather untamed.

My immediate impressions of Hong Kong were not quite so dramatic. After having traveled a bit, one city seemed to blend into another. First impressions were typically of similarities to other places I had been. Now, a few days in, Hong Kong is revealing the unfamiliar, the foreign, the exotic. More than a massive Chinatown, Hong Kong is a city of complicated tunnels, pedestrian bridges, and walkways. During the day, every part of Hong Kong feels like Times Square in New York. It is useless to get upset about getting your shoulder bumped here. How the island hasn't just sunk into the sea from the crushing weight of people and buildings, I have no idea.

First shot of Hong Kong (on Lantau Island)

More observations from the first week to come...