It's been a couple of weeks, sorry for the laziness. We recently had the Chinese Lunar New Year which honestly was a bit of a bore here. A ton of people go out of town to spend the holiday with their families so it wasn't as much of a party as I had hoped for/expected. But there was a parade and fireworks so there was some fun.
I thought I'd share some observations about the city since I've been here for a bit over a month now. First, people here don't know how to walk. I mean that in the most serious sense possible. Walking around here can be one of the most frustrating rage inducing activities I have come across. People, young and old, just kind of toddle about from one side of the sidewalk to the other at alternating speeds and will often stop for no appreciable reason. I had considered purchasing a baseball bat to carry with me but realized that a Hong Kong jail is probably not a great place to visit.
Second, being able to drink in the streets is an excellent way to save money when bar hopping and 7-11 has thoughtfully put stores near all the bars with cheap beer for sale.
Third, badminton is very popular here. I blame the British.
Fourth, I think I've mentioned it before, but the public transportation here is plain awesome. The ferry from across the harbor is cheaper than the train and gives a great view.
There's more but I should save some for another time. Anyways, good weekend coming up my friends Rachael and Francis are having a joint birthday party this weekend the theme being 'best of the worst knockoffs'. We took a group trip the ladies market last weekend and I picked up some excellent pieces. I'm particularly proud of the D&G belt buckle that spins. Pictures will be available after Saturday.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
It's the Chinese New Year!
Happy Chinese new years! There was a parade yesterday and fireworks tonight. It was exciting. Pictures and tellings tomorrow.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Busy Weekend
So for
my second weekend here I thought I'd kick things off with meeting some people and doing some sightseeing!
On Saturday the University held a sightseeing tour of Hong Kong for the international students, taking us to Victoria Peak, some market that I don't remember the name of and then back to Tsim Sha Tsui for dinner. So I trekked out to the university and boarded a bus with all the other exchange students. Unfortunately they were all dull undergrads and I bailed when we stopped at Victoria peak. (I'll be
back for better pictures on a clearer day)
Fortunately I had other plans in place for the evening. After taking the tram back down to Central I headed back to Wan Chai to meet up with some nice people from the internet for dinner. We went out for a "Hot Pot" dinner. Now, while some of you may be familiar with this form of dining, I certainly was not. We were seated at a table with two induction cook tops on it and presented with a menu full of various types of broths, meats, vegetables, etc to order. The way it works is that you choose the type of broth you want and they bring you a big pot of the stuff that boils on the cook top. From there you order your veggies, meat, fish, poultry, what have you which comes raw. You then put your chosen ingredients in the pot to cook. It's exciting stuff. So several hours later and several dozen plates of food later we departed the Hot Pot place and made our way to 'Dusk til Dawn' to catch a bit of music. Around these parts live music seems to be pretty popular, you get a nice variety of the best of the 90's and well, the best of many other decades. After some drinks I had to bid good night to my new friends so I could go get good and snockered and watch Arsenal play a very dull game against Bolton (One - nil to the Arse!). All in all, a very successful Saturday night, tried some new food, made some new friends, found a couple new places to drink!
As Sunday morning came, I awoke cursing whoever had thought that alcohol was a good idea. But I did find a text inviting me out on an afternoon excursion to see the giant Buddha at Ngong Ping on Lantau island. I hauled myself out of bed and headed over to the MTR to meet up with some of the previous evenings compatriots. We trained out to Lantau and boarded the g
ondola up to Ngong Ping, a Buddhist Monastery and tourist attraction high in the mountains. The gondola I should note, offers stunning views of Hong Kong Interational Airport and other sweeping vistas I guess. Anyways, we disembarked at the top and entered a beautiful tourist compund replete with bars, restaurants, shops, and of course, a Starbucks. We made our way from the village to the Buddha, and to quote Vogel, "Man, that is one big Buddha!" It is immense, some 35 meters tall. In addition to a plaze for the tourists there is actually a monastery here, which is also quite breathtaking. Actually the whole place was incredible, the views from the mountain were extraordinary and I was amazed at how lush and verdant the landscape was being so close to the city. But after several hours we had to catch the last gondola back. After a short train ride back we parted ways and I laid to rest my first full weekend in Hong Kong.
my second weekend here I thought I'd kick things off with meeting some people and doing some sightseeing!
On Saturday the University held a sightseeing tour of Hong Kong for the international students, taking us to Victoria Peak, some market that I don't remember the name of and then back to Tsim Sha Tsui for dinner. So I trekked out to the university and boarded a bus with all the other exchange students. Unfortunately they were all dull undergrads and I bailed when we stopped at Victoria peak. (I'll be
back for better pictures on a clearer day)Fortunately I had other plans in place for the evening. After taking the tram back down to Central I headed back to Wan Chai to meet up with some nice people from the internet for dinner. We went out for a "Hot Pot" dinner. Now, while some of you may be familiar with this form of dining, I certainly was not. We were seated at a table with two induction cook tops on it and presented with a menu full of various types of broths, meats, vegetables, etc to order. The way it works is that you choose the type of broth you want and they bring you a big pot of the stuff that boils on the cook top. From there you order your veggies, meat, fish, poultry, what have you which comes raw. You then put your chosen ingredients in the pot to cook. It's exciting stuff. So several hours later and several dozen plates of food later we departed the Hot Pot place and made our way to 'Dusk til Dawn' to catch a bit of music. Around these parts live music seems to be pretty popular, you get a nice variety of the best of the 90's and well, the best of many other decades. After some drinks I had to bid good night to my new friends so I could go get good and snockered and watch Arsenal play a very dull game against Bolton (One - nil to the Arse!). All in all, a very successful Saturday night, tried some new food, made some new friends, found a couple new places to drink!
As Sunday morning came, I awoke cursing whoever had thought that alcohol was a good idea. But I did find a text inviting me out on an afternoon excursion to see the giant Buddha at Ngong Ping on Lantau island. I hauled myself out of bed and headed over to the MTR to meet up with some of the previous evenings compatriots. We trained out to Lantau and boarded the g
ondola up to Ngong Ping, a Buddhist Monastery and tourist attraction high in the mountains. The gondola I should note, offers stunning views of Hong Kong Interational Airport and other sweeping vistas I guess. Anyways, we disembarked at the top and entered a beautiful tourist compund replete with bars, restaurants, shops, and of course, a Starbucks. We made our way from the village to the Buddha, and to quote Vogel, "Man, that is one big Buddha!" It is immense, some 35 meters tall. In addition to a plaze for the tourists there is actually a monastery here, which is also quite breathtaking. Actually the whole place was incredible, the views from the mountain were extraordinary and I was amazed at how lush and verdant the landscape was being so close to the city. But after several hours we had to catch the last gondola back. After a short train ride back we parted ways and I laid to rest my first full weekend in Hong Kong.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Greetings
I'm writing this for any of my friends that care to follow along with my activities in Hong Kong, or just want to make sure I'm still alive.
I've been here now for just over a week and am getting settled in pretty well. I'm living in an area of the city called Wan Chai which is near Central, the main downtown area. I have a very tiny apartment, but it has everything I need. So far I've found that it is really easy to get around the area, the island is pretty long but not terribly wide, which makes navigation easier. In addition the public transportation is incredible. The MTR is quick, cheap, clean, and easy to use. At peak times trains come every 2 minutes. The longest I've had to wait was 5 minutes late on Thursday night. From the little I've experienced the bar & club scene is pretty happening. There's an area in Central called Lan Kwai Fong, (from here on out LFK), that's ll bars and clubs, and the party spills out on the streets. Or in some respects the streets spill in, I found out pretty quickly that the more economical way to do things is to grab a few beers at 7-11 (7-11 is everywhere by the way) and head off to whatever den of iniquity suits your fancy.
Anyways, I like it here, it's an awesome city and I'm looking forward to the next 5 months here.
Cheers,
Aaron
I've been here now for just over a week and am getting settled in pretty well. I'm living in an area of the city called Wan Chai which is near Central, the main downtown area. I have a very tiny apartment, but it has everything I need. So far I've found that it is really easy to get around the area, the island is pretty long but not terribly wide, which makes navigation easier. In addition the public transportation is incredible. The MTR is quick, cheap, clean, and easy to use. At peak times trains come every 2 minutes. The longest I've had to wait was 5 minutes late on Thursday night. From the little I've experienced the bar & club scene is pretty happening. There's an area in Central called Lan Kwai Fong, (from here on out LFK), that's ll bars and clubs, and the party spills out on the streets. Or in some respects the streets spill in, I found out pretty quickly that the more economical way to do things is to grab a few beers at 7-11 (7-11 is everywhere by the way) and head off to whatever den of iniquity suits your fancy.
Anyways, I like it here, it's an awesome city and I'm looking forward to the next 5 months here.
Cheers,
Aaron
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