Pause

I'll be on a business trip for 2,5 weeks so will take a pause from my reflections about Hong Kong for a while. Maybe I'll post some thoughts and whimsy from my earlier visit in 2012 but until I return nothing new to report.

PS if you enjoy reading this blog and have a minute, why not let me know your thoughts in the comments field below. What kind of things do you want to hear more of?

Also if you want to contribute to a review of the blog, here's your opportunity! =D

Finally, although I don't consider myself a 'proper expat', here is a little Expat Interview I gave for Internations, a good place to start networking. (You can click away the pop up box to read the page)

Starting my list... why Hong Kong is a good place to live

A couple of posts back I referenced an article that claimed Hong Kong is the most livable city. Whilst I might not agree 100% with that finding, I certainly am seeing more reasons from my experience that gives it GOLD stars:

1.  Health Care + Service.  

My experience with the medical service has shown it is very accessible and efficient. For example this week I wanted to visit a dermatologist and after doing some digging around on Expat forums and other online sources I found one that had a good reputation and was in Central. I emailed to enquire about availability and straight away secured an appointment for the day I requested, at a suitable time. Impressive. And the cost was reasonable for an hour appointment with a copy of all the results on a CD.  For reference, in The Netherlands I needed to do the same, and had to go through my GP to get an appointment and wait some weeks to see the specialist.

Also in general the service at restaurants and shops are excellent, but there are a few exceptions like at dinner last night we almost had to beg the waiter to take our order. I notice this is often related to the popular places that have the long queues outside. Be warned :-)

2. Personal Safety (but not necessarily good Health and Safety standards)

Someone asked me whether it was safe leaving the office at midnight, or travelling around at night on my own. Personally I feel very safe in Hong Kong.  I take usual precautions like in any country but overall I would consider Hong Kong a very safe place to live and don't feel nervous walking around on my own or going for a run at night through the park.

Although Hong Kong's affluence is not equally distributed and there are many poor people living in the city, I don't believe this increases crime in the same proportions as in other countries with the same wealth gap. Certainly not violent crime.  No doubt there is petty crime, and there are the usual signs in crowded places to watch out for pick pockets and don't leave your luggage unattended.  Many of the apartments I see have bars on the window, and when I ask the real estate agents they laugh and respond: 'it is just done but no one thinks about it any more'. I think the biggest thing someone would need to watch out for is scamming and buying a bogus apartment. 

The police force on the streets is noticeable, when I walk home from the MTR to my apartment on average I see at least one police person patrolling the area. So yes, two thumbs up to Hong Kong for public safety.   

Though of course the air pollution is a drastic thumbs down, yesterday the street lights were on because the air was so smoggy, and we have an air cleaner permanently running in the apartment.

3. Shopping

I don't think I have to explain this one too much, from my earlier posts it should be evident that you have access to a wide range of retail stores from the high end brands to the local markets.  All at your doorstep.

4. It's a ROMANTIC City

Yes it is. :-) Ok I may be a little bias given my reason for coming here, but hear me out.

There are so many opportunities to go to a restaurant or bar with spectacular views, and it is a known fact that girls get a little giddy at a height, so hey I think guys have an easier job taking girls on special dates in Hong Kong since there is almost no limit to venues at a height.

Also the social norm of moving between venues on one night makes it a fun date culture.

And of course the range of activities available in Hong Kong means the standard movie date idea can be mixed up with all sorts of creative activities. My next hot date lined up: a night out at the races :-)

Finally, you would be surprised in this busy city just how many quiet spots for a stroll there are available,  I have uncovered about five romantic walking routes already, but if I list them here perhaps they won't be so private anymore ;-)

5. Public Order

Even with the crowds it is nice to see people queuing politely for the train, and waiting in line for a restaurant in a very orderly way. But let's not carry this point too far, people do have this awkward hap hazard way of walking on the side walk that can honestly drive anyone nuts in a matter of weeks. J first mentioned it before I arrived in Hong Kong as a negative point, and I confess I thought to myself how bad can it really be. But alas I now have to force myself to remain calm at certain moments while walking along crowded streets, and I hear from other expats I'm not alone.

6. Food

Again probably don't need to state the obvious on this point, that there are a variety of restaurants in the city to cater for any cuisine craving at almost any hour. And a range of prices to go with it. You can eat really cheaply like the locals, or if you are in the mood to burn money on a meal there are plenty of opportunities to do that too. Usually these high end restaurants equate to really good food, but the ratio of money to quality is not always equal, so word of mouth or OpenRice app is the way to go.

7. People

The people I am meeting here are all very diverse and interesting. I like that. Hong Kong is one of those special places in the world, like London or The Hague, that has become a melting pot of cultures and backgrounds. But what I really like about Hong Kong is that the people here are very friendly and open to meeting new people; there are meetups for almost anything (yes really. How many places you have you seen a meetup for those who have little dogs or those who like a certain author?) and they are always willing to accept new members. The thought of the opportunity to meet so many new and interesting people gives me a big thrill.

8. Public Transport

I LOVE the efficient and clean public transport system called the 'MTR', with the added bonus that the transport card called the Octopus you can use almost anyway to pay for things, meaning less hassle of always having cash on you.  [Remind you of another British based card system? Apparently the Oyster card in London was based on the HK Octopus card] 

9. The Weather

Hurray for warm weather. Finally I can walk around outdoors in October in a skirt or flip-flops without a jacket! 

The downside: People apparently have a strong need to recover from this good weather and usually have the air-conditioning blasting so high indoors that I need to bring along my jacket for when I'm inside a building. The pricier the store the colder the temperature.

I found this weather forecast system in a building quite revealing.  There is no option for HOT or WARM, since this is the norm, but they do have RAIN or SHOWER or TYPHOON as options for levels of rain strength.  (it was on a mirror with the option lit up, pretty cool). 

Anyone else have suggestions for why Hong Kong is a good place to live?

What good food should be like

So this post will be about Hong Kong Central and a little shout out for two good food/drink finds in Hong Kong Central.

Saturday afternoon Sweet Chai Latte at FUEL, Landmark Mall Basement was a real treat, perfectly made in the right proportions. Only criticism was the cup was not big enough. The mandarin poppy seed cake was ok, a bit dry but quickly overshadowed by the Latte.

Saturday evening dinner was a pleasant surprise at California Vintage, an unique dining idea where you can order a range of Tapas style dishes and pair them with a wide selection of wines.  The experience is interactive, wine sample selections are done using a 'charge card' system from stainless steel fine polished wine dispensers.  And the food is fresh, generous and good. I was so inspired by the Watermelon Cucumber soup that I have new motivation to try more WATERMELON in food combinations.

Saturday was a special day spent with my love, but a topic for another day. Pictures and impressions from Central on a Saturday are below.  In general I can say I am starting to feel a less lost, and a lot more happy and comfortable here, really enjoying the city in many ways.

Tourist signposts:

 Old stairs off Lyndhurst Terrace:

Markets stocked with Halloween Decorations:

Dogs spotted in 7-11: :-)

These stairs in Duddell street are special since they host the last remaining gas lamps in Hong Kong.

Friday Night Meetup and Karaoke

Time for a roundup report of the weekend in Hong Kong. In summary: Excellent - Weather Good. Company Fun. Food Excellent. Activities Ace. Pollution Average.

But first a zoom in on Friday night, my first real taste of the Hong Kong evening social life. I went out on my own to a Hong Kong Expat meetup since J and I agreed we should have some time to make our own friends/ meet people independently, so off I headed to embrace the social fabric of Hong Kong while J met up with some of his friends. 

At this expat event I was impressed at the number of people gathered at a seemingly remote location in Wan Chai. Granted, a place with lovely views over the Habour and City, and outside on a deck. But over 300 people?  So goal achieved, great opportunity to meet a diverse spread of people also foreign to Hong Kong.

At one moment the group I was chatting with suggested Karaoke as a fun thing to do in Hong Kong, something I have never done before. Well right then and there, everyone agreed we should do Karaoke. No time for deliberation, contact numbers briefly exchanged in case we got lost and off the group headed via taxi to another venue that offered mostly English songs choices. 

Although I honestly cannot sing in tune, I can say the experience was great fun. The best part was singing the latest Gangnam song in Korean with a Korean.

Also what made it fun was the group was diverse, sample of countries represented:  South Africa, America, Zimbabwe, Britain, Poland, Russian, Hong Kong, Korea, China.

Will I see these people again? I think two of the girls I will make an effort to see again and the rest I guess I will see at the next Karaoke 

I discovered from my night out that people expect that you travel a lot or move quickly through the city, so are happy to make friends for the evening with no strings attached. Also people have the attitude of 'work hard play hard' so every day counts, and invariably the evening is made up of multiple 'stages' and activities. Most people counted at least one meetup before the Wan Chai venue and probably they headed for another after Karaoke  But I didn't stay long enough to find out - by 1am this Cinderella was ready to see her Prince, and sure enough he was in a taxi and headed over to pick me up within 5mins :-)

Another strange phenomenon about Hong Kong social meetups is the unashamed exchange of Business Cards. In the 4 weeks of being here, I have used more Business Cards that during the 6 years I lived in The Netherlands. And the exchange is not done in a casual or flippant manner. Oh no, locals will hand you their card with both hands and expect you to receive it the same way. Do NOT show them the dis-honour of defacing the card in front of them (I usually write down where I met the person and the date, and some interesting detail about the conversation). 

So last week I ordered some private cards online without my company details, I don't need everyone emailing me at work reminding me of the great weekend I had. :-)

Loving Hong Kong again

I'm happy to report that I'm back into the swing of things after the post holiday lull and enjoying life in Hong Kong again.  Maybe it's because I can walk normally again after Sunday's military style BodyPump. Or maybe it's because I finally have my bank account sorted out. Either way, the spirits are on the rise and this morning's excursions provided some great fodder for today's post.  In fact I'm so excited to share that I'm posting now even before the day is out.

First up, the customer service experience. I needed to return a long top that I had recently purchased, after trying it on with jeans I realised that my selection of size 'S' was probably a little ambitious. So back to the store it went, tag in place, confident I could get a refund after filling in the paperwork. The highlight of the experience came when I had to give a reason for the return.
My answer: " It does not fit properly."
With a sympathetic smile the lady nods and says, "Ah, you too FAT", and proceeds to write this down.
Now that I'm fitting a UK size 10 jeans comfortably I'm the furthest from fat I have been in a long time, but hey, it was a case of pick your battles, so I gratefully received a fist full of cash and walked out.

Second up, exploring a new area of Hong Kong. Today's pick was Whampoa, a great little neighbourhood overlooking Hong Kong Island, buzzing with mom and tots in strollers, parks, and fountains nestled in between the high rise buildings to offset the constructions sites and mini vans zipping about. My favourite part was the Whampoa Mall build as a SHIP, in memory that this area used to be a shipyard. How fun. Can I say real life Disneyland? The public transport doesn't work out well for the work locations so a no-go to live though.

Thirdly, while pacing it to the office in Kwun Tong, I stumbled upon a shoe outlet and there was a SALE. I managed to steal a pair of burgundy (wine red)  heels for just 100 HK dollars, original price 700 HK and I have seen the same shoes in central for 1200 HK dollars. The sweet taste of the saving is almost as good as wearing my new red heels!

And lastly, today's food item is the supermarket Tofu dessert Do Fu Fa. Only 8 HK dollars for 2, and 66 kcal for a tub, it is easy to satisfy my craving for this stuff, and somehow it has made it up there on my list of favourites with my papaya milk and egg tarts.  And speaking of egg tarts I think I have found my favourite bakery for them, but more on that next time.

20 Men to Dig a Hole

Hong Kong often surprises me that in many ways it is a modern, forward-looking city, but perhaps in even more ways it is crippled by bureaucracy and inefficiencies. There is a process for everything, a long elaborate process in many cases that involves filling in duplicate paperwork and stamps.  Take for example buying some cosmetics. Because I wanted the 'foreigners' discount (normal discount, not claiming tax back) I had to appear at three different desks to pay, sign four pieces of paper and finally go back to collect the goods.  No guessing this causes frustration for this just-get-it-done kinda person.

Although I have to say at times it does remind me of South Africa. For example today while heading  to the office in Kowloon I came across a group of 20 men digging in the same street with supervisors watching.  Though unlike South Africa, they all appeared to all be doing something, except the supervisors of course.

Ever asked what is THE most Livable City?

The challenge has been set!

Hong Kong has been declared the most livable city to live.

While I don't disagree it is a special place I wouldn't have considered it number one. So the challenge has been set for me to find out why :-)

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/07/city-rankings

Food item for today: Did I already mention how cheap sushi is?  2,5 euros for this:

Harbour City and Food Nationalities

Harbour City is a mall on the harbour's edge Kowloon side where many tourists can be found arriving/departing, and as such there are many high end luxury shops catering for their shopping needs hoping to glean the last of their money.  Although I'm told that some Chinese mainland tourists go there directly just to shop,  even staying at the hotel in the mall, and indeed they seem to be the most frequent visitors. 

Today's window display winner goes to Louis Vuitton with the plastic polka dot look.

Today's strange sight was seeing a bride and groom waiting in line for the elevator in another mall. Many couples have their photos taken before the wedding in remote or unusual locations, so perhaps they were heading to the top of the building for a backdrop of Hong Kong island.

And finally, today's yummy food choice is our shopping bag! 

We visited four different grocery stores today (Great, City Super, Market Place, Welcome) and found we had a variety of nationalities represented looking at the imported foods we had bought.  For fun we decided to count and totalled 26 countries and 6 continents in one go! Wahoo! [ Perhaps less of a wahoo when global warming is considered but for today we will say wahoo. ]

The photo below shows a selection:

1. British - soup, cereal, peanut butter
2. Scotland - Highland Game soup
3. Koren - Cabbage Kimchi
4. New Zealand - Boysenberrry jam, Soups
5. USA - chocolate chip cookies
6. French - St Marcellin cheese, Goats Cheese
7. Taiwan - Beef Jerky
8. Italy - Ameretto biscuits, Lady Finger biscuits, Pasta, Mascopone
9. Japan - Soba noodles
10. Hong Kong - Humus, Do Fu Fa (made by Nestle - Swiss brand)
11. Thailand - 5 type rice, Okra
12. Mexico - tomatoes
13. Australia - Water Thin Crackers
14. Singapore - Plain yoghurt
15. Turkey - figs

Not shown in the picture since they were packed away already:

16. Dutch - Cucumber and Chicken

17. Philippines - bananas

18. China - Tropicana Orange Juice (USA brand), yams, 

19. Greece - Olives

20. Belgium - Leffe Beer

21. Kenya - coffee beans

22. Ceylon - tea

23. German - honey

24. Vietnam - cashew nuts

25. South Africa - couscous

26. Peru - avocado

Repeat countries:

USA - Salad mid, Carrots

French - Norwegian Salmon

Korea - Hot Jam Tea

Australia- Spice Sauce

New Zealand - Sea Salt

Mexico - Corona beer

Unknown - nectarines, kiwi, apples, blueberries

WHAT IS MISSING? Canada! We have bought fruits and other products from CA before but just not today.

The mix of Hong Kong Life

Today I'll post for Friday and Saturday a few random items; it was a good mix of city and new territory experience and a chance to catch my breathe. 

Tram spotting in Central:

Paper Suites.   Yes these are suites made out of paper for the purpose of being burnt as offerings so that people's ancestors can receive the real possessions in the afterlife. You can buy practically anything in miniature form - cars, watches, bags, phones...

City of Wheels.   There are several creative forms of transporting goods around including these trolleys, baskets and bicycles.

And my special find today - the Esprit OUTLET shop with a 40% sale!

This afternoon it was a trip to Yeun Long to visit one of the housing estates near there.
we found a lake in the middle, peaceful even if it is man-made.

Taking a stroll with friends and their baby daughter.

And my favourite yummy food item for today is this Indonesian freshly made drink "Cendol" made with Tapioca, Coconut and Tandon leaves.

Getting back into the swing of things

After any holiday getting back to routine of work is tough, like now, even with the intrigue of a relatively new city to explore.  The past two days have been focused on reducing my pile of email and trying to get to gym, do some shopping and practice healthy cooking. The last three items seem non noteworthy except when I'm in Hong Kong they are tougher than reducing my inbox:
Shopping = some ingredients are really tough to find in HK, this week after 1hour of searching between multiple shops I gave up on the key ingredient;
Cooking = smaller kitchen than I'm used to means a real juggle so that it takes twice as long to prepare something with more than three ingredients;
Gym = the gym near the office that I planned to 'pop in during lunch time' proved to be such a hike and bustle that by the time I got there it was time to head back.

OK OK, I'll stop with the Princess Syndrome, of course I do realise that if this is all I have to mention the past two days then life is pretty good  :-) The key take away is that I have started to get under the hood of the practicalities and adjustments of life in HK.

The positive spin to my gripes above - putting together meals becomes a creative experience, I'm learning to use minimal number of ingredients in a meal, and gym becomes an outdoor rather than indoor experience.

South Korea has not left my memory just yet, and coming back I can't help but compare it to HK. I'm afraid to say Hong Kong doesn't shape up well.  In my humble opinion Hong Kong is dirtier, noisier, more air polluted, smellier, WAY more crowded and unpleasant to walk around, grubbier, less fresh and crisp, dustier, and did I mention crowded?  Apparently I still need to visit China, after which I'm told Hong Kong will feel like South Korea in comparison. I guess everything is relative.

In case you are wondering what I'm going on about, the below photo is a snap I took yesterday during NON rush hour, I left the apartment 11am, and my journey time was 1hour 15mins of this.

This is my new 'comfort food' -  Mango Papaya Milk - first thing I bought when I arrived back in HK - very yum.

PS Photos uploaded in previous entry on South Korea

Some Soul in Seoul

OK, I know this blog is about Hong Kong, but since I have just returned from a wonderful holiday in South Korea and my heart is warm from all the great things I have seen and experienced, I can't skip mentioning it here. So I'm thinking of this post as part of the experience of living in Hong Kong - in less than 4 hours you can visit many unique places in Asia.

So what is so great about South Korea, or Seoul in particular? Isn't it just like Hong Kong, another busy Asian city? Well short answer - No! It is very different and offers unique experiences for visitors. Of course there are many similarities but let me try capture a few of my impressions:

- Seoul is a Trendy place.

The fashion worn by locals around town look like they put effort in, often MEN more so than women. The jeans are the latest colours and styles, not just navy the blue kind, and I am sure their hair salon budget for the week is more than mine for the year. People blend in with the pin up adverts behind them. And yes, the people are also all beautiful. I know this might sound strange, but statistically there are often a few striking people that stand out, whereas here while walking around everyone has a picture perfect face. Unfortunately from the number of plastic surgery adverts around I'm guessing it may not all be natural. And then no need to mention the skinny look, which is standard in Asia. So in summary a country filled with beautiful, well-dressed people.

The thing I found quite liberating is that the cutesy girly style is all over and accepted by guys and girls alike, but not in a pansy way but in a fun, innocent way. So think Hello Kitty and spread it wider and further than what you have seen before, but also with the happy smiling attitude that goes with it. And then turn it up a notch with Koren Pop - or K-Pop -  music style of Hip Hop dance that is playing in most stores and on the streets.
In case you are not familiar with K-Pop it is a mixture of trendy Western music and high-energy Japanese pop and many K-pop music videos have colourful visuals and a catchy beat. Dance is an integral part of K-pop.
Now personally I don't like Hello Kitty and overly sugary music, but I do like wearing pretty dresses, putting a flower in my hair, carrying a flower Cath-Kidston-type bag around and dancing when the music is right, which is most of the time in South Korea. Even the subways had this little jingle to indicate when the train was arriving that made me wiggle and smile.

In Seoul there is a balance of East meets West - The number of cafes and coffee shops selling copious amounts of coffee Starbucks style, including Starbucks itself, together with US ice-cream & food chain outlets on every street gives the impression that the US has (had?) a large influence in the country. There are of course the local eateries too but the US brands are almost never out of eye shot. Though I'm not sure which has the biggest influence - the US or France - since there were just as many French named bakeries and restaurants, though not French chains, just with French names and deco style.

The buildings and architecture offer interesting contrasts - there are many uniquely designed buildings from those that have a glass bubble popping off the side, to UFO-style bagel-shaped structure floating above it, to the traditional temple design and hanok style houses (houses are still being built like that today). The city felt modern and fresh but also hadn't lost the feel of its heritage.

That's it for today.. watch this space for further comments and pictures coming soon.


Photo Impressions added 5th October:

You too can learn K-Pop!

Street shot:  a guy in his Capri Jeans waiting outside a coffee shop and a couple under an umbrella showcase the fashion

One of the funky buildings

Missing some Dutch coffee anyone?

Shopping street shot  - people posing for a picture

Apparently the world's best coffee?

Even Koreans can be blonde now