Home sweet home

I am very happy - my house hunting is over and I have found a good apartment in a great location just off Cochrane Street (where the walkway is). It is costing me a bit more than I had originally planned for, but it seems worth it.

Blinds and sofa bed are on their way

The kitchen has an oven (this is rare)

You can just make out my bedroom

I also had some more great spicy noodle soup, but unfortunately continue to suffer a runny nose whenever I do so (I consider it a cross worth bearing). However I thought to look it up on the internet and found out that it is a condition called vasomotor rhinitis. I don't think that there is anything that I can do about it but for some reason it is comforting to be able to put a name to it. I wonder why that is.

Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above

Sorry about the lack of posts recently but I have been busy. Busy with house hunting, and all of the walking, waiting and haggling that goes along with that. But in Hong Kong we are not talking about 1/4 acre blocks or even the grandiose mansions that are Sydney apartments, no we are talking about studios and 1 bedroom aprtments that are somewhere between 300 and 450 square feet. For the mathematically disinclined: that means a space that is approximately 20 feet by 20 feet, into which needs to be fitted a double bed, a sofa, a table, some cupboards, a kitchen and a bathroom. Not enough room to swing a cat, you say? Well perhaps not even room to swing a small rodent, but still worth almost $2000 AUS / month.

Everyone over here is gearing up for Chinese New Year on the 23rd. I am very much looking forward to my first one in Hong Kong. For those of you wanting to get into the act, clean out your house and pay off any debts beforehand, wear (new) red clothes and avoid wearing black shoes, and act in a way that will set the tone for the year to come (don't get angry, be rude, etc).

The People's Party

So when in a new city it is always great to make new friends, so I take the opportunity to catch up with any and all contacts that are mentioned to me. Last night I met up with a friend of a friend (Michael) and we caught a taxi out to a venue in Kowloon Bay along with his sister (Sarah) and another friend (Mita). We arrived early at the place, an exhibition centre / mall that was fairly dead apart from a few sleepy cafes and some random retail stores (including some sofa shops where the salesmen were thoroughly testing out the merchandise). After a beer at a cafe we made our way inside, a bit worried about the lack of a crowd.

Everything took a while to get going and Michael and Sarah assured me that this was fairly normal for HK. A good example of the way things work over here was the roped off section for alcohol. We had arrived inside at 7, and there were a bunch of staff waiting to serve at the bar, but the coupon counter was unmanned so no one could buy a coupon to order a drink, leaving the bar staff standing there with nothing to do. Apparently the licence didn't begin until 8, at which time the hordes converged, alcohol was served, and people then stepped over the ropes and proceeded to drink beer wherever they pleased. Madness.

The Jezabels play at The People's Party

The venue eventually began to fill and a local group played a few songs (to mixed success). The lights dimmed again and out came The Jezabels, who I had never seen in Sydney. They rocked the place, despite it only being half full, and we all loved them. Next up were The Naked & Famous, and the room seemed to suddenly be filled up with a fairly young crowd. They were loud and had some catchy songs that I had heard before and were worth the price of admission. Last on the card were a UK group called Metronomy, who certainly looked stylish and played that minimalist British style of electropop. Fun for a little while but not a lot of substance (although some of the crowd seemed to know their every word???).

All up it was a great night, not just for the music and the conversation but also to give me some insight into this crazy city.

Food glorious food

Expect to see quite a lot of posts about what I am eating. Here is what i had for lunch on Saturday as I was walking around Nathan Road in TST. I found a restaurant that didnt look too flashy but had plenty of locals eating there, and bought these dishes and a drink for about $8. I am trying to expand my culinary tastes, so tried the crispy fish skin (crispy and salty - can you go wrong?).

Noodles, prawn wontons and crispy fish skin

Today I went to a more upmarket restaurant since I had just bought myself an Iphone and wanted to sit somewhere and play with it. This time I went for Dim Sum, and it cost me a pricey $12.

Pork dumplings in soup, BBQ pork buns and vegetable dumplings

Hmm, I think that I might need to go and find out where the gym is ...

Stranger in a Strange Land

I arrived in Hong Kong last night and settled into my cosy serviced apartment. Think of any regular hotel room, add a kitchenette and a sofa or two and you have it. It is a good location, just next to Times Square in Causeway Bay. This as the view from my window:

I haven't been doing anything too exciting as of yet, unless you are keen on standing in lines (waiting for my identity card). I have done a bit of exploring of the local area, shopped for basics and bought an Octopus Card - think Touch and Go but useable anywhere.

The people on the streets are obviously mainly Chinese, although you'll see the occasional foreigner (maybe 1 in 100). The odd thing is that many foreigners choose to deliberately not notice you, averting their eyes as if they are saying "I am that much of a local that I don't have anything in common with you".

Tonight I go and experience Hong Kong nightlife. Wish me well ...

Moving forward

It is easy to sink into pessimism about the future of mankind, so it is encouraging to occasionally be offered a brief glimmer of hope:

2011, The Year in Ideas

Food will soon be abundant, the sun will solve our power needs, we will mine space, robots will not take over the world, violence is on the decline, ...