The Year in Review

And what a year it has been. So much has happened and yet it can probably be summed up pretty quickly.

I got a new job
We moved to Hong Kong
I turned 40 - Juz turned 39
We fell pregnant

I was determined to do something BIG to celebrate turning 40 - you know, like going to Cambodia and build houses for a month or similar - but seems the HK water had different plans for Juz and I, and here we are 2 months away from going from Justin, Ginita and Vegas to Justin, Ginita and Vegas plus 1 very significant newbie.

Ok - so the above might be simplifying things a tad far. We have had a great year exploring HK, the beaches, hiking, eating out, drinking delicious cocktails (then mocktails), travelling and enjoying long daily shopping hours!!

The bub put a stop to us getting too far afield travel wise, yet in 9 months we still managed Phuket, KL, Koh Samui, Singapore, Sanya in China and I managed 3 trips to Beijing and Shanghai for work.

We have enjoyed a few shows in Macau and Juz has run 2 half marathons, with a third to come in 7 weeks when the HK half marathon takes place (a week before our little man is due...).

The year saw us welcome many a visitor: Marg and Cathy, Tom and Xuda, Arna and Pete, Karen and Gae, Mickey and Nana, Michelle, Carla and, most recently, Mum and Marg (hope I didn't inadvertently miss anyone there).

Unfortunately when Carla was here I had to work - but we still managed plenty in the evenings whilst she and Juz managed plenty in the daytimes!

October also saw me head back to Sydney to surprise the beautiful Arna for her birthday (Arna - we didn't even get a photo!!). Was nice to see some sunshine and smell the fresh air! Was a crazy week as I was still working while there, but got to see a few of you which was awesome.

We managed to get a tad more touristy than normal when Mum and Marg were here - and we had a great time. We finally got to Disneyland and we spent an awesome day on a really nice Junk, as well as quick trip to Macau to see a show - and of course they shopped ;).

Our most recent jaunt to Macau saw Juz run his second half for the year - and finish an awesome 67th out of some 2000 people in a time of 1 hour 33 mins - a PB by about 5 mins. The pressure is now on for the HK run in early Feb!

And to today - a little over a week out from Xmas. Juz and I are planning to lay low - but we do have a Christmas Tree that I am hurriedly trying to fill with lots of little gifts so that Xmas morning feels like Xmas morning - our last alone (plus a dog)! We are planning a hearty home cooked lunch on Xmas day with Xmas carols playing in the back ground (just quietly, Juz hates carols ;-)

The weather is nice and cool now in HK - well, I say cool. Jeans and t-shirt weather for we foreigners at about 18 degrees, but scarves, jackets, gloves and hats for the locals who are used to the heat of Summer :)

So - that's been the year. Now time to wait for the bub to arrive - due sometime around Valentine's today... although today my Dr told me he already weighs 2.2kg (4.7 pounds) so we might be seeing him a tad earlier if he keeps growing at this rate!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours and we look forward to seeing many of you in 2012.

Ginita and Juz
xxxx

Long time between drinks... literally!

Yes, I have been a very slack blogger. What can I say. Guilty as charged. My excuse - um er arh - no real excuse so I won't even try to make one up. Instead I will try to summarize the last 5 months as quickly as possible without boring you all :)

Since I last posted in April, we have had a few weekends away. We took off to Sanya for a weekend - the Hawaii of China (sits on the same latitude). It is the southern most point of China and a quick 2 hour flight from HK. It is THE place for Chinese tourists and for the Russians - a quick 7 hour direct flight for them to sunshine! Had you gotten in years ago, it was the place to buy a piece of real estate - now it is very expensive. The rate of development is quite astonishing - they are building approx 19 new resorts in the next 3 years along a great coastline. We had a super weekend - Juz played golf, I went the gym, we played tennis and the resort we stayed at has the best games arcade - including two full sized bowling allies!

April, May and June saw us with lots of visitors - we have the tourist route down pat now!! Lots of great things to do and see. We had an awesome few days with Karen and Gai including stops at the races and some of our fav restaurants. Tom, Xuda, Arna and Peter all came for a long weekend in June and again, we ate and drank our way around HK!!! When Michelle came we did the same - eat, drink and hike!! We had a super time - including Royal Wedding watching! I wll let the pictures tell the story of these few months.

In June it started to get hot...so our hiking stopped and we only managed a few games of tennis - we did however manage to keep training for a half marathon that was taking place at the end of June. A week before we were due to go run this half, we discovered I was pregnant (but we will get to that later in this post). We still went to KL and Juz had a great race - he came something like 38th out of 2000 people - not too bad if we do say so ourselves!

June also saw our little boy turn 4. Yes, there was cake and yes, he is now on a diet.... Our coffee table is the perfect height for him, so he thinks it is his bar! He is pretty happy these days as he does not have to go to the Dogotel anymore when we go away. Zuni, our great helper, comes and stays with him. The cooler weather will see us being able to walk him more often and for longer again.

July saw my lovely, amazing 15 year old God daughter, MacCallum, and her Nanna come and stay with us for a week. I had to go to work, but they still managed an amazingly busy week. And of course, when I was not at work we managed to be out eating! MJ got a super new hair cut (sorry Pete but you have to admit, she looks amazing) and we had a great girls day out shopping and being silly!! As you will see from the pics - Vegas was not left out!

Juz's birthday was in August so we headed to Phuket (we love being so close to be able to trip about for easy long weekends!). We sat by the pool, ate and Juz played golf. Thailand is one of our fave places in Asia - the food is always great, the people super friendly. We had a great steak dinner on the night of his Birthday once back in HK - he was a tad embarrassed when they sang happy birthday and bought cake etc - but secretly I think he loved it ;-)

A finally to September. I took a week off and we went to Samui. Juz played golf three times and I pretty much sat by the pool and read various books. We did go to the pub every day to watch either the RWC or the NRL.... We weren't huge fans of Samui. perhaps if we were in our 20s again :). Still, was a nice, relaxing week and again, a very quick flight from HK.

So I briefly mentioned the heat earlier. OMG. You think you are ready for it - but you aren't. July and August, and most of Sept - were just hideous. It was too hot to breathe pretty much. 90% humidity coupled with 30 degree heat - it really is tough. Makes it hard to get motivated to get out and about much as it really is just too hot. Even laying at the beach was HOT. Walking down the road meant dripping wet clothes straight away. So no, we did not enjoy Summer in HK. We did save a few $ as we didn't venture out so much - but that was probably the only upside. THANKFULLY in the last week the heat and the humidty have both dropped and it is lovely weather again.

This week sees Carla arrive from the US for a week - cannot wait to see her and we have a long list of things to do whilst she is here. Juz has expanded his cocktail list - so we got an industrial strength blender to cope - and it is definitely getting a work out of yummy drinks and smoothies (all non alco at this point of course).

That's the last 5 months of our lives. I didn't think we had been that busy - but seems we were!!

And so - to our big news that many of you have been asking about. Wondering why I was getting so sluggish training for the half in 30 degree heat.... led to us discover we are expecting a bub. No wonder I was stuggling!! Thankfully the all day nausea I endured from week 7 to 16 weeks has passed and now we are getting ready to shop (and borrow :).

Our little man (yep, it is a boy) is due 14 Feb 2012. I am 20 weeks tomorrow - so 20 to go. We are planning to stay here in HK to have the bub - lots of logistics to work out around all of that yet but we have some time to do that. Suffice to say, Gma (my Mum) is super excited as this will be her first grand child, and the third for Juz's Mum. No  - we have no idea what to expect but we guess we will figure it out as we go :). For now my life has gone from working out cute drink outfits with perfectly matching shoes, to learning about cots and nappies!!

There you have it - one updated  bog :). Promise I will try and post again before the bub joins us!

G
xxxxx

Spoilt for Choice

I have been trying to find the time to sit down and write my current installment for the past few weeks - but after looking at this screen all day, it's sometimes the last thing I want to do at night.

Trying to MAKE the time to do this led me to start thinking about why I started blogging about my adventures when in Shanghai last year. I think as much as it is a great way to share adventures with family and friends, it is also a good way for Juz and I to keep a diary to remind us of the fun we have/had while here in Hong Kong and our surrounding travels. And of course, it is a great way to share some of the 'knowledge' we are gathering along the way, which might be useful for visitors or you might simply find it interesting.

My train of thought then went to photos and how they are so much fun. Given we have taken quite a lot in our first 3 months here, I have decided to make this blog a pictorial one with some brief blurbs (ok - so the blurbs ended up longish :).

The one thing that marvels us every time we go somewhere, is that there is so much to do in Hong Kong. Mention Hong Kong and most people think crowds and shopping - and whilst they both exist, there are so many fantastic things to do here and it takes just a little exploring and you open a whole world of experiences.

I hope you enjoy seeing and hearing about what Juz and I have been up to in the last 6 weeks.

Here we go...

I turned 40 on March 10. My aunties, Marg and Cathy, were our first visitors. The night prior to my birthday was our regular Wednesday night at the races, followed by dinner and cake the next day. Suffice to say, Vegas was determined not to miss out on the celebrations either. I got lots of lovely flowers, cards and gifts from some great friends in all corners of the globe – very spoiled. Our gorgeous friend Tom came from Shanghai for my birthday too and we had a great dinner with he and Kip – we didn’t seem to get any photos that night! Juz put together an amazing 67 page PowerPoint for me (oh and a beautiful diamond and pink sapphire ring :); was a lovely birthday all round – which I will continue to celebrate as you all come to visit during the year!

The following weekend Juz and I headed to Macau for my birthday. It's an easy 60 minute ferry ride (see the first class meal ;). Thankfully, for Macau, they have discovered they really don't have any other industry but gambling - and of course the drinking and shopping that goes hand in hand. It is often called the 'Vegas of the East' - we would say it is far from being Vegas BUT, unlike Vegas, construction here is non stop and at a rapid pace. They are building countless new casinos/hotels. The only thing I think they are behind the times on is smoking; you can smoke everywhere, both indoors and out, which is pretty awful if you are not a smoker. However, many Asians smoke so I cannot see this changing as they want people inside the Casinos spending time and money smoking, drinking and gambling.

Juz had booked us an amazing suite at the Four Seasons to make it memorable for me, we went to Cirque Du Soleil (the clowns had juz on stage twice - and I think he secretly enjoyed it) and we had a delicious dinner at a restaurant called The Eight to continue the celebrations.

The last weekend in March sees the Rugby Sevens in Hong Kong. It is by far HK's biggst annual event. It has little to do with the Rugby really, and much more to do with entertainment and everyone having a good time. Needless to say, it is sold out in record time so the English scalpers do a roaring trade. Starting Friday at 4pm and finishing Sunday at 7pm, I am sure some people were simply drunk the entire time and had not been to bed. Everyone gets dressed up to go - not for any reason, just because they can! The Southern stand is the only area where you can take drinks to your seat - needless to say that gets very full, very fast. We went wth Kip and had a blast.

On Saturday morning we decided we too would get dressed up, so we made a mad dash to this brilliant market street here where they sell nothing but dress up costumes - it is awesome and maks you want to have costume parties! We cheered on the Aussies and the Hong Kong teams - and of course whoever was playing against the Kiwis and the Poms ;-). Was a brilliant weekend and cannot wait till next year - hopefully with a whole crew of you, so let's start planning our outfits now!

The past two weekends we have started hiking. There are so many great hikes to do here and the views are just stunning. Both we have done so far are on Lantau, but there are many more to do. It is getting hot so we will have to start going earlier. The hikes are not easy (aiming to do a 12k one at Easter and then we might tackle a 21km...) but it really is worth it at the end (Juz loves the cold beer at the end).

We also visited Stanley markets for the first time last weekend. I am not a market kinda gal, but this really is good fun and their are lots of restaurants for a cool drink! We are thinking of heading down one weekend for some wind surfing lessons.

Suffice to say all the good eating and drinking (see next batch of pics...) means we have now started training lots and to keep us motivated we are off to KL at the end of June to do the half marathon. This weekend we are off to the beach in Sanya - the 'Hawaii of China'. Juz has not played golf for 3 months, so he is really looking forward to the weekend (even though he does not yet know where we are going).

Juz is busy looking for a job now we are settled - and I of course am selfishly loving coming home to a cooked dinner 3 nights a week! There are some tennis courts near our place so we aim to play tennis (soon) and we joined the local Athletics Association where there is a pool, a 60 lane 10 pin bowling alley, golf driving range etc, so we are looking forward to exploring that too. Juz has even been out to one of the outlet shopping malls (stuff really is cheap so if you come to visit, pack super light so you can shop - airlines are very strict on excess baggage these days).

The upcoming months are already looking busy. We are really looking forward to visits from lots of people between April and October - including Mum in September for 2 weeks!! We are yet to meet many people here (we've been busy enough just the two of us!) so if you are coming through HK or want to come for a visit let us know - we would love to see you.

We feel really lucky to have the chance to be here and to be experiencing so many new and great things - and let's face it life is too short to not enjoy every minute.

So that's our adventures of the last 6 weeks. The next 4 weeks sees a public holiday every week here so we are ready to get out and explore some more!

Until next time,
G
xxxx

February in HK

You would think the streets and the shops and the restaurants being busy all the time (and I mean BUSY) that it would get a bit overwhelming, however I think it actually adds to the charm of this incredible city. I love that in parts it is a cross between Sydney and London, and then you turn a corner and you are back in 1960 Asia - it really is amazing that they have managed to maintain such a balance in such a tiny space.

The streets are alive with incredible cooking smells emanating from the street stalls or the thousands of restaurants that dot the streets. Many restaurants are inside tall buildings, so we keep reminding ourselves to look up!

Juz and Vegas have been here a month now, but it feels like so much longer. We have done an incredible amount in that time, so I will indulge myself here a little as I reminisce and fill you in on our past month in HK.

We moved into our apartment the day after Juz arrived (and Vegas arrived that night, very unhappy with us but safely thankfully) and we spent the following 5 days madly shopping for furniture and electronics. Those that know me well will know that I like things done - NOW :-)... so suffice to say we had the place pretty much fully furnished in under 2 weeks - the final pieces arriving yesterday (an arm chair for the bedroom and a coffee table for the living room - oh and yes, excited that our bedroom fits a king size bed and an armchair with poof!).

The day Ikea delivered

He managed to sit on every box as we unpacked

Home Sweet Home

Getting the place set up

So we have had an amazing 4 weeks setting up our apartment (Juz loves building IKEA furniture so he played Tim the Toolman for quite a few days). In between doing that, we have been getting out loads and enjoying all HK has to offer. Suffice to say, many of our outings involve food - and trust me, HK is the place for all kinds of food, both high end and street food.

Man Wah - a Michelan Star Cantonese restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental (level 25). Amazing food matched with incredible service, all while enjoying the light show the HK buildings put on every night at 8pm.
http://www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong/dining/restaurants/man_wah/
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/attractions/kln-symphony-lights.html

The Press Room - in Central, where there are just so many eateries, this place gets packed. Food was nice, service ok. http://www.thepressroom.com.hk/

Pastis - a tiny French bistro where I had lunch on my first day in HK (it is owned by our Real Estate Agent's boyfriend). Lunch is great in HK as the restaurants are not as busy as dinner, and they do super cheap 3 course set menus. Juz and I had dinner here last week followed by drinks at a fantastic cocktail bar which is right next door and run by the same people - you would not even know it was there unless someone told you. Le Boudoir is down about 6 flights of stairs, holds about 50 people and has the most amazing cocktail list.
http://www.hkclubbing.com/directory/restaurants/pastis.html
http://www.hiphongkong.com/drink/bars/nightclubs/lounges/le_boudoir

East End Brewery - this is our local down at Causeway Bay. An easy walk down the hill - not such an easy walk home afterwards :). We have been here quite a few times and it is generally packed with both expats and locals. Great food and yet another place that serves breakfast all day!!
http://www.elgrande.com.hk/outlets/HongKong/EastEndBreweryCB/page1/

Coast - great casual, yet modern and classy, place run by some Aussies (I think) right in the heart of SoHo. Food is yummy and they show all the Aussie sports. http://www.coast.com.hk/

So besides eating, we get out and about all the time and take Vegas with us to get him out of the apartment. We took him up to The Peak a few weeks ago - but we were quite literally walking in a cloud and it was just too cold and wet so we gave up and jumped back in a taxi and went home!

He isn't super keen on going in the taxis...

Walking in the clouds at The Peak

Our first photo in HK together, same day up at The Peak

We ventured over to Lamma Island one day for lunch - you can take dogs on ferries here, but of course - Vegas is not a fan of transport. he was however very happy when we ordered him a pork chop for lunch. I know, I know. But we didn't have a fridge at the time so he was eating out with us.

Wednesday night is race night at Happy Valley - and it is a brilliant night out. Only HKD10 entry (AUD1.30), 2 for 1 beers up until the end of race 3, dumplings or McDonalds..., races every 20 or 30 minutes and about 20 - 30,000 people (lots of expats). And you get to see grass.... (more on that later). http://www.happyvalleyracecourse.com/

We have been researching suitable 'dog sitters' for our little man given we are keen to start heading away on weekends now and then. There are many vets and dog parlours here, but the boarding facilities are almost third world, excepting Dogotel. A fab place with 24 rooms over in Kowloon. Juz and I went to see it last weekend and we have booked Vegas in for this Friday night as a trial run. It's an awesome place where the dogs have their own 'room' and get lots of play time with each other. http://www.dogotel.com/

I finally joined the gym, California Fitness.. not my preferred gym but this works location wise. There are branches close to my office and close to home, which is good, but the gyms themselves are not nice. Lots of machines over 3 floors, just not a very nice place aesthetically, but I am not focusing on that - focusing on needing to go to the gym given the great food we are enjoying! http://www.californiafitness.com/hk/en/

The television options are pretty bad - out of many channels we have from NOW TV, I think we might only use about 6 of them. But that's not a bad thing - we didn't come to HK to watch TV! We get to the movies quite a bit - they serve hot dog, popcorn and drink combos so it is a fun night out.

The South China Athletics Association club is just down the hill from where we live. They have lots of facilities including a 60 lane 10 pin bowling alley, pools (which re-opened 1 March as they close all the pools here during 'Winter'...) and a golf driving range (Juz hasn't picked up a club in 6 weeks!!). We are planning to join so should be fun once we start going. http://www.scaa.org.hk/catalog/index.php?language=en

What about shopping I hear many of you scream. Amazingly, other than the boots and heels I acquired in the first week here... I have not been shopping (I am hearing gasps). Well, not shopping for clothes or shoes - we were all shopped out after spending days on end searching for beds and couches. But there is plenty of time to shop!

We haven't made any new friends yet - been too busy exploring and finding our way around but that will come. Juz has slowly started to put some feelers out to see what jobs are around - but at the moment I am selfishly loving coming home to a cooked dinner 3 nights a week and of course Vegas is thrilled he is home to take him for long walks every day. We do have a part time domestic helper starting tomorrow so she will come a few hours Mon to Fri and walk the dog and a few other bits and pieces around the apartment.

The next few months are pretty busy, and we will be welcoming our first visitors next week. The weekend after we are heading to Macau for the weekend to celebrate my 29th birthday ;-) - Juz is planning so no idea what we are doing, but we are both looking forward to it so should be fun no matter what we do - will fill you in on my next post. Then we have the Rugby 7s followed by a trip to Beijing for work early April - so lots of fun things keeping us busy.

What are we missing the most I hear you ask. Baked dinners? Our friends (well that goes without saying of course). The beach? Australian Cadbury chocolate (you can get it here, albeit at a premium)? Fox Sports News? Nope..... Grass. There is very little of it (on HK island) and the little there is, no one is allowed on. Juz has done some research though and there seem to be some better options in Kowloon and New Territories, so we will head there this weekend to try and find somewhere for our boy to have a run around.

So, that's our HK adventures of the last month. Look forward to seeing lots of you when you come to visit - as you can see, you won't be bored!

G
xxx

The First 3 Weeks in HK

Where to start! I guess at the beginning. I apologise now if I begin to ramble - there's so much to share to give you a feel for my new city.

Hong Kong ('fragrant habour') is a city of some 7 million people, crammed into just over 1,100 sq km. The main areas are Hong Kong Island (where we will live), Kowloon and the New Territories. Just last week it was ranked as the most expensive city to live in (out of 325 places and Sydney came second....). The cost of living is of course high due to the small land mass and the large people mass. A high rise building is classed as that which is over 13 stories - HK has about 9,000 and NYC has about 5,000 - so that gives you an idea of how densely populated the HK group of islands are.

Forgetting the fact that it feels like NYE on steroids ALL THE TIME on the streets, and the fact that rent is outrageously expensive (I'm talking REALLY expensive) - HK really is an incredible place for so many reasons (keep reading).

Besides rent, everything else is either very reasonable, or very cheap. Going to the movies is about AUD10, transport is dirt cheap, broadband and cable TV is cheap, groceries are reasonable and depending where you go, eating out is not that costly either. Of course, the gym I want to go to is not cheap :-) - but it's all about the experience - not just the exercise!
http://www.pure-fit.com/en/hongkong/

The cope with the large numbers of people, the transport system here is very extensive, efficient, cheap and clean! The MTR (Mass Transit Rail) is the cleanest I have seen anywhere in the world. The trams (http://www.hktramways.com/en/home.html), which are very frequent and cost HKD2 (USD25cents) no matter how far you go, are great, albeit a tad rattly and at times packed beyond belief - but that's all part of the way of life. There are countless bus companies, all double deckers, super modern and super clean. Then there are the ferries - typical ferries in terms of cleanliness but they too are regular, efficient and cheap. Taxis too are cheap and most the time pretty easy to flag (but the other systems so great you rarely need a taxi). Lastly, there are countless mini vans that run the streets and take you wherever you need to go pretty much.

HK has an Octopus Card which you load money on to and can use at so many places - grocery stores, Starbucks, 7 Eleven, transport, getting into the races, the movies etc. Absolutely brilliant - makes transactions super fast and negates the need for carrying cash.

I have been here 3 weeks. Staying in Causeway Bay (CWB), opposite Times Square Shopping meca (http://www.timessquare.com.hk/2011/) which is right next to Happy Valley (HV) where we are going to be living. Juz arrives Tuesday night and we move into our great little apartment on Wednesday - in time for Vegas' arrival Wednesday night (very, very excited to see them both because as much as I don't mind being by myself, it is a tad lonely when you don't know anyone, so I can't wait to see them). They are both flying QANTAS - but I dare say Juz's seat will be more comfy than our boys' :-(

Vegas' travel crate - this was the first time he went into it.

Our apartment is in an old, walk up building of only 6 apartments, which we really do prefer over the mammoth high rise complexs that are everywhere here. It has a great little balcony where we will fit a BBQ and it has loads and loads of storage. Will post some pics once we get in and get it set up. We don't own one piece of furniture or anything electrical here, so the next week will see us shopping (thankfully it is a 4 day weekend next week)!

Our new lounge room

Main bathroom

Except for a very few cold days I spent in Shanghai in the snow last week, I have been walking around a lot in HK - getting to know HV and surrounds, mastering the transport, getting lost, sussing out the best supermarkets etc. I have of course been doing my share of dumpling tasting and getting into the local feel.

The snow covering Shanghai last week - it was so cold

HV race track is a brilliant facility - they have races every Wednesday night http://www.happyvalleyracecourse.com/. I went on Australia Day (26 January) for a few races and it was great fun. The middle of the track is filled with running tracks and sporting fields so I have enjoyed a few mornings there from about 6am running, along with the many who arrive to do Tai Chi.

Happy Valley Racecourse - our apartment is over behind
those tall brown blocks on the right

The view from The Peak really is fabulous and not something anyone should miss when they come to HK. http://www.thepeak.com.hk/en/home.asp. Not really knowing the hiking paths yet, I embarked on walking up to the Peak early one morning along the road. Of course, it is not designed for this, so the sections without a path saw me running short sections of road... that is until I got to a section that was simply too dangerous to walk on - thankfully a cab came and took me the last km :).

View from the Peak - 8am Sunday 16 January

There are so many great little islands to visit which are accessed by short ferry rides from Hong Kong Island. Last weekend I took a trip to Cheung Chau Island http://www.cheungchauhk.com/. It is a tad touristy, but still a lovely afternoon. About 23,000 people live here. There are no cars and everyone gets around on bikes. Lots of little restaurants dotted all the way along the sea front offering cheap Chinese, Thai, dim sum etc.

Cheung Chau

Cheung Chau

Dim Sum at Cheung Chau

Vendr selling seafood and 3 ducks (top left:)

I ventured to Lamma Island (http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/attractions/outlying-lamma-island.html) today - but only for a brief time as I went really early planning to go for a hike but it was simply too cold and I was not attired suitably (didn't bring much with me - our clothes are in transit somewhere). Very different to Cheung Chau. Only 5,000 people live here, no buildings are over 3 stories and it is far less touristy. Having said that, lots of little places to eat and I am told great hiking from one side of the island to another - so we might take Vegas next weekend (yep - dogs can go in cabs and on ferries!).

Lamma Island

Lamma Island

Early morning fruit stall at Lamma Island

Outdoor lounge room at Lamma Island

Hong Kong may not be seen as the shopping mecca it was years ago - but there is still plenty of shopping to be done. Whether it be little side streets and markets, the major malls or the many, many high end stores you will find here. It is sale time at the moment so needless to say, I have already purchase a few new pairs of shoes.... But my excuse is that it is bloody cold and I did not come prepared so I had to buy some boots when I got here (oh and the heels I bought the other night were just too damn cheap and too damn nice not to buy :). There are thousands and thousands of shops here - far too much choice.

I needed these - it is cold and they were on sale!

And these were just too stunning not to buy...
and I paid about 1/3 of their original price!

January is the coldest month here, at the moment the days are between 9 degrees C and about 17 degrees C. The months will start to warm up and as we head toward April and beyond, it will stay at more than 30 degrees C for many months.

There are nearly 300,000 domestic helpers in HK - nearly all from the Philippines and Indonesia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_domestic_helpers_in_Hong_Kong. They have to work full time to be granted a working visa, so the majority of them live in wherever they work. Some of course do work part time too if their employer allows, so we will be looking out for a part timer as we don't want or need a live in. Sunday is their day off, and on this day they gather together to eat, play games, dance, give each other manicures, read, eat and so on. They congregate on the many covered walkways that connect nearly all the buildings in the Central area and in the parks (for now whilst it is not too hot). They set up camp for the full day - they build out their space with cardboard boxes, they take their shoes off and I even saw one today with a cardboard door asking people to remove their shoes - it is quite an incredible set up.

Domestic Helpers getting set up for the day

Shoes off!

We are heading into Chinese New Year (CNY) so many people are already on holidays and there are fairs taking place around the city - making it even busier than normal. New Years Day proper is 3 February, but they have their fireworks display on the harbour on the evening of the 4th. Fortunately our offices overlook the harbour so we can go to my building to watch them versus batling the crowds on the roads.

A particularly busy day on the streets

Traditionally on the first day of the New Year, married people and executives give 'red packets' to single people and people who do work for you - door people, helpers and so on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_envelope. Furthermore, you should pass a red packet to anyone who comes to wish you a Happy New Year (people you know that is). If you do not, it is considered very bad luck for the year ahead. So, I am busy at the moment stuffing these gorgeous little red envelopes with HKD20 (AUD2.60) bills in readiness for 7 February (the first day back at work in the New Year here in HK). No idea how many I will need to give, so I have to be over prepared.

Red Packet

It is very hard to explain how enjoyable simply walking along the streets here is. Even though it is normally a slow walk given the volume of people, there is just so much going on, so many amazing smells to take in from the food cooking everywhere. You could live here a lifetime and not experience all that it has to offer.

The bamboo scaffolding is incredible. So strong. I watched the
workers take it down one day - a great spectacle.

Daily Life in Central

But of course :-)

So, there you have it. My ramblings of my first 3 weeks in HK. As you can tell - there is so much to do in this vibrant city and I have not even scratched the surface. Add to this the fact that it is a great gateway to travel to so many places, Juz and I are looking to make the most of every weekend we have here. Once we find a suitable dog sitter for Vegas, we will do some travelling an are looking forward to long weekends in places like Vietnam, Phuket and perhaps some skiing in Japan.

Oh yes - I have been going to work too :-). Lots to learn and this is the first time I have ever had a 'real' job with a MNC, so it is different...

Juz and I really would love to show you around our new city - so if you can make it by, even for a long weekend, there is a spare bed at our place for you (well, there will be once we go shopping this week).

More once Juz and Vegas arrive and we get settled in our apartment.

G
xxxx