Hong Kong Winter
When Nate and I were preparing to come to Hong Kong I was very excited as they classify Hong Kong as "sub tropical". I know that I can get cold in the warmest of weather so I came prepared with two leather jackets and a thick hoodie. I brought a few sweaters as well preparing for the walking around during winter.
What I was NOT prepared for was the fact that although it can be 50 degrees out (and with the water if feels much colder) people still have the airconditioning cranked up in every building. I have been wearing 4 shirts to go to work everyday.
I met a lovely woman from Finland who was complaining about it as well. She told me yes it's cold in Finland but at least people use heathers and not air conditioners!
Thankfully Nate bought a space heater as our building is not insulated and has concrete walls (as do most places in Hong Kong). I surely would have not made it through the Hong Kong Winter otherwise.
I know that I should not complain as it is much colder in Colorado but I was just not prepared at all for that.....I wonder if they could put that on their tourism website!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
Hong Kong Holidays
Holidays In Hong Kong
I apologize I have not been doing a great job of updating my blog. I was quite sick over Christmas. I had a cold that turned into bronchitis. I still have the remnants of a cough after 3 weeks. As bad as it was being very sick over Christmas I am thankful that we had a week and a half of from school so I could get healthy. It has been frustrating as this is the third time I have been sick in our almost 5 months in Hong Kong. I think it is mostly working with these young children that are often sick. I think the pollution may have some to do with it as well. I have been drinking Emergen C packets and Echinacea tea everyday so I am hoping this will help!
Ok, back to the Holidays. Thanksgiving is an American Holiday. (It is quite surprising how many people asked if they celebrate Thanksgiving here in Hong Kong.....the answer is no, by the way, they do not celebrate Thanksgiving here). Nate and I did go out for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at an Italian Restaurant called Fat Angelo's. A little silly eating a traditional American Thanksgiving at an Italian restaurant in Hong Kong but it was delicious! Our meal included light and dark meat Turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, salad, bread rolls, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. It was delicious! I was actually upset not to be home for Thanksgiving. I did not realize that I have never ever been away from my family on Thanksgiving before. Nate did an amazing job of comforting me and the dinner also helped :)
Christmas was a completely different story. I have never seen so many Christmas decorations in my life! Hong Kong is filled with malls after malls after malls and stores after stores after stores. Everywhere we went there were elaborate Christmas decorations. I loved it! We go to a giant mall called Langham Place almost everyday after work to head to the gym. They started playing Christmas music at the end of November. This made me extremely happy. I was very excited to teach my "babies" (what I call my 2 year olds at school) Christmas Songs. Throughout December I taught them Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and O Christmas Tree. Very easy versions of course. I also bought a red santa hat to wear to work. We had a Christmas Party at work on December 21st. We each pitched in $50 HKD ( about $7) for food. They had Pizza Hut Pizza, sushi, mini donuts, sausages, cheesecake, and lots of other traditional Chinese food. We each received a little gift as well. I was given 4 tubes of hand cream from Crabtree and Evelyn. Very nice. My coworker friend Becky gave me a gift of a hand painted picture and an 8 pack of Ferrero Rocher. For whatever reason, Ferrero Rochers are a HUGE deal out here. They sell them everywhere!
Between November and Christmas Nate and I did our best to get into the Christmas spirit. We bought Christmas sweaters. Mind complete with reindeer. We went to a Christmas Fair at the Hullet House Market that had a variety of Christmas crafts and lots of food. We sipped on mulled wine and egg nog. Both of which, I decided, are good for about three sips and then are too strong! We bought a mini Christmas tree and decorations for our room. We attended an event called Santa Con. When I say event I mean bar crawl. Everybody was dressed up in some sort of costume or sant hat. It was fun to see everybody so dressed up and festive. Nate and I implemented our own version of "25 Days of Christmas" for movies. We watched Elf, A Christmas Story and Home Alone about 10 times each.
We made plans to go to Macau for two nights over Christmas. Macau is where we went when we first arrived in Hong Kong to activate our visas. Macau is considered the Asian Las Vegas. It's filled with casinos! We arrived in Macau on Sunday December 23rd. It was actually a bit chilly. It was down in the 50's at night and with the surrounding water it feels cold. (And if you know me at all you know I am always cold all the time). Unfortunately, this was the height of my bronchitis. I was extremely excited to get to our hotel so I could take a bath! I brought along some bath petals for a nice hot bubble bath. I was chilly from our ride to the hotel. Once we got into the hotel room I wanted to crank up to the heat. Welp, there was no heat, only air conditioning. Alright, I thought, it's time for that hot bath. I could barely fit into the bath tub and the water wasn't as hot as I wanted. I was frustrated but I was just thankful to be in any sort of a bath! That first night I drank some wine to try to dull the pain in my chest. We found out there was a Mexican Food restaurant not too far from the hotel. The fajitas were amazing as were the chips and salsa. After dinner we walked to the Venetian. They had some amazing Christmas decorations outside include fake snow! Live bands were singing Christmas songs as well. I felt badly for Nate because just the simple act of walking was very painful and I needed to go lay down (except for laying down caused horrific coughing, I don't think either of us slept for about a week!). The next day we walked around Macau and saw a very neat area called the Fisherman's Warf which was right on the water. That night we went back to the Venetian for Christmas Eve dinner at McSorley's. We had a delicious all you can eat buffet including prime rib, turkey, gravy, yorkshire pudding (which is not pudding at all, come to find out, it's more like a bread roll!), roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, brussel sprouts, carrots, salad, cake balls and brownies! All very good.
The next day was Christmas! We had to check out by 11 so we soaked in as much of the hotel as we could. This was really just watching TV and taking another bath. We caught the ferry back to Hong Kong. My coworker Tracy invited us to her house for Christmas dinner. Tracy lives on Lamma Island. So just as soon as we were off the ferry from Macau to Hong Kong we had to hop on another ferry out to Lamma Island. Tracy was making a heap of food and asked that we just bring some beer. We know a thing or two about beer so we thought this was a great deal! Tracy met as at the ferry peer to take us to her flat (yep that's right, nobody says apartment out here, they say flat, and Tracy is from England as well). We sipped on wine, beer and sausage rolls. My cough was getting unmanageable so Tracy made me sip some sort of whiskey liquor which actually did help tame the cough. Tracy made so much delicious food! We had sausage rolls, turkey, roasted potatoes, cauliflower with cheese, gravy, mince pies, chocolate marshmallow cookies and a Christmas Cake. After dinner we each grabbed a cracker. These are little toys that two people pull and it makes a "Pop!" noise when it cracks. Inside there is a little toy and a little trivia question along with a paper hat or crown. Tracy's friend Ruth was nice enough to give us a card and a huge tin of Irish Shortbread cookies. After several hours we had to hop on the ferry back to Hong Kong then jump on the MTR home. It was a long and fun day! Nate and I did not exchange big presents for Christmas as we treated ourself to the hotel in Macau for Christmas. We did have stockings which we filled with little treats for each other that included: pizza combos, fruit mentos, cookies and cream Hershey kisses, chocolate gold coins, reeses peanut butter cups, socks, Lululemon headbands, Pacific Coffee gift certificates and strawberry pocky sticks.
We still had off until the 2nd of January. Over the next few days I tried to rest as much as possible. Grandma and Grandpa mailed us a delightful Christmas package that included peanut butter fudge, chocolate nut fudge, white chocolate nut fudge, almond bark, 2 lbs of cheddar cheese and olives! I snacked on all of these delicious treats over our break. We say Twilight and Les Miserables as well. We really did try to do as much as we could and thankfully each day I felt a little better.
For New Year's Eve we found a pretty good deal at a bar/restaurant called Pier 7 which is on the top of Pier 7 in the Central Harbor. For about $65 American $ (or $500 HKD) it was all you can drink and eat. We thought we'd be able to see the epic firework display from the roof. We met up with a group of seven other people. The night was very fun! Unfortunately we could not see all of the fireworks but we were able to see quite a bit. It was chilly out for sure! When the 2nd of January rolled around we were not ready to return to work. We keep telling ourselves that we just have a little over 3 weeks until we will be in Mexico!
I apologize I have not been doing a great job of updating my blog. I was quite sick over Christmas. I had a cold that turned into bronchitis. I still have the remnants of a cough after 3 weeks. As bad as it was being very sick over Christmas I am thankful that we had a week and a half of from school so I could get healthy. It has been frustrating as this is the third time I have been sick in our almost 5 months in Hong Kong. I think it is mostly working with these young children that are often sick. I think the pollution may have some to do with it as well. I have been drinking Emergen C packets and Echinacea tea everyday so I am hoping this will help!
Ok, back to the Holidays. Thanksgiving is an American Holiday. (It is quite surprising how many people asked if they celebrate Thanksgiving here in Hong Kong.....the answer is no, by the way, they do not celebrate Thanksgiving here). Nate and I did go out for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at an Italian Restaurant called Fat Angelo's. A little silly eating a traditional American Thanksgiving at an Italian restaurant in Hong Kong but it was delicious! Our meal included light and dark meat Turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, salad, bread rolls, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. It was delicious! I was actually upset not to be home for Thanksgiving. I did not realize that I have never ever been away from my family on Thanksgiving before. Nate did an amazing job of comforting me and the dinner also helped :)
Christmas was a completely different story. I have never seen so many Christmas decorations in my life! Hong Kong is filled with malls after malls after malls and stores after stores after stores. Everywhere we went there were elaborate Christmas decorations. I loved it! We go to a giant mall called Langham Place almost everyday after work to head to the gym. They started playing Christmas music at the end of November. This made me extremely happy. I was very excited to teach my "babies" (what I call my 2 year olds at school) Christmas Songs. Throughout December I taught them Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and O Christmas Tree. Very easy versions of course. I also bought a red santa hat to wear to work. We had a Christmas Party at work on December 21st. We each pitched in $50 HKD ( about $7) for food. They had Pizza Hut Pizza, sushi, mini donuts, sausages, cheesecake, and lots of other traditional Chinese food. We each received a little gift as well. I was given 4 tubes of hand cream from Crabtree and Evelyn. Very nice. My coworker friend Becky gave me a gift of a hand painted picture and an 8 pack of Ferrero Rocher. For whatever reason, Ferrero Rochers are a HUGE deal out here. They sell them everywhere!
Between November and Christmas Nate and I did our best to get into the Christmas spirit. We bought Christmas sweaters. Mind complete with reindeer. We went to a Christmas Fair at the Hullet House Market that had a variety of Christmas crafts and lots of food. We sipped on mulled wine and egg nog. Both of which, I decided, are good for about three sips and then are too strong! We bought a mini Christmas tree and decorations for our room. We attended an event called Santa Con. When I say event I mean bar crawl. Everybody was dressed up in some sort of costume or sant hat. It was fun to see everybody so dressed up and festive. Nate and I implemented our own version of "25 Days of Christmas" for movies. We watched Elf, A Christmas Story and Home Alone about 10 times each.
We made plans to go to Macau for two nights over Christmas. Macau is where we went when we first arrived in Hong Kong to activate our visas. Macau is considered the Asian Las Vegas. It's filled with casinos! We arrived in Macau on Sunday December 23rd. It was actually a bit chilly. It was down in the 50's at night and with the surrounding water it feels cold. (And if you know me at all you know I am always cold all the time). Unfortunately, this was the height of my bronchitis. I was extremely excited to get to our hotel so I could take a bath! I brought along some bath petals for a nice hot bubble bath. I was chilly from our ride to the hotel. Once we got into the hotel room I wanted to crank up to the heat. Welp, there was no heat, only air conditioning. Alright, I thought, it's time for that hot bath. I could barely fit into the bath tub and the water wasn't as hot as I wanted. I was frustrated but I was just thankful to be in any sort of a bath! That first night I drank some wine to try to dull the pain in my chest. We found out there was a Mexican Food restaurant not too far from the hotel. The fajitas were amazing as were the chips and salsa. After dinner we walked to the Venetian. They had some amazing Christmas decorations outside include fake snow! Live bands were singing Christmas songs as well. I felt badly for Nate because just the simple act of walking was very painful and I needed to go lay down (except for laying down caused horrific coughing, I don't think either of us slept for about a week!). The next day we walked around Macau and saw a very neat area called the Fisherman's Warf which was right on the water. That night we went back to the Venetian for Christmas Eve dinner at McSorley's. We had a delicious all you can eat buffet including prime rib, turkey, gravy, yorkshire pudding (which is not pudding at all, come to find out, it's more like a bread roll!), roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, brussel sprouts, carrots, salad, cake balls and brownies! All very good.
The next day was Christmas! We had to check out by 11 so we soaked in as much of the hotel as we could. This was really just watching TV and taking another bath. We caught the ferry back to Hong Kong. My coworker Tracy invited us to her house for Christmas dinner. Tracy lives on Lamma Island. So just as soon as we were off the ferry from Macau to Hong Kong we had to hop on another ferry out to Lamma Island. Tracy was making a heap of food and asked that we just bring some beer. We know a thing or two about beer so we thought this was a great deal! Tracy met as at the ferry peer to take us to her flat (yep that's right, nobody says apartment out here, they say flat, and Tracy is from England as well). We sipped on wine, beer and sausage rolls. My cough was getting unmanageable so Tracy made me sip some sort of whiskey liquor which actually did help tame the cough. Tracy made so much delicious food! We had sausage rolls, turkey, roasted potatoes, cauliflower with cheese, gravy, mince pies, chocolate marshmallow cookies and a Christmas Cake. After dinner we each grabbed a cracker. These are little toys that two people pull and it makes a "Pop!" noise when it cracks. Inside there is a little toy and a little trivia question along with a paper hat or crown. Tracy's friend Ruth was nice enough to give us a card and a huge tin of Irish Shortbread cookies. After several hours we had to hop on the ferry back to Hong Kong then jump on the MTR home. It was a long and fun day! Nate and I did not exchange big presents for Christmas as we treated ourself to the hotel in Macau for Christmas. We did have stockings which we filled with little treats for each other that included: pizza combos, fruit mentos, cookies and cream Hershey kisses, chocolate gold coins, reeses peanut butter cups, socks, Lululemon headbands, Pacific Coffee gift certificates and strawberry pocky sticks.
We still had off until the 2nd of January. Over the next few days I tried to rest as much as possible. Grandma and Grandpa mailed us a delightful Christmas package that included peanut butter fudge, chocolate nut fudge, white chocolate nut fudge, almond bark, 2 lbs of cheddar cheese and olives! I snacked on all of these delicious treats over our break. We say Twilight and Les Miserables as well. We really did try to do as much as we could and thankfully each day I felt a little better.
For New Year's Eve we found a pretty good deal at a bar/restaurant called Pier 7 which is on the top of Pier 7 in the Central Harbor. For about $65 American $ (or $500 HKD) it was all you can drink and eat. We thought we'd be able to see the epic firework display from the roof. We met up with a group of seven other people. The night was very fun! Unfortunately we could not see all of the fireworks but we were able to see quite a bit. It was chilly out for sure! When the 2nd of January rolled around we were not ready to return to work. We keep telling ourselves that we just have a little over 3 weeks until we will be in Mexico!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Hong Kong Wedding
Chinese Wedding
Several Weeks ago Nate and I were invited to our first Hong Kong wedding. When Nate lived in Beijing he attended a Chinese wedding there and was quite excited for this event. We were invited from one of my co-workers, a teacher we call Ms. Chan Chan.
We received a beautiful red invitation with gold writing, all in Chinese of course. I had to ask another teacher what it said so we knew where to go! Instead of a wedding reception they have a wedding banquet, which is essentially the same thing. Included in the invitation was a small envelope containing a crisp $10 HKD as well as a gift certificate for a small Maxim's cake. Now, I will say that most of the bakeries in Hong Kong do bread and rolls very well but fall short when it comes to desserts. Maxim's has amazing treats!
It is customary for a guest of a banquet to give between $500-1000 HKD in a red packet. This is approximately $65-130 American Dollars. Nate's coworker gave him the appropriate red packet for us to put the money in for the banquet. The banquet started at 8:00pm. Some guest show up between 7:30-8:00pm to take pictures with the bride and groom.
We arrived shortly after 8:00 with one of my coworkers. When we arrived most people were seated in a very large banquet room. Upon arrival we saw some previously taken photographs of the couple. Ms. Chan Chan was wearing a beautiful white wedding gown with an amazing head piece. These pictures were taken at the beach. I knew she had a total of 5 dresses so I was excited to see them all! She had a traditional (well, what we Americans think of traditional) white dress, a traditional Chinese red silk dress (we did not see either of these in person, these were dresses worn before and seen in the pictures and videos) another white dress she wore as her entrance to the banquet gown, a yellow ball gown style dress and her favorite, a turquoise beaded dress. She looked stunning in all of the dresses.
Before dinner we were treated to a video and slide show. The music was 98 degrees (you know, 90's and 2000's boy band!) "I Do". It was perfect. They showed a slide show of pictures of both bride and groom growing up. They had a video from earlier that day of the bride and groom going over to different members of the families' homes. They said a prayer for lots of money in their red packets (we had a lovely woman sitting next to us who was kind enough to translate). There was what we would call a maid of honor and best man emceeing the event. Both bride and groom did a little speech on stage as well. I have to say that Ms. Chan Chan looked petrified!
Dinner and drinks were served. There was unlimited beer, wine or juice. This was exciting for us! The red wine was good and the beer was cans of Heinekin! I am very proud to say I tried a bite of everything even things I didn't want to. We had suckling pork which tasted like pork grinds so I did NOT like those. We had some wontons with egg whites inside which were ok. We had some yummy potato balls and also crab balls. Both were delicious. Shrimp was served which was also delicious. They serviced Abalone which is expensive and I thought it was slimy and gross. They had baked fish which I ate, including a bite of the cheek. They served shark fin soup which Nate was upset about. Look it up if you so desire. I'm told that they catch the shark, cut it's fin, then throw it back into the water. The shark either drowns or is eaten by other animals in the water. For dessert they had bowls of oranges and jello with chrysanthemum flowers crunched up inside.
During the meal the family comes around to talk to each table. It was a very nice experience. We were not sitting with the two tables of my coworkers so we went to speak with both tables. It was so nice to see them outside of our work uniforms. Nate was the hit of the night. All my coworkers kept commenting on how handsome he is and how he looks like a movie star. Of course, Nate loved it! I had read about this before we went to the wedding but it was still quite a site nonetheless. At the end of the night everybody just gets up and leaves, just like that! All of a sudden we were chatting and BOOM everybody stands up and leaves. We were called to the stage to take pictures with the bride and groom.
It was a very fun night! There were so many similarities among a Hong Kong wedding and an "American" or Western wedding reception. We look forward to being invited to another wedding soon!
Several Weeks ago Nate and I were invited to our first Hong Kong wedding. When Nate lived in Beijing he attended a Chinese wedding there and was quite excited for this event. We were invited from one of my co-workers, a teacher we call Ms. Chan Chan.
We received a beautiful red invitation with gold writing, all in Chinese of course. I had to ask another teacher what it said so we knew where to go! Instead of a wedding reception they have a wedding banquet, which is essentially the same thing. Included in the invitation was a small envelope containing a crisp $10 HKD as well as a gift certificate for a small Maxim's cake. Now, I will say that most of the bakeries in Hong Kong do bread and rolls very well but fall short when it comes to desserts. Maxim's has amazing treats!
It is customary for a guest of a banquet to give between $500-1000 HKD in a red packet. This is approximately $65-130 American Dollars. Nate's coworker gave him the appropriate red packet for us to put the money in for the banquet. The banquet started at 8:00pm. Some guest show up between 7:30-8:00pm to take pictures with the bride and groom.
We arrived shortly after 8:00 with one of my coworkers. When we arrived most people were seated in a very large banquet room. Upon arrival we saw some previously taken photographs of the couple. Ms. Chan Chan was wearing a beautiful white wedding gown with an amazing head piece. These pictures were taken at the beach. I knew she had a total of 5 dresses so I was excited to see them all! She had a traditional (well, what we Americans think of traditional) white dress, a traditional Chinese red silk dress (we did not see either of these in person, these were dresses worn before and seen in the pictures and videos) another white dress she wore as her entrance to the banquet gown, a yellow ball gown style dress and her favorite, a turquoise beaded dress. She looked stunning in all of the dresses.
Before dinner we were treated to a video and slide show. The music was 98 degrees (you know, 90's and 2000's boy band!) "I Do". It was perfect. They showed a slide show of pictures of both bride and groom growing up. They had a video from earlier that day of the bride and groom going over to different members of the families' homes. They said a prayer for lots of money in their red packets (we had a lovely woman sitting next to us who was kind enough to translate). There was what we would call a maid of honor and best man emceeing the event. Both bride and groom did a little speech on stage as well. I have to say that Ms. Chan Chan looked petrified!
Dinner and drinks were served. There was unlimited beer, wine or juice. This was exciting for us! The red wine was good and the beer was cans of Heinekin! I am very proud to say I tried a bite of everything even things I didn't want to. We had suckling pork which tasted like pork grinds so I did NOT like those. We had some wontons with egg whites inside which were ok. We had some yummy potato balls and also crab balls. Both were delicious. Shrimp was served which was also delicious. They serviced Abalone which is expensive and I thought it was slimy and gross. They had baked fish which I ate, including a bite of the cheek. They served shark fin soup which Nate was upset about. Look it up if you so desire. I'm told that they catch the shark, cut it's fin, then throw it back into the water. The shark either drowns or is eaten by other animals in the water. For dessert they had bowls of oranges and jello with chrysanthemum flowers crunched up inside.
During the meal the family comes around to talk to each table. It was a very nice experience. We were not sitting with the two tables of my coworkers so we went to speak with both tables. It was so nice to see them outside of our work uniforms. Nate was the hit of the night. All my coworkers kept commenting on how handsome he is and how he looks like a movie star. Of course, Nate loved it! I had read about this before we went to the wedding but it was still quite a site nonetheless. At the end of the night everybody just gets up and leaves, just like that! All of a sudden we were chatting and BOOM everybody stands up and leaves. We were called to the stage to take pictures with the bride and groom.
It was a very fun night! There were so many similarities among a Hong Kong wedding and an "American" or Western wedding reception. We look forward to being invited to another wedding soon!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Hong Kong Halloween
Hong Kong Halloween
Like any major city, Halloween is a bit of a big deal in Hong Kong. Unfortunately Nate and I did not make it out the Saturday before Halloween but we made up for it on the actual night! There is an area in Hong Kong called Lan Kwai Fong or LKF for short. LKF is a square of bars, clubs and restaurants that is very popular among expats (ex-patriots). There is a pizza slice restaurant and Mexican restaurant that are both pretty good. The area is a bit steep in price. We can usually buy two tall can beers of $12 HKD (that's about $1.50 American, boo ya) in 7-11 but they were double the price. They have what I like to call the "untz untz untz" clubs.
When Nate and I arrived to LKF we were surprised. It was before 8:00pm and the streets were PACKED. There was a stampede where people died in 1993 and I could see why. The streets are narrow and sloping so it would be easy to get stuck. There were many police officers patrolling the area and attempting to control the flow of people "traffic".
Nate and I wanted to be cheap so I dressed in all black and bought a little package that included a cheetah tail, bow tie and ears. Nate bought a fake mustache. When we arrived in LKF it was like we were Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel on their honeymoon! I have never been photographed so much in my entire life. Not only were we having our photo taken but many people wanted to take a photo with us. I really thought yikes is this what the paparazzi is like? No wonder famous people get annoyed! We walked around once and noticed it was getting more and more packed. It was very interesting to see people with their children out and about. Although it was fairly early I would have been frightened that my child would get squished! A man was dressed in an orange costume holding a baby on his shoulder....very odd. There were some very ornate costumes as well as people who were not dressed up at all. The police began walking through attempting to clear a path. There were also areas on the side that were gated off. We saw quite a few Geishas. We also saw a man dressed as the "Gangnam Style" guy.
After we walked around once we needed to find a restroom. We were not allowed to go back the way we came so we stopped into a bar/restaurant called Taj that was one floor up. The views from the patio were amazing but unfortunately they were taken. We sat inside and ordered some drinks. We then noticed that people were smoking hookahs! Since I have never tried a hookah before we thought, what the hay, let's try! There was an entire hookah menu. After some himming and hawing we decided on Mango. It was very sweet and actually good! I only had a little bit since I had been sick previously with a cough. It was a very fun Halloween experience!
Like any major city, Halloween is a bit of a big deal in Hong Kong. Unfortunately Nate and I did not make it out the Saturday before Halloween but we made up for it on the actual night! There is an area in Hong Kong called Lan Kwai Fong or LKF for short. LKF is a square of bars, clubs and restaurants that is very popular among expats (ex-patriots). There is a pizza slice restaurant and Mexican restaurant that are both pretty good. The area is a bit steep in price. We can usually buy two tall can beers of $12 HKD (that's about $1.50 American, boo ya) in 7-11 but they were double the price. They have what I like to call the "untz untz untz" clubs.
When Nate and I arrived to LKF we were surprised. It was before 8:00pm and the streets were PACKED. There was a stampede where people died in 1993 and I could see why. The streets are narrow and sloping so it would be easy to get stuck. There were many police officers patrolling the area and attempting to control the flow of people "traffic".
Nate and I wanted to be cheap so I dressed in all black and bought a little package that included a cheetah tail, bow tie and ears. Nate bought a fake mustache. When we arrived in LKF it was like we were Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel on their honeymoon! I have never been photographed so much in my entire life. Not only were we having our photo taken but many people wanted to take a photo with us. I really thought yikes is this what the paparazzi is like? No wonder famous people get annoyed! We walked around once and noticed it was getting more and more packed. It was very interesting to see people with their children out and about. Although it was fairly early I would have been frightened that my child would get squished! A man was dressed in an orange costume holding a baby on his shoulder....very odd. There were some very ornate costumes as well as people who were not dressed up at all. The police began walking through attempting to clear a path. There were also areas on the side that were gated off. We saw quite a few Geishas. We also saw a man dressed as the "Gangnam Style" guy.
After we walked around once we needed to find a restroom. We were not allowed to go back the way we came so we stopped into a bar/restaurant called Taj that was one floor up. The views from the patio were amazing but unfortunately they were taken. We sat inside and ordered some drinks. We then noticed that people were smoking hookahs! Since I have never tried a hookah before we thought, what the hay, let's try! There was an entire hookah menu. After some himming and hawing we decided on Mango. It was very sweet and actually good! I only had a little bit since I had been sick previously with a cough. It was a very fun Halloween experience!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Partner Yoga Hong Kong Style
Partner Yoga
At Core Power I believe that they have had partner yoga classes from time to time. Not an ongoing recurring class but a "special class". On 10/28/12 Nate and I tried our first ever partner yoga class.
When we first walked in I was a bit nervous. We saw a man and a woman practicing some moves. I thought, are you kidding? That man is half my size! I'm not going to be able to do that!!!
At Pure Yoga they do things a bit differently than I am use to. Depending on the teacher, the "front" of the classroom can be at the mirrors (which I consider the front) or towards the windows (which I consider the back). This has been a little confusing to say the least. Some days I don't want to be in the front, some days I want to hide in the shadows of the back!
Nate and I walked into the class at what we thought was the back of the room. NOPE we were in the front. It seems that all these people I've been taking yoga classes with are experts! It's a bit annoying. I don't even want to try an advanced class. I would probably just have to sit there! So us two beginner partner yogis are smack in the front....awesome.
We start with an individual flow which was quite lovely. I have been taking a class called hot flow but it really doesn't flow that well (my yogi friends will know exactly what I'm talking about). Our first partner activity was doing warrior II leaning into each other. Boy, did I get sweaty! We then did a few other moves where we had to lean against each other. Ok I thought, no big deal. Then came the acrobatics.....
I don't even know how to clearly explain the moves we were doing! The first move Nate was in a down dog pose and I essentially did a back bend over him. Nice for stretching. The kicker came at the end when I was to do a hand stand and Nate was to catch my feet and have my knees hang over his shoulders. Then he was to bend forward and place my feet on the ground so I could stand up. Easy enough right? Wrong. I got a little scared and tried to sit up while Nate thought he was hurting my back. Between us, I managed to slide fall off of Nate and get a rug burn on my shoulder from the mat!
This was a very fun and challenging class that we will be going back to!
The pictures below are obviously not pictures of Nate and I but rather examples of the poses we did. Can you tell which pose I fell from?
At Core Power I believe that they have had partner yoga classes from time to time. Not an ongoing recurring class but a "special class". On 10/28/12 Nate and I tried our first ever partner yoga class.
When we first walked in I was a bit nervous. We saw a man and a woman practicing some moves. I thought, are you kidding? That man is half my size! I'm not going to be able to do that!!!
At Pure Yoga they do things a bit differently than I am use to. Depending on the teacher, the "front" of the classroom can be at the mirrors (which I consider the front) or towards the windows (which I consider the back). This has been a little confusing to say the least. Some days I don't want to be in the front, some days I want to hide in the shadows of the back!
Nate and I walked into the class at what we thought was the back of the room. NOPE we were in the front. It seems that all these people I've been taking yoga classes with are experts! It's a bit annoying. I don't even want to try an advanced class. I would probably just have to sit there! So us two beginner partner yogis are smack in the front....awesome.
We start with an individual flow which was quite lovely. I have been taking a class called hot flow but it really doesn't flow that well (my yogi friends will know exactly what I'm talking about). Our first partner activity was doing warrior II leaning into each other. Boy, did I get sweaty! We then did a few other moves where we had to lean against each other. Ok I thought, no big deal. Then came the acrobatics.....
I don't even know how to clearly explain the moves we were doing! The first move Nate was in a down dog pose and I essentially did a back bend over him. Nice for stretching. The kicker came at the end when I was to do a hand stand and Nate was to catch my feet and have my knees hang over his shoulders. Then he was to bend forward and place my feet on the ground so I could stand up. Easy enough right? Wrong. I got a little scared and tried to sit up while Nate thought he was hurting my back. Between us, I managed to slide fall off of Nate and get a rug burn on my shoulder from the mat!
This was a very fun and challenging class that we will be going back to!
The pictures below are obviously not pictures of Nate and I but rather examples of the poses we did. Can you tell which pose I fell from?
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Walking in Hong Kong
Hong Kong boasts a population of 7 million people. The land mass of Hong Kong is approximately 426 square miles. What this means is that it is extremely densely populated, in fact, one of the highest if not THE highest in the world. What this means for me is that the simple act of walking can be quite difficult!
Walking on the sidewalks on Hong Kong is like NASCAR racing. You have to speed up, slow down, attempt to pass people without getting rammed by a bag, umbrella or a shoulder. Whenever I see a couple holding hands I get a little agitated, like come on really? You two are blocking the sidewalk! A part of me really wants to red rover right through them! I haven't yet but I may have to try one day...
Walking can be dangerous! Just last week I was minding my own business walking along when I felt a searing pain in my left hand. I looked down and I was covered in cigarette embers from some fool behind me! I turned around abruptly and said hey! I walked away with a burned left ring finger complete with blister. It is usually unwise to wear flip flops or any open toes shoes while walking around. I have been stepped on as well as "flat tired" (you know, when somebody steps on the back of your flip flop and it feels like the top of your foot is going to be ripped off by the straps!).
The best time to go walking is early in the morning. This is a late city. Bars stay open until 5am! Saturday mornings I enjoy my walk to the gym because I can actually zip along!
Thankfully some areas are worse than others. When I walk during my lunch breaks in the area of Whompoa Garden in Hunghom I can easily stroll along which I do NOT take for granted
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Mid Autumn Festival
Mid Autumn Festival
On October 1st we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival here in Hong Kong. For us that meant a 4 day weekend!!! But, there is much more to this festival than that.
The mid autumn festival is also known as the Lantern Festival, the Moon Cake Festival or the Moon Festival. The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese Calendar close to the Autumnal Equinox.
There are several popular traditions that accompany the Mid Autumn Festival. One of which is moon cakes. Below I have posted some pictures of traditional moon cakes which are, to be blunt, disgusting. The first time I tried a traditional moon cake I took a huge bite and wanted to spit it out. I didn't realize that the big yummy looking center was an egg. The combination of sweet outside and an egg yolk center did not compute with my taste buds. They also have "icy moon cakes" or "snowy moon cakes" which are delicious. They are kept frozen or refrigerated and have a variety of flavored centers that include chocolate, red bean, and hazel nut. These are in fact down right delicious. Many parents brought moon cakes to the teachers at school. The "icy moon cake" varieties are not cheap.
Another part of the tradition is lanterns. At school there were lanterns hung on the ceiling for the children. There were many different types that included Hello Kitty and Garfield. While at Victoria Park we witnessed many families spending time with each other with lit lanterns and candles.
Traditional Chinese attire and Dragon Dances also happen during this festival. It was very interesting to see the amount of people at Victoria Park. It was extremely overwhelming just to cross the street to get into the park with the amount of people walking around. A friend we were with has blonde hair and a family stopped her to ask if she could take a picture holding their baby. It is said that blonde hair is like gold!
On October 1st we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival here in Hong Kong. For us that meant a 4 day weekend!!! But, there is much more to this festival than that.
The mid autumn festival is also known as the Lantern Festival, the Moon Cake Festival or the Moon Festival. The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese Calendar close to the Autumnal Equinox.
There are several popular traditions that accompany the Mid Autumn Festival. One of which is moon cakes. Below I have posted some pictures of traditional moon cakes which are, to be blunt, disgusting. The first time I tried a traditional moon cake I took a huge bite and wanted to spit it out. I didn't realize that the big yummy looking center was an egg. The combination of sweet outside and an egg yolk center did not compute with my taste buds. They also have "icy moon cakes" or "snowy moon cakes" which are delicious. They are kept frozen or refrigerated and have a variety of flavored centers that include chocolate, red bean, and hazel nut. These are in fact down right delicious. Many parents brought moon cakes to the teachers at school. The "icy moon cake" varieties are not cheap.
Another part of the tradition is lanterns. At school there were lanterns hung on the ceiling for the children. There were many different types that included Hello Kitty and Garfield. While at Victoria Park we witnessed many families spending time with each other with lit lanterns and candles.
Traditional Chinese attire and Dragon Dances also happen during this festival. It was very interesting to see the amount of people at Victoria Park. It was extremely overwhelming just to cross the street to get into the park with the amount of people walking around. A friend we were with has blonde hair and a family stopped her to ask if she could take a picture holding their baby. It is said that blonde hair is like gold!
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