It will take quite a while for us to get everything setup (we have day jobs, you know ;>), but in the meantime I'll keep the blog posts coming with tours of the various facilities we have in the complex. Stay tuned!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
A look at our new place...
Time for a five minute video tour that shows you what our new place looks like before we move anything in...
Typical Hong Kong fast-food breakfast...
I thought I might show you what a very common breakfast looks like at a traditional fast-food place in Hong Kong (a locally owned and operated place, not a globally franchised place like McDonald's ;>)...
A soup composed of macaroni, pork, and a
certain kind of pickled Chinese vegetables.
Katherine posing with the goods.
Total cost: about US$3.
Total cost: about US$3.
A fresh lemon, sliced and steeped
in hot water and honey. A wonderful drink!
in hot water and honey. A wonderful drink!
A soup composed of macaroni, pork, and a
certain kind of pickled Chinese vegetables.
Freshly baked and buttered bread, scrambled eggs, and a slice of spam.
(Spam is a very common breakfast meat, along with ham and hot dogs.)
(Spam is a very common breakfast meat, along with ham and hot dogs.)
The only other item was a ham and egg sandwich, which was so similar to the last picture above that I didn't feel like you needed a close-up. ;> Note the lack of crusts on the bread - this is the most common way of serving a sandwich.
Some similarities with breakfast food we might be used to in the States, but also some stark differences. Yummy nonetheless! :>
Some similarities with breakfast food we might be used to in the States, but also some stark differences. Yummy nonetheless! :>
We have a place to live!
It was a long, strange road, but this week we finally signed a three-month lease on a new place...and we moved in immediately. Here's a look at our new landlord posing with us in the dining area...
His name is Anthony and he's truly a wonderful fellow. But why sign for just three months, you ask? The answer lies in that long, strange road I mentioned. First, some background...
Before we left Ann Arbor, Katherine applied to become the warden of a residence hall at the University of Hong Kong. (Similar to a prison warden, I guess, but with students instead of inmates. ;>) A warden manages most aspects of the dorm (procedures, policies, discipline, admittance, the general atmosphere, etc) and, in return, is given an apartment situated atop the dorm. It's a wonderful way to make a positive impact in students' lives outside of the classroom.
As part of the warden hiring process for this particular residence hall, Katherine participated in three different interviews (with current students living in the dorm, alumni of the dorm, and the wardenship selection committee). They all went very well, so we felt pretty good about her chances.
Unfortunately, though, on February 28th, she was informed that another candidate had been selected for the position. We were disappointed, but quickly picked ourselves up and started looking for a permanent place to live (instead of the more expensive, month-to-month arrangement of the "service apartment" we had been living in). Let's walk through a timeline from that point until now...
March 1st: We found an apartment we wanted. After some difficult negotiating, we came to an agreement with the landlord and planned to sign the lease agreement on March 2nd.
March 2nd: At the last minute, the landlord used a pressure tactic and changed the terms of the agreement (raising our rent by a few hundred US dollars). I suppose he was hoping that we were desperate enough to swallow the pill, but we weren't since we still had a full month left in our current lease. So we walked away.
March 4th: We found another place - one which we liked even better than the first. We made an offer and, without any negotiating, came to an agreement with the landlord (a much nicer process than the first go-round). We setup a 3pm meeting to sign the lease on the following day. (Note that the landlord had to drive about 3 hours from mainland China to be present for the signing.)
March 5th: Only an hour before the lease signing, Katherine was informed that the wardenship selection committee was not quite as certain about their candidate selection as once thought. She was asked to wait on signing a lease for one week to let everything get sorted out. This put us in a strange position. The landlord was already on his way from China, so we couldn't really cancel the meeting. Instead, we went and explained the situation and the landlord was unbelievably understanding and sympathetic - a really wonderful man. The kind of landlord you dream of having, actually. He did not ask us to sign anything and told us to contact him again if the warden's position fell through.
Three weeks passed and we heard nothing from the wardenship selection committee. The lease in our current place only had a week left in it, so we decided to give up on the wardenship and contact the landlord again. The place hadn't been rented yet, amazingly, so we setup another lease-signing meeting for 11AM on March 25th.
March 25th: At 2AM, 8 hours before our signing, Katherine received an e-mail from the head of the wardenship selection committee, telling her that the originally-selected candidate had officially backed-out and that the selection committee would now be recommending that Katherine be extended an offer for the job. Katherine was up late working, so she got the note as it arrived and, of course, she woke me up to deliver the news. We were in shock and had to figure out what to do with the lease signing that was hours away.
We realized, though, that we did indeed need a place to stay for the next three months, since it is likely that we wouldn't be able to move into the warden's apartment until sometime in June. We could renew the contract for our current place, or we could move into this new place. We ran a calculation and, if we offered to pay the entire agent commission (equivalent to one month of rent, usually split between landlord and tenant) as a concession for all the trouble we had put this landlord through, the cost of living here and the cost of living in the new place would be nearly the same for 3 a month period. Moving incurs more effort, and we'd need to buy some extra furniture and various odds and ends, but we decided we would rather go through that in order to keep our promise.
The last piece of the puzzle: Would the landlord be willing to sign only a 3 month lease? This is almost never done. Usually, the minimum is one year. At the meeting, we talked through everything and, in the end, successfully negotiated a 3 month least at the same rent price we had originally agreed upon a month earlier. The lease was signed and we were ready to move in immediately. Whew!
March 28th: Movers came to transfer all of our goodies and we're in! Nothing is setup yet, but we made it. ;> A wild ride, no?
His name is Anthony and he's truly a wonderful fellow. But why sign for just three months, you ask? The answer lies in that long, strange road I mentioned. First, some background...
Before we left Ann Arbor, Katherine applied to become the warden of a residence hall at the University of Hong Kong. (Similar to a prison warden, I guess, but with students instead of inmates. ;>) A warden manages most aspects of the dorm (procedures, policies, discipline, admittance, the general atmosphere, etc) and, in return, is given an apartment situated atop the dorm. It's a wonderful way to make a positive impact in students' lives outside of the classroom.
As part of the warden hiring process for this particular residence hall, Katherine participated in three different interviews (with current students living in the dorm, alumni of the dorm, and the wardenship selection committee). They all went very well, so we felt pretty good about her chances.
Unfortunately, though, on February 28th, she was informed that another candidate had been selected for the position. We were disappointed, but quickly picked ourselves up and started looking for a permanent place to live (instead of the more expensive, month-to-month arrangement of the "service apartment" we had been living in). Let's walk through a timeline from that point until now...
March 1st: We found an apartment we wanted. After some difficult negotiating, we came to an agreement with the landlord and planned to sign the lease agreement on March 2nd.
March 2nd: At the last minute, the landlord used a pressure tactic and changed the terms of the agreement (raising our rent by a few hundred US dollars). I suppose he was hoping that we were desperate enough to swallow the pill, but we weren't since we still had a full month left in our current lease. So we walked away.
March 4th: We found another place - one which we liked even better than the first. We made an offer and, without any negotiating, came to an agreement with the landlord (a much nicer process than the first go-round). We setup a 3pm meeting to sign the lease on the following day. (Note that the landlord had to drive about 3 hours from mainland China to be present for the signing.)
March 5th: Only an hour before the lease signing, Katherine was informed that the wardenship selection committee was not quite as certain about their candidate selection as once thought. She was asked to wait on signing a lease for one week to let everything get sorted out. This put us in a strange position. The landlord was already on his way from China, so we couldn't really cancel the meeting. Instead, we went and explained the situation and the landlord was unbelievably understanding and sympathetic - a really wonderful man. The kind of landlord you dream of having, actually. He did not ask us to sign anything and told us to contact him again if the warden's position fell through.
Three weeks passed and we heard nothing from the wardenship selection committee. The lease in our current place only had a week left in it, so we decided to give up on the wardenship and contact the landlord again. The place hadn't been rented yet, amazingly, so we setup another lease-signing meeting for 11AM on March 25th.
March 25th: At 2AM, 8 hours before our signing, Katherine received an e-mail from the head of the wardenship selection committee, telling her that the originally-selected candidate had officially backed-out and that the selection committee would now be recommending that Katherine be extended an offer for the job. Katherine was up late working, so she got the note as it arrived and, of course, she woke me up to deliver the news. We were in shock and had to figure out what to do with the lease signing that was hours away.
We realized, though, that we did indeed need a place to stay for the next three months, since it is likely that we wouldn't be able to move into the warden's apartment until sometime in June. We could renew the contract for our current place, or we could move into this new place. We ran a calculation and, if we offered to pay the entire agent commission (equivalent to one month of rent, usually split between landlord and tenant) as a concession for all the trouble we had put this landlord through, the cost of living here and the cost of living in the new place would be nearly the same for 3 a month period. Moving incurs more effort, and we'd need to buy some extra furniture and various odds and ends, but we decided we would rather go through that in order to keep our promise.
The last piece of the puzzle: Would the landlord be willing to sign only a 3 month lease? This is almost never done. Usually, the minimum is one year. At the meeting, we talked through everything and, in the end, successfully negotiated a 3 month least at the same rent price we had originally agreed upon a month earlier. The lease was signed and we were ready to move in immediately. Whew!
March 28th: Movers came to transfer all of our goodies and we're in! Nothing is setup yet, but we made it. ;> A wild ride, no?
A beautiful bowl of noodles...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Glamourous Hong Kong tutors...
It is very common for Hong Kong secondary school students to receive after-school tutoring, especially when preparing for their Certificate and A-level exams. A whole industry has been built around this and, amazingly, it is marketed with techniques that are very similar to those used in the entertainment industry. Let's look at an example advertisement (which I found on the back of a bus yesterday)...
This is an English tutor, but you'll find ads like this for tutors in every subject. Individuals are promoted like movie or recording stars and the actual company they work for is mentioned more like an afterthought. This can drive up the popularity of particular tutors - and the more popular a tutor is, the more expensive, and the more he or she is paid. The really popular ones, for example, make an excess of US$1 million per year. Want to come be a tutor? ;>
This is an English tutor, but you'll find ads like this for tutors in every subject. Individuals are promoted like movie or recording stars and the actual company they work for is mentioned more like an afterthought. This can drive up the popularity of particular tutors - and the more popular a tutor is, the more expensive, and the more he or she is paid. The really popular ones, for example, make an excess of US$1 million per year. Want to come be a tutor? ;>
An Easter lunch with Katherine's parents...
Two days ago I promoted "no food" posts. Yesterday I retracted that with an Indonesian food post. Today I'm back to my old food-post tricks. Inescapable.
Yesterday we took a trip to Katherine's parents' place (still very much in Hong Kong, but about 45 minutes by bus from where we live - Hong Kong is big) for an Easter lunch (feast!) that Katherine's mother had prepared...
Yesterday we took a trip to Katherine's parents' place (still very much in Hong Kong, but about 45 minutes by bus from where we live - Hong Kong is big) for an Easter lunch (feast!) that Katherine's mother had prepared...
A fresh fish steamed whole with ginger,
cilantro, and shallots (extremely tender!).
cilantro, and shallots (extremely tender!).
Young Chinese broccoli with Chinese pork sausage.
Squid with a cabbage-like vegetable that
Katherine's mother pickled herself.
Katherine's mother pickled herself.
Eggs stewed in a "special sauce".
Rather like Chinese Easter eggs! ;>
Rather like Chinese Easter eggs! ;>
Watercress soup.
She also prepared "bajek", an Indonesian salad very similar to "gado-gado" (which we ate at the Indonesian restaurant a few days ago). I'll give you a component-by-component walkthough of its construction...
Peanut sauce. This is the key!
Fried chunks of tofu.
Cabbage and string beans.
The above components are combined with bean sprouts.
And then fried chips are placed on top.
Gado-gado would use shrimp chips, this salad used
fruit chips (of which I know no English translation).
Gado-gado would use shrimp chips, this salad used
fruit chips (of which I know no English translation).
Dig in!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
An Indonesian dinner...
Okay - so, in my last post, I proudly reported the lack of food coverage this week. A day later, I have caved. It was inevitable, I suppose. ;>
Katherine and I went to Causeway Bay yesterday for a few hours of furniture shopping (though we don't have everything finalized just yet, we believe we have found a new permanent place to live and expect to move there in under a week). Afterwards, we visited an excellent Indonesian place called "Padang"...
Katherine and I went to Causeway Bay yesterday for a few hours of furniture shopping (though we don't have everything finalized just yet, we believe we have found a new permanent place to live and expect to move there in under a week). Afterwards, we visited an excellent Indonesian place called "Padang"...
The interior. It's popular. :>
Indonesian roti (flat bread)
Gudeg ayam (jackfruit with chicken and eggs in a coconut sauce)
I'm not sure that the pictures make everything look yummy, but it very much was! Following our meal, we engaged in something very key to Hong Kong culture: the late-night snack! Nearby, just outside Times Square (a huge shopping mall in Causeway Bay), we stopped by a favorite snack stall and picked up two small things...
"Little Chicken Eggs"
(a delicious waffle-like treat that has a hint of coconut flavor)
(a delicious waffle-like treat that has a hint of coconut flavor)
Yum!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Riding in a Hong Kong trolley...
After touring the flower show, we hitched a ride to our dinner spot with Hong Kong Tramways. Trolleys are a fun and cheap way to get around the north side of Hong Kong Island (though they are a bit slow, so you wouldn't commonly travel long distances on them).
This particular trolley, perhaps because of the flower show, was unusually overcrowded, so I thought I'd let you experience it...
This particular trolley, perhaps because of the flower show, was unusually overcrowded, so I thought I'd let you experience it...
It was quite a squeeze, to be sure.
Note that, this week, I am showing incredible restraint by not having a single food-related post. Amazing!
Happy Easter, everyone!
Note that, this week, I am showing incredible restraint by not having a single food-related post. Amazing!
Happy Easter, everyone!
Coverage of the 2008 Hong Kong Flower Show!
Each year, in March, Hong Kong hosts a week-long flower show. This year it was held in Victoria Park, which isn't all that far from where we live, so we decided to team up with Katherine's family this weekend and canvas the event.
It was huge. I can't say I've ever seen so many beautiful flowers packed into one location. (Or so many people packed into one location to look at so many beautiful flowers. :>) My pictures don't really capture that so well, but let's take a look at what they do capture...
It was huge. I can't say I've ever seen so many beautiful flowers packed into one location. (Or so many people packed into one location to look at so many beautiful flowers. :>) My pictures don't really capture that so well, but let's take a look at what they do capture...
The entrance to the show.
Taking a picture of yourself holding a ticket isn't all that easy.
HK$14 is about US$2. Well worth that price.
HK$14 is about US$2. Well worth that price.
A whole lotta tulips - and a whole lotta people taking pictures of those tulips!
A 360 degree panoramic video taken pretty close to the center of the show.
A 360 degree panoramic video taken pretty close to the center of the show.
Katherine's brother (making his first GKHK appearance!)
and mother posing with a racing flower topiary.
and mother posing with a racing flower topiary.
A floral sculpture commemorating the 2008 Olympics
(which was a common theme at the flower show).
(which was a common theme at the flower show).
Katherine and I strolling together, enjoying the surrounding flowers while carrying a few that we just bought (very cheaply, I might add - about US$4 for what you see). Incidentally, once I started carrying these flowers, I was almost constantly approached by people who were wanting to look at them, wanting to know how much they were, and wanting to know where to find them.
A few shots of us posing with a wall of flowers.
And a close-up on one of the flowers which adorned that wall.
I'm posing here with an extremely rare species of plant (welwitschia mirabilis) which isn't particularly pretty, but is capable of living for thousands of years. It was guarded much like a national treasure.
These orchids look remarkably like dancing ladies!
(And the Cantonese name is, in fact, "dancing orchid".)
(And the Cantonese name is, in fact, "dancing orchid".)
These guys were just so cute that I HAD to sneak in a little
kiss while the security forces were distracted.
kiss while the security forces were distracted.
This was a pretty quick look, and far from comprehensive, but hopefully it gave you an idea of the fun we had!
An exciting day for Fui Fui!
And that day is: bath day! Woo!
We like to bathe Fui Fui once a week (time permitting) and I thought you might enjoy getting a peek. Those offended by nude cat footage might want to look away, however. ;>
First, we approach the unsuspecting cat...
Then we take him to the shower for a thorough brushing...
Yes, that is an enormous mass of post-brushing hair in the upper left corner. Hong Kong is getting warmer, so Fui Fui is starting to shed.
Next comes some bath-time video!
He's actually extremely behaved in the bathtub. He'll walk around and struggle a bit, but never hiss, growl, bite, or scratch. He also seems to love that freshly-bathed feeling (running in a playfully excited way through the apartment for quite some time), so maybe that's why he's so tolerant during the process.
Here he is, being a very good boy while soaking wet...
After we dry him off, it's time for a little reward...
Bird watching with daddy!
We like to bathe Fui Fui once a week (time permitting) and I thought you might enjoy getting a peek. Those offended by nude cat footage might want to look away, however. ;>
First, we approach the unsuspecting cat...
Then we take him to the shower for a thorough brushing...
Yes, that is an enormous mass of post-brushing hair in the upper left corner. Hong Kong is getting warmer, so Fui Fui is starting to shed.
Next comes some bath-time video!
He's actually extremely behaved in the bathtub. He'll walk around and struggle a bit, but never hiss, growl, bite, or scratch. He also seems to love that freshly-bathed feeling (running in a playfully excited way through the apartment for quite some time), so maybe that's why he's so tolerant during the process.
Here he is, being a very good boy while soaking wet...
After we dry him off, it's time for a little reward...
Bird watching with daddy!
Visiting the "bone doctor"...
If you recall, the very first day we were in Hong Kong, Katherine sprained her right ankle. It's been a few months, but she still has lingering pain, so we decided to go visit a nearby "bone doctor". He's the Chinese equivalent to a chiropractor and uses both massage and topical herb techniques.
Katherine had actually visited a different bone doctor the day of her injury (and again a few days later), but he didn't appear to have much impact. This bone doctor experience, however, was quite different. The process was pretty painful for Katherine, but afterwards her ankle was feeling noticeably better. (Her range of motion was improved and movement which caused pain previously no longer did.)
Let's take a look at the first stage of the procedure in a little video...
The doctor is examining and realigning the muscles and joints in her foot. Next, the doctor's assistant applies an herbal compress...
Just a little glimpse into one facet of Chinese medicine.
Katherine had actually visited a different bone doctor the day of her injury (and again a few days later), but he didn't appear to have much impact. This bone doctor experience, however, was quite different. The process was pretty painful for Katherine, but afterwards her ankle was feeling noticeably better. (Her range of motion was improved and movement which caused pain previously no longer did.)
Let's take a look at the first stage of the procedure in a little video...
The doctor is examining and realigning the muscles and joints in her foot. Next, the doctor's assistant applies an herbal compress...
Just a little glimpse into one facet of Chinese medicine.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The newest official Hong Kong resident...
...is me!
My new Hong Kong Smart ID card!
Me, excited and with my new HKID outside the booth where I picked it up.
Me, still excited with my new HKID and visa outside the Immigration Department building.
This concludes all the work needed for me to legally live in Hong Kong. A major milestone!
Hong Kong Hot Dogs!
You might be surprised to learn that hot dogs are quite popular in Hong Kong. So popular, in fact, that they are a common breakfast item (akin to a link of sausage). I'm not a morning-hot-dog-person, though, so this post will be void of that experience. Instead, I give you some absolutely delicious dogs from a gourmet frankfurter shop that's just up the street from us...
A meal that Katherine and I shared: crispy onion rings and two different dogs on toasted buns (the "toppings" are cleverly laid underneath the meat so as to protect them from falling out).
"Jumbo frankfurter" with bacon, pineapple, and "German" ketchup.
Spicy debrecziner (Hungarian) sausage with ketchup, onions, and sauerkraut.
I kid you not, these were out of this world. The best hot dogs I've ever had (especially the first one).
Two nights of Thai...
This past weekend, Katherine and I went over to the Kennedy Town district on both Friday and Saturday in order to try the same Thai restaurant twice. (The first visit was so good that we just had to go again to explore the menu further.) I present the proof...
Spicy green papaya salad
The house specialty: Thai style Hainan Chicken Rice
Chicken tom yum goong
Thai soup noodles with slices of pork neck
Beef tongue. Yes, the tongue of a cow.
It was surprisingly tender - somewhat akin to tofu.
It was surprisingly tender - somewhat akin to tofu.
Everything was excellent - except for the beef tongue. The texture, while a bit odd, didn't bother me, but the smell was very strange. I believe one experiment with that is enough. ;)
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