Undeterred Life in HK

End of 3 months

noreply@blogger.com (Wonton Power) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:06:00 +0000

The end of my 3 month stint has come and gone and honestly I feel like it's been only 3 weeks.

I have enjoyed my time here immensely. Originally for those of you that don't know I was going to come back to US from Dec 5th until March. Certain things have changed that and I have decided to come back to HK Jan 13th instead. A little bit ahead of chinese new year.

As much as I love the SF Bay Area. I feel the need to be out here for a little longer. I will dearly miss my friends and family of course but they will always be there and a "short" 12-14 hour flight back if I need to.

Being in HK has made me realize just how much the bay area has meant to me. There are a lot of things I took for granted that are not available here in HK. One simple example is that we are trying to make a thanksgiving dinner here in HK but no oven therefore no turkey, no mac and cheese, no corn bread.......Sad isn't it?

HK is also not a very big art city either. They do have some great shows come into town but not nearly at the frequency SF or NY carries them at. I realize it's kinda of sad that I didn't go to them more often back in SF.

This third month my body has been telling me no more partying for you PAT. This past weekend I turned a friend down for the first time to go out to Lan Kwai Fong to Party. Even I thought it was strange for me.

All in all it has been a great three months. I am really looking forward to a little bit of time back in SF. Food, Friends, Family and of course libations and operas around! At the beginning I didn't want to come back but now I am really excited to. I will miss parts of my life and certain people here in HK when I am gone but always a short phone call away :)

See you all very soon. This may be my last posting until I get back to SF

Halloween in HK

noreply@blogger.com (Wonton Power) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:07:00 +0000

Halloween has come and gone. Let me tell you something it was quite an experience.

There was just a massive amount of people. We had to walk in a large cirlce around Lan Kwai Fong just to get to it. I felt like a celebrity walking down the red carpet. People were standing behind gates taking a ton of pictures!

Here is a picture of who I went as take a good guess!

This was at Club Q97. Had a little too much fun there with the old bottle.....

I am sure to find random picture of me popping up everywhere on the net. Halloween has officially been "Hallmarked" in HK. It is simply amazing what a huge ordeal it is over here. Even the small children stay out late IN LKF to take in all the sites and sounds. You really have to be there to see it. Still much safer than the Castro is on Halloween but still crazy.

People simply stopped us on the road to take pictures with us. As a matter a fact when my fried the night mare before Christmas guy in the middle that you see were walking around a club in LKF we were simply stopped every few seconds to take group pictures with their friends. All I hear is whhhaaaa JOKAH! It was fun to begin with than it felt like a chore afterwards but all in all I still had a blast as usual.

Dragged my butt back home at 5:30 am again. The day after Halloween I went out again until about 3 AM. HK is crazy when it comes to this life. If it is non stop here and this past weekend simply shows how true that fact is. I saw people in costumes th, fri and sat!

I will post more pictures as they come. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera! Although it maybe a good thing because I probably would've lost it 5 times over by now =P

Do share with me your stories of Halloween if you can. I am very interested.

Take care and goodnight!

Month 2

noreply@blogger.com (Wonton Power) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:52:00 +0000

I can't believe I have just a little over a month left here.

Makes me a bit sad to think about it. But I have decided to take my move date up to late January to early February. Which means I need to rent my house out and live with my parents for 1 mont or so......That'll be interesting.

Thanks to all that have supported me on my decision.

Been pretty busy here with a lot of stuff work and life related but it has been really good.

Yesterday I went to ShenZhen to take care of some personal matters. It wasn't as bad I I remembered it from earlier during the year. Not as busy as I though immigration took me no time to pass through.

One side note. Bank of China sucks.....they make you wait in line for an hour or two just to tell you sorry you can't do that(no matter the circumstance it seems)......Moving money....I swear all they say is NO!...
1) can i have my money...NO!
2) can i exchange money...NO!
3) but it's my money!......NO!

Good luck with everything V! I hope everything turns out well for you no matter the situation. Just be happy.

Helped a friend move recently.....5th Floor no elevator....Welcome to HK haha. It's ok though happy to do it. My arms are still sore though haha quite a workout even without the luggage.
Don't get lazy now!

Will post more. Gonna try my hand at cooking in HK today.

One of Many Weekends

noreply@blogger.com (Wonton Power) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:20:00 +0000

Well actually so far this has been known as THE WEEKEND....
This was when my friend visited me from Shanghai.

As promised here you are.

Open Karaoke HK Style. This is how the locals roll. Smoke filled room. Never ever bring or wear anything nice to events like these. You will find yourself smelling of the smoke for days. Ahhh the essence of Marlboro, Mild Seven, Lucky Strike and Kent all in one room......

Another night at Sugar......

Later that night at Sugar.......

Give me your number and I'll call

Destroyed...........

My Humble Abode

noreply@blogger.com (Wonton Power) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:48:00 +0000

You might wonder what my living conditions are in HK.

I have moved into the unit next door to the one I was living in before. It is small by US standards but all in all not bad. I live 1/4 of a block from the MTR (HK Subway). Which makes it extremely convenient to travel to HK island and back.

Here are some pictures of my modest home....

I am happy I have this space to myself. The only thing that took me some getting used to as you can see is the integrated shower slash toilet......I always have to think ahead of time what i need to do first =P

So far comfortable living.....Still miss the large amounts of space I had back at home. I still prefer to live on Island side most of these days but....$$$$. If no house in US than i wouldn't mind paying rent and moving to the other side. Those taxi rides back to Kwoloon at night are killing me. $85 one way each time they really need to run an owl line of some sort or I need to figure out how these crazy green mini buses work......To visit people on the island i don't mind at all.

Energy in HK

noreply@blogger.com (Wonton Power) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 06:51:00 +0000

I came to the realization that i don't need as much sleep in HK as I do in the US...(yes yes i know some of you are thinking you didn't sleep in the US either) But I was tired in the US here I am not tired. There is an aura of energy here in HK that doesn't exist in the US

Mainly business energy and party life as well.

I find myself really pushing myself more and more and working harder here in HK than I do in the US. people around me work so hard it really gets me in the working mode. I see so many successful people here in HK and I would like to one day be one of them. Success and the fact that i believe in this company are the main driving factors in my work ethic. Because of this I can see why people party so hard here in HK.

**Partying life**

I segue into this from work because as written above partying hard is a way of life here. People need an out from their hard work days so on weekends its non stop partying here. I've noticed I can party hard and come home and still stay up until 5-6 AM without batting an eye lash. It is really quite a strange concept when I first got here but got used to it very quickly.

People just tend to drag me out on the weekends regardless and I got used to partying until 4 am going home sleeping for 6 hours and waking up to meet people for lunch. Ah What a LIFE......

You do get sick of it eventually but I haven't!

This city is always bustling. It's a bit scary when I walk out of my apartment at 1 AM in the morning in Tsim Sha Tsui and I see a massive amount of people still out walking on the street. We are talking about people of all ages. Kids, Teens, Adults, Older Generation. It's amazing to simply watch that. It blew my mind at the beginning but now I am totally used to it. That is why when my friends came they asked me what time I wanted to meet up at a club I told them 1 AM. They were a bit surprised by my answer. We are way to used to having to go out around 11 PM back in the states cause we need to get as much partying done as possible before the 1:30 AM last call......how disappointing.......

So far so good. I have not worn myself out yet. My body has shutdown on me briefly sometime 2 weeks ago when my friend was visiting and we were partying 6 days straight. Even I can't take that!

FOOD FOOD FOOD

noreply@blogger.com (Wonton Power) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:43:00 +0000

For those of you that know me you know that food is a very important aspect in my life.

I always told myself during happy times and down times the thing that has always stayed consistent are my family, friends and FOOD.

There are many great joys in life and Food is one of them.

People here in HK ask me how can I have dinner for 2-3 hours? Apparently dinner in HK last about 1 hour at the most.

I let them know that dinner is my way of socializing with my friends. I try to explain to them rather than go clubbing or go out drinking afterwards sometimes I prefer to spend my entire night sitting at a restaurant enjoying the company of my friends over a few glasses of cocktails and some really great food.*

*this does not apply to wonton noodle bars =P

For instance. Just a few days ago. My friend and I went to this great restaurant in the IFC called Isola. I highly recommend it! Food is great and the outdoor patio deck which is as big as the restaurant has a beautiful view of the HK harbour.

IFC is the tallest building in HK and is the same building that Batman para glided into in his recent movie. Kinda looks like a giant phallus don't you think?

Back to food. This place was pretty good. It was of the Italian flair. We had an order of one of the best cooked medium rare fillet's I have tasted in a long time! On top of the fillet was a piece of goose liver as big as the meat itself. We also had a stone oven fired pizza with hand cut pepperoni. Of course a tasty arugula, mushroom, salad.

We spent a few hours at dinner and spent the rest of the time in the outdoor patio having coffee and hanging out.

This is a prime example of what I enjoy doing. Simple pleasures in life.

Had Dim Sum here for the 1st time since I came back this time. I went to a place called Jade Garden on a friend recommendation. There are two in causeway bay and a few others scattered around the rest of HK Island and Kowloon. I went to the one in Causeway Bay off Hysan Road right off of Percival St near Times Square. Needless to say delicious! A friend of mine made a good point in that why is it that it tastes better in HK than it does in SF? I was wondering that myself and the only conclusion that I could come up with is that the turnover for the dim sum is really high in HK and its constantly fresh. But that didn't make sense for some dishes like the Chang Fen. The noodle itself was just better. The skin of the Shao Mai was better as well.....

I guess HK just simply more skillful in their preparation.....

Sorry I do not take pictures of food when I eat. By the time I try to whip out a camera the food is gone!

Fundamental difference between HK Island and Kowloon when it comes to food.

HK Island has more expensive high class food then Kowloon does. Although in Tsim Sha Tsui there are a few little nooks and crannies like Knutsford Steps where you can get some real good quality Italian food at a price of course.

Kowloon has more of the great cheap local food here. Wonton Noodle Soup. BBQ meats over rice. Cafe Style Food.

I'll try to post some pictures next time unfortunately it will be posted from my iPhone.

HK - Month Long Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Wonton Power) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 03:52:00 +0000

Month long recap of HK......

All in all HK is a great place. I would never replace it with the greatest place ever.....SF

My 1st week was pretty rough. A lot of you know this because you got many phone calls from me. I realized my social network here was not as big as I thought as a lot of my friends were either in relationships or have moved away from HK.

I made it an effort to go out and meet random people and luckily things have worked out really great.

I have met different groups of people I would not readily call friends yet but more hang out type people. Party people, Dinner people, and of course my business partners family.

Work is something I do not want to get to. That is just mundane. I'll give a recap on that with my next post.

week 1 - Bad week, No friends, eating by myself....Home sick
week 2 - Forced myself into uncomfortable situations. Met a lot of random people. Mostly good and some psycho
week 3 - Friend came to Hk on vacation. Had a great time kept me occupied for 5 days. Really got me going in the sense of getting comfortable here.
week 4 - At this point. I have almost reached my goal of being able to call someone if I want to grab dinner anytime during the week. It has been a hectic month starting from week 2. After my friend left from week 3. My friend came from Shanghai to visit. She warned me that I was going to possibly die from exhaustion. Boy she was not kidding. I think I partied for 6 nights straight! We are talking about coming home at 5 AM everyday type deal.
week 5 - been hanging out with a friend of mine that recently moved here from SF. It is interesting the differing opinions i get about HK. My experience has been great so far! I have learned something about HK with my many conversations with my friend is that it is indeed a very superficial place. But just like everywhere it is what you make of it. I do not let how HK is turn me into a different person fundamentally. I enjoy all aspects of HK but at the same time I am not afraid to do or express what I feel to people here. They may find me strange but that is whom I am. I really try to go out and find a piece of SF here in HK. From Gardens to off the beaten path places. I enjoy doing what is out of the norm for HK. Next up on my list finding kid of artistic feel to HK perhaps a trip to Macau.
week 6 - Work Work Work!

More to come later