Hong Kong - April 2016

On Sunday I had a walk through Wan Chai to buy some things. I am finding muesli hard to find, but there's a shop next to where I live that sells Australian muesli cheap.

Went to a bakery and bought some pastry type things (chicken pie and pork pastries).

Caught the number 15 bus from Queens Road to The Peak. Walked the morning trail circuit. Easy 3km, relatively level.

Lion's Lookout. It's very foggy.

Then walked down to Central via Old Peak Road. That's a hard walk. Very steep and although easier than going up, is still hard on the legs !

Then met my friend and took him over to TST on the Star Ferry. Dinner in TST, and ferry back.

Here are some pics of my very small room...

Sunday is helpers day off...Central is crazy...

Monday after work, went to the gym and then met my mate for dinner in Wellington Street. Went to Wang Fu, a well known dumpling restaurant. I had been there before and it's very good. Next time I will order a side of veges.

Tuesday met my friend Tricia for a drink in Elgin Street - Flutes. Nice upmarket bar open to the street. Happy hour until 8pm which is normal. Drinks were still HKD70 each.

Wednesday I went to the gym and then packed for my trip back to Sydney tomorrow. Vietnamese for dinner in Wan Chai.

Thursday night I flew back to Sydney

Friday I spent the day with the kids in Sydney. Dinner at Tex Mex in Mona Vale. Nice to be home.

View from roof of IFC...

My building, Exchange Square 2...

Going home on the tram...

Monday I flew back to HK from Sydney. Was a good 3 days in Sydney. Flight was fine.

Wednesday I went to trivia at The Canny Man in Wan Chai. Apparently the only Scottish bar in HK.

Thursday I moved to my new apartment in SOHO. SOHO is an area in Central popular with expats and is short for South Of Hollywood Road. I love it there. It is right on the Mid-Levels Escalator and much bigger than my last place. It also has a massive terrace which is quite rare.

To move, I used UBER for the first time which was very easy and reasonable. UBER is not huge here, I think as cabs are very cheap and plentiful.

Friday night I met my friend Tricia for a drink and dinner. Also there were her husband Dayne and a guy we both used to work with years ago, Kane, and his partner Marc. We went to Flutes in Elgin Street which is right where I live. Then to a Chinese restaurant which was nice. Then to more bars in the area. I broke my entertainment budget !

Found a new Vietnamese place in Sheung Wan...Pho 26...

Macau - Saturday 16 April 2016

Met my friend in Central and we walked along the overhead pedestrian walkway to the Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan.

Rookie error #1
Bought tickets at the machine. We thought A$70 was a lot for a 1 hour ferry ride but whatever. We were then given priority boarding and provided with breakfast. We had accidentally booked first class which was not worth it and was twice the price. We didn't even attempt to eat the breakfast. Oh well.

Arrived in Macau at 10am and were about to catch a taxi when I saw bus #3. I knew from my research that bus #3 was the one to catch to get to where we wanted to go. We paid with HKD coins.

Rookie error #2
I said to my friend that it's easy to get on the right bus, but it's harder to know when to get off. We had a laugh but sure enough we didn't get off and ended up 2 km further on than we wanted.

No drama, we found a temple so walked in. Ooops, funeral service. No wonder there were heaps of flowers outside.

Anyway, we climbed the fort and took some photos. We were definitely in a 'local' area. We then walked the 2 km back to where we should have gone in the first place.

Was an interesting walk. Lots of motor cycles and a European feel, with cobbled laneways etc.

Found the ruins of St Paul's, and toured the crypt. We busy with tourists, largely Chinese mainlanders I would say.

Climbed the Monte Fort which is right there. Nice views. Views across to China.

Had lunch at Ou Man Cafe in the old town and then caught a shuttle to The Venetian. Massive and same as the one in Vegas with the fake St Mark's Square with canals and real gondolas. The casino part was completely overrun by mainland Chinese and after 15 minutes we had to get out of there.

Ferry back to HK. Economy was half the price we paid this morning and just as comfortable.

Dinner at a Thai place in Wan Chai that I had been to before. Nice pad thai.

Then a glass of wine at Uptown 90, a bar in Jaffe Road that had live music.

Coffee at Pret-a-Manger in IFC Hong Kong...reminds me of London...

Temple in Macau...

Cat lady at fort...

From the first fort...

Looking down the steps at St Paul's...Grand Lisboa in the background...

From behind...only a facade left...

The crypt...

From the top of Monte Fort...

Nice architecture...

The Venetian...

Dog shoes...

Hong Kong - new job !

Started the new job on Tuesday 5 April. Office is on Level 36 of Exchange Square 2 which is very centrally located.

I caught the tram in but on subsequent days I caught the bus which is quicker and goes right through my building.

Got taken to lunch nearly every day, with the highlight being taken by the Managing Partner to the Mandarin Grill.

Opened a bank account, so another admin thing done. HK may be a banking centre of the world, but the banking system is not that sophisticated. I was even given a cheque book !

People are nice. A good mix of Poms, Aussies and locals. Worked pretty long hours which is the norm.

Finished the week by having a beer in Lan Kwai Fong (LKF). Very busy due to the rugby.

One random dinner...haven't had a bad meal yet...and it's very cheap to eat in a 'local' restaurant...

LKF on a Friday night. This guy is spruiking pretty full on. Beginning of Hong Kong Sevens, so busier than normal...

On Sunday, the plan was to go to Lamma Island, a 30 minute ferry ride. I found the pier and caught the ferry. They go every 15 minutes. However it was pouring with rain so I came back on the same ferry. Will have to wait for another day.

Went for coffee in Wan Chai at Roastery / 18 Grams which I have been to before and quite like the feel of.

Then toured a couple of gyms - Fitness First and California Fitness. Walked out of both, much to the disappointment of the sales people. Nothing new there. Then went to Central to look at California Fitness there. They had a good rate and the Central timetable was better than Wan Chai. However I decided to join Wan Chai as my home gym, until I move. Was a 2 hour process and lots of hard bargaining, but eventually I got a corporate rate and admin and processing fees were waived. Did sign for 2 years though as that's the minimum.

Had a quick workout and back to Wan Chai for dinner.

Booked my first trip home for next week so excited about that.

I have decided that I want to try living in a different area. My place in Wan Chai is fine, but quite small and I can't really cook there. The view is nothing much and I have no windows that I can open. I find myself feeling the need to go out all the time, rather than hang. It's a great spot though. lots happening, and easy to get around by bus, tram or MTR.

I looked at an apartment in mid-levels, right next to the escalator. A bit tired but much bigger with an extra double bed for visitors. And it has a massive balcony. After a bit of hard bargaining, I agreed to sign a lease for 6 months and will move at the end of April.

Went to the gym in Wan Chai for the first time, which turned out to be quite an unpleasant experience ! I had an appointment for a tour of the gym which is part of the orientation. It turned out to be with a trainer who tested me, told me how bad I was at everything, that I must be lazy for not stretching and how much training I would need. I was expecting a hard sales pitch as that's what California Fitness are known for. When I said no, the trainer kept going, until I said "You are not listening to me. No." She became very annoyed and stormed off. Not very professional of her. When I move, I will change my home gym to Central.

Wednesday night I caught up with a contact for a drink in LKF at Stormies Bar.

Thursday night I had a trial with a Cantonese tutor. I want to keep going with my Cantonese. I will probably go ahead with him, but I want to try and consolidate what I have learnt so far.

Friday night I caught up with a mate from Sydney. We went to a hidden bar in Wanchai that I had stumbled across. Down a dark lane and unmarked door. I wouldn't have gone in if I was alone. First glass of wine since i have been here.

Then went for noodles at my favourite Vietnamese place. I am worried that I am eating out every night, but I think it's relatively healthy.

End of another big week. Macau tomorrow !

Big Wave Bay and Shek O - Saturday 9 April 2016

Today's plan was to hike to Big Wave Bay.

I caught the MTR to the furthest eastern point on the Island Line, Chai Wan.

I then walked though this massive cemetery at the far eastern point of the island which was on a very steep hill. 

Buying your way into heaven...

Then up further I hit the trail not quite where I meant to as I got a bit lost in the cemetery. Pity it's not clearer but gives you an idea of the scale of HK...that's looking across to Kowloon...

Finally got to a park at the top and kept walking. Found a sign to Big Wave Bay. the sign had 1 1/2 and some Chinese characters so I thought it was 1 1/2 km to the bottom, but I think it was 1 1/2 hours. Eventually got to Big Wave Bay which is where I was heading.

Nice beach and small village. However beach was closed due to red tides which was a shame as it was very humid.

Where are the big waves ? :-)

From the beach I walked part way up a massive hill...so I stopped here. I later found out that is looking down to Cape Collinson Correctional Facility...

Looking the other way towards Shek O...

Then I left Big Wave Bay and headed down the road for another few km to Shek O. My favourite place so far. Nice village and lots of nice cafes and a lovely beach. I did some research later and discovered I can't afford to live there ! Flash country club and glamorous golf course. Lots of expats. Not sure if they live there or were just visiting. 

Caught #9 bus back to MTR and home in about 40 minutes.

Then went into Central for my yoga class.