I am in the UK this week with my children (Adrian is in Hong Kong working). Adrian promised them that they could come back to Ilkley to visit their friends. This promise was part of the whole moving negotiations and post-move efforts (bribes?) to get them to stop being angry with us for kidnapping (their term) and forcibly moving them thousands of miles from their customary lives (both literally and in a figural way). To facilitate this visit we are staying in a lovely, self-catering apartment in an old Victorian confection on the edge of Ilkley Moor. There are great views; invigorating walks; easy access to the town; pigs, chickens, and rabbits in the garden; and things to do inside when (note I do not say if) it rains. It is a comfortable, rather than stuffy, one bed-roomed flat in the daylight basement (so plenty of light). What is particularly nice, however is the fact that there is a reasonable kitchen. Personally, I think it is the provision of kitchen facilities that makes self catering preferable to hotels--that and the fact that you don't have to vacate when the maid wants to come in as there is no maid. I am planning to make the most of this kitchen opportunity. Ilkley has some lovely ways to provision food, as I have suggested in my academic writing, and I intend to make the most of them!
Strangely what I have come to realize on this trip are a couple of things about myself and my relationship with food--or maybe it is my food capacities. Firstly, I have come to understand how difficult it is for me to cook in Hong Kong. While you can really get pretty much anything you want, you do pay a price for it that, quite frankly, puts me right off. I absolutely refuse to pay the equivalent of £15 (about $20 US) for what I view as a rather scrawny chicken. I was in the Otley (UK) Waitrose tonight with Simon and saw a HUGE chicken in the cooler. It looked a bit alien to me as I had forgotten how large British chickens can be--yes I know the conditions under which many are reared and am aware of the environmental/genetic/hormonal acrobatics that go into producing chickens like these large breasted creature that are on sale--but golly I would love to find something vaguely similar for a reasonable price in Hong Kong.
While I did not buy the above chicken, I did buy a lamb shoulder that I plan to slow cook in the oven this weekend. When you cook it on a low heat, with some liquid such as canned tomatoes and wine, and covered with tin foil for several hours it comes out falling off the bone, slightly sticky, and oh so tender and lovely. I am really looking forward to this. I shall make some roasted potatoes and maybe some broad beans to go with it. Again I was able to purchase this shoulder for about £11, where the equivalent in Hong Kong would have cost me easily £35. While what I have purchased is English lamb (this is Waitrose after all), I could have probably gone to another store and gotten New Zealand lamb for less. It is the NZ lamb that one gets in Hong Kong, which makes me more indignant as HK is closer so why is the lamb three times the price--must be something to do with the fact that the Cantonese don't really eat much lamb. Of course maybe they don't eat it because it is so bloody expensive, or the fact that in the south of China it is too hot for sheep and so it isn't part of the tradition. They do eat about everything else though. The story here, however, is that it is very difficult to roast things in Hong Kong. One buys small amounts of the meats one might roast and either cooks them as a stir fry or grinds them up with a bunch of other things (and parts) and puts them into a dumpling of some sort.
This brings me to my second self-observation. Eleven years in the UK was enough time for me to learn to eat like a (middle class) British person. I really struggled (as I am now in HK) when we first moved to the UK with the food and the way it is made available in the shops (note I say shops here not grocery store). There was none of the Mexican ingredients that I had come to rely on in the US, there was no Tuna Helper, there were no Lipton's fried onions (which is really only an issue at Thanksgiving when one wants to make Green Bean Casserole), and the Peanut Butter was wrong. Ironically, I can get all of these things much more easily in Hong Kong (with the exception of Tuna Helper--is that even around any more?). But now, since living in the UK, I long to cook roasts with the accompaniments. Indeed I only learned how to cook roast chicken and lamb and roasted potatoes since moving to the UK. But I got good at them and I came to like them and now I miss the chance to make them. AND I have forgotten how I used to cook in the US. I am sure I have the techniques still, I just have forgotten what I used to make regularly. I found myself so easily whipping up a mix of eggplant, broad beans, and black pudding on toast for my dinner tonight, something that just wouldn't have happened easily were I in Hong Kong tonight--no black pudding or broad beans and the eggplants are the skinny Japanese kind--Thank God the wine is not difficult to find. I've become a good cook in the UK, but am having to learn all over (for the second time) how to cook where I live now.
This is not to say that I am not learning to cook with what is available less expensively in Hong Kong. There are some wonderful fish, greens, and noodles. Part of my difficulty is that many of these ingredients are not listed or illustrated in my many cookbooks. While I have added to my cookbook collection, I find that these books are mainly written for an English speaking audience that does not live in Asia, and as a result, many of the ingredients are not these local foods. This makes sense from a commercial perspective as many of those from the ex-pat community in Hong Kong have live-in helpers who do the cooking and shopping for them, so such a cookbook would not be too useful in this context. Thus the bulk of the potential audience are those who would actually find it difficult to buy these strange fish and odd cuts of meat that can be found in the markets in Hong Kong.
This technical difficulty is compounded by the taste preferences of my family. My children pretty much refuse to eat the local food when it is cooked for them. Mind you, they are of an age where they pretty much refuse to eat anything I cook for them, so no real stress there. Adrian and I, on the other hand have come to realize that we actually prefer a little more spice and flavor than what is typically in Cantonese food. This means cooking Tai or, my favorite Vietnamese food. I have a recipe for a salad with palmetto (a milder, larger form of grapefruit), Chinese cabbage and crab in a fish sauce, lime, chilli dressing that is wonderful. Likewise I do noodles once a week. But I would like to branch out a bit more. Recently I also ate in a Hunanese restaurant. Hunan province is in the north of China and is based more on corn than rice and has stronger flavors, but is not so hot as Szechuan food. I had a roasted eggplant (Aubergine) dish with lots of garlic and a bit of chilli that was absolutely wonderful. I have been unable to copy it however. Something key is missing from my attempts. I think it might be a quest!
In the mean time, I am once again struggling with the intersections of contextual knowledge and design that is spatially specific. Unfortunately as time plays into this, I'll probably reach a stage of proficiency, and at the same time end up replacing rather than expanding my cooking/food knowledge, just at about the moment we decide to move countries again. This will, of course involve (re-)learning how to provision and cook in our new environment. Indeed, in ten years time you may find me writing about my longing for bok choi and complaining that I can only find one kind of soy sauce rather than the 3 or 4 kinds that my recipe calls for (yes this is a feature of Chinese cooking). Whatever happens, I am sure I will enjoy trying to get to grips with this new food environment.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Friday, 8 July 2011
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Rabbits, Sparrows, Dogs, Cats, and Horses
The last month has been characterised for us by an abundance of animals. The dominant animal is, of course the rabbit, as this is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit (or Hare, as rabbits are apparently not native to China). Last year was the year of the Tiger, so in contrast Rabbit years are years of rest and quiet. The actual New Year period was not what I expected, though I must say I found it to be an ideal holiday, coming at just the right time. The actual timing of the New Year is determined by the full moon, so the date changes from year to year, but is usually somewhere around the end of January or sometime in February. Before New Year people clean out the old. This can involve quite serious ridding or may only involve changing the red paper fortunes that are on the alters and on doorways. People also get their hair cut in a new style--Ethan, the guy who cuts my hair said he was up until 1 AM the night before new years doing people's hair in anticipation of the holiday. Everywhere is also decorated with Cherry blossom branches, orange trees, and Chrysanthemums.
The primary part of the New Year is three days here (I believe people take longer off on the mainland) and is characterised by visiting family and eating. In Hong Kong, this is THE holiday. While one could get IKEA delivery on Christmas day, one cannot have the same service over the three days of New Year--DHL certainly does not deliver as we discovered when Sheffield tried to send my marking to me. There is a really good food that you buy as a brick and then fry. It comes in both sweet and savoury and is quite lovely (not anywhere as strong or distinctive as moon cakes). At New Years you can buy this food as a dim sum as well. After the first three days have ended, there is then a period of about 10 days when the New Years celebrations continue.
During the main three days and the weekend after Adrian and I certainly made the most of the holiday. One of Adrian's friends invited us to a family BBQ, which was a great honour as this is usually a time spent just with family and not all and asunder. The BBQ was in a lovely spot overlooking the South China Sea, next to an unusually clean beach. When it was revealed that I have an interest in food to the mother of our host, she then took it upon herself to introduce me to a whole range of foods that I would not have considered or known about. Some of these were absolutely lovely--there was a really nice pudding that was sort of like rice pudding, and some sweet thing like butter brickle, that she had made. One thing people here do at BBQ's is, when they cook the meat over the coals, toward the end they paint the food with honey to make it brown and sweet--really nice--you would be surprised what tastes good cooked with honey on it. We also had some steamed fish, which I believe was flat head grouper, that had been wrapped in foil and baked next to the coals. The most unusual item, however was sparrow. This is a great delicacy, and like many delicacies, is so only in the context within which it is considered as such. The preparation process involves taking the feathers off and then putting them on a stick to make something that looks a bit like a kabob. Note that there is NO other apparent cleaning or dissecting. The skewer is then held over the coals for about 25 minutes and occasionally basted until the birds are cooked and brown. You then try to eat them. There are a lot of bones and not much meat and it is quite difficult to avoid the inside. I was able to pass off two of the first three that I was handed to others who had similarly never tried sparrow, but when the second skewer arrived on my plate those people all made themselves quite scarce. I don't believe I am sufficiently naturalised into this environment to fully appreciate the nuances of sparrow meat. It was a difficult moment, because this was a gift and was a show of respect. I have banned Adrian from announcing to people that I have an interest in food.
Eating Sparrow was not the only thing we did to celebrate the coming of the Year of the Rabbit. We also went on a walk around the hills where we live, we went out with some friends to Plover Cove, and to a village called Tai O. The compound where we live is on the top of a hill and adjacent to Shing Mun Country Park, which is huge, in fact 40% of the area of Hong Kong is comprised of country parks. There is a trail that runs through the park near us called the MacLehose Trail. Actually this trail, runs for about 100 kilometres and runs across most of the New Territories. We can access it from just up from where we live. It is actually a quite difficult trail not just because of its length, but also because it is quite hilly and populated with monkeys and abandoned dogs. When you go out on the trail you must take some sort of stick to ward off both. We just did a short circular walk to the next valley and then down the hill into Fo Tan. Adrian then walked back up the hill as he was in training for the 10K run that was part of the Hong Kong marathon (he did it in just 52 minutes and came 52nd in his race, which had 5000 participants). As I do not run in marathons or any other races, I took the bus home, but as penance I had to carry the very large stick that Adrian collected on the way to ward off the dogs. Incidentally the only dog we ran into was a very friendly dog who walked with us part of the way. The wild dogs however are present and are in the park because people abandon them (and cats) when they move to flats that do not allow pets.
The walk with Bernie and Barbara to Plover Cove the next day was very nice and characterised by beautiful views, abandoned villages, and friendly people. The walk was about 6 miles and in the middle there is a restaurant or Da Pai Dong--actually what we ate at was a bit bigger than the usual Da Pai Dong, but it broadly fits the category. Along our way we kept playing leap frog with two young men who were going camping. They had back packs on, but between them they had a bamboo pole with a cooler hanging, which they told us held their beer. We were a bit worried at this news because we thought it might signal that the restaurant was closed. In fact these two men were also going to the restaurant as one of them was good friends with the owner. When we got there he showed us how to get the beer that the restaurant sold out of the fridge and proceeded to wait on us as the person who owned the restaurant was very busy with several large parties as well as a large group of his own family members. Once we finished our meal, we said goodbye to them and proceeded around the cove. We finished the evening off with a lovely meal in Sai Kung, another one of our favourite destinations.
On the weekend we then went to Tai O. Tai O is a marvellous place--I'v put some photo's on my facebook page for those who are interested. It is a fairly large village at the end of Lantau Island (on the map it is probably closer to Macau than Central Hong Kong). What particularly characterises it, though, is the combination of canals and stilt houses, as the people who live there used to live entirely on the water in boats. Another distinguishing feature is the relative absence of evidence of globalisation despite the number of tourists who visit and the proximity to the airport and Disneyland HK. The only sign I saw was from HSBC, nothing else. This does not mean you can't get an excellent cup of coffee, a meal, or buy something; you can, but it will come from a local retailer. You can also take a boat out into the sea and see the white dolphins, though these are threatened and people are not encouraged to do so. We spent nearly the whole day walking around this lovely, thriving village and had a most enjoyable time. I am sure we will go back. I am concerned for it though as I fear it will disappear as within the next few years the building of a bridge from nearby on Lantau to Macau and then on to the mainland is planned. Tai O looks ripe for redevelopment as it will be the geographic centre of this delta. Indeed, the Pearl River delta is the most rapidly industrialising place in the world and contains over 50,000,000 (yes, 50 million) people making it also the most populated region in the world. I just don't see how Tai O can survive the onslaught of industrial capitalism, but we shall see.
While that was the end of New Year holiday for us, it does carry on for about a week and a half further, when people eat out with friends, pass out red packets (lai see) with money in them to children, subordinates, and unmarried people (so I didn't get any). This is also the period when you find the dragon dancers and lion dancers who go around and perform for lai see packets and bring good luck. All in all, Chinese New Year, in the way that is celebrates family and signals the start of spring, is a happy time that comes during a month that usually, for me, seems pretty dreary.
You may be wondering where the cats and the horses fit in? We are adopting two cats this weekend who were going to be taken to be put down just before the new year. We are very much looking forward to their addition to our family. I'll tell you about the horses another time...
The primary part of the New Year is three days here (I believe people take longer off on the mainland) and is characterised by visiting family and eating. In Hong Kong, this is THE holiday. While one could get IKEA delivery on Christmas day, one cannot have the same service over the three days of New Year--DHL certainly does not deliver as we discovered when Sheffield tried to send my marking to me. There is a really good food that you buy as a brick and then fry. It comes in both sweet and savoury and is quite lovely (not anywhere as strong or distinctive as moon cakes). At New Years you can buy this food as a dim sum as well. After the first three days have ended, there is then a period of about 10 days when the New Years celebrations continue.
During the main three days and the weekend after Adrian and I certainly made the most of the holiday. One of Adrian's friends invited us to a family BBQ, which was a great honour as this is usually a time spent just with family and not all and asunder. The BBQ was in a lovely spot overlooking the South China Sea, next to an unusually clean beach. When it was revealed that I have an interest in food to the mother of our host, she then took it upon herself to introduce me to a whole range of foods that I would not have considered or known about. Some of these were absolutely lovely--there was a really nice pudding that was sort of like rice pudding, and some sweet thing like butter brickle, that she had made. One thing people here do at BBQ's is, when they cook the meat over the coals, toward the end they paint the food with honey to make it brown and sweet--really nice--you would be surprised what tastes good cooked with honey on it. We also had some steamed fish, which I believe was flat head grouper, that had been wrapped in foil and baked next to the coals. The most unusual item, however was sparrow. This is a great delicacy, and like many delicacies, is so only in the context within which it is considered as such. The preparation process involves taking the feathers off and then putting them on a stick to make something that looks a bit like a kabob. Note that there is NO other apparent cleaning or dissecting. The skewer is then held over the coals for about 25 minutes and occasionally basted until the birds are cooked and brown. You then try to eat them. There are a lot of bones and not much meat and it is quite difficult to avoid the inside. I was able to pass off two of the first three that I was handed to others who had similarly never tried sparrow, but when the second skewer arrived on my plate those people all made themselves quite scarce. I don't believe I am sufficiently naturalised into this environment to fully appreciate the nuances of sparrow meat. It was a difficult moment, because this was a gift and was a show of respect. I have banned Adrian from announcing to people that I have an interest in food.
Eating Sparrow was not the only thing we did to celebrate the coming of the Year of the Rabbit. We also went on a walk around the hills where we live, we went out with some friends to Plover Cove, and to a village called Tai O. The compound where we live is on the top of a hill and adjacent to Shing Mun Country Park, which is huge, in fact 40% of the area of Hong Kong is comprised of country parks. There is a trail that runs through the park near us called the MacLehose Trail. Actually this trail, runs for about 100 kilometres and runs across most of the New Territories. We can access it from just up from where we live. It is actually a quite difficult trail not just because of its length, but also because it is quite hilly and populated with monkeys and abandoned dogs. When you go out on the trail you must take some sort of stick to ward off both. We just did a short circular walk to the next valley and then down the hill into Fo Tan. Adrian then walked back up the hill as he was in training for the 10K run that was part of the Hong Kong marathon (he did it in just 52 minutes and came 52nd in his race, which had 5000 participants). As I do not run in marathons or any other races, I took the bus home, but as penance I had to carry the very large stick that Adrian collected on the way to ward off the dogs. Incidentally the only dog we ran into was a very friendly dog who walked with us part of the way. The wild dogs however are present and are in the park because people abandon them (and cats) when they move to flats that do not allow pets.
The walk with Bernie and Barbara to Plover Cove the next day was very nice and characterised by beautiful views, abandoned villages, and friendly people. The walk was about 6 miles and in the middle there is a restaurant or Da Pai Dong--actually what we ate at was a bit bigger than the usual Da Pai Dong, but it broadly fits the category. Along our way we kept playing leap frog with two young men who were going camping. They had back packs on, but between them they had a bamboo pole with a cooler hanging, which they told us held their beer. We were a bit worried at this news because we thought it might signal that the restaurant was closed. In fact these two men were also going to the restaurant as one of them was good friends with the owner. When we got there he showed us how to get the beer that the restaurant sold out of the fridge and proceeded to wait on us as the person who owned the restaurant was very busy with several large parties as well as a large group of his own family members. Once we finished our meal, we said goodbye to them and proceeded around the cove. We finished the evening off with a lovely meal in Sai Kung, another one of our favourite destinations.
On the weekend we then went to Tai O. Tai O is a marvellous place--I'v put some photo's on my facebook page for those who are interested. It is a fairly large village at the end of Lantau Island (on the map it is probably closer to Macau than Central Hong Kong). What particularly characterises it, though, is the combination of canals and stilt houses, as the people who live there used to live entirely on the water in boats. Another distinguishing feature is the relative absence of evidence of globalisation despite the number of tourists who visit and the proximity to the airport and Disneyland HK. The only sign I saw was from HSBC, nothing else. This does not mean you can't get an excellent cup of coffee, a meal, or buy something; you can, but it will come from a local retailer. You can also take a boat out into the sea and see the white dolphins, though these are threatened and people are not encouraged to do so. We spent nearly the whole day walking around this lovely, thriving village and had a most enjoyable time. I am sure we will go back. I am concerned for it though as I fear it will disappear as within the next few years the building of a bridge from nearby on Lantau to Macau and then on to the mainland is planned. Tai O looks ripe for redevelopment as it will be the geographic centre of this delta. Indeed, the Pearl River delta is the most rapidly industrialising place in the world and contains over 50,000,000 (yes, 50 million) people making it also the most populated region in the world. I just don't see how Tai O can survive the onslaught of industrial capitalism, but we shall see.
While that was the end of New Year holiday for us, it does carry on for about a week and a half further, when people eat out with friends, pass out red packets (lai see) with money in them to children, subordinates, and unmarried people (so I didn't get any). This is also the period when you find the dragon dancers and lion dancers who go around and perform for lai see packets and bring good luck. All in all, Chinese New Year, in the way that is celebrates family and signals the start of spring, is a happy time that comes during a month that usually, for me, seems pretty dreary.
You may be wondering where the cats and the horses fit in? We are adopting two cats this weekend who were going to be taken to be put down just before the new year. We are very much looking forward to their addition to our family. I'll tell you about the horses another time...
Thursday, 6 January 2011
A New Year and New Experiences
Happy New Year!
I arrived back in Hong Kong on the 18th of December. I just managed to escape the airport closures. My flight left from Manchester on the 17th and was late departing and I must say I was getting nervous as I watched the flakes begin to fall. But escape I did! I expected to arrive in a warm climate, cast off my coat and enjoy the sun. There has been sun—only 2 days of cloud or rain since I arrived—but it has not been warm. Today’s high has been only 58 degrees (13 C). While this sounds ok, there is no central heating here and our flat is on the shady side of the building, thus we have no sun to warm us through the windows. I have had to purchase a jumper and a pair of slippers and I wear my coat when I go out. It has been like this since I arrived and the weather looks to stay this way for at least another 2 weeks—for those considering travel to Hong Kong in the future, do make note of this particular climatic feature!
Arriving on the 18th meant I was plunged right into Christmas preparations. It was a bit odd being here for Christmas. There were certainly decorations around in the malls and so forth, but for the most part it was a regular day for most people. For example, I purchased something from Ikea and had to ask them NOT to deliver it on Christmas Day. The children and Adrian were off school/work though and we did try to do some traditional things. Adrian had purchased the Michael Palin series Around the World in 80 Days, which is always on TV over the Christmas period, so we watched that each day. We also had Ensalada de Noche Buena (A Mexican Christmas Salad) on Christmas Even, which is a longstanding tradition in our family.
Christmas also held some new activities as well. I conquered my fear of the wet market and managed to purchase a fish that I think was a Barramundi. I poached it and had a Thai sauce that I put over it. It was really lovely and the meat was sweet. To be truthful, I don’t really remember what else we had as that night Adrian, Simon and I all woke up and were ill. We remained ill for the next three days, and there was a competition over who had to make the most trips to the bathroom to be sick (Simon won with 8, Adrian and I tied at 5). Everyone stayed pretty much in bed on Boxing Day, but Adrian and I tried to get out the following days. We went to Stanley with Grace one day, which was enjoyed by all. She doesn’t often come out with us and it was nice that she did. Another day we found a new footpath around the Peak, which has really nice views. I would definitely take visitors there. Finally, at the end of the week, Adrian and I went to Macau. Macau is really a place to go if you like to gamble. We don’t so found it a bit difficult. Fortunately the children did not go with us as they would have hated the day, which was spent mostly walking about. We did go to a very nice garden, for me only to discover there was no memory card in my camera—all photo’s left only to the imagination.
On New Year’s Day we agreed that we would write down our resolutions. Mine are to do yoga twice a week, send two papers off to journals by June, try something new each week, and improve my Cantonese. So far I’ve not done any Yoga, my books are all in the UK still and the shippers don’t look like they will send them until later this month (grrrrr), though most of what I need is available electronically, I am working on my Cantonese and I have learned a little bit more so we shall see on that one. I am doing great with the try new things though.
This week I have done two new main new things (though these were not the only new things I did). The first thing was to have my palm and face read at the Chinese temple. This was not an inexpensive venture costing about $HK500. It was very interesting though. I learned that my children will take care of me in my old age so I don’t have to worry and that Adrian and I will stay married. I also learned that I have a lucky line which means things will work out. But the first thing the woman did when she looked at my hand was look shocked when she saw my lifeline, which is apparently weak and mingled with my work. She told me to take a foreign holiday! (I kept thinking, but I’ve just gotten here!). She said that I had a good palm but that I need to take care of my health and get enough rest. I’ve told Adrian this means he has to let me have the occasional lie on the weekends!
The second was to go to see the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor about my migraines (and also because I felt I needed to address this lifeline thing). As part of the benefits associated with Adrian’s job we can each access 15 visits with 2 packs of herbs each visit. This was quite an interesting experience because it was so different from anything I’ve done before. I went into the consulting room where there were two doctors training on the main doctor. I was not introduced to any of them, so I have no idea what any of them are called. The main doctor asked me several questions about whether or not I felt my blood pressure was normal or my sleep was normal or my appetite was normal. This was fine though I am not really sure what normal is. I was then asked to stick out my tongue. All three responded in a way that was similar to that of the palm reader—I am guessing my tongue does not look good. It was never explained—at least not in English. I left with about half the forest in a bag that I have to concoct into tea to be drunk three times a day for three days. The prescription is all in Chinese characters, but I do have a book that revealed what a few of the 14 different ingredients were. Of these, a few will be familiar plants to European/American readers, and they include: Lovage root, which is good for qi movement and Kudzu root, which is good for all sorts of things. I am not sure if this is the same Kudzu that is eating the American South, but it might be worth investigating! I’ve had the first day of the treatment, and feel pretty much the same so far. It was really awful tasting, but something that tastes that bad must do something for you. I have to go back to the doctor on Monday, so I wonder what that will bring!
Next week I start teaching at HKU, where I am a visiting Associate Professor. Hopefully that will go ok. I am looking forward to it and everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. I have managed to get settled in and find my way there with only limited difficulty (going through Central is not the best way from here).
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Home and Work
I realise it has been a while since I've posted anything. This is not because we have been sitting on our hands at home doing nothing worthy of writing about, it is just that I have been having difficulty thinking how I would organise this post. I've decided on a geographical organisation (rather than chronological or topical), though like most things geographical there are certainly instances where spaces fold on themselves, making linkages between non-spatially proximate places...
Starting farther away, we were recently visited by some friends from Ilkley who had been travelling in Australia and were on their way home. Simon and I were quite pleased to spend a Saturday afternoon with the Pattersons who had flown in early in the morning. I think the heat might have been a bit of a shock, as was the speed at which storms move through Hong Kong. As it is currently winter in Australia, the 34 degrees (C) and high humidity was a bit different than what they were used to. They were staying in the centre of Mong Kok in Kowloon and so we got the 7 bus from across the street (after an unusual bit of a wait) and rode it down to the ferry terminal at TST. Rather than jump on the ferry we went into Star House and had lunch at a Viet Nameese restaurant called Rice Paper, which has pretty good food. This proved to be a good decision because a cracking storm came through, complete with lightning, while we were eating. The storm soon passed, the weather cleared, the sun came out and by the time we had finished eating and looked around the mall a bit, we were able to get the star ferry over to central. We then took the train to Admiralty and walked through Hong Kong Park to the Peak Tram and went up to the top for a reasonable view. It was still a bit of a hazy day, but one could still see the sights. We then went back down and said goodbye in the late afternoon at the Mong Kok station. I am pretty sure they made it back to their hotel as I did receive a text. They were off to UK the next day, but it was great to see them. I hope they liked Hong Kong.
The Sunday saw a return visit for Adrian and I to Mong Kok. Mong Kok is in the centre of Kowloon and is where all the markets are. Our purpose was to go and find some cooking supplies. We were out and about in the early afternoon and it was surprisingly quiet. Mong Kok gets so busy and full of people that often one cannot see anything but crowds of bodies moving against each other. Think busy disco on a Saturday night. This particular Sunday, however, it was like a quiet street in Ilkley. We could not figure it out and thought is may have been due to the T1 warning. A T1 is the warning that is hoisted when there is a Typhoon in the area that could possibly hit Hong Kong. It did not come to HK in the end and we subsequently learned that the only people who pay any attention to the T1's are nervous expats and tourists. Everyone else doesn't get excited until the warning level is at 8. We still don't know why it was so quiet, but we did find a very interesting building on Reclamation street housing a market, which looks like it has been there since before Hong Kong was a British colony. This old, labrintine building with its corrugated roofing and dilapidated walls is surrounded, of course, by high rise buildings, but by squinting one might imagine what things were like before all the high rises came. We were able to buy a cast iron wok for about £4. There are much more expensive wok's but we have been informed that the best are cast iron. These are thinner than the heavy cast iron skillets that one gets in the US. Like the skillet, the woks also need seasoning before use. Properly seasoned, cast iron is great to cook on as it is non-stick but you can use metal cooking tools. We were given instructions to use pig fat and red chilli's to season the wok. You heat the wok on the stove and put the pig fat and chilli's in and stir them around for about a half hour ensuring that the pig fat is fully melted and the air in the house if full of smoke. Then you let this sit for 24 hours. Wipe out and you can use your wok. it works wonderfully and we have made a number of excellent meals since. We also purchased a fish knife made in Japan that has just one side of the blade sharpened and is perfect for cutting fish into sashimi, a very large cleaver and cutting board. The cooking supply shops make the cleavers and the woks right on the premises and you can see the shop owners pounding away in the back. On our way home we stopped off at the market in Sui Wo Court (just below where we live) and showed the wok to the butcher who immediately gave us a piece of pork fat for our new wok. A very successful outing!
The children have been fully engaged in activities much closer to home. Both are settled into their school, which is just across the road from where we live. Both have commented on how friendly all the other children are to them. Indeed Simon has been to a birthday party of one child already and Grace was invited to a movie last weekend and for a sleepover this coming weekend. Both are also finding the volume of homework something of a surprise. The expectation is that they spend 1-2 hours a night doing their work. This is involving a change of focus for them after school. No longer can they lay around or play on the Xbox, but must get right on it if they don't want to be up until 10:30 at night finishing writing tasks as Grace was the other night. They seem to be rising to the challenge and Grace in particular has distinguished herself having had her poem chosen by the teacher to be read out. She read it to us and we were similarly quite impressed. She will be very embarrassed at these comments, but it really was quite good. Simon has been selected for the school football (soccer) team and may actually end up playing for the age group above his year. He was a bit worried about the try outs, but as he scored two goals within about two minutes it turns out he needn't have been. He also is learning Mandarin chinese at quite a pace.
We had an interesting outing to Sai Kung this weekend. Sai Kung is in the New Territories and while boasting a Starbucks and quite a few ex -pats who are "escaping" from central, it is still quite rural and chinese. There main attraction is the seafront with its boat rides and seafood restaurants. You can either purchase fresh fish directly from the boats and have the restaurant cook it for you, or you can buy from the tanks that are at many of the restaurants themselves. The guidebook we had indicated that one could get a ferry from the pier out to one of the outlying islands where there is a golf course, a temple, and some ruins. It turns out that if you want to go to the south side of the island, not the side where the golf course is, you have to get a separate ferry located at some unknown (at least to us) place. We got the ferry to the golf course and discovered, once there that all that can be done from this ferry is play golf. So that is what we (Simon, Adrian, and I) did. We actually practiced hitting balls from the practice range. Neither Adrian nor I have played golf in years and years (and even then I was pretty rubbish) and Simon had never played, but we all agreed that the practice hitting we did was pretty fun. The practice range was in the shade and we were able to get a family pass for about £20, which included 1.5 hours on the range, unlimited balls, and the rental of two 5 irons and some other smaller club for Simon, and the ferry trip. By the end we were all able to hit the ball out toward the 60 yard marker. I think this is something we may do again. It was certainly something different than what we normally do on a Sunday afternoon. Moreover the setting was absolutely stunning. I've taken some photographs, but as these are on my big camera, rather than my Iphone they will have to wait until I get back to Sheffield before I can upload them.
This week is a busy one for us as we have several social obligations and we are hoping to go to Macau at the weekend. The boat with our things should also arrive in Hong Kong on Friday, and if we are lucky should be at the flat on Monday or Tuesday--just in time before I leave to go back to the UK on the Tuesday night.
Starting farther away, we were recently visited by some friends from Ilkley who had been travelling in Australia and were on their way home. Simon and I were quite pleased to spend a Saturday afternoon with the Pattersons who had flown in early in the morning. I think the heat might have been a bit of a shock, as was the speed at which storms move through Hong Kong. As it is currently winter in Australia, the 34 degrees (C) and high humidity was a bit different than what they were used to. They were staying in the centre of Mong Kok in Kowloon and so we got the 7 bus from across the street (after an unusual bit of a wait) and rode it down to the ferry terminal at TST. Rather than jump on the ferry we went into Star House and had lunch at a Viet Nameese restaurant called Rice Paper, which has pretty good food. This proved to be a good decision because a cracking storm came through, complete with lightning, while we were eating. The storm soon passed, the weather cleared, the sun came out and by the time we had finished eating and looked around the mall a bit, we were able to get the star ferry over to central. We then took the train to Admiralty and walked through Hong Kong Park to the Peak Tram and went up to the top for a reasonable view. It was still a bit of a hazy day, but one could still see the sights. We then went back down and said goodbye in the late afternoon at the Mong Kok station. I am pretty sure they made it back to their hotel as I did receive a text. They were off to UK the next day, but it was great to see them. I hope they liked Hong Kong.
The Sunday saw a return visit for Adrian and I to Mong Kok. Mong Kok is in the centre of Kowloon and is where all the markets are. Our purpose was to go and find some cooking supplies. We were out and about in the early afternoon and it was surprisingly quiet. Mong Kok gets so busy and full of people that often one cannot see anything but crowds of bodies moving against each other. Think busy disco on a Saturday night. This particular Sunday, however, it was like a quiet street in Ilkley. We could not figure it out and thought is may have been due to the T1 warning. A T1 is the warning that is hoisted when there is a Typhoon in the area that could possibly hit Hong Kong. It did not come to HK in the end and we subsequently learned that the only people who pay any attention to the T1's are nervous expats and tourists. Everyone else doesn't get excited until the warning level is at 8. We still don't know why it was so quiet, but we did find a very interesting building on Reclamation street housing a market, which looks like it has been there since before Hong Kong was a British colony. This old, labrintine building with its corrugated roofing and dilapidated walls is surrounded, of course, by high rise buildings, but by squinting one might imagine what things were like before all the high rises came. We were able to buy a cast iron wok for about £4. There are much more expensive wok's but we have been informed that the best are cast iron. These are thinner than the heavy cast iron skillets that one gets in the US. Like the skillet, the woks also need seasoning before use. Properly seasoned, cast iron is great to cook on as it is non-stick but you can use metal cooking tools. We were given instructions to use pig fat and red chilli's to season the wok. You heat the wok on the stove and put the pig fat and chilli's in and stir them around for about a half hour ensuring that the pig fat is fully melted and the air in the house if full of smoke. Then you let this sit for 24 hours. Wipe out and you can use your wok. it works wonderfully and we have made a number of excellent meals since. We also purchased a fish knife made in Japan that has just one side of the blade sharpened and is perfect for cutting fish into sashimi, a very large cleaver and cutting board. The cooking supply shops make the cleavers and the woks right on the premises and you can see the shop owners pounding away in the back. On our way home we stopped off at the market in Sui Wo Court (just below where we live) and showed the wok to the butcher who immediately gave us a piece of pork fat for our new wok. A very successful outing!
The children have been fully engaged in activities much closer to home. Both are settled into their school, which is just across the road from where we live. Both have commented on how friendly all the other children are to them. Indeed Simon has been to a birthday party of one child already and Grace was invited to a movie last weekend and for a sleepover this coming weekend. Both are also finding the volume of homework something of a surprise. The expectation is that they spend 1-2 hours a night doing their work. This is involving a change of focus for them after school. No longer can they lay around or play on the Xbox, but must get right on it if they don't want to be up until 10:30 at night finishing writing tasks as Grace was the other night. They seem to be rising to the challenge and Grace in particular has distinguished herself having had her poem chosen by the teacher to be read out. She read it to us and we were similarly quite impressed. She will be very embarrassed at these comments, but it really was quite good. Simon has been selected for the school football (soccer) team and may actually end up playing for the age group above his year. He was a bit worried about the try outs, but as he scored two goals within about two minutes it turns out he needn't have been. He also is learning Mandarin chinese at quite a pace.
We had an interesting outing to Sai Kung this weekend. Sai Kung is in the New Territories and while boasting a Starbucks and quite a few ex -pats who are "escaping" from central, it is still quite rural and chinese. There main attraction is the seafront with its boat rides and seafood restaurants. You can either purchase fresh fish directly from the boats and have the restaurant cook it for you, or you can buy from the tanks that are at many of the restaurants themselves. The guidebook we had indicated that one could get a ferry from the pier out to one of the outlying islands where there is a golf course, a temple, and some ruins. It turns out that if you want to go to the south side of the island, not the side where the golf course is, you have to get a separate ferry located at some unknown (at least to us) place. We got the ferry to the golf course and discovered, once there that all that can be done from this ferry is play golf. So that is what we (Simon, Adrian, and I) did. We actually practiced hitting balls from the practice range. Neither Adrian nor I have played golf in years and years (and even then I was pretty rubbish) and Simon had never played, but we all agreed that the practice hitting we did was pretty fun. The practice range was in the shade and we were able to get a family pass for about £20, which included 1.5 hours on the range, unlimited balls, and the rental of two 5 irons and some other smaller club for Simon, and the ferry trip. By the end we were all able to hit the ball out toward the 60 yard marker. I think this is something we may do again. It was certainly something different than what we normally do on a Sunday afternoon. Moreover the setting was absolutely stunning. I've taken some photographs, but as these are on my big camera, rather than my Iphone they will have to wait until I get back to Sheffield before I can upload them.
This week is a busy one for us as we have several social obligations and we are hoping to go to Macau at the weekend. The boat with our things should also arrive in Hong Kong on Friday, and if we are lucky should be at the flat on Monday or Tuesday--just in time before I leave to go back to the UK on the Tuesday night.
Monday, 16 August 2010
It is the little suprises
It is the little things that make living in Hong Kong so great. Here are just a few:
1. Bread. The bread products are absolutely wonderful here. Not really what I expected. Today's selection is a wonderful crusty loaf that is pretty much dripping with butter, a walnut, hazelnut bun, a fruit loaf that is similar to the crusty loaf but with fruit bits in it, and something referred to as a Mexican bun (though we saw nothing like this in Mexico--it has some sort of custard in the centre).
2. Juice. I have taken to buying the Wheat Grass drink. I prefer this to the stuff with Aloe in it as well as when one drinks the Aloe version you end up with bits of Aloe pulp, which is a bit off putting. The plain wheat grass drink, however is really yummy in its vivid greenness.
3. Octopus cards. I have mentioned these before, but they are worth including in the list. You can go anywhere with them and quite often use them to buy things as well. Starbucks, for instance, has a card reader to you can pay for your drinks with the card. Simon has one with his picture on it and will use it to sign in to school.
4. Transportation system. The trains go most places, the buses make up for what the trains won't do, and there are Taxi's everywhere and they are very cheap. it is HK$18* for the first couple of Kilometres and then HK$2 for every Kilometre after that. Then there is an army of delivery people. When I purchased the plants for the flat at the market, the woman who sold them to me made a call to a man with a van who showed up in about 10 minutes, loaded up my plants and transported both them and me to the flat--all for $HK82. We can then add in all the public escalators, elevators, trolleys, cable cars, and ferries. And what is more, they are really frequent. I have yet to wait more than 5 minutes for anything.
5. Variety. It seems that whatever you want you can get here, and if it is not readily available it can be made for you.
6. Friendliness. We have found most people to be both friendly and helpful. It is really wonderful. People explain things to you to make sure you understand but in a way that is not patronising. I really appreciate this. M-Goy and Jo Sun are key phrases (M-Goy is thank you/please and Jo Sun is good morning--I've not learned good afternoon yet). At times this helpfulness can be a bit overwhelming--for instance in shops where shop assistants follow you around suggesting things that would be more suitable for you than what you have selected or if you have not selected anything. But overall, and in most other situations the friendliness is really nice. Some of the younger people want to try out their English with you, which can lead to some strange conversations at times. We find that the people at the front gate to where we live are particularly friendly and each of us has our favourite. Mine is the woman who opens the car barrier for me so I don't have to walk around. I was quite sad to learn from one of our friends here that a number of the residents just ignore the gate people. Don't really understand that behaviour.
7. Weather. I think the weather is wonderful here and we are supposed to be in the season that has the worst weather. It is hot, but what we find is that there is one day a week or so when it rains all day. Most days start warm and sunny and then mid morning a storm will go through and then the sun will return in the afternoon. I might sing a much different tune when I live through my first real storm, but so far nothing to drastic yet. Simon is getting quite tan from all his swimming. I love being able to wear all my summer clothes that I have not had opportunity to wear since I think I lived in New Orleans--I only wish I looked as good in them now as I did when I lived in New Orleans...
8. Opening hours. We still do not have a TV--though Simon has one for his XBox (complete with XBox live). Instead we can choose to go out in the evening and do things because everything is open quite late. In fact, while the Starbucks opens at 7 in the morning, most things do not open until 10 or 11 but they stay open until 10:30 or so at night. This means that we can meet somewhere for dinner and then do errands after--including visiting the dentist or doctor, getting one's hair done, going to the bank, etc. etc. And this is 7 days a week more or less. There is none of that mad dash to get everything done during what would be called "working hours" in the UK. Mind you these are "working hours" for some other poor person who has to stay up late serving in a shop or looking at people's teeth.
9. Scenery. It is beautiful here. Every day when I go to bed and when I get up and look out the window I am reminded of how lovely it is. We are, of course, lucky that we live where we do and can see nature as well as city. I think that might be different in some of the High rises in Hong Kong and on Kowloon. Particularly on Hong Kong Island where there are so many very tall buildings that one could find oneself looking at the wall of the next building over and never seeing the sun. But, no matter where one lives, there are opportunities for finding nice views very easily. There are so many parks and beaches that one can visit.
10. English. While a lot of people do not speak English, many do and all the signs, labels, etc are in English so it is fairly easy to work out what it is that you are getting and how to work it. There are also English films at the cinema and several English bookstores. There is one bookstore called PageOne in the Festival Walk mall that has probably the largest selection of cook books I have seen in one place as well as a huge selection of architecture and design books, as well as the usual popular books. The bookstore in our mall appears to have academic press and education books, so I will have to check that out soon.
This is just a short list, there is much more that I could add...
* Broadly the exchange rate is 1£=HK$12 or US$1= HK$7.
1. Bread. The bread products are absolutely wonderful here. Not really what I expected. Today's selection is a wonderful crusty loaf that is pretty much dripping with butter, a walnut, hazelnut bun, a fruit loaf that is similar to the crusty loaf but with fruit bits in it, and something referred to as a Mexican bun (though we saw nothing like this in Mexico--it has some sort of custard in the centre).
2. Juice. I have taken to buying the Wheat Grass drink. I prefer this to the stuff with Aloe in it as well as when one drinks the Aloe version you end up with bits of Aloe pulp, which is a bit off putting. The plain wheat grass drink, however is really yummy in its vivid greenness.
3. Octopus cards. I have mentioned these before, but they are worth including in the list. You can go anywhere with them and quite often use them to buy things as well. Starbucks, for instance, has a card reader to you can pay for your drinks with the card. Simon has one with his picture on it and will use it to sign in to school.
4. Transportation system. The trains go most places, the buses make up for what the trains won't do, and there are Taxi's everywhere and they are very cheap. it is HK$18* for the first couple of Kilometres and then HK$2 for every Kilometre after that. Then there is an army of delivery people. When I purchased the plants for the flat at the market, the woman who sold them to me made a call to a man with a van who showed up in about 10 minutes, loaded up my plants and transported both them and me to the flat--all for $HK82. We can then add in all the public escalators, elevators, trolleys, cable cars, and ferries. And what is more, they are really frequent. I have yet to wait more than 5 minutes for anything.
5. Variety. It seems that whatever you want you can get here, and if it is not readily available it can be made for you.
6. Friendliness. We have found most people to be both friendly and helpful. It is really wonderful. People explain things to you to make sure you understand but in a way that is not patronising. I really appreciate this. M-Goy and Jo Sun are key phrases (M-Goy is thank you/please and Jo Sun is good morning--I've not learned good afternoon yet). At times this helpfulness can be a bit overwhelming--for instance in shops where shop assistants follow you around suggesting things that would be more suitable for you than what you have selected or if you have not selected anything. But overall, and in most other situations the friendliness is really nice. Some of the younger people want to try out their English with you, which can lead to some strange conversations at times. We find that the people at the front gate to where we live are particularly friendly and each of us has our favourite. Mine is the woman who opens the car barrier for me so I don't have to walk around. I was quite sad to learn from one of our friends here that a number of the residents just ignore the gate people. Don't really understand that behaviour.
7. Weather. I think the weather is wonderful here and we are supposed to be in the season that has the worst weather. It is hot, but what we find is that there is one day a week or so when it rains all day. Most days start warm and sunny and then mid morning a storm will go through and then the sun will return in the afternoon. I might sing a much different tune when I live through my first real storm, but so far nothing to drastic yet. Simon is getting quite tan from all his swimming. I love being able to wear all my summer clothes that I have not had opportunity to wear since I think I lived in New Orleans--I only wish I looked as good in them now as I did when I lived in New Orleans...
8. Opening hours. We still do not have a TV--though Simon has one for his XBox (complete with XBox live). Instead we can choose to go out in the evening and do things because everything is open quite late. In fact, while the Starbucks opens at 7 in the morning, most things do not open until 10 or 11 but they stay open until 10:30 or so at night. This means that we can meet somewhere for dinner and then do errands after--including visiting the dentist or doctor, getting one's hair done, going to the bank, etc. etc. And this is 7 days a week more or less. There is none of that mad dash to get everything done during what would be called "working hours" in the UK. Mind you these are "working hours" for some other poor person who has to stay up late serving in a shop or looking at people's teeth.
9. Scenery. It is beautiful here. Every day when I go to bed and when I get up and look out the window I am reminded of how lovely it is. We are, of course, lucky that we live where we do and can see nature as well as city. I think that might be different in some of the High rises in Hong Kong and on Kowloon. Particularly on Hong Kong Island where there are so many very tall buildings that one could find oneself looking at the wall of the next building over and never seeing the sun. But, no matter where one lives, there are opportunities for finding nice views very easily. There are so many parks and beaches that one can visit.
10. English. While a lot of people do not speak English, many do and all the signs, labels, etc are in English so it is fairly easy to work out what it is that you are getting and how to work it. There are also English films at the cinema and several English bookstores. There is one bookstore called PageOne in the Festival Walk mall that has probably the largest selection of cook books I have seen in one place as well as a huge selection of architecture and design books, as well as the usual popular books. The bookstore in our mall appears to have academic press and education books, so I will have to check that out soon.
This is just a short list, there is much more that I could add...
* Broadly the exchange rate is 1£=HK$12 or US$1= HK$7.
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Lift off and landing
This has been an eventful week. Perhaps this is an understatement.
This week we sold our house (finally--long and very stressful story), got on a plane, and arrived in Hong Kong as residents. I am now sitting in the lounge of our flat at about two in the morning local time--Jet lag takes its toll. The flat is great. It has a wonderful view. There is a balcony and a large glass window across all of one end. Looking out one direction we see mountains and out the other 50+ story housing buildings. Our building is located near the top of a tall and steep hill and the housing we see is located below us about half way up the hill, but the tops of these buildings extend higher into the sky than our building. Looking out between these closest buildings we can see the bay. As it happens, the area we see is called Fo Tan and it is built on reclaimed land as the valley was once part of the bay. In fact, I learned recently that this bay is on a fault line. I will try not to think about that too much.
We've been here two days. In that time, we have visited the IKEA to buy hangers (it is in the mall that is at the bottom of the hill, so very convenient), seen (by accident) a light show of the buildings on Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon side, ridden the ferry across the harbour and the mid-level escalator up into SOHO, visited the markets in Kowloon, watched a thunder and lightning storm from our flat, witnessed the domestic helpers on their day off and had glorious, sunny weather (yes, with blue sky). It is warm, but it is also easy to escape this as air-conditioning is readily available, all one need do is enter a shop or jump on a bus. There are wonderful smells here and great fruit, fruit juice, tea, and fish to be had though I do not feel hungry. Today I had a green tea frapachino at Starbucks (yummy) in a shop on the mid-levels and a lemon grass and green tea drink at the RBT in Mon Kok. We had intended to buy curtains for the children's rooms, but we ended up with a TV for Simon instead. I had promised him the TV for doing well on his exams (Grace got a trip to Rome). The man will deliver it on Wednesday and another will come and set it all up.
The TV is Simon's and will live in his room for his xbox. He has xbox live, so should be able to meet up with his friends once we figure out how to make the broadband wireless. The TV is all Internet based here, so I am not sure how that will work. To be honest, I have not missed watching it. There is so much to do here in the evenings. Shopping centers are open until 10:30 at night and there is a pool here in the compound. The pool is open from about 7 in the morning until 9:30 at night, with closure during meal times, and also has a life guard. Simon has taken full advantage of this facility. He is using it as a way to meet people in the compound and to "get fit". He has decided that he will be swimming to exercise. He has actually jumped into the life here with both feet. There is a confidence about him that I did not expect or even that one would not normally expect from an 11 year old. He is happy to go to the pool by himself. I can see him making his way down the hill via the minibus to the mall in no time. In six months I expect him to own this city.
Grace has been somewhat more reluctant. She spent the first day locked in her room refusing to talk to anyone--she is a bit angry about having to move and wants to make sure everyone knows. We did manage to wedge her out of the house yesterday. By the end of the day there was enthusiasm. I am sure she has come to realise that the opportunities here are endless and that it is not difficult to get around. While it is certainly very Chinese and nothing like Ilkley, it is also not too hard to navigate. People are friendly and speak English so she was able to manage much more than I think she thought she would be able to do. She, of course won't admit finding Hong Kong to her liking though. She continues to behave as a 14 year old in the extremes of selfishness that only 14 year olds can manage.
As a family, we have pretty much decided we prefer the buses to the trains. The trains get you to where you want to go much more quickly, but they are crowded and you have to stand. The buses afford a view and so far we have been able to sit. We all have Octopus cards that allow us to ride the transport without having to dish out change each time. Much easier. I would recommend this as a first purchase for anyone visiting Hong Kong. One can even ride the ferries with this little card. Our little bus is the 69K, but there are others that will be key--the 7 goes along the bottom of Kowloon down to the Star Ferry.
In an early post I indicated that I was quite worried about how I was going to manage the shopping. I am now less worried about this. In the housing half way down the hill there is a small market with fresh veg and a small Park and Shop (kind of like Tesco or Safeway). The Park and Shop is pretty basic, but very cheap. In the big mall there is a very fancy--kind of like whole foods--store that sells groceries and also ready made food. Simon and I had Sushi from there for dinner tonight. Everything is available from this store from Belgian beer to designer chocolate to tortilla chips to American peanut butter. It is more expensive, though some things are very good value. The sushi I had tonight was wonderful and fresh with about 9 pieces for about £4. There is also a Taste in the big mall near where Adrian works. This store is somewhere between the Park and Shop and the fancy store. It sells Waitrose branded food and has a stunningly deep fish section and fruit and vegetable section. I think I could quite easily live off the fish and fruit with a bit of rice thrown in to bulk it out (Adrian bought a rice cooker and we are making rice in volumes--everyone should have a rice cooker as they are great).
While people do speak English, I realise I will need to expand my language skills fairly quickly. I have learned to say the name of the bus stop where we live: Souk Say (it means quarters). One can throw in a "m-goy" at the end sort of as a please. This is important to know as you have to shout it out to get the minibus that brings us up the hill to stop where we live. No bells to press, so shouting is necessary. It isn't actually the end of the world to go beyond the top as it is only about a 10 minute walk down from the end of the line. Felix, one of my work colleagues in Sheffield said numbers would be useful and he is right. The way the numbers work is not difficult as it is all base ten. To say twenty, for example one would say two tens; twenty two is two tens two. A bit like listing out the units on an abacus. But one still has to learn the basic numbers to begin with, which I have yet to do. Also, you bargain for about everything apparently. Even in some of the big shops--though not in places like IKEA. This will be a bit hard I think.
There are stores for everything here. Adrian got some coffee for us at a shop that sells only Egyptian coffee beans. We went into a place today that sells only orchid plants. There is a chain of English language book stores here that we went into today and I was able to buy a Big Red Book, which is sort of a directory of places to purchase things that is indexed. As a listing it feels a bit to focused on Ex-Pat folk, but it does provide a listing of where one can find Louis Vitton handbags at 50% off and purchase hand made shoes and tailored dresses-- The tailors will even copy a picture for you or work from your own designs. I can't wait to visit these places!
I have now been up about an hour in the middle of the night. I am off to fix myself a cup of tea and try to go back to sleep. I have brought my camera, so in some future post I shall try to upload some photos. It is really lovely here and exciting. I look forward to some opportunity to just rest a bit--Adrian has taken some days off work so we are being tourists quite a bit. I am also looking forward to a chance to do some exploring on my own. There is so much near by, but getting further afield is not difficult to do (the 80M bus that leaves from Sui Wo Court goes all the way into Kowloon Tong). So far, I am glad we've come.
This week we sold our house (finally--long and very stressful story), got on a plane, and arrived in Hong Kong as residents. I am now sitting in the lounge of our flat at about two in the morning local time--Jet lag takes its toll. The flat is great. It has a wonderful view. There is a balcony and a large glass window across all of one end. Looking out one direction we see mountains and out the other 50+ story housing buildings. Our building is located near the top of a tall and steep hill and the housing we see is located below us about half way up the hill, but the tops of these buildings extend higher into the sky than our building. Looking out between these closest buildings we can see the bay. As it happens, the area we see is called Fo Tan and it is built on reclaimed land as the valley was once part of the bay. In fact, I learned recently that this bay is on a fault line. I will try not to think about that too much.
We've been here two days. In that time, we have visited the IKEA to buy hangers (it is in the mall that is at the bottom of the hill, so very convenient), seen (by accident) a light show of the buildings on Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon side, ridden the ferry across the harbour and the mid-level escalator up into SOHO, visited the markets in Kowloon, watched a thunder and lightning storm from our flat, witnessed the domestic helpers on their day off and had glorious, sunny weather (yes, with blue sky). It is warm, but it is also easy to escape this as air-conditioning is readily available, all one need do is enter a shop or jump on a bus. There are wonderful smells here and great fruit, fruit juice, tea, and fish to be had though I do not feel hungry. Today I had a green tea frapachino at Starbucks (yummy) in a shop on the mid-levels and a lemon grass and green tea drink at the RBT in Mon Kok. We had intended to buy curtains for the children's rooms, but we ended up with a TV for Simon instead. I had promised him the TV for doing well on his exams (Grace got a trip to Rome). The man will deliver it on Wednesday and another will come and set it all up.
The TV is Simon's and will live in his room for his xbox. He has xbox live, so should be able to meet up with his friends once we figure out how to make the broadband wireless. The TV is all Internet based here, so I am not sure how that will work. To be honest, I have not missed watching it. There is so much to do here in the evenings. Shopping centers are open until 10:30 at night and there is a pool here in the compound. The pool is open from about 7 in the morning until 9:30 at night, with closure during meal times, and also has a life guard. Simon has taken full advantage of this facility. He is using it as a way to meet people in the compound and to "get fit". He has decided that he will be swimming to exercise. He has actually jumped into the life here with both feet. There is a confidence about him that I did not expect or even that one would not normally expect from an 11 year old. He is happy to go to the pool by himself. I can see him making his way down the hill via the minibus to the mall in no time. In six months I expect him to own this city.
Grace has been somewhat more reluctant. She spent the first day locked in her room refusing to talk to anyone--she is a bit angry about having to move and wants to make sure everyone knows. We did manage to wedge her out of the house yesterday. By the end of the day there was enthusiasm. I am sure she has come to realise that the opportunities here are endless and that it is not difficult to get around. While it is certainly very Chinese and nothing like Ilkley, it is also not too hard to navigate. People are friendly and speak English so she was able to manage much more than I think she thought she would be able to do. She, of course won't admit finding Hong Kong to her liking though. She continues to behave as a 14 year old in the extremes of selfishness that only 14 year olds can manage.
As a family, we have pretty much decided we prefer the buses to the trains. The trains get you to where you want to go much more quickly, but they are crowded and you have to stand. The buses afford a view and so far we have been able to sit. We all have Octopus cards that allow us to ride the transport without having to dish out change each time. Much easier. I would recommend this as a first purchase for anyone visiting Hong Kong. One can even ride the ferries with this little card. Our little bus is the 69K, but there are others that will be key--the 7 goes along the bottom of Kowloon down to the Star Ferry.
In an early post I indicated that I was quite worried about how I was going to manage the shopping. I am now less worried about this. In the housing half way down the hill there is a small market with fresh veg and a small Park and Shop (kind of like Tesco or Safeway). The Park and Shop is pretty basic, but very cheap. In the big mall there is a very fancy--kind of like whole foods--store that sells groceries and also ready made food. Simon and I had Sushi from there for dinner tonight. Everything is available from this store from Belgian beer to designer chocolate to tortilla chips to American peanut butter. It is more expensive, though some things are very good value. The sushi I had tonight was wonderful and fresh with about 9 pieces for about £4. There is also a Taste in the big mall near where Adrian works. This store is somewhere between the Park and Shop and the fancy store. It sells Waitrose branded food and has a stunningly deep fish section and fruit and vegetable section. I think I could quite easily live off the fish and fruit with a bit of rice thrown in to bulk it out (Adrian bought a rice cooker and we are making rice in volumes--everyone should have a rice cooker as they are great).
While people do speak English, I realise I will need to expand my language skills fairly quickly. I have learned to say the name of the bus stop where we live: Souk Say (it means quarters). One can throw in a "m-goy" at the end sort of as a please. This is important to know as you have to shout it out to get the minibus that brings us up the hill to stop where we live. No bells to press, so shouting is necessary. It isn't actually the end of the world to go beyond the top as it is only about a 10 minute walk down from the end of the line. Felix, one of my work colleagues in Sheffield said numbers would be useful and he is right. The way the numbers work is not difficult as it is all base ten. To say twenty, for example one would say two tens; twenty two is two tens two. A bit like listing out the units on an abacus. But one still has to learn the basic numbers to begin with, which I have yet to do. Also, you bargain for about everything apparently. Even in some of the big shops--though not in places like IKEA. This will be a bit hard I think.
There are stores for everything here. Adrian got some coffee for us at a shop that sells only Egyptian coffee beans. We went into a place today that sells only orchid plants. There is a chain of English language book stores here that we went into today and I was able to buy a Big Red Book, which is sort of a directory of places to purchase things that is indexed. As a listing it feels a bit to focused on Ex-Pat folk, but it does provide a listing of where one can find Louis Vitton handbags at 50% off and purchase hand made shoes and tailored dresses-- The tailors will even copy a picture for you or work from your own designs. I can't wait to visit these places!
I have now been up about an hour in the middle of the night. I am off to fix myself a cup of tea and try to go back to sleep. I have brought my camera, so in some future post I shall try to upload some photos. It is really lovely here and exciting. I look forward to some opportunity to just rest a bit--Adrian has taken some days off work so we are being tourists quite a bit. I am also looking forward to a chance to do some exploring on my own. There is so much near by, but getting further afield is not difficult to do (the 80M bus that leaves from Sui Wo Court goes all the way into Kowloon Tong). So far, I am glad we've come.
Friday, 11 June 2010
Looking forward to the heat
It is a balmy 52 degrees today and looks like rain here in Ilkley. It is 82 degrees in Hong Kong and while it looks like it might be raining there as well, somehow 82 and rainy seems so much better. I am a bit tired of being cold.
Quite a bit has happened since my last post. Things are beginning to fall into place. For example, we have sold our house, thought I hesitate to say this as the contracts have not been exchanged yet so things could still go wrong. I think we may have gotten lucky with that as there seemed to be a bit of a flurry of activity in the housing market in April and then it slowed down again around the election. Unfortunately the buyers do not want the refrigerator, so I have to figure out how to get rid of that before we move. Small price to pay if it all goes through.
I also have been granted leave of absence from my job starting in the winter term next year. This is a huge relief as it holds my job for me for 18 months. Related to that it looks like I will be granted Adjunct status at Hong Kong University in Geography. This visiting status is quite an honour as the university has quite high status on the world stage. In addition to being ranked the top university in Asia, it is ranked 24 on the world stage (for reference Sheffield is 82, Leeds is 99, and Columbia is 11). I will also be able to do a bit of teaching and postgraduate supervision, as well as use it as a base for writing and doing research. I am very excited at the opportunity for doing some food research in Hong Kong. I am working on a book prospectus at the moment and writing time will be really useful--I have got to be careful not to pack in too much though as I do really want to spend some time enjoying the region, taking photographs, and learning Cantonese.
I have been trying to learn a bit more about the culture as well as get the kids excited. We have discovered that our new favorite breakfast food is Nan Wong Bao (a steamed dumpling with coconut filling). They are really good with strawberries and a bit of bacon on the side. The salt of the bacon and the tarness of the berries offset the sweet coconut inside the Bao. I have dreams about eating this. I have also purchased a number of films by Wan Kar Wai, who is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino. The films are not the usual Jacki Chan kind of film that one usually thinks of with regard to Hong Kong Cinema. We also have the film Infernal Affairs, which is what The Departed is an American copy. It is pretty good. We've also been listening to the music of Faye Wong. She does a cover of a Cranberries song that is absolutely lovely. I prefer it. Of course I have also been reading everything I can get my hands on about Hong Kong. There is a book by McDonogh and Wong (2005) called Global Hong Kong, that is informative, though not without its flaws. The first aim is seceding, the second not so much.
Finally, we got word the other day that our visa's have been approved and are on their way in the post. Lets hope things continue to progress as they have been!
Quite a bit has happened since my last post. Things are beginning to fall into place. For example, we have sold our house, thought I hesitate to say this as the contracts have not been exchanged yet so things could still go wrong. I think we may have gotten lucky with that as there seemed to be a bit of a flurry of activity in the housing market in April and then it slowed down again around the election. Unfortunately the buyers do not want the refrigerator, so I have to figure out how to get rid of that before we move. Small price to pay if it all goes through.
I also have been granted leave of absence from my job starting in the winter term next year. This is a huge relief as it holds my job for me for 18 months. Related to that it looks like I will be granted Adjunct status at Hong Kong University in Geography. This visiting status is quite an honour as the university has quite high status on the world stage. In addition to being ranked the top university in Asia, it is ranked 24 on the world stage (for reference Sheffield is 82, Leeds is 99, and Columbia is 11). I will also be able to do a bit of teaching and postgraduate supervision, as well as use it as a base for writing and doing research. I am very excited at the opportunity for doing some food research in Hong Kong. I am working on a book prospectus at the moment and writing time will be really useful--I have got to be careful not to pack in too much though as I do really want to spend some time enjoying the region, taking photographs, and learning Cantonese.
I have been trying to learn a bit more about the culture as well as get the kids excited. We have discovered that our new favorite breakfast food is Nan Wong Bao (a steamed dumpling with coconut filling). They are really good with strawberries and a bit of bacon on the side. The salt of the bacon and the tarness of the berries offset the sweet coconut inside the Bao. I have dreams about eating this. I have also purchased a number of films by Wan Kar Wai, who is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino. The films are not the usual Jacki Chan kind of film that one usually thinks of with regard to Hong Kong Cinema. We also have the film Infernal Affairs, which is what The Departed is an American copy. It is pretty good. We've also been listening to the music of Faye Wong. She does a cover of a Cranberries song that is absolutely lovely. I prefer it. Of course I have also been reading everything I can get my hands on about Hong Kong. There is a book by McDonogh and Wong (2005) called Global Hong Kong, that is informative, though not without its flaws. The first aim is seceding, the second not so much.
Finally, we got word the other day that our visa's have been approved and are on their way in the post. Lets hope things continue to progress as they have been!
Monday, 1 March 2010
The visit
What a great trip. What a great place. When can we leave???
It will be hard to write this in whole paragraphs as I am still processing the visit to Hong Kong in flashes of impression. As just a bit of context Adrian and I when to Hong Kong for a few days. We left on Tuesday last week. Arrived sometime on Wednesday in the evening. We then returned on Sunday, leaving quite early in the morning, so just three whole days in the city.
I guess one of my first impressions is that to call Hong Kong a city is really not right. It is more like a region. Hong Kong island itself is not a city as there are quite large areas of non-city and if you travel around the island to Stanley, one feels quite in another place. It takes very little time on the bus to do this. The bus ride involves traveling through a tunnel to get to the other side, rather than following a coastal path. Kowloon, across from Hong Kong, is connected to HK in that there are any number of ways to cross over--ferry, train (under the water), by car/bus over a bridge, but it is also quite separate as in Kowloon you must make a change to another train or bus that will transport you around this side of the water. Also, there are different colour taxis for this part of HK than for the island. Kowloon provides a very impressive vista for those on HK island, but this is mutual. In other words, incredibly tall buildings on both sides. The waterfront on the Kowloon side is a lovely place to walk around--day or night--and there are some wonderful restaurants and museums. Then there is the new territories, which we really did not get into that much. But because of the really great public transport system in this city/region the ability to travel quite far into them is not difficult to do rather quickly.
Second, unlike many other cities I have been to in countries where English is not the first language, I felt very comfortable and confident in my ability to get around. I think this was partially because there was enough that looked familiar, pretty much most things were written in English as well and in Cantonese, and there are enough people around who understand English and can tell you what you need to know if you get lost. So the infrastructure for people who are not Chinese is there. I wouldn't put this down too much to the fact that Hong Kong is a fairly recently former territory. The bodies are very much largely Chinese bodies walking around. I did see a few non-Chinese people, but this difference was not something that was foregrounded. Indeed, I notice the difference much more when I have visited China Towns in the US or UK much more than I did in Hong Kong. This might be the result of apparent middle-classness, though a large proportion of the city does not earn enough to be required to pay the 15% income tax. Moreover, one is aware that Hong Kong is not American or European. It is its own city, but it is a comfortable one to be in. At least it was for me. It is a place that puts you at ease, while at the same time is exciting.
Third, while Hong Kong is very full of people, this again is not the overriding impression one gets. There are amazingly tall building, and looking at them you know the population density is incredible. Some of this housing is quite grim, but that is the same in all cities. So much of Hong Kong is new build, however, so the decay that comes from prolonged use, high humidity, and so forth is not a present. Plus, there is a lot of green space--not really grass, but green: Trees, tropical plants, etc. Quite a bit of Hong Kong is not built upon, probably because the landscape is so steep. Incredibly steep. At times overwhelmingly steep. Exhaustingly steep.
Fourth, this is a very efficient place. I understand that there is as much bureaucracy here as one might think given that it has its roots in the UK and its crown in China, but there is a work ethic and a competence I just don't find in the UK. Maybe this is linked to some degree to an overall culture of humility rather than arrogance and an ethic of consideration for others and open friendliness, rather than a selfishness that seems to permeate British life. I can't comment on the potential differences/similarities between HK and China. While we were there we were able to get octopus cards, which get you on to the transport system kind of like the pay as you go sim cards for mobile phones (you can also buy coffee at Starbucks and groceries with your octopus card and the school uses them for registering the children and for paying for school lunches and printing). We also got a mobile phone that we can use in HK, a bank account, an apartment, almost a school for the children, an amazing amount of intelligence about how to work and live in the area, and some new friends. Adrian and I both commented that this just would not have been the case in any other place were we have lived.
Fifth, Hong Kong is en engineering wonder. Not only are there some (several) of the tallest buildings in the world here, but they are build on some of the steepest terrain. In Hong Kong itself, you see buildings being built and wonder how in the world they got the equipment up the narrow and winding roads to the site. There are tunnels cutting through mountains and under all this there is an underground transport system that is not only extensive but very reliable. Just about every form of transportation is available here--buses, ferries, mini-buses, trams, funiculars, elevated cable cars, subways, trains, and even an outdoor escalator. This last transport mode is particularly incredible as not only can you travel around most of the second and third stories of the central part of the city via passageways through the buildings, which you access via escalator, but you can also travel from the ferry terminal to the upper part of the mid-levels via a half hour escalator ride. This is covered and runs down hill for the morning commute, but up hill most of the day. Not only does this mean that the thing is reversed every day, but because of the high humidity and rain one would think that it would always be broken down. But it is not. Stunning. We noticed advertisements in estate agent windows that there is a rent gradient based on distance from these escalators. Given how steep it is, this makes a lot of sense. We did walk up through a residential neighborhood and this is something one would not want to do out of necessity. Added to all this is the fact that while the tram is several blocks inland now, it once ran along the waterfront. The amount of reclamation is amazing. You would not immediately understand that so much of what is the present day commercial Hong Kong is on reclaimed land, but once you know this you understand why the area where all the tall commercial buildings are is also quite flat.
Sixth, the food is great. Not only is there really good Cantonese food (my favorite type of Chinese), but you can get every other cuisine you want at about any price range. While we were there we ate Cantonese food as well as food from other regions in China, Vietnamese, and Japanese. We had coffee in an American style coffee shop (at 7 in the morning at the nearby mall). We also learned that the restaurants located in the big shopping malls are not to be avoided. Indeed, the Japanese restaurant we ate in was located on the the tip of Kowloon in a shopping mall that was focused on the eating, with shopping interspersed between the restaurants. It was great. We also went to one of the grocery stores. Admittedly this was the posh store--for those of you in the UK it was like Waitrose, and indeed there were Waitrose branded products on the shelves. Prices were largely similar to UK prices, with the exception of things like cheese and yogurt, which are imported from Australia. The equivalent to £6 or $8 for a large container of yogurt. I don't really like yogurt that much so this won't bother me too much. I guess I shall have to learn to enjoy my coffee with soya milk instead of cows milk. I can adjust. I like soya milk. The cheese will be a bit harder to go without, but I am thinking that my waistline could benefit from this. Thankfully, and contrary to what we expected, wine is not more expensive.
While these impressions are largely positive, I don't want to sugggest that everything was rosy. I did learn that it will be quite difficult for me to get a job. I met with one of the heads of department at one university and learned that not only would my research never fit with their idea of sensible and useful work (quantitative, rational choice models, neoclassical), but also that I was not chinese enough and too old! The Chinese bit I may or may not be able to overcome by learning the language, but age is someting one cannot mess with. No such thing as age discrimination there. There were some gender issues at another university that will make it difficult for me. But the third place I visited was very welcoming, and even if I don't get a job with them, I feel that there is the possibility for connection and collaboration. I am very excited at the prospects of doing research in Hong Kong. There is a lot of work that I can envision doing that builds on my existing research and which focuses on sustainablity issues.
Most of the people we met also have some form of domestic help. This can range from what has historically been referred to as an Amah, a term that is now not considered politically correct. Flats for middle class people all have an area off a laundry room off a kitchen consisting of a bedroom and a bathroom for the helper to live. This room in the flats we looked at, but which appear to be equally as small elsewhere was miniscule. Just enough room for a narrow bed and not really anything else. In fact, the room in our flat has no window. There is a window in the bathroom, which has a shower, toilet and sink. I can't imagine living there, so I guess no Amah for us. Others have helpers come once a day or a couple of times a week. Some of these women are doing this work illegally as they are Amahs for another family already. Some are Chinese women. Many people I spoke with said that the helper would do the shopping and cooking for you, which is an advantage because the helpers have the skills to bargain at the wet market, thus saving money on food buying. The wet markets are less expensive than the grocery stores. I shall just have to learn enough cantonese to do this, or pay more at the supermarket, most of which will deliver dry goods to your home for you. I was also told that while some locally produced food is available, culturally the imported food is considered better food, and this is not just because it is more expensive. I expect some of this is linked to the recent health scares over things like tainted milk and beef products.
Overall a brilliant trip. I am really looking forward to going back. I hope something works out for me on the employment front as I am having some difficulties with getting leave from my current employer. I think I just must be patient and keep trying. I will keep updating...
It will be hard to write this in whole paragraphs as I am still processing the visit to Hong Kong in flashes of impression. As just a bit of context Adrian and I when to Hong Kong for a few days. We left on Tuesday last week. Arrived sometime on Wednesday in the evening. We then returned on Sunday, leaving quite early in the morning, so just three whole days in the city.
I guess one of my first impressions is that to call Hong Kong a city is really not right. It is more like a region. Hong Kong island itself is not a city as there are quite large areas of non-city and if you travel around the island to Stanley, one feels quite in another place. It takes very little time on the bus to do this. The bus ride involves traveling through a tunnel to get to the other side, rather than following a coastal path. Kowloon, across from Hong Kong, is connected to HK in that there are any number of ways to cross over--ferry, train (under the water), by car/bus over a bridge, but it is also quite separate as in Kowloon you must make a change to another train or bus that will transport you around this side of the water. Also, there are different colour taxis for this part of HK than for the island. Kowloon provides a very impressive vista for those on HK island, but this is mutual. In other words, incredibly tall buildings on both sides. The waterfront on the Kowloon side is a lovely place to walk around--day or night--and there are some wonderful restaurants and museums. Then there is the new territories, which we really did not get into that much. But because of the really great public transport system in this city/region the ability to travel quite far into them is not difficult to do rather quickly.
Second, unlike many other cities I have been to in countries where English is not the first language, I felt very comfortable and confident in my ability to get around. I think this was partially because there was enough that looked familiar, pretty much most things were written in English as well and in Cantonese, and there are enough people around who understand English and can tell you what you need to know if you get lost. So the infrastructure for people who are not Chinese is there. I wouldn't put this down too much to the fact that Hong Kong is a fairly recently former territory. The bodies are very much largely Chinese bodies walking around. I did see a few non-Chinese people, but this difference was not something that was foregrounded. Indeed, I notice the difference much more when I have visited China Towns in the US or UK much more than I did in Hong Kong. This might be the result of apparent middle-classness, though a large proportion of the city does not earn enough to be required to pay the 15% income tax. Moreover, one is aware that Hong Kong is not American or European. It is its own city, but it is a comfortable one to be in. At least it was for me. It is a place that puts you at ease, while at the same time is exciting.
Third, while Hong Kong is very full of people, this again is not the overriding impression one gets. There are amazingly tall building, and looking at them you know the population density is incredible. Some of this housing is quite grim, but that is the same in all cities. So much of Hong Kong is new build, however, so the decay that comes from prolonged use, high humidity, and so forth is not a present. Plus, there is a lot of green space--not really grass, but green: Trees, tropical plants, etc. Quite a bit of Hong Kong is not built upon, probably because the landscape is so steep. Incredibly steep. At times overwhelmingly steep. Exhaustingly steep.
Fourth, this is a very efficient place. I understand that there is as much bureaucracy here as one might think given that it has its roots in the UK and its crown in China, but there is a work ethic and a competence I just don't find in the UK. Maybe this is linked to some degree to an overall culture of humility rather than arrogance and an ethic of consideration for others and open friendliness, rather than a selfishness that seems to permeate British life. I can't comment on the potential differences/similarities between HK and China. While we were there we were able to get octopus cards, which get you on to the transport system kind of like the pay as you go sim cards for mobile phones (you can also buy coffee at Starbucks and groceries with your octopus card and the school uses them for registering the children and for paying for school lunches and printing). We also got a mobile phone that we can use in HK, a bank account, an apartment, almost a school for the children, an amazing amount of intelligence about how to work and live in the area, and some new friends. Adrian and I both commented that this just would not have been the case in any other place were we have lived.
Fifth, Hong Kong is en engineering wonder. Not only are there some (several) of the tallest buildings in the world here, but they are build on some of the steepest terrain. In Hong Kong itself, you see buildings being built and wonder how in the world they got the equipment up the narrow and winding roads to the site. There are tunnels cutting through mountains and under all this there is an underground transport system that is not only extensive but very reliable. Just about every form of transportation is available here--buses, ferries, mini-buses, trams, funiculars, elevated cable cars, subways, trains, and even an outdoor escalator. This last transport mode is particularly incredible as not only can you travel around most of the second and third stories of the central part of the city via passageways through the buildings, which you access via escalator, but you can also travel from the ferry terminal to the upper part of the mid-levels via a half hour escalator ride. This is covered and runs down hill for the morning commute, but up hill most of the day. Not only does this mean that the thing is reversed every day, but because of the high humidity and rain one would think that it would always be broken down. But it is not. Stunning. We noticed advertisements in estate agent windows that there is a rent gradient based on distance from these escalators. Given how steep it is, this makes a lot of sense. We did walk up through a residential neighborhood and this is something one would not want to do out of necessity. Added to all this is the fact that while the tram is several blocks inland now, it once ran along the waterfront. The amount of reclamation is amazing. You would not immediately understand that so much of what is the present day commercial Hong Kong is on reclaimed land, but once you know this you understand why the area where all the tall commercial buildings are is also quite flat.
Sixth, the food is great. Not only is there really good Cantonese food (my favorite type of Chinese), but you can get every other cuisine you want at about any price range. While we were there we ate Cantonese food as well as food from other regions in China, Vietnamese, and Japanese. We had coffee in an American style coffee shop (at 7 in the morning at the nearby mall). We also learned that the restaurants located in the big shopping malls are not to be avoided. Indeed, the Japanese restaurant we ate in was located on the the tip of Kowloon in a shopping mall that was focused on the eating, with shopping interspersed between the restaurants. It was great. We also went to one of the grocery stores. Admittedly this was the posh store--for those of you in the UK it was like Waitrose, and indeed there were Waitrose branded products on the shelves. Prices were largely similar to UK prices, with the exception of things like cheese and yogurt, which are imported from Australia. The equivalent to £6 or $8 for a large container of yogurt. I don't really like yogurt that much so this won't bother me too much. I guess I shall have to learn to enjoy my coffee with soya milk instead of cows milk. I can adjust. I like soya milk. The cheese will be a bit harder to go without, but I am thinking that my waistline could benefit from this. Thankfully, and contrary to what we expected, wine is not more expensive.
While these impressions are largely positive, I don't want to sugggest that everything was rosy. I did learn that it will be quite difficult for me to get a job. I met with one of the heads of department at one university and learned that not only would my research never fit with their idea of sensible and useful work (quantitative, rational choice models, neoclassical), but also that I was not chinese enough and too old! The Chinese bit I may or may not be able to overcome by learning the language, but age is someting one cannot mess with. No such thing as age discrimination there. There were some gender issues at another university that will make it difficult for me. But the third place I visited was very welcoming, and even if I don't get a job with them, I feel that there is the possibility for connection and collaboration. I am very excited at the prospects of doing research in Hong Kong. There is a lot of work that I can envision doing that builds on my existing research and which focuses on sustainablity issues.
Most of the people we met also have some form of domestic help. This can range from what has historically been referred to as an Amah, a term that is now not considered politically correct. Flats for middle class people all have an area off a laundry room off a kitchen consisting of a bedroom and a bathroom for the helper to live. This room in the flats we looked at, but which appear to be equally as small elsewhere was miniscule. Just enough room for a narrow bed and not really anything else. In fact, the room in our flat has no window. There is a window in the bathroom, which has a shower, toilet and sink. I can't imagine living there, so I guess no Amah for us. Others have helpers come once a day or a couple of times a week. Some of these women are doing this work illegally as they are Amahs for another family already. Some are Chinese women. Many people I spoke with said that the helper would do the shopping and cooking for you, which is an advantage because the helpers have the skills to bargain at the wet market, thus saving money on food buying. The wet markets are less expensive than the grocery stores. I shall just have to learn enough cantonese to do this, or pay more at the supermarket, most of which will deliver dry goods to your home for you. I was also told that while some locally produced food is available, culturally the imported food is considered better food, and this is not just because it is more expensive. I expect some of this is linked to the recent health scares over things like tainted milk and beef products.
Overall a brilliant trip. I am really looking forward to going back. I hope something works out for me on the employment front as I am having some difficulties with getting leave from my current employer. I think I just must be patient and keep trying. I will keep updating...
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Prelude to transnational encounters: After Dinner
The food was great, although we got way too much. I felt a bit like a dumpling afterwards. There were many dishes that we had never tried before. My teenaged daughter, who previously announced she will not be eating anything other than pizza and chips no matter where she lives, has now decided there are foods that she likes available to her in Hong Kong. A result on that level at least.
When setting out this meal, I carefully cut out the lables from the packages so we would know what we are eating. This was fine in that the lables all had english writing as well as chinese charactors. As I cut, I was thinking, how will I ever know what is what, when I have to rely on charactors alone? I also had to abandon the idea of saying out loud what each item was, as I had no idea how to pronounce the various charactors--there was just no clue to me how something that looked like a little house would sound. Clearly I need to think about that some more...
We are off to Hong Kong later this month for a couple of days. We will get to visit the flats where we are to live and also the school. We got the schedule for my husband and what he is supposed to do. They have booked every minute of the friday with meetings for him, so it looks like he is going to have to start working right away. I am quite excited about going. Not least as it will be considerably warmer there than it is here in Yorkshire at the moment.
When setting out this meal, I carefully cut out the lables from the packages so we would know what we are eating. This was fine in that the lables all had english writing as well as chinese charactors. As I cut, I was thinking, how will I ever know what is what, when I have to rely on charactors alone? I also had to abandon the idea of saying out loud what each item was, as I had no idea how to pronounce the various charactors--there was just no clue to me how something that looked like a little house would sound. Clearly I need to think about that some more...
We are off to Hong Kong later this month for a couple of days. We will get to visit the flats where we are to live and also the school. We got the schedule for my husband and what he is supposed to do. They have booked every minute of the friday with meetings for him, so it looks like he is going to have to start working right away. I am quite excited about going. Not least as it will be considerably warmer there than it is here in Yorkshire at the moment.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Prelude to transnational encounters
On the advice of a friend (isn't it always on the advice of a friend) I am writing this blog about the upcomming move that my family will make to Hong Kong. The idea for the move is not all that new as we decided before Christmas and now it is February. I think it might be the realness of it all that has now compelled me to write.
My husband is taking a much better paying job in Hong Kong. I also have a career, which is currently looking like it will stangnate and disappear. I may have this feeling because it is early February and everything looks a bit gloomy at this time of the year. Alternatively, I may just be relistic. Lets just say that this is how I am feeling at the moment and it is not a particularly positive approach. Everyone has said I should have no difficulty finding another academic job as 1)I am already an established academic with a publication record and 2) the higher education sector in Hong Kong is expanding. Indeed, I have already applied for two jobs, but there are only 8 universities, and if I strike out, I am not sure what I shall do. I am only 44.
To overcome this current feeling of depression, dispair, gloom I decided that I needed to manufacture some enthusiasm for the new culture I will be joining. To that end I got on the internet and discovered that here in the North of England there is a terrific chinese grocery. I got in the car and went there. I must say that I found myself thinking as I looked at all the new foods (thankfully described in English as well as Chinese), "how will I manage to feed my family" once we move. After the job issue, this is my second greatest worry. I don't mean how will I afford to feed my family, because we will be able to do that. I mean, how will I know what to buy to feed my family. It was all so diffent and this is like the nursery version of buying food. What will I do when I have to go out and select things that are not labled in english as well?
I guess I will have to learn. So the lessons started today I purchased a bunch of stuff: raw things, premade things, vegetables, sauces, etc. Tonight will be the first family lesson. Before anyone takes a bite we will have to make some attempt to pronounce what it is. (Hopefully there is a pronunciation ap that I can type in the word and the helpful voice speaks it outloud. If not, there should be.) This should be made all the more interesting with the consumption of a very large bottle of Chinese beer that was also available at the shop. At least my husband and I should enjoy that component.
More later on how this went and the other anxieties associated with moving half way around the world...
My husband is taking a much better paying job in Hong Kong. I also have a career, which is currently looking like it will stangnate and disappear. I may have this feeling because it is early February and everything looks a bit gloomy at this time of the year. Alternatively, I may just be relistic. Lets just say that this is how I am feeling at the moment and it is not a particularly positive approach. Everyone has said I should have no difficulty finding another academic job as 1)I am already an established academic with a publication record and 2) the higher education sector in Hong Kong is expanding. Indeed, I have already applied for two jobs, but there are only 8 universities, and if I strike out, I am not sure what I shall do. I am only 44.
To overcome this current feeling of depression, dispair, gloom I decided that I needed to manufacture some enthusiasm for the new culture I will be joining. To that end I got on the internet and discovered that here in the North of England there is a terrific chinese grocery. I got in the car and went there. I must say that I found myself thinking as I looked at all the new foods (thankfully described in English as well as Chinese), "how will I manage to feed my family" once we move. After the job issue, this is my second greatest worry. I don't mean how will I afford to feed my family, because we will be able to do that. I mean, how will I know what to buy to feed my family. It was all so diffent and this is like the nursery version of buying food. What will I do when I have to go out and select things that are not labled in english as well?
I guess I will have to learn. So the lessons started today I purchased a bunch of stuff: raw things, premade things, vegetables, sauces, etc. Tonight will be the first family lesson. Before anyone takes a bite we will have to make some attempt to pronounce what it is. (Hopefully there is a pronunciation ap that I can type in the word and the helpful voice speaks it outloud. If not, there should be.) This should be made all the more interesting with the consumption of a very large bottle of Chinese beer that was also available at the shop. At least my husband and I should enjoy that component.
More later on how this went and the other anxieties associated with moving half way around the world...
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