Many apologies for not posting more recently. It is insane how the work piles up when you're out of the country for two weeks. When I got back to Hong Kong, I came up with the idea for this blog while talking to a friend. We were sharing experiences of being home and all of the questions people had about living in Hong Kong, or Asia in general. I thought it might be amusing (and hopefully informative) to post some of the top questions with my answers. And hey, maybe if someone is moving to HK this will be helpful, too. Here goes.
Q: Where do you live in Hong Kong?
A: I've talked about this in my blog before, but I guess not very explicitly. I live in Wan Chai, an area two districts East of the Central District (what you see on postcards, contains most of the iconic buildings associated with HK. Central that is, not Wanchai).
Q: I heard you live in a den of iniquity. Can you confirm or deny?
A: Well, true. Depending on your definition of 'den of iniquity'. Yes, I live in the area of Wan Chai that is known for its, shall we say, ladies of the night. (see follow up question below)
Q: Isn't that dangerous?
A: I know you won't believe me, but it isn't dangerous. Hong Kong in general is extremely safe. I have never seen any crime of any sort, even in my area. The largest threat in my neighborhood are drunk Australians pouring out of the clubs, but in general they're pretty tame so long as you have a good attitude and are a fast runner (okay, about the past part, I kid.) Honestly, I think the Chinese restaurant around the corner from me that spews noxious gasses that smell like wet dog is about the most dangerous thing around.
Q: What do you eat?
A: I love to eat, so this is a great question. What I LOVE about Wan Chai (and HK in general) is that it is a very International city. Within a two block radius, I have a middle eastern place, Thai food, local Chinese restaurants, a British pub, an Outback steakhouse, a coffee shop and a Spanish Tapas place, and an all-day breakfast place open 24 hours per day (and that is just scratching the surface). Literally any and everything you could want to find in Hong Kong you can. So, in answer to this question, my favorite places are a vegetarian wrap place in SoHo (near my office) called Mana, a Japanese chain restaurant called Ajisen Ramen, a Tapas place in Wanchai called Viva Ana, and I do eat a lot of Pret, a British sandwich/soup chain.
Q: How do you get around? Isn't Hong Kong huge?
A: Like most residents of big cities, I spend a lot of time in a very small area. For example, I live the majority of my life in five districts, Sheung Wan, Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai, and Causeway Bay. They are all connected on the same MTR line, though if the need struck you, you could walk from Sheung Wan to Causeway Bay in about 45 minutes. I take many means of transportation to get around - for example, I take the MTR (subway) to work each day, I often walk to meet friends in Causeway Bay or Admiralty (they're on either side of me), or I take a double decker bus (the most common kind) or a green mini bus (the most awesome kind - seats 16 and will basically pick you up or let you off wherever you want along a predetermined route) to go other places.
Q: What has been the biggest surprise about living in Hong Kong?
A: I love this question! I had to think the first time somebody asked me (Thanks Hardie!) but I think the biggest surprise is just how livable the city is. I expected HK to be really exotic and foreign, but I am often surprised by the efficiency and level of livability this city has. It is incredibly easy to live here. Everything (at least in the majority of the city) is in English along with Chinese, most people speak perfectly fluent English (and Mandarin along with their native Cantonese), and transportation is cheap and easy. This solves a lot of potential problems before they even arise. I will say that one of the only things that consistently ruffles me is the lack of personal space here. When you couple 7 million people in a very small area with a culture that doesn't have the same idea of personal space as Americans do, you get a lot of touching by random strangers. Not inappropriate touching, let me say, just a constant crowd of people up against you. I'm not sure that I'll ever be used to that.
Q: What do you miss the most about the US?
A: This is probably the question I got asked the most while I was in the US. I don't think I can narrow it down to just one thing, so I'll say my top few misses. First and foremost, it is having a clothes dryer in my apartment. I know this seems crazy, but there is something so cathartic about doing a load of laundry with a laundry soap you choose, spicing it up with a little fabric softener in your favorite scent and pulling out soft, and mercifully dry items from the washing machine. I finally wised up here and started sending my clothes out (where they do at least have a dryer) instead of doing the hang dry thing. I don't know, there is just something about air dryed clothes that just feels like putting on a cardboard box to me. Also, if you hang dry something, you can be sure that it will not be truly dry for several days thanks to the extreme humidity here.
I also miss one stop shops like Target. It can be incredibly frustrating trying to find things in HK because stores don't always carry the same things, or have the same thing from visit to visit. It would be so great to be able to get a pair of pants, groceries, a lamp and gift bags all in one place. But alas, that is not the way it works here. So things that used to take me 30 minutes can now literally take an entire day. At least I get to explore?
Food. You know, everyone has their comfort food. If a Trader Joe's would open up around the corner from me here in HK this would probably be solved. But until then, I will continue to crave Trader Joe's Cranberry Macadamia trek mix and Salsa with Tostito chips. Nom.
Q: I just feel so sorry for you without anyone to date over there...is there anybody you could date? (disclaimer this question wasn't asked to me, rather my friend, but it was so hilarious I just had to post it)
A: I assume that my friend's friend is making a few inferences.
1) Asia is full of Asians
2) White people don't/shouldn't date Asians
3) There are no other White people in Hong Kong.
The truth is that yes, Asia is full of Asians. The other truth is that I know a lot of white people who have or currently are dating or married to Asians. Third, there are many, many white people in Hong Kong. In response to this question, I would simply say this. I didn't know just how attractive Asian men were until I was in a country full of them. Case closed.
Q: Isn't it scary waking up every morning knowing that the Commies could be tapping your phone and ransacking your apartment at any moment? (usually paired with some compliment about being so brave to take the love of Jesus to 'those people'.)
A: Well, the first problem here is that there are no "Commies" here, at least not any that I know. Hong Kong is a democratically governed Special Administrative Region of China. Yes, that does mean that technically HK belongs to China, but it is about as similar to mainland China as New Zealand is to the US. HK pretty much governs itself, and I while I hate to disappoint, Christianity is completely, 100% legal here.
Q: What's the weather like in Japan?
A: Oh my. This is the most irritating question I got asked while I was home. Three times. If you don't understand why I am not answering this question, I suggest you go to your local google maps and locate Hong Kong on a map. (A real answer is that I suppose the weather is lovely this time of year, though since Hong Kong is about as far from Japan as California is from North Dakota, your guess is probably about as good as mine).
Well, I think that's about it! Maybe I'll do a second installment if you all have any burning questions that you'd like to be answered! In happy news, my parents will be here in just a couple of weeks! It will be so fun to be the tour guide and show them all around my new home. I'll also be posting our itineraries after the fact so that if you or anyone you know is coming to HK they can benefit from it!
Until next time,
The Adventurer
I rest my case.