Hong Kong - One Month Later

This whole moving to a new country/part of the world is turning out to be quite the adventure, as you can tell. While some things are the same as in the U.S., many more things are *way* different and it can take some time to get accustomed to these new things. And, as with all new things, some things are easier to get used to, and I can say with some certainty that there are others I will never get used to. So, as of today, one month and two days since we first moved, here is my list of things I have and haven't gotten used to.

Things I Have Gotten Used To:

1 - Walking everywhere. If I was a New Yorker, this wouldn't have been such a big deal, but coming from Atlanta, I gave up a very comfortable and spacious 4Runner. Even though it means more trips to the store, I like getting out of my apartment, taking the escalator and just walking to a new part of town I haven't yet seen. I thought I would take the super-cheap taxis to get to places but it seems that, with traffic, I can usually walk faster than it would take to ride in a cab and the muscles in my thighs (last seen circa 1992) thank me for it.

2 - Driving on the "right" side of the road takes on a new meaning. HK was owned by the British for 100 years, so some customs die hard. On the rare occasion I do take a cab, I am riding on the left side of the road in a car where the driver's side is on the right side of the car. At first, it was weird to see the British cabs with the steering wheel on the wrong side and crossing the street took longer since I didn't know from which direction the cars were coming (look right, then left, then right again, just to be sure). But a few weeks ago, I was watching an American movie and the sight of a car driving on the right side of the road freaked me out a little bit. I'm already dreading driving in the US when I go back for visits, maybe I'll get Marc to drive and warn the DOT before we arrive.

3 - Our cozy apartment. Coming from a nice size house in the US and cramming all of our "stuff" into an apartment the size of most people's 2-car garage scared me into packing light for our move. Oddly enough, our apartment now has too much empty storage space, although I'm sure with just a few more trips under our belt, we will have plenty of trinkets to fill up the empty shelves. One good/not so good thing about the small living space is that I know where Marc is and what he is doing at all times. Like I said, that has its positives and negatives but overall it's nice and I'm sure we will grow closer just as soon as Marc stops trying to teach himself how to yodel.

4 - Paying with a credit card. One difference about buying things here is how you pay. If you are to pay with a credit card, you have to hold the credit card face up using both hands with your thumbs on the top of the card, like you are presenting the card to the cashier. The cashier then takes the card from you with both hands and returns it to you in the same manner. This small sign of respect is reserved not just for paying with a credit card, but also for giving your business card to someone and receiving their business card. At first, I would forget but I've had to purchase so many things that now it has become second nature.

[Editor's note: Apparently this is not just an HK thing, my godmother said the same custom holds true for Thailand and Malaysia where she lived for 11 years. You can hand your card with both hands or sometimes just your right hand but never your left. "Why?" I moronically asked her. "Because they believe you use your left hand to wipe your butt," was her matter-of-fact response. Nice, note to self.]

5 - How Nice Everyone Is. This was an unexpected bonus. Everyone is *very* helpful and we always get the best service. Whether we are in a store and a store clerk is going out of their way to check the stock on an item in another store (without grumbling) or the customer service line for the cable company (who called Marc a "genius" and not in a sarcastic way), everyone we meet is very attentive and does everything they can to help us out.

In addition, there are so many ex-pats like us that they befriend us quickly and give us useful tips like where to get Western food, how to take the bus to get to a certain beach, or the best place to find the good quality counterfeit Pradas (not that we would *ever* buy anything counterfeit). I guess they remember what it was like when they just stepped off the boat and are truly friendly and helpful.

6 - Seeing tourists. It is sorely obvious who the tourists in this town are. You can see them from kilometers away, sweating profusely, wearing the wrong attire for the extreme humidity and carrying at least one camera around their neck or perhaps in a fanny pack. Usually, they are congregating around the escalator, trying to decipher a map and how to get on the confounded contraption. I know it because I was one too. Now, I just point out which way they need to go depending on what time of day it is and what direction the escalator happens to be traveling.

7 - Sundays. Everyone in HK, from executives to secretaries, has a maid. They can afford it because the maids are usually illegal Philipinas trying to make a living. I'm not saying this to be racist, there are literally tens of thousands of illegal Philipinas who move to HK to work as maids or nannies and earn a mere pittance. They work hard Mondays through Saturdays and only get Sundays off. And Sundays are Philipinas-Take-Over-The-City-Day, seriously. Along all the covered walkways, these women lay down cardboard and sit down in clusters all day long, chatting, eating, doing each other's hair and nails, playing cards and selling trinkets. Tens of thousands of Philipinas sitting on the ground outside, ALL DAY LONG. It's weird, not going to lie, but I've gotten used to it.

8 - Turning on the Water Heater before Taking a Shower. Self-explanatory and it just plain makes sense, no use in wasting gas to heat up an entire tank of water when you are sleeping.

9 - All the Different Restaurants. I love to cook but I also love to eat out. Marc and I live about a 5 minute walk from a street that is so ethnically diverse (cuisine-wise), the choices are mind-boggling. So far, we've eaten at Cuban, Italian, Chinese (duh), Lebanese, Mexican and French restaurants. We tried a Greek/Middle Eastern place once but they had a 15-20 minute wait and we were starving, so we just walked across the street into an Italian restaurant instead. We plan to eat our way down the entire street and the next one over but it might take us a few months.

10 - Haggling. I'm a pro, see the post on Shenzhen.

11 - Travelling to Strange and Exotic Places in Under Two Hours. This is just cool. Take a train, bus, metro, ferry, junk boat or plane and you can be in any of a few dozen cool and exotic places in under 2 hours. Even a 20 minute $1.50 bus ride takes you to the other side of the island where there are beautiful beaches on the South China Sea just on the other side of the mountain.

The picture above is Shek O Beach on the southeastern side of Hong Kong Island (been there), just 30 minutes from the concrete jungle. The outlying mountainous islands seen in the distance are the New Territories of Hong Kong (haven't been there yet), easy to get to via cheap (about $2-3) ferry.

We are currently planning on next trip to Thailand at the end of September, so stay tuned.

Things I Haven't Gotten Used To:

1 - Fish heads.

2 - Chicken toes.

3 - Not being able to find certain things that are easily available in the US. I think I've scared a lot of people out of coming to visit by posting so many weird market pictures, but honestly, I can usually find just about anything I need except the random odd item now and again. For example, I brought Mentadent toothpaste refills for Marc because I didn't want him to die of the dreaded Chinese Toothpaste Disease of 2007, but I forgot to bring the Mentadent pump and they don't sell Mentadent here, anywhere. I know this because I have stopped into every Watsons, Mannings, Wellcome, and various other pharmacies and supermarkets even Western supermarkets and can't find it.

We've decided that whoever is brave enough to come visit us first must bring the following as "payment" for staying with us: a) a Mentadent toothpaste pump; b) Oil of Olay Daily Facials Cleansing Cloths; c) a box of Mister Clean Magic Erasers; and d) an over-the-door shoe organizer. No need to bring us an apartment-warming gift, the gift of Western toiletries is all we need.

4 - The Lack of Target. If I had a million dollars, I'd open up a Super Target store in Hong Kong. Seriously, why do you need to go to the market for groceries, the bakery for bread, the Japan Store for tupperware, the "hardware" store (I use that term loosely, think small Mom and Pop Nail Shack not Home Depot) for duct tape, and the bookstore for the latest Nicholas Sparks tear-jerker? Plus, not to mention I'd already have the aforementioned Mentadent, facial cleanser, magic eraser and shoe organizer. Americans may be lazy, but they are smart and lazy. Where else can you buy lettuce AND jeans at the same time?

5 - Feng Shui. This weekend we went to Repulse Bay beach in front of a condo building with a huge hole cut into the middle of the facade. Why you ask? So the dragon that lives in the mountain can get to the sea. Ah, of course, we can't forget about the dragon.

6 - Currency. The Hong Kong dollar is fixed to the U.S. dollar, so luckily there isn't much fluctuation in the currency exchange. One U.S. Dollar is the equivalent of $7.78 Hong Kong Dollars, or Honkys, as we like to call them (as in Honky Tonk Badonkadonk). Not exactly an easy calculation to do on the fly. So, in addition to my trusty pocket calculator, I have a little cheat sheet with round number conversions: $10 Honky = $1.28, $50 Honky = $6.40, $100 Honky = $12.82, etc. I may look like a tourist with that thing but at least I can haggle like a pro and I no longer crap my pants when I get the restaurant bill like I used to. ("$122 for LUNCH!!!?!??? Oh wait... sorry...")

7 - The Milk. Don't ask, just trust me.

8 - Cooking with a Calculator. Until the rest of the world decides to convert to the US system of measuring things, I'm doomed to cook with a calculator. What's 500 grams in pounds? I dunno. How many cups in a liter? I dunno. How many degrees is 350 degrees Fahrenheit in Celsius? I dunno. What's 15 minutes? Oh wait...

So all in all, the good things outweigh the bad things and we're still having a great time. But don't worry Moms, we miss everyone like crazy and we're definitely coming back! :)