Househunting Part I

First day of househunting in Hong Kong. Driven around by mobility consultant and agents. Over 10 buildings viewed and even more units seen. Its all blending together now. Service apartments for expats. Luxury hotel suites. Local buildings. Old. New. Ugly. Sweet. "Efficiency" (Gross vs Net Square Footage)... Island Line East. West. Mid Levels. But all Hong Kong Island so far. Haven't even checked out Kowloon units yet...Thank goodness we have until December to figure this out!  I LOVE my current service apartment even more now... (Most importantly, found a great dim sum place nearby!) 

Not going to live here in Taikoo Shing / Quarry Bay, but great sea view.

Open concept kitchens, ovens and counters are RARE in Hong Kong, but Westerners prefer them. They can only exist if you tear down "maid quarters".

Two year anniversary... and collusion among HK shopkeepers

Where has the time gone? Cannot believe its been two years since we tied the knot... at least Stephen is visiting this week in person (that also means that Denise & Rob have known each other for two years since they met at our wedding, ha ha)

We spent Sunday looking for DSLR or similar camera (we're scoping out Sony NEX-5) around TST, Mongkok and Wan Chai electronics areas.  I am convinced there is collusion among shops since I saw one guy run downstairs to talk to his friend at the other floor and he ran away when we appeared!  AND all the inventory is mysteriously not in the shop but somewhere central... hmm.. so nothing yet!

Monday we went to Immigration in the morning, had a quick lunch then I had to work in the afternoon. Stephen has made amazing progress connecting with headhunters in Hong Kong, so he'll have a busy week ahead!  Tonight we went to the Victoria Peak for dinner.  Some photos are attached.

Have a great week everybody!

View from The Peak

Restaurant view. The couple next to us were celebrating her birthday with an iPhone4 gift!



Flame Steak Dinner at Pearl of Peak Restaurant



People still queue up at banks in Asia

Pacific Club with Auntie Doris and friends in TST

View of HK Island from TST Harbour City

People still go to the bank in Hong Kong...cash economy! (I've never seen such a long queue in North American banks for 10+ years)

Shanghai style cafe near my place.. home made dumplings in hot & sour soup noodles... HKD45!

Hi Everyone... sorry my blog will be short this time... busy weekend, have to wake in 5 hours to meet Stephen at the airport!  Have a great weekend everyone.

Crustless Bread, clear skies, official HKID and family fun!

My bread dream has come true. They sell "crustless bread" in Hong Kong at Wellcome grocery store downstairs!

The past few days have been hectic yet fun.  Clear skies gave me wonderful views from the Hotel Intercontinental in Tsimshatsui (TST) during a brunch with clients. Amazing food and even better views on Mid-Autumn Festival (Wed Sep 22).  See photo. I finally got my plastic official HKID...speedier airport queues through Immigration now!!


View of HK Island from TST ferry terminal (Tall building is IFC)

 That evening, I joined a joyous family dinner with extended cousins and relatives. The steamed fish, 'stai' (vegetarian dishes) among ten dishes were fabulously home cooked... some even prepared by my 90 year old grand-aunt. They gave me "Teochew" mooncakes which are less fatty and more flaky... hmm... please stop the mooncake trading :)

Mid Autumn / Lantern festival is a big deal in Asia.  The subways are open all night, and unlike more traditional Taiwan, in Hong Kong, people stay out all night and the 'day after' is the holiday!

Asians take Mid-Autumn (Aug 15, 8th month, 15th day) very seriously. Subways open ALL NIGHT, plus next day is a Holiday!

Today's 'holiday' meant early morning meetings with North America, then a much-needed few hours at the gym (I hid from my trainer-wannabe), then a great coffee chat with my friend/customer Christine Lin on Hollywood Road La Presse (near Man Mo Temple) ... then off to TST Harbour City club with my Auntie Doris for drinks and dinner.

Tomorrow night I'll meet a cousin of my Aunt Cathy for dinner then join a group of Expats for drinks. If they're cool then maybe make a few new friends too!  HAPPY MOONCAKES!

Nespresso, sashimi, more escalators, and rain rain rain



Langham Place... 14 floors high Shopping Mall! (I am coming down from Office Tower escalator)



Monster Sushi's Sashimi is so fresh



Hong Kong takes escalators very seriously. Sadly they don't go very fast so I do a lot of walking up stairs! 
This escalator is 8 stories high....

 Today the rain continued, as the typhoon warning stepped up to Level 3. I took a few photos while going around Langham Place at lunch to show that Hong Kongers take their shopping malls very very seriously! I am on the hunt for a Nepresso coffee machine as I just refilled capsules yesterday, and will need one once we move out to a permanent home in January.  Any tips?

I can't believe its only Tuesday.  Tomorrow night is moon cake festival with Hwang/Young family, then a few social gatherings on Thursday and Friday. Keep in touch everyone!

Black sky, typhoon warning, enjoy being 'ahead' of NA timezone...

The sky is very black now and I can hear thunder outside my office window. Its 4pm Monday in Hong Kong, and there's officially a typhoon warning, albeit only category #1 (low).  I hope my Taiwan colleagues are safe, and my fellow Sloanies who were supposed to fly back yesterday night to Hong Kong. Typhoon Fanapi hit there yesterday.

For Mondays at least, I enjoy being 12 hours earlier than North America Eastern time. It means a slower ramp out of my weekend (compared with piles of emails/voicemails by 8am Monday in Toronto).  Although I've been pretty busy in the office today.  I even packed my pasta lunch and fruit to eat... so didn't leave my desk.

(on an unrelated note, the BP oil leak was officially plugged today.  What a cluster overall.  Louisiana residents have had a rough few years - worsened by big business' ignorance... also they are thinking of extending 4 hour trading day for Hong Kong traders by cutting into the 1.5 hour siesta after lunch... boo hoo)

Look forward to see Stephen this Sunday (finally).  I hate long distance phone calls and relationships :-(

Have a great day everyone! 

Broke my food boycott, yes there are kids in HK... and yay to a 'short' work week...

Its been a pleasant 24 hours since returning to HK from Taipei... after a much needed Saturday afternoon nap, I broke my no-food Saturday plan...?? Hmmm...but i'm just tasting in moderation :)

(Stephen knows I am a travel-to-eat trekker, and less of a sight seeing person... thinking aloud... that's why 6 days of Costa Rica was MORE than enough. The meal variety was lousy after day 2 despite tons of fun activities)

So last night, I walked up the hill to Peccato, an Italian restaurant for drinks and dinner with another classmate Nick I haven't seen in YEARS... where has the time gone?  Seems like just yesterday we were comparing G-lab stories and preparing for i-banking or consulting job interviews.... we are getting old.

Anyway the service was slow but the wine and food was decent. The small place was filled with locals and foreigners, and surprisingly, even a few kids!  I haven't seen many kids until yesterday. Reminds me of China especially Beijing - where there are hardly any kids!  And any child is surrounded by 2 parents and 2 to 4 grandparents... (Apparently in some cities in China, you can 'apply' for a 2nd child permit now..... or people 'sneak' a 2nd child to be born in Hong Kong...the world is truly different here)

And being only 10 mins walk from home, it was a nice evening of catching up and sharing stories about moving to Hong Kong.  SOHO is an hilly area of Western restaurants and pubs.  The Vietnamese Pho place is next to Italian and across the street from Argentianian...and pubs all around... you get the idea!  I found a good website called openrice.com for food finds. 

This morning I woke up early, called my mom to say hello, and called Stephen to ask how his golf day went (he was at a bar ... sounded fun :P  )  Then I headed off to weekly dim sum!  This time with Ploy and David, other friends from Boston who have been in HK for years... we met at Golden Bauhinia the site of the 1997 handover from Britain to China. I am not a history buff, but this place is a bit of a trek from Wan Chai Station, and has a good view of the harbour. There are also tons of tour buses and the ferry terminal is there. Nonetheless, the dim sum was great but the conversation even better!  Ploy had similar negative experiences with California Fitness and HSBC for international banking, and she only found out they didn't have an oven when trying to cook a turkey on Thanksgiving...so its NOT just me!

Since my food boycott didn't last at all, I brought my gym clothes and went to the Wan Chai gym.. much much cleaner than the LKF location, and nobody hassled me to hire a trainer.  I stayed longer than usual doing weights and running... plus there's a Marks & Spencer food shop downstairs. I loved Marks & Spencer foods/quick snacks in the UK. However, its super expensive... bought some oatmeal and cereal then quickly left

This Thursday Sept 23 is the day after Mid Autumn Festival.  We have a holiday in Hong Kong. Oddly China and Taiwan get the actual day off (Sep 22). On Wednesday night I'll join a family dinner, then on Thursday, I'll relax, have tea with my customer (she's more a friend) and maybe do a bit of work at home in peace.  Sadly, Friday is a full work day!

Off to do laundry and errands now!  Enjoy your Sunday!

Beat the typhoon back to HK, love Asia air travel, but not yet a 'foodie/cook'

I made it back to Hong Kong! There's a big typhoon hitting Taiwan this Saturday evening.  I beat it by leaving a half day earlier.

Last night I joined about 10 other Sloan MBA alumni and Jackie in Taipei for a barbecue dinner at a trendy restaurant named MoE.  Most were in '08 year so I knew very few people. It was nice to meet everyone though, and incidentally 4 of us were in town from Hong Kong!  Sadly I had to step out for a work conference call during dinner... sigh.

Woke up early this Saturday morning in Taipei to try and catch the 11am flight with Stephen's uncle Arthur. I was originally at noon. But Cathay Pacific is SOOO good that I was put on the flight even before Uncle Arthur... and upgraded to business class!  Got to the airport at 9:40am, thru airport security, had a quick chat with Uncle at the lounge and boarded my plane by 10:05.... hmm... how effective is that security :)  NO complaints from me though...

(On a side note... i fly hundreds of thousands of miles with Air Canada/United each year, only to have to fumble through upgrade coupons and resort to begging for an upgrade... I have pretty basic marco polo cathay pacific status, forgot my number so just showed my AA number!  Just a better flying experience here in Asia)

After a modern and fast Airport Express train ride to Hong Kong Central station, I decided to walk home instead of change trains. Its a lovely day in Hong Kong, 30 degrees C, sunny.  Now I'm relaxing back at home (they fixed my Air Conditioner in the week I was gone).

Although I don't plan to eat... I decided to cook pasta to store for later.  This past few weeks, I always though my kitchen was small, but couldn't figure out what was missing.  Guess what??!!  I DON'T HAVE AN OVEN!!  Trying to make garlic bread only to open the lower cupboard full of pans.  Clearly I'm not the foodie/cook that I aspire to be...

Tomorrow I plan to catch up for dim sum with other MBA classmates in Hong Kong, and maybe dinner as well.  So much for my pasta; maybe I'll pack it for lunch this week at work!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Spicy hot pot lunch means smelly clothes all day!

Today is Friday, a day for feasting.  Early breakfast buffet meeting with client, following by spicy hot pot lunch with colleagues and clients (photo enclosed) and another Sloanies dinner tonight. My clothes are smelling spicy... there is a plum juice they drink during hot pot which I cannot get accustomed to. Otherwise, 'enoki' (string) mushrooms are all the rage during every meal I've had in Taiwan... just a small thing I noted... Also I drank 3 Starbucks today. My colleagues like to treat me for coffee so right now I'm completely wired!!!

Tomorrow when I'm back in Hong Kong, I've decided to take a day off eating!  I'll first try to catch up with Stephen's uncle at the Taoyuan airport and fly an earlier Cathay flight with him. He's on his way to Zhuhai for the weekend. We always seem to miss one another in China, Hong Kong or Taipei... maybe this time we can catch a 'hello' at the airport!

TGIF - Thank God Its Friday!!!

Mooncakes are for foreigners too, and why is it only Thursday!?

Being a 'foreigner' does not exempt me from being the recipient of a moon cake. Not only is this box the LENGTH of my carry-on suitcase, but it is 5 star from Grand Formosa Regent hotel. Its a very nice gift from my customer... but how on earth can I carry this back to Hong Kong on the plane?!  No plans yet! I have 1.5 days to figure this out...

Today is only Thursday and I'm desparately lacking sleep. 4-5 hours each night is not sustainable especially after eating bad Western food. Its very humid in Taipei and a typhoon warning is around for this weekend.  Hopefully it goes north east to Japan rather than on the west side towards Hong Kong.  Everyone follows the weather intently here.  If I get stuck in Taipei, its not a big deal to me... but Back in Canada, I never read or listen to the weather... but doing so here, will give me something to discuss in social conversation...

Had a nice Japanese hot pot with my Taipei customer today and also two other meetings, which were at least 1 hour drive apart. I do NOT miss being in a car, and DO miss a compact city like Hong Kong.  The exchange rate NT dollars to US dollars is 30:1.  Needless to say, a lot of things are 'millions of dollars'.... even my Infiniti G35x back at home!

Crappy Western food, single-sex lunch tables and too many moon cakes

Nobody I've met in Asia seems to like 'moon cakes' (not my colleagues, friends, family). The exceptions are my sister Amy and my grandpa Weng Yup Hooi.  However next week is "Mid Autumn Festival" where its customary on this holiday to buy fancy moon cakes for one another.  So my traditional Taiwanese colleagues are carrying big fancy gift bags with designer metal tins to all our customers. When in fact, they just can't wait to pass on the gift (one of their excuses is they cannot fit into luggage!).  Moon cakes are not cheap either. I think the tradition stems from rebels hiding notes of a revolutionary day inside cakes (or is that another Chinese holiday)?  Anyway, if you read this, save your money as I don't want your fancy mooncake - especially not with the egg inside!  On a positive note, I get to meet even more extended family (Young / Hwang side) next week in Hong Kong on this holiday occasion.

The Western food in Taiwan is really sub par (Except for KFC). As I am starting to feel homesick, I ordered a hamburger today. The beef was not good, my burger had a fried egg on it, cold onions ... but the worst part was they don't serve ketchup! Its "Tomato Sauce". Not pickled, and definitely not Heinz! I barely touched it and just drank my pork broth soup appetizer. Yuck.

The lunch culture in the Taiwan office is far more traditional than Hong Kong office. The girls eat together at their own tables and have coffee together in the morning or afternoon at Starbucks. Same for the men. Am I in grade school again? I would say high school but my school was all-girls....

Off to a conference call... have three customer visits tomorrow then a few on Friday, following by my team dinner in Taipei, hopefully meeting some MBA classmates ... i'm so tired!! bye!

60 digits to dial oversea, *slow* meal service and mentioning sushi too often

Hello from Taipei!  Its been a hectic few days so far.  The most time consuming part of my conference call routines involve trying to save money for AMD.  By using a calling card.  Sixty digits later, I finally can connect to North America. Soon I'll be dreaming about my passcodes... my work phone bill better thank me! To add to my grief, wireless internet (wifi) is no where to be found (I bet most of the world's IT equipment is built in Taiwan, ironically).

The Taiwan people are very friendly and quite educated (my cab driver spoke 5 languages including English, Mandarin, Taiwanese, Japanese and Cantonese).  More friendly and relaxed than Hong Kong. 

Most people own cars so in that respect, its more like Toronto.  Also they drive on the right side like Canada, and the car models more like home (Camry is a big one). Taipei traffic on Nanjing Rd East is brutal, especially as they're constructing the new subway... which seems to be a never ending project in the years I've been coming here.

Finally, like other places in Asia, Taiwan restaurants and stores are over-staffed. There are so many wait staff lingering around... but trust me, it does not mean the food service is fast. In factI ate at the Shanghai restaurant in my hotel. I chose a set meal and it took FOREVER!!  My battery died in my iphone and my blackberry by the time dessert rolled around. The food was decent, a little sweet and not too memorable.

Sadly for work, my hours are not good living in Asia. I need to set my personal boundaries very soon. My evening conference calls starting around 8 or 9pm through midnight are getting brutal.  And in the morning I am awake at 6am or latest 7am for call. So I didn't go for dinner last night with colleagues or clients. But didn't save anytime by eating at my hotel either.

I realised that I mention sushi in my blogs too often. I will continue to do so until I eat it again. 

Good bye Hong Kong (hello Formosa!)... losing my need for 'personal space'

Hi everybody... Stephen reminds me its been 2 days since my last blog...
Monday at the office was low key. A lot of PR activity flurrying around due to a competitors product launch, and some good catchup on analytical work I had been procastinating!  Also met with the Greater China head of sales who is the HK Office Manager (incidentally he never really comes to the office; always in Mainland), so we caught up a bit.  I had a Korean beef lunch just downstairs, and got my PCCW blackberry (finally!).

My first week in Hong Kong was fun, busy and I started to feel settled in at work and home. Maybe almost too routine for my liking.

But late last night after a sushi customer dinner in Shatin (suburb of Hong Kong), around 10pm, I took a flight to Taipei for a business trip and will stay here until Saturday.  Only landed at midnight. There were a lot of Mainland Chinese on the plane, so I get to practise my Mandarin a bit. That said I observed they step right over you (I had the aisle seat) without bothering to wait for you to get up!  Even very overweight people will push right by you without thinking its an intrusion. 
 
Being in Asia too long, I am losing my need for personal space. Have to pick my battles!


Also the international airport is in Taoyuan not Taipei which is nearly an hour highway drive from town. The airport is also far older / less modern compared to Hong Kong or Beijing's efficiency and modern travel experiences.  So...i got into my hotel after 1:30am! Exhausted, had to wake for a conference call at 6am, then took another short nap after before eating my YUMMY TAIWAN BEEF NOODLE soup now.  Heading to our office in Nangang/Neihu area soon.

Taipei is less modern but nonetheless a fun place. Did you know this Island of Formosa was a Japanese colony until 1975 (or sometime very recent)?  Guess what food I love here? SUSHI is fresh and awesome and more reasonably priced that Hong Kong!  The other interesting observation is the Taiwanese revere / respect the Japanese more so that others would their colonialists.  Maybe the disdain for China is greater. OK enough politics for now!

Will blog as much as possible!  Have a great week everyone! 

Cosmopolitan food and escalator city, but a weekend is incomplete without dim sum

Hi again, I'm going to try to shorten my blogs to keep your (and my) interest!

The rain continues...but there was a short few hours of relief late Saturday night. I met up with Nancy at the Staunton Street 'exit' of the Central-Mid Levels escalator. Did you know this escalator system was only constructed in 1993?  Its almost a kilometer high, and makes the mid-levels/SOHO area much more accessible for the foreigners and locals alike.  I elected to walk up from Queens Road Central 'next' to the escalator... may as well try to get in some exercise. It surely is HUMID here though!

Anyway, Nancy and I caught up on EVERYTHING ... its nearly two years since we met up, perhaps in Toronto or New York, we can't even recall.  In SOHO (south of hollywood st), there are fabulous cosmopolitan food choices, from Italian to Argentine to Pub and of course, Japanese food. I tried new and interesting dishes like beef tongue and loved it!  The atmosphere was as "Western" as U.S. or Canada, with diverse wait staff and patrons.  After dinner, we headed to Lan Kwai Fong area for a drink at a lounge on Wyndham. Good vibe, music and atmosphere... Central area places play modern beats with a mixed crowd -- very unlike Sheung Wan or Mongkok, which is much more local. Its less than 15 mins walk from my home. We left around 1am just as the street was filling up!  I look forward to more good times with Nancy in Hong Kong...and later nights ;)

But despite all the food and escalator options, a weekend in Hong Kong is incomplete without dim sum. I headed out to Po Lam (far east MTR stop) to have regular dim sum with my dad's cousins and auntie. The shopping complex is HUGE, and a boy band was performing in the mall. Thousands of teenage girls were screaming, and there was a 50 person deep queue for the dim sum restaurant once we finished lunch!!  I quickly realised it was because the 2pm menu is 30% discount (the food was fabulous, but that's not the only motivation to head to dim sum...).  We then headed to McCafe for a cappuccino and chat, then I am now at home.  I hate my laundry room as the machines are really small.  Debating to just drop off loads down the street - probably washed better, folded and quite affordable.  We'll see!

Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

9/11 prayer, great congee, better shopping... and very thorough hairdressers

Today is 9/11. I am saying a short prayer for the world since that dreadful day. I still vividly recall how I found out. I was living in Vancouver with a strange roommate who woke me up screaming. At first, I thought nothing of it since she was wierder than most.  Then quickly I realized the world would never be peaceful for a long time. Today in 2010, there are travel warnings all around, a koran burning threat and memorials starting in a few hours on TV.   Be safe, everybody, and don't forget to remember and pray for those who still suffer.

My living room air conditioner is still broken.  They tried to fix it today with no luck.  At least the cool air from the bedroom can flow through.

After a bit of administrative mix-up between Causeway Bay and Central's fitness locations... I finally got my gym membership last night. They 'insisted' that I come back for a proper 'orientation' (aka sales pitch) later on.  Anyway, the gym is a 3 level gym steps away from Lan Kwai Fong, with workout machines extremely near one another. Had a decent two mile treadmill run (the treadmills with TVs were all taken, sadly), then did some weights and circuit, then showered on the FIFTH FLOOR women's changeroom (no elevators). The rest of my evening was filled with business conference calls and nothing so eventful. I'm starting to wear down, so had to crash!

This Saturday morning, the rain continued. After buying myself an umbrella, I headed down the street to a tiny, hole-in-wall congee joint that I found on my iphone app. AMAZING CONGEE, only $3 USD, tasted fabulous. The place was packed and is two mins from my home. I will go again soon. Then I headed to Causeway Bay for a bit of wandering, buying household things like 220V hair iron and shampoo... and of course, a few GREAT deals on fun & business clothing. 

After wandering into almost five hair salons, I finally caved and selected one near SOGO (note: I didn't look in advance!) Anxious, of course. Anyway, the hair washer, a young fellow approx 18 years old dressed in a black t-shirt, began to shampoo my hair. Then massage with more shampoo and conditioner. It was the LONGEST shampoo experience I've ever had, and VERY THOROUGH. He didn't talk to me, except asked if it was still raining. Then the OWNER of the salon partially blew dry my hair.  He did one set of cutting (another 45 mins) and I got another wet rinse. Then he dried it and wasn't satisfied, so kept tweaking it (overall i think he REALLY CARED!).  Anyway, I recommend this place!!  I MUST BE HONEST - I HAD LOW EXPECTATIONS OF A WALK-IN, AVERAGE PRICED HAIR SALON APPOINTMENT... maybe I'm unfairly comparing it to our Chinatown haircut experiences in Toronto...ask Stephen or my sisters... anyway Hong Kong hairdressers can be very thorough and caring!  Be brave.

On way home, I bought some fresh bread and buns, and now relaxing before dinner.  I want to take a nap, but resisting...I was trying NOT to fall asleep during my hair cut... although woke up at 7:45am on a weekend, which is unlike me :(

Be safe everybody!

Am I really in a former British colony?

Welcome and thank you to those friends & family who read my blog. 

This Friday morning, the weather is less hot and humid. More comfortable! But I left for work later than usual (at 8:30am rather than 7-7:30am). Its so crowded at this time, especially Central. I almost could not exit the train!

In general the people walk *inconsistently* here. Some people walk super fast and push you over. Others are STROLLING. Also they inconsistently walk on the right or left side of any stairway or aisle. Is this really a former British colony? Shouldn't people walk on the left? Even the arrows on the ground are inconsistent!


My observation is that people are really good at making money here. For example, even though I get a free California Fitness membership with my service apartment, the gym keeps calling me for my "free" orientation visit. Maybe they're trying to upgrade my membership, or sell me a nice logo towel or clothes?  I will try to resist as I get free towels at my apartment, and would never be caught dead in gym logo clothes outside! And food shops do not provide tissues/napkins! This way, the owner will take money more profit by spending less. I need to go to Watsons and buy some travel tissues. Shrewd.


Yesterday and Today (Friday) I am forgetful. If you recall, I showed up an hour early at my tax consultant appointment. Also I forgot to bring my HKID card, which I needed then and later for my PCCW mobile phone / blackberry registration! Oops. Anyway I scanned it today.  I also sent all my colleagues my temporary HK mobile number, and today, I FORGOT my mobile at home! Thank God its Friday (TGIF!).  I hope I don't forget my customer visit this afternoon (let me make a note now!).


Overall, I like Hong Kong. Its a busy and bustling place, extremely efficient, at times hot, but the food choices are good and relatively affordable. The inconsistent walking kills me though :)  I may do a bit of shopping and unpacking this weekend (after my darn gym orientation), then try to eat a bit more out of my fridge... I didn't even open it yesterday!

Week 1 in Hong Kong...settling in

After attending a lovely Saturday, Sept 4th wedding banquet in Toronto, hours later I was with my parents, sisters, niece and husband Stephen saying good-bye at Toronto airport. I already was not feeling well from too much food the day prior...

The Toronto airport food counter was really really slow at 8am Sunday Sept 5th!  I then headed to the lounge to grab a drink and beg for a first-class upgrade seat (no luck!).  After boarding, I was SO LUCKY to get an aisle seat and MORE LUCKY because the middle seat next to me remained EMPTY for the 15 hour journey.  Didn't sleep much but otherwise a fine flight.

Upon landing in Hong Kong, I proceeded to Immigration, this time with a work permit.  Long line... but as usual in HK, very efficient government employees processed me swiftly, and even advised me how to book a HKID card appointment online.  Again, the HKIA airport is the most efficient in the world.  I took a quick bathroom break only to find my 3 huge luggage bags on the carousel waiting for me. ( For my Toronto friends who land at YYZ, having your luggage on the belt before you are will never happen!)

Then I took a taxi cab with my 3 luggage bags to my new apartment in Sheung Wan, Central area. The place, called ovolo, is directly above a cafeO shop (room service is from this shop).  Its nice and modern but 1000 sq ft (gross in HK terms) is actually about 650 sq feet in US/Canada room sizes. And my apartment is considered BIG!  I love the wifi and the land line, which I haven't had in 10 years! 

After dropping my bag and taking a shower (note: no nap after long journey), I walked down the street to the HSBC bank branch to open an account. I walked in at 4:15pm and had my account number and chequebook in hand by 4:30pm (when they closed up).  Again, very efficient service.  I am ok that they don't want to see me for too long...

Then I walked to a nearby Thai restaurant and ordered THREE dishes for dinner: Pad Thai, Papaya / lettuce wraps and Fried Rice.  I ate a few bites and took the rest back to my fridge.  Can't remember the rest of my day, basically I slept well then went to work first thing on Tues morning!

Tuesday Sept 7- first day at work.  I walked to the subway / MTR station which is about 5 mins away downhill (thank god!).  Bought an 'Octopus' card for 150HKD which includes 100HKD in fare. However within the station, there are multi levels and walking to get to the train itself. Then I went one stop to Central, and changed to the Tsuen Wan Line, riding a few more stops to Mongkok / Langham Place where AMD Hong Kong is located.  Door to door, 30 mins.  Manageable.  But my long term apartment I'll try to avoid a train transfer!  In the office my desk is nice set-up.  I like it very much.  I sit next to IT and some sales people. It was very useful.  Even got to video/webcam with Stephen, although wierd to chat because no privacy.

I was the first one to work by 8:30am and the last one to leave office that day around 7:30pm.  There is a grocery store called Wellcome just downstairs! its your typical urban store that is very small and crowded but has everything I need!  I spent about $60 USD and carried my box upstairs of goods. Its nice to have some food at home, although I only cooked my chicken and ate a few bites, and kept the rest. I also ate a bit of the Thai leftovers. Then I had several conference calls with Toronto, UK/Europe and other business colleagues/customers.  Then fell asleep fast.

Wed Sep 8 - Today I got to work by 7:45am and luckily I remembered the security system password.  Because no one was there yet.  I then had a customer lunch in town near Wan Chai and went to my 2pm HK Immigration appointment for my ID card.  It took about an hour, a few queues then I got out in time.  I then went back near home, bought a nice rice cooker (good deal maybe $30), and tested it at home (no issues). Then I met for coffee downstairs with my MIT Sloan classmate Billy and another Sloan/LFM's spouse named Nova. She was visiting from Taipei. Again, lots of conference calls that night and not enough sleep.

Thurs Sep 8 - Today I arrived at Deloitte an hour too early (at 7:45am) but my tax consultant meeting was at 9am (oops!!).  Did some work in their nice lobby at Pacific Place (Admiralty), then had a fruitful meeting with two consultants about the HK tax system. Then I rushed on the subway to work for my 10:30am conference call with Taipei team.... had a sushi lunch with colleagues and I am now typing this blog at my desk (while on phone with my team member in Shanghai!!)...

This weekend, I will meet my old MIT roommate Nancy and maybe join her in Macau for a day trip. On Sunday I will have dim sum with my dad's cousin and 5th grand auntie.