Hong Kong Blogservations

We have survived our move to Taikoo Shing and are once again getting settled into a new home. We now live in a furnished 784 sq ft apartment which is small by American standards, but feels huge after leaving our 300 sq ft 5^th floor walk-up apartment. Bailey likes the new neighborhood much better than Soho. The sidewalks are wide and there are peaceful parks wherever you go. (no grass, but parks none the less)

Now that we’ve been here 3 weeks, we took some time to reflect and made a list of our first impressions so we can share them with all our friends and family back on the west coast of the USA.

Hong Kong has everything you’ll ever need and if you look hard enough, you can find anything. However, there are many little things in day-to-day Hong Kong life that are completely foreign to us foreigners. For instance:

Small sizes

• Because living space in Hong Kong is hard to come by, everything comes miniaturized. Milk is most often bought 1 liter at a time, cereal in a 10 oz box (as opposed to the 40 oz bags I used to buy in the US) and bread by the ½ loaf. Dishes are small (I can’t find a drinking glass bigger than 12 ounces), appliances are small, furniture is compact, and of course clothes are small.
• If you are a woman who is a size 4 in America, you will have to purchase the largest size in the store in Hong Kong. Sometimes, sales ladies even tell you they don’t have sizes big enough for you.

Food

• Fresh fruit stands seem to be everywhere you turn. Very healthy!
• Chinese bakeries can also be found on every block. Very tempting! They are chock full of tasty sweet buns filled with anything from yummy sweet red bean paste to bbq pork. All for the bargain price of about 50 cents US dollar each.
• Chicken is very popular, but the most prized pieces are thigh, wing etc. Chicken breast is the least expensive part on the bird and hard to find at the store.
• A favorite pizza topping in local shops is hot dog bits, not to mention a whole slew of other local favorites we haven’t tried yet like fish balls.
• The cereal section at the grocery store only has a selection of 5-7 types as opposed to the double sided aisles containing dozens of cereal options in the U.S. For 2 people who used to eat cereal often, this is a big change. The brands are also surprising. Most common brands are All Bran, Frosted Flakes, Special K, Cookie Crisp, Oh's, and Oreo cereal.

Random observations

• There are garbage cans everywhere! Must be why the city is so incredibly clean.
• Dog urine really stinks on cement on a hot day.
• Everyone stays out late and starts the day later. That means if you get up at 7 a.m. to walk the dog, you practically get the city to yourself.
• You can’t find a greeting card store to save your life.
• Likewise for business centers like Kinko’s. If there is one, we haven’t found it.
• Everyone living in HK gets a HK identity card that has your picture and an ID chip with your fingerprints and all personal information imbedded in it.
• Most parks are for people, not dogs and signs are clearly posted to make sure you know it.
• Many locals are terrified of dogs. Bailey is one of the least threatening dogs in the world, but many local Chinese stop in their tracks and panic when they see her coming.
• Every day, I see at least half a dozen people wearing surgical masks like Michael Jackson wears. Are they sick and protecting the rest of us? Or, are they afraid of catching something from the rest of us?

Prices

• Other than rent which averages $2000-$3000/month USD, prices are really reasonable. Monthly cell phone service is about $12, cable and internet combined is $33 USD, cab rides start at $2 USD and rarely go over $10. Public transportation is even cheaper, about 50 cents USD each ride.
• Massages are cheap! A 45 minute massage is about $10 USD. Hallelujah!