Monday, December 10, 2007

First Weekend in Hong Kong

The Hood

It has finally arrived. My first weekend in Hong Kong. I was really looking forward to it too, since I was pretty tired and ready to get settled into a new and normal life.

There were things that I needed in order for me to think clearly. A hair dryer, hangers, a bathmat, and mobile phone.

Friday I was in the office for 12 hours when I didn't have to be. I guess I'm a little overcautious about the job, but better safe than sorry. The only reason I realized it was late was because my eyeballs were burning from staring at this giant, bright computer screen all day. I'll have to take some breaks.

I was really really really tired and starving by the time I headed home, so I didn't bother taking myself out for a drink. And the wine bar on the corner had some Christmas party going on, and I didn't want my bright red eyes to scare anyone.

I stayed up very very late to first chat with Pepper, then Mere, then Marie on IM. And then I was completely out for the count and woke up just before 2 pm. It felt really good but I completely forgot they were shutting off our power in our building from 2-8pm. At first I thought it was my fault for running all my gadgets, and I was scared because I hadn't even used a hair dryer yet. And then I remembered, and then I walked down three flights of stairs in the dark. It's the stuff that horror films are made of.

I ventured to Central for the first time and got there in a matter seconds. Within five minutes of leaving my front door, I came upon this -

A five minute walk from my door

That makes me really really, really really happy. I can't buy any more clothes because I don't have the space, but at least if I need to I know I can get something cheap.

By this time it was about 3 pm and I hadn't had anything to eat. I was pretty delirious and stopped at the first thing I came across, which was a McDonalds. The menu is pretty simple and the only big difference I noticed was chicken wings. Some McD's also offer sandwiches. I went for a number nine which is an Egg McMuffin served all day! No hash browns though :( I was so hungry I didn't even taste my brunch, but it kinda hit the spot.

I was so wide-eyed cruising through Central that I didn't even realize I had landed right where I needed to be. FORTRESS. I think it's their version of Best Buy, only not so ginormous. I bought a hair dryer there. Check.

My next stop was not that much further. After many many many questions, as I am known to ask, I bought a beautiful new mobile phone. It took me weeks of research to wrap my brain around how mobile phones work in other countries, which, as you can imagine, is a zillion times easier than we make it out to be. It's actually so easy that it confused me. I decided on the phone I thought I wanted the night before (part of the reason I was up so late), and it turned out to be my best choice. The timing was just right. The phone just came out 3 days prior. The phone was kind of pricey but I gave into it because of the 5 megapixel camera (!) Now I hope to not carry around my point and shoot and ipod since my phone has those capabilities, and my shoulder is starting to hurt from hauling around a heavy purse everywhere.

Yes, pricey phone, but cheapy rates. My phone plan is so cheap that it is actually less expensive than what I am currently paying Verizon to not use my phone. And I can call the US for very cheap as well. That in itself was pretty exhausting.

I had to run back home and drop everything off because next on my to-do list was Ikea. I had a little trouble finding it because the road it was on turns, and I was going in circles on the opposite end. I finally found it in the basement of a building. Since I had just dropped a lot of money, and I could only purchase what I could carry, I just got the most needed items. Hangers, a bathmat, corkscrew, and a little tray for me to eat off of.

Yesterday I did some more walking, bought a few things at the grocery, and finally started to unpack.

Here are some more pictures -

09/12/2007
A Ben and Jerry's, just in case I need a snack.

09/12/2007
Santa in the HK

09/12/2007
Mexican food. Check. Now where can I find some Greek?

09/12/2007
A cool building near Lan Kwai Fong, the bar hotspot.

Book store
A bookstore in Central that carries some books I want to read. My brain won't go hungry for a while.

5 comments:

Dave Lowe said...

WHAAAT!!!!? Come on. It's Hong Kong!?
Where are the covert arms dealers? The random ninja attacks? Man...it's all hair dryer and cell phone shopping.

Kelvis said...

Dave must not know that "hair dryer" is secret code for "attaché case full of gold bouillon" and cell phone is code for "duffel bag full of guns."

And of course IKEA is the American Embassy.

Christine Jag said...

Dear Dave,
If you saw how ragedy I looked, you would buy me a hair dryer too. If I'm gonna be a secret agent I gotta look the part!

Dave Lowe said...

OOOOOOOOO...OK. Thanks Kelvis! I'll read these posts in a new light now. Hey Jag..."ragedy look"...wink, wink. I get it, it's all code talk.

Unknown said...

H&M... booyah!