It's Crowded Here!

Jill and I needed something to do to get our minds off the performance of our basketball teams, so over the past couple of days we've been able to do a dry run to the office (we're working a floor away from each other in the same building), check out the Mid Levels neighborhood (which is where we're thinking we want to live), and found a place where we'll be able to get groceries and other miscellaneous items we may need.

Until we find a permanent home, we're staying at the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Sha Tin, which is about a 45 min commute to our office.  Sha Tin is located in the New Territories which is North of Kowloon (where our office is).  We have to take 3 different trains to get to the office, so that will be interesting.  What is nice is the fact that the hotel is literally next door to the train stop. This past Friday was a holiday in Hong Kong, so we figured it would be a good day to acclimate ourselves to the train system.  I was thinking that since it was a holiday the train wouldn't be too crowded...I was wrong...this was the train at around noon on a Holiday....

There are so many people in this city!  Getting used to the volume of people here will be a big adjustment.  I am nervous to see what the train looks like on a normal day.

Anyway, we found our office with no problem, then we took the ferry across the water to Hong Kong Island to check out the Mid Levels neighborhood.  It's a pretty awesome area with a ton of restaurants and bars - every kind of food you can imagine.  Italian, Argentinian Steakhouses, Burger joints (actual restaurants - not just fast food), Thai food - you name it. 

We rode the escalators up to the top (the neighborhood sits on a big hill and there's a system of escalators that run constantly) and grabbed lunch at a little Thai place.  Then we checked out Lan Kwai Fong, which is a popular little nightlife district.  It was the middle of the afternoon, so nothing was going on, but I am sure I'll be having a lot of fun there.

On Saturday we wanted to figure out where we could get a few groceries to have in our room, and we found a place called New Town Plaza that is just two stops from our hotel.  I was picturing something like a little strip mall, but this place is a massive shopping mall....with a grocery store in it.  After wandering around the mall for a while, we went to the City Super grocery and picked up a few things.  We headed back to the hotel and we both crashed for a few hours...we're both still pretty jet lagged...

We were planning on heading back into the city to check-out Lan Kwai Fong, but it was raining pretty hard and we were both still pretty tired, so we grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant (we had Peking duck-awesome), and got drinks at the bar afterward.  The entertainment was a piano player and singer...the music at first wasn't so hot, but as the night progressed the music improved drastically-they were doing some Creedence, some Air Supply, and they even played the song Jill and I danced to at our wedding...AHHHHH HOW CUTE.

Today we headed back to Mid Levels to get a gauge of what a commute from there would look like.  We found some buildings that our realtor suggested (we're meeting with them next Saturday) and got a good idea of what we think we're looking for.

Jill is heading to Tokyo for work tomorrow, so I'm holding down the fort in Hong Kong til Thursday...I hope I don't get lost.

Til next time

Luke and Jill

First Post

Well we've arrived!

Jill and I are all unpacked in our suite at the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Sha Tin.  The flight over was fine until we ran into some rough weather about an hour outside of Hong Kong.  There was some pretty consistent turbulence for the last hour of the flight, and the woman next to Jill lost her breakfast into a barf bag...there were actually a couple of different people on the plane that puked...pretty gross.

We lucked out picking up our bags because all 4 pieces of our checked luggage came out to the carousel first.  Our transportation was waiting for us, and it was about a 45 min drive from the airport to the hotel.  The bad weather had pretty much subsided - it was still raining but nothing too terrible.

My first experience with the infamous business card ritual happened as soon as we got to the hotel.  A young lady was waiting for us when we pulled up, and sure enough she handed me her business card (with both hands), which I politely accepted (with both hands), and made sure not to put it in my pocket.  She escorted us to the room and checked us in there. Everyone we've encountered thus far from the airport host, to our driver, etc. has been very nice.

We just finished up our first official meal in Hong Kong - we ordered room service and each got spaghetti...we're really diving in head-first into this new culture.

We're both bushed so we're going to bed.

We want to thank all of our family and friends again for the tremendous support you've given us as we make this big change. You've all been awesome and we could not have done this without you.

Til Next Time
Luke & Jill