Now, I happen to have a Chinese American friend. Therefore, I happen to know something about Chinese people and alcohol consumption. If not for Stephanie Chow and the approximately three times in our lives I've witnessed her drink, I wouldn't know why there were so many red, red faces at the Park Lane Hotel last Saturday.
I like wine. Wine is good. It goes well with my other favorite thing: food. We like wine enough that we stocked up before departure and had eight cases shipped with us. We were allowed fifteen, I think, so we were actually conservative. Of course wine is available here. But we didn't pay to ship the stuff, so why not bring our favorites?
Acquiring a taste always starts somewhere. Mine began primarily in Spain where I would mix orange soda with $3 red wine from VIP's, the equivalent of 7-11, down the street. Eventually, I gave up the orange soda (but, by the way, this is still a very refreshing option on a nice summer night - try it). Paul started to have the occasional glass also. Then we decided to get married in Tuscany. Well, first we decided to get married; then we decided to do it in Tuscany. That's probably where the love affair blossomed. So our favorites became Italian wines. A few years later, we visited Napa Valley where our favorites became California wines. We liked it so much we were back in the same spot nine months later with a stop in Sonoma also. I'm looking forward to trying France so that my next favorite phase can be French wines. Or Australia, or Argentina, or wherever they make good wine.
So what's the wine scene in one of the swankiest and money-powered cities in the world? As if they prepared for our arrival, the 40% wine duty was officially abolished the week after we arrived. Not only does that mean lower prices (theoretically) but more variety from different countries should be on the way.
From my reading, it seems that the wine market was almost non-existent here just 10 to 15 years ago. Cognac was the thing. Then back in the 90's when medical research showed that red wine could be beneficial, the Chinese hopped on board. As more Hong Kongers traveled, they discovered France, and started at the top with the best of the French stuff, namely Bordeaux. Of course, like my youthful days in Spain, they would mix it (eek!) with Sprite until their tastes also advanced.
Now there are hundreds of wine shops and events around the city and a range of wine is sold even in most supermarkets and 7-11's. There's a decent selection but some areas are better represented, like Australia and South America, than California or Italy. Prices in restaurants are usually inflated more than they are in U.S. restaurants, so that hurts, especially when they charge for a glass what you know costs more than a bottle for a particular wine.
Here's the fun part. Always on the lookout for culture (o.k., wine), I read about an event called Le French May, an annual offering of all things French: cinema, art, food, wine, etc. We went for the "Everyday Bordeaux" wine event at a nearby hotel which hosted a selection of 100 affordable wines from Bordeaux available for the tasting. The majority of the tasters were Chinese.
Apparently, they don't let a little thing like a red face get in the way of enjoying wine. About 50% of Chinese people genetically lack an enzyme that processes alcohol properly. The typical reaction is a flushed face. So, although it looked a little like a Communist gathering with all the bright reds, it was just some people drinking. It was pretty lively by the end.
That was our "culture" for the week.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Two days of connected bliss and poof! I lost the internet Friday afternoon. After a couple of customer service phone attempts, they said there was a problem with the line and they'd send somebody Monday evening. Fortunately they called Paul Monday afternoon and he tracked me down and I ran home because the cable guy was waiting at our door. I don't really know what he told me except that the first installation was no good and now it's good. He did do a lot of fiddling with long cables connected to somewhere outside that the first guy didn't seem to do. Let's see what happens. I can't handle any more of this cruelty.
In TV news, we're lucky that we are affiliated with some obsessive compulsive TV watchers. I mean that lovingly, Scott. Our good friend Scott gave us step-by-step instructions on downloading the Slingbox software and is letting us hijack one of his various (did you think I was exaggerating?) boxes to try it out. So around 9 p.m. HK time tonight, we gave it a test run and magically, Regis and Kelly appeared before us! It's also DVR enabled so we can record prime time shows and pass on Regis and Kelly in the future. The picture is not top quality but we can work on that.
The next step is to figure out what variety of cables we need to connect the computer to the TV and asking somebody who understands and getting them. Then we'll be watching all sorts of U.S. network junk on the nice New Sony Bravia flat panel LCD TV. By the way, that's what we bought. I let Paul handle the TV decision. He went with the Bravia 32" because the floor model was for sale at a better price than all the others, including all the 26" models. Hopefully Sony and iMac will make a happy couple and our sofa will arrive soon and we'll never have step out in this crazy city again.
I'm kidding.
But about that sofa... We went for a walk Sunday night (no not just for Haagen Daz again) and happened to look in a window of one of the numerous furniture stores around here and saw a sofa that looks remarkably like the one we had custom made and are impatiently waiting for. Same color, size, shape, feet, cushions. Hmm.
Today, I went into the store where we bought it and asked if ours was ready and the woman said she would call me tomorrow with a delivery date. I must say, she shooed me out pretty quickly after my question. Paul wasn't buying it so he stopped in on his way home from work and tried to shake her down. She said she doesn't know what store he is talking about, there's no relation, and it couldn't be our couch on display. But my tenacious, comfort-deprived hubby didn't stop there. He went to the other store where the questionable couch is on display and asked if that very couch was available and they said it was just a display. They also said they could custom make one just like it for him. I bet.
Well, I'll know when our salesperson calls me with a delivery time and I stand outside to see if they carry a couch from across the street. The good news is that it looks really nice if it's ours.
In TV news, we're lucky that we are affiliated with some obsessive compulsive TV watchers. I mean that lovingly, Scott. Our good friend Scott gave us step-by-step instructions on downloading the Slingbox software and is letting us hijack one of his various (did you think I was exaggerating?) boxes to try it out. So around 9 p.m. HK time tonight, we gave it a test run and magically, Regis and Kelly appeared before us! It's also DVR enabled so we can record prime time shows and pass on Regis and Kelly in the future. The picture is not top quality but we can work on that.
The next step is to figure out what variety of cables we need to connect the computer to the TV and asking somebody who understands and getting them. Then we'll be watching all sorts of U.S. network junk on the nice New Sony Bravia flat panel LCD TV. By the way, that's what we bought. I let Paul handle the TV decision. He went with the Bravia 32" because the floor model was for sale at a better price than all the others, including all the 26" models. Hopefully Sony and iMac will make a happy couple and our sofa will arrive soon and we'll never have step out in this crazy city again.
I'm kidding.
But about that sofa... We went for a walk Sunday night (no not just for Haagen Daz again) and happened to look in a window of one of the numerous furniture stores around here and saw a sofa that looks remarkably like the one we had custom made and are impatiently waiting for. Same color, size, shape, feet, cushions. Hmm.
Today, I went into the store where we bought it and asked if ours was ready and the woman said she would call me tomorrow with a delivery date. I must say, she shooed me out pretty quickly after my question. Paul wasn't buying it so he stopped in on his way home from work and tried to shake her down. She said she doesn't know what store he is talking about, there's no relation, and it couldn't be our couch on display. But my tenacious, comfort-deprived hubby didn't stop there. He went to the other store where the questionable couch is on display and asked if that very couch was available and they said it was just a display. They also said they could custom make one just like it for him. I bet.
Well, I'll know when our salesperson calls me with a delivery time and I stand outside to see if they carry a couch from across the street. The good news is that it looks really nice if it's ours.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
New Life
We're gradually settling into our new home. We officially moved on Sunday, April 6. The rental stuff arrived the day before, including bed, sofa, kitchen stuff. And most importantly, our wine arrived. I think it was supposed to be delivered with the rest of our air shipment that we got earlier, but somebody screwed up. Our sea shipment arrived only a few days later on Friday, April 11. It was comforting to arrange our permanent furniture and finally unpack our clothes, but we had to part with the rental sofa. As Paul mentioned, we purchased one, but it's still not going to be ready for a couple of weeks. He passes by the store every day, tapping his watch.
I like the building, aside from it being blacklisted from common internet service providers, and I like the location. I think we made a good choice. The apartment is small, but space has not really been an issue. We didn't even get rid of too much, only the kitchen table and chairs and a computer desk. Both had seen better days. And with my beautiful, sleek iMac, we didn't really need a bulky desk anymore. (Have I mentioned that I love my iMac and that everybody should have one?) It's hard to figure out what you'll need and what will fit before you even enter the country, but we tried to be minimal and make the best guesses, and we did alright for the most part. We managed to fit all the bedroom furniture we brought. It turns out that, even though Paul wields the tape measure while shaking his head, I have a talent for making the absolute most out of a space. Our recently renovated bathroom at home is a strong case in point. O.K. I didn't do it alone. It's beneficial to have somebody measure and remeasure every inch and also somebody who refuses to take inches for an answer.
We had to buy a wardrobe from Ikea as there are no closets. I'm not partial to Ikea, but you do what you gotta do. More interesting... the few times we had been here to view flats and sign the lease and carry stuff over, we kept passing a furniture store - there are tons of them nearby - and there was a lovely little teak table and chairs set outside. We sat in the chairs a couple of times. Paul asked how much it was and one guy gave him a price, $2500 for the set. That's Hong Kong dollars; we're not insane. A couple of days later, he asked a different guy and was told $2700... but with a 10% discount. The Sunday we moved here and decided we would probably buy it for our balcony, I asked again. $2700 with a 10% discount... and another 5% discount. So we now own a nice teak patio set for a pretty good price which we passively bargained for. And it's currently one of the few places to sit before the sofa arrives.
As a small sign that this place was more geared to our demographic than the family-friendly Zenith residence we almost chose, our kitchen was equipped with a complimentary set of Riedel (big fancy name in wine glassware) champagne flutes. Our first night here, we opened a bottle of champagne and toasted out on our balcony. And for the first of hopefully many times, I asked, "How did we get here?" in amazement.
And with the same attitude of childlike wonder, I feel like I finally have the play kitchen that I always wanted as a child. It is really amusing how unsuited it is for real living. Again, we managed to fit the stuff we brought, but as in all of HK, the only space to be found is up. So we had to buy a small ladder so I can reach anything past the first shelf of any cabinet. These ceilings are almost 11 feet high, so my pots and pans are probably as dangerous as bamboo scaffolding in a high wind. I splash water everywhere when trying to wash anything in the tiny sink. And I'm adjusting to trying to cook on a hotplate. I've made a few meals now, and I think I actually make them smaller because of the surroundings. I can't say it's a bother; you just adjust, and you laugh. And you eat out.
The first day of laundry was unpleasant though. I read the directions for an hour. I tried it out and I blew a fuse. I checked the fusebox and it looked like they were all on, so I had to call customer service. They came pretty quickly, immediately saw the fuse that had to be switched and probably said something about the foolish American in Cantonese. I also told them I didn't think the washer was working properly because it was going for an hour and the cycle dial hardly moved. They said it seemed fine and that it should take about an hour from start to finish. Well, they were right that the washer was working, but it actually took two hours and twenty minutes to finish. It also takes about that long for the drying cycle. So, we're looking at about a five hour episode for one wash. One wash is supposed to consist of no more than 5 kg (something like 11 pounds?) and you're only supposed to dry about 2.5 kg (5 pounds?). So almost every day is laundry day. And no, I don't weigh the laundry. I eye it up, throw in a few more things, sometimes sock by sock, and hope for the best.
I'll post more apartment photos when it's fully furnished, but here are some of the work in progress. Paul loves being in these shots, honestly. The couch in the photo was the short-lived rental. The outside view is from the balcony while the sun was setting on a clear day. The first several times I was here, I never noticed the mountain at that angle because it was always obscured by clouds. The towers just to the left of the black building are The Zenith, our almost-home.
Hopefully soon, I'll have pictures that aren't of or from the apartment, when we start taking excursions.
I like the building, aside from it being blacklisted from common internet service providers, and I like the location. I think we made a good choice. The apartment is small, but space has not really been an issue. We didn't even get rid of too much, only the kitchen table and chairs and a computer desk. Both had seen better days. And with my beautiful, sleek iMac, we didn't really need a bulky desk anymore. (Have I mentioned that I love my iMac and that everybody should have one?) It's hard to figure out what you'll need and what will fit before you even enter the country, but we tried to be minimal and make the best guesses, and we did alright for the most part. We managed to fit all the bedroom furniture we brought. It turns out that, even though Paul wields the tape measure while shaking his head, I have a talent for making the absolute most out of a space. Our recently renovated bathroom at home is a strong case in point. O.K. I didn't do it alone. It's beneficial to have somebody measure and remeasure every inch and also somebody who refuses to take inches for an answer.
We had to buy a wardrobe from Ikea as there are no closets. I'm not partial to Ikea, but you do what you gotta do. More interesting... the few times we had been here to view flats and sign the lease and carry stuff over, we kept passing a furniture store - there are tons of them nearby - and there was a lovely little teak table and chairs set outside. We sat in the chairs a couple of times. Paul asked how much it was and one guy gave him a price, $2500 for the set. That's Hong Kong dollars; we're not insane. A couple of days later, he asked a different guy and was told $2700... but with a 10% discount. The Sunday we moved here and decided we would probably buy it for our balcony, I asked again. $2700 with a 10% discount... and another 5% discount. So we now own a nice teak patio set for a pretty good price which we passively bargained for. And it's currently one of the few places to sit before the sofa arrives.
As a small sign that this place was more geared to our demographic than the family-friendly Zenith residence we almost chose, our kitchen was equipped with a complimentary set of Riedel (big fancy name in wine glassware) champagne flutes. Our first night here, we opened a bottle of champagne and toasted out on our balcony. And for the first of hopefully many times, I asked, "How did we get here?" in amazement.
And with the same attitude of childlike wonder, I feel like I finally have the play kitchen that I always wanted as a child. It is really amusing how unsuited it is for real living. Again, we managed to fit the stuff we brought, but as in all of HK, the only space to be found is up. So we had to buy a small ladder so I can reach anything past the first shelf of any cabinet. These ceilings are almost 11 feet high, so my pots and pans are probably as dangerous as bamboo scaffolding in a high wind. I splash water everywhere when trying to wash anything in the tiny sink. And I'm adjusting to trying to cook on a hotplate. I've made a few meals now, and I think I actually make them smaller because of the surroundings. I can't say it's a bother; you just adjust, and you laugh. And you eat out.
The first day of laundry was unpleasant though. I read the directions for an hour. I tried it out and I blew a fuse. I checked the fusebox and it looked like they were all on, so I had to call customer service. They came pretty quickly, immediately saw the fuse that had to be switched and probably said something about the foolish American in Cantonese. I also told them I didn't think the washer was working properly because it was going for an hour and the cycle dial hardly moved. They said it seemed fine and that it should take about an hour from start to finish. Well, they were right that the washer was working, but it actually took two hours and twenty minutes to finish. It also takes about that long for the drying cycle. So, we're looking at about a five hour episode for one wash. One wash is supposed to consist of no more than 5 kg (something like 11 pounds?) and you're only supposed to dry about 2.5 kg (5 pounds?). So almost every day is laundry day. And no, I don't weigh the laundry. I eye it up, throw in a few more things, sometimes sock by sock, and hope for the best.
I'll post more apartment photos when it's fully furnished, but here are some of the work in progress. Paul loves being in these shots, honestly. The couch in the photo was the short-lived rental. The outside view is from the balcony while the sun was setting on a clear day. The first several times I was here, I never noticed the mountain at that angle because it was always obscured by clouds. The towers just to the left of the black building are The Zenith, our almost-home.
Hopefully soon, I'll have pictures that aren't of or from the apartment, when we start taking excursions.
It's a Miracle
I don't know what secrets and/or politics lie behind our difficulty in getting internet service. I may never know. Right now I don't really care because we have it, but 24 hours ago was another story.
There are a few major service providers here: Hutchinson, PCCW and iCable. The last two also provide cable TV. Most people use PCCW for broadband cable and internet, so we gave them the first shot. That was who told me on April 7 that they would install internet and cable TV on April 9, only to tell me on April 8 that there was a problem: not enough cable. I don't even know if this is possible, but that was the story. Paul called and spoke to somebody else who hinted that the building didn't have a contract with PCCW and gave him, after about three more calls, a TENTATIVE date of May 7.
O.K., so it's our building? Paul called our building management. Nothing. Then he asked a guy at the front desk here. They seemed to be aware that people were having problems getting service, but they had no solution.
Then I went to Hutchinson (who provides our mobile phone service) in person. They don't provide cable TV, but we were figuring out alternatives for that anyway. I thought there was hope because the phone jacks in our very walls say Hutchinson right on them. So they must have the password for getting access, right? I gave them my address and they said, "We don't have coverage in that building."
This was at about 4:00 Tuesday afternoon. Soon after I tried to look up alternatives on the computer at Mix and got in a good 10 minutes before I was kicked out for not buying anything (I didn't want another smoothie!!!). Then Paul called and said he looked in his "Welcome to Hong Kong" info packet that Goldman gave him months ago, and it listed iCable, the other provider of not only internet but cable TV. He hopefully entered our address online and it came up as available. I didn't quite believe it.
A few minutes later he called and said they were coming over between 7 and 9. And somebody really did at about 9:00. And the whole time he was there I kept waiting for him to say, "I can't do this because..." But he didn't.
We didn't get the cable TV, but we have some kind of TV with, of course, about three nature stations. We are about to attempt the slingbox, so we probably won't need cable here. We hear it's not very good anyway - either PCCW or iCable. We also have a phone line because it came with the service. I doubt we'll even buy a phone, but we have the option.
So around 5:00 yesterday, I was about as dejected as I could be trying to imagine how long I would have to live without a connection. Four hours later, I had one. I have a resident's guide book with information like this, but iCable was not listed as an ISP, and nobody had suggested it before. And somehow, this was the magic puzzle piece. From near hopelessness to , "Sure, we'll be there in a couple of hours." Maybe they paid the builders the most? It's a mystery. I don't plan on calling PCCW to cancel. I'm curious to see whether they ever get back to me with a date.
I could live (begrudgingly) for 17 days without the internet, but I was most frustrated by not seeing an end to it and not getting straight answers from service providers who seem to cover everywhere but this very building.
Anyway, we're back. I hope we didn't lose our little group of readers. Now that this little kink is ironed out, I'll be giving you some more interesting stories, even if I have to make them up. I wouldn't do that.
Or would I?
There are a few major service providers here: Hutchinson, PCCW and iCable. The last two also provide cable TV. Most people use PCCW for broadband cable and internet, so we gave them the first shot. That was who told me on April 7 that they would install internet and cable TV on April 9, only to tell me on April 8 that there was a problem: not enough cable. I don't even know if this is possible, but that was the story. Paul called and spoke to somebody else who hinted that the building didn't have a contract with PCCW and gave him, after about three more calls, a TENTATIVE date of May 7.
O.K., so it's our building? Paul called our building management. Nothing. Then he asked a guy at the front desk here. They seemed to be aware that people were having problems getting service, but they had no solution.
Then I went to Hutchinson (who provides our mobile phone service) in person. They don't provide cable TV, but we were figuring out alternatives for that anyway. I thought there was hope because the phone jacks in our very walls say Hutchinson right on them. So they must have the password for getting access, right? I gave them my address and they said, "We don't have coverage in that building."
This was at about 4:00 Tuesday afternoon. Soon after I tried to look up alternatives on the computer at Mix and got in a good 10 minutes before I was kicked out for not buying anything (I didn't want another smoothie!!!). Then Paul called and said he looked in his "Welcome to Hong Kong" info packet that Goldman gave him months ago, and it listed iCable, the other provider of not only internet but cable TV. He hopefully entered our address online and it came up as available. I didn't quite believe it.
A few minutes later he called and said they were coming over between 7 and 9. And somebody really did at about 9:00. And the whole time he was there I kept waiting for him to say, "I can't do this because..." But he didn't.
We didn't get the cable TV, but we have some kind of TV with, of course, about three nature stations. We are about to attempt the slingbox, so we probably won't need cable here. We hear it's not very good anyway - either PCCW or iCable. We also have a phone line because it came with the service. I doubt we'll even buy a phone, but we have the option.
So around 5:00 yesterday, I was about as dejected as I could be trying to imagine how long I would have to live without a connection. Four hours later, I had one. I have a resident's guide book with information like this, but iCable was not listed as an ISP, and nobody had suggested it before. And somehow, this was the magic puzzle piece. From near hopelessness to , "Sure, we'll be there in a couple of hours." Maybe they paid the builders the most? It's a mystery. I don't plan on calling PCCW to cancel. I'm curious to see whether they ever get back to me with a date.
I could live (begrudgingly) for 17 days without the internet, but I was most frustrated by not seeing an end to it and not getting straight answers from service providers who seem to cover everywhere but this very building.
Anyway, we're back. I hope we didn't lose our little group of readers. Now that this little kink is ironed out, I'll be giving you some more interesting stories, even if I have to make them up. I wouldn't do that.
Or would I?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
message in a bottle
help!!! i'm forced to type with my thumb on my tiny phone screen just to get a message out. still no good news on home net install. i'm dyin' here. it's lonely on my island. not feeling positive today.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Communications Breakdown
No net. I'm back on smoothies and hanging around Mix Cafe like a public library Internet junkie. The quick story is that we moved in on Sunday, I called the Internet/Cable company Monday, the guy set up an appointment for installation on Wednesday, then he called me back Tuesday and told me there was a problem and his best explanation was that there was not enough cable. Not enough cable? Paul called and spoke to somebody else who said that our building ran phone lines through a certain communications company which is not the company that provides cable TV, so if you want to use another company (which you must if you want cable) they have to apply to the first company to lease their lines or something like that. The bottom line is that it takes a few weeks. So that's where I've been.
Now we're thinking about a slingbox so we wouldn't even get cable, and we could call the company who owns the lines in the building and probably get Internet right away. But then we would have to record programs or something, unless we want to watch whatever is on TV in the early a.m. hours back home. Nothing is easy. We'll try to hook the computer up to the TV later to see if it works anyway before we decide. If anybody has some wisdom on the matter, feel free tp provide it, but Paul will have to read the comments at work and then deliver them to me.
Otherwise, the apartment and things are good. I'll give details when I'm not sitting at a public laptop listening to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I don't know. It wasn't even a good version.
Please don't go away!!!
Now we're thinking about a slingbox so we wouldn't even get cable, and we could call the company who owns the lines in the building and probably get Internet right away. But then we would have to record programs or something, unless we want to watch whatever is on TV in the early a.m. hours back home. Nothing is easy. We'll try to hook the computer up to the TV later to see if it works anyway before we decide. If anybody has some wisdom on the matter, feel free tp provide it, but Paul will have to read the comments at work and then deliver them to me.
Otherwise, the apartment and things are good. I'll give details when I'm not sitting at a public laptop listening to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I don't know. It wasn't even a good version.
Please don't go away!!!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
The Answer My Friend Is Blowing In The Wind
I'll keep this one short (even though Lisa is in the shower and could go on) but it's been a long day and getting late.
Tonight is our last night in HH and mainly due to an exhausting day we ordered in for the last time and need to get up early to move everything we have left and get out of here by 11:00. It was another three day weekend for myself (grave visiting holiday - or something like that on Friday) which came at an ideal time with the move going on.
We spent a good part of the weekend visiting a great deal of stores and picking up everything we didn't pack. We ordered a custom made couch today, which was surprisingly cheap for what seems to be a higher quality piece of furniture and on par with IKEA pricing if not cheaper. Our wine was delivered and our ocean shipment is due in tomorrow and should clear customs this week so by the end of this month we should be settled in.
I figured I'd just get back and answer some questions from the "Reunited" blog with the pictures from the apartment.
The pictures are a little misleading. The apartment ceilings are about twelve feet high so I think it makes things appear slightly more narrow than they actually are. The doors are all a standard width of about 30 inches and as small as the kitchen is those cabinets are actually about 10 feet high (we bought a very tall step stool today). We just need to plan a little differently than you would in a common apartment back home. My suggestion of bunk beds has not been completely accepted yet.
The washer/dryer is under the stove top in the cabinet next to the sink. It holds about two articles of clothing unless you want to include one of those static cling dryer sheets, then it's one at a time.
And the surrounding buildings are actually further away then they appear in the photos. On a day with a slight breeze similar to today you could spit off our balcony and it would only fall to a rooftop about two buildings away (I'm guessing). You could never reach the soccer / basketball courts. Unless maybe you fashioned some sort of sling. I'll keep you updated when I've had more time to think about it.
I could go on about why the Hong Kong Sevens are better than getting to see March Madness or possibly the best NBA season in about fifteen years but maybe I'll just save that for another day.
Anyway we may be without access for a few days till we get it up and running in the new place so unless Lisa finds her way to an internet cafe the blog may be on hold briefly but they move pretty quick here so it shouldn't be too long.
Blog ya' later.
Tonight is our last night in HH and mainly due to an exhausting day we ordered in for the last time and need to get up early to move everything we have left and get out of here by 11:00. It was another three day weekend for myself (grave visiting holiday - or something like that on Friday) which came at an ideal time with the move going on.
We spent a good part of the weekend visiting a great deal of stores and picking up everything we didn't pack. We ordered a custom made couch today, which was surprisingly cheap for what seems to be a higher quality piece of furniture and on par with IKEA pricing if not cheaper. Our wine was delivered and our ocean shipment is due in tomorrow and should clear customs this week so by the end of this month we should be settled in.
I figured I'd just get back and answer some questions from the "Reunited" blog with the pictures from the apartment.
The pictures are a little misleading. The apartment ceilings are about twelve feet high so I think it makes things appear slightly more narrow than they actually are. The doors are all a standard width of about 30 inches and as small as the kitchen is those cabinets are actually about 10 feet high (we bought a very tall step stool today). We just need to plan a little differently than you would in a common apartment back home. My suggestion of bunk beds has not been completely accepted yet.
The washer/dryer is under the stove top in the cabinet next to the sink. It holds about two articles of clothing unless you want to include one of those static cling dryer sheets, then it's one at a time.
And the surrounding buildings are actually further away then they appear in the photos. On a day with a slight breeze similar to today you could spit off our balcony and it would only fall to a rooftop about two buildings away (I'm guessing). You could never reach the soccer / basketball courts. Unless maybe you fashioned some sort of sling. I'll keep you updated when I've had more time to think about it.
I could go on about why the Hong Kong Sevens are better than getting to see March Madness or possibly the best NBA season in about fifteen years but maybe I'll just save that for another day.
Anyway we may be without access for a few days till we get it up and running in the new place so unless Lisa finds her way to an internet cafe the blog may be on hold briefly but they move pretty quick here so it shouldn't be too long.
Blog ya' later.
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