The thing that I miss most about home is walking into our old apartment, flopping on the couch, and watching DVR'd TV. I was never a TV addict and didn't watch so many hours a week but I liked having the option to completely zone, you know? I know that if the thing lacking from our travels is excess ass-sitting, its not so bad, but the luxury of a living room really can't be overstated when you no longer have one.
Our friend Christina generously invited us to stay at her place in Hong Kong, and was leaving for a business trip the next morning. Not only was our hostel there a dump (I'm talking to you Yesinn, see my review on hostelworld.com, dirtbags) but Christina's apartment is beautiful and felt like a home. As we checked out, a couple of cockroaches saw us off and when I told the proprietor we'd be leaving early, he didn't even look up from his monitor, but grunted "there's a key box, drop 'em there." So you can imagine that evening, having showered in a room where I didn't even consider wearing shoes, sitting on a big couch watching 'How I Met Your Mother' reruns and flipping through Vogue was nothing short of miraculous.
I wouldn't trade the experiences we're having on this trip... The amount of world we've seen in 3 months floors me every time we tell a story or look back through some photos. But once in a great while, a fluffy comforter and working remote control is paradise found.
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Hong Kong, International or, WE LOVE FOOD!
Hey y'all. Sorry its been a while without an update but we've actually been socializing like normal human beings for the last week or so. I know, its been hard to believe for us, too; fortunately we still have friendship muscles to flex and people to work it out with.
We spent a too short 4.5 days in Hong Kong and totally dug it. Not to be a giant nerdhole, but one of the things that makes it so amazingly amazingal is the transportation. The octopus card is like a Metrocard on acid/steroids (more creative/powerful) and makes navigating the city and seeing a huge amount of crap in a short amount of time extremely easy.
The whole system is integrated (Mayor B, take note), so you can use it in stores and stuff but also on every single type of transportation. For me and Ed this included: Airport Express train, subway, Tram down the Peak, ferries to and from Hong Kong Island, a bus to Stanley, and a street car across the island. Just swipey swipey and you're cruising across the river in an old school boat for, like, thirty cents.
Our absolute most favorite aspect of Hong Kong, though, was the food. Not just the local stuff, but the availability of high quality international food. We've often remarked on this trip that its no wonder we grow tired of the food in a particular place when in New York we never cooked and the East Village was lousy with options. We rarely ate from the same region twice in a week. Since a typical week at home was: Indian, Burgers, Sushi, Thai, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Mexican, it was hard for us to make the transition to: Chinese (Szechuan), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Dumplings), McDonald's, Chinese (Szechuan), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Dumplings). Hong Kong reminded us of home in a lot of ways, more than any in the luxury of choice.
Our first evening, we had Cantonese. It was good quality and variety, but we both prefer the spicier flavors from Southern China. On Friday we kicked off the day with Starbucks because we could finally have ice in our iced coffee (this makes a bigger difference than I ever would have thought, incidentally). For lunch we went to a yuppie soup & sandwich place on the peak for brie & ham, and for dinner I had a lovely Italian meal with a former colleague and Ed hit a fancy Japanese-fusion joint. The next day I was jonesing for American breakfast, so we went to the Flying Pan in Central. The amount of food we ordered was nothing short of an abomination. If I could have wrapped my Benedict in one of the pancakes, covered it in syrup and eaten it like a taco, I would have. That's how delicious. That afternoon we had Boddington's & Guiness in the harbor, and met a friend for Szechuan dinner. On Sunday we started with famous/fantastic/local joint Dim Sum which was exponentially better than any of the dim sum we've had in NYC. Also, it was super tight quarters and gave me the opportunity to spill hot tea all over myself, because we didn't stand out enough already. That afternoon we headed to Stanley to see the market and the beach and the beautiful people. We snacked on British-y chips with garlic mayo and white wine from New Zealand. For dinner, Hong Kong's specialty roast meats, followed by top notch gelato. Our final day went: Bagels, Indian, Mexican.
We left Hong Kong happily rubbing our stomachs and promising to fast in Japan. Its not really working out that well. Shocker.
We spent a too short 4.5 days in Hong Kong and totally dug it. Not to be a giant nerdhole, but one of the things that makes it so amazingly amazingal is the transportation. The octopus card is like a Metrocard on acid/steroids (more creative/powerful) and makes navigating the city and seeing a huge amount of crap in a short amount of time extremely easy.
The whole system is integrated (Mayor B, take note), so you can use it in stores and stuff but also on every single type of transportation. For me and Ed this included: Airport Express train, subway, Tram down the Peak, ferries to and from Hong Kong Island, a bus to Stanley, and a street car across the island. Just swipey swipey and you're cruising across the river in an old school boat for, like, thirty cents.
Our absolute most favorite aspect of Hong Kong, though, was the food. Not just the local stuff, but the availability of high quality international food. We've often remarked on this trip that its no wonder we grow tired of the food in a particular place when in New York we never cooked and the East Village was lousy with options. We rarely ate from the same region twice in a week. Since a typical week at home was: Indian, Burgers, Sushi, Thai, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Mexican, it was hard for us to make the transition to: Chinese (Szechuan), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Dumplings), McDonald's, Chinese (Szechuan), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Dumplings). Hong Kong reminded us of home in a lot of ways, more than any in the luxury of choice.
Our first evening, we had Cantonese. It was good quality and variety, but we both prefer the spicier flavors from Southern China. On Friday we kicked off the day with Starbucks because we could finally have ice in our iced coffee (this makes a bigger difference than I ever would have thought, incidentally). For lunch we went to a yuppie soup & sandwich place on the peak for brie & ham, and for dinner I had a lovely Italian meal with a former colleague and Ed hit a fancy Japanese-fusion joint. The next day I was jonesing for American breakfast, so we went to the Flying Pan in Central. The amount of food we ordered was nothing short of an abomination. If I could have wrapped my Benedict in one of the pancakes, covered it in syrup and eaten it like a taco, I would have. That's how delicious. That afternoon we had Boddington's & Guiness in the harbor, and met a friend for Szechuan dinner. On Sunday we started with famous/fantastic/local joint Dim Sum which was exponentially better than any of the dim sum we've had in NYC. Also, it was super tight quarters and gave me the opportunity to spill hot tea all over myself, because we didn't stand out enough already. That afternoon we headed to Stanley to see the market and the beach and the beautiful people. We snacked on British-y chips with garlic mayo and white wine from New Zealand. For dinner, Hong Kong's specialty roast meats, followed by top notch gelato. Our final day went: Bagels, Indian, Mexican.
We left Hong Kong happily rubbing our stomachs and promising to fast in Japan. Its not really working out that well. Shocker.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Travelin' on the T99
We arrived in HK on Thursday, after that glorious 20 hour train ride I mentioned. Usually I leave the logistical rundown to Ed, but in this instance I'm going to broadcast. And, since we're out of mainland China and not re-upping our visas, I'm going to be perfectly candid. Perhaps the internet monitors will pass my feedback along to the appropriate infrastructure division. Heh.
Traveling between places in China is a pain in the arse. Even when we'd done our research and knew with certainty what we were trying to achieve it was a shit show. Purchasing train tickets to HK required 2 trips to the main train station and 2 trips to satellite offices. Probably 5-6 hours were wasted following directions from hotel staff and China Railway counter people who had not one shred of a clue between them what they were talking about. I mean, I could have used that time to further my study of Confucianism. Or to have more acupressure foot massage.
Eventually, I scored the super deluxe tickets and was assured (believe me, I asked for confirmation more times than was polite) that we would be in a car with only 2 bunks and a private bathroom. And each of us was, just in adjacent different cars, shared with strangers.
This isn't the first or the third time this has happened to us in China. Fortunately, the sweet old man in my lower bunk swapped tickets with Ed, and all was resolved. The rest of the evening, as we shelled peanuts and played cards and watched Modern Family on the laptop, we joked about my doing those things with the 88 year old from Shanghai instead of Ed. About he and I hitting the dining car to share some mapu tofu, lying in our bunks talking about our hopes and dreams, or watching the passing scenery. We were happy it didn't shake out that way, but the montage was hilar.
Overall, we had a blast on the trip here and like the idea of traveling by long distance train again. It went by so fast and was far less stressful and more comfortable than air travel. The one major malfunction was the smoke. Seemingly all men over age 12 in China are chain smokers. I read that 27% of Chinese people don't believe that smoking and lung disease are related. They're chimneys and there is no escaping. Unfortunately on a train without open windows, this means that the ventilation system cycles smoke from the hallway through the cabin vents, where it lands on your pillow. I woke up completely congested and lost my voice the next day.
10 points train travel, 0 points HVAC.
Traveling between places in China is a pain in the arse. Even when we'd done our research and knew with certainty what we were trying to achieve it was a shit show. Purchasing train tickets to HK required 2 trips to the main train station and 2 trips to satellite offices. Probably 5-6 hours were wasted following directions from hotel staff and China Railway counter people who had not one shred of a clue between them what they were talking about. I mean, I could have used that time to further my study of Confucianism. Or to have more acupressure foot massage.
Eventually, I scored the super deluxe tickets and was assured (believe me, I asked for confirmation more times than was polite) that we would be in a car with only 2 bunks and a private bathroom. And each of us was, just in adjacent different cars, shared with strangers.
This isn't the first or the third time this has happened to us in China. Fortunately, the sweet old man in my lower bunk swapped tickets with Ed, and all was resolved. The rest of the evening, as we shelled peanuts and played cards and watched Modern Family on the laptop, we joked about my doing those things with the 88 year old from Shanghai instead of Ed. About he and I hitting the dining car to share some mapu tofu, lying in our bunks talking about our hopes and dreams, or watching the passing scenery. We were happy it didn't shake out that way, but the montage was hilar.
Overall, we had a blast on the trip here and like the idea of traveling by long distance train again. It went by so fast and was far less stressful and more comfortable than air travel. The one major malfunction was the smoke. Seemingly all men over age 12 in China are chain smokers. I read that 27% of Chinese people don't believe that smoking and lung disease are related. They're chimneys and there is no escaping. Unfortunately on a train without open windows, this means that the ventilation system cycles smoke from the hallway through the cabin vents, where it lands on your pillow. I woke up completely congested and lost my voice the next day.
10 points train travel, 0 points HVAC.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
