More Goodbyes

The goodbye celebrations with Monika continued with a weekend in Macao, which is an island about and hour away from Hong Kong. A bunch of us had fun eating, shopping, and laughing. We treated Monika to a "skywalk" on the Macao tower. The tower is similar to the space needle in Seattle. The skywalk is 233 meters high.
The following weekend was Monika's going away party. It is a certainty that I will go visit her in her new home, Switzerland.

Tea at the Peninsula

Finally, I had high tea at the famous Peninsula Hotel. Erik and I went with my friend Monika who is leaving Hong Kong soon. The tea was wonderful but so rich. It was a lovely treat that I'm sure we'll indulge in again. Monika and I spoiled ourselves this weekend too by going for high-end spa treatments, so lovely.

Tin Hau

We explored Tin Hau on Sunday, a part of Hong Kong where we had not yet visited. There wasn’t much to it, except for a nice temple. Erik captured some nice images of HK street life.

New Furniture

Since we’ll be in Hong Kong for at least another year, we decided to upgrade a few pieces of our furniture. It started with our bed, which was broken for more than a year. We got this new bed a few months ago, and I updated the bedding during the US trip. I am very happy with the bed which is so much more solid than our former, Ikea one.

I think I’ve mentioned before the lack of vintage/antique stores in HK. There is no appreciation for old items except super valuable antiques. We had no reason to upgrade our coffee table other than the new one is so unique. It is a mid-century mod design, and we totally love it. It was acquired through AsiaExpat which is similar to Craig’s List. Hong Kong is a very transient city, and there is plenty of stuff for sale on AsiaExpat.

Likewise, there was no reason to change our dining room set other than the new one is very cool. It is made from recycled boat wood. We’ve been waiting for it for about 2.5 months for it to be shipped from Bali. While we love it, it is probably too big for our space and unlikely to fit in a “normal” HK apartment. It could also be used outside since it is weather resistant. Worst case scenario: we sell it in a year.

Now, it is time for a party to show off all the new goods.

Hong Kong Lunch Delivery

The stereotype of China is lots of bicycles. While this is true in mainland China, Hong Kong is not very bike friendly, because the traffic is very dense and there are no bike paths along the major roads. I did see a man delivering lunches by bicycle near my work. This is a quintessential China picture.I was in the US for almost 2 weeks in June. As a result, I have been away from blogging, because I was preparing for the trip and then recovering from jet lag. It was great to be back in the US and see the family. I filled up on yummy, comfort foods and got some beach time.

Summer in HK is rather boring. Many people are traveling so the social calendar is light. The heat and humidity make you want to stay at home in the AC.

I am very sad to be losing three great friends this summer :-( All three are leaving HK to pursue brighter opportunities. This makes a total of six close friends of mine who have left. I need to meet some new people, but I don't feel motivated. This is the nature of expat life--very transitory. I guess Erik and I are "old timers" now as we close in on three years.

Happy 4th of July to all the Americans!

Mirror Ball

I found this scene funny: moving a giant disco ball in the middle of the busiest part of the city. The bars and clubs are a few blocks away, so I have no idea where the mirror ball was going.

Cebu

We went to Cebu, Philippines for a long weekend. It is only a 2 hour, direct flight. We stayed in an awesome, small, boutique resort, The Abaca. The service was impeccable, and it was very private and peaceful. The restaurant was award-winning Italian which we didn't know when we booked it--a nice surprise since most resort food is mediocre. It has been a while since we look a purely relaxing vacation--just what we needed.

Here is Erik's slide show: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eschrei/sets/72157624147622836/show/



One day, we rented a private boat to take us island hopping and snorkeling. The water was crystal clear. The coral was spectacular, and we probably saw 20 different kinds of tropical fish.




The Philippines is very poor, so we only ventured out of our resort one day to go into town. We visited Magellan's cross where he marked the territory for Spain. There is also an old Catholic church from the 1600's. Filipinos are devout Catholics.


I am sure we'll go back to Cebu. Next trip, USA!