Written by Andy
I have been in the US the last two weeks on vacation after not being here for a long time (almost 2 year). I’m stuck in Detroit (again) writing this but I won’t get into that, just to say that Delta and the Detroit airport is not good. Rica and I both came on the trip and she is staying behind a few more weeks while I get back to Hong Kong to work.
Overall on the trip, we visited many of my friends (thanks for making the time) and I was in a good friends wedding (congrats Jeff and Emily!). We also went up to Louisville, KT area and did part of the bourbon trail. It was great to see everyone and too bad I didn’t get to see everyone; I won’t go into details of the trip here as you can see some picture on facebook but I want to share my view of life differences in the US and Hong Kong (and maybe a little of Shenzhen).
First let me say that the “comparison” is North Carolina and Hong Kong so it would be would different in other parts of the US; and its also in Winston-Salem, NC so it would again be different in a larger city. With that said the first thing I get was the travel time needed. In Hong Kong I can get anywhere within 30 minutes and I can even get to Shenzhen in an hour; however, on a daily bases in Hong Kong I wouldn’t go anywhere that takes more then 20 min. In the US we had to drive to get anything and it was at least 20 minutes if not more. On the same note, you also need to plan what you’ll do when you are out since you don’t want to go to one store and then go home. Again, in Hong Kong the store is 1 min for my house, so if I want a drink I only buy that; in NC I had to plan everything I need on the one trip. One thing in Hong Kong though is the stores are smaller and are more specialized then the huge store with everything we had in NC.
Along with travel and shopping I also needed some time to get use to the “space.” When I’m shopping I only see a few people instead of the crowd in Hong Kong. Walking on the street there aren’t many people and the mall seems a little empty. I also don’t see any sky scrapers and just have a general feeling of having more space in everything.
Another major difference for me was the food. First in Hong Kong there isn’t much “fast food” was there is in the US. Even if you get food thats made fast its still more of a restaurant then a fast food chain. We spent a lot of time going to all the fast food places and trying the different types of foods here. There are some foods that are either expensive and hard to find in Hong Kong, like Mexican and good buffalo wings, that we had to try. Overall, if I really “miss” anything it would be the food, but I also think if I had this food I would be even fatter then I am now.
Thats a quick rundown for you on some “difference” without going into details. I’ll try and write more about specific topics and keep this post short.
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Written by Andy
Rica and I headed to Lamma Island a few weeks ago to visit and see whats out there. We headed down to Central Pier 6 on Hong Kong Island. For there we went to Sok Kwu Wan and planned to do the walk over to Yung Shue Wan. You can actually go the other way around but the ferries to Sok Kwu Wan come a little less often so we decided to go there first.
Once you get to the island it really feels like you’ve left Hong Kong, no more sky scrapers or even roads for that matter. Just a few little houses and a few restaurants. If you’re ever in Hong Kong and have an afternoon on a nice day I would defiantly recommend it. We just did the walk and then had food down in Yung Shue Wan although the restaurants we saw Sok Kwu Wan looked a little better so when we go back next time we’ll have to try there.
Here are some pictures from our visit!
Sort post but hope you enjoy, leave some comments!
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Written by Andy
As you can see, I’ve created some new banners and also added a new logo. I’m trying to update the site and personalize it a little more with the great theme I’m using (Atahualpa). I know its slow and the site hasn’t changed much but I hope it looks a little better now!
Enjoy
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Written by Andy
If you haven’t noticed already, Rica has started to post some stuff on Blahniknet. Since I’ve been busy and haven’t posted regularly hopefully this will help with more updates to the site. I’ll try and work on posting some more myself if anyone out there is readying.
Leave some comments on what you want to hear about!
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Written by Rica
finally got the chance to see the big Buddha in HONGKONG.
It was a good day, so you can see lots of stuff when you are in the cable cart!
and from Tsuen wAN we took bus 251M to qingyi metro station and took dongyong line till the end. actually only 2 stops!
and then we got off and took the cable cart all up to the mountain where close to the big Buddha.
on the way back you can either take bus or cart again!
it was a lot fun! Here are some pictures
Continue reading The big buddha in Hongkong
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Written by Rica
FIRST,
Who the hell is Rica is not that important, the important thing is what i wrote may help someone who want to have some tips.
i am chinese and i just got my US visa, multiple entry for a year. Since i have many of my friends asked me how i got my US visa so i will say I am not the only lucky one you can do it too, and it just happened like this:
· First, i think i get this visa easier because i am in Hongkong and I have Hongkong ID card, although it is just temporary ID, but it helped!
· Before I applied the Visa I heard there are 2 things the Consulate cares and which make them decide they will give you a visa or not
1, you have enough money to support you to travel and stay in US, So you will not become the government’s baggage when you arrive.(so you can provide your bank account to show how much saving you have or your salary flow. Credit card will help too. And of course house or cars or other properties owned by your name)
2,you will be sure return back to China.(especially for the girls who are already marriage age, even you have a lot money you have cars and house in China that still doesn’t mean you will for sure return. So at this time you need to provide more information like your company letter to day you will only have 2 weeks or a month away from work and after that you will come back for sure. And if they can it will be nice for them to say they will be responsible to make sure you will back for work!)
Here are the information I got:
Continue reading How to apply for a US visa in HK
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Written by Andy
So found out today that Google street view is now working in Hong Kong. Pretty interesting, how I can get less lost when I go out.
Check out the view of my apartment building.
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Written by Andy
I’ve been living in Hong Kong for two weeks now after moving from Shenzhen. I am in Tsuen Wan (New Territories) so my experience is different then if I was downtown Hong Kong. Below is a map of where I live.
So far the move was good, it took two days to move from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, so no need to wait a long time to get our stuff.
I defiantly enjoy the open and fast internet of Hong Kong, which is probably my favorite part at this point. I also like the order of traffic here, so even when there is traffic it keeps going unlike Shenzhen where it can just stop.
I do miss the prices in Shenzhen as I spend a whole lot more money to transport and food everyday in Hong Kong. This is adding up and I see that its a lot more expensive, when I was spending 7 RMB for lunch and now I’m spending 25 HKD at a cheap place. I also miss the Mandarin as now I can’t understand when I’m out walking around, though most people know English and if I asked probably Mandarin too.
To let you see where I live here are some pictures from the top of the apartment (and 2 from the star ferry)
More to come later as I get use to Hong Kong and I can make a better comparison between being in China and being in Hong Kong.
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Written by Andy
I got the news on Friday that the Visa’s for Hong Kong are ready, so all this next week will be busy actually making the move. First on Monday I will be off to Hong Kong to actually pick up the Visa’s and then the rest of the week will be spent getting ready. We have kind of been moving since before Christmas but have been waiting until the Visa’s are done before the move.
Right before Christmas I signed a lease an on apartment in Hong Kong, so I’ll be living in Tsuen Wan. For all the Shenzhen people I know if you need a place to stay in Hong Kong let me know. The apartment there is 1/2 the size or even smaller then what I had in Shenzhen and costs twice as much. Part of the fun of packing has been deciding what we really need and what we can give away/ throw out. We do have some stuff that still needs to go so let me know if you need anything.
We also have a moving company that will take all our stuff to Hong Kong. Mostly its the TV and bed that I can’t take across myself but then we have clothes and all the other stuff. I didn’t realize how much I acquired in the time that I’ve been in Shenzhen. So on Thursday (Jan 14th) the moving company will pick everything up and we should get it in Hong Kong the next day. Hope all goes well and I’ll post more about the differences of life in the two places.
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Written by Andy
So the first day of 2010 is almost over and I just wanted to write a quick post to say Happy New year to everyone around the world. Had a great time celebrating at a friends place last night and then a few more drinks at the Snake Pit. Hope everyone had a great new year and are ready for a great 2010!
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