Last day before classes start

Today, I spent a great deal of time walking around the city. My only real objective was to locate a temple and after a little oniline research, I discovered there is one located near my apartment. The temple is called Man Mo Temple and it's pretty small, probably because it is wedged right into the city. When you enter, you're asked to make a small donation. Then, you take incense and place it on the front altar. Below are a couple of pictures I took.

After offering a blessing and leaving the temple, I continued my walk west along Hollywood Road. This particular stretch of road is well known for its antique stores. If you're looking for a 17th century Chinese vase or valuable jade, the hundreds of small antique shops n Hollywood road is where you go. I continued my walk and came upon Hollywood Park. The park had a memorable gateway arch and an interesting pagoda-like structure. There was also a sweet, old woman, doing Tai Chai. 

I continued my walk along the harbor and ventured through Sheung Wan, Wan Chai and ended up in Causeway Bay. Causeway Bay is the place to shop. There are all the familiar western brands along with smaller lesser-known shops selling Korean and Japanese clothing. Supposedly, you can find some deals there. Finally, I ended up in Victoria Park and sat by the racing pond. This where Hong Kongers come to  race remote-controlled motor boats. I would show a picture of the pond, but my camera ran out of juice.

This evening, I am meeting up with two classmates for dinner. They are both exchange students at HKUST too. The first is Jo Chan, an american, from LA. The other is Kriya Pillay, from South Africa. We're going to a Japanese restaurant in Tai Koo, which is quite a ways away from Central Hong Kong. The food is supposedly good and the sake is cheap. Should be fun.

Justin

Exploring Hong Kong

Last night, after I wrote my blog post, I hit up a couple of bars in my area, LKF. One was an Irish bar and the other was a generic american bar, which played classic american tunes. It felt odd to be at an Irish bar considering I was in Asia, but I went it. At the Irish bar, I got a nice Stella draft and read a local Hong Kong Arts & Entertainment paper about Hong Kong. One of the articles featured six Hong Kong photographers using their iPhones to photograph the city. They explained that they shed all of their bulky, expensive photo equipment and opted for their mobile phone because of their simplicity and covertness. All of the photographers seemed to be using the iPhone app, called Hipstamatic. I had never heard of the app before. I'll have to check it out when I get back to my computer.

This basic article inspired me to find a creative outlet. When I was in undergrad at USD, I was really into photo. I took an Intro to Photography course and Portraiture course. I even worked in the darkroom for a semester. But when I moved to DC, work and school became my focus and it left little time for taking pictures. Being in Hong Kong is my chance to kickstart this creative outlet once again. With this in mind, today, I'm feeling energetic and motivated to explore the city through a camera lense. 

I left the apartment around noon and headed East. Rather than give you a verbal account of where I went and what I saw, I've posted a bunch of pictures below. Enjoy!

 



View from Hong Kong Park



Government House (in foreground)



Justin

Keeping busy by exploring HK

My emotions were running high today. Last night, I walked around my neighborhood looking for dinner. I settled on Indian take-out. There were plenty of people out at the bars and restaurants, laughing and having a good time. To see all these people enjoying themselves, made me feel really lonely. I don't have a problem being by myself, but it is definitely more fun to explore a city with someone else. For a quick second I thought, "What the hell was I thinking to move across the world and not know anyone?" But then I came to my senses. This is only the beginning and it's only natural for there to be hesitation. I'm still settling in.

Luckily, before I pitied myself too much, I was able to talk to Aaron on Skype. I couldn't help smiling the whole time. It was so good to see him. He brightened my spirits and motivated me to stay strong. He also gave me some helpful advice...get out of the apartment and walk around. Sounds so simple, doesn't it?

I left my apartment and went on a search for a store to buy groceries and staples, like laundry detergent, paper towels and toilet paper. When on vacation, you don't really have to worry about these type of things. The hotel takes care of these types of things. For food, you just eat out for every meal. But that's not feasible (or affordable) for two plus months.

I ended up on Gage street, which is well known for its outdoor market. It gave me a glimpse of old Hong Kong. The street is lined with stalls selling dried foods, fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and live seafood. See a couple of pictures below.

After picking up a few groceries on Gage street and locating a store that sold the staples I needed, I continued my walk north to downtown Central Hong Kong. This is where all the action happens. It's where all the multinational banks have offices, where the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is located and where the fancy hotels can be found (Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Shangri-La, etc). It's also the skyline you usually see in photos. Hong Kong is well known for its shopping. Stores are everywhere so naturally there is a huge mall below the international finance centre, appropriately called the IFC Mall. This particular mall is one of the nicest I've ever seen. It contains every high-end store you could ever want imagine. There is also a massive Apple store, which takes up two floors. It was packed to the brim. I spent some time walking around the mall, ate at Pret a Manger, and then ended up at the ferry terminal. This is the main termainal, which has ferries to Kowloon, Macau and the outlying islands around Hong Kong. Below is a picture from the ferry terminal. Look how foggy it was. It was only 70 degrees, but humid as hell.

Justin





Move-in day

Today's post will be short, but filled with photos. This morning, I moved into my studio apartment in Lan Kwai Fong (LKF), which is part of Central Hong Kong. If you look up LFK, Wikipedia says, "Lan Kwai Fong is a popular expatriate haunt in Hong Kong for drinking, clubbing and dining." And I live smack dab in the middle of it. Weeeee!!!

This afternoon, I met Gary Woo, the representative from the management company that owns the studio. He gave me the full run down of the studio, which didn't take too long, considering the studio is small. Gary was so friendly. He showed me exactly which keys went with each of the doors and even made me test them out to ensure they worked. He also explained how the TV and DVD remotes worked, how to use the air conditioner and actually set up the internet on my computer for me. Finally, Gary showed me exactly how to get back to the Central MTR station. Gary was so nice. He was almost a fatherly figure. It's reassuring to know I can reach out to him if I need anything.

Below I've included pictures of my studio in LKF. I warn you- the apartment is tiny. But it does have all the amenities you need (including a washer/dryer, stove, microwave and two mini fridges). Plus, being so small, it encourages me get out and explore the city.



The Kitchen



The Bathroom



All of the "rooms"



The View

Justin

Flight to Hong Kong

Tonight, I arrived in Hong Kong. The first flight, from LAX to Beijing, was over 12 hours long. The second flight, from Beijing to Hong Kong, was about 3 hours. Both were on Air China. On both flights, I made sure to request aisle seats, so I could get up anytime I wanted.

Surprisingly, the long flight didn't have TVs in the headrests. You would think it'd be standard for a 12-hour flight to have TVs in the headrests. As an alternative, there were projection TVs on the front wall, but they were so far away and the quality wasn't good, so I could barely see them. Thus, I spent most of the long flight reading and listening to my iPod. I also caught the second half of the movie, Cowboys vs. Aliens, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. For some reason, I couldn't sleep very much. Probably because the flight took off at 1:20 pm.


Plane to Beijimg



As with all travel, there are hiccups along the way. About an hour into the first flight, I spilled my entire glass of soda all over myself. I drenched the right arm of my button-down shirt, the right side of my jeans and spilled all over the carpet. The American couple, across the aisle, witnessed my spillage and just stared at ,r. For some reason, this really pissed me off. I guess I was expecting them to help or something. Luckily, I was wearing a white tshirt under my button down so took off the wet one. Then, during mealtime, I dropped food on my white tshirt. I was a slob.  



When I was in the Beijing airport (photo below), I almost boarded a flight to Manila. It wasn't my fault, or I don't think it was. The monitors said my flight was at gate at E57, but it was a flight to Manila instead. I tried to get on, but the attendant just stared at me. Then she sternly corrected my stupidity. Maybe I was just tired and delusional. 



Beijing airport (PEK)



After 15 hours in the air, I arrived in Hong Kong. It was surprisingly easy to get from the airport to downtown Hong Kong. They have a nice express train that goes directly downtown. I ran into a small issue with the MTR (subway). I went past my stop because I received vague directions. When I got off, I had to buy a ticket for a different train line, but the machine wouldn't accept $100 HK bills, which is all I had. It only accepted $5, $10 or $20 bills. Some nice tourists gave me the fare. I felt like a beggar, but I didn't care. With all travels, you're going to feel vulnerable (or stupid) sometimes. 

Now I'm in my tiny hotel room in Hong Kong. I barely know a soul in this big city. It's both exciting and anxiety-inducing. Tomorrow, I move into my apartment. Time for sleep.

Justin

A few days in SD

Because of my delayed flight the day before, I was only able to spend a few days in San Diego. Nonetheless, I had an action packed schedule. On Sunday, I got up early and drove down from Dana Point to San Diego, taking Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).  Below is a picture I took in Dana Point in the early morning.

For lunch, I met up with Briana Smoody, my ex girlfriend from college. We ate at JRDN, the beachside restaurant in Tower 23. Briana is doing great. She's kicking butt at her job at Concerro, engaged to be married next month and her sister, Meagan, is expecting. It was great to catch up with Beej and happy to hear everything is going well for her and her family.
Yesterday evening, I met my old college roommates, Tim Golden and Matt Soleimanpour. Matt's girlfriend, Tina, also joined us for dinner at PrepKitchen, in Little Italy. The food is farm to table Italian. I had the crab bisque and butternut squash raviolis, both of which were very good. Matt and Tim are doing well. Tim is finishing up his last semester for his masters degree in counseling and Matt is doing the lawyer thing at  Manning Kass Ellrod Ramirez Trester LLP.

Today was the day for meeting old coworkers. For lunch, I met my old boss from the American Lung Association, Diane Sutherland, for lunch. For the past six years, she has been the Assistant Executive Director at the Burn Institute. She looks great and seems like everything is going well.

In the late afternoon, I met up with my old ALA coworker, Sacsy, for a drink downtown and then dinner at an El Salvodorian restaurant in Logan Heights. When I lived in SD, Sacsy and I were really close. We worked together, were running partners and I even accompanied her Thailand to visit her family. Sascy is doing good. She has a new job selling medical supplies and her daughter, Malaysia, is college bound. I still can't believe Malaysia is 18 and that that Sacsy has an 18-year old daughter.

Overall, my trip to SD was really good. I was able to catch up with my old friends and coworkers. The trip also made me nostalgic. I really miss the SD vibe and fondly remember the memories I made there. It's unfortunate that SD is so far away from DC

I ended today by driving up to LA and checking into a cheap hotel room right near LAX. Tomorrow, I fly out to Hong Kong.

Justin

PS. While in SD, I did have a chance to visit USD. Below is a pic I took while walking around campus. It always amazes me how beautiful the campus is.

Made it to Cali

Shortly after I wrote my last post, I made it on to the 5:25 pm flight to LA. I'm still not sure how it happened. I was 13 on the stand-by list, but there were only six seats. Miraculously, seven people didn't show up so I ended up getting a seat. Thank you to those seven people...you made my day.

When I finally boarded and sat down, it was surreal that I actually made it on the plane. I ended up sitting next to guy in  his mid-20's, who was traveling to California because he had an overdue ticket. In a month, he was going into the Coast Guard so he needed to take care of the ticket ASAP.  His dad was a pilot so he was a stand-by rider as well.

The flight wasn't too bad. It was a big jet, a 777, with 2 x 5 x 2 seats across. Luckily, I got an aisle seat, so I didn't have to make everyone get up everytime I had pee.  I spent the 4.5 hour flight reading, sleeping and watching the movie, New Years,which was better than I thought it would be.

I made it into LA right on schedule, around 10 pm. Once I picked up my bag, which luckily hadn't been lost because it had been sitting in LA for 8 hours, I went to the car rental counter. The line was sooo long and sooo slow. It took my forever to get to the front of the line. If this had been the East Coast, there would have been a riot. When I finally got my paperwork and got outside, it was raining hard. Since when does it rain in LA? The car they gave me was a little subcompact (I paid for a compact) and my suitcase barely fit in the trunk. At least it was good on gas mileage.

I made my way down to Orange county and met my friend, Rose, at the St. Regis in Dana Point. She let me stay with her and her friend, Alex, in their room for the night. Thanks to both for letting me staying with you.  BTW - the hotel was AMAZING. Stay there if you ever get a chance.

Justin