Noodlebowl

Why Hello There

It would appear that I have been missing. Again. I’m still here and still in Hong Kong. I’ve learnt many things during our time away.

1. Don’t tip a drink whilst sipping at it with a straw. 2. French people can be nice especially during Christmas time. 3. Just working hard doesn’t always get you the goods. 4. Yum cha for dinner is every bit as awesome as it sounds. 5. Appreciating blue sky after 4 weeks of unending grey polluted skies. 6. The Great Wall of China really is great. 7. How to pretend to speak Cantonese. 8. Yes, you really need that many shoes. 9. That not all lines on the NY subway go via the Brooklyn Bridge, just the ones you get on. 10.  Congee is the best breakfast food.  10. Your parents travel in a very different way to you. 11. Snow is cool for about 6 minutes and then walking through it sucks! and its cold. 12. Fried chicken seems to be the Philliphines national food 13. Don’t listen to that clown bullshit 14. Cheap air fares is all that but not all that. 15. E-mail & Powerpoint are more than just tools 16. You can harvest water from the room in HK. 17. The best egg tarts are from Tai Cheong bakery.

So as you can see. Much learnings. And many more to come.

16/365

16/365, originally uploaded by noodlebowl.

It has now been 5 months in Hong Kong. I still feel somewhat a stranger to the country and to this life. In a way, having no set deadline here has made me complacent but also it feels more like home now settling into a rhythm and routine.

I have started a little project over at Flickr to take a photo a day for 365 days. You may be interested to take a look to see what a day in the life of Hong Kong Sue is like.

Junk Boat Trip - Easter Sunday

Junk boat trip - Easter Sunday, originally uploaded by noodlebowl.

Hong Kong is descending into summer. Whilst the humidity and heat can be oppresive, there are some bonuses to be had in the HK summer; the start of Junk boat season.

We were invited along to a junk trip on Easter Sunday with our Italian friends. The boat left central pier at 10.30 and within 1.5 hours we were moored near a sandy white beach in a setting not dissimilar to Thailand tropicale.

The Italian’s, bless them, overcatered with delicious pasta, home made salumi and prosciutto brought from home. We swam, ate, drank and played scrabble. It was a great way to spend a sunny Sunday.

I hope there are many more Junk trips to come this summer.

Peking Garden - Tst

Peking duck, originally uploaded by noodlebowl.

A photo of duck in a pancake because it is delicious and I like it.

Hike To Ngong Ping

Cable Cars, originally uploaded by noodlebowl.

Near our work, is a tourist site called Ngong Ping 360 which is the site of the Big Buddha. Normal tourists use the long cable car ride to ascend the mountain to reach said Big Buddha. However crazy hungover tourists i.e us decide to walk it.

After a few wrong turns coming out of Tung Chung station, no Amazing Race contestants here, we finally made it to the start of the rescue trail at the end of Yat Tung estate. It was a dizzy steep climb for the first hour up to the first cable car pylon but it did afford great views over the surrounding harbour and countryside. We followed the path of the cable cars ahead listening to the cable car passengers laughing and taking pictures as we counted off the hike markers. The walk took about 3 hours to the top where we made our pilgrimage to the Buddha and then had a vegetarian lunch at the monastery.

Great walk and highly recommended. Nice to know that nature isn’t too far away from Hong Kong.