Thursday, November 15, 2012

Thailand


Even though we are Hong Kong-based, we have been fortunate enough to travel a lot.  Hong Kong schools give plenty of extended holidays and it’s easy to travel cheaply within Asia.  In addition to sharing my life in and around Hong Kong, I’ve decided to use my blog to share some of my holiday adventures with you…  I’ll start with Thailand because that’s the first place we went.

Mai Tai in a pineapple

Thailand has a bit of a reputation for being a dangerous and crazy party country (thank you, Hangover II) but in reality, I never once felt unsafe or even uncomfortable.  Perhaps if I’d gone to Bangkok, I’d feel differently, but I found the people of Phuket to be friendly, welcoming and happy. 

Now that I’m more well-travelled, I do things a little differently than how I did it in Thailand.  When I visit another country, I like to explore all aspects of it.  I will usually hire a driver (because driving in Asia is completely insane), plot out my route ahead of time, and see the whole country.  I like to experience varying qualities of hotels, from 5-star to utter darkness.   I enjoy doing both touristy things and experiencing life in local villages.  I rarely stay in one town for more than 2 nights and the days are packed with memorable activities.  Thailand was more of a stationary, relaxing time (though there were definitely some wild adventures mixed in).  There was no plan, no driver, and certainly no 5-star option.  But truthfully, even now, I wouldn’t do things any differently if I visited Thailand again. 

We arrived at the airport a shortly before midnight and noticed that everyone’s bags but ours were wrapped tightly in plastic.  This is a precaution tourists take to prevent being unsuspecting drug mules. *Note to self for next time.* Outside the small Phuket airport, we tried to get a cab to take us to our destination, Kata Beach, about an hour away.  All the cab drivers had charts that listed how much it should cost to get to each place.  Word to the wise:  they will throw these charts in your face and frantically try to outbid each other for your business.  Ignore the chart prices.  They are designed to rip off tourists.  Whatever the chart says, say you’ll to pay about half that price and if that driver won’t accept your offer, move on to the next one.   Thailand is known for horrible, dangerous driving… maybe if I’d been in a city, I would have noticed, but Phuket seemed relatively safe to me.   

An hour and a half later (after an unsolicited ‘bathroom break’ at a high pressure tourist shop on the highway) we arrived at our hotel and just crashed for the night.  The next morning we woke up refreshed and ready to enjoy all that Thailand has to offer.   I had booked the hotel online a few weeks prior on hostelworld.com (now I do all my booking months before) and we planned to stay there for the duration of our stay in Kata Beach.  If you go to Thailand, I recommend this place.  It’s called Hotel Kata Center Inn (make sure it’s the one on Taina Street)…. It’s definitely no frills but the food is awesome and the service couldn’t have been friendlier.  Every morning, we had free pineapple-banana pancakes and banana milkshakes.  We still make these pancakes about once a month at home and reminisce about how great that trip was.

The hotel was ideally located about 5 minutes from the beach.  We spent many a long day at the beach.  You rent a beach chair and umbrella for dirt cheap and just lounge around while people bring you pad Thai and coconut shakes.   The beach also offered parasailing trips.  It took me a week to gather my nerve but it was a rush that was very well worth it.    

Parasailing at Kata Beach


When we weren’t lounging at the beach, we were adventuring.  My husband and I both love animals, so our adventures (and entire trips, in fact) tend to revolve around our furry, feathery and scaley friends.  On Christmas day, we went elephant riding through the jungle.  It was amazing winding up through hills, enjoying the fresh air and seeing the trees where rubber comes from. If you are going to do this, please book with a travel agent (tour shops are easy to find)… do not just drive around and find men with elephants.  They may offer you better deals but these fly-by-night, roadside operations often seriously neglect and mistreat their animals.  If you see a man who uses a stick with a metal poker to control the elephant, don’t do it.  Travel agencies will set you up with companies that are more reputable.  You will pay more, but that’s because the money is actually used to take care of the animals.  The same thing goes for snake and monkey shows and encounters.  Please pay more and observe the conditions of the animals.  Animal cruelty is a serious problem all over Asia.  That being said, what an amazing once in a life time experience!  We also got to play with monkeys and snakes that day. 

Jungle elephant riding


My friend, the Burmese Python

We also shopped a lot.  I got countless dresses and shoes for a fraction of the price I’d pay at home.  My husband had been to Bangkok with some friends a few months before and brought me home plenty of purses and shoes then too.  We also got our wedding favours in Thailand.  You can imagine their surprise in the shop when we ordered 125 musical wooden frogs!

Wedding frogs


Another day, we went snorkeling by the Phi Phi islands.  The water was so clear.  There were fish EVERYWHERE and they were eating bread right from our hands.  I’d never seen anything like it before.  In Thailand, it was my first time swimming in the ocean.  It’s too cold down the west coast of Canada and the U.S., and I hadn’t had the opportunity in Hong Kong yet at that point. 

Two doors down from our hotel, there was a foot massage shop.  The massages were so cheap!  (Maybe around $2 CDN for an hour.)  We went there every night.  There’s nothing like a foot massage to help you unwind after a day of swimming and eating!  One night, we decided to venture out on the town.  Again, I felt safe the entire time, but it was definitely quite the interesting experience.  We walked down an alley about 5 minutes from our hotel and entered an open air room.  Inside this one room, there were about 50 different bars squished together, most with a ladyboy or two dancing on top of the bar counter.  Despite Thailand’s reputation for red light districts, this wasn’t one of them…  it was just  interesting and entertaining.  In fact, the only creepy thing I saw during this trip was the middle aged American business men and divorcees.  They were plentiful and each was latched on to a beautiful teenage Thai girl (or, in some cases, ladyboy). 

So that’s Thailand in a nutshell.  It was an amazing time and a great start to our travelling adventures in Asia.  Stay tuned for more trip details and pictures, interspersed among the regular blog posts. 

Kata Beach

*Edit*  After I wrote this entry, I got a hankering for a Thai coconut shake so some girlfriends and I went to Bangkok for the weekend as a part of my friend's bachelorette party.  We stayed in a pretty quiet area and the entire city was 'dry' because they stop serving alcohol during election time (something you should find out about BEFORE planning an overseas bachelorette).  All in all, it was a great trip.  We took a hassle-free taxi from the airport, stayed in a hotel suite that was bigger than all our HK apartments combined, shopped, ate and got foot massages.  I wanted to go shark diving at the aquarium but the ladies weren't up for that.  Maybe I'll have to bring my husband back for next time.  

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Movin' On Up


Hong Kong’s housing market is not to be approached by the weak of heart.  It’s a fast paced, cut-throat world where space is at a premium and square feet may as well be gold.  I don’t claim to be an expert at all, but I had a crash course this weekend with the end result leaving me feel like I just built hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk and all the Community Chest cards are stacked in my favour.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Since we moved here, 26 months ago, we've been living what I call “The Suite Life” (because I like puns).  We've had a beautiful suite on the 23rd floor of a hotel that has everything we could possibly need, including furniture and gorgeous hotel facilities.  Basically, we arrived, checked into a hotel the first night and just never checked out.  (Of course, we weren't paying nightly because that would be ridiculous… we were on yearly rental contracts) Our hotel has two towers.  Tower 1, where we live, is called a ‘serviced suite’.  In Hong Kong terms, this means that it’s fully furnished and includes the perks of a hotel (maid service, fresh towels/sheets, pool and gym, etc.)  I've been 2 train stops from work and about an hour from downtown (which is fine by me… I’d so much rather commute for social things than every day for work).  We've been really happy there.  Tower 2 is an actual hotel that is usually packed to the brim with tour groups.  Since capacity is so high, the powers that be made a very smart decision to turn both towers into full hotels.  This completely makes sense.  So at the end of our contract (Jan 11), we have to leave.

Upon hearing this in September, I went through all the stages of grieving before arriving at acceptance last week.  I was so terrified to look for an apartment here because everything is done so differently from Canada and, well, sometimes different is just plain scary. 

In Hong Kong, to rent an apartment, you NEED to hire an agent.  The advice I’d been given was actually to hire MANY agents.  Don’t worry, you only pay commission to the one who actually gets you a place.  This was the part that terrified me the most… we’d heard many stories of swindlers and liars.  In this volatile game, they’ll do anything for a buck.  And not speaking the language can obviously be a huge barrier for you/advantage for them.  What happens is that you tell the agent what you want, being careful not to give too much away.  Maybe they shouldn't know where you work because they can guess how much you make.  Maybe you shouldn't tell them exactly how many square feet you’re looking for in addition to your budget because they may show you only junk within your budget and then utter luxury outside of your budget to make you think that’s all that is out there.  I have friends who have used as many as 10 agents all at once.  They go into each office and disclose vague specifications.  Then nightly (and sometimes even through the night) agents will call and show them different flats.  I can’t imagine how overwhelming that would be.  After you find a place, you sign all sorts of scary contracts between the agent, tenant and landlord.  You pay 3.5 months rent (first month, 2 months security deposit, and .5 months commission to the agent).  The thing that I thought would be very frustrating is that each agent only has access to certain flats.  A building could be at 50% vacancy, but if your agent only has the key to 1 unit, that’s all you’re able to see, unless you go with another agent also.  (Hence the recommendation to two-time your agent.)

I was so desperate to avoid the middleman that I spent about 3 hours on Friday walking around, trying to get into buildings and talk to porters/concierge to see if I could find out which units were available and which agents were representing those units.  Unfortunately, it turns out that most of the buildings I was interested in had locked gates with private entrances.  The ones I could get into had a strict privacy policy about their availability and said I’d just have to find agents.  It’s one big guessing game.

So, this weekend I put on my big girl pants and stepped into a real estate office with my husband.  Our agent, Stephen, was great and we trusted him right away.  Instead of just taking our information and getting back to us, he set aside his whole day to take us around.  He listened to exactly what we wanted and even traded keys with other agents so he could show us homes that fit our needs.  The next morning, he did a lot of research for us and we met after lunch for round two.  That’s when we found our dream house.  Stephen was an amazing negotiator and made it all happen so smoothly.  Let me tell you all about it and I’m really sorry if it seems like bragging… I'm just soooooooooo excited!

First, the estate is about a 5 minute walk to work in one direction and a 5 minute walk to the train station and grocery store in the other direction.  It’s also home to two of my friends (looking forward to having some neighbours to hang out with) and right around the corner from one of my favourite Hong Kong restaurants.  (For those who are familiar with Hong Kong, we are moving to Yuen Long.)  We get the keys January 2nd.
The estate itself has nine towers.  The nine towers share a clubhouse.  For a very nominal monthly membership fee (and a few small ‘per use’ fees depending on what it is) we will have access to: an outdoor pool (seasonally), indoor pool, saunas, jacuzzis, a pool table, piano practice rooms, a bowling alley, and a KARAOKE ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!   (For those who don’t know, I love both bowling and karaoke.)

Now on to the apartment itself…  it’s a PENTHOUSE.  That’s right, penthouse: high ceilings, lots of space and our own private ROOFTOP PATIO.  I had joked with the agent about wanting a roof because I really miss having my own private outdoor space (very few yards here).  But it was supposed to be just that… a joke… because in Hong Kong, this sort of living is practically unheard of unless you’re a millionaire.  Our penthouse has two bedrooms.  Usually, bedrooms basically fit a large bed and not much else… this isn't the case here.  There’s also a bathroom with a bathtub (luxury in Hong Kong).  The kitchen and living room are spacious and open concept.  Each has a door out onto the patio rooftop which is also quite spacious.  It’s a good thing my husband is tall because there is so much high storage room in the kitchen.  The patio has a panoramic view of the Shenzhen, China skyline and surrounding mountains. 

It gets even better… the couple that lives there right now is leaving in a bit of a hurry for a family emergency and can’t take a lot of stuff with them.  There is a GIGANTIC custom-made wardrobe in the bedroom.  It has more storage space than we might actually need… even enough for all my clothes and shoes!  We had negotiated with the current tenants about us buying the wardrobe, curtains and patio furniture from them.  We agreed on a price and then they just started throwing in everything else for free: shelves, light fixtures (including two pink mini-chandeliers), microwave, mini-oven, kitchen table and shiny red BBQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It feels like Christmas; there are visions of sugar plums dancing in my head!  Am I going to wake up from this dream?  Agh!  No, it’s real!!!!   

Here's the estate.  There will be real pictures once we actually move in.

(P.S.  I really encourage all my unemployed/under-employed teacher friends to take a leap of faith and move to Hong Kong… you can’t beat this life!)

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Open Letter to the United States

Dear U.S.,

I’m not from the United States (though I love your beautiful country), but I can’t say as though I’m a completely impartial bystander with this whole election business.  I had a clear favourite and I’m pleased with the outcome (as pleased as one can be when only given two choices).  I am, however, going to try to remain impartial here because I have a message for the people of the United States that transcends a four or eight year term in office.

Overall, I’ve been absolutely disgusted with some of the behavior I’ve seen both before and after the election.  (Did we really make fried chicken and Oreos into a political bargaining tool?!  For the record, I don’t eat fried chicken because I’m a vegetarian.  I do, however, eat Oreos because they’re pretty darn awesome.)  

There have been downright vicious arguments and attacks all over Facebook.  Someone writes in their status “I’m happy Obama won” and that status garners responses that are so atrocious I won’t repeat them here.  Um, don’t you have freedom of speech?  I don’t think it’s a crime to be happy about the outcome of an election and to voice your opinion.  I even saw a few people’s profile pictures flying an inverted flag: a sign of distress. Clever way to show how you feel, but you are not in distress.  If you live in the United States, were able to make it to the voting polls and then post about it on Facebook via your iPhone, you are NOT in distress.  Get some perspective. 

There has, however, been some comic relief. 

“Obama won.  I’m just going to leave this country… maybe go to Alaska.”  Please pick up an atlas or map.  Did you know that U.S. citizens’ geography knowledge is a joke worldwide?

“If Obama wins, I’m just going to give up on America and move to Canada.”  You are in the United States, we are in Canada.  Together, we are both part of America.  And need I remind you that in Canada we have socialized medicine (and it’s awesome), gay marriage and marijuana. 

It’s easy to point fingers at Republicans for poor behaviour right now, but before you do, look in the mirror and admit to yourselves that had Romney won, you’d be doing the same thing.

Please research the health care reform before judging it.  Many developing countries have subsidized health care.  It’s really wonderful to have your appendix out or have a baby without taking out a loan.  Imagine the burden removed from a family struggling with a loved one’s cancer treatment if they didn’t have to remortgage their house.  I understand there are a few clauses in the health reform that some people aren’t fond of.  That’s fine, I don’t like the wording either… but look at the big picture and the greater good for everyone.  Catch up to the rest of the free world.  If you do some research and still don’t like it, that’s fine.  Be glad you have that freedom to openly disagree, to protest, or to petition your government.

I would like to echo Obama’s sentiments from his victory speech.  The fact is, neither candidate is evil.  They are both men who want what is best for you.  They may have slightly different ideas as to what is best or how to achieve it, but they really do have the best interests of the nation at heart.  Unlike some past presidents, neither of these men seems hell-bent on destruction.  Obama had quite the mess to clean up and he’s done well with what he was given.  It’s time to accept that these are the election results and move forward together.  You, the people, have spoken.   So Democrats, stop gloating.  Republicans, stop whining.    I'm not saying you shouldn't celebrate or complain, but do it with class.  It’s time to unite and make your world, and the world at large, a better place.

And be grateful you can exercise your democratic right to vote.   Be thankful you have that choice. 

Lots of love,

Canada

Me, 4 years ago.  (I know I said I was trying to be impartial, but, so what, I failed.)