Close to Christmas in Hong Kong

Preparing for Christmas vacation and one week of teaching to go before the break. 

Each year there is a picnic day where the form 1 students (grade 8) and teachers go to a park by bus and have a barbeque or as they say in Hong Kong a B B Q.  It was nice time to get to know the kids outside of a classroom setting.  They play various games and relax.

Students love to do the V symbol for victory (or as I was told just to make the photo more interesting.

This is the front entrance of my school.  They re-did the front area (you need to click the picture to see it better).
 

 This is my new (old) apartment building blocking out - well blocking out everything in the site line.  You have to like views of skyscrapers and 40 floor apartment buildings.

I walk to school everyday and this is on my to work.

This is the same walk bridge facing my apartment building.  I don't know how but I managed to get photos without much traffic - amazing. 

What in the world is this you ask?  Well this is Christmas in Tsing Yi.  Yes the Christmas theme in the big Maritime Square is Garfield and Odie's Christmas.  Complete with Orange Christmas Trees.  Nothing could be this tacky Richard.  C'mon you're lying to me.

 

Like I said - Orange Christmas tree in case you didn't believe me.  Why do I get the sense they planned this for Halloween and the shipment arrived late so they decided - "Let's use it for Halloween"  I've traveled to a few malls - and I swear they try to "out-tacky" each-other.  Weirdly enough I like it but I'm a cat person.  One thing that they missed was John Arbuckle - how can you leave out John?  And no Nermal either.

Merry Christmas Everyone.  I'll be back with photos from Thailand.

Junk Boat Trip

Last weekend I joined teachers at an International school in renting out a Junk Boat (holds 35 people) and while the name doesn't sound inspiring it is just a very large very nice boat. 

At the dock waiting for our boat.  10am to 6pm.

At the dock waiting for our boat to arrive and it is a very popular excursion as it seems all us foreigners are there with friends doing the same thing.  It poured with rain but fortunately stopped when we arrived at our destination

 

Some pics of the journey

I believe this is a place called Stanley.  These are three story houses from what I can tell. I was told that you can rent them for about $15,000 Canadian per month. 

On the way back the rain started to come again.   Still it was a great day and met some nice people and managed to get some ocean swimming in.  

Moved Again - Yes Still in Hong Kong

The landlord of my old apartment sold the flat and I requested to move early.   It's tough to make a home knowing you will move out in 3-4 months so leaving early made sense.  I contemplated living above the large MTR station and shopping mall.  But I have no willpower.  I would just go down the elevator in my slippers and by some Starbucks and eat out everyday.  No.  I decided to move to the building next to mine which forces me to walk.  Oh and the whole $600 a month savings played a role in the decision too :-)

My new apartment is smaller in that it is a one bedroom.  The bathroom is much smaller as it is a shower only.  On the plus side the living room is better laid out and bigger.  

My new dining table - love Ikea.  Living in an apartment in Hong Kong is similar to living in a Fifth Wheel.  You need to buy stuff you can fold up and that stores things.  The dining table has three cubbyholes on each side 

 I love my couch - so comfy.  Kitchen door is closed.
 

This kitchen looks small but is about 3 times larger than my last place - I can actually store things in the cabinets.  To the left by the gas stove is a window and fan that looks at the ocean.

 The rest of the living area.  Most HK apartments would not have this open area - it would be a bedroom making it a 2 bedroom.  I prefer the larger open space.  To my audiophile friends - yes those are Audio Note AX Two Loudspeakers.  Insanely good for the money - err just insanely good period.

 This is a view from the living room - I still have a bit of my old sea view. 

This is a view from my bedroom - I have the same view from the living room.  My old building straight ahead (10 years old)  My building is number 1 of 11 and is 22 years old. The pool on the left is for my apartment - it's actually a nicer pool - there is a second pool on the left with a big twisting slide for the kids (or me if no one is looking).  Same deal as before - Gym, tennis courts study areas, squash etc.  

Tomorrow is my last teaching day for the year.  Starting Tuesday I give students speaking examinations but I should be able to go home early (around 1:30) most days for the month of June.  Nice.  The weather has been getting quite hot but not too bad in terms of humidity.  May is a bad month but even it wasn't too too bad.  Maybe I am just getting used to sweating.

Happy Mother's Day

Hi Mom- Happy Mother's Day.

May Update

 It's been awhile but other things get in the way sometimes.  For a start, the landlord has decided to sell so they've asked me to leave.  Fortunately, I don't have to leave before the contract so I have plenty of time to decide where I want to move.  I'll keep you updated.  I may opt to stay in this building complex or live above the shopping mall/subway.  I'll be living in my favorite horror film (Dawn of the Dead - the original not the remake of course).

The first picture is fans - why?  It's that time of year where humidity is on the rise.  I walk out of my classroom and my glasses instantly fog up.  I am telling myself it's like a sauna (because it is a sauna) and I imagine myself on vacation.  Mind over matter right.  Arggh.

 Riding the cable car at Ocean Park.  I like the views from up there.

You can kill your fear of clowns and roller coasters that go upside down all at once with this thing.  No I didn't go on it because I wanted to keep my lunch for another few hours.
 

 This is Lan Kwai Fong - the resident party district of Hong Kong where there are bars side by side and the energy level high.  First floor chocolate - second floor lingerie.  Two things that I must say go together well.  Chocolate lingerie would be even better.

Walking around you never know what you will see.  A guy out walking his parrots for example.

Hong Kong - One of the Most Expensive Cities in the World - or is it?

One of Several Rolls Royce limos wandering Macau's casinos. I waited the extra minute with hopes of landing a sugar momma - hey I'm still single and I don't mind being a kept man.



Down to the Hong Kong stuff:

You often read lists of the most expensive cities - Tokyo, New York, Vancouver, Hong Kong, London etc.

Hong Kong is expensive largely because of the housing costs. The government subsidizes my housing giving me about $1700 per month (after tax) while my rent is $1500. You could of course pay such rents in Vancouver but you probably get a larger apartment than my 618 square feet. I do have nice views and my gym/clubhouse is included. You can get nice decent apartments here for $1000 a month (450 square feet) which is bigger than it sounds but is still small compared to the Canada. Locals living here are also subsidized if they don't earn much - their rents can be as low as $300 a month. But I can't imagine a family of 4 living in these places - but they do.

Setting that aside I decided to run down the costs for average items - there is no sales tax here. Salaries are taxed at a flat 15% which rises to 17% if you make a ridiculous sum of money. There is no tax on low income earners. The pension plan is interesting. I pay 5% of my salary and the government kicks in 5%. When a person retires they give you a lump sum payment of the total amount. Now the 10% that is going into the pension scheme you get to choose to distribute into various high interest high risk or lower interest lower risk schemes. However that big lump sum payment you get when you retire you have to live on for the rest of your life. So save wisely or don't live to 104.

Some prices

Vegetables
About 1/2 to 1/4 what they are in Canada
6 middle sized banana would be about .80 to $1.20
Celery (typical bundle) 0.75
Kiwi (.25 each)
Tomatoes (.25 each for bigger ones)
Romaine Lettuce $1.50 for 2-3

Fast food/junk food/coffee
Big Mac set (med fries/Med drink) $2.50
Pizza Hut supreme ($20 for a Medium - $30 for 2) The cheese I suspect drives the price up
Can of Coke ( .60 -.75 in 7/11)
Starbucks (Americano $3.50 Grande)
Frappuccino ($4.00 - $4.50 Grande)
Starbucks coffee 1lb $22 - $24
Pringles potato chips ($1.50 for the big size)
Godiva chocolates (INSANE - $25 for about 8 pieces) - It's not even that great. Makes me want to buy a Purdy's franchise and open it here - better chocolate by a mile and way cheaper. Even importing it shouldn't drive the price up this much.

Meat is about the same
Salmon (filet $6.00 ) no deal here
Chicken (depends where it's from - can be as low as $2 for 6 boneless skinless pieces)
Bacon $5-$6 for half what you would get in Canada - but the quality is higher - less fat more meat so...
Beef is about the same but not quite as good as Canada - there is Australian beef but it costs more. But it's in the ballpark.

Bread is the same - varies from .80 for white bread (but half a Canadian loaf) to $2 for Multi-grain - but they don't sell the really nice breads here (or I have not found it yet).

Bagels - 4 blueberry $3 (but unlike in Canada they use REAL blueberries in the bagels not the blue sugar candy pretending to be blueberries like Save-On sells).

Cereal
Kellogg's Corn flakes - $2 for a medium sized box (here it is a large box as they don't sell those massive family sizes)
Weetabix $3
Muselix (import from England) $6-7 for 1kg (non brand name $5)
Quaker oatmeal box of 12 ($4)
Eggs ($2.50 to $5 for 12 - depends a bit on organic/brown and size - similar to Canada)

Dairy (eesh)
Cheese (double what it is in Canada)
Milk ($3.50 1 litre) for fresh Milk - and it doesn't taste as good
Cream $4 for SoyMilk cream for coffee - 500ml
Half and half is impossible to find - I get a coffee and mcDonalds and ask for 3-4 half and halfs so I take them home for my coffee - The soy stuff just doesn't quite taste as good.
Yogurt is the same as Canada but for smaller portions.
Ice-cream - $4.50 for 2 litres of Neapolitan ice cream
Hagen-Daaz $8 for 500ml

Classico pasta sauce $3
V8 1.8 Litre $3.80

Typical bottle of wine $6-8 (Australia Yellow Tail)

If you eat vegetables, fruits, pork, chicken, and fish (that isn't salmon) you will save. And many of the Chinese food items and noodles are inexpensive. If you eat dairy or western foods you pay more. Everything is imported here but the prices are not outlandish. Similar to Vancouver.

Other items

Cell Phone - my phone - albeit a cheap Nokia with no camera was $25. $12 pay as you go lasts me 3 months - And that receiving several phone calls from Canada for 45 minutes to an hour numerous texts and phone calls here anytime. And I still have $6 left. In other words dirt cheap.

Cable TV/High Speed Internet/HBO - 6 channels 2 in HD/National Geographic/History/Scyfy network - combined is $30 a month.

Water bill - 3 months - $1.20 (I mean why even bother sending me the bill - the paper work has to cost more)

Electricity is about $30 a month but I should imagine this goes way up in the summer so we'll see)

Gas bill is about $25 for 2 months. Gas is used to heat the water for a hot shower and for cooking.

Mailing a letter to Canada/US is less than .50. It would be about .25 in Hong Kong

Taxis about 1/10 the price of Canada.

Buses are about .50 cents anytime.
MTR train $1.50 each way pretty much anywhere.

There is a quarterly government tax/bill on the apartment that the landlord has to pay - just under $100. So perhaps $350 a year.

To buy this apartment would run close to $370,000 Canadian ($2.9 million HKD - asking price) - foreigners have to come up with virtually the entire amount in cash I believe so yikes.

TVs and appliances are about the same price - Laptops are about the same price - There is a computer market that sells for a bit less but buy at your own risk. Cameras seems to be the same price. You do save by not paying tax but that's about all you save.

Some more photos
They need to put these signs up in Wenzhou, China. But I am impressed with how clean Hong Kong is considering the amount of people. They make an effort to clean all the time. There are attendants in all the public washrooms that are standing around cleaning sinks and stalls almost all the time.
Chinese New Year golden money tree from what I can tell. Money may not grow on trees but Gold Coins do.

Many people have asked the question - "What is Love? " Well Hong Kong has the answer

That's right. Time is Love. Maybe it doesn't translate.

Because there aren't enough billboards, posters, commercials and watch stores - just in case you missed the endless onslaught to buy a watch - here is a nice cable car in pink to remind you that you need to buy a watch. I refuse - I bought 5 watches for $12 total - 4 of them have failed. My favorite one is still hanging on - I refuse to succumb to the watch ads. From Swatch to Seiko ro Rolex to Omega to the truly insane Breitling (a watch maker for Bentley car owners) and Patek Philippe to who knows what else - they're everywhere.

I did some digging on the watch insanity. Apparently they're used to bribe people without a traceable cash flow. A businessman will spend $50,000US on a watch. Then when he wants to sway a purchasing agent from some company to buy his product he simply gives the guy his watch. Nice little business. No cash is changing hands. How true this is - I don't know but it makes some sense.

How to Train Your Dragons

Well the rumour going around is that teachers here in Hong Kong will be getting a raise. Apparently they give civil servants a cost of living increase combined with some sort of private sector calculation - if the private sector shows an increase the public sector is given one as well to keep parity. Seems like a nice system but I won't count the Dragons until they hatch.

Chinese New Year is probably the biggest holiday here and some stores actually shut down. Not the bigger stores mind you. Apparently, the rents are so high that they can't close for more than a day or two.

The people were everywhere. Hong Kong is a busy place - with a population of 7 million and an area that only takes about 2.5 hours to drive from one end to the other there are not a lot of instances where you can look 360 without seeing a person. Chinese New Years seems to double the population? See the following picture.

Granted this is in the heart of the city near Victoria Park. Ahead is the park where there is a flower market and toys and balloons for the kids. The fair area had about 3 times the number of people packed together. So my advice - stay home. The mainland Chinese visit Hong Kong on holidays which accounts for the numbers.

To be fair this area was about three minutes walk away and was not crowded. One fellow brought his remote powered toy boat and was racing it around to the delight of the kids - and me - a big kid.

There really is nature here in Hong Kong - it reminds me of a very very crowded Vancouver. Vancouver is a ghost town in comparison.

This is the park near my house and these tangerine trees are everywhere. You can buy them for your house but I didn't this year. Next year I will - they come in all sorts of sizes and they're only about $25-$30. And yes you can eat them.

Over the holiday - which is 10 days - I went to Macau. Macau is the gambling capitol of the world. They take in more money that Las Vegas. It's not as big or as grand to look at but the money going through here is incredible. I saw guys at the cash counters putting stacks of cash while their employee was holding the bag as the placed tens of thousands of dollars into the bag. Slot machines that would be over $1,000US per spin.

I spent 5 hours playing the slots and lost about $20 - so I can live with that.

The Sands hotel and casino. I didn't care for this place too much. Not as friendly to someone on my tax bracket.

The MGM was brighter and nicer inside and the food in their restaurants was reasonably priced and quite good.


Inside the MGM casino for the Year of the Dragon.

Below the dragon is a garden maze for people to walk through. I naturally thought of Jack Nicholson carrying an axe.

Christmas in Hong Kong

The big central mall Christmas centerpiece.

Christmas came and went and you would not have known it was Christmas Day - nothing closed. I mean nothing. The malls were open all the shops were open. There were Christmas Day sales. No one takes a day off. Oh well.

Here are some Holiday shots around Hong Kong

My local mall put up this display - a Robotic Santa and his robot snowman elves - I dunno - it is very work oriented but I suppose he would need flying cars and a massive workforce - I hope they have a good union - doubtful.

Not to be left out.

I went up to Victoria Peak. Had a nice chat with some American teachers. One is a High School Principal and his wife a University professor. Both can make more and have less stress teaching in Hong Kong - so they are considering the move. Met a nice couple from Ireland up here as well. Took the double decker up the mountain and the very steep tram ride down.

A popular restaurant at the Peak is the Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant. Prices seemed quite reasonable and they have their own gift shop next door where you can buy Gump hats and shirts or glasses. Hong Kong is liiiiiiike a booox of chooocolates when you walk around you nevah knooow what youer gonna get.