Sous-Chef Lauren takes on: Thai Brown Rice

Cooking thus far has proven quite challenging for us. Our kitchen is the size of a closet and we have no oven. At home we cook EVERYTHING either on the grill or in the oven. Having neither of these 2 Phipps necessities has been a test. Last night we decided to cook rice with our skillet chicken. We stopped by the Park-N-Shop to get rice. We searched the small aisles for awhile looking for boxes of rice and then figured out rice comes in bags in this part of the world...in LARGE bags: 4lbs, 5 lbs, 7 lbs, 10 lbs, 20 lbs. OK, I admit; maybe it was a bit much to ask for "Uncle Ben's" or heaven forbid, my trusty "Minute Rice". After much deliberation we opted for the 3 lb bag of Thai Brown Rice. The directions were in Chinese. That's okay. I'm sure we can manage this cooking rice thing. I went home put in 2 cups rice and 2 cups water and started to boil it. I don't think Michael trusted my cooking skills because he started googling directions. After an hour of cooking and 4 more cups of water, we ended up with about 10 pounds of sticky, gooey, rice porridge. Needless to say, our dinner tonight was Red Beans and Rice. YUM.

Here are some pictures of where some of our shopping happens. I haven't yet braved the fish or meat stand.

Shek-a-This-Out

Today we decided to head to Shek O Beach. We took the subway and then a bus down the mountain and popped out here. It was beautiful and a perfect way to spend a Sunday.

Please check out this woman below. Keep in mind it is 98 degrees outside. This is what the women who bring the chairs and umbrellas look like. It was so hot that I was under the umbrella for most of the day. I don't know how they do it.

Money, Money, Money, Money....

On Saturday we went by ferry to Macau, also known as the "Las Vegas" of China. We had to leave the country and come back in order to start the process for our Hong Kong ID's. I have never been to Vegas, so I was pretty excited about experiencing Macau. I was ready for the bright lights, huge fountains, and larger-than-life feel of the city....


Macau did not impress me. The lights weren't on, there was only 1 fountain, and the larger-than-life feel was just not there. Macau is trying to be like Vegas but it's relatively new. There is lots of promise... The Venetian is grand and there is a ton of construction happening around town. Here are some photos from around the Venetian. It's structured like a little Venice.

By the time we left the Venetian I was ready to say farewell to Macau. We stopped by the Wynn to try our hand at some gambling. Michael sat down at the blackjack table and an hour later we were grinning ear to ear. I can't say how well he did because my father-in-law is convinced the IRS is trafficking social networking sites these days :)






We can't wait to go back to MACAU!!

The Views from Above

Today we rode the tram up to the tallest point on Hong Kong Island, The Peak. The views are just breathtaking and I hope these photos will help you get a sense of how vast this city is. We're on the Hong Kong Island side and across the harbor is the Kowloon side. The tallest building you see is the Morgan Stanley building (as I mentioned in a prior post). Enjoy the views!

People talk about feng shui alot in Asia (the use of heaven and earth to help one improve life by receiving positive energy). Look at this picture above and find these 2 buildings: the HSBC building and the building with a field goal on top (The Bank of China Tower). China is metaphorically known as the "dragon of Asia" and Hong Kong has been referred to as the tail of the dragon . The Bank of China Tower is supposed to look like a "dagger", (to strike at the British rule of Hong Kong prior to 1997). In order to counterbalance the dagger of the Bank of China Tower, a figurative "gun" was built atop the HSBC building. Don't you love feng shui?

Here is the backside of Hong Kong Island.

Movin' on up

We are currently living in the "Midlevels". Hong Kong is built into a mountain, whereas the city (and Michael's office building) is at the bottom of the mountain. The escalator runs up the mountain, through the Midlevels. The picture is a shot of the escalator as we are riding it up. You can see that it's broken up into smaller sections so you can jump off in different neighborhoods. Restaurants and shops run all the way up and down the mountain. We love living close to this and hope that our permanent flat will be in the same area.

House Hunting

We've had a busy couple of days. Today we spent the day looking at about 12 permanent, pet-friendly apartments. I was pleasantly surprised at how big they were. Most were over 1000 square feet with 2-3 bedrooms. Usually the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are just big enough for a twin bed, but if we have 1 twin bed in each room that means we can sleep a total of 4 people. See, I'm just looking out for all of you who will come and visit! I think we've decided that we really like living in the city. It's so different from NC and we want to take this opportunity to really experience a different kind of life. I love being able to walk to dinner and stroll afterwards. Having said that, look at the place we're passing up.
http://www.bel-air.com.hk/cyberport/jsp/index.html
We visited Bel Air today and it was amazing. Our view would be right out over the ocean. There are 8 different towers, a gigantic pool and gym. It's about a 25 minute taxi ride into the city, which is the downside. There is a large ex-pat community that lives here, but without a car you are isolated. I don't think Michael or I want to drive in this city! I was carsick just driving around today. The roads wind around the mountain and are so steep that I thought I was going to lose it a few times. I'll keep you updated on what we finally choose. I'm sure we'll go out and look at it at least one more time.

I went yesterday to the YWCA and joined a women's group called the "At Home" group. It's for women who are newcomers/ex-pats to Hong Kong. We'll meet every Monday from 9-2:30 for 4 weeks starting September 7. I'm really excited about this and hope it will help me feel plugged in. I still can't believe this is my "home" for the next couple years. I think it's slowly starting to sink in.

Holy Hotness

People said Hong Kong was hot. I don't really think I was prepared for how hot and humid it really is. The climate is similar to that of Florida. Hot, humid, wet air, but I think it's 10 times worse. You walk outside and just sweat. It will take some getting used to.

We did a lot of walking around today and Michael was trying to help me get my bearings. Here is a picture that is looking out to Kowloon, which is across the harbor. There are so many skyscrapers and lots of different skylines. The really tall building is the Morgan Stanley building. Hong Kong Island is so expensive, so Kowloon is starting to become more of a hot-spot for business and expats. Here are some from today.

New Home

Here's a little glimpse or our new crib...We are living in a 750 square foot temporary apartment in a neighborhood called "Central". We'll be here for 4-6 weeks until we move somewhere more permanent. It's located at the bottom of the big escalator that runs up the mountain. Our apartment is called "Shama Central" and is definitely in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. The apartment is quiet though, which I'm thankful for. We are able to walk everywhere...to dinner, to Starbucks, to the small grocery store (if you can even call it that). The grocery stores are small and there isn't much variety. I'll buy my fruit from the street vendors on the corners. The streets in the city are very steep so walking in anything but tennis shoes is difficult. We're definitely in the mix of things!

If you look closely, you can see the blue sign on the right that says "Shama". This is the entrance to our apartment.

Officially Gone...

I love reading other people's blogs but I always said I would "never" be one to write one. I am not computer savvy. I can't even keep up with posting pictures regularly to Kodak Gallery or Facebook. But, over the past few weeks so many people asked if I was doing a blog. The more they asked, the more I thought it may be a good idea. My dear friend, Amanda, came to my house, picked my blog name, made me a template, and showed me how this "blogger" thing works. So, here goes my "non-blogger" attempt at a blog....

It is my hope that over the next couple of years this blog will help us to not feel so far away. When we do cross paths we'll all feel as if there isn't as much to catch up on. We feel so lucky to have this opportunity to live abroad and hope that you can experience a little bit of it with us.

Here I am, off the plane with 8 checked bags and 4 carry-ons. We made it, and are now in our tiny apartment. We've spent the last hour and half trying to figure out how to make the blog in English and not in Chinese. I'm sure lots of these little problems will arise. More pictures to come of our new home soon.

Good night from Hong Kong!