![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
farmslutdvda
Jan. 2nd, 2007
09:28 pm - All good things
Here it is the 3rd, and we've got a plane to catch in a few hours. I'm not looking forward to the trip back as despite having the benefit of Seat Guru, the good seats seem to have been taken even before the plane lands in Hong Kong. I was at least able to have my seat changed to an isle seat.
For those wondering, I quit uploading pictures to my server when I ran out of space. I do have more pictures and media at probably a bit over 40GB... but I don't have that much extra personal space on the server. I'll fix that when I get back.
I couldn't upload pictures if I wanted to anyway as the internet connection here has been super craptastic since the earthquake in Taiwan a while back. Lots of dropped packets.
I ment to post about my daily activities while I was here, but most of our days were so busy I just felt too tired to try to sum up what we've seen/done that day. I guess, this means that I'm just not cut out for being a blogging type.
One thing that surprised me about Hong Kong is how large it is/how much there is to do here. Before visiting, I thought of Hong Kong as just a busy city. Now I realize it is much more like a complete ecosystem. There is the city life of course, but there are suburbs and rural areas. There are a couple of theme parks, many beaches, several unspoiled tropical type islands, etc..
Anyway, we've got stuff to do, so see you back in the states.
Dec. 22nd, 2006
10:32 pm - Tiny Man Square
A few of you were wondering what kind of problems someone of my size would have in Hong Kong and China, so here is the rundown...
The chairs here are tiny. They seem to be just short enough to make me feel like I am sitting on an elementary school kids seat. This isn't just a few places, I think the chairs here universally are smaller. Also, all but the fancy places offer stools instead of chairs. Stools are quite handy and easy to stack up and move around, but the lack of a back support is kind of a bummer for me.
I've hit my head on all kinds of things here. One thing that surprised me is that door frames for some doors around here are short enough that I will hit my head if I don't pay attention. The historic double decker trams have given me a knot on my head as the clearing inside is probably less than 6', but I've often had to stand while riding one because all the seats are taken. Also, some of those pretty street shop signs that hong kong is famous for.. are hung just above 6', so I've had to pay attention to things above me as I walk around as well as trying to make sure I don't step on people below.
I would guess that in Hong Kong one in every 3-5000 people is almost as tall as I am. I'd think that if you were 6'7" Hong Kong would be a very miserable place as then you'd have to duck to keep from hitting the ceiling of oh so many businesses.
Beijing was a bit different experience for me as the issue there was that it seemed that nobody had seen someone of my size. I would hear the equivilant of 'Whoa' or 'Wow' a couple dozen times a day as we mingled in the streets. In a way, I felt like a zoo attraction there as most everyone I passed by couldn't help but stare, and/or poke their friends in the arm and point at me.
One night I went into a small store that had 4 guys shooting the bull. As soon as I go in they all start staring at me. I'm doing my thing and realize that one of the dudes slipped behind me. I turn around cause I'm in a foreign place and I don't know what that guy might be doing. Anyway, I caught him measuring me. He had placed his hand on the top of his head, then moved his hand level toward my chest.
I also noticed that the people in Beijing are generally quite a bit shorter than the ones in Hong Kong. There were a lot of people from the 4'7" range to 5'0".
Dec. 19th, 2006
11:42 am - McDonalds of the Orient
One of the things I've made a point to do is try the local McDonalds to see how they compare the the ones back home. I know I should be eating exotic Chinese food, but since I'm staying in the area for such a long time, I figure it won't hurt my experience to try some more mundane foods once in a while too.
The menu selection is quite a bit different than what I'm used to. In Hong Kong, the breakfast menu is dominated by various bowls of noodle soups instead of McMuffins and McGriddles, though the Big Breakfast seems to be a staple here as well. For lunch, the Big Mac and the Fillet-o-fish seem to always be around, but other things are often replaced by various chicken sandwiches and what not.
The hot apple pie apparently also changes when you switch regions as you can get a hot banana pie in Hong Kong, and a hot taro pie, or a hot green pea pie in Beijing. Of those, I liked the taro pie one quite a bit and the green pea one not at all.
The McDonalds in Hong Kong have a promotion for a McPepper which I like. That one is a double hamburger smothered in a black pepper sauce. I'd order that one back in the states if I ever saw it.
Another promotion going on deals with seasoning the fries with various packets of flavor such as seaweed and curry. The deal is they give you a paper bag and a seasoning packet. You put your fries in the bag, then dump the seasoning packet in there, close the bag, shake it, and poof, you have say honey flavored fries. It is neat, and it does make the fries taste different from what I'm used to.
Most of the McDonalds I've seen in Hong Kong and Beijing seem to have a little mini restaurant inside called McCafe, which can best be described as a Starbucks in McDonalds. The chairs in that section are fancier, and you have to order one of the McCafe drinks to even sit in that section.
Additionally, a lot of the McDonalds have an enclosed booth with a cashier facing the street where they serve ice cream cones to the passers by on the street. The ice cream cones (US$0.38) that McDonalds serves here can be dipped in hard shell chocolate or strawberry for an additional US$0.07.
11:32 am - 2008 Olympics
Simply put, Beijing is really, exceptionally, unbelievably excited to be hosting the 2008 Olympics. From the time we picked up our baggage at the Beijing airport to the time we left, we were bombarded by advertisements for the upcoming Olympics. So many billboards, stores, and signs were plastered with the official logo that it would be impossible to not know what the government was promoting.
Whole sections of the city that are to be rebuilt before the olympics are surrounded by plywood walls that were painted white and adorned with some mention or logo about the olympics.
If this were Stockton, just imagine every single block south of the crosstown being encapsulated by walls and you'd get an idea of the extent of the efforts.
The government and investors are really pouring a lot of money into the city over these Olympics.
11:27 am - Construction in Beijing
One of the things that struck me about Beijing was how much construction was going on in the city. There are so many new 20+ story buildings all over the city and they are building skyscrapers all over the place. Sometimes you can see construction for 3 or 4 of them right next to each other. In total, I'm positive that there are scores of big construction projects being worked on in the city.
Just as there is a lot of construction going on there is a lot of destruction too as they are actively tearing down what seems like most of the older 2 floor structures in the heart of the city. There is a 10 or so block path from the Temple of Heaven to Tienanmen Square where so many buildings are gutted and half demolished that I seriously could have mistaken Beijing for an area recovering from a big earthquake or other natural disaster.
The buildings they are taking down are all old two story buildings that try to mimic the imperial chinese building styles. Our tour guide reminded us at one point that the whole city used to be made of those style buildings a decade ago, and now so many have already been replaced by the more functional high rises.
I would imagine that in a few years it will be hard to see any imperial era style buildings in beijing outside of the tourist attractions.
Dec. 10th, 2006
02:12 pm - Off to see the Great Wall
We've got to catch our bus to the airport in about 25 minutes. From there, we go to Bejing. If the hotels don't have internet, I'll be offline for the next 5 days. Weeee..
08:44 am - The Octopus Card
One of the things I really like about Hong Kong is how modern and well developed the mass transportation system is. The public services include a subway called the MTR, an above ground double decker tram that, double decker buses, and much smaller buses. You can get tickets to use MTR, and you can pay for bus rides with cash, but the best way to use these services is to purchase and use an Octopus card.
The Octopus card is the size of a credit card. It has a prepaid balance associated with it, and it can be read by readers at the entrance and exit of the MTR stations as well as the entrance to the buses and trams. To have it read, one just places the card in front of the reader for a half second. The card can be read through wallets and purses, so most people just wave their purse or wallet in front of the reader as the enter the MTR.
The readers all have a display that will show you your remaining balance on the octopus card every time you use the card. Even the readers in the light buses, which are just large vans, display your remaining balance, so they must clearly be networked with some central office all the time. When the balance gets low, you can take the card to a recharging station and put more money in it. From what I here, the Hong Kong people can set up the card in such a way that if they ever go negative on the balance, the transportation folks will automatically pull out an extra HK$50 from their bank to cover the debt.
So, that is already pretty cool, but the great thing about the octopus card is that most of the major chain markets and restaurants in Hong Kong such as McDonalds, 7-11, Circle K, Mannings, etc, etc are all connected to the octopus network and allow you to pay for purchases using your octopus card. Each of those stores also allows you to recharge your card at the register also, so you don't have to recharge them at an MTR station.
To me, the convenience and speed of purchasing something with the wave of a wallet makes using an ATM or cash to purchase something seem archaic. Like when you see people that still purchase groceries via check. Blah.
Dec. 7th, 2006
11:21 pm - Hello from Hong Kong
I've been in Hong Kong for 5 days now and I figured it was about time I started updating my blog with details about what I've seen and visited over here.
The plane trip over here was WORSE than I imagined it would be... and those that have talked to me know that I was expecting the ride to be something awful. My issues were really just standard plane issues. I was ok sitting in the tiny seat for the first 6 hours, but the second half of the trip was just too much. Toward the end, I was experiencing some form of panic attack for being stuck in such a small uncomfortable seat for so long.
I had intended on falling asleep on the trip, as that is what everyone else does, but the seats were just too uncomfortable for someone of my height. That said, the airlines, Singapore Airlines, kicked butt. They kept us well fed on the flight.
Brenda felt bad enough for me that she called the airlines to either buy me an extra seat or upgrade me to business class. Unfortunately, the flight is full, as is flights around that time. I guess it serves me right for not losing weight like I had planned.
In back of every seat was an LCD screen that acted like a personal mythtv box. Using the remote connected to the left side armrest, one could watch any of 80 movies on demand plus many TV shows. Additionally, there were interactive categories as well, such as games and quizzes. I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and Monster House early on and played through Super Mario Bros Deluxe via the included Gameboy color emulator.
I am not looking forward to the trip home, but at the moment, going back seems so far away in the future. And more importantly, everything else on the trip so far has been awesome.
excitedMay. 5th, 2006
11:19 pm - Things are moving
Since my last entry, a bit has happened on the marriage front...
I did take out an equity line of credit on the house... enough to pay off all my bills, all Brenda's bills save her school loans, and still enough left over to cover the wedding. Finally this POS house has done something besides rip me a new one!
We've reserved Morris Chapel at UOP for Saturday, November 4th. That place does a good business it seems. The reception will be at the american legion on West Lane. We had our eye on this restaurant with a ball room in back but the owner just sold the place and so that fell through. On the plus side, the legion should be much more affordable.
One of my very good friends happens to be starting a wedding photography business with a friend of hers, and so it looks like I'm going have a wedding photographer for cost as I help them start up their business. I figure I'm not really helping, but I did catch the at cost part. So yay for me!!
More has happened... but I can mention about that later.
Oh, and Brenda wants me to mention that I really love her a lot! lol. That will teach her for telling me what to put in my blog. hahaha
tiredMar. 23rd, 2006
05:08 pm - FS update
It has been a long time since I've posted anything here, so tonight, I'll post some good news.
My gf of 5ish years and I have decided to get married! Yes, we figured that it was probably about time to get married and so we are going to go for it.
It does seem a bit awkward to be 5 years in and just get to this point, but... thats how things worked out. We aren't expecting or anything, but we know we would both like to be married before workin' on the family, and we are getting older... and we really love each other.
Anyway, we haven't figured out a lot of the particulars yet. I'd rather have a smaller, less formal wedding sooner, she would rather have a larger, more traditional wedding sooner. lol.
I am trying to figure out how to finance the ceremony and such. I think I've got a handle on that by using some of the equity I have in the house. Should that not work out, it is going to be corndogs and crackers for everyone at the reception. :-)
excitedNavigate: (Previous 10 Entries)
