Karaoke with HK Girls

A dream of mine was fulfilled.  Last week we went to a karaoke lounge with five local Hong Kong Girls.  One of my roommates had a thing with a local girl at the club we were at, so the next night we went out with "Loretta" and all her friends.

After 2 1/2 hours of slightly painful karaoke (due to the obscene amount of avril and rihanna song choices) the girls insisted that we get "sticker photos." 

First Typhoon! LVL 8

Yesterday we were informed of a looming typhoon off the south China coast.  There are four levels of warnings for typhoons.  1 is a general warning,  3 represents winds of 41-62 km/h, 8 represents wind speeds of 63-117 km, and 10 represents wind speeds exceeding 120.  I woke up this morning hoping classes would be canceled, however the weather was surprisingly calm.  Then, on the way over to my 3:30 class a sign was posted near the entrance warning everyone that the typhoon was currently at level 3.  When I got out of class around 5 everyone was rushing through the university into the mall to get to the metro and home.  I'm now safely back at my apartment and the warning is currently at level 8. I am surrounded with the sounds of howling winds and torrential rain, although it is a very exciting time I could be stuck inside for a while.  

Official HK Government Report:

"Bulletin issued at 18:00 HKT 23/Sep/2008

TC No. 8 Warning Signal Special Announcemnt

Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 was issued at 6:00 p.m. 23 September 2008.

Members of the public are advised to return home at once."

Shark Attack

Street Purchase

Couldn't resist buying this 1970's Polaroid camera I saw for sale on my street when coming back from class today.  Seems like it works, hopefully I can find some film for it.

Big Wave Bay

So this weekend a few of us went to Big Wave Bay or 大浪.  We took the MTR and then caught a local bus.  These were small privately owned bus' that take you up and over the windy mountain road to the beach.  There were amazing views of the beaches and hk's skyline but the ride was by no means comfortable or slow.  Theres even a sign posted in the middle threatening a $200 fine for anyone who throws up.  The street leading down the ocean is lined with small surf shops, beach rentals, and restaurants.  The name Big Wave Bay is very misleading, the waves were only about a foot high yet 20+ people were still attempting to surf.  Supposedly when a typhoon is approaching the beach can live up to its name.

As night fell we began to prepare a bbq.   Eli had prepared some "onion balls" to cook, but we somehow forgot a screen to place over the grates of the bbq, making it extremely difficult get a consistent fire going.  After attempting to light the fire for over 45 minutes we requested the help of two local families to get things going.  Within five minutes we had fire, and soon after dinner.

Hike up 1000 stairs to a small viewpoint.  Heres the view from the top.

Simons Birthday Dinner

After taking five shots, throwing up, and passing out on our couch, Simon's asian flush denied him from going out on his 20th birthday. Since he didn't make it out, tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate.  

I also saw the smallest person ever, i think she rides around on that dog, while it pulls her cart. I'm still in shock.

Takashi Murakami Exhibition @ Fabrik

Checked out the Murakami Exhibit at Fabrik in Central, HK today.  Was a bit tricky to find, luckily someone on the street knew what I was talking about and guided me in the right direction.  It ended up being on the fourth floor of an office building. Very random location.  I knew it was a small gallery, however I expected it to be bigger than one room.  Despite its small size it was really well set-up with a great use of space.  The gallery offered a great selection of pieces, definitely glad I checked it out.

Delayed Start (Continued)

While in Thailand I went to a Muay Thai fight.  When rushing to get in a taxi to the fight someone somehow pick pocketed my phone.  Anyhow, I soon forgot about it as everyone felt so bad for my misfortune they felt it necessary to buy me drinks all night.  With a few Tigers (Thai beer) in me, and the first knee to chin knock out in a fight, I was increasingly into the fights.  The fighters ranged from young 16 & 17 year olds in the 100 lb weight class and built up as the night went on to the older 190 lb fighters.  After a while of being harassed in Thai, we discovered we had mistakenly sat in the betting only section.  A one-toothed local kept insisting on betting $1000 Baat ($30 US) on the man in the blue shorts.  Unaware of who was the better fighter or really anything around me, I agreed to bet him $200 Baat ($6).  Randomly the red-shorted fighter got what seemed to be a knock out. He surprisingly paid me and walked away.  Then out of nowhere the blue fighter muay thaid the fuck out of his opponent and my celebrations were quickly ended with the one-toothed man returning to demand his winnings.

From the arena we jumped on tuk-tuks/rickshaws and headed east across the city to the infamous Patpong district (red light district). These motorcycle cars and their drivers were beyond reckless, dangerously weaving in and out of Bangkok's busy night traffic.  After this we insisted on taking them everywhere.  As soon as we arrived we were greeted with calls of "PING PONG SHOW 100 BAAT & FREE DRINK."  Exactly what we had come for.  We decided to follow a man in a silk leopard skin shirt.  He took us up a set of stairs and into "the show."  

 {more to come}

Muay Thai!

One-toothed gambler

Tuk-Tuk Ride

Here are some more pictures to help sum up the rest of the trip.

{will edit in pics tomorrow}

This Man almost led us to our death {Ping Pong Show}

            Unfortunately while on this trip I missed the first level 8 typhoon to hit HK since we arrived, Typhoon Nuri.  This is the article from the day after that I picked up from our hotel in Malaysia.  The photograph was taken directly past the metro station down the street from where I am living.  Im excited to experience the next one, apparently they are the most frequent during September.  (Thanks for the heads up on the typhoon dashboard warning Colton)

Delayed Start

Hong Mutha Fuckin Kong

I planned on getting this thing going over two weeks ago when I got back from my Southeast Asia excursion, however I've been so busy getting settled and exploring that I haven't been able to sit down and start this up until now. I hope to keep this updated as much as possible.

So, I'm living in an apartment in Sham Shui Po, an area of old Hong Kong.  It's not exactly what I expected; however it has turned out to be a great place to truly experience HK culture. The walk from the apartment building to the MTR (metro) offers a vast assortment of street vendors and plenty of local activity.  Vendors sell everything from knock off clothes & local cuisine to used cell phones and telescopes.  Some vendors seem to be running a permanent garage sale.  Fortunately we are only five blocks from a MTR station so getting around has not been a problem.   

The MTR is a whole story in itself.  Asian people seem to have no concept of lines or order and just push and cut you off at any opportunity possible.   Unlike the US where people shy away from getting close to one another on public transport, HK residents squeeze onto each train  Being a foot taller than everyone around me has had its advantages in these situations. People are all at perfect elbow throwing level.  It’s quite strange being the tallest and whitest person on a train looking over 500 people down all the compartments.  However the MTR is extremely well air-conditioned and offers a pleasant escape from the constant humidity of Hong Kong. 

The first few days consisted of orientations and getting acquainted with the local area, people, university (City University of Hong Kong), and my matchbox of a room. <--(Since this room and closet set-up I have moved to a much roomier space). 

During these first few days before leaving for SE Asia, Hong Kong was hosting the equestrian events of the Beijing Olympics. Even though I have no real interest in any equestrian events I thought it was a necessary experience.  Anyways we went on the last night and lucky for us it was the dressage. This consisted of horses parading around performing timed trots and skips.  By far the worst of all the events we could of seen.  After an hour or so that even drinking couldn’t entertain, we decided to leave.