Wan Chai

The past couple of weeks have been full of many changes, and one of my favorite changes has been my location within Hong Kong. I'm now living much more centrally located in the Wan Chai neighborhood, in the heart of Hong Kong, which I've found to be incredibly convenient. It's about a 15 minute direct bus ride to get to work, which I can pick up right outside my street, and it's a 5 minute walk to the MTR (train) station, which was one of my biggest criteria in finding a new apartment.

Wan Chai is an interesting neighborhood with a bit of a reputation. It was originally considered the red-light district, and some remnants of that remain today, making rent a bit cheaper over here, even though it's still incredibly safe, especially for a large city. Mostly, it's just businesses and governement offices now, with some restaurants, bars, and stores thrown in the mix. However, I live on the opposite end of the district, close to the outdoor market, where I can buy my fresh produce (I avoid buying my meat here, as the thought of eating meat that's been hanging outdoors all day in the heat turns my stomach.) There's also a general outdoor market that sells fresh flowers, clothing, electronics, and odds and ends, sometimes more odd than anything. Apparently, I am living right around the corner from one of the best dumpling restaurants in Hong Kong, so when the typhoon passes, that's top on my list of places to visit.

Because of the typhoon today, I didn't have a chance to go out and take pictures of my new neighborhood, as I had intended. So, below, here are some curtousy of Google Images, and probably better than I could have done myself anyway.

the tram runs through the middle of Wan Chai, and all along the north side of the island, and one of the cheapest modes of transportation (about 25cents per ride) around here
the wet market, the cheapest and freshest way to buy your produce
a view of Wan Chai from the water. you can take a ferry from the Wan Chai harbor over to the Kowloon side of Hong Kong
the Wan Chai market, which sells just about everything you would never need

Hong Kong and the Olympics

Some pictures of "The Friendlies", the official mascot of the 2008 games, and some Olympic related sights around the city:

I'm home from work because of another Typhoon, canceling school once again. I've been quite busy moving into my apartment, starting a new job, getting set up again, etc.

I haven't had much of a chance to watch the Olympics this year, even though that's all I seem to hear about. Hong Kong has embraced the spirit of the games (several months before now, actually), and people are showing great pride in having China host the games. All of the equestrian events are being held in Hong Kong, as horseracing is a huge sport here. So, I've seen some Olympic athletes and media people wandering around. Tourism is at an all time high as well, especially before the games started. The other major influence has been on the climate and air quality. Many factories in China have shut down in these couple of weeks, and the air has never been cleaner here. I've been able to see much farther and breathe in much cleaner air than usual! I'm curious to see the reaction once the factories are up and running again.

typhooned

I had the day off today, thanks to a typhoon. When it gets up to a level 8, and the Hong Kong observatory "hoists the typhoon 8 signal" (as it is written everywhere), the city pretty much shuts down. I think in my two years here, this is the second or third typhoon I've experienced. I got a call this morning telling me that the day's activities were canceled. However, an hour later, my window was a little loose and flew open, allowing piles of water to come in. I had to call downstairs for the security guard to come up because I wasn't strong enough to close the window myself with all of the wind blowing up here on the 19th floor!