Herewith a few photos of our time in Hong Kong, 17 - 24 July 2015.
I had an hour or two to spare, so did this post. I could never dream of doing that in Qingdao. Using foreign sites on a computer in China is fickle. Google (and related apps such as gmail and Blogger) and other sites such as Facebook are blocked or at least disrupted. If you manage to get on (using a VPN) you are never sure how long the connection will last.
It is such a relief to be here in Hong Kong where everything works ... one doesn't realise the tension of living with these kinds of restrictions ... we are so dependent on computers and the internet and Google these days.
Hong Kong is a marvellous city; always fun to visit. We are lucky that Andrew and Caroline live on the border of Happy Valley and Causeway Bay - a great, central location on HK Island.
The streets are always busy - Causeway Bay is as crowded at midnight as at midday. Good subway system; easy and cheap to get around. We took Eddie on one of the old trams yesterday - took about an hour to go to Central and back (for a total cost of $0.80 each!). They are rattly old contraptions, but good fun and move a lot of people.
It is good to observe young Hongkongers - they look fit and healthy, well-dressed and smart; not many overweight or shabby people here.
Like Shanghai, HK is a 'vertical city' - people live, work and shop in high-rise buildings. For example, the extensive Toys-R-Us store in Causeway Bay occupies the 7th floor of a large commercial and office building. In contrast, the vast IKEA store occupies two underground levels.
Andrew and Caroline's son, Little Eddie, is now 16 months old. A delight. Keeps everyone on their toes.
The weather was clear for the first two days, and then the rain started ... and continued for the next 5 days. Not the best for sight-seeing and doing stuff. Still, it meant we spent more time with Little Eddie.
Reddie - the new way to buy your very own, customised furniture
The big event during our visit was the public launch of Caroline's online furniture business on 20 July 2015.
Check it out at www.reddie.co click HERE
Very exciting to see a new business venture being created. It has taken an enormous amount of effort over the last 12 months or so. Caroline is one gutsy woman, and smart and creative. Let's hope it's successful.
For the first few months Caroline is limiting delivery to Hong Kong, and when everything is working smoothly she will extend to other countries.
Congratulations, Caz. Well done!
Here are some photos of our time in Hong Kong.
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| Vera with Little Eddie, our youngest grandson. |
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| Our first morning in Hong Kong was bright and clear so we all went to South Bay, an attractive beach not far from Stanley. The water was clean and safe (shark net) - nice for swimming - Hong Kong is full of little gems like this, where you can easily escape the city. |
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| After lunch at South Bay, Andrew & Caroline took Eddie home for his nap, and Vera & I visited Stanley. The old Stanley markets are still there, and still popular. It's amazing: the alleys are so narrow and crowded, but that's what makes the place so appealing I guess. Stanley now has a plaza with McDonalds and other fast food joints, and there is a nice coastal walk. We took the bus back to Causeway Bay - a fun ride. |
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| The Indo Market shop in Causeway Bay is always crowded with Indonesians. Most of the maids in HK used to come from The Philippines, but lots of Indonesians there too now. |
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| The Sunday scene outside the Indo Market shop in Causeway Bay. Hong Kong has many domestic workers from Indonesia and they all congregate with their friends on a Sunday. It's quite an amazing sight to see all these women dressed in their "Sunday best" (Moslem) gear - close your eyes an you would think it was a bazaar in Indonesia! |
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| Vera and Eddie enjoying the "ball pit" in one of the children's play rooms in the Hong Kong Football Club. |
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| Caroline has started an online furniture business www.reddie.co - very exciting - here are Andrew and Caroline making the first deliveries. |
We got a shock on the HK subway the other day - saw a teenage boy reading a book; I mean a real paper book. Everyone is wedded to smart phones these days, so seeing a paper book just seemed quite strange.
Actually, it's remarkable how young people can walk and check their phones at the same time. That is certainly a problem on our campus, and we also noticed it on the streets of Shanghai. It was interesting to note that there are signs in the Hong Kong subway telling people to put their phones away when they are moving around.
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| Sign in Hong Kong MTR |
Last semester I made it a rule, at the beginning of each class, that all students had to turn their phones off. "Not silent - power off". They complied, reluctantly.
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We fly to Brisbane tonight; will return to Qingdao on 3 September for the start of the 2015-16 academic year.
I doubt I'll get around to doing a post while we are in Australia, so the next one will probably be in September.
Keep well, and keep smiling.
Alex and Vera Olah (aka The Intrepid Duo)
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Friday, 24 July 2015 (about to depart Hong Kong)
