Behind the Scenes at Ocean Park

On Friday I joined the AWA for a behind the scenes tour of Ocean Park. Located on the south side of HK Island, Ocean Park is an aquarium, zoo and amusement park rolled into one.  Known for its large crowds of mainland Chinese visitors, many of my friends have avoided visiting Ocean Park. This b.t.s. tour was an awesome way to visit, granting us access to employee only areas, including the Ocean Park animal hospital, the dolphin training facilities and the lab where they breed their own jelly fish!

Our day started at 9:45 where we were met by Ocean Park’s Executive Director Zoological Operations and Education, Suzanne Gendron.  Suzanne spent the majority of the day with us, walking us through the big exhibits in the zoo and aquarium and pumping us full of facts about the species and the specific ways in which OP cares for them. It was some pretty amazing access.

Our first stop was the aquarium, where we saw hammerhead sharks, bluefin tuna, mackerel (all pictured below) along with turtles, rays, parrot fish, unicorn fish and more! The fish are fed thawed frozen fish multiple times a day. To ensure that the sharks are happy and full (and avoid any tank disasters!) they are hand-fed 3 times a day. 

Next stop: pandas! There are two pandas at Ocean Park and they are kept happy by the park's home grown bamboo. OP grows 3 types of bamboo to ensure that they are able to offer the panda's a variety in their diet! This guy was taking a nap in the shade and pooping simultaneously.  Nice life!

Then the penguins! The penguin exhibit isn't up and running yet but our guide was able to bring us to the area where they are housing them until the exhibit is ready. Pictured at left is our group entering the employee only penguin area through a back alley. We peered through a small window to check out the penguins, who were busy swimming and waddling around. 

After a lunch break, we took a train to the other side of the park (you can also take a cable car, seen below). On the other side we saw the rainforest exhibit, where the below kinkajou (also known as a honey bear) was showing off his tricks and the two-toed sloth (above) very slowly made his way across the branches.

....And then the vet hospital where they even preform surgeries on fish! To do a fish surgery, they put the fish on a sponge and use a device that pours waters over the gills of the fish only. Next to the animal hospital are the indoor pools for dolphins. This is used for dolphins that need special attention - pregnant, newborns, sick etc.

And our final stop of the day was a lab where they are breeding jellyfish for the Sea Jelly Spectacular. To the left, one of our guides explains the process and stages of the jellyfish life cycle.  Jellyfish are kept in round tanks, otherwise they would get caught in the corners of a square tank. Notice how small they are behind her  and then how large they can become (right)!  

After the lab we checked out the show, where the tanks were adorned with colored lights and jellyfish danced to a concerto playing throughout the exhibit. 

Sadly, my day was cut short at 5pm when a crazy rain storm caused the roller coasters to shut down for the day! Clearly I'll need to make a second trip back to Ocean Park to check out the rides!

Happy Times/Happy Valley

Every Wednesday night crowds from Hong Kong leave their regular watering holes for a night at the races. Last night I made my first trip to The Happy Valley Racecourse, where I met a few girlfriends for a night of horses, cocktails and some light gambling!

My first ever bet!

The basic admission is HK$10 and provides you with standing room only at the track level. If you feel like splurging, there are seats available for HK$20 and up. Of course, standing in crowds on the track level isn’t really ideal for actually viewing the races, but you can see the woosh of the horses go by and feel the pounding under your feet (which is actually pretty cool). And you’re closer to the beer stands….

We weren’t there too long before it started raining (side note: it has been raining off and on for the past 2 weeks here in HK). Despite the rain, the races went on and we took cover in the stadium’s seating area. Sadly, because of the rain, I wasn’t able to get the really cool, close up horse photos I dreamed of getting – but maybe next time.

I placed my first bet (HK$20, big spender!) for race number 8 on horse 3, Super Marshal.  Sadly, Super Marshal came in 10th place. But hey, there’s always next week!

Despite the rain, crowds cheered for the passing horses.

Now Taking Your Travel Suggestions!

After a fun Hong Kong weekend of brunch, booze and bbq's, this week has been about job searching and apartment searching. Normal life stuff snore!

So, in the meantime, I'm daydreaming about all of the fun places we will travel to. I'm taking suggestions for our first long weekend getaway. Somewhere we could scoot off to for two or three days. Bangkok? Beijing? Bali? Anyone out there have ideas?

Other things on my to do list: sign up for Cantonese classes, sign up for Padi dive certification classes, and sign up for cooking classes.

Unemployment is sounding better and better, isn't it?

Island Hopping: Lamma Island Day Trip

A cloudy day at Lamma beach.

Yesterday was my 2^nd Foon Ying trip with my AWA group. (Click here to read about the first).

Although it has been quite rainy this week, we took our chances and headed to one of Hong Kong’s many outlying islands, Lamma. Hong Kong is comprised of more than 230 islands – which means I have a lot of exploring to do!

Like most of the outlying islands, Lamma is accessible by a quick ferry ride. Though the island used to be one of HK’s many fishing villages, today it’s known for its relaxed and bohemian lifestyle. There are no cars allowed on this island, only bikes and golf carts. It’s also known as  a paradise for hippie expats - some of who arrived in the late sixties and haven’t left since! Or, judging by the looks of it, haven’t trimmed their beards or washed their hair since either! Walking around Lamma reminded me of walking around the Caribbean. There were dogs running around everywhere, overgrown greenery, and the chime of bike bells signaling to foot traffic ahead.

Our quick tour of the island included the Tin Hau Temple, the local beach (a nice spot facing Lamma Island’s power plant), a gorgeous organic garden sprouting flowers, herbs, veggies and more, the local shops and finally a seafood lunch.

There’s more to explore on Lamma (hiking, biking, a wind power station!) and the island definitely warrants another trip back! Hopefully in sunnier weather. 

Echinacea growing in a toilet. Damn hippes!

Prawns in toasted garlic + dried chili sauce.

Scallops served in the shell with minced sauteed garclic and glass noodles. This will be one of the first dishes I attempt to make.

Members Only: Private Kitchens

Private kitchens in Hong Kong are very popular and offer a fun and tasty alternative to commercial restaurants. Private kitchens, or speakeasies, are essentially small restaurants run out of a residential space. Originally private kitchens were underground and unlicensed and served as a way to avoid the high costs and high rent of opening a commercial restaurant. Today, many private kitchens operate with a club license, which allows them to serve "members only." From what I can tell, private kitchen dinners range from formal meals to exotic and cutting edge culinary feasts to your mom and pop traditional cooking.  Generally advertised only by word of mouth, the kitchens do not have storefronts or signage so you really have to know where you're going to get there! 

We recently enjoyed a big group dinner at a private kitchen in Wan Chai serving Thai food. The "restaurant" was on the second floor and about the size of a small square living room set up with a few tables and stools. No decor, no fuss, just good home cooking. We moved around the tables to squeeze 16 people to fit, wine was opened, beer was chilled and food was ordered. Before long our table was covered with plates of food: noodles, rice, papaya salad, pomelo salad, green curry, red curry, beef skewers, chicken wings, sautéed morning glory and more. I have no idea how they cooked so much food in the small space or where they kept any supplies! You might be able to tell from the photos, but I'm pretty sure this kitchen doesn't have a Viking hidden in there. But the food was amazing and the vibe was laid back and fun.  

Needless to say, we ate way too much food and enjoyed a bit too much wine. I'd say that's a successful Saturday night!

Our table, overrun with food and drinks! Instead of napkins there were rolls of toilet paper on the table. It only added to the charm of this relaxed dinner.

Scenes from a Tram

The tram is an awesome way to see the city. For $2.60 hkd (30 cents!) you can ride the double-decker tram along six different routes. With 163 tramcars, the HK tram is the world's largest fleet of double-decker trams in operation in the world. 

I spent an afternoon riding from Kennedy Town to Happy Valley. While the tram isn't the fastest mode of transportation, it was a great lazy way to sightsee. Here are a few pics from along the way:

 

A street corner near Kennedy Town

Pruning on the side of the road.

Yes. Those are fish drying on that construction site!

The Great Outdoors

It’s funny that when I opened my computer to write this blog post, NYMag (yes, they are still my homepage!) has an article entitled “The Upside-Down Travel Planner.” On the short list is “Hong Kong for Fresh Air.”

I’m not surprised that HK made the list. I think most people who have never been to Hong Kong (and I include my former self in that) don’t realize how much more there is to the city. We think skyscrapers and crowded, congested, streets. But there’s so much more to explore: beaches, mountains, deserted islands only reachable by boat. If you come to HK and only stay within the shelter of the big buildings, you would fail to even scratch the surface of life here.

So when we moved here and I learned how active people are, I too was surprised and thrilled to know that HK is a place where balancing the great outdoors with big city life is absolutely achievable. Hoorah!

On Saturday, Pat and I woke up to early hike Dragon’s Back in Shek-O Country Park. The park, which is on the southeastern side Hong Kong Island, is easily accessible by a bus or a 20-minute taxi ride.

While the hike usually boasts beautiful beach and city views, we had a pretty foggy day (which provided us with a bit of relief from the heat!). It was amazing to watch as the fog rolled over the lush green mountain tops and to smell the sweetness of honeysuckle – all just 20 minutes from our apartment.

Fog rolls in over Dragon's Back trail

After the hike, which took about an hour and a half, we headed toward Shek-O beach, where we cooled down in the water and chilled out. A few hours later, we grabbed a quick Vietnamese lunch in the small town and headed toward Big Wave Bay beach, another beach just a few minutes down the road.

Big Wave Bay is known as the best surfing on HK Island, although you never would have known it since the water looked like a lake. (Because of the twists and turns along the HK coastline and the mountainous terrain, the beaches are sheltered, causing the water to be pretty flat.) But the beach was awesome and even had a few small surf shops (which also doubled as restaurants) lining the walkway to the beach.

You can be sure we’ll spend the summer exploring more beaches and hikes and, who knows, maybe this will even be the year I learn to surf. 

Pat leads the way over the ridge. Despite how this photo looks, we did see other hikers....

Om.M.G. - Yoga for Dummies

Can we pause to talk about yoga?

My love for yoga started when I was around 9 or 10. My mom and her friends had a wonderful instructor come to our apartment in NYC and teach them. Since at the time I was a gymnast, yoga felt quite natural for me. I was bendy. And, by the way, I can still do a split, but that's another post for another time....

I've continued my yoga practice throughout the years and it has evolved as I have grown, filling different needs at different times (aerobic, spiritual, therapeutic). And I would consider myself able to keep up with most yoga classes in the states, perhaps omitting a few crazy arm balances here or there.

But today I took yoga at a local studio. This was not your New York yoga, friends. I was the youngest girl there and the only Westerner (clearly, this was not Pure Yoga). The women in my class were amazing and most of them were older - in their sixties, at least. (Are you sensing a trend with me and older women?).  They outstretched me, out warriorerd me - went deeper, longer, bendier, breathier -than I ever could. While I was sliding on my mat, they barely broke a sweat.  Oh yes, I will be going back tomorrow.

I love that I see older generations here doing Tai Chi in the park and stretching and dominating in yoga. And, clearly, they're on to something since Hong Kong tops charts at #8 in global life expectancy (US being number 50!).

I also love that the instructor referred to me as tall! At 5' 4 3/4" I have never, ever, been called tall! 

And to that, I say namaste.

Just Me and the Ladies

One of the first things that I did when I arrived was join the American Women’s Association (AWA). The group offers classes, happy hours, organized hikes, volunteer opportunities, social events and more. I know what you’re thinking, Junior League! Snore! But, it’s a great way to meet people and to have a network and outlet that I otherwise might not have.

Take yesterday, for instance. Yesterday was my Foon Ying group meeting. Foon Ying means welcome in Cantonese and the three-session course is offered once a month to anyone who is new.  There were four of us in the group (2 women from England, 2 of us from the US) and our leader, a New York native who has been in HK for 12 years. 

Okay, so I was the youngest by about 20 years, so what? We were all in the same boat: new to Hong Kong, don’t know many people, don’t know too much about the city. We met at 10am and exchanged intros, asked some general questions and learned some cultural basics.  Who knew the number 4 is unlucky in Hong Kong? You should never order 4 of something, give someone 40 dollars, or buy just 4 glasses. In Cantonese, the number 4 sounds like the word for death.

After our two-hour session, two of the women were meeting some fellow AWA members for lunch. Did I want to join? Sure! We had lunch. Me and seven women who were all about 20  to 30 years my senior.  There we were, women from all over the world who came to Hong Kong for all different reasons, lunching.

After lunch they were going to the Ladies Market. Did I want to join? Sure! Before I knew it I was traveling as part of a group of six, through the streets of Hong Kong Island, underground on the metro, through the crowds of Mong Kok, and then through a busy street market! At around 4:30, after hours of shopping, one round of coffee, a few bathroom breaks, and an exchange of contact info, it was finally time to part ways.

I came home giddy. All right, so it wasn’t quite the same as shopping with my girlfriends, but I had gone out of my comfort zone to accept invitations each step of the way. And what I found was that these women were smart, diverse, interesting and welcoming.  I think the women, who all have kids my age, liked taking me under their wing.  

And for a few hours, I didn’t mind being adopted by some moms, either. 

Touring Hong Kong

Before we got to Hong Kong, I expected that the first few weeks would feel like vacation and that somewhere down the line it would hit me that this was real life.

I may still be in that honeymoon period, but so far our time here has felt very normal. Many people keep asking “what have you seen, what have you done?” and while I’ve done a fair amount of sightseeing, one of the amazing things about this experience is there is no rush to see the entire city in four days like I may have done on a vacation.

So while we still have a lot to see and do in the city, here are a few things we have done:

The Peak Tram and the Peak:

We rode the tram up to Victoria Peak on our first day in Hong Kong. At 552 meters above sea level, the Peak is the tallest mountain on Hong Kong Island. While the weather was a bit overcast, it was a great way to understand the layout of the city. From the Peak you can see the north side of Hong Kong Island which includes Victoria Harbor, many of the residential areas, the downtown areas, financial centers and tall skyscrapers.  From the Peak you can also see parts of the south side of HK Island, which is home to stretches of sandy beaches.

While the city looked quite large and intimidating on my first day here, I’ve since learned that it’s incredibly manageable and walkable. The skyscrapers have acted as city markers for me throughout my weeks of wandering around. At any point, I can look up and locate some of the well-known buildings (the IFC towers, the HSBC building, the Bank of China) and understand where I am in the grid. 

The view from the Peak on a clear day (photo courtesy of thepeak.com.hk)

Hong Kong Park and Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens:

I guess Hong Kong Park would be the equivalent of Central Park. But it’s somehow totally different. First of all, parks here don’t have grassy knolls or playing fields. They have koi ponds and manmade waterfalls, walking paths, stretching areas for the elderly (literally, that is what they are called), and lots of species of trees, plants and flowers, all identified by signs. Hong Kong Park is 19 acres of just that in the Central district (downtown area). Inside the park there’s a conservatory, Tai Chi gardens, turtles, birds, exotic trees, and all around, you are surrounded by tall, shiny, skyscrapers.

The Zoological and Botanical Gardens is just a few blocks away. Also tucked into the hustle and bustle of the city, the gardens house more than 1,000 species of plants, 600 birds, 70 mammals and 40 reptiles. I’ve loved going to visit the monkeys and orangutans here. And what’s even better, this entire park is free to the public.

One thing I have noticed is how much Hong Kong seems to value parks. I find them tucked into alleys and behind big buildings all over the city. I love waking up in the morning to look outside our window, which overlooks a park, and see a handful of locals practicing their tai chi. And this happens at every park I walk through, no matter what the time of day. The parks are never empty. There are always people sitting on benches enjoying their lunch or a book. It seems that people really make time here to sit and breathe. I could get used to that!



                     

From left: The Lippo Buildings stand tall above Hong Kong Park; a manmade waterfall;  turtles take time to sunbathe.

Stanley:

We took a taxi to the south side of HK Island to a beach town called Stanley. It’s amazing that after just a 20 minute taxi ride we were sitting on the beach.  This side of the island boasts very different views than the north side. Looking out onto the water here, you see endless water, small islands, and there’s no sign of chaotic city streets.

But alas, even in Stanley, there is some chaos. Stanley is famous for its big market where you can buy all sorts of random stuff: electronics, clothes, art, jewelry, you name it.

We walked through there just for fun, but mostly we just sat outside soaking up the sun. 

Sai Kung Town, The New Territories:

Last night we enjoyed a traditional Chinese seafood dinner in Sai Kung Town. This area was a lot of fun and very picturesque. While last night’s weather was a bit wet and dreary, the scenery was gorgeous, green mountains to one side, beachfront and islands to the other.

The picturesque waterfront at Sai Kung Town.

Dragon boats sit idle.

Along the promenade near the pier were small docked boats selling fish. People were crowding around to pick their dinner. You could even bring this fish to a nearby restaurant for the chef to prepare.

We opted to get our fish at the restaurant, which was an experience. The restaurants here have huge tanks of seafood and fish and you literally have to go buy your dinner at the tank.  I’ve never seen such huge grouper, crabs, scallops and squid. It was wild.

And then…it was delicious! (Sorry little fishies.)

  


Clockwise from top left: crowds line up to buy fresh fish straight from the boats; seafood tanks at the restaurants where you choose your own dinner; gigantic grouper; clams in a chili and garlic sauce;  cuttlefish fill the tanks.






Man Mo Temple:

The temple was built in 1848 and while it has gone through many rebuilds, much of the original structure remains intact.  The temple was originally dedicated to two gods: Man Cheong, the God of Literature and Mo (which refers to Kwan Yu) the God of War.  While Man Mo Temple is a tourist destination, you still see many locals praying and leaving offerings inside. 

Candles and offerings of flowers and oranges at the Man Mo Temple; Burning coils of incense hang from the temple's ceiling. 

New Home, New Traditions

Last September, I blogged about starting my own traditions for the Jewish holidays. I clearly had no idea that come Passover I would find myself in Hong Kong, faced with the task of finding my own way to celebrate.

But here I am, seven months later, 8.048 miles (but who’s counting) from my mom’s matzo ball soup.

Thankfully, our new friends invited us to join them at the United Jewish Congregation’s Passover Seder. The Seder was held at the Aberdeen Yacht Club on the south side of Hong Kong Island and was attended by about 200 people. It was amazing to see such a diverse group of participants: 200 people from all over the world, some Jewish, some not, coming together to celebrate Passover. But I guess that’s Hong Kong for you – a complete melting pot.

As if to really drive this point home, after the children sang the four questions in Hebrew, the rabbi invited anyone who spoke a foreign language to ask the first question in their native tongue. An astounding sixteen languages were recited: Hebrew, English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Hungarian, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Finnish, and Yiddish.  Talk about an international Seder!

So why was last night different from all other nights? For the first time since I can remember, I was without my family for the holidays. While I missed everyone and our quirky Passover traditions (my dad’s weird jokes, my mom’s funny Passover songs), I was inspired by the diversity at last night's table, the new traditions that were introduced to me, and the community that welcomed us!

Wishing you all a happy Passover and Easter! 

We're Live from Hong Kong

Today marks two weeks in Hong Kong and it seems like a good time to get this blog going for our friends and family. 

Two weeks. In a way, it feels like we have lived here our whole lives.  Hong Kong is comfortable, easy and inviting. How many cities can you say that about? 

And in so many ways, it’s all so new. A new language, new customs. Street names I can’t pronounce, foods I can’t identify, and yet somehow, despite all of this, in just two weeks it feels like home.

I can’t yet pinpoint what makes Hong Kong feel so magical. In fact, a lot of the city that I walk through every day looks rather unremarkable, is incredibly congested, or just smells like weird dried fish parts. But, undeniably, there’s something here that’s special, fish parts and all….

I hope you'll keep up with us as we settle into our new lives here and continue to explore Hong Kong and beyond.