MY FIRST... FIRE ALARM

Everyday for me is full of firsts. My first subway ride to work, my first trip to the grocery store, my first international cell phone number, my first friend. Tonight I experienced my first fire alarm.

I was laying in bed catching up on some work when suddenly the fire alarm goes off. Typical me, rather than quickly grabbing my most important belongings and running down the fire escape, I waited a couple of minutes to see if it was a false alarm. I have become quite lazy when it comes to my personal safety. The fire alarm didn't stop ringing after a couple of minutes, so I put on my shoes and my jacket and grabbed my cell phone. As I approached the door to the fire escape, the alarm went off. So I headed back to my apartment, took off my jacket and shoes and went back to bed.

As soon as I got into bed, I heard several fire trucks outside. To be safe, I decided to go downstairs. Since the alarm was off, I figured it was safe to use the elevator. WRONG! As soon the elevator opened on the ground floor, I was greeted by 10 firemen who looked at me like I was crazy. I guess the procedure where the fireman turns off the alarm once it's okay to return to your apartment is a US practice, not a Hong Kong practice. Here (or at least in my building), they sound the alarm for a period of time to let tenants know that they should exit the building.

Long story short, there was a small fire on the 2nd floor of our apartment building. No one was injured and I am back in my cozy bed posting this blog.

I re-learned a couple of important safety procedures tonight. For now on, I will not take an elevator when a fire alarm has sounded or shortly thereafter. I also now know that an alarm that has been turned off in Hong Kong doesn't mean it's safe to return to your abode.

OUR FIRST TRIP - PHUKET

The Chinese New Year holiday occurred the week after we arrived in Hong Kong. Everyone has a public holiday Monday - Wednesday, so the city literally shuts down as most people travel back home to spend time with their families or vacation nearby. My husband (we'll call him M) and I took this opportunity to take a short vacation to Phuket, Thailand. This was a very last minute trip. The trip was booked on Tuesday and we left on Friday morning.

There were a couple of hiccups along the way.
1) Our air shipment with all of our summer clothes was inadvertently sent to Dublin, Ireland and was not scheduled to arrive until we returned from Phuket. I tried to find a bathing suit and cover up in Hong Kong but had no luck. Clearly the resort wear season is not big here. This meant we had to make do with the winter clothes we packed for our Christmas holiday in New York and Chicago.

2) The US government issued a travel warning to Thailand due to the threat of terrorists targeting westerners in Bangkok. We thought about cancelling our trip and going somewhere else. But our friends reassured us that we were okay since we were flying straight to Phuket (versus traveling through Bangkok) and the warnings were for Bangkok (not Phuket). I guess we will be confronted with these types of warnings all of the time over here. Although we feel very safe in China - I guess it's the one place everyone is trying to befriend.

We left Hong Kong early Friday morning and were in sunny Phuket by noon. Our first stop was lunch followed by bathing suit shopping, which was a success! That evening we experienced our first Thai meal in Thailand. We enjoyed tom yum goong soup, a delicious banana salad and shrimp pad thai. On our walk back to our hotel room, we saw two banyan trees lit up with red lanterns for Chinese New Year!

Saturday morning started early. We were scheduled to take a day-long boat tour of Phang Nga Bay, which is famous for the limestone mountains. The day included sea kayaking, cave walking and a visit to James Bond Island. We also enjoyed lunch at a Muslim sea village built entirely on stilts above the water. Below are some of our favorite pictures.

Our view of the limestone mountains from the boat. They reminded us of the floating islands in Avatar.

The view from our kayak as we were exiting a cave

We had to get low to get through the caves

Stalactites

The sea village where we ate lunch

James Bond Island

Beautiful scenery

We hiked through a cave to a beautiful lagoon

The mud on my legs is from the quick sand in the lagoon

Last beach stop before we headed back to our hotel

We met some interesting people on our boat trip. One couple was from Dallas who were on a 6 week trip around the world... and they each were only carrying 1 carry-on! Talk about efficient packers! Another couple was from Mexico but had spent the last 10 years living in Chicago, Germany and Shanghai. They had also raised 2 children while living abroad. Boy did we have a lot of questions for them! We got their contact information and hope to visit them when we go to Shanghai.

That night we had dinner at a Siam Supper Club in Cherng Talay (an area of Phuket close to our hotel). The food was good, but we wished we had picked a more traditional Thai restaurant. I was exhausted from the day filled with activities and sun and nearly fell asleep in my entree.

Sunday was a relaxing beach day. We had a wonderful thai lunch right on the beach and had our first mangosteen! The most delicious fruit!

Mangosteens and pad thai!

My view for the day

That evening we enjoyed the ultimate highlight of our trip - The Phuket sunset! It was incredible.

For dinner we celebrated Chinese New Year at our hotel filled with Chinese food, dragons, drums, lai see and lanterns!

Watching our lantern fly away

We took another boat tour on Monday - this time to the Phi Phi islands. We spent most of the day snorkeling and swimming at different islands. We also had a delicious picnic lunch on the beach. While our pictures don't show it, there were a lot of tourists going to the same attractions. Tons of Chinese and Russians all around.

That evening we had dinner in the Patong area at a Thai restaurant. This area is known as the clubbing area of the island although we didn't partake in the fun. Too exhausted from the long day of activities.

Our last day was a half day. We quickly ate breakfast and headed to the beach (on our bikes) for a couple more hours of sunshine.

If you are planning to travel to Phuket, here are some little tidbits from our experience.

The things we loved...

• Phang Nga Bay - It's touristy, but the limestone mountains are worth it. We recommend Laguna Phuket Boat Tours
  
• Phuket sunsets
• Thai massages
• Banyan Tree Saffron restaurant - best Thai food we tried all weekend
• Mangosteens - Amazing fruit
• Our non-stop flight from HKG

The things we would have reconsidered...

• Our hotel choice: We stayed at the Banyan Tree Hotel, which was lovely and had easy access to the beach. Unfortunately, there were no views of the beach from the hotel rooms or dining areas.
• Siam Supper Club Restaurant: Rated #1 on tripadvisor. Good European restaurant with great atmosphere. However, we should have stuck to Thai food only. When in Rome...
• Baan Rim Pa Restaurant: Amazing views of the ocean, very mediocre Thai food.

CHINESE NEW YEAR: LAI SEE 101

Chinese New Year is one of the most important traditional holidays in China. We arrived just 1 week before the Chinese New Year holiday began, which includes 3 days off during the week so that people can travel home to see their families (or in our case - take a vacation). The festival begins on the 1st day of the 1st month of the lunar calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day. Being new to this tradition, I spent an hour or so researching the lai see (red envelope) etiquette on the internet as I did not want to offend my family and colleagues. Here's what I learned.

Who receives the red envelopes?
Traditionally, during the Chinese New Year celebrations, red envelopes (lai see) are given from married couples to unmarried juniors. However, many people hand out red envelopes to those that support them during the year. This can include an office admin, support staff at work, dog walker, doorman, etc. Some people give out red envelopes to their elders and bosses if they are not married. We even gave lai see to our great uncle and great aunt who invited us to their home for CNY. Since so many people can receive lai see during the CNY holiday, it's best to always have some "extra" packets on hand in case of emergency:)

Where can you get red envelopes?
You can pick up the red envelopes at nearly any bank in Hong Kong. You can also purchase the red envelopes in many markets throughout the city. These tend to be more decorative and quite beautiful.

What is the right amount to give?
This is the trickiest question to answer, since it can vary by person from a couple of dollars to several hundred dollars. In most instances, HK$10 - $20 is appropriate. I gave more to my colleagues and my unmarried cousins. You should try to carry around extra HK$10, $20, $50 and $100 bills during the CNY holiday in case you run into someone you need to give lai see to.

The amount given should always be in even numbers. Odd numbers are associated with amounts given out during funerals. Odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit, rather than the last. 8 and 6 are considered lucky numbers. 4 is considered an unlucky number since in Catonese the pronounciation sounds like "die". It would be very inappropriate to give someone $4, $40 or $400, etc.

Coins should never be given. Try to use a single, crisp bank note if you can. Before the CNY holiday, you will see many people lined up at the banks to get new crisp notes.


How do you hand out the lai see packets?
You should use both hands when giving out a packet. You should wish the receiver a happy CNY ("Gong Hei Fat Choi").  You also exchange blessings at this time.

If a married couple hands out lai see together, 2 packets should be given (1 from each partner).

Are there any other gifts I should pass out during this time?
If friends or relatives invite you to their home for CNY, it is custom to bring gifts like cakes, fruit, chocolate or candy.

Tangerine trees decorate most buildings and streets during Chinese New Year. The tangerines symbolize gold, which represents abundance and good fortune.

HOME SWEET HOME IN SOHO

We are currently living in corporate housing in Soho, not far from the Mid-Levels escalator, which is the largest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. If you haven't been to Hong Kong, it's an extremely hilly city. The escalator is a key mode of transportation from the top of the hill to the MTR in Central. In the mornings the escalator is programmed to go downhill and in the evenings it goes uphill. Living by the escalator is very convenient, but it comes at a cost. The closer you live to the escalator, the higher your rent will most likely be.

Our Soho neighborhood is an ideal mix of old world Asia and modern conveniences. It's surreal to walk down a narrow street filled with vendors selling fruits and lanterns to be confronted with a shiny, new highrise just around the corner. The Soho/Mid-Levels area has a large expat community. Here you will find a healthy mix of western and local restaurants, which has made the transition from NYC a little easier. We can stop by a noodle shop for lunch and dine in a french restaurant for dinner.

Our full serviced apartment has been such a blessing as we get acquainted with our new surroundings. We don't have to worry about buying furniture and household items right away. Our internet and phone line was already set-up when we moved in and the building comes fully equipped with a gym! This has provided us some comfort as we search for a permanent apartment rental over the next couple of months. If you can, I highly recommend moving into a full serviced apartment for a short period of time when moving to a city abroad. It has definitely made our experience less overwhelming.

Below is a peek into our apartment.

PHOTO COLLAGE: LAST MONTH STATE SIDE

We enjoyed one more holiday stroll down 5th Ave to Rockefeller Center

And a trip to Chicago to see my family. My mom went all out with the Christmas decorations.

Her lights were inspired by Felix Gonzalez-Torres

We indulged in our favorite comfort food - grilled cheese and tomato soup

And rang in the new year with family and friends

We rooted for our favorite hockey team - Go Squirrels

Back in New York, we savored all of our favorite indulgences - red velvet cupcakes from Buttercup

And almond croissants from Tartine

We soaked in one last view of Madison Square Park in the morning

And one last lobster roll at our beloved Mary's Fish Camp in the evening

The last month flew by - Before we knew it, we were off to Hong Kong

MOVERS AND STAGERS

Unbelievably, moving from New York to Hong Kong was far easier than moving from the West Village to the Lower East Side. We staged our apartment into three zones: items for storage, items for the air shipment and items for the sea shipment. The hardest decision was determining which items went into storage versus sent to Hong Kong. We questioned everything... from the little, neon green gnome I picked up in Geneva, Switzerland to the bedside tables. The gnome went to Hong Kong and the bedside tables went into storage.

The movers arrived early on a chilly December Friday morning and packed everything while I did my best to try to stay out of their way. They were pleased with our zoning method and were able to pack up our apartment faster than I had time to fill out the detailed insurance paperwork.

After the movers left, what remained were some items for the Salvation army, a couple of plants and lamps for our sister and three suitcases each (two large roller bags and one carry on). We were not leaving the States for another month so our suitcases contained warm clothes to get us through the cold winter days of December and January and Christmas presents for the family.

Most of our clothes for Hong Kong were packed away in the air shipment, which was scheduled to arrive just before us and our sea shipment was scheduled to arrive in mid-February.

I guess every move comes with some bumps along the way...

As our plane touched down in Hong Kong on the 13th of January, I immediately checked my email to see if we received any notes from our family. I was not expecting to see a note from our moving company. We had been in constant communication just days before our departure from the States. Our sea shipment had arrived and was scheduled to be delivered on January 14th.

In the email, they mentioned an error had occurred with our shipment. Somehow our shipment was mixed up with a shipment bound for Dublin, Ireland. Our goods were sent to Dublin and the Dublin shipment was sent to Hong Kong. Our items were now awaiting to clear customs in Dublin so they can be sent to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Chinese New Year is next week, and everything, including customs, shuts down for 10 days. It could be up to four weeks before we see our air shipment.

In the meantime, we are stuck with 6 suitcases filled with warm sweaters, thick corduroys, puffy jackets and one flashy gold-sequined holiday dress in a city where today's high is 66 degrees. Fingers crossed our shipment gets here soon!