Back online, back to origins

Hello,

Some people got into complaining my decision of not posting here anymore. Well, with those complaints taken into account, I thought I'll do a compromise. I'll copy/paste here my posts from "You don't know China", and perhaps I'll post here my more personal stuff that don't really fit the framework of a united blog of friends.

Anyways. I moved on. I've moved to a new apartment. I quit my old job and have a new one now. And with old job gone, so was the old apartment (which was arranged by the old company).

The new apartment is in a village area of Hong Kong called Kam Tin (it’s under Yuen Long district). It’s a very, very traditional style area in Hong Kong and if you’re thinking skyscrapers or high-rise apartments, you can stop right there. There’s nothing here that is taller than 10 meters. And I live in ground floor – not 48th like before.

Outside we got dirt, bugs, smells and all the fancy things that make a place authentic and real. Inside, so far, I’ve killed a few ants, one small cockroach, a spider and things I’m not even sure what they were. My building is inside a wall of other buildings with distances from 1 to 4 feet of each others. Building next doors is over 100 years old. My main view in all windows is a brick wall.

I fully-heartedly enjoy this place, however. It’s something completely different, again, from anything I’ve experienced so far. The lifestyle is very different, the people are very different and the whole structure of life here is very different. When you think of Hong Kong you think of skyscrapers, shopping malls and modern big city life. When you think of Kam Tin, you think different.

So, why I moved to Kam Tin?.. The price. My apartment is HKD 2,600 a month which is C-H-E-A-P in Hong Kong standards. Later, once I have more savings I may move out, perhaps. Let's see how it goes. Anyway, I haven’t had the chance to take many pictures yet but I will. I was going to today, but we got a nasty rain until now and I didn’t feel like getting wet – again.

In the last two days I’ve gone out four times. Three times I got surprised by rain without me having an umbrella. Fourth time I went out and had an umbrella. It stopped raining after a minute. It’s not an easy life. Also, there was a T8 typhoon warning yesterday, I went shopping for some additional cabinets for my new apartment (the second time I was out). While I was walking outside the wind threw a speck into my eye and it hurt. Typhoons are a serious matter!!

To drag this post once more off-topic, let it be noted that the younger generation of my girlfriend’s extended family now refer to me as 哈囉哥哥 (haalougogo) which basically means Hello Brother (older brother) which I assume is because the only thing I say at family gatherings is “hello” to everyone, as I come in. And then I sit mute until the rest of the evening. Nice.

Anyway, off now. With my current and changed life-situation I’m sure I’ll be posting more, and I’ll be having more to post about too.

Tchau.