Chris Twitchen

Fireworks, drinking in the street and hot pot

Chris Twitchen — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:12:21 +0000

Much like the first couple of days here I have been keeping myself very busy, that is when I’m not in bed sleeping away all the sociable hours. I just can’t seem to settle down to Hong Kong time, every day I seem to get an hour closer, so maybe by the end of the week I will be in sync with the locals.

I managed to get up before going to bed again to spend some time with my extended family who treated me to a lovely meal of Dim Sum, where I unwittingly tried some chickens feet, I only managed to take one photo before we left of the two youngest members of the family in their matching outfits. I am also very thankful to the family for giving me some red envelopes, a tradition at Chinese New Year where money is enclosed, the red symbolises good luck, which is good as I will be needing some of that when I get to Oz.

Yesterday after a couple of tip offs about the fireworks at Victoria Harbour I decided to head down and check them out, the weather was miserable and wet but I’m glad I managed to get myself out of bed for this one, just about. After leaving it a little late to get there and find a good spot I thought it was going to be like Mong Kok all over again with queues for miles, I wasnn’t far wrong, infact due to being a little late the police had stopped any more pedestrians entering the Avenue of Stars where I planned to get a good view. Undeterred I settled for second best, which on the plus side came with some shelter, unfortunately this shelter did obstruct my view a little but there is always the TV footage to catch the bits out of view, you can see a picture below:

After once seeing a firework show, or dreaming that I saw a fireworks show which used the Star Wars film score I am always slightly less impressed by the accompanying soundtrack for any firework display and this one was no different especially since the sheer amount of people packed in to watch them made it barely audible, as a visual spectacle though they are definitely some of best fireworks I’ve seen and you can’t really beat the backdrop of the famous Hong Kong skyline…I’ll be heading back there before the month is out to see the light show.

After that slightly nervously I headed to Lang Kwai Fong, this was my first public transport Fail, and hopefully my last, apparently Kwai Fong MTR station is not where you need to be for the popular nightlife hotspot, infact it is far from it. There’s a hot travellers tip for you right there, perhaps a bit of research might have prevented the error though, never mind.

Once back to Central It was actually just a short walk, or just a short stand I should say thanks to this cool escalator that runs up the hill, seemingly for miles. I read that it always goes up except for the morning rush hour when it goes down; I’m not so sure I’d want to experience that whilst everyone is scurrying to work.

I was nervous to go to Lan Kwai Fong as a friend from back home had gone to the trouble of introducing me to a friend of hers who lives in Hong Kong, After meeting her and her friend who came along too my nerves quickly disappeared as they were very welcoming and good company After what was quite an expensive drink, $56 or around £4.50 we decided to take a walk around. As it was Chinese New Year….still – they have the right idea on this one, the bars were a little quieter than normal I was told as everybody was at home with their families, but still the music could be heard blaring from the bars and into the streets, I should add drinking in the streets is socially acceptable, and much, much cheaper. In many ways Lan Kwai Fong felt a lot like being at home, with many a drunken westerner to be seen. I’ll no doubt be back at some point. I should also mention that the music scene left a lot to be desired from the brief bits I heard, those from back home, think O’malleys at 11pm on a Saturday Night. In fact if this blog was to have a soundtrack like the Allan Partridge Autobiography I’d be urging you to play track 1 Can’t fight the moonlight by Leanne Rhymes.

After a few cheeky beers on the street at a fifth of the price in the bars we headed to Central to try a nice dessert, unfortunately the place was closed so that one will be saved for another day, we then got a little lost following Google maps and headed back home in a taxi which was only about $100 so if I miss the MTR I am reasonably sure I can get myself back home, whilst not really knowing where we were going we managed to use the toilet in a hotel where the picture below was taken, I was told it would bring good fortune, although I am a bit dubious about the claim, I think maybe it is just the reoccurrence of the fear of looking like a tourist that is casting doubts in my mind.

After another late night and some much needed sleep I began the next day in the afternoon, Today I experienced my first Hot Pot, unfortunately there was no live shrimp to cook, this had been mentioned many times by friends who have already experinced it but it was good fun nonetheless and a nice way to eat, I am sure it would be a very sociable evening if it wasn’t for the language barrier, although once again I was made to feel very welcome. My chopsticks skills leave a lot to be desired so it was a little embarrassing when I gave it a go, I just can’t help that I lack in the dexterity department.

After Hot Pot I enjoyed some nice tea at a friends apartment, where her family, like all the people I have met so far were very welcoming and gave me some red envelopes and Chinese tea to take home.

It’s all still a bit of a whirlwind but so far so good and whatever happens from now untill the end of my stay I can remember some good times and have met some good people too

A Busy Start to Life in Hong Kong

Chris Twitchen — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:42:45 +0000

The last couple of days have been very busy! Yesterday when I arrived I was met at the airport by family, they were very helpful and showed me the bus route home, and introduced me to Carey my neighbour for the month who took me out and about in Mong Kok. As it was Chinese New Year it was extraordinarily busy I’m told, we quite literally queued for miles! They say nobody queues like the Brits but I can assure you that if colonial Rule taught the Chinese anything it was how to wait in line patiently.You can see a video of the market we queued for below, the vendors have the most forward approach to selling too, literally stood on the bamboo structures yelling and chanting about their wares. A little further a long is where I spent the Countdown to the New Year, due to the queuing and very little room it didn’t feel like much of a celebration, I’d imagine it was a similar experience to waiting in the queue outside for a club in the UK, in say Liverpool, because it is difficult to understand everyone there too, and hearing the countdown from outside. That said it was a very enjoyable night and good to meet Carey and her friends too.

Mong Kok Chinese New Year Market

After some much needed sleep I decided to take in some of Hong Kong on my own, since everybody has been spending time with their families as part of the New Year tradition. Before leaving I thought it would be cool to play football with people in Hong Kong and Australia and in any other country I get to visit before I head back to the UK. I haven’t managed this yet but I did get to do the next best thing and that was watch South China play against Shimuzu S Pulse in the Asian Challenge Cup Semi Final at the HK stadium, the ticket was 180HKD about £15 and considering Nottingham Forest have been charging £30 or there abouts back home I got more than my monies worth, the highlight was a cracking volley from one of the S Pulse players afters some football that Barcelona would be proud of, If I can find a video I’ll post it up but in the meantime here is a picture from the stands:

I really need to get better at photography, I blame the fact that I'm scared of looking like a tourist, although I think I should get used to that in HK

The first thing I noticed about the stadium was how well it seemed to flow design wise, with large wide ramps that lead up to the mid and upper tier stands with terraces behind the stands in open air, a much better design than the stadiums in the UK that are full to the brim undercover and stink or urine from the poorly maintained toilets….No not just Nottingham Forest!

After the game I had a look around Causeway bay, on foot, I’ll probably take the tram next time to see more but as I was on my own I decided just to wander about aimlessly for a while, all I can say was I wish I had more money, If all goes well in Oz I’m definitely heading back here for a weekend shopping trip, put off by everything I wanted but couldn’t afford I decided to check out Wan Chai, again just for a wonder as I didn’t fancy a late night, by the looks of things I’ll be spending one or two nights there in the coming month as it seems fairly lively although there maybe one or two too many clubs that are hidden behind a heavy black curtain with some experienced looking women attempting to lure people in for my liking. Tomorrow night I am heading for Lang Kwai Fong, a bit more upmarket I’ve been told, although that might dent the funds a bit, I will be sure to write down which bus and where to catch it before I head out I think, don’t worry mother.

Goodbye UK

Chris Twitchen — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:20:58 +0000

Sitting in the airport with a few hours to wait until the gate opens has made me realised how under prepared I am for this ‘trip’, I’ve managed to get here so early because even airports fill me with apprehension, I’ve never flown on my own before and have only ever flown 3 times, so I’m sitting here quietly confident that things are sorted, waiting for that anxiety to return again as I realise which gate I’ll have to dash for when it opens.

I’ve highlighted the word ‘trip’ in inverted commas, something that usually really winds me up although I think the fact that I don’t really know what to call this journey, move, trip etc sort of warrants there use.

To put this in context for those that don’t know me and probably for some that do, I’m heading to Hong Kong for a month and then on to Sydney, Australia for if I’m honest I don’t know how long. I have been planning the HK part of this trip for a little while, made possible by a family member who has kindly let me stay in her apartment for the duration of my stay there. The Australian leg of the journey hasn’t really been planned; the power of overdrafts and being lucky enough to have a £320 STA travel voucher afforded me the opportunity to be impulsive. Due to the HK trip I had decided that I would probably have to quit my job at the kart circuit I managed, this was done with a very heavy heart but deep down I knew I needed to ‘stop the rot’.

Armed with a degree in town planning, a Working Holiday Visa, and not really much else I’m hoping to start a bit of an adventure. This blog could go on for a few months or a few years all dependent on where £0 and the desire and work ethic to start a new life takes me.

For the record I’m serious about the £0 thing, by the time I land in Sydney I will probably have less than £0 in UK money so I really need to hit the ground running.

Leaving all my friends and family behind is starting to hit home, and I’d like to thank my family and friends for making such a massive effort for my farewell surprise party, it really has made me wonder ‘what am I doing?’ The answer to that though is challenging myself in a way that I haven’t done for a long while, leaving it all to impulse has definitely helped. If I had stopped for even a moment, laid everything out in front of me and made a decision based on whether or not this was financially viable or a reasonable risk to take I’d probably be presenting a drivers briefing before a karting event at this moment in time.