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I have yet to find a taxi in Hong Kong that doesn't smell bad. The most common smell is taxi driver body odor, followed by previous passenger body odor, driver flatulence, food odors, and mystery smells. Today's ride home involved a mystery smell, something vaguely resembling (but less pleasant than) new tires. Mmmm.
Have I mentioned that it's typhoon season in Asia? Apparently September is especially prone to typhoons, resulted in heavy winds and rains frequently during the month.
Given that, I guess it should have been no surprise that it rained most of last weekend while Laura and I were in Phuket, in southern Thailand. Naturally we were bummed that we didn't get to spend any time on the beach or by the pool. 
Thankfully though, we had merged our hotel points & dollars to get a suite that was totally fabulous (see left photo), and we spent a good chunk of our time getting treatments at the hotel's beautiful spa (see right photo).
This weekend, back in Hong Kong, there's been a Level 3 typhoon warning, which means that a typhoon is centered within 800 km of Hong Kong. In this case, it's currently about 300 km southwest (moving away now), and since yesterday evening we've had fits of rain that puts Oregon to shame.
As such, I'm glad I got out of the house yesterday, because today you couldn't have dragged me outside. Yesterday I did my part to support the local economy (i.e. shopping), got a foot massage, and met up with another ex-pat (Andrew) for a beer at the Dublin Jack pub near my house. We ended up watching an Australian Rugby League game, which was actually pretty entertaining.
More entertaining though was Thursday evening, which started with drinks at a cool little wine bar with Faith (from our HK PR agency), then dinner (joined by co-worker Stephanie and former Intel-ite Mark). We then met up with Peter (Steph's boyfriend) and headed to a big MTV party a couple blocks from my place. Here's a photo from when we briefly stopped at my place after dinner.
Speaking of my place, here are a few shots of my new apartment. It's in a great location right in the heart of Central (HK's equivalent of downtown), within walking distance of pretty much everything I could want or need. I was also delighted to find out that if I leave my dishes in the sink, the maid cleans them. I could definitely get used to that!
What I don't think I'll ever get used to is the smells on my street. I happen to live amidst one of the local street markets, which means every day I walk past big buckets of smelly roots, live fish, hanging raw meat, or any other number of "stimulating" scents. I continue to be amazed at how east and west have merged (or in some cases haven't) in Hong Kong.
I'm settling into my new apartment in Hong Kong now, and feeling a bit homesick. No time for a lengthy blog entry tonight, but I'll post more later on my new home and the weekend in Phuket. 
In the meantime, here are a couple shots I took on my way to the grocery store tonight.
It's been a busy week in Bangkok, and it culminated last night with me spending the evening in bed with my co-workers Laura and Barry. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself…
The face-to-face with the Asia-Pacific (APAC) PR team this week was great, especially since it let me put faces with names for all the different people I'll be working with over the next few months. It was also fun because my U.S. boss (and soon-to-be APAC boss), Mark, showed up too.
It was kind of strange being in Thailand for the first time, but being cocooned in a fancy hotel, private cars, taxis, fancy restaurants, and so forth. For the first couple days, I could have been in New York for all I knew. Especially when we had drinks at the Banyan Tree hotel, at the open-air bar at the top of the 65-floor hotel. The views of Bangkok were stunning, and everything (and everyone) was just oh-so-glamorous. Next we had dinner at an Italian restaurant that rivals some of the best back home - I had trouble convincing Toto we were still in Bangkok at that point.
Laura and I both took Friday off, so that was our first chance to venture out into the real world. We started with a river "tour" in a water taxi - I say "tour" because the boat driver was way at the back of the boat where we couldn't talk to him, not that we would have tried anyway, since he didn't speak any English.
The river tour was interesting, but also saddening - we saw beautiful homes and palaces right next door to corrugated metal shacks where people lived in squalid conditions. As the canals narrowed, Laura and I joked that perhaps we were being taken off to a life of slavery in a whorehouse - and we weren't sure which would be worse, that or the health risks of jumping in the putrid river water to get away.
The boat let us off near the royal palace, which I had hoped to photograph from the outside (we wouldn't have been allowed in with our open-toed shoes and sleeveless shirts). But alas, there was no photo to be had, what with the high palace walls. And even worse, as we hunted for a photo opp we were accosted at every step by men trying to sell us tours, tuk-tuk tours and ridiculously overpriced taxi rides. By the time we finally found a novice taxi driver to take us back to our hotel at the standard meter rate, we were emotionally drained.
Thankfully, there's no amount of stress that can't be overcome with some time by the pool, followed by purse shopping. The hotel pool was lovely, minus the traffic noise and the odd couple of minutes when we could have sworn a pack of wolves were outside the hotel… but I suppose if I'm being realistic, it was just a LOT of dogs barking for some inexplicable reason.
The purse shopping was great - we went to a local handicraft market and found this adorable little shopkeeper who could sell you a bridge in Brooklyn if you're interested. When we'd ask a price, she'd look around furtively, lean in close, and dramatically whisper the price to you, as if giving you a deal so great she couldn't let anyone else hear it. Mind you, no one else was around, but still, it was adorable.
Our day off culminated in dinner last night with our co-worker Barry at the Bed Supper Club. Talk about trendy - the restaurant is white on white on white, with even the staff wearing all white, and the room in lined on both sides (and two floors) with room-long beds. 
Dinner patrons take off their shoes and crawl into bed, where they are served a four-course, pre-fix meal. The food was great, and I felt too cool for school. I could have done without the magician and dancing girl performances, but the roving masseuse was a big hit in my book.
Now Laura and I are at the airport, waiting for our flight to Phuket, an island in southern Thailand. I can't say I'll miss Bangkok - I had fun, but in true capital city form, it's crowded and polluted, poverty is rampant, and the taxi drivers are ruthless and rarely know where they're going. But I feel lucky to have seen some of the best of the city, and now I'm very much looking forward to a relaxing weekend at the beach.
Note: For more photos, visit http://babas.typepad.com/photos/hong_kong/.
My schedule has been too hectic to put much time into blogging, but here are some snapshots from the last couple days in Thailand:
Dinner last night with the team - great authentic Thai food (which actually tasted a lot like what we get in Portland) - photo of the PR team attached.More photos and stories later.
A few observations from my first day at the office:
Aside from marveling at the above points, I spent most of the day getting inundated with info about my new role. Between the information fire hose and the jet lag, it's 7pm and I'm ready to go to bed.
I'm looking forward to my first trip to Thailand tomorrow though. Just heard on the news that this weekend had the highest air pollution levels Hong Kong has seen in the past year - so much so that people with respiratory problems were encouraged to stay indoors. Glad I spent the day hiking around Victoria Peak! :P
My first weekend in Hong Kong has been a busy one, and I'm starting to get to know my way around and meet some new friends.
Saturday
Laura picked me up at my hotel and showed me how to navigate the MTR (the subway), then we headed to the mid-levels area for coffee and some pampering in the form of foot reflexology. I got to see a little of what will soon be my new neighborhood, which apparently is called "Boho."
Later that evening we met up with a group of coworkers and their significant others for dinner at a members-only restaurant and bar called "Kee Club." The menu was confusing but entertaining - all the dishes were described with an odd series of hyphenated words that left us scratching our heads in several instances. But the food turned out to be great, in spite of names like "Veal - new peas - tuna - lard - pepper."
After dinner we headed out for an unintentional bar crawl. Unintentional in that we kept trying bars that were either holding private parties or had all the tables reserved or were so overcrowded you couldn't make it through the front door. We ended up in a very cool little French bar that specializes in chocolate martinis and fruit daiquiris, which would have been great if it wasn't so damn crowded.
Sunday
It turns out July through September are Typhoon season in Asia, which means most days are overcast and oppressively hot and humid. Today I was inspired to get outside when I awoke to a hint of sunshine, so I took the tram up to Victoria Peak, the highest point on the island of Hong Kong.
Unfortunately, the views were a little lacking, due to a heavy mist that often shrouds the island. I enjoyed puttering around the nature trails at the peak though, and on my way back took a jaunt through Hong Kong Park, which includes a beautiful aviary with lots of cool birds.
Of course, by the time I got back my clothes were soaked with sweat thanks to the heat and humidity, so I headed to the hotel pool for a swim and lunch (can I just say I'm really going to miss the hotel amenities when I move into my apartment next weekend?).
Anyway, tonight I'm meeting up with a couple coworkers for dinner, and then tomorrow will be my first day in the office.
FYI, for more photos visit http://babas.typepad.com/photos/hong_kong/.
I’m here, I’m here! But boy was yesterday torture. By the time I arrived in my hotel room in Hong Kong, I’d been awake over 24 hours. The plane ride was actually bearable thanks to my extensive advance entertainment planning (two laptops with TV shows, movies and games, plus books, snacks and my iPod). I’m just grateful for Vicodin, because my back starting killing me about four hours into the 13-hour flight. :(
But that’s all behind me now, and I’m settled into my lovely (if small) room at the JW Marriott in Central Hong Kong. I’d forgotten how impeccable the service is here – upon arriving at the hotel, I was met at the front door by a hotel staffer who already had my key ready and simply escorted me right to my room. A fresh fruit bowl and hot tea were delivered to my room by the butler for my floor, who showed me the button by my bed that I can push any time to page him for assistance - too bad he's not tall, dashing and shirtless! Regardless, I could get used to this! And as an aside, if you have the chance to be in Hong Kong yourself, I highly recommend the Marriott buffet breakfast, which has to be the best hotel buffet breakfast I’ve ever had.
Today I’ll be getting a massage at the hotel spa to ease my sore back from the flight, then my co-worker Laura is picking me up to show me her favorite reflexology place. Tonight we head to dinner with the rest of the Hong Kong PR team. Hopefully I won’t puke in anyone’s shoe, ala the Gemini alcohoroscope that was sent to me today: http://kerfuffle.net/Content/286.
Hope all’s well on the home front.
Love, Barbara
“Breathe, Grimes, breathe,” I keep reminding myself. The past week has been non-stop go-go-go, so much so that I may very well enjoy the plane ride tomorrow, because I’ll have 16 hours with no to-do list!
This weekend I headed to St. Louis for the wedding of the infamous Ashlee Vance, accompanied by the also-infamous April. I’m a total failure in that I have no photos to post, but I had a great time and was really pleased to be able to be there on Ash’s big day (especially since any big day of Ashlee’s has an open bar).
Since getting back to Portland on Monday, I’ve been packing and running errands virtually every waking minute, so I’m feeling a tad exhausted. I’m finally packed though, minus a few incidentals that will get packed in the morning. I’m also fully vaccinated, with achy and bruised arms to prove it. I had no idea I’d need such an extensive list of vaccinations – typhoid, polio, influenza, measles, mumps, rubella and hepatitis A & B (plus anti-malarial pills in case I go to India). Phew! Is it any wonder I’m tired?
Tonight I’m off to dessert at Pix with my Portland friends, then I’ll try to get some sleep before my 9am flight tomorrow. Wish me luck!
