FUNNY // Bridget Jones: Lost In Translation

It's nearly Christmas, so of course we're watching Bridget Jones. We put subtitles on so that the students can see the English as well as hear it, but checkout this mis-translation of "ham fisted shit!". Amazing.

PICTURE // Subway

PFHK

PICTURE // Winnie The Pooh in Hong Kong

HONG KONG HIGHLIGHTS #7 // PRET A MANGER (& An Ode to the Christmas Lunch Sandwich)

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him eat noodles… Oh wait, that doesn’t… Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that sometimes the thought of eating noodles or rice makes my gut clench and in these Hong Kong moments I turn to an old friend: PRET.

HONG KONG HIGHLIGHTS #6 // Muji

Stationary is my crack; Muji is my dealer.

PICTURES // Bubbles @ Tai Po

HONG KONG HIGHLIGHTS #5 // Café Loisl

Having spent a lot of time (and money) trying to find some good coffee in Hong Kong, I’ve finally hit the jackpot... Café Loisl!

HONG KONG HIGHLIGHTS #4 // Street Music @ Hong Kong Arts Centre

If you are ever in Hong Kong on the third Friday of a month you're in for a musical treat with Hong Kong Arts Centre's Street Music Series.

HONG KONG HIGHLIGHTS #3 // BC Cinematheque on Nathan Rd.

Affordable, comfortable and unique, Broadway Circuit’s Cinematheque branch off Nathan Rd. is the best cinema in Hong Kong. Fact. Here’s why…

HONG KONG HIGHLIGHTS #2 // A Haircut

A Hong Kong trim is a cut above the UK equivalent AND cheap to boot. For 100 – 150 HKD (£9.00-£14.00) you can enjoy:

1. The chat... There is none! The language barrier means everything is conveyed through gestures and pointing; no need to fill the hairdresser in on the complex web of work relationships when they ask about your job. Simple.

PICTURES // Graffiti @ Sheung Wan

Three graffiti shots from one of my favourite regions of Hong Kong, Sheung Wan, taken on a weekend stroll...

HONG KONG HIGHLIGHTS #1 // Surfing in Sai Kung

When your centre of gravity is somewhere between your nipples, you're never going to be the world's best surfer. Did that stop me trying last weekend? No.

WTF // Bitch Ate My Bread

I go to make my morning peanut butter on toast and it looks like something got their first, only... this loaf was fresh from PARKnSHOP. Ew.

#PFHK

WHY DOES THE CAGED BIRD SING?

My trip to Hong Kong' Bird Market coincided with reading a passage of Yann Martel's Life of Pi that challenged my take on animals in cages.

PICTURES // Sunset on Lamma Island

A BIG PROBLEM (part 2) // Being Tall in Hong Kong

Pass me a knife and fork; it’s time to eat my words.

Before I arrived in Hong Kong I wrote about how hard it is being tall in the UK. Oh, the naiivety. Built on a scale of height somewhere between my waist and collarbone, Hong Kong makes the UK look like a tall person’s paradise. For example:

PICTURES // Mid-Autumn Festival @ Victoria Park

PFHK

PICTURE // Street Signs At Night

PICTURE // Typhoon in Kowloon

7,071,600 Faces Ease Into Focus

One month ago all East Asian faces looked the same to me. I could only distinguish between young/old and male/female. Sometimes, I wasn’t even sure of that. The experience has left me with a lot of questions...

A SNIPPET of my airport diary

I was reading through my diary the other day and found a page I wrote while waiting at London Heathrow for my flight here. It made me laugh, so here you go:

WTF // The £5 Leek

Now, I love a leek as much as the next person, but 50.4HKD?!? THAT'S £5! FOR A LEEK!! And if you add up how many you'd need for a decent Leek and Potato soup, that's one expensive meal. For that price, I hope Queen Beatrix herself pulled it from the ground. 

WTF // My View

I kid you not, this is the view from my bedroom window. Stunning.

PFHK

I'VE ARRIVED...

in Hong Kong safe and sound.

Full post to come soon...

MY HONG KONG BUCKET LIST // 10 Things I'm Excited To Do In Month 1

The big move is tomorrow and I've finally had time to look at some guidebooks and compile my Hong Kong bucket list for the early weeks. Any suggestions of things to add?

... & 5 Things I'm Not Excited To Do

After my list of 10 things that I'm excited to do in Hong Kong, here's five that I'm not:

FIRST IMPRESSIONS // Why It's Hard To Make A Good One

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. I find this pressure unbearable, working myself into such a frenzy that it negates any positive that such forethought could have.

People talk emotively of first meetings as if evaluating them using a sixth sense – we talk of good vibes, warm presences - but how much of a person’s emotional response to us can we control? How much is caused by the environment they're in?

THE END OF GOODBYE? How Technology Has Changed Our Departures

“What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

It’s just days until I leave for Hong Kong and time to start saying goodbye to friends and family. But with Email, Skype and various social platforms to connect us, should I be feeling sad? 

THE IMPORTANCE OF YORKSHIRE TEA

Today is Yorkshire Day, so, for reasons I'm about to explain, it's time to divulge details of the weirdest thing I’ll be packing for my trip… breakfast tea.

Here in North Yorkshire, we hold the belief that the absolute cure for a shock or trauma is a mug of sweet breakfast tea. No one’s ever explained why to me, or offered a scientific explanation to back it up; but I know it to be true in the same way that I know that my dogs love tennis balls: years of experience.

8 GREAT TRAVEL READS

With a unique blend of time, limited space and boredom, travel can provide the perfect environment to immerse yourself in an author's world. With my trip to Hong Kong imminent, I thought I'd compile a list of the eight greatest books I've read while en route...

A BIG PROBLEM // Being Tall In A Short-centric World

When I booked my flight to Hong Kong last week I requested a seat with extra legroom. Standard procedure when you’re over 6ft. After a few crisp keystrokes on her battered PC, the streaky tanned travel agent made it so. The snag? £100.

Friends and family regularly make comments about my height when we talk about me moving: “Everything’s made for short people out there, you know” “Watch out for getting umbrellas in your eye” etc. But most people don’t realise that tall people get woeful treatment here too.

The injustices don’t stop at flight space. Everywhere you look in Britain life is designed in favour of the short majority. Like Gulliver in Lilliput, my tall brethren and I are outsiders.

10 FACTS ABOUT ME

10. I almost had a reality TV show made about me

9. I am a bookworm

8. I write features, including this one on a Californian cow milking competition

HELLO

Hi. I’m Chris and this is the first post of my very first blog, Postcards From Hong Kong. *applause*

Apols for the anti-climax.

In a fortnight, I’ll be relocating from rural Yorkshire (UK) to Hong Kong in the People’s Republic of China. Care to join me for the ride?