Nighttime Skylines And Peking Duck

Adam, who's working at Time Asia, and I went over to the Kowloon side to hunt down this Peking duck place called Spring Deer I had heard about. After that we went to the esplanade/promenade type area and watched the lights atop skyscrapers on the island side go out (which they do around 11 p.m.). But what remained were still startlingly bright LCD screens on the building facades that reflected across the water in Victoria Harbor.


The Peking duck was AMAZING. Adam caught me while I was moving. Well, eating.


This is the jellyfish Adam ordered. It had the consistency of noodles and it was kind of tasteless.


This is the Bank of China building, which is near my office. It is supposed to represent bamboo and has very good feng shui, apparently. I took a photo of it as I was taking one of the aboveground walkways from work to the bus stop.


The building with the red sign in the top left corner is my office building, Hutichison House, and the one to the left is just so darn cool.

The skyline is so colorful and so active. It's really quite stunning. I reflect a little more on it in a piece for the Forbes Opinions 21st Century City package. If you're interested, the story is here: http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/hong-kong-pedestrians-buddha-opinions-21-century-cities-09-hana-r-alberts.html.

A Walk In Mong Kok

Angela and I met up and she took me for a walk around Mong Kok, an area on the Kowloon side that is, on the whole, a little more authentic and a little less touristed than some of the places on Hong Kong island. Angela's a native and was so generous with explaining all of the customs and signs to me.

The streets in the traditional Chinese part of Mong Kok have some red-light qualities to them. Signs list various nationalities and the prices for the services of each one. It's a bit unsettling! We figured out that a bright pink sign signaled one of these places... but there's a lot of neon signs in HK, so we're not 100% sure it's a reliable marker across the board.

This is a store that sells dried fish but also other delicacies like abalone. Some of the stuff is super expensive.

Angela had just come from observing the ghost holiday with her family. It's a time when the boundary between earth and the spiritual world is more malleable slash crossable than usual, and you need to make offerings to the ancestors to placate them and keep them from their side of the line. Usually you burn paper representations of things like food and money, but in this day and age you can burn such offerings as a ginormous stereo system. All in paper, of course, but still. If I were an ancestor, I mean, obvi, I'd want one of those.


This is a coffin shop. We also passed a place that served snake.


This is the fruit market near Mong Kok, but by the time we got there in the afternoon most of the stands had gone. There is so much yummy fresh fruit here!

Angela and I then went to Langham place, a mall nearby, which was modern and sleek and shiny exactly the way the other part of Mong Kok isn't. I got some sheets and pens at the fabulous Japanese story Muji -- which I know Fran and Jonathan love! -- and we also took some hilarious photo-booth photos that I will scan and post later. Then we met Clayton for dinner and went to a restaurant called Crystal Jade in the IFC. Then we went to a laid-back bar in Soho that I really liked called Corner Shop, which served yummy chicken dumplings called momos.

Overall, an excellent first Saturday in HK.

Week One

Here are a couple of snapshots, mostly of the office, which is in a really nice office building right in the center of town, amid all the skyscrapers. I was staying in a great, inexpensive hotel called Bishop Lei International House up on Robinson Road, in the Mid-Levels, and I would often take the escalator back up the hill to the hotel.

The escalators run down the mountain in the morning and then back up the rest of the day. It's really fun, and I like watching the shop signs go by as it carries me up.

This is the view from the Forbes offices in Hutchison House. We're on the 18th floor and overlook the harbor. This is, alas, not the view from my office. There are eight of us total. But, hey, I *have* an office!

That is it! I have a chair that someone can sit in! And also a bookshelf that's to the right that is not in the photo.

Robyn framed my first cover story! It was such an awesome surprise. And next to it is an artistic drawing of the NYC skyline that Zack and Jon bought for me in Union Square, so that I won't forget where I come from. (Don't worry, you guys.) That long black thing is a business card holder. In HK, everybody exchanges business cards. All the time. I have already amassed quite a collection.


I have two screen, so I feel like a super-cool copy editor. But it really does help with promotions and with writing markets stories. Also in this photo is my bamboo plant and -- ta-da -- my brand-new BlackBerry. I sold out and I love it. It is such a cool device.


Someone I love sent flowers all the way to HK. Very impressive, and very beautiful.

A Brief Introduction

In short, I work for this magazine and its website, and I've just been transferred to the Hong Kong bureau.


Herein I attempt to chronicle the missteps, the mayhem and -- I hope -- a couple of insights. I welcome comments! Looking forward to sharing this adventure with all of you.

Love,
Hana

P.S. A note about the blog name. After I was offered the position, some high school friends crowded into my living room, and we all ordered in some Chinese food to celebrate. It was at that gathering that someone said something along the lines of, "Hong Kong? Pshaw! It's gonna be Hana Kong." And here we go.

A 16-Hour Flight

Cathay Pacific rocks. The flight was a little long, but I watched two chick-flick-alicious movies and slept through most of it. Oh, and listened to the awesome mix CD Caroline made for me, and read Julie and Julia (thanks, Fred!).

This is Greenland.

This is part of the Arctic Circle, as seen from the plane.

By stark contrast, this toward the end of the flight, after we started to make our descent. It's the South China Sea. So tropical-looking!