HK Day 17 (Sat Jul 14)

having slept not too much earlier than 6 am, i managed to rest until 1 pm. 7 hours! not bad, right? sleeping late (or early, depending on how u want to look at it) usually screws with my body/system a lot, but since i don't have the usual stresses of life, i've been pretty adaptable (i think).

after getting up, i gave Sifu Robin a call to see if he was still free to meet up. we decided to meet at 3 pm in Mong Kok. i took a quick shower and set off (takes me ~45 min to get from Anna's apartment to the Yau Ma Tei/Mong Kok area). (for the record, i had wanted to enter the Day 16 blog entry before i left, but was short on time). after getting off the bus at Central, i had a funny moment where someone stopped me and asked me for directions in English to the H&M. i kind of actually knew where it was so (hopefully) pointed them in the right direction. made me wonder if i was starting to fit in a bit in my current environment, but the fact that i haven't picked up much Cantonese quickly deflated that notion.

Sifu Robin and i got dim sum (by my request). initially conversation was a bit slow, but i think it was 'cause we were both pretty exhausted still. things picked up a bit when we started talking about "the unavoidable subject" (as GM Leung Ting referred to our favorite topic when describing his tea time with the late GGM Yip Man). After "yum cha", we went to Sha Tin to meet with Robin's friend Queenie. We met her at the big indoor mall there. I had been there when i visited Mel a few years back on my first trip to Hong Kong. i didn't realize at the time how ginormous (now officially a word according to Merriam-Webster!) the place was. although i hesitate to admit this publically, one thing that is so cool about HK (or maybe just Asia) is all the Yoshi and Stitch stuff they have! good thing i'm on a budget otherwise i'd buy more than i could bring back.


we made our way to a Double-Star Cafe where we had some snacks and tea. i, naturally, got a 凍奶茶 (cold milk tea). although i still prefer 台灣 style, i think i'm getting more accustomed to the 香港 ones. we chatted for a while before the manager started signaling to Robin that we should be on our way. it was worked out alright since Queenie had somewhere she had to be. Robin and i proceeded to Causeway Bay, where we planned to get our "K" on that night.

since we were waiting for Mak Yu and Anna, i asked Robin to show me around the shops, since i hadn't spent much time at all in Causeway Bay yet. we walked around a bit and took in the scenery until Mak Yu was able to meet us. Anna had gone to Shenzhen with Colin and others, so was not expected back 'til after 10 pm, so the three of us proceeded to start off the singing-fest. We went to a place called CEO, which was, like most Karaoke places, much nicer than anything in the states. we had a buffet dinner with our package, as well as a private bathroom. the room could've easily sat 10 people, so it was quite spacious for just the three of us (and also spaciousness enough to comfortably do some chi/goh sau ;)).


Anna called around 10:30 or 11 and they were still on their way back. i wasn't sure if she'd make it in time. she called again later when she was back to her apartment and we were deciding what to do. since she wanted to Karaoke still, i asked Robin and Mak Yu if they were up for staying. the deal was if we paid the same rate again, we could've stayed there 'til 6 am so we decided to stay (just no more food at this point). we ended up singing the night away 'til about 3 am.

i was very beat, but Anna wanted to go to Privé again. although i was slightly tempted, i was 95% sure that it would be a bad idea for me to go. so i was set on going back. Anna initially decided to head back with me, but en route back to Kennedy Town, she got a text message that changed her mind. the taxi made a stop in LKF for Anna before dropping me off back at Anna's apartment. i was extremely happy to crawl into bed (where i still am with my laptop).

although i could save this for my last HK entry (or when i blog from back in Beijing), i just wanted to share how fortunate i feel to have had this chance to spend time here. that Anna was gracious in letting me crash at her place for 3 weeks. that Robin was so caring in watching out for me (making sure i got home, etc.), encouraging and guiding me in WingTsun, and trying to make sure i was entertained at all times. that the weather cleared up from being gloomy and rainy my first few days to becoming sunny and clear (though hotter). that i met many new interesting and diverse people, both within my greater WingTsun family and people in general. i think i at least partially achieved my goal of getting a feel for what it's like to live in HK, as well as get a sense of what life is like as a WingTsun practitioner here. i obviously could get to know the place much better, but am happy for the areas and bus routes i've become familiar with. i hope to have more chances in the future to revisit and enjoy 香港.

HK Day 16 (Fri Jul 13)

so i've fallen behind my usual d+1 blog updates. perhaps this means i have been less lazy and have been doing stuff! perhaps...

so on Friday the 13th, i got up extra early to go meet Sifu Robin at the Leung Ting Gym to hang out and watch a TVB camera crew film a commercial for an upcoming TVB television series. Unfortunately for Sifu Robin and i, the popular actresses that are to be in the show weren't part of the commercial. still, it was interesting watching them do multiple takes of the same 30 second bit (at least initially :P).

afterwards, we headed to the IWTA office. since i had no other plans (this should not be news to those who've been reading the blog), i decided to catch up on some reading. i looked through GM Leung Ting's book, Skills of the Vagabonds, which talks about a lot of the tricks that people used in the olden days that were thought to have been magical, and often times the same types of techniques were used by those who practiced Ninjitsu (and the Chinese practitioners that preceded it).

we ordered in lunch, and after lunch i continued my reading by looking through the Chinese version of Roots and Branches of WingTsun (mostly at the pictures), followed by the English version. even though i own Roots of WingTsun, i haven't read it carefully in over 2 years. it was good to re-read many of the stories about the history of WingTsun. it was quite fascinating how different things stood out to me, perhaps since i've evolved in my own thinking and understanding of WingTsun in the past couple of years.

after the office closed up, did some training with Sifu Robin, then grabbed a small dinner before heading to Shek Tong Tsui for Sifu Leung Kwok Wah's class. because of a long wait for the bus, i got there on the late side. Anna was already there working on her Siu Nim Tau (小念頭) form. She's "shopping around" for a si-fu/class, trying to see which situation is most suitable for her. i helped give her some corrections, observe the class, and do some training with the students.


after class, i picked up a drink from 7-Eleven while Anna got some Korean food for dinner. we went back to her place, and later headed to Privé at Lan Kwai Fong. Met up with her friend Moon, and later ran into Wendy with some of her friends, and then Colin with some of his friends. i'd like to stress how freakin' annoying it is that people try to smoke and dance at the same time. if the stench of cigarette smoke wasn't bad enough, you have to worry about getting burned in a crowded space. Unfortunately, this happened to Moon while we were just hanging out by the bar. the only other complaint was that they rotated DJ's, so with three or four different DJ's, we heard several songs as many times.

afterward we were homeward bound when Colin asked if we were hungry. we made a (great!) decision to grab slices of pizza at a place called Cul de Sac (i think). while not New York pizza by any means, it definitely hit the spot at 4 am. as we headed to the taxis, we passed Volar and Colin asked if we wanted to pop in. i wasn't sure if he was serious or not, but i think he was. we were all pretty beat and so headed on our merry way home (for those who aren't up to date, i'm being hosted through the generosity of Anna and her apartment).

of course, once back, Anna and i were brilliant and got on our computers! she managed to sneak off to bed without my knowing. by the time i shut down my laptop, i looked into her room and it was bright in there. i was thinking she left the light on when i realized that the source was the big light more commonly called the sun. i confirmed this by looking at the window in the living room (where i'm crashing). great. fortunately, i was still able to fall asleep without much delay (usually i have trouble when there's light).

all in all, it was a great last Friday night in Hong Kong.

HK Day 7 (Wed Jul 4) - American Independence Day!

happy 4th of july!

if you've been reading my blog, you'll realize that i'm not joking when i say i'm bumming around Hong Kong. that being said, onto talking about my day!

had lunch with Sifu Robin at an Italian restaurant then hung out a bit in the office. Sifu David joined us a little later on, and we hung out and talked. After the office hours ended, Sifu Robin and Sifu David started doing some chi sau when a question on bong-sau reaction was raised. As this was being discussed, I was already late for my dinner plans, so had to depart. (I still need to process it some more)

Went with Anna and Rob to the American Club in Stanley for a 4th of July celebration. Also met some cool people that Rob invited. The American Club in Stanley has a beautiful view of the ocean (?) and some of HK's islands. It was very picturesque, and our table had a perfect view of it all. Unfortunately that benefit was lost as the sky darkened.

For dinner we had a diverse buffet but i picked only American foods! (and bratwurst :P.) After dinner and hanging out for a bit, we decided to head to Lan Kwai Fong. In the taxi, we wanted to listen to some music but none of the radio stations worked. Rob asked if Anna had brought a CD and the driver said there was a CD we could listen to but it was in Chinese. we figured it was better than nothing so popped it in. at first it was some folksy Cantonese music, but then subsequent tracks reminded us all of Beijing opera. it wasn't the most pleasant sound for us since we hadn't acquired an appreciation of such arts. finally, after a solid 15-20 minutes, we decided to stop it and listen to music off Anna's multi-talented PDA-phone gadget. The driver was laughing when we stopped it and Anna asked the driver if he liked the music and he said no, that the CD wasn't even his. :P

In LKF we popped our heads into California Bar where not much was going on (besides the Gasquet match) so headed to a pool place that i believe was simply called "Rack." shot some pool, had some drinks, and sang along to some American songs. since all but yours truly have work the next day, we called it an "early" night at around 12:30 am.

HK Day 3 (Sat June 30)

A weekend day! Not that it really makes a difference to me, but it means my friends who lead normal lives are free. Anna had some plans saturday morn, while I stayed in, updated the blog, and talked with Mel on the phone. :) Also, it was the least gloomy (almost sunny) morning I'd seen!

After Anna got back, we (took some time and) decided to go to Havana (in SoHo) for lunch. We had cuban tapas for brunch (not lunch--lunch doesn't exist there on weekends). After a nice meal, we were ready to go when we noticed it was pouring out. Not so fun. We headed back to Anna's since someone was supposed to come fix the A/C in her living room (yes!). We made a stop at a local place that had good mango desserts! Anna had a mango, pomelo slushy type mix while i had a mango and 豆花 dish.

After getting back to Anna's apartment, she got a call saying the guy couldn't come 'cause it was raining (hrm... reminds me of luggage story at HK airport from earlier post). Since the weather was ugly out, we stayed in. We shared some music with each other (her more than me since I don't have that much with me. Anna's a big American Idol fan, so I heard the names of some former Idol-contestants many times... also heard songs from various artists, including those that have been to jail...

After the excitement of that died down, I had a stimulating time whittling down my gmail inbox to under 40 messages! It's been a very long time since the number's been that low. Anna had plans to get dinner with a couple of friends and invited me along, so we waited for them to call. And waited. And around 8:30 PM we decided we'd just find something to eat when, with impeccable timing, she gets a call. We decided to go with Staunton's Bar & Cafe in SoHo. A later phone call revealed that we'd be getting picked up in a cab and that we'd been vetoed on going to Staunton's.

In the cab I met Trudy, Phil, and Colin (today i noticed stickers on cabs that say SEATS 5--so i guess we were legal!). As we drove, Anna suddenly asked "where are we going?" when she sees a bridge. Apparently we were going to Kowloon (unexpectedly leaving Hong Kong Island, which I had earlier joked that Anna never did). We went to 798 Unit & Co., a NY style gastropub (as i was told). We had a variety of delectable foods that we all shared, making quite the awesome meal.

Afterward, as the rain kept falling, we walked to the MTR station to go back to Central. Colin and Trudy left to make a stop at Trudy's apartment while Phil brought Anna and I to Azure to meet some of his coworkers for drinks. Next was clubbing at Volar followed by clubbing at Prive. Lastly we got food at a "famous" restaurant since it was one of the few that was opened late at night ('til 4 or 5 am). Not being very hungry, I happily drank a cold (HK style) milk tea.

A not-too-long cab ride later the fun day ended.

HK Day 1

Despite my hellish "adventure" in getting to HK, I couldn't quite fall asleep my first night. There was some wicked lightning going on that seriously brightened everything. So i did some reverse psycho on myself and tried to stay awake. That seemed to work. i think i slept around 4something am.

i got up around 9:30am and updated y'all on my fun yesterday. then got ready and headed out. stopped by a 7-Eleven to refill the Octopus card Anna had given me to use, then found my way to the bus and rode to Central to catch the MTR to Yau Ma Tei. There I met up with my friend and WingTsun si hing (shi xiong), Sifu Robin. It was raining pretty hard, and the weather all day was pretty gloomy. After he took care of some official IWTA business, we headed back to the IWTA/Leung Ting Company head office. I remember the first time I visited with Mel back in '03; I was totally a little kid in a candy store with all the WT stuff everywhere. This time it was some of that coupled with a joy in returning and seeing Si-Tai (Grandmaster Leung Ting's wife) again. She's the sweetest lady, whom I had actually just seen 4 months ago in Hungary (for GMLT's 60th Birthday celebration).

After a quick pitstop at the office, we went to get Dim Sum nearby. It was a very good meal (esp. since i had skipped breakfast, which reminds me i'm getting kind of hungry now, but anyway...) and we got to catch up a bit. It's funny how you can be close to someone even when you first "talked" through e-mail and have communicated mostly through online means. In this case, i am very thankful that that is the case. After lunch, we went back to the office.

[ALERT: WT-details alert that prob will bore most of you so feel free to skip:]
Robin gave me the second Chi-Sau book that was recently published. I got to read through most of it and found some interesting comments/techniques/gems. :) He works in the head office so he had to take care of business while I occupied myself with the many WT things surrounding me. I bought a pair of new WT pants, two pairs of shoes, and a new T-shirt. It was tempting to buy more, but I had to restrain myself given my lack of income and impending debt.

After Robin was done with work, we stopped by the school and did some training! :D After that we walked down to Mong Kok and he showed me some of the shops and places that a lot of young people seem to hang out. He pointed out a milk tea place that happened to be Mel's favorite (Xiu Liu Shang) that he had brought Alex to when Alex visited. Then a little later I saw my (formerly) favorite milk tea place -- Saint's Alp! There was an awesome one in the village on Bleecker that sadly closed down. The one that still remains (around 10th and 3rd Ave) is not bad, but just not as awesome. I said to Robin that we need to come back at some point. :) I also messaged Mar that we have to go. Hopefully it's not disappointing...

Robin had to go off to teach class so I hopped on the MTR back to Central. I walked around a bit to familiarize myself with the area. Eating by myself and not wanting to spend too much money, I stumbled into a KFC. :P So not the healthiest meal, which is another concern. Afterward I met up with Wendy in the LKF area and we grabbed drinks (she had mango juice i had cranberry) and caught up. LKF is the ex-pat area of HK and it's crazy how many people are there. Ex-pats, foreign visitors, locals... just a big mix of young people looking to get their party on. After Wendy and I chatted a while, Anna and her friend Rob met up with us and we went to this place where everyone who worked there seemed to know Anna's name (as Rob said, it was like Anna's Cheer's). They had this live band that performed some classics of the 90's which was a nice treat. After that, we called it a night.

Overall standout impression today: HK has tons of young people. During the day it seems like the age-distribution is relatively standard, but at night, they're just all over the place.

Comments:
1. Thanks to Chris for the heads up on falling cable cars in HK (fell during testing sans people).
2. I'll get less verbose as the days pass and i'll try to replace them with some pics for your viewing pleasure. :)