British Sea Power and er...um...those other guys

October 10th, in Grappa's Cellar, an Italian restaurant of all places, we finally got to see our first show, meaning concert, in Hong Kong. It didn't start off so hot, since we were made to wait two and half hours before the um..."openers" took the stage. So yeah, these guys, who looked like they were sixteen years old and sounded like they've been playing guitar for maybe two weeks, and just learned how to program a crappy two-beat drum machine track, yes they get to open for British Sea Power. Alright, where's my guitar? Those chords, I still remember them. Can't be that hard to be a Hong Kong rock star right? 1, 4, 5 progression? check. power chords. yep. tight jeans/silly outfit?....hmmm alright, not quite there yet.

Anyway, this duo was by far the worst act I have ever paid money to see. Words cannot express, so this video must do:




Luckily, we didn't have to wait long for British Sea Power. Honestly, before this, I wasn't their greatest admirer in the world, but I had all their albums, and liked most of their songs.

As for band availability in Hong Kong (slim pickings in general), I knew this was about as good as it was going to get, so despite the ridiculous ticket price (really? almost $50? that's like going to see Billy Joel at MSG in 1997 or something [I'm looking at you cole], or what I imagine the ticket price for a reunion Pixies tour to be, or even a 90s era Dave Matthews [I'm looking at...me?the shame]).Anyway, the place was full of brits w/ a strange mix of locals and misc foreigners. Still, the vibe was decent, and by the end of the night, after multiple stage dives and encores by the band, I was a much bigger fan of British Sea Power.




A short clip:

Conks visit

Friend conks visited us last weekend; our first visiter in Hong Kong! Here are some updated pics of our place, this time with furniture.

It was National Day.

In Victoria Park.

Our convertatable bed for conks.

Contemplative on the cable ride up to the big buddha.

Hi again, large buddha.

Next day it was off to Cheung Chau Island, about 30-40 minutes away via the fast ferry. On the beach.

I decided to read on the beach instead of swim. Cole and conks on a floatie.

Hiking around Cheung Chau

Cheung Chau had a boardwalk type vibe, what with the beach and all the snack food. These were some of the best fishballs I've ever had. The first one has a curry sauce on it, the other one some kind of sweet sauce.

Hike near Quarry Bay.



For the final night, we took conks to the Peak. There we were trying to figure out what to eat...um $300 for two pieces of sushi? no thanks. Burger King? maybe not. Bubba Gump Shrimp....hmmm.....really....ok why not. And there, I wish I took some pictures, because I had one of the best fish n' chips ever. Battered and fried mahi mahi, a bit denser than cod. Sooo good, but also made me feel kinda sick later because of all the oil. Worth it though.

Anyway, it was fun having a friend visit. Hopefully we'll get to show more people around HK in the future.

missing, oh new york shows

yes, there are many things I miss about new york, but this one is about the music, how every band passes through at some point or another.

missing this one hurts. rural alberta advantage. catch them at bowery on oct 7th, or just buy their album.



I recently found out that Handsome Furs (the side project of Dan Boeckner [of Wolf Parade fame]) was in Hong Kong a few weeks ago and I didn't know! oh the agony. Seeing British Sea Power later in October helps, but hk has a long way to go before indie can even begin to peek out from under the all-encompassing canto-pop.

a neat clip of handsome furs:

Hong Kong so far...

What can I say about living in Hong Kong these almost two months? Even though I'm not from here, I strangely feel more at home here than just about anywhere else, with a couple areas in New York City and Tokyo being the notable exceptions.

Finding a job wasn't that hard; finding the right job has proven to be much harder, with many educational hoops to jump through, and my current rate of movement is closer to a kind of awkward forward tumble.

But Hong Kong...I'll try to do the abbreviated version, because really, all we've been doing is furnishing our apartment the last month (for that, see cole's blog).

So, here goes:



Actually this is a bit of a jump, since this is the building that we live in now, and will live in for at least the next two years. Not the largest or tallest, but it is newly renovated and located in the old school neighborhood of Aberdeen.

The view of Aberdeen Harbour from our first apartment here, the serviced apt/hotel. Aberdeen used to be one of the largest communities in HK, especially before the Brits arrived. Even these days, there's still a fishing village of sorts.

Taken during a scouting trip for cole.

All of a sudden, my birthday crept up on me. Oh twenties, you're leaving so soon.

Perhaps the best mango cake I have ever had. From Taipan Bakery, which has branches in New York, but the ones here don't resemble the ones back home that much. For one, they don't serve milk tea (oh the milk tea! probably the only reason I haven't become a gaunt, wasted away shell. I will devote at least a couple posts to HK milk tea) and their buns taste different. Still good, but different.

Cole's first day of school

A ferry ride...hmm...where. Maybe to Lamma Island.

At this point I was still interviewing for jobs, and I had some free time so I borrowed the hotel's xbox 360 and played Tiger Woods Golf all day. Here is the electronic golfer version of me I made. Eerie.

The elevator door of a place where we like to get pho. Yum cigarhotdog.

Yangzhou fried rice at a cantina in Causeway Bay. They serve the one of the best chicken congees I've ever had.

The view from our new apartment.

One day, we decided that we needed to get out, and by out meaning out of the Hong Kong Island vicinity. Since the Hong Kong Culture Museum is located in Shatin, it provided us with the perfect opportunity to leave our little daily enclave.

The history of the New Territories was actually pretty interesting. All of these giant planned communities, created either out of literally nothing (with reclaimed land) or total wilderness.

Shatin was also where I used to spend my summers with my family when I was younger. Back then, there wasn't as much around, but now there are all sorts of malls and parks. Even so, the quiet and peacefulness of the suburb was striking in comparison to the usual activity we see on the main island and Kowloon.

The clarity of the water, the blue surrounding us, above and below. Everything coincided, and I realized that there was a very real chance that we may never leave Hong Kong.

The serene scene was broken up by this outdoor karaoke party. People sitting, dancing spontaneously (the man pictured dancing with his little Pomeranian), all to popular Cantonese songs from the sixties and seventies.

Sushi place in Shatin, near a bus terminus.

That night I think, the sky turned violet. For ten minutes our apartment was pink hued from the strange light streaming in.

Then, it rained, and lightening flashed near us, so near that cole, with a yelp, leaped from the balcony onto our coach, a distance of at least four feet. Perhaps the most impressive athletic feat I've ever witness from her.

I'll finish this with our first "home-cooked" meal, meaning we bought dry soba and boiled it up, and I picked up some salmon and cucumber maki rolls from the local Park n' Shop. It wasn't much, but it was good, and it was the first meal that we had made and eaten together in our new apartment.

(sorry about the long delays between posts. "serious" writing is taking up more time, and work and going back to school [of all things]. i'll make sure to update at least once a month).

Over already? To and from New York, New Jersey

Remember when I said I would have plenty of time to catch up on posts, finally get around to the second Tokyo trip (amazing), and maybe a few others that have been left to linger on the dusty back shelf?

Well, I lied.

The time is gone, and now all of sudden, we're back, but not really. I'm staring out onto a harbor dotted with islands. Next to our (temporary) apartment is a fish market, and from our modest 11th floor window in Aberdeen, I see small boats weaving around one another, workers lumbering among trucks, and an ever-changing sky. It's sticky, humid, and hot. Any second may bring a deluge of rain. Across from us is our probable future home, Ap Lei Chau (Duck Tongue Island), a tiny island almost completely covered by high rise buildings.

That's right, we made it. We're in Hong Kong.

I can feel my brain rewiring to the sounds of Cantonese. I imagine these as slight indentations located somewhere in the back of my brainstem, where the scraps on my 2nd language skills try to claw its way to occupy a useful place. All of a sudden, I'm back in the majority, barely worth a second glance (though that is true of home too).

Before I get into Hong Kong (after all, this is our first day here as real residents), I should talk about home first.

(A brief layover in Vancouver. Canada, we hardly knew ya).

Allendale, New Jersey--Manhatten--Queens

These were the places we split our three weeks. Our first week back was a haze of freakishly nice weather and a steady prescription of turkey sandwiches at our favorite deli (Lotitos in Ramsey, NJ) and naps (taken when needed, and often).

I had honestly forgotten the beauty of a blue sky. Throughout our stay at home, I would be constantly amazed by the layers of white clouds.

Our welcome home barbeque. There's Uncle Bill.
Remember us, new york?

One of our most memorable trips was a visit to the Cloisters up by Washington Heights.




We liked it.

Herbs.


My other mom and dad. Thanks!

After the Cloisters, cole and I decided to go downtown to the High Line Park, which was still under construction last time we were home.
The High Line Park at the moment runs from 20th to around 9th street along the west side, kinda around the West Village, Meatpacking District, and Chelsea.

I'm not sure why I love the grit of New York, especially when I don't like the grit of say...Xi'an, but I do.

It was a bit strange seeing American flags. Part of the reverse culture shock we had upon arrival (so so many white people, can't figure out suburban town life) which only alleviated when we were in nyc.

After the High Line, cole mentioned that she wanted an egg tart and milk tea. Ok Chinatown it was, except Chinatown was ten blocks down and maybe nine avenues over. Heck, we were in the city, we walked it.

We stopped at possibly our (new for us, not so much for everyone else) favorite bookstore, Jackson McNally on Mulberry and Prince.

Yes, I bought some books.

Well, I'll end this here. For some reason, I didn't take that many photos while I was at home, and thus missed documenting some great meals, including a week where I hunted down all of the simple favorites I wouldn't be able to get soon. (pizza at grimaldis, cannolis, nathan's hot dog, carvel, baked ziti, cheesesteak, etc....nothing fancy here). The only thing I didn't get to was a good knish and matza ball soup. Oh well, I hear there's a Jewish deli somewhere in Hong Kong.

Other things happened. The DMV, family gatherings, a short stay in Brooklyn, various Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese pig-outs, the All Points West Music Festival in Jersey City (rained on us all day, but the National and Yeah Yeah Yeahs were incredible. Vampire Weekend was ok. Jay-Z? Skipped out before he got on).

But for now, I'm going to head down in search for my first pork bun since being back.

See you later.