The Adventures of Abby

The expats, exchange students, interns and locals who love to party, love to party on October 31st. Those who don’t, go anyway. It’s a chance to stand out in a city where crowds are the norm and an excuse to wear self-indulgent outfits with no shame or abashment. If none of the above, at least a chance to see a parade of bizarre, occasionally unsightly costumes where people are normally so fashion-conscious.

Two places to mention: Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai, both in Hong Kong island. No, this is not the off-the-beaten-path guide to Hong Kong’s Halloween, if that can even exist. (more…)

Ever since college, I dreamed of living in an apartment in the city. It was exciting to me, the thought of having to take an elevator to and from home, getting fast food because it’s convenient, and looking out the window at night to see the lights.

I grew up in a small town in Manila — simple, quiet and generally slow. Sundays were always lazy, there was nothing but trees to block your view of the sky, nights were dark and buzzing with the sound of cicadas. We were always in the suburbs, and it was lovely.

But I suppose I got my wish. Hong Kong, especially the places where I’ve lived, is the definition of a busy city. Sunday is probably the busiest day of the week, the average view is more building than sky, and nights are filled with the sound of construction, party music, or the army of vehicles driving by right in front of your apartment.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love the city, but I realized why I liked it so much. It wasn’t about comfort or convenience per se. It’s about what it symbolized for me — independence, a faster lifestyle that hopefully meant I was taking charge of my life and career. Was it all in my head?

I still love the city, but oh do I miss the suburbs. Like they say, you don’t know what you have till it’s gone.

It was just like any other day, except that I was a bit nauseous. Little did I know that that Friday morning, May the 13th, was to be the start of over 3 painful weeks ahead. Superstition aside, of course.

This was how much medicine I had to take. And this isn’t even all of it:

Two things I’ve learned about doctors in Hong Kong: One, they don’t normally give you enough medicine for a full course of treatment, just enough so you have to go back for more (I hear it’s so they make more money, but I dunno!). Two, as you can see from the picture, they give a lot of medicine here. Each visit, I was given 4-5 different types!

So what exactly did I have? (more…)

So I’ve been looking around in case moving in to a shared flat is a better option than staying at a serviced apartment. Making new friends, having an actual kitchen, and actually having space to walk in the apartment doesn’t sound like such a bad deal.

After poking around and signing up for a few flatshare-ad services, I got an email from a someone who introduces herself as a Chinese lady, married to a British man, living in Hong Kong for work. This is one of the rooms she’s offering:

The price she set wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t a bad deal at all. So I ask for more information, and ask when I can go in person to check it out. And this is her reply: (more…)

There’s a common saying in the Philippines that goes “galit galit muna“, loosely translated, it means “for now, we’re not friends”. As negative as it sounds, it kinda has a positive connotation: The idea is that when the food is really good and you’re really hungry, you don’t waste the precious time that could be used shoveling food into your mouth. No time for friendly chit chat, we’re here for the food. Not to mention, traditionally, you’re not really supposed to talk a lot at the dinner table.

But I’m sure that across most if not all cultures, many will agree that food is actually a great complement to social gatherings. It sets the stage for friendly chit chat, and effectively so. Hotpot, as I’ve experienced here in Hong Kong, is a stellar example.

Last night, my friends and I went to Little Sheep Hotpot in Tsim Sha Tsui, a place that looked like a local favorite but seemed to slip under the foreigner radar. Of all the hotpot places I’ve been to, this one seems special. For one, it’s all you can eat and drink! Our friend who brought us here raved about the food so much that I was pretty excited to start eating. So how was it? (more…)

“Hump day” (or Wednesday for the rock-dwellers) has its share of appreciation in the workplace. It means the worst of the week is over, Monday is far behind and it’s almost Friday. But just a 15-minute walk from my apartment, in a corner of Happy Valley, Wednesday also means something else — racing day!

Hong Kong takes its racing seriously. Imagine a bunch of old men smoking, sitting on the sidewalk with papers in their hands, looking like they bet all their life savings on Seabiscuit over there. I’ve seen such men outside the Hong Kong Jockey Club offices, and this was my first impression of the races. When friends started inviting me to the racecourses “just to hang out”, I thought they just wanted to make fun of the old men. I was wrong. (more…)

I’ve been living in Hong Kong for a while now, and though I haven’t seen everything this place has to offer, I think there’s enough for me to write about. If you’ve been here this long, the Ocean Parks and Disneylands lose their appeal, and you tend to appreciate the simpler things. One such thing is a place we fondly call “Mr. Wong’s”.

Before night time and on weekdays, this place is just like any other Chinese restaurant, but go there late on a Friday night and you’re lucky to even get a table. (more…)