JimElls' jottings

Kung Hei Fat Choi and update

2007-02-20T14:59:00.000+08:00

So here we are, one year - almost - after J and i moved to HK, and my hot news updates are crap!

YEAR OF THE GOLDEN PIG
First of all: happy new year! don't think i'm that late wishing this to you all, my friends, but since Sunday, we are experiencing our first CNY (Chinese New Year). Festivities are in the street and at work, at home and with our friends. Traditional New Year’s is so much different that ours: 15 days of New Year’s celebration and 3 days of holidays, family visits, temple pilgrimages, house cleaning, and most important of all, lai sees. In Chinese tradition, you give/receive money from your family, colleagues, and you give money to your building doormen and cleaners. They are given in a red envelope and you have to wish them a good year + to make good money if you give it to a man or to remain eternally young if you hand it to a woman. How cool is that! So J and i, who never fail to follow a hongkese tradition, exercised ourselves to our first lai sees, went to the Temple Wong Tai Sin, watched the fireworks on the second day, and cleaned the flat. J I now feel ready to enter the Year of the Golden Pig, this very special year which only comes every 60 years.

CHRISTMAS
So many things happened since the last update i gave you. I came back to Europe with J for Xmas. J stayed in London and caught up with a few friends. I went back to London with him, then took the Eurostar to Paris before heading off the next day to Geneva where we were meeting up with all my Mum’s family for Xmas. We stayed there two days, and then back to Paris before taking off to Tunis where my parents wanted to show me a potential future house for them to have a second holiday home. It’s so nice! The potential lies in Sidi Bou Said, coastal village close to the capital which has been recently classified as a World Heritage village. It’s a cross between North Arabic and Greek style, famous for its grandiose view and established blue and yellow doors. Nothing is certain, but how great would that be? I met fabulous people when in Tunisia, friends from my parents, all welcoming, interesting, and passionate people: Khaled, a talented interior designer and house converter, Memia, his partner, a creative and ingenious architect, Ali, who heads a sheet and towels factory where they make Descamps, Delorme and Kenzo’s house linens, and his wife and kids. After a few interesting days with all of them, I came back to Paris, where 19 friends came for supper. The customary Raclette Coscas happened around a bog table with lots of news to share.

VISITORS
Since our last visit by Dan and Owen, Daphne and Aurelie came for a week. We got back from Europe on New Year’s day with James, and they were gone to the Philippines after we left them the keys to our small flat. One week later, they came back to spend 6 days with us, and explore our daily non-routine. On the girls’ last week-end, Jack and Russell, on their way back from Vietnam, came for 1 day-1 night. It was so good to see all of them! It seems like we barely have time to miss our friends: as soon as we miss them, we have a visitor! These guys visits was followed by James and Buffy, on their way to Oz. They left grey London after years of residence, to settle in sunny Byron Bay. Woohoo Oz! After Adam and Jess, Leebo and Philbo, and James and Buffy, I reckon J and I have NO excuse not to come and see them all! So Oz here we come, hopefully 2007, year of the Golden Pig will be THE year.

CRIKEY
Back in September, James convinced 2 mates, Paddy and Chris, to enter this short Hong Kong film competition called I Shot Hong Kong. The unique rule is pretty simple: it has to feature Hong Kong. After 1 week of ideas drafting, 2 days of shooting, and 5 days of intensive editing, the boys submitted their shorty named ‘Subtitle’, and learned in December, that the jury decided to choose it for the public viewing of the selected 20 shorts. The adventure begins! On the 25 and 26 January, the 5 of us (the 3 boys + subtitle maker Cynthia and active appearance me) sat there in the Agnes B cinema in HK, watching the rendering of Subtitle on a big screen. The film features a 30 year old banker who hates his job, and wants to commit suicide whilst the subtitle, matching the images, tell a different story, a boy trying to seduce a woman, but failing miserably.
By far the darkest film of the selection, the audience chose James as the best film on Friday while he won the total 3rd place by the jury. NOT BAD!!! So let’s encourage him for the next film to come… James would have got the bronze medal if it was the Olympics, but instead we all won the worse headache after 3 days of film parties sponsored by vodka Pravda… Oh well. Next time.

I’ll try and write soon, hope your enjoyed the stories.

Lots Of Love
,
Little Elo and filmmaker Jimbo

I (heart) Hong Kong

2006-11-03T21:53:00.000+08:00

I am as regular as a Paris paved street... I always tell myself I will write and I will update our info, but the temptation to sit my arse in a comfortable sun bed on our terrace watching a film on a big screen is somehow a little... too good. So while James still figures out how to connect his downloaded films to our projector (oops sorry! There’s only a couple, promise!), I decided I would update the blog.

The last big news is that we've purchased a spider-shaped three-in-one DVD player, projector, speaker, to put on our terrace and view films on a big, huge screen which James bought from a company which was closing down. It's amazing! If you think of the drive-in cinemas of the sixties, well... take out the cars and place the decor in HK, and here you are, in the JimElls Palace. I guess it does prevent you from going out every night. Hong Kong does not have the excuses of the London cold nights to be staying watching a film. So you have to create the excuse, which we wonderfully have done.

James is well, still trying to improve his wakeboard.. Will, his dad, came to visit for a few days. He did very well try to stand up, but the temptation of the muscles-by-the-beach call probably was too strong. Will was a very good visitor. One of these visitors for whom James and I felt a particular pride in showing around our city, where we live and in which environment we blossom. I think that putting away the positive nostalgia of the 1970's, decade when Will was in Hong Kong with the Navy, his love for the place still remains. This is when we had this strange sensation and great feeling that we've actually made the right choice. Coming to Hong Kong was natural for us. We barely knew where we flew in. I mean, I'd never been, and James had been here when he was a kid; not that I want to criticise his memory, but you will all agree that nappies must be uncomfortable enough to think about which bar or beach to go next. And yet, the place suits our needs, suits James’ need for water sports, my need for sun and outdoor sports, and our need for new adventures and travelling. I guess it does mean that we’ll be here for a little while, but may European friends and families be reassured, that only that should be for a few year. One or two?

Love to all, and hopefully see you at Christmas.

An artist to believe in

2006-09-03T22:33:00.000+08:00

This is a great way to support the new music that you believe in. Just read below.

My friend Daniel Ward-Murphy has been playing music for years. I first discovered his music in London 2 years ago, when he played with his band Bullet Galloway; I loved his style. You can hear that his influence comes from a bunch of different artists like (to repeat his words) Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Tori Amos, Keane, The Charlatans, Kasey Chambers, Sandy Denny, Ryan Adams, Nerina Pallot, The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty. People say he sounds like Damien Rice or Tracy Chapman (!), but to me he sounds like Daniel WM.

I'm not advertising just because he's a friend but because I believe in him and his music (and also because he is a friend, actually), so I invite you to listen to it, and do the same! You can listen his tunes on www.danielwm.com and invest in his talent by going on another website www.sellaband.com. The latter puts artists in a position where they have to sell parts to people who believe in them. You put in what ever amount of money you can or want to. When Dan reaches his goal, then he will be put into a studio with a renown producer and will record some spanking new tracks for your listening pleasure. All revenue will then be generated via Sellaband and divided between the artist, Sellaband, and their believers!

I really do think his music is great. When I turn on my ipod and listen to his earlier tracks, it brings smile on my face for the rest of the day.

So if you believe in him like i do, please go on these two websites and help an talented artist fulfill his dream: playing music for a living. Je compte sur vous.

So much to say

2006-08-29T11:34:00.000+08:00

It's been a month (again), and I have so much to catch up with you! So let me recite chronologically:

First of all, James and I both celebrated our birthdays: 6th July for me and 27th July for James. We had a double birthday bash for a bigger party. Fifty people turned up and spiced up our terrace with jokes and good mood, including friends from Paris - merci Caro et Francois, l'anniv n'aurait pas ete le meme sans vous! - Gilemon from the Shek O crew, appeared out of nowhere with a jellabah, a Binladen mask, and a massive flower bouquet!!??? Some guys climbed our garden's structure whilst I hugged the loo and passed out (oops! The London girls' crew: thought of you my darlings, especially in these ver difficult moments. haha.). The cops also paid us a visit as 'surrounding neighbours' complained about the noise we were making (don't know why). The dudes were cool, asked us at 00.30 when the party was over, we told them it was immediate, but we carried on until 4.30 in the morning. We missed the absent friends a lot, but that should give them a good picture of our HK parties and make you want to come ;-)

A week later, it was J's birthday, I got him a surprise week-end to Beijing. Until the Captain announced on the plane: 'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard to this Dragonair flight to Beijing...', he didn't know where we were going! It was very exciting. Got there, and were tourists for two and a half days. Our first impression was Tien AnMen square, the biggest people's square in the world. It is meant to belong to the people (i.e. do what you want there), but there is more police than Mao pictures around there, "et ce n'est pas peu dire". A people's square where you can't sit on the floor, you can't run, and you can't even hold a revolution... but still belongs to the people. The place is IMMENSE, impossibly huge, massive, endless, colossal, enourmous, excessive, extensive, gigantic, monumental, monstrous, immeasurable, giant. I had goose bumps just looking at this vast square and thinking of 1989's massacre. Vicissitudes of democrates' revolution are invisible. It overlooks the entrance of the Forbidden City, and separates the Museum of Chinese History and Revolution and The Great Hall of the People.
We then left and went to the hutong area (= little old alleys) next to Hoihan. We carefully chose our rickshaw cyclist: one with some sort of Lance Armstrong calves, and a big smile on his face. He took us around the lake, see old houses, and we met his wife and baby as he was sprinting next to his rickshaw to go across the bridge.
The next day took us to the Badalin section of the Great Wall, and we made it! We climbed the wall until we couldn't go further. The fog lessened the limitless view you have on good days, but it was still worth the climbing. We headed down to the Summer Palace, where the Emperor was working from April to October for a fresher aired place. The end of our tourist day took us to Beijing's biggest temple, Lamma Temple, before admiring the elastic acrobats of the Chaoyang Theatre. The magical Forbidden City also satisfied our curiosity... A bit too many tourists to my taste, but three hours in there allowed us to plunge ourselves in the Qing Dynasty's time.
The week-end ended with a fabulous lunch at the most hidden local restaurant behind the ambassies' area.
We'll certainly go back, and so should you!
Let me know separeate our adventures ino to chronicles... I need a rest on my terrace. Sorry!
Speak to you soon, and see you in Paris if you are there between the 9th and 17th September. Lots of love to all. we miss you.

Et ainsi vient la vie / and here comes life

2006-08-02T00:13:00.000+08:00

Ca y est! Je suis marraine! Elle s'appelle Lilla, Zoe Joguet, et ce petit bout de femme est la fille de ma tres bonne amie Teeva et de son mari Johan... et ma filleule! Elle est nee le 30 juillet (le meilleur mois de l'annee, hehe!) a 4h du matin et pese a peine 3 kilogrammes. Je la verrai pour la premiere fois en septembre lorsqe je rentrerai a Paris puisque je ne peux malheureusement pas rentrer avant. Quel cadeau! Merci Teeva et Johan de m'avoir rendue maraine, c'est un role que je prendrai tres a coeur, et j'ai pour intention de lui apprendre beaucoup de langues et de la faire voyager au bout de la Terre (tant que vous me le permettez ;-) )

Alors voila la Nouvelle du Jour. 'Elle est po bonne??'

So here I am... Godmother! Her name is Lilla, Zoe Joguet, and this little woman is the beautiful daughter of my very special friend Teeva and her husband Johan. And she's my goddaughter! She was born on 30th July (the best month!) at 4am, and she weighs almost 3 kilogramms. I will only see her forthe first time in September when I will go back to Paris for a few days as I unfortunately cannot make it earlier.
What a present! Thanks Teeva, Johan, for having me as godmother, it's a role that I relish and look forward to carrying out. I plan on teaching her a few languages and take her around the world (of course, should you let me to ;-) )

Here is the News of the Day: isn't it great??

Croquer la vie a pleines dents / seizing life

2006-07-26T18:33:00.000+08:00

Je sais, je sais... un mois deja depuis que notre dernier invite est venu a HK et depuis que j'ai actualiser notre blog. Pardonnez-moi, tellement de choses se sont passees au mois de juillet que je ne sais par ou commencer. J'ai alors decide de consacrer cet 'article' a un seul sujet: ma gramd-mere.

J'ai longuement hesite avant d'ecrire a son propos sur ce blog, mais ma grand-mere merite une ode a la vie:

Mamie Jeanette, ma grand-mere, la maman de mon papa, est partie a l'age de 84 ans le 3 juillet dernier, et une ceremonie a ete celebree au Cimetiere de Pantin le 6 juillet, jour meme de mon anniversaire. Elle a apporte joie, rire et musique dans sa maison, ainsi qu'autour d'elle. Elle etait une divine cuisinere tunisienne, et chantait operas et operettes a toute heure de la journee, dans tout endroit, a cote de n'importe qui. Elle s'occupait de moi lorsque j'etais petite et que je passais mes vacances a Trouville, et meme apres. Les plus jolies anedotes de vie viennent a l'esprit de chacun lorsqu'on prononce son nom, et personne ne pouvait etre en sa presence sans sourire. Lorsque je lui ai rendu visite pour la derniere fois, la veille de mon depart a Hong Kong, elle ne pouvait plus parler, mais riait si fort que les infirmiers (dont elle etait tous amoureux) l'entendaient a l'autre bout du couloir: je lui avais chuchote quelques mots en arabe tunisien que papa et Mamie m'avaient appris!

Chacun doit parler d'elle comme il l'a toujours fait. Elle veillera sur mon grand-pere et ma tante, et ainsi le feront-ils a leur tour.

Puisse-t-elle continuer a faire sourire nos visages trop empruntes par la routine des jours de travail.

A toi, Mamie. /...

I know, i know... A month already since our last visitor came and since i updated our blog. Pls forgive me, so many things happened in a month that i don't even know where to start. This posting will only have one subject: my grand-mother.

I hesitated to put it on this blog, but the reason why I am doing it is because she deserves an ode to life:

Mamie Jeanette, my grand-mother, my father's mum, passed away on July 3rd, and a ceremony was held with my family in Paris at the Cimetiere de Pantin on 6th July, my birth day. She has brought joy, laughs, and music in the life of those she met, and was an amazing Tunisian cook. She loved opera and used to sing any thing at any time, in any place, with any one around. She looked after me when I was a little girl (and beyond), and the most beautiful life anecdotes leap in everone's mind when we talk about her. We could not be in her presence without smiling... Even when I last visited her, she could not speak but laughed out loud when i spoke my only words of Tunisian-Arabic to her. We should carry on talking about her like we used to. She will now look after my aunt and grand-father, and so will they, after her. May she continues to bring smiles on our faces when we think of her.

A toi, Mamie.

Our first visitor

2006-06-26T23:25:00.000+08:00

When all our friends tell us they will come and visit, the first thing I do is get really excited, until a few bosses refuse the leave requests and I feel dismayed. Lee has called James a few months ago to announce his visit with Phil, but we were both waiting for the D-day to get the YAY-feelin'. Phil didn't make it to HK, but Lee arrived last Wednesday, and we spent the most wicked hongker 5 days! James took a couple of days off to show Lee around, and I joined them in the evening to partake in the frivolities.

The chic and trendy Aqua on the Kowloon side for a bit of show-off, the BBQ street restaurant for a bit of neighbouring, the Fringe, Goccia and Lotus bars for a bit of hongker expatriating, Andy Smith for of bit of London feeling, and climbing and wakeboarding for a bit of outdoor sports.

The old flatmate became part of our land of Jimells again for a few days, and I have now regained confidence in seeing our best friends and families come over and experience the HK adventure. I promise there won't be any flying cockroaches (thanks for the killng guys) nor shark lips eating for the next visitors ;-)

Lee-Roy, I wish you the best Australian conquest with your backback, your van and the Philly-Bo, and if the plan remains, see you in Febo. Good luck, take good care, and I'll tooz you on it, MAIT. xxx

Une journee bien remplie

2006-06-18T19:30:00.000+08:00

Avant de commencer mon recit de ces derniers jours: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANOU! Nous etions a Paris dans ton jardin il y a deja un an pour ton anniv surprise, et cette annee nous nee sommes malheureusement pas la pour faire autant la fiesta, mais nous pensons beaucoup a toi, en esperant que tu pourras venir nous rendre visite avec Amy. So, special dedicasse au Danou - garde toutes tes dents et tes cheveux avant que je ne te revoie. Bon anniv!

Ce que j'aime a Hong Kong, c'est la diversite: en une meme journee, on peut prendre son petit dejeuner avec vue sur le port, aller faire son footing ou marcher dans la montagne en prenant la route qui mene au 'Peak' et avoir vue sur toute la baie d'Hong Kong, cuisiner des brochettes au BBQ sur la plage, faire du shopping l'apres-midi, et sortir le soir pour retrouver ses amis. Notre programme de ce week-end ne suit pas parfaitement cet itineraire, mais nous avons tout de meeme reussi a profiter de toutes les surfaces qui s'offrnt a nous. Nous sommes alles faire de l'escalade dans les Nouveaux Territoires et du wakeboard (ski nautique mais sur une plache qui ressemble a du snowboard) a Tai Tam, puis boucler la journee chez nos amis Janet et Ross pour leur soiree de fiancailles avant d'aller a Lan Kwai Fong boire un dernier verre parmi les exparties de l'ile. Aujourd'hui, nous sommes retournes dans les N.T (Noouveaux Territoires) applaudir les champions de wakeboards, puis James est reparti jouer au tennis.
Geographiquement, nous sommes donc alles au nord d'HK dans les terres (vers la Chine - NT), retourner au sud de l'ile d'HK, remonter vers la montagne puis redescendu au centre de la ville avant de se coucher, retourner au nord le lendemain, puis a l'Ouest. Quelle Journee! Dites-moi dans quelle autre ville pourrais-je autant utiliser ma boussole?

Lee vient nous rendre visite avec son ami Phil la semainee prochaine. Bienvenue a nos premiers visiteurs! James leur conconcte 2 journees bien remplies.

Je suis epuisee, bonne soiree a tous. Je reviendrai vite avec nos petites histoires d'asiat'. Aller voir les photos, et laissez-nous des commentaires!

Permanent lady

2006-06-09T13:44:00.000+08:00

Ca y est! Enfin, je sais. News of the week: UBS made me permanent! I was on a contract when I arrived, and was meant to stay until August 19th. James has a one-year contract, so we know now that we can properly get settled. JimElls adventures can carry on! After all, we only have one life, so let's take what we get and work with it. I'll take Mandarin lessons, James as well (i think!), and we'll hopefully be able to speak before we leave the place. That should take a while!
So friends, family, come and visit as we will stay for at least aother year. You can book your ticket, but beware: our flat is tiny with a mini second single bedroom. So if you are two to travel, you can either snuggle, or let me know and I will see what hotel discount or friends-on-holiday flat we can get. Caro Mas and Francois are coming for a week (HOURRA!), my parents are coming one week as well, and Laure&Nico Derbin are trying to fit into our overbooked Auberge chinoise. Soeurette, promis, je suis en train d'essayer de voir comment on peut faire. Mais entre morues, on devrait s'arranger! Au programme: junk trips, beach days (providing T8 or Black rainstorm doesn't hit), cruising to the neighbour islands, shopping in local markets, walks on the Peak and GOOD FOOD!

So apart from becoming a permanent employee this week, I have discovered the concert culture in Hong Kong: you sit and watch. Jamie Cullum was coming to HK as part of his Asian Tour, and we literally 'attended the performance'. No crazy cats in the audience, just people sitting, listening, not moving. I do admit that the ambience got a bit better when my neighbour had the wonderful idea to shout - someone turn the lights off! - and we started to have more of a concert atmosphere. Teeagers shouted 'I love you Jamie!', to which he replied 'oh really? well that's very sweet', but to the surprise of James and a few others, Jamie was Amazing! He is a great pianist, he's got very talented musicians, and he performs a variety of songs from jazz to brazilian samba. WE LAIIIIKED! The after concert was a bit rubbish I nust say, but for a school night, we all got what we wanted: a bit of show. So people, if you get the opportunity to see him, grab it!

I will write longer this week-end. Check out the photos, I am updating them everyday. Pour Jamie hip hip hip...

Hong Kong fancy dress parties

2006-06-05T13:06:00.000+08:00

The weather is hotter and wetter every day. Even locals can't bear it. Our dehumidifyer absorbs about 2 litres every 3 hours and our clothes are starting to mould if we leave the flat with no funny water-absorbing packets in every drawer. So week-ends are too hot for hiking, too hot for day-time tennis games, and at night-time, the courts become a bugs' cemetry, but parties on the beach are just perfect!
So last Saturday, we were invited to this party in Shek O. Shek O is this hippie-laid-back-lifestyle village on the south part of the island, next to Big Wave Bay. After taking the MTR (tube, metro, enfin... Underground transport), you have to take another bus and then walk to your final destination in Shek O. Once you get there, the noise of the city has disappeared, the high buildings are only part of the long-distance background decor, and the rudeness general mood seems to have vanished in the Dragon's back mountain. Liz, James and I head to the village, in our outfits.

Rock, the host, lives at the far end of the beach. You walk up a hundred yards' path, and find three houses perched on the hill. When the gate opens, a medium-sized swimming pool in a green patio comes to sight, and a big glass sliding door separates the tailor-made flat for paties. The fiesta is being held on two girls' birthday occasion: Geraldine and Sarah. The French crew is there (as everywhere in Hong Kong!), as well as the other Xpat Shek O community. The cleverly chosen theme is Dangerous Doubles (interpreted with our own imagination) and wild cats. We saw Gas and Fire as a dangerous double, lime and tequila (mais si, mais si), a lot of wild cats, and James and I, Marilyn Manson and Dita von Teese! James scared about half of the bus passengers on our way to Shek O with his black lips, black nails, black long hair, black hat, black cane, dark red lipstick and black eyes! If any French remembers this dumb ad for chewing-gum with the guy crunching raw leek as entering the metro and everyone escaping it, that was about the reaction created. So funny! And I was Dita, the Burlesque dancers (I eluded the nipple tassles), black see-through top with black skirt, bright red shoes and lipstick, and feather boa headband...

I promise, pictures are to come soon. You can access the first HK taken pictures on the right of this blog. I also added a link to our friend Matthieu's website. He is, I think, a great contemporary photographer, who works on National Geographic adventures, and treats portraits amazingly. Our Shek O discoverer had to be mentionned in this 'chapter', so go and see his website and I am sure you will be blinded by his talent, as I have been.

Il pleut, il pleut, Bergere

2006-05-28T15:48:00.000+08:00

Ca y est. La saison des pluies a bel est bien commence. Cela doit maintenant faire 10 jours qu'il pleut sans cesse, et tous les cours de tennis que nous avons reserves depuis se voient d'etre annules. Je crois bien que je vais me plier au sport local: 'the gym'. J'ai pourtant essaye a Londres, mais rien n'y fait: je m'ennuie a courir sur un tapis roulant, je trouve qu'il n'y a rien de pire que d'exercer un sport a l'interieur que l'on pourrait pratiquer a l'exterieur. Mais la salle de sport est au dessus du bureau, et il y en a une en centre ville alors je pense que la facilite gagnera, et je m'inscrirai la semaine prochaine a 'Pure', la 'gym' la plus en vogue d'HK. Je n'aurai meme pas besoin de me planifier mes sessions sportives, ce qui me va tres bien, puisque lorsqu'un abonne arrive, une tenue lui est automatiquement pretee. Les week-ends de pluies battantes, ma paresse n'aura plus d'excuses; il me suffira de prendre le bus jusqu'a Pure, et m'exercer une heure ou deux.

Le temps passe tellement rapidement. Nous sommes deja fin mai, et la course de 'Dragon Boat' a lieu mercredi prochain. Apres les Sevens, c'est la journee la plus attendue de l'annee. Les candidats pagaient depuis le mois de janvier, les dim sums traditionnels sont cuisines pour l'occasion, et les sponsors affichent tous leurs publicites autour de la ville. Je ne suis arrivee il n'y a que 3 mois, et je connais deja au mois 3 pagayeurs. Les jonques s'alignent face a face afin de former la file sur laquelle les bateaux se courseront te les donneurs de rythmes amenangent leurs tambourins. J'ai hate de vivre ma premiere Dragon Boat race! Le 31 mai est donc jour ferie sur l'ile d'HK. Une semaine de 4 jours, youpi!

Le travail se passe bien. Je suis fatiguee, crevee, retamee, lessivee, erintee, mais le boulot me plait, et la plupart de mes evenements ont fini d'etre organises. Je suis desormais chargee de projet pour un evenement a Bangkok, et qui requiert le plus gros de ma concentration, mais je pourrai enfin avoir des horarires plus decents et profiter de mes week-ends avec James. Apres Bangkok, nous irons probablement a Bali en Aout (apres la visite de mes parents), et nous prevoyons un long week-end aux temples d'Angkor (Cambodge), ainsi qu'en Chine. Avis aux amateurs! Ceux qui souhaitent nous rejoindre sont les bienvenus... En vous attendant, nous sommes toujours en train de preparer notre ste de photos, je vous en dirai plus la prochaine fois.
Bon dimanche a tous, sous vos applaudissments, et bien sur, ne l'oublions pas en France: BONNE FETE DES MAMANS!!!!

T8

2006-05-16T22:44:00.000+08:00

So in Hong Kong there are mainly three seasons: the summer - hot and humid, the winter - not quite cold and can be rainy, and the monsoon - big fat rain and occasional typhoons which hit the city and make our windows wobble. Tomorrow, T8 is meaning to hit. T8 means that you don't go to work and stay where you are (woohoo), and T10 means that you tape your windows and stay where you are (not so woohoo). I shouldn't be, but I'm actually quite excited! I don't generally love storms, but I just feel that it's a way of acclimating ourselves to the HK tropical Asian climate. People fill up their fridges as if WWIII was declared, trees start moving their palms, and TVs are all on to follow the alerts. The problem is... our fridge broke down! So we don't have any fresh food for tomorrow when the the typhoon is due, and we have almost seen all of our DVDs! But we should survive our first one and take pictures for you to see :-) i'll update you very soon.
lots of love to you all.
xxxE

La plateforme ideale

2006-05-11T21:27:00.000+08:00

Hong Kong est magnifiquement placee. Pour ceux qui ont oublie leur cours de geographie, l'ile d'HK est situee au sud de la Chine, a l'est du Viet Nam, a l'ouest de Taiwan et au nord-ouest des Philippines. Cette fabuleuse situation nous permet de voyager rapidement loin de notre territoire.
Je rentre donc de 3 jours a Bangkok, ou je n'ai malheureusement pas vraiment eu le temps de faire le shopping tant espere, mais ou j'ai du travailler sur un evenemet que je vais organiser au mois de juillet (ca commence le 6... bonjour les celebration du 26eme...). Je suis allee d'innombrables fois a Bangkok, mais lorsqu'on vient d'HK, on compare: la circulation est bien plus mauvaise, le service bien moins efficace (quoi que bien plus sympathique), et les prix beaucoup plus bas. Bien qu'en compagnie de ma cliente pour laquelle je ne porte pas plus d'affection que ca, j'ai pu jouir d'une demi-heure de massages thais ainsi que de petits-dejeuners en bordure de Chao Praya - quel bonheur!

Alors l'aventure se confirme. HK est bien une ville qui me plait, notre choix s'impose de plus en plus comme une evidence, et mon retour au bercail a tout simplement ete... au bercail. Pour la premiere fois, j'ai eu ce sentiment, en route dans le taxi de l'aeroport, que je rentrai chez moi, chez nous. L'appartement etait laisse en desordre familier, le nouveau mobilier de la terrasse etait range vers les bambous, et je me suis ouvert une cannette de Coca en regardant les emails que j'avais manque de consulter lors de mon absence. C'est bon de rentrer chez soi.

Seventeen days to like Hong Kong

2006-04-27T16:18:00.000+08:00

So let me explain to you one thing about HK: there are 17 days of public holidays in one year, which ultimately, can make you like this place when you work here! And this weekend is a long weekend ahead of us. A lot of people will be away, but as new comers, you can imagine that getting time off isn't necessarily the priority for our employers... All our colleagues have planned their days off since Christmas, and 'on l'a dans le baba'.
So instead of feeling riled and depressed, how about discovering HK? It seems like we are in a city that we can never know enough. New venues are opening every week and I realise that there is pretty much no sport that cannot be practised here, apart, of course, form snow sports. Our previous long weekends have taken us so far to the Philippines, in Boracay, where Jimboy learnt kite surfing, and I fell in love with wind surfing. The place is simply a garden of Eden. Beaches are white and soft, the sea is so transparent that even Vanessa who is scared of Baracudas (oui oui) could swim there in peace, and you can enjoy good food all day long and parties in the evening if you want to shake your hips on stage. It is said to be the future Asian no. 1 destination for tourists, well trust me, you will say so why when you will go there! But as much as it is amazing to get out of our island and get to know Asia, we still have to know more about what is happening in Hong Kong.
So far we have explored 3 islands: Lamma, Lantau, and Macau.
Lamma is said to be the island where hippies used to live (and still) do, but how can I explain to you my confusion when the biggest Power Staion in the region is on this island?? The island is made out of one trail and a few restaurants. Quiet villages can be found at the back of the mountain and straying dogs look for a home (i swear i almost got one... he was so cute, looking at me with a little coat that said 'I need a home' and about 2 months old... Comment ne pas craquer? je vous le demande). There is no car there (yey), and if you want to go on the trail for your 'hiking trip', be aware that you will be kindly accompanied by another 480 people taking more pictures than admiring the view. Still, a nice day to spend there for visitors, i reckon.

Lantau is one of my favourite, even though i only have been there once. Beaches are not packed, and you can find hidden restaurants at every bus stop, where you can go spend a long afternoon with your mates. There is a huge 'Bouddah couche', and good bays for kite surfing. If you come around here, we'll take you to that woderful BBQ place where you can eat dsert on the beach, and stress isn't permitted.

Macau is the one island I don't really know what to think of. It used to be Portuguese until 1998, and so when you get there, you kind of have this European feeling that I hadn't sensed for a while. Buildings are low and cars park in a 'boite a chaussures', just like in Paris. The streets are paved, you can find churches in every nook and cranny of the island, and the main street and 'place' look like Barcelona's Placa de Catalunya with fountains, and colourful buildings. On the other hand, once you have seen the fort and the Sao Paolo ruins (only rest is the facade of a Cathedral built by Japanese Christans in exile in the 1800's), there is not much else to do. You might have to go to ZE pasteleria of the island where you can get 'original' sesame and peanut biscuits and cakes, and even dried smoked boar, that James has bought "for fun" (i think he just loves it but doesn't want to admit it!) as well as some sort of dried fish and biscuits filled with seaweed. How weird! Oh... and also you have to go and try the pork chops in a bun, that you can get from a street restaurant in a deserted part of the island. That's pretty much it.

This weekend, as i mentioned, more to do. i will keep you in the loop. Joyeuses Paques, Hagsameah, et Happy St George's.

En route pour la nouvelle aventure

2006-04-25T23:09:00.000+08:00

So here we are, two months after our arrival, and our first blog is finally created. It took us some time to set this up, but you will now be able to see Hong Kong with us, live our adventure with us, and even comment on our jottings.

We left Europe on February 22nd, two months have gone. London and Paris seem far, very far from where we are now. The city isn't very big, people can be quite rude, most of our neighbourhood does not speak a word of English, but I love it. We lived for one month in an area called Wan Chai, where you can get anything at anytime. It's busy, bright, loud, but living on the 20th floor dims all that, and I enjoy the Harbour view. One month later, we finally found a flat after about a hundred visits. The 'kasbah' is small, tiny like a shoe box, but our terrace is twice as big and just for us. We have BBQs every weekend, and I love going to the groceries and have the lady at the till trying to teach you that if you don't say the number three with the correct accent you will end up saying I would like 3 kilos of underwear!

Our life is getting moving slowly, and our adventures will be told to you in retrospect or on the dot, little by little. Blogs seem to be a great invention, and easy enough for me to use, which James will admit, is a revolution.

Good night all, I shall come back to you on detailed trips. Miss ya. E