Trip

Well, I assume the ever-efficient grapevine has already passed around the news of another trip to NZ. I am off to Auckland from 8th to 28th September, to look for a house to buy. No, this is not a sign that we are returning to live in NZ. Just a sign that Auckland's property market appears to be picking itself up out of the dumps. As a result we are thinking that now is a good time to get back into the market ourselves. So it will be a few weeks of tripping around the open homes, agents' offices, and houses. And of course the banks to see if any of them will be stupid enough to lend us money. Warning: if the banks are not open to sharing in our investment, we might be calling on family...

Then it is back to HK, by which time I hope the temperature has calmed down a bit. It's still averaging 32 degrees and 70-80% humidity most days. Sharon was saying that it's around 14 degrees in Auckland most days, so that will be quite a change. Better get my snow-suit out.

Sonia is in HK all week. To put that in context, we are talking about her "working" in the apartment (of 40 sqm) where I attempt to work. So I guess by Tuesday (maybe Monday?) there is likely to be blood on the floor. By Wednesday she should be safely on a plane back to Bangkok. At least that is my plan - just don't tell her...

The Late Show

Well I have gotten interested and stayed up watching The Late Show (David Letterman). Just flicked across the channels, and I noticed the weather channel is saying it is 29 degrees and 81% humidity... But hey, at least the UV index is 0. I guess it should be - being 11:45 at night, and dark and all...

Rain, rain, go away

It is Typhoon season (in case you had not worked this out from the extensive news coverage over the past week or so). This means that it is not just hot, but also wet. When it is not raining, the humidity is very high. For example at around 9pm last night it was still 28 degrees, and 87% humidity. At this time of year this means you need to carry your umbrella most days. Even if the forecast does not specify rain, there are often brief showers to take into account.

It is also the time of year when two showers a day becomes normal (at least for me). One when you get up in the morning (as usual), another when you get home sweaty and hot. Pleasant mental picture?

Success

In two ways...

Apparently I chose the correct apartment - the one with the Queen size bed. At least that's what Sonia says. We now reside in the Chi apartments in Jordan, Kowloon. A one-bedroom apartment that is nicer (albeit smaller) than the one we were in on The Island, for a reasonable amount less. And it's furnished and serviced (dishes washed every day, floor cleaned, linen changed, etc)... It's true that the apartment is a lot smaller, but it will be ok for a while. We are also the proud renters of (yet another) a storage unit in Kennedy Town. Really just a big lockable cupboard...

The second "success" is having finished cleaning the old apartment. I have spent Monday and half of Tuesday cleaning it from top to bottom. Handover to the landlord is tomorrow afternoon, at which point I want to ensure there is no reason for the landlord to retain any portion of the deposit. In HK there is almost zero regulatory protection for renters - the landlord can do pretty much whatever they want - claim cleaning, repairs, etc. The last landlord we had was very good, and refunded 100% of the deposit (possibly because Sonia left the apartment very clean?). We are hopeful that this landlord will be similarly inclined. Deposit is equivalent to two months rent, so it is not insignificant...

Handover is at 4pm tomorrow (Wednesday), and before that I have two meetings and need to get to the gym. A busy day, I guess.

Time for another update, I feel

Well it has been a while since the last real update... again.

In between I have been to Thailand twice, first time to visit the Ellwoods and the de Jongs on their respective ways back to India and Burma. Second time was this weekend just gone, when Sonia and I went to Phuket. I have come back sun-burnt on my shoulders and back, while Sonia remains white as a sheet.

Tomorrow (Saturday), we will be moving apartment to a serviced apartment on the Kowloon side. This is of course a major move, as we will no longer be "on the island". One step closer to China, so I guess we will need to watch out. We are still not sure what we will do for a longer term place to live, so we've booked the serviced apartment for 3 months. By that stage we should know one way or the other.

In the email news today I saw an article saying that unemployment shot up in NZ last month, and is forecast to rise further next year. Bummer! Hope you are all keeping your heads down and working hard.

Sonia should be on her plane around the time I write this - it's a 6:40 flight from Bangkok. I will have to go down and collect her from the Airport Express station - she has no HK money for a taxi. It's still quite warm at night this time of year. As a result it is an exercise in judgment in terms of walking slowly enough to get there without being covered in sweat but still arrive on time!

Bangkok

Word to the wise. Never go through Bangkok airport without a book to read in the immigration queues. Even at midnight they seem incapable of matching the number of staff to the workload - and that is even knowing the airline schedules in advance!