An update

Well, sitting in a cafe having just finished lunch, I guess I should put something a little more detailed onto the blog. We will see how much detail I can be bothered writing.

As I mentioned, the apartment here is fine if a little small for two people. We originally expected Sonia to be in Bangkok, so it puts a little strain on things. Luckily the cafes around HK have wireless Internet access, so we are able to spend time sitting/reading/working in Pacific Coffee and other places.

We have been trying to be good food-wise, generally cooking chicken and salad at night. Last night I got some mustard and breadcrumbs and we attempted to cook the chicken breasts with a crust. It seemed to work ok (tasted alright) but was probably not very healthy. This was accompanied by salad (lettuce, tomato, bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, cucumber), and fried mushrooms. Tonight needs to be healthier....

I have been going to a gym most days, usually 1-2 hours each time. The gym is about 15 minutes walk down the hill from the apartment, so that helps on the exercise side as well. The routine at the gym is normally 30 minutes on the bike, aiming to get the pulse up to around 150-160 (no problem at the moment!). Then every second day is a "weights day", so I follow the bike with about 30-40 minutes on the machines. I am trying to get to the point where I can do a full set (15-12-12) of chin-ups. I have a bit to go yet... Finally, I normally finish off with 30-45 minutes walking on the treadmill, aiming to have my pulse around 120-130.

The first week I think I overdid it a little. I found that I was getting a bit tired and requiring less and less resistance to have my pulse at the desired levels. After taking a day off and also reducing the treadmill time a bit, I think this is sorted out. Between leaving the apartment in Tokyo on 31st October and getting into the gym here in the 3rd week in October, my exercise regime was a bit erratic (sometimes at the Conrad in Bangkok, a couple of times on the treadmill at the hotel in HK). I suspect that I was simply too ambitious getting back into a proper routine in HK.

At night we are tending to get a bit bored. TV in HK has many more options than was available in Tokyo, so it is tempting to blob out in front of the TV at night. We need to find ways of getting out and around.

A few times in discussions in Tokyo we commented that it was much easier to meet people in Japan compared to HK. We'd put this down to the higher level of isolation in Japan - language factors and significantly lower proportion of expats. Sure enough, this feels true now that I am in Bangkok and trying to make contacts here. Oh well, just need to find the methods that work in HK.

I mentioned previously that the property market in HK is dropping at the moment. It is not uncommon to walk past a real estate agent shop and see signs where prices have been crossed out and replaced with a lower figure more than once. Reading a couple of online forums, many people are commenting (both landlords and renters) on how things are changing. At this point most people are expecting it to continue sliding until Q2 next year.

Good to hear that Paul has cottoned on to the joys of Eggs Benedict. I need an independent review of the final product, so please feel free to forward me your ratings and I will add him to the list.

We are thinking ahead to what we will do for Christmas. At this stage the favourite is Caprice for Christmas dinner. If you look back to a previous blog entry, you will recall that this is the place where I had veal brains for a main dish. The Christmas menu at Caprice looks very yummy. However we are not sure whether to book at this stage. Sonia's company is disorganised as ever and is unable to confirm which country she will be in at the time. Will it be Thailand (assuming the government gets the terrorists get sorted out), Vietnam, or even UK? Who knows.

This afternoon I have to go and submit a pile of documents to the HK immigration department. This is the supporting documentation for my spouse visa...

Well, I think that is enough for now.

PS: D&S - can you please post some photos of the new house (inside and out).
PPS: Jordan and Kyla - time to update your blogs.