hong kong flat rent

so we had moved into our new flat. and i am delighted to recommend Cetaline agency as proved specialist. Their shops could be found on MTR stations, so just come in and ask for an English speaker (very important! as after showing a flat there will be a process of contract signing and you need to understand what was said!). Normal for Hong Kong property owner to ask for two months deposit plus 1 month rent plus 50% fee for your agent. So renting a flat is a finance requiring exercise - be prepared!
ask me in comments if you are interested in some particular area - i might have some info or advise!

Typhoon Signal 8

So the Typhoon signal went up to 8 this morning. Means - you don't need to go to work. As its out first typhoon  we were kind of wondering - how does it feel to be outside as out from our window it looked like pleasant wind!
We went out about 12am - and it was indeed nice cool wind after all these days with crazy heat we really liked typhoon!
I believe when its 10 and could move things like cars - might be scary and its better to stay in, but 8 (which is regarded as danger) is not dangerous at all really.  Might be a way to get extra holidays, don't you think?

urban landscape

Some arias of the city are horrible. And ridiculous thing - prestigious! this is Kowloon area and just 3min away from this "nice" view there are all these fancy shopping centers and expensive flats... well - everyone has a choice!
As we definitely prefer further areas like New Territories with no construction, with open landscape view, with the sea close by.
Though I presume people are just used to that kind of environment and simply not noticing how awful it looks...

Enjoy Typhoon Time :)

Its Typhoon coming here! Started yesterday with crazy heat +35 degrees. Though until its Signal 8 everything stays same. Apparently when its 8, people are leaving workplaces, but we had been told they are just going to party because of short working hours :)
So - Typhoon - sounds scary - yes! is it really scary - looks like not at all!

panic in the crowd

Today we had decided to do some things in Hong Kong island - Central MTR, one of the most busy places in city. I had never realized how many people you can actually put in one place at same time. Starting with the Subway and all around - streets and shopping centers - people are constantly moving, walking all directions you can reach with your eye. They are almost all Chinese and they are actually speaking Chinese as well! The air is hot and sticky, food places are smelling of ... food. For someone used to Scottish open space and cool air landscape this could be another challenge. So beware of time peak or weekends - get used to this gradually, use taxi to get away quickly in case you would get a sort of panic attack as I ended up with today... (shower helps to deal with this).

Hong Kong - flat renting

so.. we are here. safely arrived and looking for accommodation to rent. this is not that easy as it sounds to be. i had over relied on English level of people here.. So if you are looking for a flat here - could be a challenge. the best advise for now - try all the meanings possible - call agents, go in their shops personally, search internet. out of 100% effort you will get about 5% result, so you really want your effort to be 1000%...

the requirement we have is the low level of the flat witch seems to be a challenge as well - had visited today couple of flats 21, 27 floor... don't really know how do they manage to fall asleep calmly on that hight!


will keep you posted. might be back with the review of agents once it works for us! wish us good luck!

Thats where we are starting

So. Tomorrow we are moving from Edinburgh to Hong Kong. I had never been to Asia at all. And I am not exactly sure what my expectations are. Anyway - no expectations is the best way to avoid disappointment! :) 

We are flying with Lufthansa via Frankfurt. Safe flights for us! :)