Rainy Days

I've been in Hong Kong for just over 4 weeks now and realize that I was very lucky in that first month. Aside from the obvious - being able to live in Hong Kong - the weather was gorgeous. It was generally sunny with very little rain and several days that felt like the sun was bobbing alongside me as I walked down the street instead of 93 million miles away. That changed this week and I'm reminded what this region of the world can be like. You guessed it - rainy!

The first downpour we got caught in was on Monday night with another couchsurfer friend, Mario. Sam and I were showing him our favorite bars and upon leaving Le Boudoir, we were met with a rain that stops you in your tracks if you were previously planning a move outside. After attempting to stealthily move from doorway to doorway to avoid the rain, we realized it was useless and just ran around in the rain - which is pretty enjoyable when it's 85 degrees and you don't have to worry about looking nice at your destination (in this case, home).

Rain seen from Le Boudoir's doorway. Central, Hong Kong. 10 June 2013

Markets near our apartment on a rainy day. 14 June 2013

What's new:
This isn't the newest news, but I think it's pretty cool and just got around to grabbing photographic evidence. Sam won two awards for his hockey season with CIHL - Rookie of the Year and Best Forward. In true semi-pro Hong Kong hockey fashion, the awards were presented at a ceremony in a bar with free beer. I had the chance to meet some of the other players, most being expats and many from Canada. Fun group of people with really interesting backgrounds and jobs. Easy to see why Sam enjoyed the season so much.

Sam's awards shown in front a large cardboard apple cutout in our apartment.

What I've learned:
I love live jazz. Luckily, Hong Kong and our neighborhood in particular have some great spots to enjoy it in. The closest one to our apartment is Peel Fresco on Peel St across from  Joyce is Not Here, which also has a great vibe and reminds me of my mom - hey mama! Another bar is Gecko Lounge which is great to take visitors to for its speakeasy ambience and entrance in a shady alley. There are a lot of speakeasy type spots that are quite a lot of fun to go to. I'm convinced that Sam found them by just opening random doors when he walks around. Regardless, it's really fun to visit them :)