My Arrival into Hong Kong and Life in Lam Tin

I arrived in Lam Tin after a crazy night out in Australia as I said my goodbyes to the amazing time I had living in the land down under. It was emotional and sad to leave it all behind. But my life had taken me to Lam Tin, an Eastern suburb in the skyscraping metropolis that is Hong Kong. In 2011 I moved to Asia for the first time.

I came here first on holiday to stay for just 6 days with Panny and ended up getting a job, having to work 2 of those days, thus having to quit my job in Australia and start life anew once again, here in Lam Tin.

Lam Tin, means “Blue Field”, of which there aren’t any in the area as it’s all “built up”. The MTR station is decorated in pretty blue though. But there is a lot of green hills, multi- coloured sky scrapers and views down over the city.

The airport bus to Lam Tin. It’s an A22 and I’m oh so familiar with it now – think I’ve used it about 5 or 6 times in the 8 months I’ve been here.

Arrival at the bottom of my new home – the skyscrapers at Hong Pak Court. With a backpack. On a hot day. Ready to move in!

Flying the Northern Ireland flag at Hong Pak Court. Willing to bet nobody else has ever done that.

Our green skyscraper. Shui Pak House. We live on the 21st Floor.

My new bedroom in Lam Tin.

The lounge, including not just Panny my girlfriend, but also her Mum “Batmo” or Yin Ming Tang. A very welcoming family.

The bedroom view out of my window. Incredible for a boy from Marlo in Bangor, where the highest building is probably a church.

The utility room complete with weird laundry bags and countless umbrellas. This is Hong Kong culture.

The kitchen!

First meal that Batmo cooked for me! Spicy pork ribs and rice. The Guinness was my idea. Although the food here is not really my thing, I have tried many and various local cuisines!

The hall way.

The corridor by the flat.

The view from down below.

The car park. Each individual block of flats in the Kong has one massive multi storey car park. They know how to make use of space in the Kong.

The main entrance to Hong Pak Court.

The plan of Hong Pak Court.

Our street.

The local 7-11 Shop.

The night time view from my bedroom.

The run of late night red taxis on our street.

This bus, the 215x is the one I used to get to work when I moved here and worked in Delaney’s Irish Pub in TST. This photo was taken the very first time I got on that bus, just a few hours after arriving in Hong Kong. I had no idea it would become my regular bus!

The local Dim Sum restaurant, which we only ate at once, in May 2011 on my very first day in Hong Kong. It has since changed hands and has a new name. This was the first time I tried “Dim Sum” in Hong Kong – it’s traditional Cantonese cuisine and a Hong Kong institution. Hardly my favourite meal ever but still nice to sample now and then as it’s Panny’s culture.

It’s about a 17 minute walk to the MTR station at Lam Tin (walking south west), and the walk takes you past a cracking view of Hong Kong, busy locals and more shopping centres than my home town put together.

The MTR Station at Lam Tin. A regular hang out for me to and fro.

Another view of the lounge. This comfy yellow settee has since been replaced. The hanging clothes are still there. This is typical of the Kong.

The TV. I have never bought a TV in my life – true story! I did have 2 before – 1 in Northern Ireland and 1 in England – both however were either presents from my parents or their old TVs that were being replaced. I don’t really watch much TV anymore…

With Batmo and with Panny at home in Lam Tin.

The bus park on Pik Wan Road – you can get big buses and mini-buses to places like Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui from here.

At the start the 62S was my common mini-bus to and from Tsim Sha Tsui, where I worked at Delaney’s Irish Pub.

The night time view on the walk from Hong Pak Court down to the MTR station.

My nearest “big” supermarket – this is called “Wellcome” – they are everywhere in the Kong. Note the mis-spelling, which may be a genuine error in fact!

In the flat ready for my first day of work in Hong Kong – first week of June 2011.

Delaney’s Irish Pub in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photos taken from my first day of work in Hong Kong.

First time I got the night bus home from work. The 62S from Tsim Sha Tsui direct to the Kwong Tin Estate, which is the adjacent estate to Hong Pak Court.

However after just over 3 months working in Delaney’s Irish Pub, I am now a teacher here in Hong Kong which is busy and varied!

Strange currencies – Hong Kong Dollars and Cents. Safe to say I’m pretty used to them all by now. Pretty notes they have in the Kong, and you can still use old and new ones together! This includes notes dating back to the British Days, pre July 1997.

The children’s playground at the bottom of our block of flats.

The long street that we live on/off – Pik Wan Road. Was it just a case that we “picked one road”?

A thunderstorm in Lam Tin during my first week here. The umbrella culture here is laughable and to me, ridiculous. They use umbrellas if it spits, if the sun shines and just about in any weather. This gets particularly annoying as they try to poke your eye out. I still have never bought an umbrella in my life and I have no intention to. God gave us rain as a gift. We are blessed.

Night time view of the bottom of our green and white gaping tower block.

My local bus stop where I always got the 215x Bus to Tsim Sha Tsui where I worked when I moved here last year.

More amazing day time views from the bottom of our flat. Just incredible. That’s Hong Kong Island in the background. The buildings on the left are still in Kowloon – just down from us at Yau Tong.

Panny and some of her family in the flat in Lam Tin.

Our local 7-11 shop at night.

The beauty about the view from the bottom of our flat is that is changes all the time. This ones a cracker!

My family have been here too! There’s a few photos from their visit, which was at the end of July and start of August 2011. This was the first time I had seen my family since leaving England in October 2009. I have since been back to Northern Ireland once to visit them. I think they liked Hong Kong, despite the hot climate here. It was the furthest place my sister had ever travelled to.

So that’s my new home – Lam Tin in a nutshell. It’s a busy life living in the Kong that’s for sure – It is almost 9 months since I first arrived here!

Transport Used – MTR train (the tube, the underground, the subway, the metro), Mini-Bus (“See You Pa”), Bus, Car (Panny’s family share one), Taxi.

Our Flat – 21st Floor of Shui Pak House in Hong Pak Court, Lam Tin

Who lives here – Jonny Blair, Panny Yu, Leise Yu, Cara Yu, Batmo, Tinny (the maid)

Strange Currencies – Hong Kong Dollars and Cents

MY VIDEOS:

VIDEO OF THE VIEW TO HONG KONG ISLAND FROM LAM TIN:

1. at sunset