Since I started blogging a good time after I started modeling, there's a few good stories I haven't shared.
One being, my trip to Hong Kong.
I was signed with Style Model Management and lived there for 3 months.
It's really hard to describe 3 months in an Asian country in a blog post.
There's so much to explain.
Modeling, entertainment, and a completely different culture.
So I've broke it down to a list of Pro's and Con's.
Things I liked about Hong Kong, and things I didn't.
Pros
- Work
Hong Kong had a ton of work. I was working at least 2 times every week. For those who aren't familiar with modeling, that's a good amount. I'm not talking about castings either, I'm talking about actual jobs. Also, I don't recall once ever getting paid in trade. Trade (getting clothing instead of money) is pretty common in Nyc.
- Clubs
I had some of the most fun I've ever had going out in HK. Models got serious hook ups there. Free food, free entry, free drinks. I spent one night hanging out with the LA Galaxies, the LA soccer team! I even got to go to a Tiesto concert on the beach!
- Cheap
While I was there the exchange rate was ridiculous. 1 US Dollar = 7.5 HK Dollars. I really wish I would have done more shopping!
- English
Hong Kong used to be a British Colony. So while they do speak Cantonese (Chinese language) they also speak English! Pretty much everything is written in English as well.
- Subway
The subway system there was AMAZING. I never knew how much a good subway mattered. But they have it mastered. Everything is so easy from boarding to paying to transferring to exiting the station. It's also super clean and kinda artsy. Nyc is really lagging.
- Activities
There's a ton of things to do in Hong Kong. You can visit temples. This is one that was across the street from the model apartment where I lived.
I visited Disney Land there!
The city also had a mountain top, Victoria's Peak, that was the highest spot in the city. You could see all around. Sadly, I had a horrible camera.
Cons
- Smelly
I HATE going to china town in nyc. Why? Because it smells like dead fish and other random putrid unknown smells that hits you like a tsunami. Hong Kong smells the same way. Granted there are a lot of areas that aren't so bad, but then there are a lot of areas that are. Really. Bad.
- Food
Here in America I LOVE Chinese food. But Chinese food in China is not Chinese food as we know it. First, they have a lot less health regulations than in America. When I was there, there was some recall on pastries for having anti freeze in them. There's a lot of markets that have live animals and inserts and wiggly squirmy things that you can go pick out to eat. I remember walking through one once that had live snakes. Also, it's perfectly acceptable to burp.
- Pollution
The first thing I noticed when I got out of the airport is how grey the sky is. It's from air pollution. There's always a haze.
- Price Haggle
To some price haggling would be in the Pros list. Not for me. In America if an item is a certain price than it is that price. There's no negotiating. In HK it's weird not to haggle. Which was a very uncomfortable thing for me to do. I often avoided buying things just for that reason. However, HK does have a ton of street markets that are a lot of fun to walk around and dig through.
I'm really angry I didn't have a better camera while I was there.
Overall Hong Kong was an amazing experience and the good far out weighed the bad.
I'll upload a new post soon with editorials from Hong Kong.
