Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Have Apartment, Will Move!

Pictures to come.  The unit is a very small space, on the fourth floor of a walk-up, or "tonglau".  The fourth floor in Hong Kong is really five flights up though, because there is a ground floor (which happens to be an adorable cupcake shop).  I'll definitely not need a Stairmaster during my time here.

We've gotten some funny looks by referring to the building as a walk-up, and we finally realized that a walk-up is shorthand for the UK equivalent of a walk-up brothel, which leads to some confusion and awkward pauses when you say: "Walk-ups are just so unique and charming here" or "We've been visiting a lot of walk-ups but can't decide if they're worth the price" or "We just love walk-ups!"

The building is very unique because it overlooks a little park, and only contains one unit per floor.  Unlike typical tonglau in Hong Kong, this building is completely free-standing, which means that the unit has windows on every side.(!)  For normal people who live by normal standards in actual houses, I'm sure that this does not seem particularly amazing.  But in the land of cardboard box living, it is special.

I am also trying to justify the "coziness" of this unit with its brand new amenities, bright and airy interior, generous kitchen (for Hong Kong) and, perhaps THE selling point, the big private roof terrace.  Basically, this unit has beacoup de charme in spades.

It's in a really central location (perhaps too central - I actually wanted something a bit more out of the way, quieter, away from the bars and restaurants) but having gone to check it out on two separate nights, I'm satisfied that at least the apartment interior is quiet. 

Getting ahead of myself a bit here, but I am already ambitiously contemplating what vegetables, herbs and flowers to plant. 

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