HOUSE HUNTING IN HONG KONG
June 23 Thursday 2005

>> I think this is my longest journal entry to date.

I’ve spent the entire week and a half trudging around Hong Kong, in the hope of finding a flat to rent. I started in Causeway Bay (having been priced out of Central & Mid-Levels), but after viewing half-a-dozen apartments, I realised that I couldn’t afford anything bigger than a postage stamp. These places were tiny, and were usually one apartment split into three or four smaller ones. They had the feel of a university halls-of-residence, except infinitely smaller, and the communal areas were so dirty that I felt ill.

I can’t begin to describe how upset I was after viewing these properties. I suppose I was already a little emotional, having just heard that my father was selling our house in the UK and starting afresh with his new wife. It dawned on me that even during my years of traveling and sleeping about, I’ve always had somewhere to call “home”, even if it was thousands of miles away. But now that's gone; and I felt really disheartened, especially after viewing so many horribly, dingy flats.

But a new day brings renewed hope, and I started branching out to places like Sheung Wan and Fortress Hill. These locations are further out, so they are cheaper. A huge wave of relief washed over me when I realised that I could actually afford to rent a place that was a decent size, i.e. over 300 sq feet. I almost moved into one of the apartments I viewed, but something stilled my hand. I've always longed to be in the heart of the city, and so I decided to keep looking.

I eventually wound up in Wan Chai, and despite its reputation for being really cheap and nasty, I found some awesome apartments. I was shown places that were over 600 sq feet, and cheaper than anything else I’d seen. I was literally falling over myself to sign along the dotted line, until I was informed that most of these places had “illegal structures” built into them.

An illegal structure is basically a room/area that has been “added” to an apartment, and not been declared to the Government, thereby avoiding land charges/tax: hence becoming illegal. But because there are thousands of flats in Hong Kong, the law is literally impossible to enforce, and the chances of getting caught are practically nil. I found an illegal place that had really high ceilings, two levels and that was 700 sq feet – I was so tempted to take it up.

But as I was standing in the middle of this grand apartment, I was reminded of the parable in the Bible about the man who built his house on sand. God has given me a brand new start in Hong Kong, and so I don’t want to build my new life on what I know to be illegal and what I know to be a lie. I'm determined to put my trust in God and to have Him be my rock... and so I continued my search.

Since then, I’ve seen around 20+ apartments. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is going through estate agents who either forget to turn up, or who try to off-load their really crap properties onto you. But praise the Lord; I’ve finally found a place that I’m really happy with.

It’s in Wan Chai on Lockhart Road (away from all the strip-joints and night-clubs) and is surprisingly quiet for this part of the city. It’s literally two minutes from a taxi rank, tram stop, bus-station and MTR, and is a five-minute walk from the harbour front and Star-Ferry. There’s an HSBC bank around the corner, Park n’ Shop, Wellcome, lots of cheap diners and classy restaurants (along the waterfront), stationary stores, book stores and a 24 hour McDonalds all within a five minute radius of my apartment. I just love the fact that it’s right in the centre of Hong Kong Island, nestled between Causeway Bay and Admiralty.

The apartment is just over 400 sq feet (these photos don’t really do it justice) and is completely empty. There is loads of storage place and the kitchen is relatively large for a place of this size. What I particularly like is the window that stretches across the front of the flat and the unusually high ceilings. I’ve already met my neighbours and they’re really nice people… I think I’m going to enjoy living here.

Addendum: I am completely exhausted from having spent the last two days scrubbing and cleaning this apartment from top-to-bottom.