Consulates and working abroad

Renewing government/official documents are normally a time consuming process. Throw in the limited embassy/consulate office hours and you can get a frustrating experience while working abroad. But surprisingly my passport renewal wasn't so bad. I managed to get my passport renewed after two trips out to the Canadian Consulate General in Quarry Bay.

The first trip out there was on a Saturday, which was great that the dropbox at their office is opened after hours. All I had to do was complete the simplified renewal form and submit it along with the require documents and fee. A couple of days later I received in the mail a notice confirming my application was received. Unfortunately they don't mail back the passports and you have to pick it up in person. 

The tricky thing about picking up the passports is that they have about a two hour window for passport pickups during the weekday (Mon.-Thurs.). Also, they really only let family members pick it up for you. Luckily I had some help from CharK :)

CharK also picked up poppies for the two of us from the Consulate: 

It's been awhile since I've seen a poppy in HK. So it was a nice to see the Consulate here is taking donations for Remembrance Day. 

Local fish and chips

I love living in TKO and being so close to nature. I have a beautiful view of the mountain (Sheung Yeung Shan) and walking distance to nearby hiking trails. But sometimes I get lost in the hustle and bustle of work and every day life that I feel like I'm stuck in the concrete jungle. 

So this weekend I decided to head out to Sai Kung for a change of pace. Aside from local seafood, Sai Kung is well known for its cafes and bars and other western takeout places.

Today I tried a British style fish and chip takeout place called "Chip In". The food is extremely fresh since they are made to order. Of all the snacks that I tried, the lime flavored deep fried fish skin (aka fish crackers) was my favorite. It was light and super crunchy!

Delicious Menu!

Assorted snacks (CW from the top): lime flavored deep fried fish skin; fish and chips; deep fried oreos; fried calamari

Another fun treat is the deep fried oreo. Apparently "Chip In" is the only shop in HK which sells this snack. For some reason the oreo reminds me of a donut/timbit

After the snack CharK and I had a nice walk around the beach. I was really surprised to see the leaves on some of the trees changing colors. You can see the leaves on this one here is starting to turn red:

Welcome to Autumn...