Typhoon Time

Being a coastal city, Hong Kong is subject to typhoons. This is a bit new for me, since I've never lived so close to the ocean before.

They categorize the typhoons into four categories - T1, T3, T8, and T10. No one can seem to tell me why there aren't T2, T4-7, or T9. Must be a Chinese thing. That's usually the case. :)

At T8, they shut down all public transportation, which is pretty significant considering the amount of transit used per day here. Imagine shutting down the buses and subway in New York. That's a big deal.

Today we were at T3. It was so windy and the rain was pounding. I love the rain, but I got soaked each time I had to leave the building. Doesn't it figure that the one day it's typhooning is the day I have to walk around outside the most?

I was supposed to go to Macau tomorrow, which is an outlying island and would require ferry transportation. I've decided to go next weekend to avoid being stranded in Macau if the ferries are closed. Just to fill you in, I have to go to Macau, which is part of China, because of my visa. See, I entered HK on a visitor visa because my work visa was not approved yet. I have now been approved, and I have to leave the country, and re-enter with the correct visa. Basically, I have to go through the border at Macau (or anywhere in China), put my visa sticker on my passport, and come back through the border on the work visa. It's a pain, but it must be done.

Back to the typhoon ... apparently, with the first big T storm of the season, these flying ant things come out and it's like a plague descending on your household. Literally. They come in, and they die all over the floor. What's really fun is I was finishing up painting this evening, and I now have a collection of these bugs stuck in my paint. I also had the privelege of watching an army of ants carry one of these dead flying things up the wall of my bathroom. It's been a unique day. They all are.