Rain is coming

Typhoon season is fast approaching and Hong Kong is due to be hit by around 5 - 7 typhoons this summer according to the weather experts. The typhoon grading system has changed slightly so we now have either a typhoon, a strong typhoon or a super typhoon. I think calling the strongest possible level of death causing weather "super" is a little strange as it can be read two different ways.

So before the unpredictable weather hits I am trying to take advantage by going on some hikes and camping trips etc. The picture above was taken on my hike over the Wan Chai mountain last week and I have two camping trips planned over the next two weekends which should be cool.

My weekend so far has been event filled. I visited my physiotherapist who is making some serious improvements to my bad back on Saturday morning and had sushi for lunch with a friend. I then took part in the company "scavenger hunt", which involved rushing round Hong Kong looking for clues and completing tasks. One of the tasks was to lay on a bed in Ikea with my entire team and have someone take a picture of us, which got strange looks. Saturday night I went to a very famous restaurant that serves Peking duck, there were 8 of us there and we consumed three ducks with pancakes and it was seriously tasty stuff.

It's now Sunday morning and the plan is to go for a run then cook my lunch for the following week at work. Later today I am going to a house party where you have to bring a type of Cheese. Im going for some smelly cheese.

bx

A mix of things

I have been to see my friends perform in their band "Kowloon City Strike Force" for the third time this weekend. They are getting better with each show, which is good. The lead singer is going to cause himself serious throat damage though unless he goes to singing lessons of some sort, because he sings so loudly. The general feeling in the crowd seemed to be that he was really out of tune too, but I think that is because the band is too loud for him to hear himself sing, if that makes sense.


Watching the band perform though was only the middle part of my evening. Previously I was at a house party which was largely full of people I did not know. I seemed to overcompensate for this by a wholehearted involvement in drinking games and combined it with forgetting to consume any dinner. Earlier that day I had also been on a hike from Wan Chai to Aberdeen, walking over the mountain and becoming dehydrated in the Hong Kong sun.


So by the time I saw my friends play in their band I had no issue shouting full and vocal support at them, along with what could well have been a more subtle and quiet criticism of the lead singer. I then ended my evening returning to the houseparty, then to a club, then to another club and then home. Then to the bathroom, then bed, then bathroom, then bed, in a loop that lasted till Monday evening.


I am now not drinking till the end of the month. I have also learnt a very valuable lesson that I will take with me for the rest of my life.

Always make sure no one is recording a video of your friends in their band when you are drunk and loudly commentating on the lead singer.



On a more friendly note, look at a picture of me dressed as Father Christmas!







bx

Friday night with style

On Friday during the daytime I spilt my lunch down my shirt, dropped a cup of water on my desk and broke my computer keyboard. I then went home and my key could no longer open my flat, so I had to call a locksmith. I then later slipped and fell whilst getting out of my shower.

Considering all this you would have thought that I might reconsider going gambling to Macau last night. But I did not, the theory being that with so much bad luck, I had to have something going for me in Macau.

When we arrived in Macau we got our passports stamped and headed straight to the best Casino in town. The Venetian.

Nikki and Laura had never been there before so it was a new experience for them. We did not go straight to the gaming tables though, instead we decided to ease ourselves into the evening by having a drink and watching the live music at the Bellini Lounge.

Then it was time to spend our money. I went straight to the Roulette tables, cashing in 200 HKD for chips and sitting myself down next to an old lady wearing big diamonds and betting big money. What is great about a Casino is the free drinks they provide if you are betting. The idea behind it is that you get drunk and spend more money, though with a little self control you can get your moneys worth of free drink by only making small regular bets.

I turned my 200 HKD into 500 HKD then lost it all. Which is fine because I had been at the table for ages and it was money that I had already decided I could afford to lose. We then went for a walk around the indoor canal area upstairs in the Casino. And the drink had clearly started having an effect.

After that we hit the electronic gambling machines, and I managed to make 20 HKD last me another few free drinks and actually won enough cash to go for dinner at 3am in the posh Chinese dim sum place they had in the center of the casino. After some very tasty food we returned to the Bellini lounge for a while before returning to do some gambling.

I won some money and then lost some, then won some again in a never ending circle.

And so by around 4.30 am we decided to call it a night in Macau. The entire evening of music watching, gambling, chinese food eating, drinking and travel had cost me 600 Hong Kong Dollars. Which is not bad considering the ferry is 300 HKD return in itself.

So I left Macau feeling quite lucky indeed, having had a good night and lots of fun.

I returned to Wan Chai at sunrise and found the entire district shrouded in smoke. A fire was burning in a building up the street and the smell of smouldering plastic and household material was swirling and clouding the streets. My widows in my flat had been left open, and my bad luck had returned.

bx

Runners

Rush hour in Hong Kong is an experience like no other. Whether it is the "soothing" music that is played to try and calm you down or the endless shoulder barging you receive, there really is nothing quite like it.

One aspect that always has me shaking my head in amusement is the 'runners' on the underground train. There is a transfer station between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon which requires you to exit one train then cross a 70 meter space to board the next train.

Just before you arrive at this transfer station everyone is calm and composed. Reading books, listening to music or chatting on the phone.

Then the doors open. And 30% of the passengers go mental.

They throw their hands in the air, they wave and scream like banshees and run as if their pants are on fire across the 70 meter space between the two train platforms. I swear I have seen children slip and fall and parents briefly consider leaving the child rather than miss the train. It's modern natures way of factoring out the runt of the litter.

Another common sight is to see men throw their heads downwards and run across the platform in a battering ram style. Old ladies on deaths door for thirty seconds are suddenly reborn, able to walk straight and dash across to the next train with the speed of a teenager.

If this was not enough craziness to witness, even more amazing is the following.

1. The 'runners' do it whether there is a train pulling into the platform opposite or not.
2. There are trains every 2 minutes during rush hour.

I am going to video the crossing sometime soon just to show you.

B x

The biggest loser

The gym that I go to is the same one that I have been visiting with a varying attendance record since I first arrived in Hong Kong three years ago.

Whilst my own attendance has been sporadic, one continuous element has been the timing of my visits with that of an overweight, over-middle-age and over-tanned man. Whenever I am there he can always be seen on the treadmill, walking briskly and looking like he would rather be anywhere else than in the gym.

But his persistancy has paid off. He was at the gym Wednesday morning on the same treadmill as usual and he must now be easily 5 stone lighter than when I first started realizing that we shared a similar early morning schedule. But he still looked like he would rather be anywhere else than in the gym.

Then on Thursday night I was walking through the red light district of Hong Kong, in the general direction of our local pub. Just as I was about to enter I spotted over-middle-age and over-tanned man! He walked past me and then round the corner, having lost 5 stone but gained two prostitutes, who were hanging off his arms.

So when he looks like he would rather be anywhere else but in the gym, I am disturbed to know where he would probably rather be.


bx

I do it on the train

Since arriving back in Hong Kong I have started to realize how much the place smells.

Like any city Hong Kong has it's own special smells and they have caused me numerous flashbacks.

For example, the smell of the street vendors selling mystery meat reminds me of first experiencing them hung over with Robyn. Walking past the laundry shops reminds me of when I used to have my weekly washing done with no communication between myself and the staff except hand signals and facial expressions. I have also been to Lockhart road a few times and there is nothing quite like the smell of prostitutes burning incense on the streets in an attempt to avoid harsh judgement from the gods.

I have also become aware of some habits I have adopted since my extended stay in Hong Kong. In particular stretching at strange moments in public places. People in Hong Kong stretch all the time, old people meet in the park and do group stretching and middle aged men wave their arms around like they are possessed. I stretch in the train. That's right, in the morning whilst waiting for the train I touch my toes, stretch out my back and even sometimes reach for the sky.

I would never do that in England.

If i did, I would be pushed under a train.

bx

In England

I left Hong Kong at around 9am after not sleeping at all the night before. This was good because it meant that I slept for around seven hours of the flight and arrived not feeling too bad.

Then this happened.

The entire of the UK was hit by the worst snowstorm in 18 years.

England is not very good with varied weather. When it rains a bit we get floods, when it snows a bit the roads become too dangerous for travel and when it is summer we have hosepipe bans and drought. One constant guarantee in these uncertain times is that the people of Britain will moan and complain about the climate in whatever form it takes, as newspaper articles this week demonstrated quite nicely. To make matters worse many local councils are starting to run out of grit and salt to make the roads safe to drive on, which again is rather typical.

Surprisingly the snow has not caused my recruitment trip too much disruption. The first two days when the snow was at its worse I could not venture outside, but neither could the people that I would have been meeting. I could also reschedule those days to take place at the end of my trip so it all works out quite well.

Other than that my time in the UK so far has been quite boring. I have been travelling from university to university and have been doing presentations and interviews along the way. Annoyingly my back problem which has caused me issues for the last couple of months has resurfaced. I have also trapped a nerve which makes it impossible for me to raise my left leg if I am in a sitting position. This is not a movement that I make that often but it would be nice to have it back!

bx