Lesley in Hong Kong

Peripheral Vision

I am truly aware that the subject of walking along the pavement does not, on the face of it, seem like a subject to spark much interesting conversation. And for those of you who absolutely and completely disagree with the above and before you start yelling at your screen.

 

I feel your pain.

 

I am truly aware that walking along the pavement in Hong Kong has been covered and at the risk of seeming hyperbolic - seven million times before! It even has a name 'Asian drift'

 

Moreover (*see below) I am truly aware that people, and by that I mean people who are my friends or could be a potential friend) understand, appreciate and embrace the unwritten rules of pavement etiquette. The subtext meaning, and I feel it necessary to be completely transparent here, because if you don't understand pavement etiquette you may not get that you are not and never will be my friend if you don't practice pavement etiquette.  I have standards. 

In an all embracing positive educational lesson in personal growth the following is the previously unwritten, unspoken pavement etiquette for those of you who need it spelling out.

Pace

Keeping a pace or speed that enables the rest of humanity on the pavement  to smoothly convey themselves from lets say, their home to their work place, and not make them explode out of frustration due to the snail pace adopted by many pavement etiquette challenged people is the number one essential skill.   Walking faster than a depressed sloth is unacceptable.  Speed up!

One foot in front of the other

Getting from point a) to point b) can be much more efficient if each footfall is approximately the size of two of your own feet, one in front of the f***ing other.   This is simply achieved by picking up each foot and moving it swiftly forward.  It is essential to miss out dragging the heel of the shoe, sandal or flip flop along the pavement in a sluvenly manner.  I may need to point out that once the first foot has made it the second one should follow for the sake of succinct progress.

Stelthness

I am not suggesting you adopt a cat burglar style of walking simply a quieter one.  Pay attention to any noise you tend to make whilst in the act of walking.  If you can hear a rhythmic shushing noise which stops when you stop walking, that's you.  If you are unaware of how the noise occurs try picking your feet up as you walk and resist the temptation to drag making an annoying shushing.  I am also  aware of podiatrist advice that flip flops are really bad for your feet and also posture and cause long term spine damage, so get some shoes that stay on your feet and allow you to run for a bus if you need to.

Straight Line

In these days of smart phones there is the fairly new phenomenon of texting/viewing/sexting/lisening/adding/capturing while walking.  But, dear reader, the phenomena of drifting off the unmarked walking in a straight line - line is not new.  It is common and has been common for years and years that in Hong Kong pedestrians are given to literally wandering along pavements in a meandering fashion.  The indecisiveness of  the drifitng walk is frustrating given that pavements here are busy, in fact chockablock full of folk, all meandering along causing difficult access for others who simply want to overtake.  Without actual lines drawn on the pavement (and that is another idea hatching) the drifters are simply unable to sense another pedestrian in their peripheral vision resulting in a person (me for instance) in several failed attempts to get past. 

I try approaching from the left and just as I am in danger of getting my foot entangled with theirs they veer off to the left so I have to slow down and hang back in their slip stream while I change tactics and try the maneuver from the right.  Then there may be a possible elbow touching or shoulder bag blockage once again forcing me back into their slip stream and once again, getting frustrated now, having to walk behind a slow paced, flip flop dragging pavement etiquette challenged individual who has no peripheral vision capability.

My advice for those of you who do not realize when other people are overtaking you is to turn you head to the right or left occasionally and look.

Groups

Now to tackle the group walking along the pavement which is difficult enough to negotiate when in the group.  But to be forced into an encounter with a group and by that I mean three or more, is incredibly frustrating.  A group becomes an impenetrable mass impossible to overtake and who so often adopt a sloth paced shuffle blocking access to shop door ways or various differing turn off points along the pavement.  Should an innocent solo pavement user, like myself, decide that she wants to break away from her straight line, fairly fast paced, stealth-like walk and enter a shop,  then a group is present on  said pavement, it is near impossible to make them aware of the necessary change of direction she wants to take. 

The present situation means that a shoulder tackle of some force has to be used in order to get through the group who are heading straight (ish).  Unbelievably at these times when barging and pushing has been absolutely necessary, the members of the group adopt a hurt and shocked attitude as if they are completely unaware of the blockage they are causing.  In fact I believe they believe they are the only people on the pavement or actually in the world because their empathy with other pavement users is zilch. 

My advice to group pavement walkers is to adopt some semblance of good manners and try standing to one side while gesturing with one hand a clear and unobstructed path for any other solo pavement user to pass in front.  You could make this experience a little more enjoyable for all concerned if you said "After you" or similar, at this point. 

Couples

Walking down a crowded street holding hands is particularly annoying and blocks the steady flow of other pavement users.  Stop it!

Door Holding

Holding a door for anyone is an alien concept in these parts.  There are two ways to improve this situation.  If you go through a door first and someone is directly behind you it is good manners to hold the door for then as opposed to letting it go and risk it slamming in their face.  If you approach a door and there is a woman with a baby in a pushchair behind you, open the door wide for her and let her go first.  This goes for disabled people or injured people and is not grounds for a medal just expected behaviour in the civilized world.  Do it!

* moreover is a word that needs to be eliminated from Hong Kong.

See me - that is my teacher voice - all who continue - for detention and possible spanking.

Guilin, Yangshuo – Overnight Train from Shenzhen

A recent weekend break to China on an aeroplane actually involved sitting on the tarmac at Hong Kong International Airport for hours and hours, getting to the hotel way after midnight, feeling jaded and then experiencing the same frustrating delay on the return journey.  The result meant that instead of feeling invigorated and refreshed after my mini break I felt like I needed a week off work to recover from the ordeal. 

 So, in July I tried an alternative mode of transport into China and booked return tickets on the overnight sleeper train from Shenzhen to Guilin.  Tickets can be booked in advance from a small office in Hung Hom Station, TST.  They will charge an extra $100 commission for their service and be prepared to pay cash.  Even though they have a computer, once they’ve finished their noodles, their admin process involves hand writing receipts and keeping cash in a drawer under the desk.  There is a choice of hard seat, bottom hard sleeper and bottom soft sleeper and the price varies according to the comfort you desire.  I went for the soft sleeper which is approximately HK$500 one-way.  The journey takes around 13 hours leaving at 17.50 from Shenzhen each day. 

 As I had a China visa already I took the KCR to Lo Wu, passed through immigration into Shenzhen and walked to the Railway Station following signs for ‘long distance trains’.   

 

The waiting area bustled with travellers and once the call went out to board the train we were all duly and efficiently in our designated carriage to leave on time.  The soft sleeper is the first class area of the train and is a 4-berth compartment with clean sheets, a pillow and a duvet.  There was a chaotic buffet car which I declined to make use of.

 I was pleasantly surprised as the train pulled smoothly out of the station and after a picnic and a drop of wine, which I had cunningly prepared earlier, I simply made myself comfortable, stretching out on the soft (ish) sleeper, read my book, chatted to the nice polite Dutch couple in the same compartment, before sleeping for most of the night.  Certainly better than sitting up in economy class all night.  No one came to ask me if I wanted the chicken or the fish, no one made me put my seat belt on and I wasn’t squashed against another human wrestling for elbow space.  The toilets were better than anticipated and were even functioning and clean the next morning as we trundled into Guilin Station. 

 

Once off the train we found a local mini bus and headed for the small town of Yangshuo which is 90 minutes from Guilin.   The gorgeous limestone karst pinnacles are located right in the town of Yangshuo and surround it.  The countryside is stunning and away from the main road is quiet and peaceful.   It is possible to book a variety of tours from a variety of travel agents around the town and it’s also easy to hire a bicycle and explore without any prior, and more expensive, arrangement.   There are also options of rock climbing and kayaking for the more adventurous.

 

As it was very hot, early morning starts seemed to be the best bet to beat the crowds. We hired a couple of bikes and took them on a bamboo raft down the Li Jiang to the small village of Fuli, then to the village of Liu Gong Gu Pu where we left the raft and began a flat, easy ride back to the main town, keeping by the river, but not before sampling the freshly ground coffee at a small café offered to us by a charming waitress and her children.  We just couldn’t refuse.

 

 

 

The town of Yangshuo has a plethora of small craft shops selling any amount of trinkets and slightly quirky items to adorn yourself and your home.  There are tons of places to eat and as well as traditional Chinese food there is also a few places offering food from Italy and the USA, I’ll leave it you to guess the menu.

 

The return train left Guilin Railway Station at 21.40 so we ate a hearty meal before boarding and once back in Shenzhen at 10.30am we were ready for breakfast.    Not as luxurious or as expensive as flying first class but the benefits are equal.  All in all it was a refreshing and invigorating trip made easier by being able to sleep during the journey.  Recommended.

IKEA, MegaBox, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong - a day out.

Going to IKEA can be fraught with difficulties.  Getting around the designated pathway takes an age, getting around other customers who don't appear to be there to actually buy something, merely to stroll around at a snail's pace for a leisurely day out, similar to a walk around the park but indoors.

Today I took photographs of the various showrooms at the MegaBox IKEA of people taking advantages of the furniture to have a little rest, a sit down and even using the desk to do a bit of homework.

                                           Homework space

 

                                            Texting in the lounge room

 

                                             Snoozing not even pretending to buy the chair

                                            More texting opportunities

                                            What's on telly?

                                            Girlfriend on the high stool, boyfriend on the sofa - just flirting.

Letter to the Transport Department HK - an ode.

Dear Transport Department,

The continuing saga of my change of address

When I wrote you a letter informing you of my change of address you kindly replied immediately to my new address returning to me my used envelope and stamp, my original letter plus a pre printed letter from you asking me to provide proof of my new address by sending you copies of a recent utility bill so that you could confirm I had, in fact, changed my address.

I obliged immediately and copied a recent phone bill which I put in a new envelope and addressed to you, put my first letter in the new envelope together with your letter asking for a photocopy of said bill, the photocopy bill and then posted it to you.

Upon receipt of the letter, your letter and the requested photocopy bill showing my new address, you very kindly phoned me to tell me that I had failed to include a photocopy of my HK ID Card so could I either fax a photocopy of the HK ID card to you (because you can't receive emails) or go to the Transport Department and produce the HK ID Card so that you could verify that I am the person I say I am and that I have in fact changed my address.

After a little bit of negotiation we decided between us that I would post a photocopy of my HK ID Card to you so you informed me that you would post the original letter I sent to you informing you of my change of address, the letter you sent to me at my new address asking for the copy utility bill plus another letter asking me to send a photocopy of my HK ID Card to you so that you could verfy my new address.

I received in the post this very morning a fairly bulky letter from you, at my new address, returning my original letter, you letter to me asking for a utility bill, my photocopy of a utility bill, your letter to me asking for a copy HK ID plus my used envelope with attached used stamp duly stapled to the whole pile of papers.

I have today sent you a (to the tune of '12 days of Christmas' now)  copy of my HK ID Card, your letter asking me to send my HK ID Card, my copy of my utility bill addressed to me at my new address, your letter to me at my new address asking for a copy bill and my first letter to you informing you of my new address.

I am now wondering if the information I have sent you will surfice or will you need a photocopy of my arse before you are satisfied.

Regards

Lesley in Hong Kong

 

Street Food Beijing Wangfujing Street

Scorpion on a stick!

                                                                                                  Chili Sparrows

 

More scorpions, star fish and sea horses - on a stick.  Are you getting the culinary theme now?

 

 

 

 

 

I had a trip to Beijing.  The food was terrific and so, as is the way in Asia I took photographs of the food and have posted them for your delight.  Some are on Facebook, obviously, because that is the sole reason for its existence.  ie  Go out to eat, take photos of your plate of food (even if it looks like dog vomit) and then post the image on Facebook to show everyone just what a good time you had.

The street market at Wangfujing Street had some delicious snacks (I could have put snakes there for a hilarious typo but it would have been true not a joke) which reminded me of the scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian "Rat on a stick" - I know you understand my inter-textual reference because you are clever.  The People's Front

I have to tell that I couldn't actually eat anything that looked like a bug or a small bird especially when some of them were still wriggling their poor little legs.  They were not dead just speared on a stick and waiting to be grilled. 

 

I did try the toffee coated strawberries though and can highly recommend them.

Mountain Bike Adventure - Lhasa to Kathmandu August 2011

 

 

Lhasa to Kathmandu by Fred Croft

Through Tibet on a bike - a journey not a destination by Fred Croft

 Last August HB embarked upon a most challenging cycle ride starting in Lhasa in Tibet and ending in Kathmandu in Nepal taking in some of the highest mountain passes in the world and also Everest Base Camp.  He covered a distance of 1100km in 18 days and came back 'lighter'.

 

Click on the link which will take you to www.blurb.com a self publishing website where you can preview the book and then place an order.  Its a beautiful coffee table hard back edition containing many breath-taking photographs capturing the experience.

 

Blue Fin Tuna

I am horrified at the story in the scmp yesterday about the Food Expo organised by the Trade and Development Council.  Japanese based Yashima Shoji Company handed out bite-sized pieces of this endangered fish as a delicacy, a treat, for visitors to their stand.

(I would provide a helpful link to the story but for some unexplained reason the South China Morning Post require a subscription to read their paper which is strange compared to other broadsheet international papers such as The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, New York Times which are all free)

The Worldwide Fund for Nature in Hong Kong have been promoting the fact that blue fin tuna is an endangered species for years but it appears to have fallen on deaf ears in Hong Kong.  Does no one care?  I really don't think that Hong Kong people are solely money driven, there has to be residents out there who are aware of the delicate environmental issues happening now, globally.  Or is it that in this tiny little dot on the map people are blinkered and if its the news isn't about GDP or the impending $6000 handout no one gives a toss!

Hong Kong is not a third world country, we are supposed to be an international city but when an endangered species is being eaten as an image of power and wealth it shows Hong Kong as ignorant.

On the bright side there is some progress, the following is a list of restaurants in Hong Kong who have pledged not to serve blue fin tuna but given the thousands of places this is a drop in the ocean (pardon the pun)

This information comes from the WWF website.

• FINDS Bar and Restaurant
• Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
• JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong
• Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel
• Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay Hong Kong
• Metropark Hotel Kowloon
• Newton Hotel Kowloon
• Osama Tony
• Posto Pubblico
• Prêt A Manger
• Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
• Simplicity Crepes + Wine
• Spices
• The Baltic
• The Charterhouse Causeway Bay Hotel
• The Excelsior, Hong Kong
• The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course Limited
• The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
• The Novotel Hong Kong Citygate
• The Verandah
• Waves
• Xi Yan
• Yagura

Threats to Blue Fin Tuna from WWF Hong Kong

 

 

Fish Maw and Sea Cucumber - Weird Chinese Food

Fish Maw Wikipedia say  (swim bladder, gas bladder, air bladder of a fish)

The Menu Madam

I love reading menus.  Its all  part of a good night out.  It is a most satisfactory experience and I have a great sense of satisfaction when the decision has been made and the order is in.  It means that I have carefully considered every dish on offer and chosen the best one, the one I am in the mood for.

Be Adventurous why don't you?

It was put to me recently that I should put myself in a situation of trying food that I would not normally try.  'What on earth for?' was my reply.  I know I have lived in Hong Kong for ten years and I also know that in my heart I am a roast beef and Yorkshire pudding kind of girl. 

I know what I like.

Ordering Skills

But I was cajoled and coerced into trying something a little bit different this evening.  It was actually built up over a week when the words fish maw and (It is not a vegetable, more like a slug) sea cucumber, fungus and pork intestines were banded around willy nilly.  This was all a sneaky underhand plan to make me feel boring, unadventurous and inadequate in my menu browsing and ordering skills.  Quite offensive really but the tactic worked.

Bush Tucker Challenge

By the time I sat down in the Chinese Restaurant at the HKUST  I was bigged up to order the weirdest stuff on the menu, in fact I was looking forward to the challenge.  I thought it of it like  Fear Factor or a Bush Tucker Challenge (see I'm a Celebrity Get me Out of Here) and so after some banter and a sharing of reading glasses Failing eyesight blog (I always have at least one pair on the table these days) the order was placed:-

fillet of groupa in an orange dressing

scallops with lily bulbs

fish maw with sea cucumber

lotus, black fungus with honey beans

and then just in case we really couldn't put any of that to our lips we also had:-

sweet & sour pork

fried rice with chicken and ginger

You want WHAT?

I was watching the waiter's face for signs of surprise, perhaps he would challenge us politely, carefully suggesting that we had made some culinary mistake because it's not what us folk usually order.  It wasn't to be, and why should he be in any way doubtful that we wouldn't like it.  Hundreds of other people order this stuff every Friday night. 

It all arrived and was placed in the middle of the table for a shared experience, as all Chinese food is.  No one gets a whole dish  to themselves that is just not cricket.  Everyone gets a taste of everything.  It the way things are done.  

Where is your napkin!

I saw the sea cucumber lurking among the fish maw and went for it.  Stabbing a piece with my chopsticks and carefully transporting the slippery little sucker to my plate.  But it jumped!  It left my chop stick grasp and landed in my lap covering my beige trousers in soy sauce and a greasy mark over both legs and on the crutch area.  Damn! 

Offensive or not?

Eventually it made it to my mouth and so did the fish maw.  To be frank, sea cucumber is just weird.  This is a technical term in the foodie world.  I detected no flavour apart from the oil and soy sauce it had been cooked in so it was not offensive but I hated the jelly-like texture.  As I chewed it just broke up into smaller jelly-like lumps in my mouth but never melted away like say a raspberry jelly does.  The fish maw, see picture above,  on the other hand was ok, not fishy.  I had quite a few bits of it and now I have identified it I could now spot it at the local supermarket and purchase it for my own cooking (but I won't!).

The groupa was great and the orange dressing a delight. 

lotus root

Lotus with black fungus and honey bean - quite nice although no distinguishable taste, it is the a textural difference between the ingredients which is to be appreciated.

cooked black fungus

Lost in Translation

Now don't be put off by the name.  Fungus is merely a name for mushrooms and I guess that in translation this type of mushroom becomes fungus, after all that is what mushrooms are.  This translation just doesn't sound too appetizing does it?  Don't be frightened, try it!

Once the plates were cleared away (there was plenty of sea cucumber left for a doggy bag although I declined the offer - funny that?)

The obvious sequence of events leads us to dessert and the more weird stuff on the menu was just crying out to be tasted:-

Wolf berry and osmanthus jelly and

glutinous dark pudding with coconut

wolf or goji berry

Osmanthus dried flower

Have you got jam rolly polly and custard?

This turned out to be lumps of plain gelatin with a few bits of dried flower (can be used as tea) and chopped up wolf berry and sugar.  Nothing of any significance.  Is it that the Chinese just don't do puddings?  For sure the cake in these parts is totally tasteless unless you happened to like synthetic cream and sponge.  The glutinous dark pudding with coconut had a nice light flavour and was the texture of a mouse although brought back vivid memories of Angel Delight.

Not much gagging

So to sum up the array of flavours, textures and tastes delivered to our table during the evening were stimulating, interesting and - well to be honest - Chinese food flavour.  It is all much of a muchness whatever the main ingredients are the cooking process (wok with soy sauce) is much the same for nearly every dish.  On a more positive note  there were no real retching or gag moments as I had imagined may happen.  That would have been the worst case scenario and apart from the sea cucumber on the trousers  it was actually rather pleasant and has opened my mind to, perhaps one day may be soon, ordering at least one dish I haven't tried before next time I find myself in a Chinese restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ritz Carlton - World's Highest Hotel, Hong Kong

Ritz Carlton Hong Kong

The Ritz Carlton Hotel is situated on 1 Austin Road, Kowloon.  It is the highest hotel in the world.

More tea? 

It is 1,600 ft high although I have a strong suspicion that it won't hold the record for long because someone somewhere will get all competitive and want to go to even giddier heights.  The second, third and fourth highest hotels are in, surprise surprise, Dubai.

Flower arrangement Ritz Carlton The Lounge 
 
Even though this building is even higher than the famous IFC (1364ft) I hadn't even noticed it!  I put this down to being busy and having to go to work.  I thought it was just me who didn't know about its opening at the end of March but no, I got in a taxi in Jordon and asked for "Ritz Carlton, 1 Austin Road m goi"  I got the standard response 'Ha!'  At first he attempted to drop me off at BP International House also on Austin Road but come on, it didn't even sound a bit like Ritz Carlton and is not very high at all!  After one of those fraught journeys where the taxi driver talks on the phone in a confused way and gives you no confidence in actually getting to your destination he eventually made it and we ended as friends.

Before

 After ...
 
HOW TO GET THERE

For future reference ask for Elements Shopping Mall and the Ritz Carlton is actually situated at the top of a building called International Commerce Centre ICC which is the last building on the road - THE TALLEST ONE!  The hotel is actually perched on the top of the ICC on floors 102 to 118 and afternoon tea involves a lift ride with only stop from zero to floor 103 (it took ages and my ears popped) then a short escalator down one floor to The Lounge.

It is beautifully decorated with amazing views - obviously.  The tea involves everything you'd expect - three tiered plate full of goodies and copious amounts of tea from a wide choice.

For an extra thrill you can go even higher to the bar on floor 118 Ozone which even has a partly open area and yesterday there was quite a chilly breeze blowing around there.  I thought I was being quite brave getting close to the edge and looking down.  Gulp!

 
Afternoon Tea at the Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong 

The closest building on the right is the IFC, Hong Kong Side, across the harbour is the ICC - can you see me waving?

 

The Ghost of Neil Diamond by David Milnes

The Ghost of Neil Diamond by David Milnes is a cracking read.  Milnes, who lived and worked in Hong Kong for many years as Head of English at King George V, is now retired and living in Spain, where I imagine him sitting in his casa sipping red wine while constructing another plot line.  I was forwarded a link to Amazon that took me to an extract from chapter one.  This short snippet was enough to make me buy the book and I highly recommend it. 

 

You don't need to know Hong Kong and you don't need to be a Neil Diamond fan to identify with the protagonist and smell Chun Kin Mansions.

It all begins in a karaoke bar where Neil Atherton impresses the crowd with his  'Reason to Believe'.  He is spotted by a not-so-honest agent who gives him his card, obviously, this is Hong Kong.   As he a male who finds themselves in Hong Kong with not contract and a richer and more successful wife,  his time is spent thinking about unfulfilled dreams and ambitions.  Our main character decides to try his hand at impersonating Neil Diamond thus, he imagines, he will find fame and fortune, perhaps happiness.  His wife is appalled by this mid-life crisis and gives him money to leave Hong Kong and her.

He takes her money but doesn't leave.  As he stops caring what she thinks of him and soon finds out she has quickly found a replacement, he takes risk and after risk to get into the club scene as the best Neil Diamond impersonator this side of...well... Neil Diamond I suppose.  He becomes very familiar with ChunKing Mansions and McDonald's as well as the slippery Chinese agent. 

It made me laugh.

I found myself mulling over the characters in this book even when I wasn't reading it.  I don't know if Mr Milnes intended it to be a film but as I read it I could visualize it and, appointing myself as casting director, and spiritually auditioned mid-forty year old males to play Neil.

Give it a go why don't you?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0955650011/ref=sib_rdr_dp

The Chippy, Pottinger Street, Hong Kong

The Chippy, a truly British experience.

www.chippy.com

Cultural Holiday

The summer holidays are approaching and soon I will be visiting Blighty for a reminder of the culture I am deprived of.  I haven't been home for a couple of years now so the lure of midget gems, fresh Cadbury's chocolate and cream cakes with real cream in them is becoming intense.  The food hall at Marks and Spencer's and all those supermarkets with aisles big enough for 2 trolleys to pass each other with a vast amount of choice will be so lovely. 

Fish, Chips, Mushy Peas, Bread and Butter, Mug of Tea

Yesterday as a pre holiday treat we went to eat at The Chippy.  It is exactly what you imagine.  It's a chip shop.  A very British chip shop right in Central Hong Kong.  They have recreated the grease and smell of a typical fish and chip shop with a menu that wouldn't be out of place in any town in the UK.  Cod, chips, mushy peas a mug (yes a mug) of tea (Tetleys) and a slice of white bread and butter.   Fish cakes, steak and kidney pie, chips and peas and then the deserts  deep fried Mars bar.  They also offer the full all day English breakfast with black pudding. 

Cholestral Levels

It is all bad but all good on the same place.  I just knew that grease was sticking to my arteries as I was savoring the scrumptious crispy batter on my lovely white flakes of deep fried cod and I knew the butter melting through the white slice as the heat of the chips warmed up the bread was raising my cholesterol levels but Lord I enjoyed it.  The big mug of tea washed all the fat away and left me feeling cleansed yet belt loosening full.

Posh Chips

The decor was, obviously, white tiles with a touch of seaside blue dado, a wall of blackboard for the menu, rickety wooden tables all stocked with the condiments you expect.  HP Brown Sauce, Heinz Tomato sauce, salt and yes you've guessed it - vinegar.  The glass counter had pickled onions and pickled eggs on offer in large glass jars.  The only pretentious features of The Chippy in Hong Kong, which you don't often get in England, is the reading material provided for customers - The Sunday Times Magazine.   The background music was BBC Radio 2 live, via the internet. All a bit posh frankly but it's what us expats expect these days!

Home Sweet Home

The whole experience made us feel comfortable and at home.  The only bad thing was knowing we were in Central and had to travel an hour back to the tranquility of Sai Kung in rush hour.  Once our clothes are washed and the smell of deep fried fat is removed we'll be fine.

 I'll be running tonight to work off those calories.

They're Happy Because

They Eat Chips

Gorilla Suit in Hong Kong

Is it real?

I am a proud mother, I don't deny it.  So have a look at my daughter's latest homework assignment.  She was asked to make a music video for her Media Studies course.  Click on the link and it will take you to You Tube where you can watch the video and listen to the music.  She borrowed two gorilla costumes from a children's party company then was filmed 'at large' in Hong Kong.  My daughter is the one wearing the scarf - otherwise she is unrecognizable!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGF8VULVSP4

 

Social Experiment

But I just have to comment on the social significance of this moment in time.  Where else in the world could you parade around on the streets of a busy 'world' city in a gorilla suit and not be acknowledged unless, of course, you jumped in front of people and scared the life out of them.  I think this says a lot about the compliance and inverted politeness, which may be misconstrued as aloofness, of Hong Kong people.  They just want and expect things to be safe and to run on schedule, to be expected and routine.  When, unusually, two people in gorilla costumes board the MTR their reaction is either "Ignore" "look down" "pretend it is not happening " or to whip out their mobile phone and take a picture of it preferably with the standard two fingered peace sign.  This features in EVERY photograph ever taken by people from Hong Kong - if they don't do that particular pose then the photograph just gets deleted and lost forever.  

Hello!  Who the **** is Kitty?

often imagine Hong Kongers looking through their photograph albums looking at pictures of themselves in the same pose at various times of the year, all photos taken in shopping malls with some sort of Hello Kitty or Mini Mouse theme going on in the background.  How dull!

Cheese or Cheers?

Actually there are a few more standard 'take a photograph with me" poses.  As well as the two fingered peace sign there is the tongue out and sticking up to one side pose, this is borderline porn star but because of the naivety in this city it passes off as cute (some would say - but not me) and then there is the finger poked in the cheek pose while at the same time making a screwing motion with said finger, oh and obviously, the grin has to be unnaturally large and cheesy (or is that cheersy - saying 'Cheese' while having your photograph taken has been lost in translation and becomes 'Cheers'.

Dog Clothes

Oh and how could I forget photographs taken while posing but with the added interest of a dog dressed in clothes.  Come to Sai Kung on a Sunday afternoon and see this for yourself.

Tourist Reaction

Significantly the Western tourists on Nathan Road were the only ones to embrace the fun in the situation and have some sort of concept about how to react.  These people may possibly have travelledto other 'world' cities such as Paris or Barcelona or London and seen street theatre or just plain old busking.  They know it's for fun, they are on holiday and up for a good time.  Their reaction is different from the residents.

When I decide to do my Masters in Sociology I shall use this empirical evidence as the corner stone of my research.