Roasts and redundant cooking capacities

I am in the UK this week with my children (Adrian is in Hong Kong working). Adrian promised them that they could come back to Ilkley to visit their friends. This promise was part of the whole moving negotiations and post-move efforts (bribes?) to get them to stop being angry with us for kidnapping (their term) and forcibly moving them thousands of miles from their customary lives (both literally and in a figural way). To facilitate this visit we are staying in a lovely, self-catering apartment in an old Victorian confection on the edge of Ilkley Moor. There are great views; invigorating walks; easy access to the town; pigs, chickens, and rabbits in the garden; and things to do inside when (note I do not say if) it rains. It is a comfortable, rather than stuffy, one bed-roomed flat in the daylight basement (so plenty of light). What is particularly nice, however is the fact that there is a reasonable kitchen. Personally, I think it is the provision of kitchen facilities that makes self catering preferable to hotels--that and the fact that you don't have to vacate when the maid wants to come in as there is no maid. I am planning to make the most of this kitchen opportunity. Ilkley has some lovely ways to provision food, as I have suggested in my academic writing, and I intend to make the most of them!

Strangely what I have come to realize on this trip are a couple of things about myself and my relationship with food--or maybe it is my food capacities. Firstly, I have come to understand how difficult it is for me to cook in Hong Kong. While you can really get pretty much anything you want, you do pay a price for it that, quite frankly, puts me right off. I absolutely refuse to pay the equivalent of £15 (about $20 US) for what I view as a rather scrawny chicken. I was in the Otley (UK) Waitrose tonight with Simon and saw a HUGE chicken in the cooler. It looked a bit alien to me as I had forgotten how large British chickens can be--yes I know the conditions under which many are reared and am aware of the environmental/genetic/hormonal acrobatics that go into producing chickens like these large breasted creature that are on sale--but golly I would love to find something vaguely similar for a reasonable price in Hong Kong.

While I did not buy the above chicken, I did buy a lamb shoulder that I plan to slow cook in the oven this weekend. When you cook it on a low heat, with some liquid such as canned tomatoes and wine, and covered with tin foil for several hours it comes out falling off the bone, slightly sticky, and oh so tender and lovely. I am really looking forward to this. I shall make some roasted potatoes and maybe some broad beans to go with it. Again I was able to purchase this shoulder for about £11, where the equivalent in Hong Kong would have cost me easily £35. While what I have purchased is English lamb (this is Waitrose after all), I could have probably gone to another store and gotten New Zealand lamb for less. It is the NZ lamb that one gets in Hong Kong, which makes me more indignant as HK is closer so why is the lamb three times the price--must be something to do with the fact that the Cantonese don't really eat much lamb. Of course maybe they don't eat it because it is so bloody expensive, or the fact that in the south of China it is too hot for sheep and so it isn't part of the tradition. They do eat about everything else though. The story here, however, is that it is very difficult to roast things in Hong Kong. One buys small amounts of the meats one might roast and either cooks them as a stir fry or grinds them up with a bunch of other things (and parts) and puts them into a dumpling of some sort.

This brings me to my second self-observation. Eleven years in the UK was enough time for me to learn to eat like a (middle class) British person. I really struggled (as I am now in HK) when we first moved to the UK with the food and the way it is made available in the shops (note I say shops here not grocery store). There was none of the Mexican ingredients that I had come to rely on in the US, there was no Tuna Helper, there were no Lipton's fried onions (which is really only an issue at Thanksgiving when one wants to make Green Bean Casserole), and the Peanut Butter was wrong. Ironically, I can get all of these things much more easily in Hong Kong (with the exception of Tuna Helper--is that even around any more?). But now, since living in the UK, I long to cook roasts with the accompaniments. Indeed I only learned how to cook roast chicken and lamb and roasted potatoes since moving to the UK. But I got good at them and I came to like them and now I miss the chance to make them. AND I have forgotten how I used to cook in the US. I am sure I have the techniques still, I just have forgotten what I used to make regularly. I found myself so easily whipping up a mix of eggplant, broad beans, and black pudding on toast for my dinner tonight, something that just wouldn't have happened easily were I in Hong Kong tonight--no black pudding or broad beans and the eggplants are the skinny Japanese kind--Thank God the wine is not difficult to find. I've become a good cook in the UK, but am having to learn all over (for the second time) how to cook where I live now.

This is not to say that I am not learning to cook with what is available less expensively in Hong Kong. There are some wonderful fish, greens, and noodles. Part of my difficulty is that many of these ingredients are not listed or illustrated in my many cookbooks. While I have added to my cookbook collection, I find that these books are mainly written for an English speaking audience that does not live in Asia, and as a result, many of the ingredients are not these local foods. This makes sense from a commercial perspective as many of those from the ex-pat community in Hong Kong have live-in helpers who do the cooking and shopping for them, so such a cookbook would not be too useful in this context. Thus the bulk of the potential audience are those who would actually find it difficult to buy these strange fish and odd cuts of meat that can be found in the markets in Hong Kong.

This technical difficulty is compounded by the taste preferences of my family. My children pretty much refuse to eat the local food when it is cooked for them. Mind you, they are of an age where they pretty much refuse to eat anything I cook for them, so no real stress there. Adrian and I, on the other hand have come to realize that we actually prefer a little more spice and flavor than what is typically in Cantonese food. This means cooking Tai or, my favorite Vietnamese food. I have a recipe for a salad with palmetto (a milder, larger form of grapefruit), Chinese cabbage and crab in a fish sauce, lime, chilli dressing that is wonderful. Likewise I do noodles once a week. But I would like to branch out a bit more. Recently I also ate in a Hunanese restaurant. Hunan province is in the north of China and is based more on corn than rice and has stronger flavors, but is not so hot as Szechuan food. I had a roasted eggplant (Aubergine) dish with lots of garlic and a bit of chilli that was absolutely wonderful. I have been unable to copy it however. Something key is missing from my attempts. I think it might be a quest!

In the mean time, I am once again struggling with the intersections of contextual knowledge and design that is spatially specific. Unfortunately as time plays into this, I'll probably reach a stage of proficiency, and at the same time end up replacing rather than expanding my cooking/food knowledge, just at about the moment we decide to move countries again. This will, of course involve (re-)learning how to provision and cook in our new environment. Indeed, in ten years time you may find me writing about my longing for bok choi and complaining that I can only find one kind of soy sauce rather than the 3 or 4 kinds that my recipe calls for (yes this is a feature of Chinese cooking). Whatever happens, I am sure I will enjoy trying to get to grips with this new food environment.

Interweaving lives in a neoliberal global city

In this morning’s South China Morning post there were two stories in particular that caught my eye. The first story, located above the fold on the first page concerned the “budget handout”. The second story, reported in the city section, concerned a fire where four people died and a further 19 were injured.

The “budget handout” is a cash handout of about $HK 6000 (just over $US800 or just under £500) that the Hong Kong government is giving to every permanent resident. There are 6.1 million people who are eligible. Eligibility is solely based on residency status regardless of where one lives or what one earns or if one pays taxes in Hong Kong or not. This means that the wealthy men and women like Stanley Ho, gambling magnate who was in the news recently because his many wives are fighting over his vast estate (incidentally he is not yet dead), will receive this handout. Likewise, those ex-Hong Kongers who live in the US, Canada, Australia, and including many of those Hong Kong Chinese who make up the 30% of buyers of London property will also receive this handout. Those who will not receive the handout are the Filipina helpers (maids), who regardless of how long they stay in Hong Kong are never eligible for permanent resident status (unless they marry a Hong Konger and then they have to wait a further 7 years to become eligible).

The story concerns the timing of this handout, with registration for the first recipients to begin in August and will start with those who are over aged 65. There will then follow 3 further phases of registration. Those who register early will receive an extra $HK200. Payments will then be handed out within the 10 weeks following registration. The first wave of handouts, according to the story, will happen just before the district council elections in the Autumn. Something that the paper reports as an accident.

The “budget handout” story has echo’s to the stimulus efforts of George Bush in the US. However these are just echos because the reasons for the handout are very different. The money comes from a budget surplus, which the government has decided to “give back” rather than spend. In addition to the approximately $HK39 billion that will be handed back, it will cost the HK government a further $HK207 million to administer the handout (which includes tens of millions in bank fees). The fact remains, however that for many people this money will be a real boon. For example one often sees elderly women collecting papers and rubbish to recycle or you see them begging. In Hong Kong elderly people are particularly vulnerable as mandatory retirement (though not self employment) age is 60 and there is no social security. There are hundreds of thousands of poor people in Hong Kong who live on the edge and in substandard housing. And this is where my second story comes in.

I have written before about the extreme differences in people’s fortunes. The world face of Hong Kong is luxury accommodation, designer consumption, and the spectacle of conspicuous energy waste of the “festival of lights” put on by, among others, the global financial industry to mark a presence in this rather odd moment in time-space. This representation of course marks Hong Kong as having some, perhaps tenuous, position at the elite table of global cities. But, like all the others at this table, much of what exists here is also perhaps characterizable as ordinary, though one would not want to participate in this particular brand of ordinary life if one could avoid it. Indeed researchers have argued, that while the emphasis in the discourse around global cities is on wealth and financial capital, global capital also rests on a bed of low wage, marginal employment. While cities like New York and London have national and sometimes city provided public services to support those at the lower end of the income spectrum, Hong Kong does not particularly provide this. Moreover, housing in Hong Kong is very expensive. Indeed, some rank Hong Kong in the top ten most expensive cities to live in in the world.

So how do the poor survive. There is some public housing in Hong Kong (the picture of Sui Wo Court, the high rise buildings that is in the sidebar of this blog, is of some of this). Approximately one third of the population lives in this type of housing. There is a waiting list of about 90,000 people with an average wait time of about 3 years. The flats have individual kitchens and toilets and are a minimum of 5.5 meters square. Like the handout discussed above, only those who have permanent residency are allowed to live in this type of housing. Moreover, if you do not have residency, but marry someone who does, you negate the eligibility of your spouse. All public housing tenants must be permanent residents.

Those who do not qualify, or who are waiting must still live somewhere. Where they live ranges from illegal structures built on hillsides as shanty towns--particularly dangerous when the torrential rains and hurricanes hit the city. These are made from bits of salvaged wood and tin. The other option is to rent in a subdivided flat. There are many of these flats in Kowloon, largely in the Sham Shi Po, Shek Kip Mei, and Ma Tau Wai areas. These buildings are older, 6 story structures built in the 1950’s. The original flats are small (about 520 square feet) and connected by an external balcony and a stairway up to the roof. Bathrooms may be shared between flats and there may be a kitchen or just space on the balcony. These are the original flats. What has happened is that these, already small spaces are subdivided into further flats or cages, by wire mesh or bamboo. Some subdivided areas can be as large as 200 square feet. The flat that I saw was divided into approximately 9 areas of about 6 feet by 6 feet. These were still pretty good because the cubicles went entirely to the ceiling. Sometimes the flats are divided into levels as well so that the cubicles are stacked 2 high. You cannot stand upright in the upper cubicles, and just barely in the lower. There is no air conditioning in these flats and Hong Kong gets very hot. The subdivided areas in the flats rent for about $HK1500 a month making them some of the most expensive housing per square foot in Hong Kong--more expensive than the average price of a mid-levels flat which is the desirable area for all the expat bankers. The more expensive areas are near the windows, while those in the middle have only the air circulation from the narrow space that is the corridor that runs between the cages. Families live in these cages. Indeed there is often 20 or more people living in the whole unit sharing a toilet and a small kitchen area.

There is little regulation with regard to the maintenance and safety features of this housing, and there appears to be even less enforcement of what there is. Sometimes the escape routes are blocked with rubbish. Sometimes the roofs have further illegal structures built on top so their is no escape if the street entrance is blocked. There are exposed electrical wires. The fire that was reported in my second news story occurred in a shop on the ground floor of one of these buildings. Those who were killed were living in subdivided flats above. Three of the four who died were all in the same family--a pregnant woman, and two small children aged 1 and 6. The father was seriously injured. The other person who died was a teenager. The fire was thought to be caused by an electrical fault. In addition to those who died or were injured a further unreported number of residents in the building and those adjoining are now homeless. The numbers would have to be in the hundreds given that these are 6 story buildings.

Clearly this system is not adequate. What is more, since 2000 the housing policy in Hong Kong has changed such that the Hong Kong government is reducing direct provision and relying on a subsidy approach whereby tenants could buy their flats at an affordable rate and there would be rental subsidy for those permanent resident families in need (here a family is a couple--recently an elderly woman was caught committing benefit fraud for forging her dead husband’s signature. She did this because she would lose her housing as a single person.) Ironically, the event that is narrated as the trigger for the original provision of public housing by the Hong Kong Authority was a fire in a squatter settlement in Shek Kip Mei in 1953. After this fire 58,000 people were left homeless--it is unclear how many died, some suggest that just 2 were killed (there is an argument about risk that suggests people in Hong Kong live in constant preparation for these types of events). While the numbers for the recent reported fire are less, the condition of the buildings in these low income areas and the high density of people, suggest that this will not be the last such fire in this area.

In the same budget speech that announced the surplus, which has eventually led to the controversial “budget handout” there was an outline of housing policy. The plan is to make an additional 20,000 units available per year for low income people through the private sector (though those who are not permanent residents will still be ineligible). Provided population does not expand this should just about cover the backlog in about 5 years. More importantly though is isn’t it the private sector that has provided the city with its cage houses? In the mean time, one can be pretty sure that these same landlords will not be plowing their “budget handout” back into improving the living conditions in the flats that they own or reducing the number of tenants per flat or reducing the rents. Indeed, the small amount of the handout would do no more that perhaps provide a coat of paint if the landlords were so inclined. More likely the money will go toward buying a new Gucci handbag--maybe if they are feeling particularly charitable they will chip in an extra $HK1500 and buy the Unicef version.

Re-visiting New Year's resolutions

On New Year’s Day my family agreed that we would write down our resolutions. For me most resolutions are promptly forgotten, but this year I thought I would try to have a bit of a review. As it is now nearly 6 months in it seems a good time to recap. This year my resolutions were to do yoga twice a week, send 2 papers off to journals by June, try something new each week, and improve my Cantonese. I have failed horribly on the first. I have one paper that is in e-publication (Thanks Andrew!), but I had better get a move on for the other. It is do-able still. I am taking Cantonese lessons every week with a lovely guy from Iowa, called Bo, who is here in Hong Kong to be in Kung Fu movies. He is a really great teacher and I do believe my Cantonese is, in fact, improving. I can certainly say much more that “Please stop at the quarters (Sook Sai, MGoi) to the mini bus driver. More on this in a bit. While I have not necessarily done something new every week, I have certainly done enough new to have a weekly average of one new thing a week--and that is what this blog will be a rundown of. Because of the length of the list, I’ll be relatively brief on each thing, but expect more info on some of these in later blogs. Also, if there is anything in this list (or anything else for that matter) that you would like me to expand on, please do let me know and I’ll try to accommodate requests.

So, in no particular order here is a brief account of the new things that I have done, that I can remember.

1. I went to Macau: Macau is like Hong Kong in that it is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) as well and so is under this one country, two systems rule also. It is a poorer, less developed and smaller version of Hong Kong on several levels, but has the distinction of also being somewhat like Los Vegas. In one part of Macau there are lots and lots of very large casinos. Indeed, recently the man who started the gambling in Macau was in the news because two of his wives were fighting over how his fortune would be distributed once he died--he is not dead yet.

2.Had my fortune told at the temple in Wong Tai Sin.

3. I tried Traditional Chinese Medicine. The doctor told me I had heat in my liver. I stopped going just before the Chinese New Year because they didn’t tell me to come back. Not really sure that it worked. I pretty much feel the same.

4. I got a Tattoo. It is a dragon.

5. I got a Chinese name: Bat Mou Kwong. Bat means finish or accomplish. Mou means admire or yearn for, and Kwong means vast, spacious, free from worries and petty ideas. My tutor gave it to me. Not really sure what to think of this.

6. I got Gell Nails. They are wonderful and girly.

7. I have been Swimming in the South China Sea and seen a coral reef.

8. I went to Sham Shui Po, which is one of the poorest areas of Hong Kong and visited a cage house and a homeless shelter. This was as part of a conference field trip. It was eye opening. I’ll explain more about cage houses in another post, but it does cause one to pause and reflect.

9. I have eaten Sparrow, which I did not like, but which was an honor.

10. I have spoken (a very small amount) Cantonese with a native and been understood.

11. I won and lost on the races

12. I have eaten egg tarts. These are wonderful. The best are some we had in Macau from a place called Lord Stow’s Bakery (apparently there is one in Hong Kong), but these can also be purchased for about $2 HK from the bakeries in Mong Kok. The Mong Kok Daan Taat are a bit different, but just as good. It is best to eat them slightly warm.

13. I’ve been to China--Shenzhen--several times now!

14. I went on a boat ride in a Caldera--the area just off of the eastern side of Hong Kong (Mainland, not the Island) is an old, very large, now dead, volcano. Really lovely islands.

15. I’ve visited a Buddhist Monastery.

16. I’ve shopped in the wet markets (these are the fresh food markets) and are where you can see ordinary life in Hong Kong.

17. I’ve bartered--I’m not very good at it. You are supposed to offer about 1/3 of what they ask and then somehow get to about or just under half of the original price. I have a hard time with this as I already often think the prices are quite inexpensive and after visiting the housing I feel even more like these people need the money. I’ve been told that by not bargaining it makes things more expensive for everyone, but I have a hard time buying that argument, particularly as the sellers give different, higher prices to the foreigners than they do to the natives.

18. I have had a dress made from a photograph. I’ve also had favorite things copied. I love the tailors.

19. I tried white port--and quite liked it!

20. I have been to a party at a foreign embassy, which was a lot of fun.

21. I’ve been to a spa and tried the body sculpting machine. I don’t really think this works. I don’t look any thinner.

22. I joined a club--the China Tee Club--in Central. They do a great Dim Sum tea set in the afternoon. Very civilized.

23. I had a pair of shoes made for me, to fit my feet. Wonderful soft leather, no rubbing. Absolutely terrific and less money than one might think. There are several places in Hong Kong that do this. There is a place in Admiralty Centre that will make shoes in any style and while they are made according to your specifications, these are more like copies than tailored shoes. There is another place in Tsim Sha Tsui where they will make shoes, again any style, but you go in for a fitting half way through to make sure they fit properly. The place is called Shoeman Lau and is located in the Sheriton Shopping arcade. Mr. Lau has been making shoes for over 40 years. The styles on the wall are fairly conservative, but he has told me that they will copy anything if you bring a pair in. I’ve not done this--yet. Give me time.

24. Celebrated Chinese New Year. Great holiday, but the Chinese people I know say that for them it is difficult because it involves lots of time spent visiting relatives.


I am sure there are other things that I have done for the first time that I cannot remember, but so far this seems a pretty good list. Like I said, I’ll expand on some of these later a bit more.

In Hong Kong you always need a sweater

It looks like the weather has changed here in Hong Kong. While just a few weeks ago I was wearing my coat (yes, one needs a coat in the tropics), I am now contemplating the prospect of bare legs and arms and wondering if I will ever feel comfortable in a swim suit again. This morning it is already 78° F and it is only 9:30. Ironically, the human ecology of this place means that even while I am quite warm enough sitting in our flat, if I go out I will have to take a sweater with me.

Yes, that is correct, one always needs a sweater in Hong Kong, whatever the weather. Let me explain. First, Hong Kong is very seasonal. This came as a real surprise to me. I am told by longer term residents that this last winter (the one I have been moaning about) has been particularly long and cold. Indeed, this is partially confirmed by the Hong Kong Observatory (great web site for those of you interested in climate and weather stuff--see http://www.hko.gov.hk/contente.htm), which says that while February was not cooler than usual, January and March were certainly colder (and drier) than normal. Mean temperature this last March was 64° F. I know this sounds warm, but bear in mind that it is also quite humid here and so feels a bit colder. Also, there is NO central heating--anywhere. That is right, none. And, since the buildings are concrete it is often the case that it is colder inside than it is outside. So if you run to the cold side, like me, a sweater is definitely needed. What is more, there were some days last month when the temperature was only about 54° F. March was a bit warmer overall than January and February. You are probably beginning to get the picture. While the colder temperature has certainly been a regular talking point, but the last time this point came up one of our friends did say that she thought this was a common feeling every year. I think the message is that if one is planning a trip to Hong Kong in the winter months, bring something warm to wear just in case. I’ve seen any number of tourists shivering away in their shorts and tank tops. If you are moving here you should definitely bring at least some of your warm clothes, and your slippers, with you. Of course, alternatively, you could just buy what you need when you arrive!

While the climate explains why a sweater is needed in the winter months, what about the rest of the year? While Hong Kong does not have a mechanical fix for cold weather, it overcompensates for the possibility of heat by the extensive use of air conditioning. I say possibility because often even when it is quite cold outside, the air conditioning will be running. This is certainly the case with my office. Some days I needed gloves it was so cold. While it is not a sure thing that the AC will be on when it is cold, it is a certainty that it will be on when the temperatures do reach about 70° F. What is more, there is AC everywhere: on the buses, in the taxi, in buildings, on the MTR. About the only public place that I can think of that has an inside that is not air conditioned is the tram (or the Ding Ding as it is called locally). Of course this means that one dresses for the outside temperature and then brings a sweater along to accommodate the inside and its rather different climatological conditions.

I learned recently that the standard temperature for Air Conditioning to be set is about 68-72° F for working environments. This is a fairly universal setting world wide, though is harder to control in large open spaces like shopping malls. What I found particularly interesting was the fact that this setting is based on something called “thermal comfort”, which means a normal person wearing a normal amount of clothes is neither too hot or too cold. So who is this normal person and what are normal clothes. Well it turns out that the normal person is a man and, according to my quick google scholar search, men have, on average, higher resting metabolic rates than women. Moreover according to the speaker who was talking about such things, the expectation of normal clothing is based on a suit. So the normal male wearing a business suit should be comfortable in this temperature. Of course they could take off the suit coat, we could turn down the AC and the contribution to climate change, at both the local/immediate and global/long term scales, would be less extreme. Apparently the Japanese are thinking about this as a way to help reduce their CO2 emissions. Seems a pretty easy fix, perhaps there is a campaign here somewhere...

A few things I've learned

I've now been in Hong Kong almost a whole academic term--I gave my last lecture today to the students I teach at HKU. I've enjoyed this teaching. The students have been great. They ask intelligent questions. They are friendly. They smile at you as you talk. At least one of us has had a good time. I find that the end of term always is a time of reflection. I'm still new here, but now I have finished something. The next time I teach this course, maybe in the autumn, it will be some form of repetition. It is a marker. Adrian made a similar comment at the weekend. Apparently the barista at the coffee shop on his campus is being moved to another store. This is his first real departure, or moving on. Up until now he has just been newly arrived. Now, in a minor way, he is left behind. This consideration of my/our changing place in Hong Kong has sparked an analysis of the things I have learned--what would I tell people about Hong Kong now that I have been here long enough to finish something? Here are my reflections in no particular order:


1. Hong Kong should be in everyone’s top 5 cities list. At the weekend we were discussing what the top cities were that we had ever been to or wished to visit. The criteria for a city and its inclusion in the list was a mixture of size (Ilkley is not really a city, though Sheffield might qualify) and having enough to do within the city--not within driving distance of the city-- to keep you entertained for a week. This second aspect means that a lot of largish places drop out of the running--Indianapolis for example (no offense intended to those from Indy, but from my experience there is just not enough IN Indy to keep me entertained for a week--this is a personal list after all). Adrian and I both included Hong Kong, Simon did not...

2. There are distinct advantages to living in the New Territories, rather than in Central or mid-levels or elsewhere on the island "where all the expats live". Actually lots of expats don't live on the island. Moreover, sometimes it is nice to be in places that aren't entirely focused on servicing the minority, expat community. But this is not the main point. Through informal survey I have discovered that those who live off the island tend to take in the whole of Hong Kong in their regular travels. I hear those on the Island may go for weeks before leaving the safe insularity of the island, whereas those who live life off Island go all over and experience the bounty that is Hong Kong--they go to the other islands, to the country parks, to neighborhoods where they do not live, to the valleys and mountains, and yes, even to central--maybe several times in a month. Off island life presents a wider and more diverse experience of Hong Kong. I realize this might be a controversial comment, but I am feeling a bit controversial today.

3. I still think the octopus card is the best thing ever and should be the first item purchased upon arrival. I am less enamored by the MTR than I was initially. It isn't that it isn't great, it is. Waiting times are staggeringly short. But there are a few design flaws that could be rectified, such as the need to change trains so many times when traveling. The inclusion of a circle line would help significantly reduce the need to change trains as would the joining of the east and west rail line to make it a through service. I think I might have given this issue a bit too much thought.

4. Trying to practice speaking Cantonese in Hong Kong is a bit like trying to practice speaking French in Paris. I have tried to say things any number of times, realizing that the failure to pronounce words correctly is a problem. Like the Parisians, Hong Kongers look at you in an uncomprehending manner when it is not perfect--indeed there are times when I am sure I have said the words correctly--tone and all--and even checked with a native to make sure I am saying them correctly and then in use been met by a blank stare. This language lark is difficult, and I am sure I am being unintelligible most of the time, though a bit more encouragement would be lovely. Sometimes people do help out a bit by repeating exactly what you thought you said back to you. In this instance I'm not quite sure if it is a correction or just a confirmation. Either way it is better than the blank expression.

5. One of the differences between the Westerners and the Chinese is that Westerners place more emphasis on precedent, whereas the Chinese give greater value to a common logic. This distinction underpins legal proceedings here as well. There is a wonderful book called Myself a Mandarin that recounts this distinction. Worth the read.

6. Negotiation of prices is not always appropriate. I'm still working out when it is and is not, but I think one does not negotiate for a price on food, but certainly on goods when you have to ask or if there is a calculator present. My children have actually worked out the terrain on this rather more than I have. Simon said he and his mates did an experiment whereby one of the western looking children asked the price and got one number, then they got one of their Chinese looking friends to ask and he got a lower starting price. You also get a lower price if you can say it in Cantonese (but see point 4 above). Grace says that first you have to get the amount to something fair, then you negotiate. She says that she starts at a quarter of whatever the person says. They then come down a quarter and she then says the quarter amount again or asks for their best price. They then come down to about half of the first price and then she says I'll split the difference with you. This apparently works for her. I am envious of her will power and strength. I cave in much earlier or walk away because it is too expensive and because I'm not sure if it is a bargaining situation or not.

7. It takes time to shop here. Some places are less expensive than others for exactly the same items. You can get good stuff in the area just north of Mong Kok which is just exactly like what is available in Central. I understand that there is a similar story to be told about shopping in Shenzhen. Linked to this is the idea that you can get just about anything you want in Hong Kong, but if you have several things on your list you will have to go to several places to find them. I often go to several stores and the wet markets to get what I want to make a meal. Like I said, it takes time to shop here. (BTW, you cannot get Becherovka here--we have confirmed this with the Czech Consular General, whom we met recently).

There are other things I've learned, but they will have to wait for another time as I now must go if I am to be on time for my Cantonese lesson. I need all the tutoring I can afford...

Fakes, shopping, and going to China

It is a lovely sunny, but a bit chilly day here in Hong Kong. Its about 65 degrees. This is actually more or less what the weather has been lately, getting down to about 50 at night. A bit to cool for my liking and certainly not what I expected (I thought it would be much warmer all the time). I am told this is fairly normal for this time of year and to enjoy it now as I will be longing for the cool temperatures when the hot weather does finally arrive. However this cold weather is not all doom and gloom because I have been able to wear the new jacket and scarf that I got on my recent visit to Shenzhen.

Shenzhen is the town just over the boarder in China. It is where everything that is made in China is produced. It used to be farm land and now it is a vast, sprawling city where things are made (except food) and where one can consume. It is a Mecca for buying "fake goods" as well. Fake is in scare quotes here because it is not always clear what fake means. Certainly the mechanical goods being sold as branded goods need to be taken with some skepticism. Likewise, the handbags, are not entirely "real" as the real ones are not finished in Shenzhen, but the basic look and design is there. I got a great pale blue "Valentino" bag, and, OK, Ive had to superglue the screws in the handle because they fell out, but the difference in the cost of the real and the cost of the fake plus the superglue is still quite a bit. Enough to make the handbag within my economic reach, which it would not have been otherwise. In fact, it was cheap enough that if the bag only lasted for a year I still would feel I've had a real bargain.

There is also a whole village, a shortish taxi ride from the Lo Wu crossing, where you can buy "fake" art--like the Mona Lisa, but also other things, and you can have stuff copied-like photographs but also other works of art--in oil paints or water colors or whatever the original was in. The paintings are really painted, not printed, and not in a paint by number kind of way either (we watched a guy doing the painting). They are also really pretty good copies--at least to my untrained eye. The couple of things I got certainly lift the tenor of our fairly meager collection, which consisted of mainly framed prints and one original piece from my cousin Barbara, who is a proper artist. What is more, you can get a large canvas including frame for about $30 US. I got an oil of the tram in Wan Chi that is about 2.5 feet by 3.5 feet. The hardest part is carrying them home on the train!

In the part of Shenzhen that is just across the border from Lo Wu, which is also incidentally just up our train line, there is a large mall/factory building where you can buy fabric and beads, including pearls, which they will string for you (including individually knotting and adding a clasp). I was able to get a fairly long string of dark green colored pearls of a largish size for about $40 US. The area where the fabric is is filled with stalls where different materials are sold including silk, wool, cashmere, stretchy fabric, cotton silk blends, cotton, etc. etc. etc. There is some absolutely beautiful materials. What is more is that next to the fabric area there is a whole area of tailors. They will copy or make about anything you want. Lined if you want. And it fits beautifully. I may never buy off the rack clothes again (lets see how long that pledge lasts!?!). What is more, is that again it is really not at all expensive. I had a cashmere wool jacket made for about $50 US, it is lined and that included the cost of the fabric, lining, and buttons. While this was not a fake, I did also take some of my favorite things with me, which they copied perfectly. Maybe these are fakes, though they do not have copies of the labels in them. They were certainly less expensive than the originals. The down side is that going to the tailor requires two trips spaced about 10 days apart, and a visa.

Visitors to Hong Kong don't automatically get access to China as a result of this one country two systems business. What is more, the cost of the visa varies by where you come from, so unfortunately US and UK passports are on the expensive side. There is a sliding scale for the UK passports, so it gets a bit more expensive to buy a visa for more entries. For Americans it is one price for all the visas, no matter how many entries. This works about to about $150 US per visa. The first visa you get cannot be a multi-entry visa, so mine was for 2 visits. Once you have this first visa you can get a multi-entry visa in Hong Kong on your American passport provided your resident visa in Hong Kong is for longer than the 6 months of the visa itself (this constraint does not operate for those who get their visa in the US and who are not resident in Hong Kong). I cannot do this now, as in the first instance, my resident visa is just for one year and it expires in early August. Once I renew the Hong Kong visa, however, I can get a multi-entry visa to China, which allows unlimited entries for up to 6 months. There is also a place at the Lo Wu border where people can buy their visa for about $15 HK, but this option is not available to Americans or British visitors. I am looking forward to the multi-entry visa as it is closer for me to go to Shenzhen than it is for me to go to Central. But I have to wait, which maybe is a good thing.

While the Chinese government prefers that people get their visa's in their home country prior to coming to Hong Kong, you can get them here through a variety of ways. The long slow way is to go to the China visa office, wait for several hours in confusing lines and hope that you can communicate what you want. There are also several travel offices that will do this work for you. China Travel Service is the most well known, but they are also expensive--about two times the cost. There is also a travel service located on the 40th floor of the building where the visa office is (China Resources Building in Wan Chai) called Sunrise Travel. This company is much less expensive than CTS and for a small additional fee they can expedite your application so that you can get the visa in a day or two rather than the usual week if your trip is urgent. You can also download the form from their web site directly and take it in all filled out when you go.

Of course one need not go to China to have a tailor make things for you, though it is not as easy and certainly not as cheep as in Shenzhen, but it is still less than if one were to have a tailored suit made in the UK or the US. Adrian has had a couple done and they are lovely. It is like getting Seville Row for just a bit more than Marks and Spencer off the rack prices. The particularly nice thing about having a tailor make things is that they fit perfectly. You can also get factory outlet goods in Hong Kong as there are a couple of branded factory outlet malls in the city that have last year's styles and seconds. One has to look closely as I found a pair of jeans with no buttons in the fly once. These shops are very much like the outlet mall shops in the US or the UK. Pretty good value, but still can cost more than one might want to pay. The Pedder Building in Central has some branded goods with the labels cut out and some things that reportedly come from the same factories as the big name Italian designers. There are 6 floors of shops and one has to pick through a bit and sometimes the sizing is very small, but pretty convenient and worth a visit. There is also an area where there are factory wholesale shops where some of the sellers will sell retail provided they are not too busy. The best place is at the Hong Kong Industrial Centre near the Lai Chi Kok MTR station. This stuff tends to be smaller (for asian bodies) and the styles are more asian as well and there are no fakes, but still there are some very good bargains to be had even for my large american body (one has to get over the mental issue of buying clothes in XXL size). There is an excellent web site for outlet shopping in Hong Kong at http://www.hongkongextras.com/_outlet_shops.html. It is the most comprehensive list, though some things have changed and some are not really worth it--e.g. the outlets at the China Ferry Terminal are pretty rubbish unless you want to buy trainers.

I've yet to find a good place for shoes. Shoes are generally a bit difficult for me here in Hong Kong as my feet are the very largest size they sell and even then sometimes that doesn't work. Which is to to say it is impossible, just a bit more difficult. There are some great shoes to buy, but finding a low cost source has alluded me so far. I'll keep you posted...

Happy Valley, Private Road and other strategies for winning at the races

Last week we were invited to attend the horse races at Happy Valley Race Course in Hong Kong. Horse racing is big in Hong Kong, and it is big for everyone. While there are two places you can go to watch the races live, Happy Valley (on Hong Kong Island) and Sha Tin (just below where we live out in the New Territories), you can find a place to bet on the races in just about every neighborhood. The Hong Kong Jockey Club manages and runs the races in Hong Kong and it is big, big business, but it is also more than that. While it is true to say that it is sad to see the people desperately hoping that they will improve their chances, the betting on the horse racing does have its upside. The Jockey Club is the largest taxpayer in the SAR and also is the biggest charity as it devotes its entire surplus each year to reinvestment in Hong Kong; in other words they make no profit. There are schools, hospitals, a care home for dementia patients called the Centre for Positive Aging, heritage projects, environmental initiatives, scholarships, healthy living projects, programs to get young people into employment, etc. etc. that are funded through the horse racing.

Our invitation involved engaging with the races through a box, rather than in the stands. This meant we were able to eat a lovely, buffet dinner with wine and a gin and tonic before hand—the G&T was particularly important as Happy Valley is situated in an area where there were rice paddies and malaria, thus the quinine in tonic water was needed in case any of the mosquitos from the 1800’s were still around (NB: occasionally there are notices in the late summer about finding malarial mosquitos out where we live, but largely malaria is no longer a problem in Hong Kong). On the buffet were a range of wonderful European (including Foie Gras) and Chinese foods in three courses. Dinner started at about 7:00pm and we finished at about 11:00 after the last race. There were 6 races in the night. The procedure is to get some food, contemplate your bets, go to the special window for the boxes to place your bet, eat a bit more, go outside to watch the race, shout for your horse(s), calculate your winnings (losings) and do it all over again.

There are a number of ways you can bet. You can bet on a horse to win, or to place in the top three. You can bet on something called a quenelle, which is the top two horses, or a quenelle place (two horses in the top 3), among other options. These were the options that I was able to get my head around. I started by betting for two horses in a quenelle place and won—I bet $40HK and won $52. I then tried the same approach again and lost $50HK. I tried betting on a place and also lost in the next race. Then I worked out that if I spread my bets across 4 or 5 horses to place I would be more likely to win something, which is what happened and with this strategy I came out a bit ahead. I also found that my strategy of selecting horses with names that meant something was not always a winning approach; Private Road was one of my winners in the first race, but garden hedge lost in the 3rd. Our friend Janet picked horses with names that had something to do with her children’s occupations. Again this was a mixed strategy as those with names to do with finance lost (this probably could have been predicted), but those with military inspired names tended to win. I also found that selecting the favorite was quite likely to be a strategy for failure as the favorite horse in the second race came last. What I eventually settled on was picking horses who had won before. This seemed to work pretty well. All in all, at the end of the night I was just $4HK down (about 40 pence or 60 cents). I also learned that it isn’t so much how much I win, but the winning itself that mattered. Mostly though, it was a lovely evening, full of interesting conversation and good food. I would definitely go to the races again if asked!

Rabbits, Sparrows, Dogs, Cats, and Horses

The last month has been characterised for us by an abundance of animals. The dominant animal is, of course the rabbit, as this is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit (or Hare, as rabbits are apparently not native to China). Last year was the year of the Tiger, so in contrast Rabbit years are years of rest and quiet. The actual New Year period was not what I expected, though I must say I found it to be an ideal holiday, coming at just the right time. The actual timing of the New Year is determined by the full moon, so the date changes from year to year, but is usually somewhere around the end of January or sometime in February. Before New Year people clean out the old. This can involve quite serious ridding or may only involve changing the red paper fortunes that are on the alters and on doorways. People also get their hair cut in a new style--Ethan, the guy who cuts my hair said he was up until 1 AM the night before new years doing people's hair in anticipation of the holiday. Everywhere is also decorated with Cherry blossom branches, orange trees, and Chrysanthemums.

The primary part of the New Year is three days here (I believe people take longer off on the mainland) and is characterised by visiting family and eating. In Hong Kong, this is THE holiday. While one could get IKEA delivery on Christmas day, one cannot have the same service over the three days of New Year--DHL certainly does not deliver as we discovered when Sheffield tried to send my marking to me. There is a really good food that you buy as a brick and then fry. It comes in both sweet and savoury and is quite lovely (not anywhere as strong or distinctive as moon cakes). At New Years you can buy this food as a dim sum as well. After the first three days have ended, there is then a period of about 10 days when the New Years celebrations continue.

During the main three days and the weekend after Adrian and I certainly made the most of the holiday. One of Adrian's friends invited us to a family BBQ, which was a great honour as this is usually a time spent just with family and not all and asunder. The BBQ was in a lovely spot overlooking the South China Sea, next to an unusually clean beach. When it was revealed that I have an interest in food to the mother of our host, she then took it upon herself to introduce me to a whole range of foods that I would not have considered or known about. Some of these were absolutely lovely--there was a really nice pudding that was sort of like rice pudding, and some sweet thing like butter brickle, that she had made. One thing people here do at BBQ's is, when they cook the meat over the coals, toward the end they paint the food with honey to make it brown and sweet--really nice--you would be surprised what tastes good cooked with honey on it. We also had some steamed fish, which I believe was flat head grouper, that had been wrapped in foil and baked next to the coals. The most unusual item, however was sparrow. This is a great delicacy, and like many delicacies, is so only in the context within which it is considered as such. The preparation process involves taking the feathers off and then putting them on a stick to make something that looks a bit like a kabob. Note that there is NO other apparent cleaning or dissecting. The skewer is then held over the coals for about 25 minutes and occasionally basted until the birds are cooked and brown. You then try to eat them. There are a lot of bones and not much meat and it is quite difficult to avoid the inside. I was able to pass off two of the first three that I was handed to others who had similarly never tried sparrow, but when the second skewer arrived on my plate those people all made themselves quite scarce. I don't believe I am sufficiently naturalised into this environment to fully appreciate the nuances of sparrow meat. It was a difficult moment, because this was a gift and was a show of respect. I have banned Adrian from announcing to people that I have an interest in food.

Eating Sparrow was not the only thing we did to celebrate the coming of the Year of the Rabbit. We also went on a walk around the hills where we live, we went out with some friends to Plover Cove, and to a village called Tai O. The compound where we live is on the top of a hill and adjacent to Shing Mun Country Park, which is huge, in fact 40% of the area of Hong Kong is comprised of country parks. There is a trail that runs through the park near us called the MacLehose Trail. Actually this trail, runs for about 100 kilometres and runs across most of the New Territories. We can access it from just up from where we live. It is actually a quite difficult trail not just because of its length, but also because it is quite hilly and populated with monkeys and abandoned dogs. When you go out on the trail you must take some sort of stick to ward off both. We just did a short circular walk to the next valley and then down the hill into Fo Tan. Adrian then walked back up the hill as he was in training for the 10K run that was part of the Hong Kong marathon (he did it in just 52 minutes and came 52nd in his race, which had 5000 participants). As I do not run in marathons or any other races, I took the bus home, but as penance I had to carry the very large stick that Adrian collected on the way to ward off the dogs. Incidentally the only dog we ran into was a very friendly dog who walked with us part of the way. The wild dogs however are present and are in the park because people abandon them (and cats) when they move to flats that do not allow pets.

The walk with Bernie and Barbara to Plover Cove the next day was very nice and characterised by beautiful views, abandoned villages, and friendly people. The walk was about 6 miles and in the middle there is a restaurant or Da Pai Dong--actually what we ate at was a bit bigger than the usual Da Pai Dong, but it broadly fits the category. Along our way we kept playing leap frog with two young men who were going camping. They had back packs on, but between them they had a bamboo pole with a cooler hanging, which they told us held their beer. We were a bit worried at this news because we thought it might signal that the restaurant was closed. In fact these two men were also going to the restaurant as one of them was good friends with the owner. When we got there he showed us how to get the beer that the restaurant sold out of the fridge and proceeded to wait on us as the person who owned the restaurant was very busy with several large parties as well as a large group of his own family members. Once we finished our meal, we said goodbye to them and proceeded around the cove. We finished the evening off with a lovely meal in Sai Kung, another one of our favourite destinations.

On the weekend we then went to Tai O. Tai O is a marvellous place--I'v put some photo's on my facebook page for those who are interested. It is a fairly large village at the end of Lantau Island (on the map it is probably closer to Macau than Central Hong Kong). What particularly characterises it, though, is the combination of canals and stilt houses, as the people who live there used to live entirely on the water in boats. Another distinguishing feature is the relative absence of evidence of globalisation despite the number of tourists who visit and the proximity to the airport and Disneyland HK. The only sign I saw was from HSBC, nothing else. This does not mean you can't get an excellent cup of coffee, a meal, or buy something; you can, but it will come from a local retailer. You can also take a boat out into the sea and see the white dolphins, though these are threatened and people are not encouraged to do so. We spent nearly the whole day walking around this lovely, thriving village and had a most enjoyable time. I am sure we will go back. I am concerned for it though as I fear it will disappear as within the next few years the building of a bridge from nearby on Lantau to Macau and then on to the mainland is planned. Tai O looks ripe for redevelopment as it will be the geographic centre of this delta. Indeed, the Pearl River delta is the most rapidly industrialising place in the world and contains over 50,000,000 (yes, 50 million) people making it also the most populated region in the world. I just don't see how Tai O can survive the onslaught of industrial capitalism, but we shall see.

While that was the end of New Year holiday for us, it does carry on for about a week and a half further, when people eat out with friends, pass out red packets (lai see) with money in them to children, subordinates, and unmarried people (so I didn't get any). This is also the period when you find the dragon dancers and lion dancers who go around and perform for lai see packets and bring good luck. All in all, Chinese New Year, in the way that is celebrates family and signals the start of spring, is a happy time that comes during a month that usually, for me, seems pretty dreary.

You may be wondering where the cats and the horses fit in? We are adopting two cats this weekend who were going to be taken to be put down just before the new year. We are very much looking forward to their addition to our family. I'll tell you about the horses another time...

Going to and fro: busses, trains, ferries, escalators, and elevators

I took six different forms of transport to get to my office at Hong Kong University this morning. I did this for two reasons. Firstly, I did this, was because I had a bit of time and I wanted to keep my resolution of trying one new thing each week. I had not tried to get to the office with this particular routing and I wanted to see what it was like. While not the fastest way for me to get to work, it was not any more expensive and was certainly more scenic than the way I usually go, which involves a mini-bus, three MTR trains, and a double-deck large bus. Secondly, I used all these forms of public conveyance because I could. One of the amazing things about Hong Kong is the absolutely brilliant public transport system, which incorporates so many of the different forms of technology available for moving people around. My journey this morning involved an elevator in my building, a green mini-bus, two MTR trains, the Star Ferry , a double deck CityBus, several escalators sprinkled within this, and finally a couple of elevators to get from Pok Fu Lam Road to my office half way up the hill (HKU is very vertical). While I won’t talk about the escalators and the elevators in this account, I think it is worth providing a bit more about the MTR, the ferry, and the busses.


My first bus of the day was actually one of the green minibuses that one sees throughout Hong Kong. These little busses are great as they don’t always have a regular timetable, though this is not always the case. Instead there is a fleet of them running regular services along what seem to me to be shorter routes, linking the housing estates with shopping malls and transport hubs. Our route is the number 69K and there are several of these mini-busses making the circuit from the top of our hill to the Shatin station all day long and well into the evening. One must sit on these busses and they will pass you by if they are full. Fortunately, we live at the top of the hill so the only time when this really happens is in period just after the Shatin college lets out and the children take up all the places. To catch one of these busses, one needs to stand at the designated stop and wave your hand. If the bus is not full the driver will stop for you. If it is full, they will wave at you and drive right on by. Getting off is a bit more difficult as, unlike other forms of transport in Hong Kong, there is no bell or forced stop except at the end of the route. What you must do is yell out the name of your stop if you know it—ours is Sook Say (meaning quarters). Everyone also adds a please onto the end: mgoy in Cantonese. If you don’t know the name of the stop, then a “Yow Lok, mgoy” will also work. “Yow Lok” sort of means stop, but is only a phrase used on the mini-busses. You wouldn’t say this to a taxi driver, for example (actually I try not to use the Taxi’s as they are quite confusing and it is often difficult to convey where you want to go to the drivers).

The MTR is the subway system in the Hong Kong SAR. There are several lines that make up the system. Our line, the East Rail Line, starts at the border with China and extends all the way down to Hung Hom, which is on the right side of Kowloon toward the bottom. The trains come through our station, which is Shatin station, about every minute during rush hour and about every three minutes at other times. It runs over ground until it reaches Lion Rock and then does a combination of over and underground travel until Hung Hom.. Because this is a fast train to China, it also has a first class carriage, which you can use if you buy a first class ticket or swipe your octopus card at the machine before boarding. If you don’t swipe your card and the train people catch you there is quite a fine—I’ve witnessed several people trying to talk their way out of this. While the first class is a bit more expensive, it is sometimes worth it as you can ensure that you will get a seat. The other carriages are more like standard subway carriages and are mostly standing. It took me about 15 minutes to get from our station in Shatin to the Hung Hom end of the line. At that point I changed trains to the West Rail Line, which I rode for one stop to East TST. Approximately 19 minutes in total and cost just HK$12.6 (which includes the first class upgrade). It was a comfortable, if a bit boring ride as there is pretty much no scenery. I like the MTR, though because it is fast and very efficient.

At TST East I walked (or road escalators) underground to the L6 exit. This exit brings you out on the point of Kowloon right near the Star Ferry Terminal. There are several ferries that leave from this terminal, but today I rode the ferry to Central. The ferries themselves are small wooden boats, painted green and white and have two decks. There is the lower deck, which I tend to prefer, and the upper deck which costs about HK$1 more (the cost goes up a further HK$1 on weekends and holidays, but is still very good value). The total cost today for the ferry across was just HK$2.5, so I not really much expense at all. I chose the upper deck today because it is cold and rainy and the ends have glass on the windows, so it is a bit warmer and drier than the lower deck. I love the Star Ferry partly because it is a romantic way to travel. The boats, while not the originals, have been crossing the water between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island since 1880 according the company’s web site. There are 12 ferries that that are part of the fleet, each of which has the word star as part of their name (e.g., morning star, etc.). The boats in service now date primarily from the 1950’s and 1960’s and while electric, are still wooden. The style and age of the boats add significantly to the romanticism of the journey. As you cross Victoria Harbor on the ferry one sits and sees the cityscape of Hong Kong move closer, while Black Kites fly over the water looking for fish (there are no Gulls here). It is a calming and quite experience for me; time out from what is usually the crush of movement and people and the accompanying assault of noise and smog smells that characterizes my usual journey to work. These days, as was evident this morning, the ferries are not used by commuters in the same way that they once were. This is largely due to the movement of the ferry pier from near city hall to below the IFC building (the IFC building was, until recently, Hong Kong’s tallest building). I hope it does not mean the slow decline into extinction of the ferry.

Upon exiting the Ferry I caught the second and last bus of my journey: The number 7 CityBus. This was a double decker bus similar to those you would find in the UK. Indeed, as the traffic travels on the same side of the road as is the case in the UK, I believe these busses are indeed the same models. Adrian would know more about this than I and I believe he muttered something about one of the bus companies in Sheffield is operating retired stock from Hong Kong on one of its routes. I must confess that I didn’t pay a lot of attention to this bit of trivia at the time of the telling, but I do wish I could sound a bit more authoritative at the moment about this. I sat in the tourist seats, on the top deck at the front. Most regular riders seem to keep clear of these seats, but tourists gravitate toward them. I like these seats because you can see where you are going and as I was not entirely sure how far along my stop was seeing where I was going seemed a good idea. As it turned out, this was a good idea as the stop was at an entrance to the university that I was not so familiar with and I would have missed it if I were not looking carefully. The journey of the number 7 goes up Queen’s road Central to Queen’s road East before eventually entering Pok Fu Lam Road. As one progresses along the ride the bus seems to travel back in time. The area around the ferry terminal is all reclaimed land, with tall (very tall) new buildings all proclaiming their connection to the west. By the time you reach Queen’s Road East, the streets are full of shops selling edible birds nest, shark fin, and Ginseng or red lanterns and incense to burn for the ancestors. There are also small sidewalk vendors selling bau out of the small bamboo steamer baskets and restaurants with bright yellow cooked chickens hanging in the windows. One eventually travels through a winding street, climbing up the hill, which is full of antiques sellers with widow displays of wooden Chinese furniture or ceramic pots, before finally emerging out near an overpass (which leads back over to the new Harbor tunnel to Kowloon). People have been living in the area around where Pok Fu Lam Road meets Queen’s Road East since the early 1700’s. In contrast, the area near the overpass is near the university and where the new campus is being built. In the next few years there will be a new MTR line with a station here, thereby making my journey route today even more irrelevant and seemingly inefficient, but I am sure no less interesting.

A New Year and New Experiences

Happy New Year!

I arrived back in Hong Kong on the 18^th of December. I just managed to escape the airport closures. My flight left from Manchester on the 17^th and was late departing and I must say I was getting nervous as I watched the flakes begin to fall. But escape I did!  I expected to arrive in a warm climate, cast off my coat and enjoy the sun. There has been sun—only 2 days of cloud or rain since I arrived—but it has not been warm.  Today’s high has been only 58 degrees (13 C).  While this sounds ok, there is no central heating here and our flat is on the shady side of the building, thus we have no sun to warm us through the windows. I have had to purchase a jumper and a pair of slippers and I wear my coat when I go out.  It has been like this since I arrived and the weather looks to stay this way for at least another 2 weeks—for those considering travel to Hong Kong in the future, do make note of this particular climatic feature!

Arriving on the 18^th meant I was plunged right into Christmas preparations.  It was a bit odd being here for Christmas. There were certainly decorations around in the malls and so forth, but for the most part it was a regular day for most people.  For example, I purchased something from Ikea and had to ask them NOT to deliver it on Christmas Day.  The children and Adrian were off school/work though and we did try to do some traditional things.  Adrian had purchased the Michael Palin series Around the World in 80 Days, which is always on TV over the Christmas period, so we watched that each day. We also had Ensalada de Noche Buena (A Mexican Christmas Salad) on Christmas Even, which is a longstanding tradition in our family.

Christmas also held some new activities as well. I conquered my fear of the wet market and managed to purchase a fish that I think was a Barramundi.  I poached it and had a Thai sauce that I put over it. It was really lovely and the meat was sweet. To be truthful, I don’t really remember what else we had as that night Adrian, Simon and I all woke up and were ill. We remained ill for the next three days, and there was a competition over who had to make the most trips to the bathroom to be sick (Simon won with 8, Adrian and I tied at 5). Everyone stayed pretty much in bed on Boxing Day, but Adrian and I tried to get out the following days. We went to Stanley with Grace one day, which was enjoyed by all. She doesn’t often come out with us and it was nice that she did.  Another day we found a new footpath around the Peak, which has really nice views.  I would definitely take visitors there. Finally, at the end of the week, Adrian and I went to Macau. Macau is really a place to go if you like to gamble. We don’t so found it a bit difficult. Fortunately the children did not go with us as they would have hated the day, which was spent mostly walking about. We did go to a very nice garden, for me only to discover there was no memory card in my camera—all photo’s left only to the imagination.

On New Year’s Day we agreed that we would write down our resolutions. Mine are to do yoga twice a week, send two papers off to journals by June, try something new each week, and improve my Cantonese. So far I’ve not done any Yoga, my books are all in the UK still and the shippers don’t look like they will send them until later this month (grrrrr), though most of what I need is available electronically, I am working on my Cantonese and I have learned a little bit more so we shall see on that one. I am doing great with the try new things though.

This week I have done two new main new things (though these were not the only new things I did). The first thing was to have my palm and face read at the Chinese temple. This was not an inexpensive venture costing about $HK500. It was very interesting though. I learned that my children will take care of me in my old age so I don’t have to worry and that Adrian and I will stay married. I also learned that I have a lucky line which means things will work out. But the first thing the woman did when she looked at my hand was look shocked when she saw my lifeline, which is apparently weak and mingled with my work. She told me to take a foreign holiday!  (I kept thinking, but I’ve just gotten here!). She said that I had a good palm but that I need to take care of my health and get enough rest. I’ve told Adrian this means he has to let me have the occasional lie on the weekends!

The second was to go to see the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor about my migraines (and also because I felt I needed to address this lifeline thing).  As part of the benefits associated with Adrian’s job we can each access 15 visits with 2 packs of herbs each visit.  This was quite an interesting experience because it was so different from anything I’ve done before. I went into the consulting room where there were two doctors training on the main doctor. I was not introduced to any of them, so I have no idea what any of them are called. The main doctor asked me several questions about whether or not I felt my blood pressure was normal or my sleep was normal or my appetite was normal. This was fine though I am not really sure what normal is. I was then asked to stick out my tongue. All three responded in a way that was similar to that of the palm reader—I am guessing my tongue does not look good. It was never explained—at least not in English. I left with about half the forest in a bag that I have to concoct into tea to be drunk three times a day for three days.  The prescription is all in Chinese characters, but I do have a book that revealed what a few of the 14 different ingredients were. Of these, a few will be familiar plants to European/American readers, and they include: Lovage root, which is good for qi movement and Kudzu root, which is good for all sorts of things. I am not sure if this is the same Kudzu that is eating the American South, but it might be worth investigating!  I’ve had the first day of the treatment, and feel pretty much the same so far. It was really awful tasting, but something that tastes that bad must do something for you. I have to go back to the doctor on Monday, so I wonder what that will bring!

Next week I start teaching at HKU, where I am a visiting Associate Professor. Hopefully that will go ok. I am looking forward to it and everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. I have managed to get settled in and find my way there with only limited difficulty (going through Central is not the best way from here).