A Tourist In Hong Kong - Tuesday

The real beginning of my first week of freedom, I wanted to celebrate with something purely entertaining, so what better place than a theme park? Ocean Park is Asia's equivalence of SeaWorld, with a few land animals on top. The park was a short bus ride to the Southern Part of HK Island, situated near Aberdeen, a small fishing village famous for its floating restaurant, Jumbo - probably the only thing in Hong Kong that I would have like to do but won't. Mid-week was an ideal time to go as it was pretty empty.

The first exhibit I went to was the Giant Panda House, which was the home to two recently acquired pandas from China, Le Le (the black and white one) and Ying Ying (the white and black one). They were very playful but I wouldn't get too close.

Next stop was Kid's World - not exactly on the same scale as the Jurassic Park gates but it will do.

Of course, what with HK being the centre for the SARS outbreak and also with news that bird flu was transferred from man to man nearby, what better place to go than to an aviary! The exotic bird show was entertaining enough and all volunteers were given disinfectant to spray on their hands and arms and thoroughly scrubbed down.

And then to the sealion show. Wave!

As you know, most of Hong Kong is mountainous, and is largely uninhabitable. So this theme park location is either ingenious or insane; there are two entrances, one on each side of a mountain, and there is a cable car ride between the two sides. It makes for a really lovely view across Stanley and Repulse Bay, but is actually quite long as you go along the cliff for about 10 minutes, so to catch shows - which are on both sides - you have to time your day very precisely.

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Mid-day, time for a well-deserved rest, methinks.

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This second side has all the rollercoasters but being early afternoon and 26 degrees, I went inside the aquarium to cool down. The Atoll Reef is 4 floors deep and really spectacular as you get to see the different species at each level. Divers were inside feeding the fish. Look at this guy's lips - kissable or what!

After that, I went to the Tower, with a revolving platform that spins from the ground up to a 360 panoramic view. The boat in the last picture is Jumbo, although it looks more appealing at night. It really was a glorious day, and just think where I could have been!

I went on the runaway mine ride, which swooped and swerved above the sea, and then onto the shark aquarium with a walk-through tunnel. The Longnose Sawshark is a truly wondrous creature.

My favourite, the jellyfish:

The big event was the dolphin show. However, I had to endure quite possibly my very notion of hell, if there was such a thing: a Mariachi band. What's worse than seeing a Mariachi band? Having to watch it. What's worse than having to watch a Mariachi band? A Mariachi band that plays Christmas music. God knows what the Chinese must have thought about it all; a weird combination if there ever was one.

Still, the dolphins were pretty.

One quick turn on the river rapids ride, which could've ended with me going home wet but fortunately wasn't more than a mild splattering, before heading off.

And as the sun went down, the dolphins bade me farewell.

So did the pandas.

A Tourist In Hong Kong - Monday

I decided I would save all the packing until next week and would enjoy this week in Hong Kong as a proper tourist, see all the things I wanted to before I left, and try and get a feel for the place in a better light, so that I didn't leave so sour. In fact, it was a great week and as much as employment is a sensible route, I'm really glad I found myself in this situation.

Monday, I didn't get a lot done as i had to meet my ex-boss for negotiations and then head over to Cathay Pacific to look into my flight ticket. I had a return flight and swapped it (with a small cancellation charge) for a single flight, saving myself about £150. Same flight, but a day earlier, so I better trot off and see the sights.

However, I did see an interesting take on X-mas decorations. The Hysan Express, documents the festival through the decades, beginning with the Nativity, and then skipping ahead a few years.




Full steam ahead then...

The Great Hollywood Cop-Out

In 1954 Richard Matheson wrote a fictional novel entitled "I Am Legend" about the last man on Earth, Robert Neville. Yesterday I happened to watch a film also called "I Am Legend", also about a man named Robert Neville. Completely coincidentally I assume, because the two are so unrelated and find themselves at opposite ends of the quality spectrum. Actually, there's a dog in both, so maybe not so different.

I happened to read the book in Tokyo last year, before I knew anything about the movie. Absolutely fantastic: tense, original, creative and disturbing, with an incredible ending. In fact, the last sentence is so astonishingly brilliant, which I'm sure anyone who has read it will agree.

So why could a movie, that really couldn't go wrong, go... so... terribly... wrong? There are bad movies, which are instantly forgettable, and then there are movies so baaad that they stick in your head and make you consider the death penalty as a valid option after all. This would rate in my top 3 (along with MatchPoint and Meet The Parents) as the scummiest crud of all time.

Films don't have to resemble the books; hell, Bourne shares the name and that's about it, but they are worthy in their own merit. Will Smith's adaptation, however, is banal.

The plot veers off track so quickly you forget that there actually is a story and then proceeds to contradict itself over and over again. The Point-Of-No-Return (I wish there wasn't) was such a contradiction that I stopped paying attention and started considering two things about Will Smith. Firstly, trying to guess the emotion he was construing in each scene, which all appeared to revolve around constipation, and secondly, trying to work out if he was actually noteworthy in any films. With the exception of Men In Black, no, not really.

And then the ending happens. Quickly. And pointlessly to the extent of insulting to the audience.

This is the greatest cop-out that any screenwriter/director/producer can decide on: the worthless self-sacrifice. This is becoming all too familiar to blockbusters and it fails nearly every time. Take the obvious example of Titanic; Jack really has no other choice if he wants to save Rose. But, and this is the very essence of a self-sacrifice, it is only worthy IF THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE. If all routes have been tried and there is no hope, then it is noble. Otherwise, it is either lazy, uncreative or a quick way to end a movie, especially if the budget is spiralling. In fact, there is another vampire movie out now - 30 Days Of Night - a much better effort which could have been great if not for exactly the same infuriating resolution.

As for the epilogue, those classic last words are twisted and manipulated so that they linguistically follow suit, but meaninglessly may as well have been "banana monkey banana".

At least the film remained true for one fact.

The dog died.

Image Of The Week #67

I saw this in the supermarket and couldn't resist. Kidney beans, azuki beans, baked beans, and now:

(taken in the Mid-Levels - 12th December, 2007)

If anyone's interested what's included:

My Cleaner, The Mind Reader

It's as if she read my blog, this Thursday I was presented with two new rolls of toilet roll. Maybe she looks through my bin and considers what I've eaten.
No baked beans this week, although, speaking of which...

Image Of The Week #66

Lucky girl! I wonder what her surname is?

(taken in Sha Tin - 12th December, 2007)

101 Uses For A Toilet Roll

My room is cleaned twice a week, and the cleaner leaves a new toilet roll on top of my toilet regardless of how much is left each time. So, in the last 2.5 months, I've racked up quite a collection.


The question now is, what can I do with them? I've missed Halloween so dressing up as a mummy is out of the question, but there must be other things they can be good for. Suggestions, please.

It's Close But It's Not The One

I just bought some laundry tokens at reception and the concierge told me to "Have a nice __eam" or maybe "__een". I can't imagine the word. Maybe "Have a nice clean"?!

Any ideas?

Image Of The Week #65

O, to be a panda.

(taken in Ocean Park - 11th December, 2007)

Not Made In China

The end of last week was a little complicated. I haven't been happy in either my job or being in Hong Kong as of late and was considering throwing in the towel at Christmas. However, I didn't want to be a quitter and had been sticking it out; more than anything, to be in a place I'm not so keen on and doing a job I'm no longer fond of is a good mental challenge. But at some point enough is enough, and it's time to move on to bigger, better and desired things. This job was a small detour (with a view to make some money to fund Uni) which had turned into a roadblock. I learnt a lot and was able to experience a whole new country/culture but things were beginning to run their natural course, whether it may seem premature or not.

So, news that my Manager had not lived up to his title by having to close the Hong Kong office because of lack of funds*, actually came as a blessing in disguise.

I was given a choice - return to the Japan office and carry on, or take severance. The choice wasn't too difficult, and I am now, after some negotiations, officially unemployed.

Until the money comes through, I don't really want to give anything more than the short version on here, so if you want to find out, ask me directly or Dad, Mum etc

To summarise, I have two weeks to enjoy Hong Kong and be a proper tourist here before I return to Japan. I can quickly pick up English teaching** and earn a bit of cash on the side whilst I apply to Universities, and then it's a matter of when to return to the UK (or some other country for Uni, if it happens that way). However, it's a lot to take in in such a short time, so I still have a lot of thinking.

Bottom line is, I'm glad I'm out, I'm not going to feel guilty or failed for reasons beyond my control, I'm going to enjoy the next few weeks, and I'm going to move onto to something far more on target for me, all the time having this piece of life experience to save as a story for the grandkids.

Oh, and I'll have time to finally write up about the trips that I've taken so far.

*I won't go into details here but, suffice to say, money was not carefully managed
**Since Nova went, private teaching is lucrative

Hotel Alone

I woke up this morning with the sun blaring down on me. Would've been lovely except for a few key points:

1) I felt very awake for 6:50am.

2) The sun shouldn't have been that bright.

3) The time on my alarm was 1am.

4) I felt very awake for half an hour's sleep.

5) The sun shouldn't have been that bright for 1am.

The above, which was quite elementary (dear Wong-son) was that my alarm hadn't gone off. Aaaaagh! There had been a power cut sometime during the night, 1am I was guessing.

It was 8:30am and, although I managed to leave my room at 8:40(!), I was one hour late for work. Is that my fault?

And So It Begins

Hong Kong has gone Christmas crazy. Decorations have popped up everywhere, and there really is no escape. Best to embrace it head on. What is fascinating about the displays are that there seem to be different categories. For example:

#1 - The Traditional



#2 The Theme

Good old (huge) Hans Andersen, as he likes to be known by his friends can be seen here, dressed as Santa - how unoriginal Hans! - reading his famous stories (including The Little Mermaid, Ugly Duckling, Emperor's New Clothes...)

#3 The Random

My favourite display is in my own train station. I can't work out what this film a) has to do with Christmas, or b) why they chose a movie that came out over a year ago? Truly bizarre.

A Christmas Tyre Tree - just what every good kid wants!

Well I Ain't Never Seen A Dolphin Pink

I like to know the facts. Whether it be the plot of the movie I'm about to see, or the person I'm about to interview. I don't need all the details, but not knowing the key facts leaves me feeling apprehensive. I guess I just don't like to be kept out of the loop.

So today was a big test for me. I wanted to go west along the coast to the end of the New Territories and towards mainland China. However, transport gets a little precautious towards the border, and less English is spoken. I wasn't sure exactly where I would end up but I took the second bus that passed me (instinct told me to take the second). Luckily, the bus carried on along the coast to near where I wanted to go; actually I went too far and had to backtrack about 20 minutes.

Tuen Mun is the last main town before the border (just under an hour by bus from where I am), and as large as it is, it's much more "China" in terms of industry and people, compared to the more developed Hong Kong. There is a large shopping mall - with McDonalds, Pizza Hut and KFC - so don't be misled; it's not that underdeveloped. But I was the only Westerner around.

I walked a few miles back from the town centre to the coast, and passed a few beaches along the way. People were sunbathing. That's right; two days into advent, and people were tanning!

About half way back, I came to Hong Kong's very own Gold Coast; a beach resort for the rich types of Hong Kong, with its own shopping mall and yachts in tow. It was quite luxurious but I couldn't help thinking that it was largely impractical in terms of geographical location; I mean, the people that would be living there would not be the ones working in the factories nearby, rather the finance centre of HK Island.

The Gold Coast is well-known for the residence of the elusive pink dolphins, a rare breed sometimes sighted in the waters. Sadly, I didn't see any - maybe the wrong season - but this statue situated on a spit about half a mile out to sea made it clear that they were real.

Not a bad trip, and I'm glad I got on that bus and let myself be taken along with it; I can't imagine many tourists get out there.

Image Of The Week #64

A festive treat from home. And what a cute bear.
Please suggest a name for him. Of course, there will be a prize.
How about, let's say, 40 lashes and a couple of weeks in jail?

(taken in Lok Fu - 1st December, 2007)