HK humidity, culture, mango

Just bought a dehumidifier. It is hot and humid here. Also got a water filter, so I don't have to carry bottles of BonAqua from the 7/11 at the corner anymore - waste of plastic, really.

Last weekend, I had lunch with Jack (whom I know from London). His wife now works with my ex-colleague Philip - small world... After a goooood lunch, I strolled back to the Star Ferry terminal. On the way, I dropped into the HK Cultural Center. They have a free performance every Saturday afternoon, it turns out - I still haven't quite figured out how the HK economy works (however, apparently a third of tax revenues come from the financial sector - my colleagues, in other words). This week, there was a Mexican Mariachi band. It was fun - so far, I had only seen them on markets and streets in, well, Mexico. They play very rhythmic and passionate music, and in Latin America, will immediately have everyone dancing, or at least twitching. Here, in HK, nobody of the (predominantly elderly Chinese) audience was moving or swaying in the least. A classical clash of cultures moment. However, next a pretty Mexican couple appeared on stage and danced, and soon everyone was clapping and getting into the swing of things.

Just opposite the ferry terminal, there's my favourite Chinese sweet/dessert spot: 許留山 (Xu Liu Shan - little remember mountain?). Wonderful mango/coconut/aloe/grapefruit pudding-drinks. I had two. Internationally, they're known as Creation Dessert, and Xiaochen introduced me to it in the (significant) China town in Milpitas, California. I suggest to skip the items containing "Crystal Snow" (seems to be a mix of frog fat and frog ovaries, extracted from the whole reproductive tract...) and "Bird's nest" (an actual bird's nest, composed of "interwoven strands of salivary laminae cement", that is bird's spit).

This Friday, Thai dinner with Bjoern - his girl friend is moving here this weekend, so we bid farewell to his bacholorhood. Saturday, dinner at Enoteca on my street, then dessert (Tiramisu) at Peccato - the best Tiramisu in HK I've encountered so far (it still falls short of the one Almudena prepares though).

Back in HK

Monday had Thai/Malaysian food and then drinks in LKF with Ling and a couch surfer, including some fun live music by a South African band.
Tuesday, I finally met Neil - we had been playing telephone ping-pong for a while. We ended up in the Gecko just under the escalator - great live jazz, really enjoyable, and this rather unique Irish Whiskey, Connemara. It's peated (that is, the malt is dried over a peat (Torf) fire), and as such somewhat of a hybrid between Irish and Scotch. Now, I'm a big fan of pure pot still (that's what a year in Ireland does to you), but this Connemara is really rather intriguing. (Ironically, the only distillery in Ireland that produces "Scotch" type Whiskey is the only one that's actually Irish owned. Go figure.) A very pleasant evening. Wednesday went to the grand opening of Q bar in LKF with Paul - swish club, then pizza close to home.
Thursday some random hedge fund function in the Dragon-I ("Overrated, bad drinks and lots of people with attitude (bankers and too-skinny models)" - indeed. The next quote captures the spirit of the place perfectly - I think the irony is not intended: "People always say they don't like Dragon-I and that it's superficial and full of vapid people, but I always seem to have fun there!"). Then, however, great simple dinner with Ling and Neil in the Enoteca. To top it off, we had a quick drink at home: some Calvados and some 1994 Middleton Very Rare - now we're talking pot still (mostly). And from there, it went all downhill... :-)

Notes in passing:

1. One hour after I landed in Paris CDG recently, I was still at the luggage belt waiting for my, well, luggage. One hour after I landed in HKG on Sunday, I was at home (with my luggage).
   To get home, I had taken the Airport Express (around EUR 10) and then a cab (around EUR 2).


2. In the week since arriving from the airport, doing all of the above and working full time, I haven't had to use any form of transport at all (except walking and the escalator). No cars, busses, nothing. It's all just around the corner. Another reason I like HK.

Friday, then, was dedicated to work and sleep. Saturday a junk trip with some colleagues (including my excellent ex-colleague Philip) and friends. Visibility was rather bad, but jumping from the boat and (attempts at) wakeboarding were great fun nevertheless. Afterwards with Ling to the FCC ball - black tie, cocktails, dinner, and fantastic live music with Sérgio Mendes . He played his classic hits, and some newer stuff ("Bossa-Hop"). The keyboard did collapse on his knees at one point, and lamentably he walked out during the encore, leaving the (great) band to finish the song. 5am the guys had to catch a plane back. A fun night. Then to Hardys in LKF, where Ling's uncle Rudy performed on stage. And from there, it went all downhill... :-)

Qingdao (青岛）

Last weekend I was in Qīngdǎo (青岛, "green island" - very original. Note that while it's reasonably green, it (like man) is no island) in Shāndōng province (山东, "Mountain East").

In 1897, two German missionaries were hacked to pieces in Shāndōng. So, Kaiser Wilhelm II sent the German navy to occupy the area. Next year, the Chinese government leased the bay to Germany for 99 years (same year it leased Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years), but canceled the lease in 1914 (but not the HK lease).

So, anyway, the area was under German administration for some 15 years, and, needless to say, has since been home to China's largest brewery, Tsingtao Brewery (very original), which, incidentally, held the Qingdao International Beer Festival in Qingdao that very weekend I happened to be there with my good friend Ling to study Mandarin.

Here, I'm practicing how to order a beverage in Mandarin (普通话):

Here, I'm practicing how to consume a beverage in China:

They had quite a number of huge beer tents there, Paulaner, Weihenstephaner, Erdinger, with wooden benches, beer, barbecue, and a stage with singers and entertainers of dubious quality - just like the Oktoberfest. Of course, they also provided equally attractive non-alcoholic beverages (EANABs) for teetotalers, such as Bud Light. (Note: EANAB is not a term I made up. Every year the Stanford German Student Association organizes an Oktoberfest. When submitting the 3 or 4 party application forms one has to submit in Stanford to have a party, we have to agree to provide EANABS (that is, not just water or Bud Light, but juice, smoothies, et cetera. For the excruciating details, see this "party" planning document, appropriately hosted by Stanford's risk management department. Another note, while we're at it: We also organized an annual "Feuerzangenbowle" in December. We'd watch the movie (a fun old film with Heinz Rühmann), and prepare and drink the eponymous traditional Christmas drink. Until, well, one year the administration realized that the Feuerzangenbowle is an alcoholic (!!) drink. Now, there is a guideline that events at Stanford may not be promoted with alcohol, and in particular not contain references to alcohol in the title. So, we had to rename our traditional Feuerzangenbowle where we watched "Feuerzangenbowle" and drank Feuerzangenbowle from "Feuerzangenbowle" to "Traditional German Pre-Christmas Movie Evening" or something like that. Land of the free.)

I wasn't sure what food I'd get here (note the 2nd picture):
so I bought a lamb (I hope) kebab with wonderful cumin from this very funny guy instead.


Next to all the beer tents there was a fun fair, and they had the "Ranger" there, which I fondly remember from the annual autumn fun fair in Moers, Germany, years ago. It got stuck occasionally up-side-down. This one here did, in fact, display warning signs in stern German.


Next day, we braved some more dangers,

including

• an incredibly hot (as in spicy) Sichuan (四川) dinner. (Note: surely no accident that the language of England has no word for hot (as in spicy), and has to resort to "hot" (as in warm) instead to describe the somewhat similar sensation). Anyway, this food was seriously hot; in fact, I experienced the tingling numbness in my mouth caused by Sichuan pepper (the "ma" in málà (麻辣)). (The dish was called "Kung Fu Beef".) All Sichuan food I had previously eaten (in the USA, HK, and mainland China itself) was just a weak knockoff. Fun Fun. Another Sichuan food experience.


• an evening in a Karaoke Bar. Not necessarily my cup of tea - nothing against Black Label with Green Tea, but this whole singing thing is not my thing.


• Some sailing the next day. The 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta will be held in Qingdao. So, we rented a 6m boat from a local club, and went out for two hours with Teddy, the lovely Bulgarian from the club, and Xiaoqin, the Chinese instructor. A good morning. It was relaxing and peaceful, and we were tempted to jump in the water for some swimming, but then saw some huge jellyfish. Not so appetizing.


• Oh, and we also missed our initial flight with Dragonair to Qingdao Friday morning, as we were both out late on Thursday evening. So, survived a flight with China Eastern instead.

Beethoven.


One more thing: Ling speaks Cantonese very well, but Mandarin less so (he grew up in England). Now, when the cab drivers talked to us and realized that there were a few select phrases I (foreign devil) could utter (after lots of practice), while Ling spoke freely, but hesitantly with a Cantonese accent, they'd berate him without end how on earth it was possible that my Mandarin was better than his. Very entertaining, and certainly gave my study motivation a boost :-)

Korea: More

The Peace Museum:


The Seoul Dano Folk Festival 2007 was fun. I enjoyed the singing:

So did this guy:

Most of all, I liked the drumming. Sounded good, looked good.

Traditional hair washing. Don't ask me.


Here, a time capsule is buried. I reached out for aliens.

Korea: Temples

Here's the main gate of the Changgyeonggung 창경궁 royal palace, one of the "Five Grand Palaces" of the Joseon Dynasty. When the Japanese occupied Korea during the world wars, they rather cheekily turned this whole royal palace and gardens into a zoo.

A view from the queen's quarters:


And from above (it's really pretty!):


Now, here's an astronomical observatorium. It is not quite clear to me how being elevated by about 2 meters contributes to clearer observation of the skies (smog?), but so be it.



This now is the Jongmyo Shrine 종묘, part of Korean's UNESCO world heritage.

The buildings are quite stern and elegant; lamentably one cannot enter.



Outside, people are playing some version of Draughts (Checkers) (the English version of which, incidentally, has recently been weakly solved).

When I have a question, I ask the bears.

I have arranged this charming set of figurines in my office cubicle (ok, it's not a cubicle, it's "the floor"). The scene is an allegory on War and Peace.

Anyway, when I have a question, I ask them. Often, by the time I've described the problem, it has vanished. Otherwise, I ask my excellent colleague Philip.

Next weekend I am in Korea.

Transport in Cambodia

So, over Easter I was in Cambodia. Beautiful country.

Now, there is a lot of traffic on the road. A lot. Trucks, cars, tuk-tuks, motor cycles ("motos"), bikes, pedestrians. Cairo and Paris are generally known to have the worst traffic in the world, but Phnom Penh competes valiantly.
The system used for collision avoidance is the same sophisticated and time-honed system applied in aviation under VFR (visual flight rules): See and avoid. So, traffic lights, lines on the road etc. are considered mere recommendations.

The safest way to cross a street is to close your eyes, step on the street and walk at a steady speed on a straight line to wherever you want to go. People will just anticipate that and drive around you. If you commit the beginner's mistake of stopping, looking, or even just hesitating, everyone else will get confused and run into you.

In most places, turning is a 5-step-process:

1. you look in the mirror,


2. you indicate with your turning signals,


3. you look over your shoulder,


4. you wait for a gap in the traffic,


5. you turn.

In California, the first three steps are generally skipped. In Cambodia, the fourth one is skipped, too. You just turn, traffic or no traffic. "See and avoid" takes care of the rest. In the picture below, we're turning left through the oncoming traffic. As you can see, the closest moto has already begun to swerve to his left as to avoid us.


Most people were wearing a baseball hat for crash protection, so did I.

Now, there are many modes of transport. For example, to transport a family of four, you take a moto:

To transport four mattresses, you take a moto:

To transport a monk, you take a moto:

To transport gas and other explosives, you take a moto:

To transport a moto though, you take a bus:

HK Arts Festival

When I see performing art, there are two indicators I like it:
I am engrossed and smile obliviously, or I am engrossed and sob obliviously.

Currently, the HK Arts festival is going on. Shows I've seen so far:

• Camut Band: Wonderful percussion-rhythm-dance show. In a similar vein to STOMP, but sufficiently different as to be original. Joyful and funny. I was smiling all the time.
  (For some reason, flamenco dancing just moves me deeply. This did, too. It was a display of pure skill, performed with emotion. Deeply human.)
  


• 1984: Directed by Tim Robbins. Very bleak. Set in the same dark scene throughout. Not quite as gripping.
  


• SF Jazz Collective: A band composed of composers. Some Thelonious Monk, many original compositions. Technically perfect, I am sure (cannot judge, really), but as some of the joy of listening to music comes from recognition, I found it not quite so engrossing. There might have been many allusions, but I didn't get them. In fact, quite a few people left during the show.
  


• Youssou n'Dour: Senegalese singer. Great concert. Extraordinarily stirring. People got of the seats and danced (among the first was the delightful elderly Irish lady next to me, who pointed to her knees and said "they need some stretching" before she got up and danced). The poor ushers were totally overwhelmed and tried in vain to keep the crowds within bounds. As he pointed out during the show, Africa is not only poverty, AIDS, and war.
  
  

Back in HK, Friends, Gocarts

Just been back in HK for two weeks, and already two old friends from Germany have visited (independently). Here's Jamil and me in front of my office:

Yesterday, Olaf and his wife called unexpectedly - they had just arrived in HK for two days. We went to Stanley market and the peak - the view was very good this time, then had a few drinks in the Four Seasons, and I went off to the Youssou N'dor concert. Afterwards, drinks in Fong's and the Kee club.

Today, Sebastian, Jörn and I went gocarting in Zhūhǎi 珠海 in China (close to Macau). It had rained, and there was a lot of skidding and sliding. For a short period in the last race, I was first - then I made a mistake and was overtaken, and then my gocart died. Heaps of fun nevertheless.

London, cooking

Arrived in London Sunday morning at 5. Very nice flight (new BA business class). Very nice hotel. Adjusted to time difference (=slept). Today Monday first day at work in the London office. Great colleagues. Concentrated, productive, collaborative work. Interaction with sales/structuring/trading. About thrice a day somebody volunteers to get coffee/mocha/hot chocolate for everyone. Team lunch/dinner/bowling/go-carting all coming up. (Can write in full sentences with declension, but no want. Chinese influence.)

In the evening, I went to the Reebock gym (conveniently located between work and hotel). Great - haven't been to a good gym in ages (the Goldman gym was nice (nickname: "NASDAQ 5000 memorial gym"), but the Stanford gym sucks utterly). Then cooked: Chicken breast fillet with mango, sun-dried tomato, onion & garlic (lots), and Gouda cheese. By way of enormous will power, I could resist adding Pesto (it wasn't self-made anyway, more walnuts than pinenuts); I did, however, throw in some Applewood smoked ham. The result was better than it sounds - try it (it might help if you're hungry, though). Added a nice South African Pinotage (pleonasm), and a Campari Orange for dessert and good measure. Good night!

Flat in HK

Looked at more flats with several agents. Can be any two of cheap, nice, big, centrally located.

This one I like best so far (it's nice and centrally located, hence small and expensive):

First week in Hong Kong 香港

I love this city. It is vibrant, varied, crammed, noisy, smelly, garish. In other words, wonderful. (Obviously, matters of taste enter the picture here.) Surprisingly, it also has very secluded and quiet places, great hiking and beaches (or so I am told).


An auspicious weekend
After my first week of work, on Friday I met Sebastian, whom I haven't seen in over 30 years - we grew up as neighbours in Buenos Aires. It was a fun night in the Armani bar, and later in some bar in Wan Chai with Jörn and a really quite entertaining band (from the Philippines, as many bands here). Saturday, after recovery, I visited some more flats, then went to a concert in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre: Debussy's Le Mar, Ravel's Piano Concerto in G-major, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and American in Paris. In my usual provident ways, I arrived about 15 minutes before the performance and stood in line at the box office, hoping I'd still get a ticket. The woman in front of me talked briefly to the clerk, then, apparently having received a negative answer, turned around and announced a free ticket - her husband couldn't make it. Now, I considered that a good omen (on the downside, it doesn't exactly help to overcome procrastination). Splendid seat, too - saw the pianist's hands fly over the keys. Beautiful concert.
After the concert, taking the Star Ferry from the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui back at night, I was overcome by a bit of nostalgia, if not sorrow, when I realized that my father (who died in 1994) had surely often taken the same ferry, and maybe been in the very same seat, when on his first expatriate assignment with Lufthansa exactly 45 years ago.

Sunday I walked around the area of my hotel a bit, West Point (Sai Ying Pun, 西營盤, Xīyíngpán), up to HK university. Its museum had a wonderful calligraphy exhibition by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, a Buddhist monk. Edifying. Two pieces caught my eye: a very simple small one with only two characters: 放下 (fàngxià) - "Let go." And the one above, simply exhorting: "Give people confidence, give them hope, give them joy, give them comfort." Quite so.
Many recent graduates and married couples were taking pictures on the university grounds - the buildings snugly nestle up the wooded hills.

Next, I took the Peak Tram up to (guess - ) the Peak. Great views (modulo the smog). And who did I met up there? Gerstein, the Russian pianist of yesterday's concert. A friendly fellow, now American citizen, speaks German really quite well.

Later, I walked through Soho and checked out my new neighbourhood. Had dinner in a little neighbourhood restaurant: Argentinean steak with chimichurri. The guy at the open grill, a very friendly Canadian, turned out to be running this place and the French rotisserie next door. I think I can live here. On the way back to the hotel, I walked through a few narrow alleys, down the hill, past Western restaurants and lively food stalls, then took the tram west. At one street corner, an older man had a tiny stall. I don't know what he was selling, but he was dancing on the streets with considerable grace and poise, in a slow manner reminiscent of Tai Chi, all the while guiding pedestrians across the street.

All in all, I like it. Gershwin's American in Paris evokes a young man strolling through the streets of Paris with light-footedness and expectancy, and maybe a tinge of nostalgia and home-sickness. Certainly resonates with me.

Flat hunting
Expensive, small. Apparently, for some reason, as soon as there is enough space to have a reasonably sized room, the Hong Kong developer will turn it into two rooms. (One of the reasons is, of course, that these flats very often house families with children, not single expats.) I have seen some potentially very nice places that were marred by tiny rooms. I've considered having a bed custom made to fill the entire room, but tested and found that I could only lie diagonally. So, no.
Some flats are rather old and decrepit, some very new and nicely done - though I found too much ugly wood, brass and marble in quite a few places. All in all, though, the situation is by far not as bad as it is made out to be - you can find a reasonably sized reasonably priced flat in a very central location (where "reasonably sized" means "pretty small, but just enough" and "reasonably priced" means "for expats" - not on the average (10 000$ HK/month) or minimum (<4000) wage). Well, and forget a house or garden. Going further away from the centre will only save you some 10%-20%, unless you consider considerably further out.
I finally found a small, but pretty place in a fantastic location - Elgin Street in Soho ("South of Hollywood Rd"), maybe 10 minutes commute on the escalator to work. If all goes well, I will likely take it.

Public Transport
Hong Kong island is compact, and blessed with an excellent public transport system. So far, I've taken cabs, busses, minibusses ("Public light bus"), the tram, the Peak Tram, the Star Ferry, and last but not least the splendid escalator, and not yet exhausted the supply of public transport. In addition to being comprehensive, efficient, and convenient (the MTR (metro, subway, tube, underground) is airconditioned, unlike London's tube), it is incredibly cheap - a ride in the tram costs 2$ (HK), or about a quarter (US), the upper deck of the Star Ferry from Central (Hong Kong Island) to Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon) costs 2.20$ (HK) (a 5 cent fare increase in 1966 sparked riots). You can pay cashless with the Octopus card, similar to London's Oyster card. Most cab rides on Hong Kong island will cost about 2-3$ (US). I've only ever owned a car when living in California - definitely no need for it here, and good riddance.

Disadvantages (or not)
When researching different places in Asia, I encountered a few frequently mentioned drawbacks of Hong Kong: the air pollution, the "rudeness" of the people, the hot and humid summer, the crowds. I can happily report that I don't care. The air pollution is not too bad, one hardly notices when in the streets of the city. Sure, if you go up the peak, or up the elevator in a hotel, and try to look over to the other side, you will notice. But it hardly affects me. As for the rudeness of the people, I must say I have not experienced any yet. Granted, it is a crowded and hectic place, and people will bump into you on occasion - they won't necessarily stop or slow down only because you do. But it is still very civilized. People will hold the door open for you, cab drivers won't run over you (this is not a matter of course). People even stop at a red pedestrian light! As such, I found the concerns others seemed to have a bit overblown.
Summer weather - remains to be seen. I've been quite happy in the humid heat of Saudi Arabia or Namibia, so I am moderately optimistic. I am told that the typhoons can bring rather strong rain. In fact, when a "black rain" warning is raised, it is company policy to require employees to stay put where they are - at home, or, well, at work. Under certain circumstances, "black rain" turns exchange settlement days into bank holidays (another instance where the real world obtrudes uninvited upon the developer of financial software...). Anyhow.
Oh, and the crowds? I love them.

Random points of note

• The number keypad of ATMs (cash machines) is inverted (mirrored along the horizontal axis). Currency rule of thumb: 10 HKD = 1 EUR.


• Cats speak Chinese - they say māo (high, level tone), rather than miau in German or meow in English. Incidentally, 猫 (māo) is the Chinese word for cat. Lamentably, I don't know the Cantonese pronunciation, so I can't really tell whether they speak Cantonese or Mandarin.



• Sunday is the day off for amahs, maids, mostly from the Philippines or Indonesia. Several hundreds gather at the lower end of the (roofed) escalator walkways for a picnic, while many of the younger ones gather in the "New Makati" bar (named after a suburb of Manila) in Wan Chai to dance and frolic, starting in the early afternoon, as I read in The Economist.



• I've encountered a few people that don't speak English, but nearly all of them did speak some Mandarin (as far as I could determine - mostly, they seem to understand what I say, but I have barely a clue what they answer).

Arrived in HK 在香港到了

Very relaxing city. Arrived Friday afternoon.


The famous escalator - want to live close to here (can get to work in under 10 minutes walking then).

View from the hotel room (onto Kowloon, through smog):