My View from Here

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear

2010-01-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

It has been three years since I was last in Asia, but I went back to visit Beijing, Chennai, Hong Kong and Macau this past December.

Although the main purpose was to attend my buddy's wedding reception in India, I also wanted to see old friends, try new things, and revist the past.

It was a great trip, and I had forgotten just how much I loved this part of the world. It is strange, but I like to think of Hong Kong as my other home. Anyhow, here are some neat things that I came across during "Asia Tour 2009".

Beijing

Here is a sample of what's old and new in China. The photo on the left is a bridge I saw when I visited the Yuan Ming Yuan (old summer palace). Destroyed by the French and British in the 1860's during the Opium Wars, Yuan Ming Yuan survives today as a collection of ruins to remind people of the past.

The photo on the right is a shot of the entrance to Qian Men Dajie which is a new street that didn't exist three years ago. It is a giant corridor flanked on either side by Zara, Starbucks, H&M, and other western stores. The funny thing is that the old neighborhoods (hutongs) that used to exist in Qian Men where bulldozed to make this tourist trap. In fact there are large walls erected to block the view of the continued demolishion of the old homes and lives.

Next to Qian Men is another hutong where a famous Beijing duck restaurant called, "Liqun" exists. I read about this restaurant in Lonely Planet three years ago, but I was too "chicken" to go and try the duck. This time I decided that I couldn't miss the opportunity - if it was good enough for Al Gore, it should make me a decent lunch. Unfortunately the duck wasn't as good as other ducks I've had.

Do you see the "McRibwich" on the left? So did I when I was riding the Beijing subway and was watching the TV screens. I haven't seen a McRibwich in 20 years so when I saw it in China, I had to revist it.

The verdict: It was just as bad as I remembered. Of all the things you could import to China, why did they unleash a crappy retro, pork-inspired, burger that uses a patty of formed meat to mimic the look of barbeque ribs?

The last image is from inside of the Olympic Birds Nest stadium. In the same kitchy vein as the McRibwich, The Birds Nest is being filled with snow and a mountain is being built for indoor skiing.

India

Chennai (formerly known as Madras) was a blast! I have never been to India before and I wanted to change that - just to be able to say that I have seen one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

This is a photo of the beach house I stayed at on my first night in Chennai. My buddy Asif wanted to treat his new bride and me to something grand so he had his brother arrange this beach house.

During the day time and from 40 feet away, it looks pretty sweet, but at 2:30 a.m. and from the inside it was a different story. We don't think the place was ever cleaned and we shared the house with lizards, bugs and a giant squirrel that later I confessed was a rat. It turns out that Asif's brother never saw the house either so Asif blindly rented the beach house. Don't worry though, I had a half bottle of icy vodka and it was one of the funniest nights I've ever had since my shitty boat ride through Szechuan.

Check out the beach though. The waves from the Bay of Bengal were so dramatic and beautiful.

The people I met in Chennai were so friendly. Since I was obviously a visitor to Chennai, the people were quite welcoming.

After the Beach House Adventure, Asif treated us all to a luxury villa. The photo on the left is of the villa's manager, me and the owner of the villa. I had the honour of being the first foreigner to ever stay at this villa and so the owner came out to meet me for breakfast... at 6 a.m. These guys were very nice and they treated us like royalty.

The photo on the right is of a local fisherman I met on the beach. He's been fishing since he was a boy and has been making a living of it ever since. In the background you can see where he and his family live.

Strangely enough, while I was in Chennai, it seemed so similar to Malaysia. Anyhow the best thing about Chennai was how on any given day, crazy shit happens as soon as you leave your door.

These are some shots of what you see on the street in Chennai - fast moving traffic, bustling crowds, and vividly coloured chaos. Can you feel the realness?

This last shot is of Asif's family at the beach behind our villa.

It was on our last day together before they moved on to Kerala in the neighboring state, and I pushed on to Hong Kong.

This is my favourite photo of India and it captures everything I remember fondly about Chennai. Asif, thanks for hosting me in India and inviting me to be a part of your home. Next time we will rock Kerala, but let's not take the train - it is too real.

Hong Kong

I lived in Hong Kong for four months back in the fall of 2006. While I was there I came to love Hong Kong. HK is a beautiful and exciting place where ancient cultures live in one of the most modern metropolises in the world.

This is a shot from a tea house I went to in Sheung Wan. This tea house is supposed to be over 70 years old. I love this shot for its dramatic qualities, but because the story it tells could be from the 1940s. Timeless and classic.

At the same time, Hong Kong is an international urban hub where you can find a hip cosmopolitan lifestyle complete with all the angst and flavour you can handle. Warm friends, beautiful strangers, dazzling lights, and plenty of dark places in between.

On the other extreme is the tropical oceans and mountains that are just minutes away. Here are a couple of shots from Lamma Island just south of central Hong Kong Island.

Lamma is a sleepy fishing village where people come to hike and get away from the noisy crowds. It's also a place to go to eat fresh seafood like crabs, abalone, clams, squid, prawns, fish and other exotic curiosities. I went to Lamma to enjoy the ocean and mountains and decided to stay for dinner. When I finished my hike it was still early so I sat on the pier with a bag of peanuts and a couple of giant San Miguels. It was a great way to watch the sun go down, drinking beer while a small trail of peanut shell flakes drifted away from you.

On my last night in HK before heading back to Beijing, my buddy Wesker took me to the Happy Valley Race Course.

What better way to say goodbye to Hong Kong than trying your luck at the track with a friend.

Here is a photo of my two ponies losing the race and burning my cash. Lesson learned: If there is a strategy to playing the horses I have no idea what it is aside from reading the useless odds, or picking the horse with the prettiest name. Damn.

These last two shots are what I remember most about HK - the people. From morning to night, at whatever time, there is always somewhere to go and something to do. Most of the time that something involves eating or drinking.

Anyhow that was my trip to Asia. I had no idea that it would take three years to return and I have no idea when I will be back. But it makes me feel good to know that it is always there like an old friend to welcome me back.

That's All Folks

2007-03-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to end this blog.

It's been 73 posts, half a year, and thousands of miles traversed and recorded for online posterity.

This blog was started to keep me in touch with family and friends when I moved away from Vancouver, stayed in Toronto, moved to Hong Kong, and then travelled about Asia.

Since then I have moved to Toronto and it seems that this where I will stay for the next while. So keeping this blog running seems anti-climactic and out of place.

On the otherhand, I've made some great friends from around the world and I want to stay in touch with you all as well. So I have started a new blog called:

My View From Here: The Toronto Experience

Please visit it often as I will keep making posts about my life here. Better still, send me a mail once in awhile. Anyhow that's all folks. I'd like to end things here with a few memorable photos from the last 73 posts. Take care and I'll see you at my new address!

The Infernal Departed

2007-02-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

Man, am I disappointed.

I finally got around to seeing Scorcese's, "The Departed" even though I got a copy of it weeks ago in Hong Kong.

It was crap.

Let me elaborate: It was a bunch of disjointed scenes, laced with half-assed acting, vulgar dialogue, and pointless violence. Such a one dimensional film that was so bad, it proved once again that the Oscars are just a political event rather than a celebration of art on film.

Speaking of which, "Wu Jian Dao" (Infernal Affairs), was far better. This was the original Hong Kong movie which Scorcese tried to remake into The Departed.

Wu Jian Dao was a poetic movie with a lot of subtle qualities, strong acting, beautiful scenes, and honest drama. The characters had a rich rapport with each other, and in fact there were actually four unique stories coinciding at the same time.

While watching The Departed I could pick out a lot of the scenes that Scorcese took from Wu Jian Dao, but Scorcese's vulgar and coarse reinterpretation was like having a gorilla reproduce a Monet using a chipped crayola! My god! In spite of all the talent and money behind this production, it still failed miserably.

After watching The Departed, and hearing that Scorcese won Best Director and Best Movie for this shabby film, I realize what pissed me off about this whole affair. Not only was Wu Jian Dao not properly recognized for being the source of Scorcese's "inspiration", The Departed was celebrated even though it was a cheap copy.

Oh well. This too shall pass. At least The Departed wasn't any worse than Wu Jian Dao Part 3.

Beware of Your Friends: Part 2

2007-02-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

Ok so I've been here in Toronto for a week now, and I met up with some boys from Vancouver who moved out here in search of money, position, and fame.

Back in Vancouver we were a tight group and we had some pretty great times. We also drank waaaay too much, but I like to think of it as "training". See the ability to ingest copious amounts of liquor is a skill that can sink you, or float you.

Well last night we tied it on after my half year absence in Asia. One beer led to many others and we were partying hard like old times.

The problem tho was that I grabbed one buddy who was trying to steal the shotgun seat in the car and I accidentally shredded his jacket. Man was he pissed off! I am not sure but maybe his great grandfather shot the cow and cured the suede to make the jacket while great grandma ran the refinery to make the polyesther lining. Damn.

Well the next day I felt like crap (not just because of the hangover) and smoothed things over. Gerry apologized for getting pissed off due to the liquor. I apologized for trashing his coat. Koolio. It's a guy thing.

So as I said, liqour skillz is a sharp double edged sword. It also gives you super strength!

ps: Special thanks to Asif for demonstrating the huge gash in Gerry's jacket. Great photo!

Who Needs a Job? I am an Inventor!

2007-02-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

Check it out. I have the mad skillz of invention: The Baby Buggy Mower.

See I was sitting on the couch today, enjoying day time TV as is the fashion for the fabulously unemployed, when I saw a TV commerical for a baby buggy.

See that's when I noticed that the same technique for pushing a buggy is the same for mowing a lawn.

So why not combine baby buggies with lawn mowing?

Babies are starting to get too fat and so they could use the extra fresh air. See it also totally fits in with the whole Yummy Mummy, fitness craze going on right now.

I could sell videos that show Paula Abdul teaching mothers how to work out and cut the grass using stylish moves and 80's retro music. Just picture Paula and friends pushing my Baby Mower to the sound of Mister Mister's "Broken Wings".

Then I can get more product sales going by running late night infomercials with Paula and her B-list friends.

Pretty soon the money will start rolling in. Who needs a job? I got the Baby Buggy Mower.

Happy New Year Y'all

2007-02-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post! From me to you, whoever you are, Happy New Year!

It's the year of the fire pig and so the good times are upon us.

Pork makes everything better: Sausage, BBQ, Soups, Stew, Ham, Roasts, Stir Fry, Pork Rinds, and the greatest gift of them al...crispy Bacon!

Cheers and good will to ya. If things in life start going wrong, just rub some ham on yourself. I am sure it will help in some way.

Fare Thee Well Vancity

2007-02-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

I left Vancouver after a glorious one week stay. It was my first landing point in Canada since being away for about 5 months.

I stayed with my Sis and her new hubby, re-grouped with my friends, reconnected with some profs, and drank A LOT of beer and liquor.

On my last night in town, I went by a couple of good buddies to polish off a 40 of Havana Club, share some stories and tell some lies.

Well one of my buds hit the bottle hard and didn't have the Third World skillz that me and my other friend had.

So what do you do when one of your pals passes out? Grab some duct tape, your camera, and make a post on the internet. What else?

We sealed Pete to his chair and IKEA table, sprinkled some crap all over him, and placed an appropriate sign on him for posterity (Pete, you were so close to becoming the latest entry on YouTube).

Then we got hungry and stumbled off looking for "Wendy's".

Life in Vancouver. I'm gonna miss you guys out there in the Hippy province.

Have You Seen This Chileano?

2007-02-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

So I've been back in Vancouver for exactly a week now and it's been a great rest. After traveling Hong Kong, Mainland China, Macau, Singapore, and Japan, I fought my way past San Francisco and landed in Vancouver.

Los Americanos est mui diablo! Aye mi dios....

Anyhow I've been reconnecting with the peeps over here and it feels good to see old friends and family again. Does it feel strange to be in the West again?

YEah.

Can I tell you how? Well...that would require a few pints and some slow time. If you got some, so do I.

Anyhow since I've been back the one question that alot of The People have is "Where is Rodrigo?". Well best we know he went back to Chile and is in the process of eating a whole cow, piece by piece.

Just so you know, Rodrigo is my buddy from the MBA program here in Canada. He went away to Shanghai when I went to Hong Kong. We travelled together, got drunk together, and figured out the answer to the meaning of life while we were lost in China. Too bad we were drunk so I forgot the answer.

Anyhow, I miss you buddy. We all do. You gotta send me some contact information 'cause one day soon I just might ask you to meet me in Cuba where we can have Cuba Libre, Mohito, and the cigars that are so good I am sure God always has a couple in his pocket.

I need you back in my life dude. No one else in the world can understand the shame and pain of that awful shitter we used on that dirty barge in the middle of China. We are a support group of two. Sometimes I don't think I will ever be totally clean no matter how many showers I take. Even now I have trouble looking men in the eyes.

So dude, please get back to us when you can. Put down that piece of beef and send us an email soon. The People have spoken.

Go West

2007-02-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

I have returned to Canada. Specifically Vancouver. It's been great these last three days, but it's a little strange being home.

I guess after all the travels, the move from Winnipeg, and now my next destination of Toronto, I'm not really sure where home is right now.

Over the last few days I've been getting reaquainted with Vancouver and meeting old friends here. Sometimes it felt like I never left.

Anyhow, I am back in Canada now and quite happy for the rest. The adventures are not over; just sorting out the next one right now.

There Was Plenty of Fish in the Sea

2007-01-29T00:24:00.000-08:00

Today was an awesome day for me. I fullfilled a personal dream to see the famous Tsukiji Fish Market here in Japan!

So last night we get back from partying it up in Shinjuku around 1 a.m. However to see Tsukiji you really have to get there early. In fact many people just stay awake and head there around 3 am!

I on the otherhand woke up at 4 am with a groggy and soft head from all the beer I drank only three hours earlier.

I dragged myself out of bed and hit the street just before 5 am. I was concerned that I was late, but luckily I found that thie first bloody train doesn't even roll until 5:19 am.

So I braved the dark streets and empty subways of Tokyo with a smattering of bad Japanese phrases and skeleton directions to get me across the city. No problem.

Actually it really was no problem. I arrived in the area and quickly followed the maps that lead me to what I presumed should be the market. It was.

Tucked away in a giant warehouse whose flourescent lights pierced to dark of night was the Tsukiji Fish Market. Inside were rows and rows of fresh and live seafood being unloaded, cleaned, carved, bought and sold. In spite of the blood and gore, the market was really clean and the air was like a sweet ocean breeze. Among the different tables of produce were the most amazing assortments of fish, crabs, lobsters, prawns, squid, clams, and other sea creatures that I had no idea existed. Here are a few shots courtessy of me:

I can't say enough that I was so happy to be here. It was like busting into a strange underworld party which happens every night while the rest of the world sleeps. Here I saw old skool fisherman and mongers doing what they had been doing for generations. I also saw the diligent chefs who brought their straw baskets to Tsukiji to arm their restaurants with only the freshest catch of the day.

However the real star of Tsukiji is the giant Tuna. Good lord. I knew they were big, but I had no idea that they were giants!

Notice the picture with two guys handling the Tuna? They were using knives and saws that were close to five feet long! When you see these huge fish all about you, it feels like you are among aliens. They sure looked tasty too! I kinda imagined walking up to one of these Tuna and just taking a bite out of the side a la Homer Simpson.

So I left the market as the day was breaking. I knew I had to complete the adventure with a trip to the nearby sushi restaurants and sample the catches of the day.

So while I was wandering around the area next to the Tsukiji Market I came across many small eateries, knife shops, and dry goods stores. However what caught my attention was this guy doing grilled teriyaki fish over hot charcoal on the street. I couldn't resist stopping to get a nice hot piece of fish! Good price too as this hand sized tidbit was a mere 200 Yen. Strangely enough, the old guy cooking this fish could speak to me in Mandarin! Damn that fish tasted good. I gobbled it up while I continued my search for sushi.

And I found it. This little shop here was one of the few that wa actually open as the time was just before 7 am. I was a little apprehensize at first since I wasn't sure how I would communicate with the restaurant, but I had to go in. I couldn't wuss out now.

So I went in and was greeted by the staff and I found a seat at the bar. There were a few other people in there still shaking off the night's debauchery of partying and boozing. Perfect.

So I found the menu and as luck would have it, there were pictures of the different "Happy Meals" I could order and so I was set. A breakfast of raw fish could only be made perfect with beer so I ordered a big bottle of Kirin (I pon beeru kudasai!) with my pirated Japanese.

The burly chef proceeded to put together my meal with various pieces of fish and his trusty blade and blow torch. Yes. A blow torch was used to quickly blast the surface of two of my sushi.

When the plate hit the table I said to myself, "Oh crap. There is sea urchin and salmon roe here. Everytime I ate those back in Canada I nearly puked.

So I poured up and decided to eat the offending sushi pieces with a glass of beer ready to wash away the unpleasantness. But you know what? It didn't suck. Those fresh sea urchin and salmon roe were not at all like what I had before. They were savoury and lovely without any traces of fishiness or funky tastes! And all the other pieces of sushi also exceeded in flavour. BEautiful!

I finished my meal, drank my beer, paid the bill, and hit the street with a total sense of contentment. I can't believe I conquered Tsukiji. I realized a lifelong dream and all before 7:30 am.

Tokyo Decadence

2007-01-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have been in Tokyo for just under two days now. WoW!

This city kicks butt! In comparrison to the other cities I have been to across Asia, this one feels the most similar to Canada. However there is still a dinstinct asian flavour unique to Japan here.

Tokyo has the cleanliness and order of Singapore, the crowding and energy of Hong Kong, and the pleasant weirdness of Shanghai.

So in the short time I have been here I have managed to experience a few interesting things and caught them on digital film to boot!

As mentioned in an earlier post, I had authnetic sushi in Tokyo the other night. WoW! It was so delicious! Here you won't find the flourescent green wasabi paste and soy sauce condiment. The deal is that you take the sushi in your chopsticks, flip it over so that you dip the fish in your shoyu, and then eat it in one bite. It was awesome. Just remember not to throw your hot towel at the sushi chef. We watched this one assh*le westerner do that and the restaurant hushed to siolence as the chef stood there, with knife in one hand and the offending towel in the other. He had this look like "What the HELL? Did you just throw your dirty towel at me in MY castle?" Needless to say that punk in his cheap-ass racing jacket got tossed. Even his friends pretended they didn't know him as he got ejected solo.

I LOVE JAPANESE TV! There was this show that actively searched out "maniacs". That means they were showcasing people who were fanatic about things. There was a guy who was a "Junction Maniac", meaning he loved cul-de-sacs and other road junctions. He thought about them, and photographed them. But here on the left is the "Extreme Ironing Maniac". This guy went to extreme lengths to push the physical and mental boundaries of ironing clothes. We saw photos of him ironing clothes on the top of mountains, and he even demonstrated extreme acrobatic ironing where he ran and jumped past a board while grabbing and iron and doing a streak across a dress shirt. The best though was his attempt seen here, at extreme surfing ironing.

Another thing here in Japan is the endless sightings of random cuteness. What I mean is that here, there, and everywhere you will spot these really cool drawings of silliness that kinda add to the surreal experience of being in Japan. In the same street of modern buildings and parking lots, you will run across old temples and such. So when I walk about Japan and see these random cute things, it is kinda like wandering about in a weird dream.

Can't explain it much better than that mate.

Check it out. We went to the Toyota Showroom yesterday and saw the magic of Toyota. Here was this awesome future concept vehicle. It is essentially a one seater pod with an expanding and retracting wheel base. What that means is that it has different modes where you can sit upright like in a regular chair and work at a desk, or it can recline and you can hit the road in what I call "Speed Mode".

This vehicle is so cool. It makes you think of the days when you were a kid and wanted own your very own Gundam. Well it looks like the way things are going at Toyota, you may eventually be able to purchase a Gundam in Fire engine red, with no money down on a three year monthly installment plan. CD Player standard.

Behold! The food of the Rising Sun! We have grilled Okonomiyaki from this terrific "do it your damn' self" restaurant I went to about eight years ago. Still delicious and the beer comes in iced frosty mugs!

When I spotted these "Chocolate Bandaids" I had to buy them. Come on! When I come across a crusty bandaid, the first thing I think about is the sweet melting taste of chocolate. Don't you?

How about these awesome fish pancakes. They are sure to become a rage across asia soon. They are essentially pancakes pored into a fish mold and filled with sweet bean paste, and mochi. Yum!

And finally we have the Sacrifice Shot for this blog. I ran across "Nato Sushi" in a convenience store in Nishi-Shinjuku. Nato is essentially soy beans that were rotted to the point that they are swimming in a sticky slime that produces unyielding stands of mucous like funk that only a runny nose can match. Well I ate the bugger and found myself liking it. Not bad. But the seaweed that you wrap around the rice roll is so dry that it has a way of sticky to your lips and tearing at them the same way a frigid flag pole does to little kids in winter. Ouch! My lips look like I caught the VD.

So, here it is morning in JP, and I got fresh batteries in my camera. I will have more to say later. Ja ne!

I am in Japan

2007-01-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

I left Singapore two days ago, spent a last night in Hong Kong, and arrived in Tokyo yesterday. It:s been pretty cool over here so far and have seen quite a lot of the familiar and the new since I have been here.

Don:t believe that I am in Japan? I:ll prove it by typing something on this wild japanese version iBook:

は歯は歯。医ルレてぇをrl＿えf

ok, I have no idea what that meant but I think I made my point.

Anyhow, Im off to go find some crazy lunch now.

ps: I had some sushi last night and lemme tell y,all something: sushi in North America aint like this. I watched the man pull a fish out of a tank and transform it into sushi. No frozen blocks of over priced salmon here boy. I never thought sushi could taste like butter.

Confirmed

2007-01-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, first off, let me admit that I am a geek at heart. There I said it.

Anyways many years ago I saw this anime called, "Akira" which at the time was the most expensive and techically sound animated movie ever to come out of Japan (see back in those old days, anime was an unknown cult thing that people would watch from pirated VHS tapes or even the dreaded 12 inch laser disc).

So in "Akira" there was this super cool motorcycle which was featured in the story. It was awesome and heart pounding, but there was something "not quite right" about it when I watched it.

See, aside from being perplexed about a "Citizen" sponsor decal on the bike, there was just something bugging me about the design of the bike. I thought the bike was cool, but something was bothering me about it.

Then yesterday while shaking my leg at a coffee shop here in Singapore, I realized what bugged me about the Akira motorcycle. YES, it took fifteen years to complete the circle:

The supercool Akira bike is in fact...a SCOOTER!

It's undeniable! Confirmed!

What is likely the lamest mode of transportation, was in fact the Akira motorcycle...or rather the Akira Scooter. Sure even this scooter looks kinda cool in the photo here, but try to imagine how it looks with someone actually riding it. Lame.

So now that I have put this "cold case" to rest, I can move on to the next great mystery of life: Was "Slimey" Oscar the Grouch's friend or pet? And why did Oscar live alone on Sesame Street when his sister Sally seemed homeless?

ADDENDUM

2007-01-19T01:11:00.000-08:00

I went to Changi Point Beach today and "planted my flag" in Singapore. Not certain, but I think this claim scrawled in the sand is legally binding.

Like the crazy Irishman said in Braveheart:

"Yeah. It's my island. I own it. It's mine!"

'nuff said.

Bak Ku Teh Battle

2007-01-19T00:16:00.000-08:00

This week I went to the two top Bak Ku Teh (Pork Rib Soup) places in Singapore. What makes these two places the best in S'pore? Simple: Public popularity, long history, and celebrity sightings. So what do the two best in S'pore have in common? Well besides the aforementioned, they have Donald Tsang in common (CEO of Hong Kong SAR).

The first one I went to is called the Ng Ah Sio Stall and it is widely regarded as the best of the two. In fact just a few days before I went, the ex-Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr. Thaksin went there.

When interviewed about the surprise vist, the old time owner said "He seemed like an ok guy. I dunno. I was too busy to notice them. About twenty of them sat at my back tables. I didn't pay them much attention but I know what they ordered. He even thanked me after he was done."

So what about Donald Tsang? Well about a year ago, he tried to go to this place for dinner, but this place is only open from 6 am to 2 pm. So when Donald called up the shop to make a place for dinner, they said no to him.

I guess no one is above the law when it comes to this old guy's Bak Ku Teh. Heh heh heh..

So when he couldn't get Dinner at the Ng Ah Sio Stall, he had to go to the competition. This place is called the Outram Park Stall. That's kind of a funny name since they are located in Tanjong Pagar. Apparently they moved here from Outram Park about 15 years ago, but kept the name sake.

Here is a shot of the Bak Ku Teh I had yesterday. So when The Donald couldn't get his first choice he settled on this place. Once again this is one of those old timey places where the owner is as antique as his furniture.

So how do the two compare? Well it is largely a matter of personal taste, but since I am the Lord and Master of this blog, I will give you my lore and you will accept it as the ultimate authority over all things Bak Ku Teh:

In terms of service, Outram Park is better. The staff tirelessly run around pouring you refills on soup and any other tidbits you'd like to eat. Want more You Tiao (fritters)? No problem. Want more soup? They refill you without even asking. Not to say that Ng Ah Sio had shabby service, but Outram Park was better.

In terms of portion sizes, I gotta give it to Ng Ah Sio. They definitely gave you a little more in comparisson to Outram Park. Although I do have to say that I prefered the taste of Outram Park's stewed pig trotters more than Ng Ah Sio's. This shot of Ng Ah Sio's trotters is definitley a larger portion than Outram Parks' and you do also get this tart and savoury dip of chilli sauce that goes with it. But still, the scale tips slightly towards Outram Parks' trotters in terms of superior flavour. (photo of Outram Park trotter not available due to camera man's preoccupation with eating them).

The kung fu tea that is served with Bak Ku Teh is a must. The idea being these tiny thimble sized servings of strong tea is used to help you digest the fat from the pork. It is also a very enjoyable way to pass the time on a lazy day in the shade. So who wins? Ng Ah Sio. Reason: Their tea was stronger and lasted longer. Furthermore, the hot water kettle next to your table was kept piping hot by old skool charcoal pots rather than the electric ones at Outram Park.

So the verdict?

Ng Ah Sio wins by virtue of its Bak Ku Teh soup. The difference between Ng Ah Sio and Outram Park is that Ng Ah Sio's soup is thicker and is chocked with loads of garlic which give you a very rich soup experience. Otram Park's soup is heavier on pepper and so it has a spicier flavour, but the soup is thin by comparisson. So Ng Ah Sio beats Outram Park.

So who is the ultimate winner? ME! Because I am in a position to sample both Bak Ku Teh's and render the verdict. Therefore my kung fu is stronger than Donald Tsangs! Muha ha ha ha ha ha....

Ice Cream Sammidge

2007-01-17T05:41:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post here. I was puttering around City Hall area here in Singapore today and decided to stop for an ice cream. Let me tell you that in Singapore when you buy and ice cream sandwich it literally is a sandwich: A block of ice cream, in a folded slice of colored bread.

However the bread is soft, chewey, and slightly sweet so it makes a nice dessert ingredient. You could also opt for wafers instead of bread for your sandwich, but why go half tilt, when you can go full bore. Be local and authentic and have a true ice cream sandwich lah.

The choice in ice cream ranges from chocolate, durian, chochip, sweet corn, assorted fruit flavours, etc.

Best of all, this big ice cream sammidge cost me a mere $1 Singapore. Not even Ben or Jerry can beat that!

McNew Year

2007-01-15T08:07:00.000-08:00

Good Lord! The peeps at McDonalds have unleashed the "Prosperity Meal" and the "Longevity Meal" in honour of Chinese New Year!

It's basically your choice of a chicken or beef burger with fries or potato wedges. You can also get a Mandarin Orange Ice Tea instead of the usual assortment of syrupy pop drinks.

Just to let you know, I had the beef meal.

Ugggh!

The things I do for this blog.

It was awful! Especially since I took a bite and realized it was the same crappy "McPepper" burger I tried in Hong Kong. They tricked me into ingesting the same crappy burger which I painfully swore I'd never eat again! Just the thought of that gross wadded beef flavour makes me ill.

How ironic that it is now referred to as "Prosperity" or "Longevity". I am now $7 Singapore dollars poorer, and the only longevity I am experiencing is my indigestion. Damn you McDonalds!

Scenes from the Kopitiam

2007-01-14T05:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, So I've been in Singapore for over a week now and I have been running around trying to find the flavour of Singapore. What I mean is the uniqueness of the city and the life of the people. Instead of finding the culture of Singapore, I have been running into malls, western bars, and even a Hooters!

But, what I realized is that the culture of Singapore resides in its hawker centres. These being the outdoor food vendors who sell their wares late into the night. In these places you will find families, young couples, kids, and even scoundrels huddled together eating dishes of exotic food. Most of these dishes are old favourites which nourished the people before, during, and after the war, the occupation, the union with Malaysia, and subsequent independance afterwards.

This is where they sell the infamous "Roti Prata". I believe it came from India's Roti Paratha, but I love the Singapore version more; chewy and savoury, served with a rich curry of chicken, dahl, or whatever you please. Watching the lady make this treat is kinda fun. She pounds out this stretchy dough until it is so thin it looks like she is folding wet laundry. Once fried in oil, the crunchy dough has a nice grilled flavour that matches the curry perfectly. Mmmmm....I wish I was eating one right now! Yummy.

I went to a hawker centre in Little India one day and decided to try some of the puffs there. That being the curry and the sardine puffs. Also took down a Tiger beer to even out the lunch. After I ate the baked treats, and finished my stabilizer, I looked around and noticed how much beer was being poured at 1 pm in the afternoon. These dudes were all about relaxing, making big forts out of the empty giant beers on their tables, and then having a nice afternoon nap in the shade. Awesome! If the MBA career doesn't work out, I know where to go spend my days.

This is a shot I stole of a boss at the hawker centre. It was around 9 at night and it was raining cats and dogs, but that didn't stop this dude from styling around the customers with his shades. He ran this fried noodle stall, chatted with some regulars, and traded friendly insults with another shop owner who came around to sell drinks. He was cool. But I later found out that this guy might actually have an eye problem so the shades may not have all been about Stylin' and Profilin'. Even so, he was still the king.

Well, I have a couple more weeks left in Singapore. During that time I am going to keep looking for the "Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" side here. Till then I will keep sampling the culture the best way I know how; through food and drink. Yum!

Singapore Lah

2007-01-09T03:23:00.000-08:00

I am in Singapore. I arrived a few days back on Wednesday afternoon and have been relaxing in complete comfort.

Well almost complete. It is about 5 degrees warmer than Hong Kong and a hell of a lot more humid. Kinda reminds me of when I first arrived in HK back in August.

Typical westerner all hot, red faced, and greasy. Yuck!

But I am doing ok here in S'pore. I have adjusted to the climate. Furthermore S'pore is experiencing a lot of rain these days. In fact last month there was so much rain, that there was flooding as well as landslides. Land slides! Singapore is an island so it really can't afford to let too much land slide away right?

Anyhow the food is one of the best parts of S'pore. The locals seem preoccupied with finding it, consuming it, and planning for the next meal all at the same time. Can't blame them though as the food at hand is your choice of Indian, Malay, and several varieties of Chinese style cooking as well as some awesome hybrid styles. Delicious!

Here in South East Asia the flavours and life is a lot more raw. Spicy baby!

I'll have some more snaps in the next couple of weeks. I'm also trying to put together a short trip to Malaysia assuming a certain agitant from my past can get his sh*t together and meet me in KL.
Yeah! I am talking about you Z*m! Wah lao! Faster a bit lor!

A Proper Beijing Post

2007-01-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

Just realized that I have yet to make a decent post about Beijing. That's silly.

I loved my time in Beijing. I should say so since I actually went there twice in a month!

So what did I do in Beijing? I visited my buddy Scott, his family, and his friends. I explored the city on my own and saw the old and the new.

I went to the Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the assorted Hu Tongs, and of course WangFuJing.

So here is a recap of what I found in Beijing.

Here are shots of the Forbidden City. The other shot is that of the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao ZeDong. He was embalmed and is eternally lying in State.

I saw Chairman Mao abt 20 years earlier and here he was again. Not much changed from what I could remember. Just be respectful while you are there since this may be literally the longest running funneral in the world. People were laying flowers in droves and some were even crying or offering prayers.

Here is a street just off WangFuJing (DongHuaMen) where they have a nightly bazaar of delicacies.

Here you'll find dumplings, seafood, sweets, BBQ, snakes, insects, scorpions, sea urchins, and a lot more. If you aren't sure if it is edible, just see if it is served on a stick. If it's on a stick, it means its digestible. Ever consider eating a starfish? I did....it tastes almost as good as it sounds. Bleah...

Here is a special thank you to my buddy Scott. While I was in Beijing we laughed and chatted about all things ridiculous and important. I miss you buddy.

One night he and his friends took me out for Peking Duck (Beijing Kao Ya). Of all the places to go, they took me to what was the most famous duck restaurant in China. This caligraphy was written in praise by Zhou En Lai who was Mao Ze Dong's second in command. He loved this place so much, he wrote this commemoration and it hangs on the wall of the dining room.

This was the Summer Palace (Yi He Yuan). A bitter cold day, but splendid in terms of history. This is where the Emperess Dowager Ci Xi ruined the country by squandering precious money on shiny toys and glittering monuments. It's also where you can see a stone boat she had made to commemorate herself. Incidentally the boat doesn't move. Does it actually float? Dubious.

This is a shot of a typical Hu Tong in Qian Men area of Beijing. That means it is the old part of the city where the buildings and life are as they were since the 30's. Very old and dilapidated. But the people do still live here.

Though old and dusty, these Hu Tongs are beautiful. If you walk through them you will experience a lot of quiet and peaceful contemplation. You will take a walk through time and imagine how life might have been during the Cultural Revolution. Or you just might comfortably get lost for awhile.

Behold! The Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan). Here is where the emperors of old would go to pray for good harvests meaning a prosperous land for himself and the people.

The temple itself is where ceremonies would be held. The platform is where the Centre of the Universe is and the Heart of the Universe Stone marks the exact centre. This is where the emperor would stand to make himself heard to Heaven.

I stood on this stone and looked above. From this spot I stood where the emperors had stood and saw the same sky which they prayed too. Amazing.

Here is one of the last times in Beijing. We drove 140 km from the city centre to go to Si Ma Tai. A place where few people venture to see the Great Wall (Chang Cheng). It is old and it is crumbling but it is honest and real. Unlike the more accessible sections like BaDaLing, the stones are original and not newly paved for the great unwashed to tramp on. To stand atop this wall is to be astonished by the ambitions of ancient people and to feel like you are literally standing on top of the world.

And what did I think of while I was there? Home, people in my life, and what to eat for dinner.

Happy New Year y'all

2007-01-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

Hooray! It's 2007!

Last night I went to Tshim Sha Tsui to ring in the new year here in Hong Kong. It was a beautiful night as the weather was so cool, the city was bright, and the sky was so dramatic. Everything was perfect.

I couldn't believe that on New Years Eve, 2007, I was in Hong Kong. It's like a landmark in life. To say that you were there when the world turned another year older, and because you were there, you knew you were doing something right in your own life.

So here are a few shots I took last night. Some were aboard the Star Ferry (I love you star Ferry!), some from the pier, and some from somewhere in the crowd. Be warned though that the photos may be a bit blurry since the shots were taken at night.

Happy 2007 everybody!

How to Tell If You Grew Up in Canada

2006-12-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

After four months of being in Hong Kong and China, I have become more aware of what it is to be Canadian.

Especially after mixing around with people from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Denmark, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, South America, and the UK, I found some distinctly Canadian things that only other Canadians can recognize: a knowing look shared between Canucks says it all.

So here is a short list of stuff I have found that will inform you if you have indeed grown up in Canada:

You know who Joey Jeremiah is.
You can identify a "Cruller", a "two-four", and a "slap shot".
You know what it is to be a "Hal Johnson and Joanne Macloud".
The word "Hork" is both a noun and a verb.
You can't exactly say how Canadians are different from Americans, but we know it is a BIG difference.
You are surprised that outside of Canada, a $5 price, means a $5 price; NOT something closer to $6 because of the damn tax.
We say "sorry" waaaaaay too much.
We know what "Winter Conditions" are , and that "black ice" isn't just a shitty highschool beer.
We "hang out" together.
Having a Slurpee in -20 degree winter is perfectly normal. In fact at some point in your life, you've used a slurpee as mix for your hard liquor.
You know someone who says he/she is going to "the Safeways", "the Canadian Tires", or "the Superstores". Doesn't matter that they are going to just one place, it is always plural.
When you were a kid and learned to sing "Oh Canada", you wondered who "Gloria" was and who "sent her free"?

The other thing I found out was that no matter where you are from, there is no place like home. For all my friends out there who have gone back to their home countries, I hope it is everything you missed. Too bad it probably isn't as nice as Canada though.

What Happened to James Bond?

2006-12-25T22:54:00.000-08:00

Ok so it was Christmas here in Hong Kong yesterday so what better way to celebrate than to catch a movie right? So I've heard some good things about the new James Bond so we went to catch the show.

Well, just to let you know this movie is supposed to take place at a time when James first becomes a "Double O" status agent. So this means he is a bit gruff and a rookie.

The movie itself was ok but lemme tell you: it wasn't a James Bond movie.

The flick was violent, loud, and brutal. It was a real shame too because the production values were high, the acting was alright, the visuals were goegeous, and Daniel Craig kinda looked like a James Bond. But the important element was missing: Style.

This Bond was all about punching people but lacked charm and humour. No sophistication. Holy crap! At one point in the movie I spotted him driving a Ford! A Ford! JAMES BOND DOES NOT DRIVE A FORD!

I also spotted him catching cabs and taking change I think. Not surprising since the British Secret Service was broke ass in this movie and needed a loan from the CIA.

I hope the next movie is better. I'll give Craig another chance to go from Jimmy to James.

The Trama on The Yang Tze

2006-12-22T06:58:00.000-08:00

I mentioned earlier that we were on the Yang Tze River to tour the Three Gorges. Well the boat cruise was a painful experience in many ways.

This is a shot of Rodrigo and Robin as we surveyed our "Second Class, Domestic" room on the barge. As you can see, the general mood was one of ironic amusement. Kinda like when you get something really shitty and it is so bad you can't believe it. So you just kind of laugh and say "Are you serious? Really? This dirty, smelly room, with the funky blankets are for us?"

So the three of us became cellmates and bonded for survival.

This shot here really said it all. Please note the dirty curtain behind. Just so you all know, there was no heat on this boat either. So everyone was in a constant state of cold. Ever spend three days wearing 5 layers of clothes and a coat? If you haven't then you are a rookie traveller mate.

But the funny thing is that once the shock wore off and the last of the gruesome details were absorbed, I was able to start enjoying the trip in all its ironic and surreal ways.

Here is a shot of me being "judged" by the afterlife at the Ghost City of Feng Du. Afterwards we came back to our rusty boat and went to the roof to have our little breakfast of instant coffee and instant noodles. We loved the plastic lawn furniture.

Here is a shot of some riverside street food that I had to have with my beer. They were shrimps from the river, deep fried in black dirty oil, and finished over hot charcoal with spices. Delicious!

But seriously, I really did have a great time. Even though the accomodations sucked, once you remembered that you were in the Three Gorges sailing through the Chang Jiang everything was worth it.

I can't say enough how the historic scenery was so peaceful and compelling. Staring at the sky, mountains, and water gave you a sense of unending time. All possible problems you might have seemed so small in comparison. In that space of time, you could then think without bias or lies. And also appreciate that you were having a moment in your life that may never come again.

It was great. But next time I am going "First Class: International" style. That way my bathroom won't have a toilet in the shower.

Around the World by Can

2006-12-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

Here is a short recount of my time abroad through the magic of beer:

Safely Back in Hong Kong

2006-12-14T00:30:00.000-08:00

I am safely back in Hong Kong as of yesterday at about 6 p.m.

My first stop was of course the Shatin Mall where I grabbed some essesntials and then plowed through a Big Mac, Large Fries, 6 piece nuggets, and a coke. Damn it was great. I stuffed myself so much that I was a disgusting mess but I didn't care. I earned that mess.

So after ten days in China I had the best experiences. It was a hard trip sometimes, but over all I am glad it turned out how it did.

I visited the Great Wall, and the Temple of HEaven in BEijing. Then saw The great Buddha of Le Shan as well as paid my respects to the sacred Emei Shan.

Then we made our way down to ChongQing and sampled the famous Ma La Hot Pot. If you like oil and chilis then come down to ChongQing. I can't describe the strange feeling of having your insides lubricated while eating dinner. Just watch out for the peppercorns because it is like sticking your tongue onto an old rusty 9-volt battery.

Then came the three day trek from ChongQing to Yi Chang via ferry boat. It was a very old and dirty boat and I am still having some mental trama from some of the expeiriences, but it was worth it.

I dipped my hand into the Yang Tze river and felt its warmth. I stood at the peak of the ship and breathed the mists. I stared into the winding river and saw myself in it. I lost myself in the land.

In truth I went to China looking for answers, and of course I received none. Rather I was able to see my life a little clearer. That's all. But what happened was that I returned to Hong Kong rested, and ready to resume the struggle, even if everything was still as it was before I left. Except for me. I was different. Maybe not so different, but I certainly came away with a different view on things. Afterall, changing how you see the world is the same as changing the world itself....more or less.

Wherever you go in the world, there you are. China was a great trip. I literally stood at the Centre of the Universe, at the top of the world, and also in the heart of a nation and came away with a better sense of who I am, and who I want to be. I'm ready to go forward now.

I also learned that the next time I go to SzeChuan I will bring some instant oat meal because the oily food really kicked my ass.

Trapped in China!!

2006-12-12T02:37:00.000-08:00

I an stuck at a cold little airport in the middle of China trying to get a flight out to ShenZhen. We are in Yi Chang and are waiting to see if the fog will cancel our 10 p.m. flight. Rodrigo's 4 p.m. flight to Shanghai was already cancelled long ago and so Robin and I are crossing our fingers. With any luck I will be relaxing in a three star hotel in dirty ShenZhen before crossing to the land of plenty tomorrow (Hong Kong). Wish us luck y'all!

New Day, New Blog

2006-11-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

I had the strangest experience this morning. I was in the middle of this really crazy intense dream about one of my buddies getting into a fight at a club. Then next thing I know I am staring at this grungy wall.

It took me about 3 seconds before I realized, "Oh wait. My eyes are open, and I am awake now. I'm not dreaming anymore."

Damn Bacardi...

Anyhow, I made a decision that today was going to be an awesome day. Yesterday is over, so today will be a great day no matter what damn it. Because I said so! That's why!

One day Everything Goes Wrong

2006-11-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

Ever have one of those days when everything goes wrong? One bloody thing after another?

Yep. You name it and it probably went wrong for me today. Bad meetings....missed opportunities...regrets and regrets of regrets.....blah

Thank goodness I have the three ingredients to make all things better: Bacardi, Coke, and a giant empty Carlsberg pitcher.

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world...

Being Beijing

2006-11-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post before I hit the sack tonight. I just got back from Beijing last night and I have to say I had the best time ever. It was the most awesome mix of traditional and modern culture ever! I saw some great historical places and saw some really cool live culture too. I'll have more to say about it later, but for now I thank my buddies in Beijing that made my trip so memorable. Kick ass!

ADDENDUM: I just Cracked

2006-11-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

It's just a few hours before I have to get up for my flight to Beijing and I can't sleep. I cracked a couple of hours ago. I have shitty neighbours who think it is perfectly all right to slam their doors every fifteen minutes late at night. Everytime I neared blissful unconsciousness some git banged their bloody door! I cracked. I stormed out of my room and into the hallway and shouted, "Who the F**K is making all that goddam noise?! You sonavabitch!!". I was so ready to kick some ass, even though I probably would have been evicted the next day.

Things went deadly silent for awhile but it didn't last long.

So now I feel bad because I lost my temper just now...and I have a craving for soft boiled eggs with a splash of soy sauce and french bread to boot!

OMG: Rocky is BACK?

2006-10-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

Ok so a few days ago I by coincidence was talking about Rocky. Here it is now that I discover that there is actually a sixth installment coming out to the theaters this December; entitled "Rocky Balboa".

I can't believe it. I know it is likely going to suck, but I gotta see it when it comes out. Call me sentimental but I still like the old dog.

ps: Stoopid blogger is giving me a hard time with photos again...

One Eye Open, One Eye Closed

2006-10-30T07:17:00.000-08:00

Ok time for the disclaimer: None of the photos here were taken by me. Since I didn't bring out my camera tonight I have "appropriated" photos from off the net that say what I am describing quite nicely.

Anyhow this was my first day back from my trip to Macau and so I was dead tired and had a bunch of stuff to do today. Minutes stretched into hours, and the hours ran into a day. So it was about 8:30 p.m. when I realized I was bloody hungry and needed some eats.

Unfortunately (fortunately?) the others already went out to McDonalds tonight for dinner so I was going to have to fend for myself. Since I had the time and had some stuff to think about tonight, I decided to go next door to Fo Tan and visit the Dai Pai Dong.

If I haven't explained b4, these are nice old skool restaurants where flavour comes first and everything else including decor and hygiene come second. You have to eat with one eye open and one eye closed. That means, enjoy your food, but don't look too closely otherwise you'll be scared away by something or other.

So tonight I needed Chinese soul food so I had a couple of giant Tsing Dao bottles, a plate of sauteed jie chai vegetables, a pot of spicy snails, and some sliced chilis in soy sauce on the side. It was delicious, but not for the faint of heart.

The laoban was the typical old guy with the note pad and the other diners were the odd mix of students, workers, regulars, and old timers. Under the stark light of the naked bulbs, the outdoor patio was a buzz of late night activity.

I looked up and saw a hazy half moon peeking down from high above the bluish night sky, in between the high rise flats. Each of the buildings only evident via there skeleton of yellow lights. I spent a couple of hours in pensive thought, plucking away at the tender snails with the wooden skewers provided. After thanking the laoban I made my way back to campus and so here I am now; full stomach and hoping the next day doesn't bear any unhappy reminders about tonight. Cheers.

When did Rocky turn gay?

2006-10-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Click to see Rocky 3 and Carl Weathers

Ok So I am watching the You Tube again because I've had a really crappy last couple of days. So I start wandering around You Tube when I happen upon a clip from Rocky 3. Now I own a copy of the first Rocky because it was an awesome story about redemption and raging against what everyone else thinks you are worth. It was awesome. It was an update of Marlon Brando's, "On the Waterfront".

But I remember watching Rocky 3 when I was a kid (on beta no less) because I wanted to see Rocky kick Mr.T's ass. So I watched the old clip of Rocky 3 on the You Tube and was surprised at just how gay it was.

Being gay is ok with me, but I was so surprised at how gay Rocky 3 was and that I didn't know it at the time. Don't believe me? See for yourself and cringe before the slow motion scenes.

Damn. I was innocent back in the day. How could a movie showing two oiled up guys in short shorts hugging each other at the beach NOT be gay?

I miss my TV.

Shanghainese Flavour

2006-10-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

Since coming back from Shanghai, I've been thinking a lot about the life there versus here in Hong Kong. I can't put my finger on it yet, but there is something in Shanghai that can't be said. I suppose it is like any other city you've been to in that the flavour must be tasted.

Don't know what I mean?

Well just imagine the hundreds of pages you'd have to write to describe the experience of chocolate. You can blather on and on about it, but the other person will still never get the point. But give them a nice little square of Valrhona, and they'll understand in the seconds it takes for the chocolate to melt on their tongue.

Anyhow, here is a bunch of squares of Shanghai that I think make up a pretty decent bar.

ps: The author is not liable for damages or injuries arising from the use of lame puns and weak analogies. You have been served.

Hangzhou Redux

2006-10-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Blogger seems to be letting me upload pics now, but I can't see them until I actually view my blog. So don't get on my case for having crappy lay out ok?

Anyhow I went to Hangzhou while I was in Shanghai a couple of weeks ago. I went there on a mission to see the sights and to relive some grand experiences I had when I was a kid. See when I was young, my folks took me and my siblings to China for a vacation. It was a great experience for me as I had the chance to see my roots and get a sense of where I fit into the world. Anyhow about twenty years later, I returned to see Hangzhou.

Anyways, we saw the West Lake and it was beautiful. The sky was overcast and there was a foggy haze everywhere so the water reflected the greyness. It sort of gave off an over all feeling of peace and timelessness. The water stretched out as far as you could see and from its thin horizon came the edge of the sky. No one said anything as we looked at the view. Its kinda like looking into the distance and seeing yourself in return.

We also had a chance to try the local Hun Tun and Long Jing tea. Quite tasty as we were damn hungry, but we totally got screwed on the price. Oh well. It came to $30 bucks Canadian for the three of us so it's ok. Damn it...

We walked the length of the perimeter of the lake and saw the different views, islands, pagodas and such. Then we eventually got to the tomb of General Yue Fei.

If you don't know, he was a famous general of the Song Dynasty who was loved by the people. Well like in Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" the emperor's subordinates schemed to have Yue Fei executed for fear of losing power to him. So after his death the public out cry demanded retribution and so they created this tomb for Yue Fei and his first son, whom both were executed.

Well when I saw the tomb again, it was a lot smaller than I remembered. Then again, I was a lot smaller back then too!

Anyhow we spent the rest of our time poking around Hangzhou before hitting a local bar. Then we took the train back to Shanghai. Unfortunately it was the slow ass train and what was supposed to be a two hour ride took four! That would never have happened if Yue Fei was still around!

Help! Blogger is Rejecting my Photos!

2006-10-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since my last confession. Not because I didn't want to post stuff, but because Blogger won't let me upload my photos anymore. Damn!

I'll try again later.

ps: I'll be in Macau this weekend, and then Beijing next weekend, so now you know my excuse for being lazy in advance.

Just a quick post

2006-10-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

I was up really late last night "studying" so I am really slow moving today. Anyways I was going over some photos I took in Hangzhou, China when I came across this beauty.

This could be the tackiest boat I've ever seen in my life. This is like the Chinese version of "Pimp my Ride". What a shame to see it on the famous West Lake (Xi Hu). Even the dragon head looks like it should have little fat kids in bathing suits shooting out of its mouth.

It's so bad, it looks like the perfect place to shoot a Chuck Norris movie.

NOTE: Favourite Chuck Norris Joke: When Chuck Norris couldn't get a Big Mac before 10:30 am, he kicked the restaurant so hard it became a Wendy's. Ha ha ha ha...

Anyhow I gotta go and be all I can be now.

ADDENDUM: Don't Mess with the Don

2006-10-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

I love this photo. Doesn't my buddy Rodrigo look like some hard plantation owner? Maybe a sugar cane king? All this photo needs is a smoking six shooter on the table and it would be perfect.

Don't negotiate with the Don.

Just accept the fate he gives you.

I Miss Shanghai Already

2006-10-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

Robs and I just got back from a five day weekend in Shanghai. It was an awesome time as it was my first time in Shanghai ever.

It's the strangest mix of contrasts you'll ever see folks. Where you'll see malls selling high end capitalist merchandise, you'll also see ironic portraits of chairman Mao right above them. Just when you think you've landed in an eastern version of New York, you'll see old world technology and peasant class poverty.

Food? You bet. You can have the traditional Shanghainese fare just minutes away from the local TGI Fridays and Taco Joint. Contradictions a plenty in a now socialist world which Mao never imagined.

Behold! Rodrigo (Don Rigo) with a Corona and some great Cubans he gave me.

Here's Robin with her new boyfriend, the street kebab guy. I think it was the aroma of meat on a stick that attracted Robs to this guy, but the affair didn't last.

Anyhow, we enjoyed Shanghai under the guidance of Don Rigo and saw so much of the city. We aite at places where we probably shouldn't have and strayed into parts of the city that most foreigners will never see. Thanks Rodrigo.

Here's a few shots of what we saw:

The amazing thing about being in Shanghai is that you are a witness to the transition of China. These contradictions between tradition and modern living is a battle where old China is losing at the edge of a bulldozer. Try to see Shanghai before the end of all things. It's definitely worth it. Better still, pick a few good friends to do it with you.

Lazy Days with Sand Between Your Toes

2006-10-01T23:37:00.000-07:00

My brain hurts because I just went through about ten different articles and cases on marketing in China. I am being a good boy today and so that means I am pushing myself hard to get a paper done for my China Strategies class before I take off for Shanghai next week.

So after I finished my research and identified a salient idea to work on, my mind wandered off to better days gone by. A few weeks ago my friends and I headed off to one of the beaches here: Repulse Bay. Don't be fooled by the name because it really is a nice stretch of sand and water. Incidentally the name comes from the British who used this location to repulse pirates.

Stranded at my desk here on campus, my mind wanders off to white sand, salt water, good buds, and cold beers.

After I got a nice burn on my "fish belly white" skin I went down the beach to take some snaps of the local monuments here at Repulse Bay. Just next to the beach is sort of pier that has Buddhist structures and statues arranged about. Very interesting stuff, but unfortunately I didn't know the context for the strange shapes and fingures.

It was an awesome day folks. I wish I was beached on the hot sand again, instead of banging out this paper on foreign firms entering China. sigh. This is going to be a rough one....

I can fly!

2006-09-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

Last night was awesome. My friends here went out to Prince Edward in Kowloon with a buddy of ours from class. Wesker was a local Chinese fellow and he invited us to go out and try the local Hong Kong night life.

So of course we said yes.

Anyhow we started out by having some food at a little restaurant that according to Wesker was famous for wonton noodles. So the eight of us each ordered some and enjoyed dinner. It's always good to eat off campus because it is so easy to confuse campus food with Chinese food.

Here's a picture I snapped of Wesker outside the restaurant. Just to let you know, the baby blue car he is styling in front of ain't his. Ha ha ha ha...

Afterwards Wesker took us down the street to a bar he knew. Definitely not a place for over paid expats looking for booze and women.

The bar's name of all things was "Sober Street" and I am not sure why. But I kinda like the irony. Here's a shot of the interior where they had a bar, tables, and some lounging chairs. There was a big screen TV pumping out Cantonese Karaoke videos, and a couple of dart boards.

The bar was full of local chinese of various walks of life. Some were just out for a laugh and some seemed to be running away from their office since they were still wearing their suits.

We ordered three dozen beers that came in a giant bucket of ice! Then we learned the local drinking games where you use dice in a cup, or you use your hands to guess how many fingers will be help up by you and your adversary. It was a great night and good time.

Towards the end of the night I saddled up next to Wesker at the bar and asked him why his name is Wesker. Well, its the name of a character from his favorite video game. Wesker you are so cool, but you just don't know it. Cheers mate!

Nosing Around Yau Ma Tei

2006-09-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to Yau Ma Tei to meet an appointment. As I was concerned about not getting into the local scene enough I called up a
Wing Chun Kung Fu school that was somewhat related to the family that I learned under.

So anyways I was invited to attend the class and so I went out to Yau Ma Tei. It had been five years since I last practiced Wing Chun and I was realy more interested in seeing the local version of it.

Just to give some background knowledge, this art was brought to Hong Kong in the 50's by a master named Yip Man. Here it flourished and then reached world wide fame as Bruce Lee was one of Yip Man's later students. The school I visited traced itself through Yip Man, to Chow Tse Chuen, to Donald Mak.

Mak Sifu is a management executive by day, but a Wing Chun Sifu by night. Very pleasant man who is extraordinarily enthusiastic about his art. He was very friendly and welcoming.

His school is a very nondescript shop located on the fifth floor above a pawn shop. The neighborhood itself is rather dodgy as it had a sort of seedy "Wan Chai" feel about it, but for locals instead of westerners.

We chatted and compared notes and I was impressed with how much Sifu Mak had researched other branches and styles of Wing Chun. Well I joined the class and saw just how rusty I was. My reflexes were still good, but my technique had become dull and sloppy.

I sparred a little with the master (chi sau) and I became very aware of everyone's eyes on us. I thought I was doing rather well and got a few shots in. Then I realized that this fellow who was half a foot shorter than me was just controlling the fight. I realized this when he launched a blinding torrent of traps and attacks that ended with a nice shot right up my nose. He held back of course because he should have broke my nose with that punch. But he is a sifu and sifu must take care of their students.

So today I have a slightly sore nose and a humble feeling. I never would have dreamed that I might taste authentic Hong Kong Wing Chun in the city of its birth. I hope I don't wind up getting a shnoz like Jackie Chan's though.

I tried some Candy

2006-09-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

This week there is an Asian Film Festival happening in Hong Kong and so I went to check out some of the movies.

I went to the IFC in Central and went for a showing of some independant Hong Kong short films. I like independant film because it is the voice of the little guy and I like that it is the alternative to mainstream rubbish.

When I got to the theater there was this small crowd in front and all these fans and photographers were taking shots of some lady posing in front of the Asian Film Festival backdrop. I stopped to get in to the crowd to see who it was, but I couldn't tell. She had a nice figure but I could see that her best years were past her and she was really heavy on the make up. So I blew past her and got my ticket for the show.

Anyhow I sat through the first movie and realized that the lady out front was the star of this indie movie. It was a low budget film that looked like it was filmed with a camcorder. The acting really sucked and the story made no sense at all. Even the editing was tiresome. At least the actress was pretty.

By the end of the last movie, I had settled into a visibly bored posture and may have let out a groan or two. Folks it was really not great.

Anyways, when the lights went up, a guy with a microphone went up on stage and to my surprise the cast of the first movie was in the audience the whole time. I hope they didn't hear the sound of my boredom. Anyways they had a Q&A session in Cantonese so I didn't know what was going on. The actress was in the centre of her co-stars and I really wasn't impressed with the lot of them. Since the last train was pulling out of Central, I got up and left in the middle of the spectacle.

So when I got home, on a lark, I googled the actresses' name; "Candy Lo". To my surprise she is actually a well known actress in Hong Kong and has done some movies that even I have heard of. What's more she is a successful singer in HK too.

Candy if you are reading this, email me and I'll make it up to you.

ADDENDUM: Off the smokes

2006-09-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

Dennis is officially off the cigarettes. It's fun once in awhile but I can't take it in Hong Kong.

"SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy."

I don't want to risk complicating pregnancy either...

A Peek from the Peak

2006-09-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

I had been in Hong Kong for about three weeks now and still had not gone to Victoria Peak. So last night I changed that.

I grabbed my camera and my laptop and went on a solo mission to visit the Peak and get lost in the city. After three trains and the tram, I finally arrived at the top of Hong Kong.

It's beautiful there. You really get a sense of the splendour of Hong Kong and the lights and beauty is really not describable. So I won't try to. All I can do is offer a few shots I took last night:

The pictures are a mere description friends. Being at the Peak, surrounded by the light and the grand scale of the vista is a near religious experience. You must go at some point in your life. This was my second time, and much better than my first as the first time was just for 10 minutes as part of an awful tour. Being at the Peak last night was like one of those rare moments when you know you have realized a dream and are in the midst of living out a great episode of your life.

I took out my laptop and started to write for awhile until I killed my battery. Walked about a bit and snapped some pictures. Good times.

Well I got hungry and decided to head back. Along the way I stopped in a local Shanghainese restaurant in Mong Kok and had Xiao Long Bao and Ko Ruo Mian. Xiao Long Bao is a specialty from Shanghai where the steamed pastry encompasses a delicious soup and savoury meat filling. The noodle soup wasn't bad and the pork had a nice slow cooked flavour.

The food was delicious, but let me tell you something. I have had better Shanghai food back in Vancouver. Isn't that a kick in the pants?

China is Raw

2006-09-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

I got my entry visa for China a few days ago so on a free day I decided I was going to go to ShenZhen.

ShenZhen is beyond the border of the Hong Kong SAR and is a special economic zone set up in China. I went there to see what life was like in China and to see how different it was from Hong Kong. Actually I also had a healthy dose of boredom too as I was getting tired of reading about Business Strategies in a Chinese Context.
So I made my escape into China.

I took the KCR train to Lo Wu and made my way through the border. There wasn't any hiccups except when I got to the border officer. Right behind him was what appeared to be a doctor with a surgical mask, doing spot checks of people coming into China. Now I am as healthy as a horse, but I did pick up a bit of a cough from that bout of smoking I did. The thought occurred to me that I could possibly be detained on suspicion of the bird flu or SARS. Anyhow I made it through ok.

It was a rainy day and so everything was extra dramatic. ShenZhen was bustling metropolis not too different from Hong Kong. But my advice to travellers is to get the hell away from the train station as fast as possible. The locals know you have cash and want it badly. I went into the malls around the station as I was advised to and hated the experience.

Lot's of desperate shopkeepers and kids lined the narrow halls which were cramped with shops selling all kinds of wares. I could imagine the developers purposefully congesting the blue prints with shops the size of closets to try to maximize the rental revenues. Just pray that no one ever shouts "Fire!" in there or you will certainly be trampled and your carcass used as foot ladder.

So I got the hell out of there. I made my way through the streets and crowds. I didn't know where I was going, but I didn't care either. ShenZhen was the perfect place to get lost for awhile and get a sense of the people.

Along the way I kept getting accosted by these women who euphamisticly offered me "Ah mo" which translates as massages. In the truest sense of the word it is a therapeutic massage that is as innocent as mother to child or patient to doctor. On the street it is something I'd rather not imagine. These women looked hard and pestered me for blocks.

Let me tell you that in desperate circles, the idea of wearing you down until you say yes is the official mode of advertising here. It borders on abuse.

But the further away I got from the station, the better things got. I ducked into a mall or two to see how different the prices might be. They had the usual assortment of swanky shops, but I felt like I was in Winnipeg, Toronto, Hong Kong, or any other place where you might find the sterile environment of mall culture. I checked out of there.

Eventually I found myself in this swirling mass of streets where the real people go to shop and play in ShenZhen. Dozens of stores and compressed hyper malls a plenty. Exotic food stalls and restaurants everywhere. At last I was in the heart of the city and could start to see what life was like here.

I have to say was that life in ShenZhen is very different than in Hong Kong. China is currently favouring development of its coastal cities like Shanghai, ShenZhen, and GuangZhou. Consequently the western areas of China are dirt poor and dependant on agriculture as a way of life. In essence it is a third world on the left side of the map.

So what happens is that a flood of peasants from the West permeate cities like ShenZhen and look for whatever money they can. Whether it is from prostitution, selling vegetables on the curb, getting crappy jobs for almost no pay, begging, or simply stealing what they want. The Chinese government in their infinite wisdom has set up a social divide among its own people that creates social havoc and what I see as a degredation of culture. Why bother to be polite when you are busy trying to eat?

I ducked into a restaurant and had some lunch. Spicy szechuan beef noodles, and pork/chive dumplings with an ice coffee chaser. No I couldn't finish it all. But the whole meal deal cost me 24 RMB so in Canadian dollars its about $3 bucks and change.

Then I headed into the streets again, still mulling over what I had seen today. Interestingly enough I turned the corner and found a small mob of people surrounding what seemed to be a TV personality doing the "Man on the street" routine.

Variety shows are a plague across Asia. They are tacky, slap stick, and staffed by manufactured celebrities. What I mean is that they are all cutsey, meagerly talented, and barely competant. But the audience loves to see them pout and dress well. Wait. Am I still in China or did I transport myself back to America?

Anyhow my verdict on ShenZhen is that it is interesting and fun in small doses. It's got glitz and sensation, until the ugly side of it jumps out at you. Unlike in Hong Kong, you'll see a lot of disfigured and injured people squatting about for money. It's hard to walk past it while you are on the search for that cheap knock-off bag you don't really need.

Lastly, one of my professors predicts that in the near future, China will combine Hong Kong and ShenZhen into one area. When that happens, all that was Hong Kong will dissappear under a torrent of desperate people. Visit Hong Kong while you can, before that happens. May be in twenty years, the Hong Kong you think you know will just be a memory. It's charm and nostalgia is up for sale.

Turkish Delights in Knutsford

2006-09-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a place in Kowloon called Knutsford Terrace. It's waaaaaayy nicer than Wan Chai. This is a part of Tsim Sha Tsui where the locals and the expats go to hang out and relax. Lot's of swanky bars and restaurant lounges.

We happened in on a Turkish one that served Turkish food and a wide variety of drinks.

Best of all they offer the Argilie. Also known as the hookah pipe. Here's a shot of my buddy Frederick rocking the bong.

If you've never had it before, its kinda like breathing scented air since the thick smoke is some how unnoticable to you. It's not at all like a cigarette where a puff or two gives you a high. Rather you just sit there, fill your lungs with this cool temperature smoke and then exhale. Ours was apple flavour. Yum!

Gotta give some advice though. When I saw a row of these pipes on the bar behind us, I pointed to them just past a lady sitting behind our table and I yelled, "Hey look! They got Hookahs here!"

Man I still remember the awful look that woman and her man shot me.

Anyways, we will definitely be back soon. The prices are way better than any other place and the food was delicious. And they got Hookahs for everyone!

God I hate Wan Chai

2006-09-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

I just came back from a birthday trip out to Wan Chai. It was this German dude's b day so we all piled off to party in Wan Chai.

I hate Wan Chai.

I felt so sick and disgusted there. In all the bars you would see old, fat, nerdy losers from the West picking up desperate Asian girls. These girls were fast and loose and the guys were running around snapping them up. Do you know how sick it was to see some old grandpa feeling all proud and smug as he smooched a little 20 year old filly? Sick.

I spent most of my night outside the bar dragging cigs and shooting dirty looks at these old bastards.

That was my last trip out to Wan Chai. Last.

Adendum: I can breathe again!

2006-09-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Just had my first work out on campus. Was feeling quite crappy throughout, but by the middle of my routine, my lungs opened up again. I could feel the cigarette funk being expelled from my airways. Yay for me!

The five lakes, four seas

2006-09-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

It's a free day today here at CUHK so I am catching up on laundry and junk. So while I am at it, I thought I'd reflect on the topic of campus.

It's strange really. Maybe it is because I am new here, but in the most mundane places I can find beauty....or at least my interpretation of it....and I don't mean the kind that comes with a purse.

Here is a shot of the nearby canteen. They serve an ecelctic mix of low priced chinese fare as well as Western food with an HK twist. Ever have ham and eggs with macaroni in a clear soup? That's what I get when I order "ham and eggs".

I love to steal shots of people when they aren't looking. So here we have a couple of guys having a typical breakfast in the canteen. Usually people here are conservative and conscious about how others might regard their behaviour. But at meals it seems like they can literally take a bit of a break from being who they are supposed to be, and just be who they are. So these guys were slurping away, chattering about. I like to imagine that the guy on the left is talking about his woman troubles, and his buddy on the right is pretending to not be alarmed as he casually eats. It's a guy thing.

And here is a small teahouse pond and bridge just outside of the canteen. It is usually hot, sticky, or rainy so when this shot opened itself up to me, I had to snap it quickly.

Seems rather peaceful, and is a bit of a respite against busy school life.

Now this shot is really interesting to me. This is actually the window in my room. From what I guess I believe these marks on the glass came from a suction cup. Maybe a wall mounted block or some Hello Kitty junk (Asif is the expert on that). Anyhow when the morning brings condensation on the window the marks appear and reminds me of some zen calligraphy I've seen before. The fog and mountains really add to the feel. Of course, it is just a dirty window, but if you look past it, there is more.

I better stop here before I get too flakey.

What a great life!

2006-09-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a glam bar in Central called "Red". It was at the top of the IFC building and the outdoor lounge overlooked the city and ocean. Couches and tables a plenty with ex-pats everywhere tossing drinks and dragging smokes. It was like being at play in the neon heart of Hong Kong.

So I met this lady almost a year ago while I was in Vancouver studying at UBC. She came to campus with her company doing a recruitment tour. Well, we hit it off quite well way back then and so I kept in touch with her via email ever since.

Well as life turned out, I find myself in the city she was living in, so I got in touch with her and she recommened we get together at Red.

We laughed and chatted about life in Hong Kong, working here, the people, ex-pats, travel, and most any subject under the sun (moon). Although this would have been only the second time we ever hung out together, it was such a great time we felt like old friends. Good thing too since I think we each had about 8 drinks and decimated a carton of smokes (I wondered how she could have such stamina until I found out that she was Irish/Spanish. Now it makes perfect sense).

At one point I realized that the lights were dim and the drone of lounge noise was gone so I turned my head back to the bar and saw that Red was in fact closed, lights were off, and staff already buggered off. So we literally closed Red down. Not bad for 5 hour stay.

It was a great evening and a bloody cab ride home for me. So here I am thinking that I've met an awesome friend based on a short evening in UBC. One beer back in Vancouver was the cause of one night in Hong Kong. What a great life.....too bad the hangovers come with it like luggage.

The Legends Are True...beer on campus!

2006-09-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

Today was all about keeping it real. I went to my mandarin class today, bought some textbooks, checked in at International Centre, and went home for a shower and some rest. Then grabbed a late meal at 3 with some friends at Sha Tin.

Well, we then went as a group for dinner around 8 at one of the campus canteens, when I decided that I needed beer. It was then that one of our friends said that there actually is a pub on campus.

What? Everyone I've been asking has said there isn't but, I felt that can't be true. Now we had a pretty good rumour that there indeed was one.

So we piled on a bus and headed for parts unknown on campus, and eventually found it. A pub!

Once inside we milled around and found it was loaded with fellow expats looking for a little fun and comeraderie. Best of all, they were selling these giant glasses of Hoegarrden beer. I mean these beers were like KFC buckets of suds. It was like the Colonel made beer!

So here I am now, slightly tanked, my cell phone is hemoraghing with phone numbers, and I am drunk on beer and conversation. Cool. Too bad Hoegarrden translates as "sh*tty wheat beer"

See-Food, Eat-Food

2006-09-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

On the spur of the moment, Robin and I went to Lama Island today. It's just a short trip by ferry from Central to Lama and it is definitely worth the trip. However a word of advice would be to avoid the upper deck of the ferry. Up there the waves are much more pronounced and so you can get pretty sick. Stay in the lower level. It may not be so grand, but neither is feeling nauseas on the high seas.

Lama is essentially a fishing village on an island where tourists commonly go to hike, see the sights, and then splurge on exotic live seafood. It's the best of both sight ans taste.

Check it out. This old time house was apparently built in 1956 and people are still living in it. In fact they sell cold drinks to tourists while this old ah pek was snoozing in his deck chair outside.

The cave that you see was apparently supposed to be used by the Japanese to conceal boats during the war. But however the cave never was used.

After our jaunt around the beach, we made or way back to the restaurant strip to look for our meal.

After walking the strip we decided on a restaurant that overlooked the ocean and seemed to be the largest and cleanest. Best of all it's washroom was 4 star! So it was a definite thumbs up!

We sat ourselves down and browsed the menue. The good thing was that there were so many great dishes to try. The bad thing was that we could only order four dishes since we didn't think we could eat more than that. So we got some beer (in this part of the world, beer comes in liter bottles. I love this place!) and ordered lai niu prawns, clams, squid, and scallops in tofu. I should tell you that it was delicious and everything was achingly fresh. It made me smile to think that we literally travelled around the world to eat this meal at this place, far from the world we were used to. It was magnificent.

I can't wait to go back again. Next time I'd like to stay for the evening and sample some of the other beauties there. The adventure continues...

Sai Kung and Mong Kok

2006-09-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today I went out to visit my friend Eve's neighborhood in an area called Sai Kung. Sai Kung is quite far from Kowloon and I swear that when I got near the city centre of Sai Kung, I saw a fleet of cows using a cross walk....all by themselves.

Anyhow, I got there early and poked around Sai Kung on my own for a bit before my friend showed up. Sai Kung is a fishing village and so people go there to do fishing, swimming, eating, and sightseeing. Best of all are the locals who sell exotic seafood from there boats. They go out into the ocean, then come back and sell crabs, prawns, clams, fish, and things I can't even describe.

I really wonder how long this market has been going on for?

Soon after my friend arrived and she took me out by ferry to an island beach. It was quite crowded, but we managed to find a spot for ourselves.

We sat and munched on instant noodles, potato chips, roast chicken leg, and a couple of "stabilizers" (read: Carlesberg). We enjoyed the breeze and the freedom of being away from the city. As we enjoyed our perch we chatted about our separate lives over the last six years and the people we met in between.

As we traded stories and reminisced about times gone by, I was glad to hear how her life really picked up and that all of her old fears and set backs had at last been overcome. But somehow I felt a little sad about something I couldn't put my finger on.

We left Sai Kung after some Durian Shakes and parted company in Mong Kok. I wandered around the night market and up and down the streets. To some extent I was enjoying the colourful variety of characters and products to be found in Mong Kok, but really I was just wandering about lost in thought.

So I stopped into a typical restaurant and got myself some dinner. I thought it was perfect to have Won Ton Noodles, Chive Dumplings (damplings), and soy bean milk in Hong Kong.

Afterwards I continued my stream of consciousness walk through Mong Kok and found myself wandering into a street that seemed to have a lot of seedy looking hotels. You really got to question who would want a room for 2 hours in a ruddy old building. I guess if the guy splurges on a whole night's stay he is definitely enjoying his "guest".

Anyways, I made my way back to the station and it occured to me why I felt a little sad about my visit with Eve today. I was so happy about the good things in her life, but at the same time I realized that so much of it happened in my absence. That six years passed by so quickly that I was mostly oblivious of the majour events in my friend's life. All of the ups and downs had already passed by and now I was just hearing the highlights. That's the nature of having people come and go from your life. At least sometimes they come back.

Well, it's a melancholy thing isn't it? The secret to a happy life is knowing when you are actually experiencing the best moments in your life. So I am happy and thoughtful this evening. I guess it was just One Night in Mong Kok.

Buddha's Brand of Air Con

2006-09-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went way off campus to the island of Lantau. It was a lot easier than we thought as all of the MTR trains are organized into colours with various points for you to transfer. Plus Hong Kong is such a western friendly place that all directions, maps, and indicators are in english as well.

So we got to the top of the mountain by a bus trip that was more like a car chase scene from "Hunter" (terrible cop show from the 80's. I was never sure if I liked it or hated it).

Once we got to the top we noticed two things about the weather: it was bloody hot, but not humid like where we came from. So it wasn't so bad. Still it wasn't the best weather either.

As you can see, the giant buddha of Po Lin Monastery sits at the peak of a mountain and has a giant staircase to get to the top. Why is it that reaching enlightenment always means sweating and clawing your way up staircases? Once we got to the top there was the usual assortment of artifacts, scrolls, patrons, and staues. Very nice. But best of all there was air conditioning. YES. Believe it or not, Buddha sits atop an airconditioned pedestal. Now THAT is enlightenment.

I don't have any shots of the interior of the buddha or of the monastery as photography is strictly prohibited. Guess you'll just have to go and see it for yourself.

Then we sat down to a vegetarian lunch. The brochure made it sound like it was a meal provided by the monastery. Years ago I attended a monastery in China where they literally had the monastery provide monk's food which was exotic and delicious. The meal I got at Po Lin was in a typical chinese restaurant setting, and the dishes didn't seem all that different from what you'd find on a chinese take out menue. Mind you it was delicious and healthy.

So I can't say I came away with spiritual enlightenment, but I saw a piece of history at a place on the planet I've never been to before, among the faithful in a monastery, sustained by nutritious food, in the cool comfort of the Buddha's air conditioning. Well may be I am enlightened: I am happy and I know that next time I will take the cable car instead of the bus.

ADDENDUM!

2006-08-31T18:06:00.000-07:00

I just had my morning shower and as I turned my head there was the biggest goddam cockroach on the wall next to my shoulder! Damn! It was about 2 inches long and bloody mean. I kicked the sh*t out of it, but it just lay on its back and twitched! Now I know that you gotta check the showers here....

I am the Lord of my phone

2006-08-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

While I was waking up today it occured to me that maybe the answer to unlocking my phone could be found where all the mysteries of life have already been catalogued....the internet.

So after a couple of hours of web diving I found the answer. Now my phone works! I rule! So to celebrate I have breakfasted on orange juice and vending machine cheese and crackers. Probably a bad move since vending machines probably aren't the best source of fine cheese. Hmmm....especially since the brand name is "SiSiSic". That kinda sounds like "super sick".

We went out for dinner last night at the Star Seafood Floating Restaurant. Imagine 400 international students all spilling into this floating restaurant in Sha Tin.

Here's some friends from Denmark. They are a lot of fun and they can appreciate beer. So naturally we get along.

In true seafood style, the lobby of the restaurant was more like an aquarium. Now I've seen a lot of different things, but even I was surprised at some of the fish they had. Some of those crabs and shrimp I've never even seen before.

Unfortunately, one of my buddies wasn't used to the food and when the chicken plate came to our table with the chicken's head prominently mounted on it, he had to leave. I followed him out to make sure he was ok and to get him a cab. Unfortunately the hostess didn't speak english or manadarin so I was left using my survival cantonese. Luckily before I left Canada for some reason I learned how to say nauseas. "Siu je, ngor pang yaugh hai jok au loh. Mgoi nngei giu yat leung dik-si a?"

Robin and I then ditched the ride home and walked back through Sha Tin and went to the exotic Ruby Tuesdays for a pitcher. But even b4 we arrived we were smoothly hammered on Skol.

Here is a shot I took from the bridge on the way to Ruby's. I kinda like the effect here. The shot was a complete accident as I didn't realize the camera lens was foggy from the humidity.

5 day, and 4 th hangover. I am on par. I am on par.

I am in Hong Kong!

2006-08-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am on day 4 of my stay in Hong KOng and its been a real adventure. A lot of ups and downs, but I think I am getting used to everything now.

The weather is hot and humid here. It's like walking around in cream soup all day. But the locals here are wearing extra shirts, jackets, and even smoking! It's weird since it is Third World hot here!

So I've settled into my dorm now but not without some bumps along the way. Internet wouldn't work, cell phone wouldn't work, air con wouldn't work, I got stuck in the wrong dorm, and I still have to go back to the International Students Office to curse them out. But aside from that stuff things are getting great!

This is my residence and my room. It's quite sparse but at least it isn't as bad as some other peoples' rooms. In fact I guess mine isn't too bad. The view is great though.

These are just some random shots I took the other day when I went poking around Sha Tin. Its a city near campus. Quite nice but it seems to be a giant assortment of interconnected malls. Yes there are food courts a plenty.

Last night my old friend Eve and her boyfriend took me out to see Tsim Sha Tsui. Its a popular part of Kowloon where people gather. It's also the site of the infamous Chung King Mansion that was in Wong Kar Wai's "Chungking Express" movie. (Your right Robin. It was a sleazy mega dive that reminds me now of a sort of brothel with restaurants). Well last night was great and I saw "Old Skool" Hong Kong: Temple Street and Nathan Road.

This was a Dai Pai Dong they took me to. This style of "restaurant" has been around for a long time and eating here was like re-living scenes from my life over 20 years ago. A collection of tables next to a giant wok sitting on an 3 foot fire, and an old lao ban (manager) who does everything in his head and on paper faster than a cash register.

Here are some more scenes from this neighborhood. It's like time stopped here. We still have the street operas where people play the old time music from generations ago for cash. And here I spotted a tired and worn down flat that was probably around during the war....without the air con of course.

I can't put my finger on it, but something is different now. I am starting to feel something warm about HK. I still don't understand it, or the people, but as every city has a unique flavour, I am getting addicted to this one.

Fruits Applenty

2006-07-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

Today we were in Chinatown for dinner and so afterwards my gf and I went for a walk. Eating a big dinner has a way of making me feel fat and sleepy. Therefore the walk was most necessary. As we made are way down the side walk we happened upon a fruit store. In true Chinatown style, half the produce was set up on the sidewalk and the store staff were actively trying to push their wares. However this shop sold the fruits of my youth. When I was young and visiting Malaysia, I came across these fruits and came to love them. The one pictured here is a mangosteen and is my favorite of them all. The taste is sweet and unique. It cannot be described but MUST be tried.

Here we have the durian and the longan. The durian of course is widely regarded as the "King of Fruits" as those who know it, love it. Be warned though that this spikey fruit is quite dangerous to handle but the taste is impecable. The best description for the taste was "a cross between custard and a burning rubber tire". Trust me. It is delicious. The texture is like ice cream and the flavour divides the gourmet from the rube.

If you can't get behind the durian, try the longan ("loh-ng-yan"). Common in most western grocery stores, the longan translates as "Dragon eye" and tastes much better than it sounds. Consider it a sort of firm grape. But the flavour kicks any grape's punk ass.

Now we move into the passion fruit catagory. Growing up in Canada made me oblivious to anything aside from apples and oranges. However when I went to Malaysia at the age of 10, I came across the passion fruit. The first one here is the sour sop. And the one of the right is the custard apple. Sweet and delicious. Tropical and exotic. Don't fear them. Eat them on sight. Now!

Lastly we have the langsat. I was so surprised to see it here in Canada today. It's been more than twenty years since last I saw it. Well, I can tell you that yes it tastes awesome, but I would advise against trying it. Why? Because the skin possesses a milky sap that is so sticky and bitter than when you eat this fruit, you'll taste the bitterness and have sticky fingers. Not pleseant.

Anyhow that's all I gotta say on the fruit of my youth. They represent sweet innocence and a deep connection to the past. Take a bite.

Blast from the Past

2006-07-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well I've mentioned this in the past but never delievered on it. So here it is; El Debarge. This cheesey guy was the sh*t back in the day.

Here is his "Rhythm of the Night" video from 1985. It was a mega hit if you can believe it. Just see for yourself.

Rhythm of the Night.

The only thing worse than this video is the movie that it was showcased in. Have any of you ever heard of this terrible movie from the same year titled, "The Last Dragon"? Yup. This stinker was about a young dude from Harlem who thinks he's Bruce Lee. Worse yet is his arch enemy the Shogun of Harlem, "Sho 'Nuff".

Notice the aura around the Last Dragon? That was the whole point of this stupid movie. To achieve the ultimate level of Kung Fu mastery; The Glow. I am not sure but I think the real source of The Glow was that greasy geri curl he had. You can even see that oily mess leach down his head.

Anyhow, I hope this post might help to close the book on a sordid time in my life.

ps: I can't believe DeBarge was married to Janet Jackson. I can't look at her the same way anymore.

Toronto is Third World Sticky

2006-07-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Damn it is hot and sticky here! I haven't felt this kind of weather since my last trip to the equator!

Hogtown has been suffering uder 30 degrees of blazing sun this last week, but the real b**ch is the humidity. The smog traps the heat and the humidity pops through the roof. For those of you out there who don't know what this means, it means that the air outside is like standing in a pot of thick soup. You could scoop some of the air into a ziplock bag and save it for later like gravy.

If Spike Lee knew what he was talking about when he did "Do the Right Thing", then I am expecting the crime here to jump as well. It might even start with me when I kick the ass of the next unfortunate person to ask me if I think it is "hot enough for me?".

The Hateful Easter Bunny

2006-07-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

You have got to see this!

I go to a "YouTube" type site called Guba once in awhile and found this video. I laugh my ass off everytime I see it. Check it out. EB isn't always about easter eggs and chocolates.

GUBA

World Cup in Vancouver

2006-07-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from a week in Vancouver and I was there for the World Cup games. Since it came down to Italy versus France, we of course went down to Commercial Drive to check out the fun. It was so crowded, but lucky for us, a couple of buddies went down there early to save a table.

Here is a shot of the inside and outside of the pub where we were at. It was about 90 percent pro-Italy and so just to be a pain in the ass I was backing France.....well that and because I thought Zidane was kinda cool when he scored that lone goal in the previous game. Very Clint Eastwood.

This is my buddy Gerry. He was so fixed on watching the game he kinda just sat there with his mouth wide open and his eyes glazed over. It was amazing how he could blindly search for the beer pitcher, find his glass, pour, and re-set the pitcher all without missing a beat. In this picture I tried to sneak a shot of Gerry, but he caught on just as I was snapping. His super-powers become amplified during sporting events.

This is Cynthia from Ecuador. We shared a table with her and her buddy. She was totally pro-Italy so of course I had to let her know that France was going to win by penalty shoot out. We got into a bit of a heated rivalry but it was fun. I was so looking forward to rubbing her nose in France's victory. So of course when Zidane melted down and France lost, I had to endure her retaliation. Damn you Zidane.....at least Canada is WAYYY bigger than Ecuador!

Here's Gerry again. By this point he was in his element. He had been drinking beer for about 5 hours now and he was totally enjoying the game. If you notice the bald dude in the back, that's a total stranger. By the end of the game Gerry was best buddies with the guy....rather Gerry was buddies with anyone who could appreciate football and beer....especially beer.

So when Italy won, Commercial Drive became an Italian blurr. It was just raging with soccer fans, Italians, and party goers. Loud and proud. Even the riot police who were watching over us looked more amused than nervous. Good times.

Remember my buddy Gerry? Here's a secret shot I snapped of him passed out on the bus. Mama would be proud. Well I don't blame this German; the bus was sweltering hot, crowded, and we were all well sauced on beer. Thank goodness World Cup is only once every 4 years.

Farmer's Market

2006-06-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

Next to our apartment in North York is a public area called Mel Lastman Square. Practically everyday they have some concert, fair, or other event going on. Now that it is summer, the Farmer's Market has re-opened every Thursday. If you've never been to a farmer's market before, it is where producers bring there stuff to sale directly to the public. Really good quality food rather than the barely ripened mass production food you'll see at the supermarkets. Imagine vine ripened tomatoes that actually taste like tomato. Yummmm....

In this picture you can see tomatoes, apples, strawberries, asparagus, brocoli, peppers, etc etc etc.

Here's a few more shots. The beekive was from this table that specialized in organic honey from bees that feed on alphalfa or wild flowers.

The last shot was of this stall that sold homemade carribean sauces. I tried his sauces and found them to be mild and weak in flavour. Very close to a spicy plum sauce in fact. Of course, I didn't want to tell the guy that I've had better. Then again he is selling to Torontonians and they are not a hardy people. I've seen then get puffy and swollen from eating the "hot" peppers from the hotdog stands. You know the ones....the pickled peppers that pretend to be hot peppers and are only put out to make the weak tongued feel tough.

Anyhow I love my life right now. Here it was about 10 a.m. and I am sitting in the shade watching people go to work as I enjoy my breakfast with my gf.

Superman is Back!!

2006-06-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Watched Superman Returns today with skepticism. However when it was over I found myself liking it immensely. I think the reason why was because it tied itself to the Christopher Reeve era by borrowing details and maintaining the general spirit. Very nostalgic.

I was so tickled when they spliced in some of the original monologue from the late Marlon Brando. The use of the old skool movie opening credits made me feel like a kid again. But most of all when the original Christopher Reeve era music came along, I wanted to believe in Superman all over again.

My only draw back on the flick was that I felt that Clark and Lois were cast too young. I would have liked to have seen an older cast, but at least I didn't have to sit through that wussy Smallville type stuff (Hi, I'm Superman and I have problems...).

In fact, I think part of why I enjoyed this version was that Superman was portrayed as an outsider, but not full of melancholy angst and soap opera sob story sentiment. Instead this Superman was like Christopher Reeve's version in that he was the classic man. Long suffering and shouldering great burden without needing a box of kleenex to deal with it. Soldier on...soldier on...

Anyhow, go see this movie in the theater if you have the chance. It's totally worth it. Like my gf says,"It's about time Superman came back. The original superhero".

LOTR Should have studied Marketing

2006-06-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

The monstrous Lord of The Rings musical play is grinding to a halt this Fall. After four years of production, this show is calling it quits after just a few months.

When they announced it yesterday, I heard the producers blame everything from SARS, to terrorism, to the rising Canadian dollar, to bad critics, and possibly even to Global Warming!

For true theater fans, LOTR may be too pop-culture or low-brow for them.

This play not only jumped onto the dying end of the LOTR craze, but waited a few more years just to make sure that no one cared anymore.

From what I've seen, the play is more about trying to mimic the movies rather than do some original interpretation of the book. So why would anyone pay $120 to see an adaptation of a DVD they probably own? Besides, there is no way the play can show me giant oliophaunts, flying dragons, or grand landscapes.

The movies took about 12 - 18 hours to tell the story and even then they had to edit out a lot of stuff. There is little wonder about why the 3 hour play was described as confusing and muddled.

Lastly: The idea of blaming critics is alike shooting the messenger. Could it be that the critics were right about the play being bad?

Marketing could have easily predicted this four years ago. Most everyone else did.

Dinner Time!!

2006-06-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight my gf and I decided to stay in an cook dinner. So we went down to this great little Korean grocery store and scored some great stuff including organic tofu and good quality minced pork.

Recipe 1: Ma Po Tofu
Essentially this is a spicy stir fry of minced meat, veggies, and sauces. You can substitute any meat you prefer, and you can use any mix of veggies you have on hand.

So to start I marinaded the minced meat with minced green onion, minced celantro, crushed dried red chilis, a lot of black pepper, splash of soy sauce, and sesame seed oil. Imixed this well and left it to stand for about 30 mins.

Then we browned the meat. Some people will tell you to drain the meat well, but come on! A little fat in the food makes life worth living.

Here are some of the ingredients that will be used next. You MUST have some minced garlic, onion, minced ginger, and tofu. That already is sufficient. However we had two jalapenos, a carrot, some frozen veggies, and dried chinese mushrooms kicking around. So we used 'em.

Here's a trick I learned on another blog. Take the tofu and pre-blanch it for about 3 mins. This step is optional, but I find that it helps the tofu remain in firm cubes. Of course if you skip this step your Ma Po Tofu will be a little more "squishy" but I like it that way too.

Ok so take a pan and fry your garlic, ginger, onions, and veggies on medium to high heat. Then re-add the browned meat.

Now add your sauces. I recommend soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, white wine, sesame seed oil, and a little water if you find it dry.

Now add your tofu to the mix and simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on the sauce pan. To finish this dish, pour in a little cornstarch & water mixture to thicken the gravy. Serve with rice, noodles, or pasta.

Recipe 2: Shrimp Omlette
My gf treats me to this dish once in awhile. Here we see 3 or 4 eggs beaten with butterflied shrimps and minced green onion. There's also a slpash of sesame seed oil and a pinch of salt & pepper. If you have access to some farm fresh eggs or the organic ones, I recommend it. If you do you'll immediately notice how yellow the egg yolks are, and later you'll taste the difference too. Otherwise standard eggs will work just fine.

Now take a heavy bottomed pan and add a generous splash of olive oil. Turn the heat up to high and don't pour the eggs in until the pan is damn hot. If you don't your eggs will stick to the pan and you'll be eating rubbery browned egg scrapings from the pan....not good.

Flip the omlette once. If the omlette is too big to handle, don't be shy to cut it into more manageable portions. Then serve on a paper towl to absorb extra oil.

Dinner is served! Fast and simple meal that is totally easy on the wallet. No need to eat sauteed onions and saw dust any more!

Toronto Pride Night

2006-06-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

So Sunday night was the last night of the Pride Week festivities in Toronto. We had to go back and see for ourselves what it was like. Especially since there were a lot of free music concerts and such.

We weren't the only ones with that idea. It was super crowded!

Here's a few shots of some of the more colourful people:

Of course there were some more seedy scenes that night, but I decided I didn't want to put that on my blog. No need to submit you all to some of the horros of that night. Let's just say that I am really tired of seeing dudes wearing "ass-less chaps".....

We then went to see this cool jazz band called Swing Rosie. They are a sweet trio of ladies from Montreal doing old skool swing era music. It was pretty good. The photo didn't turn out so well, otherwise I'd point out which singer got hit in the head when a gay cowboy though a string of beads at her.

Here is a shot I took of this dude who tried to slip through the pedestrian barriers to get closer to the band. Unfortunately his butt was too huge so he got stuck. Its ok though cause the crowd managed to push him through. It was a group effort. We all clapped as his wife soothed his damaged ego.

It was a great night. Lot's of different people were out. Don't be fooled by the Pride Week ocassion. There were so many straight men and women out there, it was like a sexy night club exploded on the street. The only other time you'll ever see so many topless women will be if you pay a cover charge.

I had to snap this last shot of this carribean food stall. The smell of spice and charcoal, the florescent light, and the fruits just reminded me of some great street food I've had in exotic locales around the world. Pride Night was fun.

Street Mattress: Feeling the Realness

2006-06-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

www.streetmattress.com

I used to visit this site back when I was working. StreetMattress was a great way to steal time from the man. I even posted a couple of shots myself back in the day.

Essentially it is a funny site where people from around the world submit photos of disgarded mattresses and describe the curcumstances . Strangely enough this site has a large following. It's a pretty good way to waste some time. Take a look for yourself. Come on, don't be stuck up! You know you want to. I suggest going for the sweetest meat and click on "The Untouchables" catagory.

Larry's Market

2006-06-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the famous St.Lawrence Market here in downtown Toronto. It's full of your butchers, fish mongers, groceries, cheeses, etc. Lot's of interesting things to see and street food to eat. Just a tip for anyone who wants a deal, go during the last hour of the day becuase that's when they start dropping prices like crazy. Not everything is up for sale but you just might find a good deal anyways.

Here's a cool shot I snapped at this great butcher's stall. I thought it was kinda funny. The butchers here smoke their own meats and includes ham hocks, sausages, and of course the bacon. Yes. Twice smoked bacon. I haven't been able to find any bacon as great as the bacon I got from Winnipeg at this little german shop. However this place isn't bad. I believe this is the kind of bacon you can eat without frying it (at least that is what the germans do).

But aside from the red meats there is also the fish. Damn I love open makrets!

Show Your Pride Toronto!

2006-06-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ok so after the pain of Korea's World Cup defeat subsided, and the worst restaurant experience I've recently had now behind me, my gf and I made our way down to "Gay Street". It's Pride Week in TO and since it was Friday night, I thought it might be interesting to go and see what the stink was all about. Wow!

The party was totally on! These Winnipeg eyes were confronted with scenes usually reserved for the movies or late night cable TV. But I gotta say that inspite of the weird mix of homosexuals, queens, transvestites, lesbians, and all those in between, it was really a healthy atmosphere. Everyone was just out for a good time and living life.

These are a couple of the bars down in the Gayborhood. Lub (pronouved "lube") and Sailor were of course making me giggle so I had to snap a few shots.

Now this person here totally confused me. On the one hand this is a shot of a very attractive woman....or is it a man? Which team is she/he batting for? I didn't want to ask as it was kinda rude and her companion was a giant dude.

While walking up and down the party, we came across some really interesting samples of marketing. May be I should forward them on to Paul Cubbon and see what he thinks:

ps: We came across an outdoor beer garden that was setting up a stage. They were blasting out Bhangra music so I immediately remembered when Asif showed me Russel Peters: "We're Indian...and were gaaaaaay!"

SORRY KOREA!!

2006-06-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today I went down to "Korea Town" to watch the Korea/Switzerland match. Who would have thought that the Suisse could play so well?

Anyhow the excitement was pretty high and Koreans love to cheer. Too bad The Red Devils lost or it would have been a super party in Korea Town tonight.

Here's some shots of the bar I was in, the crowds spilling out of the pubs, and the police who were ready for the riot if Korea actually won!

Blog Open for Business

2006-06-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

So just to get everyone caught up to this point, I left Vancouver back at the beginning of June to begin my MBA internship with Greenpeace here in Toronto. I'll be living here until the Fall when I move to Hong Kong to finish my MBA degree on exchange at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. YaY for me!

I am still getting used to Hogtown, but it is growing on me everyday. I gotta admit that World Cup Fever is especially kick ass here since this city is extraordinarily multicultural. Here is a photo I snapped one day after gorging myself on good dim sum with my gf.

So anyways, look for more posts to come.