Talking of which I met one at a 'birthday party' in the beach bar at the bottom of our hill. (We went out!!!! Sort of.) Was quite funny, they were discussing food, and Petes mate asked her hubby if he cooked, he misunderstood and started reeling off lists of catering firms he had asked to come and cook FOR him as the 2 of them apparently need a chef! How the other half lives........she says she can stand it as long as she spends over a certain amount each day (shops and pampering)! Not much of a bar - only beer & iffy wine - but quite a few ex-pats of assorted nationalities. Including the Phillipino trophy wife called 'Boots' (trying to talk to her was hard as I had 'These Boots are Made for Walking' running through my head) and the birthday boy, a local called Shoe!!!! It seems HK parents just pick a name they like the sound of - I spent a very confusing 5 minutes talking to a local who is a neighbour of ours, called Anthony. A girl!
Lamma beach looking south: our steps up start to the right of the blue roofed cafe
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Our beach is considered very clean but not by me! Watched fisherman scaring small fry out of the dark night waters with a massive light, then scooping up big stuff. People are on it every day digging up anything live, they are fanatical about seafood. Petes poor little boat is filled with sand in the corner of the bay & rotting quietly after the last typhoon.
State of our water when wind blows south - why I don't swim on THIS beach!
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
So going quite mad really, especially as our illegal use of someone's wireless internet reception is a bit intermittent. Tried to do tax returns but they won't let me change my UK postal address so no idea if I will get the activation codes (yes I was THAT bored).
HATE the bathroom, the thing takes ages to drain so the floor is either ankle deep or all soapy when you want to use the loo, and I just realised when I cleaned them (not Petes strong point!) that it & the kitchen sink are held together with duct tape. Bit of a sore point with Pete as he says he TOLD me what the loos were like when we were choosing where to live (over the phone, for me, no pics!). I pointed out being told there is a small loo with a shower did NOT tell me the loo WAS the shower. Quite keen on seeing the neighbouring flats which are empty (there are a few) as apparently they had normal loos but were smaller & had no roof terrace. Am wondering how much we would actually use the roof, though, as ours is flat & totally open to view from passers by, neighbours & the elements........will be working on Pete as he's never at home to get fed up with stuff like me! And he quite likes the grotty 70's student look, as well as not bringing people back - but even some of you lot I'd be embarrassed to let into this loo! Yik!
Pete had Sat off so we went into town with a list of must-get stuff, starting with new glasses (mine got bent in Africa & I want photochromatic for here as its bright out), going up to curtains etc. Came back with a Sopranino recorder. For me. Hmmm. (Not played since I was in the Recorder Orchestra in Glasgow!). Apparently I must learn the Father Ted theme tune - Petes getting all his old guitar skills back but seems to have given up on the violin, thank god.
Hong Kong wasn't as busy as I expected but we were out 11 am till 4 pm and it seems most shoppers START at 4pm, they close down roads as it gets so busy, and most are still shopping at 10pm. Still bit scary as most women have umbrellas up for shade, and their spikes are JUST at jugular level for me - and they won't get out of the way - they all shuffle and stop unexpectedly! Lots of the elderly too, doing all sorts of strange exercises (not Tai'Chi always) although someone said it's illegal for more than 5 to gather to exercise it together????? Lots of balding ladies, not sure if they are extra old or it is diet/ genetic. AND if you are lucky enough to be walking in free space, they sort of gravitate towards you, like a herding instinct, its weird. Also odd is the habit they have of taking their little stools out onto fly-overs & chaining them to the railings, so they can sit watching traffic.
We got the ferry over to Aberdeen (fishmarket fragrant as ever), then a lovely cold airconditioned minibus to somewhere else, & walked lots. Amazing street markets, live fish stalls beside wired veg stalls. Lots of escaping prawns (gave me a fright for a minute - thought one was a really freaky cockroach - you see THEM legging it accross the streets to their favourite snack stalls). I want to try 'jackfruit'? - massive odd spiked thing with sort of stacked rings of flat bits in it. We got stopped by a protest march - much more interesting than UK ones, with about 4 different bands including traditional drummers. Sad though, it was against the Government illegally harvesting organs from peaceful protestors/ healers etc they have put into concentrations camps. We have been given a DVD to watch on it. LOADS of police around them - wish I had taken a pic of one of them who had Starsky & Hutch style uniform on, but tiny scrawny chicken legs stuck into big black kneehigh leather motorcycle boots - bit like seedlings in flower pots!
Prawn making a break for it from the Fish Market, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Had keys cut for me, that was exciting, now proud owner of a pink tartan key.....Pete wouldn't let me get a little carrabina clip to hang it on tho - cool ones here shaped like animals & all flowery! Probably not much safety value when climbing though. So we walked lots more - didn't feel as tall as I expected, mainly because some blokes are normal height & most women seem to wear at least 3 inch heels. Went to Central library which is VERY Star Wars - even wired things gliding along tracks in the ceiling & disappearing through special ceiling/walll doors. 10 floors, massive, decent English section although it was mainly non-fiction, and only stocked 'learn Mandarin' books as that's what the government want. But everyone here speaks Cantonese, helpful! Also NOTHING on HK wildlife but they DID have everything the UK wildlife Trusts have published, ever. Got a shock in the loos - miniscule with knee height coat hooks etc, but am hoping that I went into the kids ones by mistake - odd symbols on the doors seemed to be using heads with school hats on instead of male/ female figures so I wasn't sure!
Wierd Star Trek lift to posh mall in Central HK which was mainly posh make-up outlets..zzzzzzzz
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Oh yeah - 1 big difference it took me a while to twig - especially for those of you in Norfolk/ Suffolk - 5 hours of walking through constant crowds and I saw ONE pregnant lady! OMG!!!! No longer in the teenage pregnancy capital of the world! Have been told the birth rate is falling so government is reversing its 1 kid policy (not that they seemed as strict on it here). Also, the few kids I did see looked EXHAUSTED, even the wealthy ones. I asked a friend of Petes who teaches local kids in an English speaking Kindergarten why, and she says she has real problems with HK parents. They expect all their kids, even under 3's, to stay awake until their parents return from work, even though many parents won't be home until after they have eaten too, 10pm! They don't put kids down to nap, and they don't spend enough time with them/ teach them eye contact which makes it very difficult to interact/ get the attention of toddlers. They DO expect essays etc from an early age and are SHOCKED if 3 year olds aren't writing complex sentences! (again - its not Lowestoft!!!). She says 90% of her classes fall asleep constantly, and have permanent dark circles under their eyes. She knows it isn't the heat as she originally worked for ex-pats schools here but prefers the local kids as they are much more polite, even though she has to teach them to look at her/ each other, which most ex-pat kids pick up already from their parents.
What else. Took a tram, Pete has to hunch over on the top floor and my head was on the ceiling. I kind of do & don't want to take a look in a Chinese Medicine shop. From the pavement I could already identify several deer & antelope horns and dried creatures, sorry Kate/ Em......but the other bits looked worse! All a bit odd after that, lots of covered but open (- HOT!) walkways connecting malls, streets etc but all 1 floor up, with traffic underneath - you never have to touch ground. It was about there I started coughing lots which didn't go down well. (Face mask required). Didn't really smell the pollution but it was hard to breathe! I aggree with Pete - if they actually switched off ALL the AC's I bet the temperature would plummet - pollution would drop too. Main bus station was hellish, undergound with ALL the empty doubledeckers parked up but still running. They did have some AC in them but more importantly, flat screen TVs showing AWFUL Cantopop videos!
So, my days at the moment......Pete leaves 7 ish to get the ferry from the beach, eats breakfast when he reaches Aberdeen. I try & sleep a bit more, usually get forced up by loud Chinese Opera (neighbours radio) or Landlord below us screaming (abuse? welcome?? I have no idea) at other locals. Or a very weird bird call - still not seen the bird but it sits in a tree accross the path and sounds like a hysterical turkey. Have toast. I then 'tidy' - no storeage/ shelves so is mainly re-stacking clothes on suitcase etc, attempt to clean. Try to ration my time on my laptop. Watch a film if its not too hot/ bright to see the wee TV in the spare bedroom (video Cds very cheap & OK quality if you can ignore the Cantonese subtitles. Plus I THINK I am picking up a few symbols). Generally I try & stay awake until after 7 pm when Pete gets back with a takeaway from Aberdeen. I would go & meet him but those hideous spiders hang on BOTH sides of the path & freak me out. Walking it in the dark is not great - just on the times I was with him, he has stood on poo, frogs (aww!), just missed something fast & furry, and accidentally crushed a snail the size of my hand (think it was a tiger snail, Kate? lightly striped shiny shell?) so I MUST dig out my maglite torch soon....So far mainly Pete mainly brings yummy stuff from his favourite Veggi cafe (not that you can tell its not meat half the time!). They do really nice potato salad here too - think it has fruit in it? And weird amazingly dayglo/ intricately shaped stuff in the bakeries to work my way through them to! Pete likes the glutinous rice balls but the stuff coated in clearish white jelly doesn't grab me.
Am trying to find a learn Cantonese course - loads online but want to get OUT. Hear its hard work- Peters neighbours/ friends all have 'a little' after 10+ years here! Met 2 who tried to learn to read it, and after lessons 3 days a week for 2 years gave up as they still didn't know enough characters to read a kids cafe menu. Worth a go though! Also I have a possible lead to some face-painting at a music fest tho difficult as they want me to have my own set up & all I have/ can carry here is my paints.....
Hope you are all well, hurry up & get up so I can Skype you!
Catx
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