And so I was back in Malaysia, after the worse flight of my life turbulence-wise. It was like King Kong was trying to shake us out of the sky. Maybe it was a space lizard?
The leaving of Hong Kong was fun, with drinks on Friday night. I put in a request for the next job [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘Hong Kong’
February 8, 2010
Goodbye HK, Hello KL
February 2, 2010
Is that a Twix in your pocket?
In newsagents in Hong Kong condoms are sold in front of the counter in bright Durex packets of every colour, flavour and variety – a cornucopia of contraception, if you will.
This baffles me as I come from the UK, where that shelf space is usually reserved for chocolate bars; prophylactics (ahem), if they are [...]
January 25, 2010
On the south side: an afternoon in Stanley
“Eeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkk!”
The bus gives an alarming lurch as we swing round another corner, the driver seemingly with one foot hard onto the accelerator, the other just a forcefully applied to the brake. My hand, trying in vain to scribble in my notebook, swerves off the page again, providing another useful line of blue biro to add [...]
January 21, 2010
Fashionista
My life in Hong Kong has turned out so far to be more glamorous than one might expect of a homeless magazine intern with a pocket full of moths and exactly two contacts. The free flat, free lunches, the free drinks in cool Soho bars, the free gym membership…I was in freebie heaven even before [...]
January 17, 2010
Budd(a)ing commercialism
If there was an award for the most cynical place of worship ever then Po Lin monastery would win hands down. Situated on the Ngong Ping Plateau of Lantau island, Hong Kong, it is home to one of the world’s biggest Buddha statues (over 24 metres tall and weighing more than 2 tonnes). It’s also [...]
January 17, 2010
Health and safety inspector
Hong Kong officials are obsessed with public health and safety. Every conceivable risk has been identified and then warned against. Every activity seems fraught with danger, if you take the time to read all the millions of signs dotting every public (and many private) walls.
It occurred to me today when I was on the Hong [...]
January 16, 2010
Light not so fantastic
Hongkongers call this time of year Bitter Moon as the city is at its coldest in the few weeks before Chinese New Year. So why was I perched on a wall by a very cold harbour in the path of an arctic breeze? To see the sound and lightshow, of course. Hong Kong’s unique display [...]
January 15, 2010
Learning to walk
I have decided that Hong Kong is like London, except with more interesting and effective public transport. Travel here not only includes tube (MTR) and bus, but old-fashioned trams and the futuristic ‘travelator’ – an escalator that takes people down from the hilly suburbs in the morning and takes them back in the afternoon.
Most of [...]
January 13, 2010
Apartmental
I’ve got a flat! Well, it’s not mine – just a loaner until next week – but I don’t think I have ever been happier about anything ever in my life, ever. Living in the Hong Kong hostel system had me at the end of my tether, and if I had to spend another consecutive [...]
January 11, 2010
Corporate Barbie
So, it has come to this. Chucking in life on the open road to write for in-flight magazines in the unrelenting urbanity of Hong Kong. Is it the ultimate sell out…returning to the office after 8 months of freedom as intrepid freelancer? Or is it just common sense?
Although I have loved the easy-going mornings, the [...]
