I promise, the end of Portugal

OK. I think this is it, the last of the Portugal photos, but I couldn't resist.



This is from Lisbon.

Watch out for the ICY machines

Eric and I were out on Friday night in Causeway Bay (area of HK) at Times Square (big mall), and Eric captured this great site. From the front, things look fairly normal, right? It's one of those icy machines that you see at 7-eleven...



But when the smell hits you, you know something is different.



Yum. Egg drop soup. Practical...yes. Disgusting...yes. And, no, we did not partake.

The Cool Comfort of a Coconut

Crack it open and stick a straw in it! The all natural coconut drink.



I had never had a coconut like this before last weekend. It was slightly sweet, really cool, and downright refreshing on a sunny afternoon at a Thai restaurant in Stanley. On an aside, I have no idea what those lines are on my hands. I am wrinking but not like that.

Uphill Climb

I wouldn't consider myself out of shape, but the inclines and heat of HK can be a struggle sometimes. It's usually about the time that these things start to get to me as I am walking back home that I get humbled.



This humbling can come in many forms, but usually it is delivered by a person standing half my size, width, or both.

Half my size. Hunched over from osteoporosis, trudging up the side of the street pulling a little cart, little old ladies can be a force with which to be reckoned. Heads down, direction set, taxis regularly steer clear of these street obstacles. Anyone with a cart uses the street in an effort to avoid the many stairs that occupy the sidewalks, and thus speed their transit. I am saddened and amazed when I come by one of these women; saddened for the deformity that has struck them and amazed for the vigor with which they attack the world anyway.

Half my width. The sticklike figures that are the backbone of HK daily life include trash men, water delivery people, and a horde of other cart and satchel-clad personnel. For hours on end, they tote things up and down the streets, hallways, stairs, and elevators of HK, and are often the first people out in the morning. With none of the protective gear visible that has become the standard for such laborious activities in the U.S., these literal backbones of the society attack their activities with a conviction that will hopefully be matched with increased safety protections and time off in the future.

There is No Logic

Move around the world.

3 story house to...
a 2 bedroom apartment.

You'd be amazed at the silly things that would strike you as being logical to make the trip.

Cases in point.


This antique mahagony chest of drawers miraculously arrived in one piece and with only a small amount of damage. It weighs several hundred pounds and was brought down the hill to our apartment on a little four-wheel scooter resembling the toys that I used to ride in gym class - turtles, I think we called them.


I shipped paper boxes, empty, wrapped in newspaper and packed inside moving boxes. You know, the boxes that fold out to make storage containers. That makes so little sense it's even hard to describe. When the mover was unpacking us, he opened the box and said, "Now that's funny."

Weiner Dogs and Chinese Warriors

Something about this scene just caught me as funny. I was always looking for that one store that sold weiner dog and Chinese warrior statues! My search is over!



This post goes out to my good friend, Justin, who is a bit of weiner dog fanatic.

Shaking Leg Syndrome

I am a shaker. Leg that is. Always have been, and likely always will be. You know what I am talking about. Some call it nervous energy; other just call it annoying. But whatever it is, apparently in HK, shaking the leg is not considered polite.

I learned this by way of one of my friends, Kim, who recently started a new job here in HK after relocating from Chicago. For the past several weeks, we've been getting updates from Kim on her new work environment. After one of Kim's co-workers "talked" to her about her problem, Kim initially thought, because of language barriers, that it was just bad to wear white pants, but nope, it was her leg shaking that was causing offense. Apparently, leg shaking can be taken as a sign that you are showing off wealth because as you shake your leg, coins might be in your pocket and make noise. While Kim had no coins in her pockets, the unrealized gesture still had hidden cultural meaning for her coworker. Luckily, this was all cleared up so Kim's white capris are in the free and clear.

I don't know when this assoication began in Hong Kong, but it's not one that surprises me. HK, like most other countries that I've visited around the world, seems to be much more heavily reliant upon the coin rather than the paper bill. Penny, nickel, dime, and quarter make up the orchestrated jingle-jangle of the U.S. pocket (most commonly) while here in HK, we have $10, $5, $2, $1, 50c, 20c, and 10c coins with paper notes for $1,000, $500, $100, $50, $20, $10. All of these denominations are common and have been in my pocket since arriving.

So here they are in all their splendor - a sampling of HK's currency.













A couple of interesting items of note:

• US$1 = ~HK$7.8
  
• Credit cards work here just like in the U.S., and in fact, credit cards are the easiest means of transactions internationally (when accepted). There are no special charges, like when converting money, and can be paid easily through U.S. banks.
• A cash-less society seems closer here than anywhere I have been. The Octopus, HK's electronic transportation pass, is accepted at almost all convenience type settings around the city.
• HK and China still maintain separate currencies.