Interesting idea of the week (from the In Brief section of today’s Sunday Morning Post): Dog-friendly eateries wanted Hong Kong cannot claim to be an international city until dogs are allowed to join their owners at the restaurant table, Pets Central Asia said. The organisation began a campaign after being refused a licence for a dog-friendly restaurant. Chairman…

One of the more pleasant surprises for a newcomer to Hong Kong is the generous selection of public holidays scattered through the year, on what appear to a Westerner to be somewhat random dates. Today is Tuen Ng, on which it is traditional to eat glutinous rice and take part in (or more likely watch) Dragon Boat racing. …

According to the SCMP on Sunday (subscription required), KMB have delayed the withdrawal of non-aircon buses, originally scheduled for this year.  On a hot morning at the Tsim Sha Tsui bus terminus this week, the driver and passengers on the No5 bus were sweating profusely as the temperature reached 32 degrees Celsius – three degrees…

There is a curious story in the SCMP (subscription required) saying that the government will not allow Green Minibuses to add more seats: The government refused yesterday to consider allowing green-top minibuses to install more seats in an effort to cut peak-hour congestion, despite claims that the idea had wide support in the community.  The…

Yes, it’s that time of year again when you need to dress up warm – when you’re in the office: Today in Hong Kong, the temperature reached about 30 degrees Celsius. Inside our Central office, I wore a woollen sweater to keep warm. The aircon thermostats were turned down in some places as low as…

The SCMP reports that new 5-seater taxis are to be introduced in the New Territories (subscription required).  Battery-powered seven-seater vans will soon be introduced across the New Territories as a more comfortable alternative to the usual taxis, with the same fares, at least initially.  The chairman of the Taxi and Public Light Bus Concern Group,…

Octopus cards can be used very widely these days, but not to buy tickets on the MTR or KCR.  That might sound a bit daft, but what if you a travelling with someone who doesn’t have an Octopus card?  Why do you have to use cash to buy a ticket when you could use your…

One of the big stories in Hong Kong in the last week or so has been about mainland tourists being ripped-off in Hong Kong.  Well, what do they expect?  It’s a well-established tradition to take tourists to "special shops" that are specifically designed to part them from their money in return for over-priced merchandise, and…

Earlier this week I was reading this article (A con as big as the Ritz (part 1) part 2) from The Guardian about Elliot Castro, who managed to extract a lot of money from other people’s credit cards: I knew you needed a range of security information to back up any significant purchase on a…

If this (from a letter in the SCMP) is true, it’s scandalous: Hundreds die needlessly as the city’s bureaucrats dither I have just completed a two-year term as a member of the public liaison group for the Hong Kong fire and ambulance services. It was a rewarding experience, which I strongly encourage others to consider. As a non-speaker…