Ordinary Gweilo
It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writiing (mainly) about Hong Kong
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Category: Life in Hong Kong
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Comedy shopping moment. Went to buy an MP3 player. The assistant showed me one, it looked suitable and the price was reasonable, so I said ‘OK’ and started to reach for my wallet. However, before I could put my credit card on the counter, the assistant sprang into action: "I offer you the best price"…
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No surprise there, then. The ESF has announced that they have made some fairly minor adjustments to the new salary packages for teachers to take effect next September. ESF chief executive Heather Du Quesnay said staff and parents had played a significant role in helping the foundation make changes to the proposal. "These changes have…
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Fumier can be quite amusing, but when he ventures on to more serious subjects I usually disagree with him (very politely, of course), but I have to agree with him that ESF teachers are doing themselves no favours by letting Julian Harniess represent them in trying to stop the ESF from cutting their salaries. There…
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The government has said that it has no plans to foce mobile phone operators to extend their coverage throughout country parks. Predictably enough, politicians have been making a fuss about this. Ten years ago, most people didn’t have mobile phones, calls were expensive and coverage was patchy. That has all changed, and now we expect…
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Last week’s Sunday Morning Post had an exceptionally silly news story claiming it was no longer fashionable for local Chinese women to have Gweilo boyfriends, accompanied by all manner of tosh about the difficulty of cross-cultural relationships. They quoted from a newspaper column written by Chip Tsao, who had plenty of rude things to say…
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Both the Standard and the SCMP report on the games played by Hong Kong property developers. From the SCMP (subscription required): Cheung Kong (Holdings) executive director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung says prices for mid-end properties have peaked for the next six months, after the developer slashed prices on some high-floor units in its latest Tseung Kwan…
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Hot Weather + No Wind = Horrible air quality I work in a largely industrial area, and the fumes from lorries queuing up in the street (so that they can load or unload) make it even more unpleasant. Even going indoors doesn’t always help – my lunch today came with a side serving of petrol…
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Wanbro thinks they are the Chinese version of a Cornish Pasty. No, no, pork pies. [Yes, I’m still here, and no I don’t have any time. Soon, soon. Or later.]
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Has anyone reading this ever complained about a taxi driver in Hong Kong? I had a very bad experience with one driver, who asked me (in Cantonese) which way I preferred to go. Being an idiot, I gestured to indicate that it was up to him to decide. What I hadn’t figured on was the…
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Hong Kong Disneyland sounds as if it will be great. Two articles from Friday’s SCMP offer some reasons. First Bernard Chan’s account of a visit to the park: Hong Kong people who are worried that the new Disneyland represents only western culture can relax. After attending a rehearsal day last weekend, I can assure them…
Ordinary Gweilo 