Most of the products that are exported from China to Europe go by boat.  Yes, some go by air, but that’s an expensive option. Yesterday an agreement was signed to set up a regular freight train service that will take 18 days to get from Beijing to Hamburg, less than half the time it takes…

Happy New Year and all that. Another 12 months of rubbish to come…

I see that Time magazine are insisting that their decision to make Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin their “Person of the Year” should not be regarded as an accolade: TIME’s Person of the Year is not and never has been an honor. It is not an endorsement. It is not a popularity contest. At its best, it…

It seems as if it’s impossible to sign up for a credit card or a pay-tv or broadband service – or almost anything which requires a long-term contract – without getting a free gift.  Banks give stuff away if you meet certain criteria (my favourite current offer is the one gives you a free plane…

If you move from the UK to Hong Kong, many things about driving can seem very familiar (driving on the left, road signs and markings, etc.).  This can be deceptive. One obvious difference is that in the UK (and many other countries), on-street parking is allowed everywhere except where there are restrictions (normally indicated by…

I think it must be time to take a short break, and rather than simply leaving the last few posts sitting there for most of August, I thought I would put together a brief summary of what I write about here and maybe encourage you to take a look around. Naturally, I write quite a lot about Life in Hong Kong, on subjects such…

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What does it mean?  How can anyone be “Motivated by trees and fish”.  Aren’t there some words missing from that sentence?  Anyway, here’s the letter in full from today’s SCMP, and a small prize for someone who can tell me what it means: Motivated by trees and fish I wish to reply to a number…