Ordinary Gweilo

It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writing (mainly) about Hong Kong

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  • Scapegoats

    Now we have yet another report on the SARS crisis, and this one attributes blame to certain individuals (which the previous two did not), specifically Yeoh Eng-kiong, Lam Ping-yan, Leong Che-hung, Ho Shiu-wei and Chan Fung fu-chun.

    They have offered their apologies, but so far no-one has resigned. Many, including Simon, think that’s not good enough, and are expecting resignations from some or all of the people named in the report, though Chan Fung fu-chun has already left Hong Kong to take up a senior position in the World Health Organization. The prime candidate is obviously Enoch Yeoh Eng-kiong (Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food).

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  • Tunnel vision

    Henry is moaning about the increases in the tolls for the Western Harbour Crossing, questioning the intelligence of this when the tunnel is already operating significantly below capacity. I agree that it sounds odd, but I suppose that they are hoping that drivers will carry on using the tunnel and pay the higher tolls rather than finding an alternative. Given that the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (Hung Hom to Causeway Bay) is already much cheaper it seems doubtful that a small increase will cause many drivers to switch, so maybe this is the right strategy.

    The DAB organized a protest over the weekend – about twenty cars drove to the tunnel approaches and then turned round and went back. I suppose political parties feel the need to do things like this (especially with elections coming up), but it all seems a bit pointless. The tunnel is owned and operated by a private company, and the tolls are still below the figures approved by the government. I maintain my view that running a car is a luxury in Hong Kong, so I don’t have any sympathy for drivers on this one (especially as there are other tunnels available). If you can afford to run a car, you must be able to afford a few dollars extra each day in tunnel tolls.

    If you want to be frugal, I recommend the Star Ferry. Lower Deck, of course.

  • What’s the point?

    7:39 Thunder and lightning
    7:40 The Hong Kong Observatory issues a Thunderstorm Warning, effective until 8:40

    Two points
    (1) Not much of a warning, is it?
    (2) The thunderstorm lasted only a few minutes, but the warning lasts for an hour.

    The reason I care is that when there’s a thunderstorm warning they close the outdoor swimming pool.

  • Free advice

    Tempting as it is to buy things from Japan Home Centre (the $10 shop) because of the low prices, the stuff they sell is cheap for a reason. Don’t be fooled by the fact that most of their products have “Design by Japan” printed on them. Japan Chow is a 23 year-old Hong Kong resident who works with Guangdong factories finding ways to make everyday products as cheaply as possible.

  • Blown away

    tc_pos_12At the start of last week, Shaky was wishing Typhoon Mindulle on Hong Kong so that he could get a day off. Didn’t happen, and comparing the actual track of the storm with what the experts predicted is quite interesting – an even more spectacular miss than David Beckham’s:

    (click on the image to see it full size in a new window)

  • The doctor will see you now

    Having lived in Britain for many years, I was thoroughly indoctrinated with the line that the National Health Service (NHS) is the best healthcare system in the world, and when I went on holidays overseas I worried that if I fell ill I might have a very expensive brush with a local system that imposed charges. In the UK you don’t have to pay to see the doctor (though many people do have medical insurance so that they can see a specialist more quickly and be treated in a private hospital).

    Now I have lived in Hong Kong for several years I am quite accustomed to the idea that if you want to visit a family doctor (GP) you have to pay. Many people can them claim the cost back from their employers, but if you don’t have that benefit and can’t afford to pay out of your own pocket then there are public clinics (I think they do now charge, but much less than private doctors).

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  • 7-1: the numbers game

    I see we are back to the traditional argument between the organizers and the police about how many people joined yesterday’s march. The police say 200,000, the organizers more than half a million. Clearly there were fewer than last year, so on the face of it the higher numbers sounds unlikely, but I have always believed that the figure of 500,000 for last year was definitely on the low side.

    The same thing happens all over the world, I think. The organizers probably exaggerate somewhat, and the police always come up with low numbers. If the police were willing to accept* that around half a million marched last year, the true figure was probably somewhat higher, but the organizers were more than satisfied with the turnout so they had no reason to argue. Clearly the message got across and the government responded.

    [* UPDATE: it seems that the police estimate last year was 350,000, but the figure of 500,000 is now generally accepted. A lot more on estimating the numbers of people here]

    The exact numbers probably don’t matter too much – even if ‘only’ 200,000 people walked through the streets of Hong Kong that definitely sends a message, and the pictures of crowds gathering in Victoria Park and walking through Wan Chai create a strong impression. Plus it was peaceful and good-natured.

    I didn’t join the march yesterday, but I was there last year – and I say ‘there’ quite deliberately.

    In 2003, just getting to Causeway Bay was quite a challenge – in fact it almost seemed as if the MTR were trying to make it difficult for everyone. I’d be interested to know whether they laid on extra trains this year, because last year it was just about impossible to get on to the Island Line eastbound at Admiralty.

    By the time we got to Causeway Bay there was a large crowd of people waiting to get into Victoria Park. We joined the queue and spent several hours moving forward only a couple of hundred yards (around Paterson Street) only to discover that the police seemed to have given up on organizing the queue and other people were joining it further on. It certainly looked as if we would had to wait another couple of hours just to get into Victoria Park, so we gave up and went home. I know that people were still marching late into the evening, so we would have had our chance if we’d have been patient, but waiting any longer in the sweltering heat was just too much.

    This year they started the march early because there were so many people waiting to join, and I guess the whole thing was better organized. I suppose that last year the number of people was so much higher than expectations that it wasn’t surprising that there were a few problems, but at the time I felt quite upset at being unable to march. When I discovered how many people had marched and the impact of the turnout I didn’t feel so bad, and even though I spent my afternoon queuing in Causeway Bay at least I was there.

  • Eat less and lose weight

    I remember about five (?) years ago when both the English language terrestrial channels had basically the same schedule, anchored around a second-rate film at 9.30.  Then ATV World changed to a lineup that was based around documentaries, though they subsequently added more drama and a lot of sport (mainly horse racing).  Gradually, TVB Pearl has added more documentaries and drama and also cut back on the films.  So now the two channels once again have similar schedules!

    Pearl insist on creating themes for the programs they buy, including the so-called “MI 9-30” slot (they don’t seem to care that actually the programmes are transmitted at 9.35 or 9.40 rather than 9.30).  I have to give them credit for showing some interesting documentaries in this slot, usually from the BBC or Discovery Channel.

    This week they showed a BBC ‘Horizon’ documentary about the Atkins Diet that was first aired in the UK in January.  The programme got significant coverage at the time (here for example, registration required) because the diet has been regarded as something of a mystery scientifically.  How could people eat more and still lose weight?

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  • All you can eat (but no table)

    Expat@Large has a bizarre tale of buffet-eating in Singapore (at least I think it’s Singapore). I would certainly be upset if I left my table for a short while and came back to find a family of seven tourists sitting where I had been. Never happened to me, but if it did I think I’d be tempted to leave immediately, obviously without paying. After all, if they deny that it is your table then how can they give you the bill?

    When I was first in Hong Kong (and living in a hotel), I used to go to the buffet once or twice a week, and eat vast mountains of food before staggering back to my room to lie down. That was in the days when I seemed to be able to eat as much as I liked without putting on much weight, which sadly no longer seems to be the case any more (hence my interest in the Atkins diet – not that I have yet started following it).

    Buffets in upmarket Hong Kong hotels are quite something, and I don’t think I’d ever had anything similar prior to coming here. The problem is that after a few weeks it’s easy to get bored with them, because you eventually realize that actually the selection doesn’t change that much from day to day. The ubiquitous luxury items such as smoked salmon and oysters are there every day without fail, as are the salad items and the soup, and some form of roast meat (usually beef), plus the vast array of cake-type things.

    Do they still have fines in Singapore for people who take food from the buffet but don’t eat it? Does that still apply if they have given your table to someone else whilst you were filling up your plate?

  • Hong Kong fashions we don’t like (1)

    Now that the really hot weather is with us, one of the hazards of walking around on the street is catching sight of men wearing vests who have decided that they need to keep cool by exposing their stomachs. Needless to say, men who dress in this peculiar way tend to have large beer guts, which become all the more obvious when you see their vests folded up.

    For goodness sake, get a grip. If you want to be cool, take off the vest and then you won’t look like a complete idiot.