This Just In...

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news of the weird for the start of Autumn, Hong Kong style...

On Saturday, a woman walking her 44 pound dog on a trail in Hong Kong struggled to save him from a 14 foot Burmese python. As the python began strangling the dog, the woman pounded on the snake with her foot and the snake let go of the dog and slithered away. Remember those Hong Kong hikes I used to go on?...apparently snakes aren't the only recreational hazard--there are wild monkeys, boars, cats and other creatures who inhabit the hills and mountainous regions of Hong Kong--over 1/2 of the Hong Kong territory is nature preserve...watch where you step.

Results of an experiment by Chinese University of Hong Kong released this week reveals that 90%!o(MISSING)f the dried crocodile sold in Hong Kong is actually dried lizard or snake...hey, i want my money back...

The movie Batman starring Christian Bale is arriving in Hong Kong next month to film some scenes in the Mong Kok area--at one time (and maybe still) the most densely populated area on the planet. The government is requesting maximum advance warning to minimize traffic jams and disruptions to the otherwise frenetic and chaotic heart of central Kowloon--holy over-reaction, Batman!

A man is furious when he misses the minibus to work on Monday. He runs after it, knocking on the door but the driver does not stop. The man then chases the bus in a taxi for several miles. He confronts the driver, the police arrive and the case is resolved when the driver apologizes..."OK, you were late for work again because why"?!

Johnny Chung, the senior bartender of the Peninsula Hotel for the past 50 years, tells the story of when Clark Gable ordered a screwdriver at the bar. Cocktails were not popular back then in Hong Kong, so Johnny brought Mr. Gable a real screwdriver, literally...Johnny said Clark was a patient man, though, and taught him to make his first screwdriver (the drink) with orange juice, vodka and six ice cubes in a glass...now THAT'S a story!

on a personal note of 'news of the weird' this week, I read 3 or 4 online newspapers when I wake up in the morning. Imagine my bleary-eyed surprise to recognize my storage complex containing every meager possession of mine in this world as the front page news of my hometown newspaper with the caption "storage complex engulfed by fire"...a jolt better than caffeine...my brother assessed the scene later that day after a frantic call from me and the damage was contained to the opposite end of the complex from my unit...do I get a rental discount now?!

This week was made for more memories with the mid-Autumn festival! I had a wonderful traditional family meal with the Yues and we took a cable car ride through the night streets of Hong Kong, searching for the moon. The lantern festival in the park was attended by 200,000 and I tried my first mooncake. It was like a very thick fig newton, just lotus seed paste where the fig usually is (photo provided). Hideko prepared a wonderful meal for me at her home in Whampoa Gardens, home of the giant cruise ship that now houses a mall--HK's ingenious capitalism at work!

The horse races were great with Atsuko (visiting from Kyoto), Matt, Azumi, and Anthony. We dined from the roof of the race course and Azumi won HK$82 on Red Wine Honey in the 8th race! I realized that my chi was blocked when I missed my chance to bid on a horse in the last race of the day that paid off HK $322/$1 (that's about $40/$1). I only pick horses by their names and I should have recognized the destiny when he and I share what I consider to be my nickname...FAT DRAGON

And that's just one week, folks! Happy Autumn!

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Comments

[sharon]

Hi!
I miss you so much, girl, but when I get your blogs, I feel close to you. How are the graduation plans going? Let me know. Love ya.