Foxymoron

The Macau trip

Visiting Macau was one of the things on my "Things To Do Before I leave Asia" list so I was happy to take the ferry trip to Hong Kong's western neighbour yesterday. The city is best known for its casinos and with new investors from overseas, it is rapidly growing into its title as the "Las Vegas of Asia."

Most Hong Kongers will tell you there's  not much to do in Macau ("Oh Moon" in Cantonese) outside of gambling, eating and visiting prostitutes. I was only interested in eating and eat we did!

Lunch at Seng Chong: crab congee and banana pepper salt fried fresh shrimp. Dinner at Fernando's: roasted chicken with salad (and red wine and sangria). We also managed to try some durian ice cream in between. Durian is the infamous smelly fruit that many love to hate or hate to love. I thought I fell under the latter category, but it turns out I'm of the former group.

I wish it didn't me more than year to visit Macau because it's a good place to go for a relaxing time away from the more chaotic Hong Kong. As usual, I enjoyed the cultural mix in food and street-level culture. Mmm food...

In the aeroplane over the sea

The vacation's over and I've safely arrived in Hong Kong. It's nice to be here, although I miss the obvious people. But HK's got its good qualities too. I've even sort of missed it.

One photo was taken moments after my flight took off from Toronto's Pearson International Airport, the other was taken moments before landing at Hong Kong International Airport. Can you guess which is which? I know it's not hard...

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Bright Eyes - Another Travelin' Song

Spirits of the West

I've had a good final week here in Toronto. Maggie and I did the old lady thing on Tuesday and took a road trip to the Niagara Region (which I may recount with photographs later on). There were beaches, gnomes, slot machines, bad family restaurant food, the Sky Wheel and highway construction. It was awesome.

On Friday, the Gang of Losers took over section 527 of the Skydome (I will never submit to the "Rogers Centre") and helped the Jays kick Royal ass with slow claps and our superb wave skills. Unfortunately, we were one strikeout away from getting free Pizza Pizza pizza. There were no dancing fruits either, but we surprisingly made it through all nine innings without a moment of boredom. Go Jays!

Last but not least, I saw my good friend Trudie get married on Saturday. We've known each other since we were 12-years-old. It was a lovely wedding and reception made even more beautiful with an open bar and the random break dancing circle late in the evening. She and her new husband, Keith are now in St. Lucia having a well-deserved "rest." Congratulations!

Three weeks in Toronto and my body is deteriorating. It's the vacation attitude that says yes to beer, dessert, French fries instead of salad — and the Swiss, oh, the Swiss. At the ripe age of 26, I fear the best days of partying, eating and carelessness are behind me. It doesn't help that I drive everywhere here in suburbia. Just two more days of vacation and I'll go back to my healthier lifestyle of exercise and more conscientious eating in Hong Kong.

These so-called vacations will soon be my death...

Spirit of the West - Home for a Rest
Chantal Kreviazuk - Green Apples (for the new married couple)

Photographs to come. I left my USB cable in Hong Kong...

Am I making something worthwhile out of this place?

Next month, I'll celebrate my one-year anniversary as a Hong Kong dweller. And because of that I've been thinking and reading about traveling lately. I'm in the middle of Alain De Botton's The Art of Travel and just started Anthony Bourdain's The Nasty Bits. It's Bourdain who perfectly describes the overwhelming feeling of being away from home and experiencing new places:

My pal A. A. Gill once suggested that the older he gets, and the more he travels, the less he knows. And I know what he means now. Seeing the planet as I’m seeing it, you are constantly reminded of what you don’t know—how much more there is to see and learn, how damn big and mysterious this world is.

Azure Ray - Displaced
Janet Jackson - Runaway

Photo: the view from a friend's flat in Discovery Bay. I like how the Kowloon and Hong Kong skyline blends into one.

On My Way...

I booked my flight today. I fly out (via Tokyo and Chicago) on August 6th, the day after my birthday.

Toronto's skyline may not be as impressive as Hong Kong's, but it's not about the tallest building, the brightest lights or the amount of money put into it all. It's about the quality of life and although the GTA has its own battles, I see the green grass on Centre Island, the cloud dotted blue sky and imagine the familiar faces inside the buildings, I think there is where I want to be. Not permanently, not now. Maybe not even in a year. But Toronto is home and always will be and I will one day return for good. In the meantime, I'm already imaginging the great city with all of its wonderful tastes and smells I've missed this year. Oh, let's not forget about the sounds...

Broken Social Scene - Our Faces Split the Coast in Half

King Cobb Steelie - Lady Toronto

Matthew Good Band - Running for Home

Art Now in China

Back from Beijing with a slightly clearer head despite the sand/dirt/shit-infested air there. Last year, my trip to China was about seeing history. This time around, I saw more of the city's present culture. Beijing may be less developed than Hong Kong, but the SAR lags behind when it comes to the arts. I'm not talking about showing famous artists in galleries (that's just part of it). I'm talking about developing talent from an early stage to nurture the city's place in the global cultural landscape. This can be applied to the visual arts and music. I can't comment on dance or theatre since my knowledge in those fields are limited, but I suspect it's the same.

My host took me to Dashanzi Art District. There, the military buildings turned art galleries are home to some contemporary Chinese artistst. For the most part, the art didn't impress me. But I thought it was interesting to see Chinese artists use Western techniques. I wonder if the subpar technique is due to the little access to Western art that the Chinese have had until recently. Regardless, it was nice to feel and see something happening. What it is exactly is unclear.

Although there are many things I love about Hong Kong (the ability to communicate, convenience, not having to jaywalk through eight lanes of traffic, quirks, better food), I found myself jealous of Beijing. Despite the smelly squat toilets, air pollution, spitting and rudeness, Beijing is cooler than Hong Kong. Beijing is the poor unclean bohemian, who although schizophrenic, is about to make some brilliant artistic breakthrough. Hong Kong is the emotionally stable and attractive yet self-indulgent banker. Would I prefer to be an unclean schizophrenic bohemian over an emotionally stable attractive banker? I'm not sure, but I would definetly prefer talking to the former over the latter.

If you go to Beijing, check out Bed Tapas and Bar. Decent mojitos, nice staff, great decor of traditional Chinese furniture, minimalistic concrete "stuff" in the Hutongs and they were spinning the Lazy Dog discs on Sunday night.

Photo: A "shop" in Dashanzi's 798 Factory turned Gallery building. The woman was selling art books.

Beijinging

I'm in Beijing right now, getting away from Hong Kong for a few days. It's the first trip away from the city since I moved there. Beijing isn't exactly a relaxing vacation. The toilets alone stress me out. And the traffic! But still, I'm having a good time just discovering the indie scene (for better or for worse) and enjoying the company of my good host, Erin.

I would post more photos but unfortunately, I think my digital camera is near it's death, or at least needs some medical attention. It's only seeing black, so I guess it's lost its eye-sight in its old age (but it's not even three years old). If you'd like to contribute to the camera fund, I accept cash and personal cheques.

In the meantime, check out the fabulous new Joyce Is Not Here website. I hear she's working on a blog too so look forward to that in the near future.

Pho Please

This week marks six months of living/working in Hong Kong. It's been a great half year and I've not regretting coming here one bit. I won't get into how long I plan to stay. Plans change and I don't have much of a plan. That said, while I'm here on this side of the world, I really ought to take the opportunity to get out of the SAR and see Asia-Pacific.

There are some great flight deals right now and I'm tempted to spend a few days elsewhere. Maybe in the spring I'll go explore. Right now, I'm thinking Vietnam. Everyone goes to Thailand, I've been to China and I can't get the images, tastes and smells that Anthongy Bourdain writes about in A Cook's Tour, out of my head. Also, Zach my co-worker who has travelled around the world and visited (almost?) all the communist countries, says it's his favourite. I don't have anyone to travel with yet, but I'm hoping Bourdain might be free. I want to travel with someone laid back and appreciates good food, including street food without fear.

(Speaking of Bourdain, which one of you has my copy of A Cook's Tour?)

I'm afraid of American Airlines

By "afraid" I actually mean I hate American Airlines. You'd hate them too if your flight to Chicago was cancelled and led you to miss your Japan Air flight to Tokyo. I did make my Tokyo to Hong Kong flight thankfully, but only after a Tokyo Narita employee guided me and four other passengers through the airport. There was running and cursing (in my head) and it all felt very Amazing Race, except at the end of the long day there was no hope for $1 million, just the bad news that they (AA) lost/left my luggage somewhere in between Toronto and Tokyo.

So, thanks to my incompetent airline, I'm wearing the same clothes today as I did during my 30 hours of travelling. Somehow, I've managed to fight off jetlag and adapted to the time changes. The scary moment of the day was when I tried to cross the street. In Hong Kong, because there are so many pedestrians, there are often underground cross-overs at large intersections. I forgot about that and almost killed myself trying to get to the bus stop. Thankfully, I've made it to work.

So hello everyone back home, I've made it to Hong Kong in one piece. I'll send you all e-mails with my contact information very soon. By that, I mean as soon as I remember what my phone number is. I love you and miss you all very much.

Hong Kong

Everyone's been asking me "how was your trip?" and I've felt pressure to reply with an enthusiastic "Great!" But the fact is, Hong Kong isn't my type of city. Despite it's glorious food, towering skyscrappers, plentiful shopping and the most efficient public transportation system I've experienced, I don't love Hong Kong. I don't love it like I love San Francisco or New York. Those cities make me feel alive. Hong Kong, on the otherhand, makes me feel uncomfortable. It's not because of the overpowering heat and humidity, it's its emphahsis on appearances, wealth and commerce. It's just so...well, superficial.

My good friend Connie, who has lived in Hong Kong for a year now, put it best: "Canadian malls have The Gap and Old Navy. Hong Kong malls have Prada and Gucci." I prefer vintage shopping and even though Con's always had expensive tastes, she admits life on the island has made her more superficial. She just cares more about how she looks now, which isn't that bad.

Having said all of the above, I do respect Hong Kong very much. As I wrote in my travel blog, my roots are in Hong Kong. My parents and their parents grew up there. It's a land with a fascinating history, one that explains why it's a city built on those superficialities. It's also a city where there's a lot of opportunity for a university graduate (x2), native English and Cantonese speaker like me. So, despite our differences, I'm going back to Hong Kong next month. I've taken a three-month internship at The Standard starting mid-July. I was skeptical at first since I had JUST returned from Hong Kong. But the truth is, there isn't much here in Canada for new journalism grads like me. I'm 24 and I can't afford to do another non-paying internship. So here I go...