Don’t get me wrong I love the hustle and bustle of cities, but I still think that human beings, even long-time city dwellers like me, have an innate need to be surrounded by nature. Looking at a single tree at a street corner calms my mind and makes me happy.
Today, I had to cross the main thoroughfare in Lai Chi Kok, a street canyon lined with high-rise industrial buildings and office towers. While I stood on a pedestrian island waiting for green light, trucks, buses and cars whizzed by on three lanes before and three lanes behind me. The lady standing next to me covered her nose and mouth in a vain attempt to filter the fumes. The sun was beating down on us, no tree – not even a single weed – was in sight.
That’s when I remembered a picture I saw on a website this morning.
The wall is not covered in vines or creepers, it is a soiless system (metal frame, PVC, and felt layer) that lets root plants grow vertically. Patrick Blanc invented it, but by now there are othercompaniesaround the world that use comparable technologies for indoor and outdoor walls. Apart from looking beautiful, it has obvious environmental benefits. The buildings are better insulated, and the plants cool and clean the air.
I was standing in the middle of Lai Chi Kok, and imagining how it would be if the buildings around me were covered in ferns, flowers, and jungle plants… beautiful.
Why is no one doing it? Yeah, it cost money to have a vertical garden, but then property developers seem to have the budget to plaster buildings with expensive granite and marble inside and out. Plants would be so much better.
PS: Here is an article with many more examples of garden walls and buildings… off to water my balcony plants.
How could I forget Anthony Bourdain’s love declaration to Hong Kong yesterday? It’s the best travel show about Hong Kong I have seen so far. If you do a travel guide for this city you better show it’s obsession, culture, and love… FOOD.
It takes about 45 minutes to watch all 5 parts, but if you have a bit of time now or later, I promise you it’s worth it.
Part 1: The body builder restaurateurs and the angry hawker granny
Part 2: Handmade noodles, a ball-crushing art Part 3: Bliss in a North Point food court “I am so happy here” Part 4: Spicy typhoon shelter crab Part 5: Fighting for Dim Sum
I have a sweet tooth for cooking shows. Is there anything better than arm chair traveling around the world with a little salivating on the side?
APPETIZER
I can’t watch Food Safari without munching something myself. Maeve O’Meara, the presenter, has the best job there is. In every show, she eats herself through one of the “immigrant” cuisines of Australia, and in the process has eaten herself around the world. Thailand, Lebanon, Spain, Malaysia, Pakistan, Hungary…
I also love that she goes shopping and learns about essential ingredients before digging in.
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MAIN
Food is love, and Rick Stein shows how delicious it is. He travels around Great Britain and Continental Europe in search of simple, good, local food, and because his restaurant is located in a sea side town his show often features seafood. Mmmmmm!
DESSERT
It needs to be sweet, sticky, gooey, and full of chocolate.
“Who wouldn’t want this? Look at this ravishing… pool… of chocolate. It’s quite mesmeric.”
Oh yes, it is. Are there language courses that teach Nigella’s accent?
I just checked the interest rate my local bank is offering for US$ deposits. They pay a puny 0.5% for a 12 months fixed deposit (So, if you invest $100, you get a whopping 50 cents after one year).
I would give you part of my savings, if you give me the same deal. Ok, I don’t have $3 billion to invest like Mr. Buffet, but I bet there are other disenchanted Hong Kong savers who would love to do the same. Together we can drum up a substantial sum.
I would think that your company is a fairly save bet to invest in, because – let’s be honest – even if you and the rest of the management of General Electric screw up completely, your company is just too big to fail. If the US government provides $25 billion of low-interest loans to US car makers, they will likely do the same for you, if need arises.
I read that you plan to issue new common shares to raise more capital in the coming days. Sorry, but that’s just not good enough. I want perpetual preferred shares with a 10% dividend that can be exchanged to common shares later on, like Mr. Buffet gets. I would go down to 8%, but only if you throw in a free GE coffee maker (Hong Kong banks love to lure new customers with crappy appliances, which amuses me to no end).
And to HSBC Bank: You got to be kidding! I am more than fed up.
Ironically, Hong Kong is reguarly touted as the freest economy in the world (at least that’s what the local newspapers are writing), when in reality it is a place were oligarchies in key sectors can fleece the wider public without any intervention by the government. It’s a balancing act to achieve the right amount of regulation for an economy, but at the very least, shouldn’t there be a safeguarding of healthy competition and prevention of monopolies?
P.S: I may have found the perfect banks: Microplace, Kiva, MYC4
Please note that I have only just stumbled over these three microcredit organisations, and have not yet participated. If you have experience with any of them, I would love to hear from you. I understand that there are substantial differences among them in the way they operate.
