It’s strange. I feel infinitely more secure here than I felt in Dubai. We moved in our house about a week ago. I love the house. It’s surrounded by jungle on two sides, the neighbors are nice, it’s comfortable but not pretentious.
I am sure we made a ruckus when we moved in. Hundreds of boxes, lots of men hoisting stuff up to the second floor. Everyone noticed that we arrived.
A few days ago, I hung laundry on the roof top terrace (sweeping views of the mountains and the sea). I looked at the banana trees of my neighbor at the hill behind my house. They looked beautiful. I heard a noise. I looked more intently. There were two men among the banana trees. One looked me straight into the eyes.
He was surprised and afraid. Then he and his mate hurried off, up the hill.
“What was that about?” I thought. Why are they hurrying off? Were they stealing bananas? Yeah. Ok. They were stealing bananas.
There were other strange little signs: a reclining chair in a different place on the terrace, strange marks in the wet ground in the garden.
Then yesterday in the morning I came downstairs. I was greeted by “We have been robbed!” Now all the little strange signs made sense.
They came in through the sliding door on the first floor balcony (easy to open), went downstairs, took two laptops, mobile phones, wallets, and a few backpacks to carry the loot away. Then they exited through the kitchen window. Ten days after we moved in. Welcome!
They had observed us for a few days, found the easiest way in, made a quick sweep while we were snoring loudly.
None of the loot was strictly mine. It belonged to little man (laptop and school backpack) and his father (laptop, mobile phones, wallets, backpack). Which makes me think. I am more paranoid. I had a strange feeling. I am more careful. My stuff was not lying around.
I had, and still have, a very good feeling about the house, despite the fact that burglars went into our house in the wee hours and robbed us while we were asleep.
But I also had a feeling of paranoia, a feeling of being observed since we moved in. Call it female intuition. So my laptop and my mobile phone were beside my bed, not downstairs, and my wallet was in a drawer, not lying open on the dining table. It was just a feeling, nothing concrete.
We called the police. Neighbors asked what was going on, and we learned that it is fairly common. Gangs of men come by boat from Mainland China to Hong Kong. They set up tent camps in the nature reserves and spy on houses in the more rural, out of the way areas of Hong Kong. We were easy picking. Just moved in, inexperienced, no curtains yet, sliding doors not yet secured. The economy is bad, Chinese New Year is coming up (gifts to give), thresholds are low.
Now we know that our neighbors have been robbed too (some of them several times).
The result is an arms race. How can we secure our houses? Neighbor up the hill has turned his house into Fort Knox. More locks, a security system, cameras.
I wish we could leave the doors open. I wish people would respect our belongings. The loss of money is bad, but worse is the loss of privacy and the hassle. Some people draw their curtains very tight. I wish I could leave the terrace door and curtains open and not worry.
In Dubai no one robbed our house, but much worse things happened. It’s the story of little man’s father, who had terrible experiences in his workplace. I am only the third party witness, but I think he could turn his experience into a John Grisham book… and it would become a bestseller.
Here in Hong Kong we called the police. We had no hesitation about calling the police. They came and asked us what had happened. They looked for and found fingerprints. We were the victims and had absolutely no fear to be turned into the culprits. In Dubai, after all what happened there, we would have carefully thought about the pro and cons of calling the police. I think we would have decided against it.
I feel infinitely more secure here, and that feeling of security makes me feel at home. I know who to turn to. Calling 999 means help.
The year in Dubai was not a positive experience, but it taught me what to be thankful of. Hong Kong is a much better place.
Once upon a time a grown-up (definitely not a young innocent maiden) returned to the land of the seven dragons at the tip of China at the beautiful South China Sea ( although I would not swim in it).
She found a house she fell in love in on first sight. First sight involves feelings, gut feelings. It was surrounded by lush, green hills and had a beautiful view. A rental contract was signed despite a few shortcomings of the house. Then, when the landlord was due to sign the contract, he claimed that he had received a better offer. Alarms bells rang inside cinderella’s head. She wondered if she should bite into the apple. She did, because the alternatives were not as nice. They didn’t have a garden, they didn’t have a view. Although she knew that the landlord was an evil knight, a contract was signed.
Today, cinderella had a third look. THE MASTER BATHROOM HAS NO DOOR. Honestly, I didn’t notice during the first two visits. Because in my mind it was not something I thought was important to pay attention to. I was counting on it. But today I had to pee urgently and when I wanted to close the door there was none. WTF?
It’s the only bathroom on that floor. It has a bathtub, it has a beautiful shower, two wash basins, and a loo. It does not have a door. Am I getting old? Am I too conservative?
I have invited my parents to visit. My Dad can’t walk a lot, so the bathroom on the floor where he sleeps should have a door. Although my Dad is pretty cool about such things, if need be he pees against a tree, my Mum on the other hand…
The neighbors seems nice, the view is stunning, it’s located a bit out of the way… over the seven hills… I hope no seven dwarfs will knock on my door asking to have a pee.
Thank you all for your kind Christmas messages. We arrived in Hong Kong a couple of days ago after being stuck in a snow storm in Beijing for more than six hours, where we transferred. We were the lucky ones, others had to camp in the transit lounge for several days. Apparently, it was the heaviest snow fall in Beijing in 60 years.
I am busy house hunting, but yesterday I squeezed in a visit to M. at the quarantine facility.
His “jail” cell is very nice, but of Hong Kong proportions: a small glass closet with shelving and several boxes to cozy up in along the walls. The employees are very nice, and M. seems to be ok, just a bit bored.
Little Man and I said goodbye to Hong Kong this week. Seeing your previous life packed up wasn’t easy, but luckily we were too busy to get sentimental. The packers needed a whole day to pack our belongings into boxes, and afterwards I was surprised how small the apartment looked. The furniture and clutter made it look big and full of life, after it was gone, it was a tiny, empty, worn-out shell.
This is for you astronaut and for me:
It can hold a pregnant woman in labour.
Yesterday, little man and I woke at 2 am local German time. We used the early hour to craft “Cutie the Beauty” for Oma and Opa’s Christmas tree.
She is made out of scrap paper, has wonderful blue wings, and little man is especially proud of her goldie locks.
Santa Claus visited us already, and I hope he arrives at your home in time :). I wish you all a Peaceful and Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2009!
I already had one in blue, and now I have one in pink too. The blue one was already pretty nifty. It’s a reusable shopping bag from a supermarket here in Hong Kong. It has become my favorite shopping bag, because it has about the same size and shape as a normal plastic bag, and is very convenient to carry. Other reusable bags were dangling around my legs or too heavy when filled up. It also comes with a little pouch to store it in.
Using the blue bag was making me already feel pretty good, but the pink one is even better. A percentage of the sales price went to the Hong Kong cancer fund to support breast cancer research and supporting services. I think that’s a wonderful idea, and more supermarkets should copy it.
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 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.
Uh oh, our 20+ floor building is gently swaying in the big breeze, which still makes me a tad nervous after more than ten years of sometimes living in the eye of the storm. Water is seeping in from windows and air-cons, and is keeping little man and me busy with changing towels and buckets. Thankfully, he sees it as an adventure. He is only disappointed that the typhoon came at night and not during the day. A day off from school would have been so much better.
The picture is from earlier in the day. Now, we are right at the center of the storm. For more up-to-date pictures go here.
PS: One of my earliest post on my blog, more than two years ago (wow, time flies!), was about the typhoon experience in Hong Kong. Then it narrowly missed us, this night it seems to be a full hit.
If you see your life as an adventure and from a distance, at least once a while, it becomes much more enjoyable.
Because the risks and downsides that your security loving and rational mind can’t cope with become much more palatable. That’s the state I am in, and I have decided to just go with the flow. If I am not too lazy, I will write a book when I am 83, and enable my grandchildren to live off the royalties.
So, the landlord of our 1,350 square feet flat just send us a letter. He wants double the rent we are paying now. He asks for US$3,600. Expats in Hong Kong will now say “Wow, that’s still cheap!” (maybe not, if they work for Lehman Brothers Asia), the rest of the world says “Are you sure you got the numbers right?”.
I am just stunned. Rents are falling, the flat needs renovation, how stupid the landlord thinks I am?
I don’t know what to do, but on thing is for sure I will not pay US$3,600 every month for this flat (leaking pipes, out-of-order aircons, peeling paint, non-closing windows, kitchen and baths in dire need of renovation) even if it has been our home for the last seven years.
And I need a job that pays rent, little man’s school fees, and allows us to eat. The trouble is that the only field I have qualifications in is in dissolution at the moment.
