Thursday, November 29, 2007
Hacked Hardware
Up until now in Hong Kong, I've used a very cheap cel phone, quite thick, not a lot of features and generally outdated. But yesterday, Sunny, my coworker, worked some hacker magic and somehow unlocked my TMobile phone that I use in the states. I am now recieving calls to my HK number with my US phone. As a bonus, it's not a contractual thing like in the US, I pay as I go.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving Bullets
The American holiday of Thanksgiving is a work day in Hong Kong. A turkey dinner would have really hit the spot, but I settled for a steaming bowl of spicy beef ramen at my local Ajisen. Not a whole lot going on, just a few thoughts rollin' around in ol' duder's head lately:
-In Thailand, I purchased a less than reputable copy of the movie Babel. Apparently it was burned from a Thai DVD, as some of the graphic scenes were edited or blurred out. Plus, every time someone drank alcohol or smoked something, a Thai warning appeared at the top of the screen. Until I can find out a proper translation, I will assume it is something like, "Please refrain from emanating the behavior you see displayed here. These are professional actors whose questionable morals allow them to act in such a way. Shame on you for watching them. Long live the King."
-Following the NBA via the internet is not the best, but it's better than nothing. We are at the point of the season where the talking heads offer their biggest surprises/disappointments of the season so far. My dad, brother and I each offered analysis of the upcoming season a few weeks back and my pick was none other than the Orlando Magic. I flipped on ESPN World this morning and NBA Fast Break was on. A segment where the commentators picked the biggest surprises so far came on and Jamal Mashburn picked, yes, the Orlando Magic. As of today, they are 10-3. They stayed with the Spurs in San Antonio today, but couldn't keep up in the 4th quarter.
-A week from Sunday, the Wanchai Hash Hourse Harriers will set off on a run on a trail that I've set. I am the nominated Hare. I was slightly stressed last week when both of the locations I was planning on running in were used very recently in trails we ran, so me recycling them on my run is not an option. So I flipped on Google maps and picked a subway station with a lot of green around it: Choi Hung.
- Choi Hung: A few hours of work wrapped up and I left my house and got a bus out to the area. I had been out here a few days earlier and inspected some good trails. It gets dark around 6pm these days, so when I hopped up on a rise and followed a trail up into the trees, it was only about 4:45 and I had plenty of time. Although I was on the slopes on Fei Ngo Shan, a 600 meter peak overlooking Kowloon and the Harbor, I had no intention of going up. I expected to follow the trail, cut across a contour path/catchwater and head down another trail. Funny things happen when climbing. The higher you go, the closer you get to the top. Turning around means you have to follow the same path you just came up. So I go up, and up, getting near the top, over a rise, still more to go, going. Then I am on the ridge, and it's 5:20 with a stiff breeze. I can see the sun setting over Lantau Island to the West and Sai Kung's to the East, the skyscrapers of Central right over there. But the sun's going down and the path down is steep. I head along the ridge path for a while looking for another trail down. There is a satellite/electrical tower at the very top. I expect there to be a road leading up to it, and I will take the boring but safe road route down. Once I get up to the tower, I find a helicopter pad, no road. Uh oh. They built all this with no roads. So my only option is a steep path down in the accelerating dark. This way, no, another dead end. 5:25. Here it is, going down. Don't bust ankle, you'll never get down. The tops of the high rises getting closer. I hear traffic, closer. Dead tired. I am regretting not bringing water. Legs like jelly. I hit the tree line. Concrete steps, then there it is, a cistern with clean mountain water. 5:45.
-Tomorrow evening, I will go to the Hong Kong Indian Club to enjoy some Lawn Bowling. I had no idea what this was until two days ago. Teams are divided by nationality and another Sepo Yank was needed to complete the American team, so I stepped up. I will dutifully sip a brew, puff a cigar, and enjoy a fine white collar sport with some fellow khakied gentlemen. Cheers.
-Monday morning I will be heading to the company office in Guangzhou for some meetings and training. After so much time in Hong Kong, I can't wait to go to mainland China.
-In Thailand, I purchased a less than reputable copy of the movie Babel. Apparently it was burned from a Thai DVD, as some of the graphic scenes were edited or blurred out. Plus, every time someone drank alcohol or smoked something, a Thai warning appeared at the top of the screen. Until I can find out a proper translation, I will assume it is something like, "Please refrain from emanating the behavior you see displayed here. These are professional actors whose questionable morals allow them to act in such a way. Shame on you for watching them. Long live the King."
-Following the NBA via the internet is not the best, but it's better than nothing. We are at the point of the season where the talking heads offer their biggest surprises/disappointments of the season so far. My dad, brother and I each offered analysis of the upcoming season a few weeks back and my pick was none other than the Orlando Magic. I flipped on ESPN World this morning and NBA Fast Break was on. A segment where the commentators picked the biggest surprises so far came on and Jamal Mashburn picked, yes, the Orlando Magic. As of today, they are 10-3. They stayed with the Spurs in San Antonio today, but couldn't keep up in the 4th quarter.
-A week from Sunday, the Wanchai Hash Hourse Harriers will set off on a run on a trail that I've set. I am the nominated Hare. I was slightly stressed last week when both of the locations I was planning on running in were used very recently in trails we ran, so me recycling them on my run is not an option. So I flipped on Google maps and picked a subway station with a lot of green around it: Choi Hung.
- Choi Hung: A few hours of work wrapped up and I left my house and got a bus out to the area. I had been out here a few days earlier and inspected some good trails. It gets dark around 6pm these days, so when I hopped up on a rise and followed a trail up into the trees, it was only about 4:45 and I had plenty of time. Although I was on the slopes on Fei Ngo Shan, a 600 meter peak overlooking Kowloon and the Harbor, I had no intention of going up. I expected to follow the trail, cut across a contour path/catchwater and head down another trail. Funny things happen when climbing. The higher you go, the closer you get to the top. Turning around means you have to follow the same path you just came up. So I go up, and up, getting near the top, over a rise, still more to go, going. Then I am on the ridge, and it's 5:20 with a stiff breeze. I can see the sun setting over Lantau Island to the West and Sai Kung's to the East, the skyscrapers of Central right over there. But the sun's going down and the path down is steep. I head along the ridge path for a while looking for another trail down. There is a satellite/electrical tower at the very top. I expect there to be a road leading up to it, and I will take the boring but safe road route down. Once I get up to the tower, I find a helicopter pad, no road. Uh oh. They built all this with no roads. So my only option is a steep path down in the accelerating dark. This way, no, another dead end. 5:25. Here it is, going down. Don't bust ankle, you'll never get down. The tops of the high rises getting closer. I hear traffic, closer. Dead tired. I am regretting not bringing water. Legs like jelly. I hit the tree line. Concrete steps, then there it is, a cistern with clean mountain water. 5:45.
-Tomorrow evening, I will go to the Hong Kong Indian Club to enjoy some Lawn Bowling. I had no idea what this was until two days ago. Teams are divided by nationality and another Sepo Yank was needed to complete the American team, so I stepped up. I will dutifully sip a brew, puff a cigar, and enjoy a fine white collar sport with some fellow khakied gentlemen. Cheers.
-Monday morning I will be heading to the company office in Guangzhou for some meetings and training. After so much time in Hong Kong, I can't wait to go to mainland China.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Back to Turtle Island
After a week of work in suburban Bang Na, I left the offices of my client at 5:30 Friday and after a two hour, 200 Baht (~6 dollar) taxi ride to the Bangkok city center highlighted by a 14 minute red light (no malfunction, no joke; welcome to Bangkok!).
I hopped on a double-decker luxury bus for the seven hour overnight ride due south to the ferry terminal at Chumporn. Chumporn sits on the Gulf of Thailand, where ferries move tourists and locals alike to the scenic islands of Ko Tao, Ko Phangan and Ko Samui. Due to my budgetary constraints, familiarity with the place and the super accessible dive sites, Ko Tao was my destination.
Now I am by no means a salted seaman; I am by now a veteran of quite a few ferry rides here in Hong Kong, the Mediterranean, New Zealand, Japan, Korea and various other areas. Some of these ferry rides were quite rough, but never have I been more seasick than I got on the two hour ferry from Chumporn to Ko Tao. Whether it was the movie with Dane Cook/Jessica Simpson working in Costco playing on the boat or the massive bouncing waves, we may never know. I joined a few like minded tourists doubled over the rail in the back of the boat miserably hacking up a lung waiting to spot the island.
A bit of rain fell as I jumped in the back of a pickup and hitched a ride to the accommodation I had arranged. I was told that it had rained pretty much the last 14 days in Ko Tao and that was pretty evident by the flooded roads, the rutted out paths and general massive erosion. Because of this, I was worried about the prospects for decent diving and enjoyment of this tropical paradise.
The next few days could not have turned out better weather-wise. Saturday, the day I arrived, I spent the afternoon doing two dives with my instructor James from the UK. He reviewed my basic scuba skills then we had a nice fun dive at White Rock. After a baking hike over the mountain ridge to a secluded beach for a swim the next morning, I was out on the boat again, this time with another Brit Simon, highlighted by a cool swim through (basically swimming through an underwater tunnel).
My third and final day of diving on Monday consisted of a couple more dives with James in some choppy water. We submerged to thirty meters and saw some pretty nice sea life. Overall, the water was cloudier than it had been when I visited here about the same time of year two years ago. It could have been due to the rain, or the sea currents, or any number of factors. I also had wanted to fit in a night dive, but that was cancelled due to lack of visibility in the water. In any case, it was great to get back underwater and regain some skills I first learned two years ago.
In the evenings, I generally found a good restaurant to relax in, happy to pull up a pillow mat/bean bag, eat some Pad Thai and entertain myself watching pirated DVDs publicly shown at the restaurant before turning in early for a ten hour nap.
On rainy Tuesday morning, I hopped back in the back of the truck, got to the ferry terminal and the thankfully calmer seas. A short ride to Ko Samui and one of the coolest airports in the world (think outdoors, breezy, supremely laid back with free snacks and drinks). I flew back to Bangkok in time for my return flight to Hong Kong. A nice autumn getaway.
Click on this to see my Flickr set of photos from the weekend.
I could not be happier that I have found in Hong Kong medicine to help me treat all of the 87 mosquito bites that I recieved courtesy of my flying friends of Southern Thailand: MOPIDICK!!!
I hopped on a double-decker luxury bus for the seven hour overnight ride due south to the ferry terminal at Chumporn. Chumporn sits on the Gulf of Thailand, where ferries move tourists and locals alike to the scenic islands of Ko Tao, Ko Phangan and Ko Samui. Due to my budgetary constraints, familiarity with the place and the super accessible dive sites, Ko Tao was my destination.
Now I am by no means a salted seaman; I am by now a veteran of quite a few ferry rides here in Hong Kong, the Mediterranean, New Zealand, Japan, Korea and various other areas. Some of these ferry rides were quite rough, but never have I been more seasick than I got on the two hour ferry from Chumporn to Ko Tao. Whether it was the movie with Dane Cook/Jessica Simpson working in Costco playing on the boat or the massive bouncing waves, we may never know. I joined a few like minded tourists doubled over the rail in the back of the boat miserably hacking up a lung waiting to spot the island.
A bit of rain fell as I jumped in the back of a pickup and hitched a ride to the accommodation I had arranged. I was told that it had rained pretty much the last 14 days in Ko Tao and that was pretty evident by the flooded roads, the rutted out paths and general massive erosion. Because of this, I was worried about the prospects for decent diving and enjoyment of this tropical paradise.
The next few days could not have turned out better weather-wise. Saturday, the day I arrived, I spent the afternoon doing two dives with my instructor James from the UK. He reviewed my basic scuba skills then we had a nice fun dive at White Rock. After a baking hike over the mountain ridge to a secluded beach for a swim the next morning, I was out on the boat again, this time with another Brit Simon, highlighted by a cool swim through (basically swimming through an underwater tunnel).
My third and final day of diving on Monday consisted of a couple more dives with James in some choppy water. We submerged to thirty meters and saw some pretty nice sea life. Overall, the water was cloudier than it had been when I visited here about the same time of year two years ago. It could have been due to the rain, or the sea currents, or any number of factors. I also had wanted to fit in a night dive, but that was cancelled due to lack of visibility in the water. In any case, it was great to get back underwater and regain some skills I first learned two years ago.
In the evenings, I generally found a good restaurant to relax in, happy to pull up a pillow mat/bean bag, eat some Pad Thai and entertain myself watching pirated DVDs publicly shown at the restaurant before turning in early for a ten hour nap.
On rainy Tuesday morning, I hopped back in the back of the truck, got to the ferry terminal and the thankfully calmer seas. A short ride to Ko Samui and one of the coolest airports in the world (think outdoors, breezy, supremely laid back with free snacks and drinks). I flew back to Bangkok in time for my return flight to Hong Kong. A nice autumn getaway.
Click on this to see my Flickr set of photos from the weekend.
I could not be happier that I have found in Hong Kong medicine to help me treat all of the 87 mosquito bites that I recieved courtesy of my flying friends of Southern Thailand: MOPIDICK!!!
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