The House in Dogtown

Recently, I've put a contract on a house in Dogtown. My closing date is June 27th. I had the inspection last Saturday and other than a few dead Brown Recluse spiders, everything looks to be in pretty good shape.

I'm going to work on filling out all the loan information and barring any unforseen obstacles, I will soon be joining the proud ranks of American homownership.

Also, I've begun to accumulate some furniture/household items as I am basically coming into a completely empty house. I've recruited a roommate who may or may not be able to make rent every month. Any little bit helps, I suppose.

Hopefully I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can get some good ones. Stay tuned for the move in party info.

Where's the motivation?

These days, I'm not extremely motivated to post very much in this space. I've beeen spending quite a bit of time house hunting, looking for that really good deal in this weak market. But I'm pacing myself, waiting for the good one, then I'll pounce on it.

Other than that, I've been hashing quite a bit and have actually been involved in founding a new hash group here in St. Louis.

I don't think i've snapped a photo with my camera since my last night in Hong Kong. I guess it's the old Asia hangover again. We'll see if I can't find some motivation this summer...

1000 Words on HK Hashing

Browsing some various friends on HashSpace tonight, I came across this one from Hickey Slut. I am not sure who took this photo, but thank you whoever you are. If there is one photo that embodies the hashing experience in Hong Kong, this has to be it. Classic!

Hash #700

Ajith and I set a milestone hash run last week. The Big Hump Hash House Harriers celebrated run #700. A total of 62 turned out for a nice run through South City and Tower Grove Park.



I also had some t-shirts emblazoned for the occasion. Here's what's on the back:

The Last of Hong Kong

I'm now back in St. Louis and the weather is slowly warming up. I have a few photos that I had been wanting to take the whole time I was in HK, but was really motivated to get out and get the shots the last week I was there.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Hundreds of local pharmacies in Hong Kong offer a wide variety of both traditional and non traditional remedies. Walk down a particular street in Central and your nostrils will be overcome by all kinds of dried things. Antlers, squid, fish skin, bird's nest, mushrooms, fruits, roots and leaves, all dried and available in bulk to cure what ails you. These are the packaged herbal medicines displayed in a pharmacy window.

Little Shop of Buddhas

This fantastic little shop in Mongkok offers a wide variety of statues, charms and shrines. Very colorful, but not a place you want to go crazy Borat style, or even wear a large backpack and attempt to navigate the narrows aisles.

New Years Markets

In Mongkok, this shop sells all kinds of decorations in the days leading up to the Chinese new year holidays. Lots of reds and golds to bring luck and riches to Hong Kongers in the year of the Rat.

Mannequin Army

This storefront near Sham Shui Po sells plastic men and women. Every time I walked by a darkened mannequin shop, I couldn't help but look in and expect to see some movement.

Kowloon Walled City

I finally explored the park that is the former site of the Kowloon Walled City. The area has a very interesting history and some nice artifacts and ruins left over. Read more about it here.

Zingaro on Hung Hom Pier Lawn

Days after I left HK, a show was to open called Zingaro. It is some kind of performance that involves running horses, wagon trains, birds and gypsies. Here, the horses run from one tent to another. Read more about it here.

Reflecting on the Promenade, Lying

My reflection points out that there is indeed no lying allowed on the Hung Hom promenade.

TST Signal Tower

Before the days of powered clocks, ships in Victoria Harbor would look at this tower to set their navigation and timings tools with. It's also the tower that has been used to hoist the signal levels of approaching typhoons. It now sits nestled quitely quite far from the harbor obscured by massive buildings. But, unlike a lot of other historic structures of Hong Kong, it's still here.

HK Hashing: Lost in Space

My last night in Hong Kong was spent running on the Wanchai Hash. I was lucky enough to run with the Wanchai and a few others in HK. Here, I enjoy a beverage with the Hare Raiser of the Wanchai H3, Lost in Space, after my last run.

Hiroki's Arrival

A young man named Hiroki has made me an Uncle today. Michiyo gave birth to a bushy headed 8 and a half pound boy this morning. True to his father's form, he arrived nearly 6 days late. The new family is doing well. Hiroki Skyler Fingerhut, welcome to the world. Congratulations Joe and Michiyo.

The Wire

'Some works of art can be so precious and intimate in their appeal that you just have to own them. That impulse is what fuels the art market and, on a less exalted level, it is what keeps music collectors searching for ever purer forms of recording. Art here becomes a private affair, something special between you and it, and the rest of the world can go hang.

But the opposite effect applies too. Some experiences are so great that you want to tell the whole world about them, so that they can share your joy. In fact you can't stop talking about them. I feel that way about The Wire , HBO's devastating police series that has just started its fifth and final season in the US.'

--Financial Times, January 12, 2008

(My view of The Wire lies somewhere between those perspectives, but the fact that I'm writing this shows I lean towards the latter...There are 4 or 5 paragraphs in the article that I think are written specifically for people like me, I recommend reading the whole thing...)

I tend to be pretty picky about what I watch on television. Prior to six months ago, I would say 90 percent of what I watched on TV was either sports or something on Discover/History channels. Joey and I got into The Sopranos while living in Japan. I think like most people, tv dramas shouldn't be edited for language and content and HBO has produced some pretty good stuff.

So when I arrived in Hong Kong six months ago, I decided (with the help of references from Bill Simmons' columns on ESPN.com) that I would get into the HBO series 'The Wire'. After much searching, one of the only places to get the series is at HMV, of which there are several around the city. If what I had heard about the series was true, then shelling out a bit for the legit collection would be a decent investment.

After devouring season 1, I moved on to season 2 then of course had no choice but to go all the way. I have purchased season 4 but will wait until I get back to the US to get into it. Everything I have read about the show contains almost nothing but superlatives. I find myself searching the web on any articles about the show, interviews with directors/producers or youtubing other material on its actors. I know that if I am ever in Baltimore, I know which streets I will google and drive down (probably in daylight).

So the first paragraph above pretty much explains why I went ahead and bought seasons 1 thru 4 (and 5 when it eventually comes out). I've contemplated selling the collection when complete, but now I've realized the episodes are just as good, if not better, the second or third time around. That, I think, is the mark of a dvd worth paying for.

Travels in January: The Philippines

A lot of my travels for work seem like they are to quite a few vacation destinations. Admittedly, I do my fair share of tourism and exploration in these places where I am working, but a lot of it is some pretty intense work.

So when I say I am going on vacation for two weeks, it seems like it more of the same frome me, some pictures from some places and some experiences, but it is a bit different. I get to do some full time tourism and do some things for more that just a couple hours in the evening after work.

When I flew back from two weeks of work in Bangkok, girlfriend Kristina had just arrived from St. Louis and we managed to meet the the sprawling Hong Kong airport. We spent the next few days around HK, doing a few tourist things including the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastary, hit up an obscene amount of shopping malls and fun spots.

After this, we went to Macao and secured a suite at the Venetian for two nights. We briefly partook in what the casinos had to offer, but mostly checked out the sites around Macao and enjoyed some fine Portuguese/Asian cuisine.

From there is was back to Hong Kong and a flight to Manila, Philippines the next day. We arrived in Manila then commandeered a taxi to take us through the traffic to central Manila and a cheap hotel. We explored the surronding areas, including Manila Park and the Dr. Jose Rizal memorial and historic Intramuros. Before getting an amazing dinner at local favorite Aristocrat, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over Manila Bay.

The next day, it was off to the nearby island of Mindoro and where we stayed on Small Lalaguna beach off Sabang in Puerto Galera. The next four days, I did four scuba dives with Asia Divers which included my first wreck dives in the amazingly clear waters nearby. Kristina occupied her time with a couple dives herself along with some shopping and beach time. I also joined the Puerto Galera Hash House Harriers for a nice jaunt through the surrounding hills and a drink or two with the local pack. (Click on this to view all the photos. I've added more desciptions in the photos themselves.)

We also explored the surrounding beaches with a chartered boat, a chartered tricycle (motorcycle + sidecar) that took us to Tamaraw Falls, along with a couple Jeepney rides.

On the last day, we took the two hour longboat ride back to Batangas and then the two hour bus ride back into Manila for our evening flight back to HK.

We wrapped up vacation with more shopping, tourist stuff along with some visits to some of my favorite places around HK. Finally, Kristina was off and I was back to work (briefly) before the Chinese New Year holidays and an impending return to the US.

Expect a Hong Kong/Asia wrap up in the near future.

Travels in January: Thailand

During the month of January, I had the pleasure of spending over three weeks in the tropical environment of Southeast Asia.

My first trip took me to Bangkok for two weeks on business. While I didn't get to see much in Bangkok itself, I did have the opportunity to explore the ruins and sacred temples around Ayutthaya, about a 1.5 hour ride north of the city. I was grateful to have some local guides as well, a few of my trainees loaded me into a truck in braved the lawless roads and highways of Thailand for the trip.

We explored three main temples.
Wat Mahathat:

Wat Yai Chaimongkol:

Wat Phnan Choeng:


After two weeks of (mostly) work it was back to Hong Kong.

Philippines

After one day in Manila and five in Puerto Galera, back in a frigid Hong Kong. More pictures to come, but in the mean time, here is sunset over Manila Bay, with the Bataan Peninsula to the right.

Shing Mun Redoubt: The Gin Drinker’s Line

Shortly after arriving in Hong Kong, I read a very good book, Hong Kong by Jan Morris. The book itself was a very good look at the current state of things in the city, and deftly related modern events and customs to Hong Kong’s short but tumultuous history. It is in this book that I first learned of the prodigious ruins located in the hills around Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. I had previously explored several of these redoubts including Devil’s Peak, Pinewood Battery and a couple others.

As the Japanese moved in to the New Territories to the North of Hong Kong in 1942-43, the British (along with Scottish and Indian Rajput troops) manned a ridgeline that stretched from the Peal River Delta in the West all the way over to Lei Yue Mun in Southern Kowloon. It is on this ridgeline that most of the ruins and redoubts are found.

In the end, the British troops did not put up much of a fight, giving up the line in a matter of days. There were reports of some fighting and casualties though, as the troops hastily retreated to the temporary safety of Hong Kong Island.

One of the most complex series of caves, foxholes and pillboxes is located on a hill called Smuggler’s Ridge overlooking Hong Kong’s highest mountain, Tai Mo Shan. Just below the highest point of this hill, a few steps off the Wilson Trail, one can find the well maintained ruins of the Shing Mun Redoubt, or The Gin Drinker’s Line.

I had done some cursory research via the web on what this system of tunnels looks like, what kind of access your average weekend explorer could get and it looked remarkably easy to get into. The only challenge is getting there, as it is not located very near a train or bus line. So on what would be one of my last free Saturdays that I would spend in Hong Kong, I set out early in the a.m. after a jet lag induced early awakening.

Since I had about seven hours of daylight at my disposal and ample energy, I decided to take the train to the nearest station and hoof it from there. I walked from Mei Foo Station and headed up into the hills. After an hour of walking, I was delighted to find myself at the base of an amazing set of high rise apartments built on the peak of a hill and that were featured in one scene of the iconic movie Koyanisqaatsi, which I had also been meaning to get up here and check out:


Continuing on, I wandered through a few squatter’s villages. It’s pretty crazy to see how people can erect illegal housing in the hills a couple hundred meters from super expensive luxury housing. Posted all over the place are signs that say something like “Warning: Land in this area is subject to landslip during heavy rain and typhoons. Some structures have been designated for clearance…” And yet year after year, these squatters continue to build up their rent free abodes.

Coming over another hill, I found myself at a peak with a reservoir several kilometers to my right and another several kilometers to my left. I knew that the Shing Mun Redoubt was located in the hills above a reservoir, so I had to pick the right one. Thanks to some friendly locals feasting on bowls of noodles in a hilltop ranger station, they pointed me to the correct reservoir. After some more hiking, I was on the McClehose Trail, the 100km hiking trail in the New Territories of HK. Every year, teams of four people set out on the trail and don’t stop walking/running until they finish 18 to 30 hours later. A relay? Nope, the team of four must stay together and finish together. Hardcore!

Soon I reached the Wilson Trail and before long, I reached the entrance of what I had been looking for, unceremoniously marked by this sign:


I explored the tunnels for the next half hour and was delighted to be completely alone, the lone person in a city of 8 million interested in checking out living history on a perfect Saturday in January:


These tunnels were built in the years leading up to the start of World War 2 and were meant to be the last line of defense for any invasions launched by the Japanese from mainland China. The Shing Mun Redoubt consists of intertwining and connecting tunnels. Each one has a unique name, most of which correspond to famous streets in London. You will find on the walls colorful names such as Piccadilly, Oxford, Shaftesbury, Haymarket, Charring Cross, all of which are the original engravings:


The tunnels are surprisingly clean and well kept, as I was expecting garbage and a strong urine smell at least. Some tunnels are dead ends as decades of mud deposits have blocked access. Using the torch I had brought along for this purpose, I ducked through every branch of the complex I could get to, then went above ground. One of the reasons this fortress fell so easily to the Japanese were the shafts that led straight down to the tunnels that were seemingly made for tossing in a grenade:


Finally, I headed back down the Wilson Trail and was soon upon the dangerously low Shing Mun Reservior:


Instead of turning back from whence I came, I got back on the McClehose trail, then scaled the 500m+ Needle Hill, then back down the hill to Sha Tin and a train ride home. In all, this was about a five hour hike and I estimated that I covered about 20km. Due to severe chafing on account of the hike, I was doubtful for the third installment of the King of the Hills Mountain Marathon series the next day. But I managed to get ahold of some much needed Vaseline and finished the tough 14km course on Lantau Island in a blazing 2:06. Well, at least the temperature was blazing if my time wasn’t.

Stitching it Up

A panorama of Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong Territory's tallest mountain.

Sayonara to Asia in 2008

After arriving back in Hong Kong last night after a crazy holidays in St. Louis, I am again off to Bangkok Monday morning. I will be there for two weeks working, then a two week vacation here in Hong Kong and the Philippines, then returning to the US in mid February. We will see how much time I have to post during this time, but in the mean time, please enjoy a low-quality time lapse video taken from my window of the comings and goings in Victoria Harbor at Hung Hom.