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Up until now in Hong Kong, I've used a very cheap cel phone, quite thick, not a lot of features and generally outdated.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.

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.

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!!!

The Signs of Hong Kong

I rather enjoy looking at signs in whatever non-English speaking country I am in. Whether it's the loosely translated English or the artful display of Kanji or a combination of both, it's always fun to look at. Click here for a few more. A few from here in Hong Kong, a few other countries and even the states.

One of my favorites from Cambodia:

Full of Redoubt

Hong Kong's history as a British colony has ensured it has an interesting personality with some excellent areas to explore especially for someone interested in World War 2 history such as yours truly. Throughout various high mountain areas of Hong Kong, one can find these ruins, know as Redoubts in various states of disrepair and neglect. Some of the more well known ones include the Shing Mun Redoubt on the Gin Drinker's Line, the Pinewood Battery and Devil's Peak Redoubt.



I recently explored the last of these three, way up on Devil's Peak. The area is quite accessible, only about a 25 minute walk from the Yau Tong train stop. Hardly any of the sprawling compound is closed or sealed off. Provided you have a decent flashlight and don't mind getting dirty and meeting some friendly subterranean reptiles, you too can crawl through foxholes once occupied by the British, Indian Rajputs and Japanese troops. What I really like about these areas is that they are not meant to be tourist attractions, just areas that seem to have been forgotten.

Click here to browse all the photos I took in, around and under the fortress.

Looking Out My Windows

The apartment building I live in is relatively new in Hong Kong, so it tends to be pretty nice. One of its nicest features are the large windows. It also helps I live on the 21st floor. Every morning I wake up, open my bedroom door and see this:


Then I turn to my left and check out the progress being made on a new set of buildings. As the workers work towards completion, I often sit and watch them straddling the Bamboo scaffolds as the peel away all the layers.

Evening on the Praya

After a nice run in Central, HK tonight, I headed back home while the Symphony of Lights was taking place. A tourist infection no doubt. I'm allowed say that since I am a resident of this place. Here is the Avenue of Stars:


Here are a few more that I took this fine evening.

An Argument for Guns?

For as long as I have been alive, I have been anti-gun across the board. The level of violence in the states is almost unparalleled in the world thanks to the lax laws regarding who is allowed to own or buy a gun. The law cannot touch many gun owners, who go about acquiring arms illegally.

A daily routine of mine is to log on to the St. Louis Post Dispatch's web site, STL Today.com, and peruse the headlines. Almost without exception, there is a story of someone gunned down, a bullet riddled body found or some other terrible gun crime. It's never made much sense to allow this to go on.

Then comes this recent quote from a man in Burma:

"I really want change - but they have guns and we don't, so they'll always win."

--from this article on BBC

I've followed the violence in Burma quite closely over the past few weeks. The once promising peaceful protests of monks and civilians has spiraled into sickening violence on the part of the military and thugs. Among the sad, sad stories that are struggling to make their way past the iron media curtain imposed by the government: protesters mercilessly gunned down in the street; cars pulled over and occupants beaten and incarcerated; praying monks beaten and incarcerated; monasteries being raided and trashed with monks being sent to rural prison camps; civilians' homes invaded at 3am and occupants dragged out and incarcerated; international media being intimidated and physically denied from filing reports; people coming home from work struggling to breathe amidst the tear gas used by the military; sons and daughters abducted by the military unable to be located by parents; the internet being completely shut down in the country to prevent news of the terror being imposed reaching the outside world.

I cannot help but think: what if this country allowed its citizens to own guns? Would these travesties still be happening? Would the violence that would occur as people fought back result in thousands of deaths? Is this the reason our founding fathers in the US ensured citizens should always be allowed to own guns? Is violence the only answer in this situation? Does gun ownership in a country cause more violence or does it protect its citizens from brutal regimes abusing and enslaving the population? Is the NRA on to something???

We may never know.

Burma vs Myanmar

While what the country should be referred to as is up for discussion, violence has begun there.

Apparently the government has shut down the internet and most phone communication coming out of the country within the last 24 hours. It is scary to think what they have in store that they do not want the rest of the world to see. Just tonight, one of the local news channels here in Hong Kong showed footage from yesterday of the miltary attacking protesters and bystanders. The video shows a man getting shot at point blank range as he fled the rushing troops. Apparently this man was a Japanese reporter, Kenji Nagai, a veteran reporter of many war zones and conflict areas. He's not alone. The latest reports speculate many casualties, including monks.

While the government attempts to block any news of what is happening inside the country, it is more diffilcult to do than in 1988, when 3,000 were killed with very little news of the violence reaching the outside world. The world has changed. The same technology that allows me to ramble on here also plays host to this blog belonging to Ko Htike, a gentleman from (Burma) currently in London (as reported on...drumroll...CNN.com). He is using his sources in the country to get photos, accounts and news to the outside world. If you take one minute to just look at this site to see what the Burmese government so badly wants to hide, then this guy is making a difference.

Unfortunatley, it looks like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

***UPDATE: Found another web site that is posting some recent photos. I must warn that this link and the above contain some very graphic photos. Use your discretion.

City Viewing in Asia

Comparing Hong Kong and Singapore, I find that Singapore has remained truer to its roots architecturally than has Hong Kong. I think a lot more older building have been preserved here while Hong Kong has scrapped the old for new skyscrapers. The historic buildings are there in Hong Kong for sure, but they are fewer and further between.



Here are a few more from a couple nights walking the city.

Singapore Commerce

Currently in Singapore. My hotel overlooks the burgeoning port and endless container docks. I feel like I am watching Modern Marvels on the Discovery Channel.
From satellite image on Google:

View Larger Map

Monks on the March

The drama continues in Myanmar. I am fascinated by it all. The protests in pictures.

Myanmar: A New Day Coming?

The past few days, I've been following an intriguing set of events taking place in Myanmar. While CNN dot com is filled with Britney, OJ and other nonsense, the BBC has done a great job with coverage. Even better local coverage here.

In a nutshell: Recently, there have been some incidents where the ruling military dictatorship has incarcerated and held some local Buddhist monks. In addition, the monks are protesting a government policy that doubled gas prices overnight without warning (And we thought we had it rough in the US). While the government has been incarcerating and abusing its civilian citizens for years, it has always respected the monks in this extremely devout Buddhist nation. So in response, the Buddhist monks have gathered and marched peacefully the past six days. Each day, the numbers of protesting monks grows and fortunatley so far, there has been no violence.

Past tactics the government has used to combat civilian protests is to hire goon squads to intimidate and even violently break up any kind of protests inlcuding holding protesters indefinitely. The amazing thing that is happening now is that these are not civilian protests. The throngs of monks that have been forming these demonstrations have even, until recently, discouraged ordinary citizens from joining them to avoid the certain violence that would come with it.

Another development is the monks were allowed to march to the house of detained democracy activist and leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She even came out and showed her support for the monks.

Normally something like this is so far from my consciousness that the story remains a headline on a web site. However, this is different. When I was in Myanmar, I visited the Shwedagon Pagoda, which is the focal point for many of the protests. At the Pagoda, I met a monk and talked at length with him. He invited me to speak at the school where he was based. After that, we spent the afternoon together, him asking me about Western culture, discussing religion and life. When I caught my flight later that day, he gave me a blessing. I imagine he is joining in these protests and I wish for his safety along with a positive outcome for the people of Myanmar.

Asashoryu on the Skids

Sumo is in trouble. That is, according to the BBC.

During my three years in Japan, I got into Sumo a bit. There is not really a Sumo season, as the two week tournaments are held during the odd months of the year. Soon after I first arrived in Japan in 2002, a young Mongolian was just establishing himself as a Yokozuna, the highest ranking in the sport. For the next three years, I followed each Sumo Basho on tv when I could and even attended a match in Fukuoka.

It was the final day of the 2003 November Tournament and Joey and I road tripped for the afternoon and got two scalped tickets outside the taikan. We watched all the matches leading up to the final match which pitted the heavily favored Asashoryu against Tochiazuma. Both were 12-2 leading up the final match of the 15 day tournament, the winner taking the title. It was a fairly short match as Tochiazuma overpowered Asashoryu and pushed him out for the upset championship. Joey and I stood up in our cramped booth as we joined the crowd in showering the champion with the seat cushions we had been sitting on. It was an amazing thrill, perhaps the Japanese equivalent of being almost courtside at the NBA championship.

The thing about Sumo is that it is not very popular at all with the Japanese population under 50. There is so much tradition with the sport that it seems like the youth don't have time for it. Plus the mainstream international sports are becoming ever more popular. (One exception is some rural high schools in Kyushu. I had several friends who worked at schools where the Sumo program was healthy and churned out some fine young talent.)

And now the trouble with one of the all time greatest Sumo wrestlers, Asahsoryu, the aforementioned young Mongolian. As he has racked up Sumo titles the past five years, there have been several instances where he has broken certain rules or traditions and has upset the omnipotent Japan Sumo Assiciation. The final straw was when he recently participated in a charity soccer game back in Mongolia while he had withdrawn from a previous tournament due to injury. His punishment from the JSA was a two tournament ban. Unfortunately, unable to do what he loves, Asashoryu battled depression and was recommended by his doctors to return to Mongolia for recuperation.

So Sumo's best Yokozuna is now in Mongolia and scandal is rife in the Sumo world. What will happen next? Will another young Mongolian, Hakuho, step up and become the dominant figure in the sport? Will Asashoryu triumphantly return to regain his position on top? Will Japan ever warmly accept a foreigner as its dominant poster boy? Will Sumo survive or will it have to abandon its traditions and deep rooted history in order to remain competetive with other sports? It should be interesting to watch.

Hong Kong - Getting Around the City

With five weeks under my belt in Hong Kong, I have had a chance to get out on the weekends and check out some pretty nice areas. Weekdays are spent in Macao in the daily grind of work, and I have not had a day off since arrival. So Saturdays and Sundays are more valuable than ever and I try to make the most of them. Another change of lifestyle coming from STL is that my weekend nights are not spend out on the town, so I usually manage to rise at a reasonable hour. Here is how my weekends usually break down:

Saturday AM, get up and do any errands that need to get done: recharge my phone credit, laundry, get any necessities, toiletries, food, etc., pick out an interesting place on the map whether it is on HK Island or in the New Territories, go to that place, walk a lot, explore, wear myself out then get back early evening to cook some food and have a relaxing evening at home. Sunday AM, work on my timesheet, expense reports, various work odds and ends. Maybe have a nap, or call back to the US. The Wanchai Hash on Sunday starts at 4pm sharp, so I leave myself plenty of time to find buses, trains, ferries, or any method of transport that I need to get there.

The list of places I have explored already is a short one, but quite varied in what each place has to offer. The photos I have posted so far include some of these places, but I'd like to point out an amazingly valuable and underrated tool I use to get a feel for where I'm going: Google Maps.

As an exercise, if you are a person with ample free time, or one that has access to the internet at work and lots of time to (ab)use it, plug in any of these places in the above web site, click on Hybrid, then zoom to the smallest level of detail possible. Crazy, that technology is. These are places I have checked out so far, whether on my own or with a well-planned Hash run or with the hiking group TWATS (Trail Walkers Are Tired Soles) Hong Kong.

Aberdeen
Chai Wan/Big Wave Bay
Kennedy Town
Mui Wo/Chueng Sha/Lantau Island
Plover Cove Country Park
Pok Fu Lam
Sai King
Yuen Long

One week more in Macao, then off to Singapore.