I am going to be a Superstar

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls....

Welcome to Hollywood! :)

Yes, yours truly is livin' it up in Hollywood. Well, I am technically here for a conference and we are doing a poster presentation. But it's okay. If some talent scout thinks I have what it takes to be the next big thing then why not? It's weird to be in America for the very first time.

I am a proud owner of a Hooters t-shirt! And can thus wear my boobs all the way up to my chin!

End of an Era

I went home for a flying visit this weekend. 26 of 48 hours was spent going to the airport, waiting at the airport, in the plane, waiting to get out of airport...repeat cycle four times.

It was a exhausting trip, but given the choice, I would still have done it. I had to say goodbye. And saying goodbye, knowing that you will never see him alive ever again is all the more difficult. And the fact that you know exactly how long he has to live makes it all the more distressing. When we do what we do, one glance at their faces would give us a pretty accurate indication of how much time a person has left.

That is why I never say goodbye... Because goodbye is forever...

In Memory of:-
Paul Chai 1925-2010.

And the seas parted...

As most people know, I am multi-talented *hahahahaha*. No, seriously, I am. :)

However, even perfect people have their quirks. And mine is that I cannot ride a bike *shock horror*. Oh, I did try as a child. I still remember aged six and living at Maria Strat in the Hague, my dad was trying to teach me the finer points of riding a bicycle. Everyone in Holland rode a bike. I couldn't for the life of me get it, even with trainer wheels. Then we went on holiday to Austria, and lo behold! I could ride when we got back! :)

The skill was lost with age and I found myself unable to ride a bike aged sixteen. Don't ask me why. I can't drive well either.

The local and the Aussie-local can't believe this for a fact, and persuaded me to come bike riding. So I went as I was promised dimsum after, and I love dimsum! :)

We went off in the heat of the day and rode thirteen freakin' kilometres! It was a scenic route and the weather was fantastic, but my bum hurt. In fact, it still hurts. The Aussie-local was equally unacclimatised to exercise, and we made the local abandon the plan to ride the whole route back again in favour of taking the train home. Ahhh..convenient public transport links!

I doubt I will be doing that amount of exercise again so soon. But then, we mustn't think of such unpleasant thoughts. I will concentrate on setting up my pretty new netbook! :)

And it's a Pandemic!

WHO declared the H1N1 virus, better known as Swine Flu, as a pandemic today.

It was surprising that Margaret Chan, did not declare that when Japan, then Australia had community outbreaks. But when Cantoland reported their first case of local human-to-human transmission, suddenly we were all worried and WHO decided to call the highest alert level. Did it help to note that she is from Cantoland originally?

The reason for calling in Phase Six is clear. There is wide global outbreak of this virus. Eventhough the number of fatalities are not very high, the fact remains that this virus affects many people in multiple countries. And we are just begining to see it spread to the developing and third world countries.

There have been reports that older people have immunity due to previous pandemics like the Hong Kong flu or the Spainish flu, while those of us below the age of forty have never been exposed to this virus.

There are two schools of thought:

1. Let everyone get it. Once we all get hit with this relatively mild virus, we would have immunity when it becomes more lethal later on.

2. Use Tamiflu and prevent everyone from getting this virus. However, once the virus mutates. We.are.screwed.

I've had my flu jab every year. And I have to say, when I fall ill. I fall really ill. And this has occured every time I have an annual flu jab. Should I be peeing my pants? Maybe.

Or I should just keep up on the hand hygiene, alcohol wipes and face masks.

Seoul 101

They make shopping appealing.Even for grouchy boys.

As I have very happily flaunted my holiday snapshots on Facebook, I am sure no one wants to see any more here.

Seoul is a brilliant city. In fact, it's so nice, I would love to move there tomorrow. Why tomorrow, because I have dinner plans today and I really want to eat dim sum this morning.

Essentially, there are a few things any discerning tourist must do in Seoul:

1. See the hot guys/girls whichever strike your fancy. The local population, contrary to popular belief, do not look like your typical Chinese Malaysian kid. They don't subscribe to the short spiked hair and geek glasses. Their features are more in line with Northern Chinese, with stronger Mongolian features. Either that, or they would have consulted one of the many plastic surgeons in Korea. After all, Korea is famous for it's plastic surgery.

They are experts at prostheses.

2. Visit the big drain! Korea is brilliant at landscaping. They have a stream right in the middle of the city that was turned into a sewage system and covered over. It has now been turned into a lovely green area with sit-out areas and lots of plants! I like! :)

3. See a Palace. there are five major palaces in Seoul. Go to the one that has traditional costumes to try on. They wouldn't let me be a palace guard, as it was not a position for women. But I got to wear their colourful Hanbok and parade about. I even got to be a cultural icon and had tourists snapping away! Korean palaces are way more colourful than Chinese ones. In fact, the whole country seems to be transmitting 'rainbow' vibes.

Cultural Icon No 132. They label people/buildings/stuff as icons with numbers!

4. Eat the local food. They have a lot of fantastic food and alcohol. I wouldn't be able to begin on which is my favourite. If I ever marry a Korean, I shall have to name my son Kimbap (triangular rice cake) and daughter Kimchi (fermented vegetable). I can't spell the rest.

The American may disagree that Krispy Kreme is a local Korean delicacy.

5. Go clubbing. The nightlife is heaving and way more exciting than Cantoland. Or I just have a tame existence? There are bars and clubs to cater for every whim. You have themed bars, street bars or just party-in-the-park clubs. Very chilled out atmosphere. None of the get-as-much-drink-down-in-as-little-time-and-make-as-much-trouble rubbish. I never knew cute little Korean girls could dance! Or nerdy boys either.

Street cocktail bars.

6. Go shopping. I got shopping fatigue. They love their shops as much as Cantoland. However, it was all local brands and the stuff was all to the local taste. If you like skirts that end half way up the thigh and slut shoes then this country is for you. Dirt cheap too. One redeeming factor for this prude, is that their shoes are wide-fitting.


Bonus tour: The ex-president commited suicide the week I was there. Thus, I got to watch a presidential state funeral and check out the riot police. :)

I want to go back to Seoul soon. But then the Dutchman may not be too pleased to have me cramp his style lol.

Death by...

Yay! I am leaving in twelve hours! :)

My boss gave me a stack of heavy duty face masks today. You know the ones that filter about 99.9% of airborne stuff? Yea, those. And alcohol hand wash and gloves. Just in case I happen to sit on the same plane as someone with Swine flu. I think I would attract more attention with my precautionary measures than someone who does have the virus and refuses to comply with cross-infection measures. If anything, Cantoland has made me more cautious. I no longer think wearing a face mask all day long is a nuisance; while gloves and handwashing are routine and full disposable gowns are regular wear. But then, I work in a healthcare system that has survived SARS.

North Korea has decided to test some missiles this week, to the dismay of the global community. They are also threatening to attack the South. I may get to see a tank or two and get caught up in the foray. I should get my alternative travel plans ready. I know that if planes don't want to fly in Korean airspace, I can take a ferry to China and fly back to Cantoland from there. Or I could blow up my little dingy and berth back in ShenZhen river. :)

I doubt travel insurance covers Swine flu or nuclear war. I either come back in one piece, or in a seven day quarantine or not make it back at all.

Beauty Vs Brains

The gods of hospitals have showered their er.. grace on us poor souls in the clinic. They have decided to grant us a tiny 150-square-feet office. And being the absolutely easy-to-please people that we are, we are ecstatic. So we have moved in people! The boss has moved all the crap out of the clinic leaving me a lovely clean space to roll about. :) Well, maybe not roll about, since there is hardly enough space to squeeze past the clinical treatment chair and wheelchair in case of a fire. And I get to pick my own filing cabinets. I want a pink one! :) And a red lamp! :) So what if it doesn't match the cream clinical decor.

I got a little perk-me-up from the chief executive of one of the hospitals in the post the other day. One of my patients had written a heartfelt thank you letter for our service. And so he popped in a little note in appreciation for the effort made. I am quite addicted to collect those 'gold stars', like people collect blue and yellow slips in KTJ. I am kiasu.

We have a symposium on Friday and I was 'volunteered' to help out. While every other medical professional gets proper jobs like timekeeping, registration, audio visual etc, my official job description is to 'look pretty' and 'ring a bell'. -_-

I didn't think my life would one day come down to this. Since when have my (non-existent) beauty outclassed my brains?-_-

Tai Tai my Foot.

The Lobby @ The Peninsula.

When you visit Cantoland, Lonely Planet tells you to take high tea at the Lobby of the Peninsula Hotel. This is a practice from colonial days when the rich ladies of leisure sat about and sipped English tea in fine bone china cups and nibbled at dainty sandwiches while gossipping and comparing the size of their diamonds.

And just because Lonely Planet said so, the queue at the Peninsula was an hour long. They do not take reservations and all guests must queue up, or pay some one else to queue. They don't even take a number and call you back when there is space. Snobs.

Yours truly queued patiently, while playing games on her phone and checking out the cute waiters . The lawyer and her friends joined in, and we were all dressed like aspiring tai tais complete with dangly jewellery, clutch and high heeled shoes and silk dresses. I had just woken up and had a cream puff for breakfast, while the others had a bun each. So when we ordered, we ordered a portion for each of us. We made small talk while I checked out the china and the silver. I have better at home.

When it arrived, we looked at each other and said: " that's it?" Then proceeded to woof everything down, and complain we needed more food. No one else seemed to be complaining about the miniscule portions. Idiots.

Tell me, how do grown women survive on so little? This is FOUR portions!

We had a pot of tea each to our individual preference. In Cantoland, they have a great fondness of tea, and when your teapot is empty, you lift the lid and the staff will refill your pot. We didn't know what to do with our empty teapots. We had been commenting on why the girl who ordered Chinese tea, had a taller teapot. We also commented on the gradual lightening of her tea in her teacup and further debated on how best to draw attention our empty teapots. Suggestions ranged from lifting the teapot lid a la Chinese restaurants to hailing the waiter in Mandarin a la Mainland tourist/Singlish a la your friendly neighbour.

The tea service by Tiffany & Co.

Then one of the girls burst out laughing. And wouldn't stop for five minutes. And then very soberly told us that she had been drinking 'tea' from the hot water pot to refill our teapots. We looked into her teacup to see clear water with 2 tea leaves floating about.

The peninsula has never seen such failures in womankind. I guess I am just not cut for the tai tai lifestyle *sigh*. Or I should eat more train harder.

Swine Flu

The news has been heating about the epidemic in Mexico. Cantoland bosses are watching very very carefully in anticipation of hitting this tiny country.

Because let's face it. It is gona hit us. With the ease of travel nowadays it's just a matter of time before someone comes back with it. There are suspect cases in China as we speak. WHO has risen the alert to 4, which is just short of a pandemic. Cantoland is sitting at Serious level 1. I personally think it should be sitting at Serious level 2 to reflect the cross human transmission in a foreign land, but I can understand that they do no wish to freak people out.

People are freaked out already. My clinics are 30% lower with people choosing not to come to the hospital for fear of cross infection. Or maybe they heard that the podiatrist is down with a cold yet still at work. My assistants are all drugged up to prevent themselves from succumbing to my cold -_- .Accident and Emergency was pretty quick on it's feet when I went to see them this morning. I know, abuse of emergency services... But it was pretty much an emergency. I had finished my medication and my cold was showing no sign of abating with the next available out-patient appointment 36 hours away and 20 patients booked in. I needed medication fast *sheepish*. I was out the door in 15 minutes flat with my new prescription.

My staff are all prepared for a possible pandemic. We are going to be tellytubbies in our blue scrubs, disposable tunics, masks and face shields. It shall be an interesting experience, just like SARS.

I just hope that I get well enough to go for the Bun Festival on Saturday. I lurrvee Bun Festival!

Guinness Book of Records CantoPod Editon

I broke my own record today. You get days when you see pretty little shriveled up toes that just happen to pop off and is put into a doggy bag for people to bring home to put on their mantlepiece. Then the clients miraculously heal up really quickly and everyone is happy.

You don't get days like that very often. It normally takes a bit of wriggling and twisting and a lot of waving of hands and saying magic words before the digits auto-amputate.

Today, five little pigs went to the podiatrist and never made it home.

I am so proud of myself.

A Different Way of Life

I have just about done the one thing I have been dying to do but didn't have the guts to do so. I have thrown in the towel.

Those who know me have told me how proud they are of me. And it just goes to show how much bad vibes I have been transmitting to everyone the past few months! So I truly apologise! I am also grateful for the sympathetic and soothing sounds you make when I whine and moan and mope.

It has been an extremely difficult decision to make. There is so much I love about this place yet there is also a lot that pisses me off. However, I have nothing to lose by my choice today and all the world to gain.

I am going to find my little piece of heaven and then I am going to finally settle down.

Lovers Anon

Happy Valentines Day everyone! :)

I wish everyone a brilliant day with sunshine, low humidity and Air Pollution Index of 0-25, fresh air and green trees with a light breeze... I sound like a weather report! :)

It was a hectic week at work and we saw my assistant leaving this week. My parents and I had a deep discussion yet again on what I should do with my life. And we have come up with various answers, with the main point being: I need to leave Cantoland. My one main reason would be the pollution and humidity being too much to handle with a significant adverse reaction to my health already noted from being here the past sixteen months. I have to consider where I want to end up in life and what I should do to achieve it. I also have to decide if I love my job enough to forfeit my health. And we all know that health is more important that patient satisfaction.

It shall be hell to have to break this to the boss.

On a lighter note, two friends from Glasgow dropped by my clinic today! :) I have not seen them for almost eighteen months and it was a pleasant surprise to see someone from university days. The physio sent me an absolutely cute calendar from Glasgow that is truly appreciated! :) I didn't know my love of chocolate, shoes and shopping was that widely known haha... However, there is now a new weakness. On Thursday, the podiatrist and myself discovered crispy custard buns. That's right, a sweet custard-filled bun that was deep fried to perfection. You bite into the crispy exterior to enjoy the oozing custard in the centre. Heaven must taste like this. We didn't managed to stop to take photos of the first half dozen, so we ordered another half dozen just so that we could take photos of them *ehem*.

Crispy Custard Buns.

Who needs a man when you have custard?

Hike Ho!

The physio came into my clinic Monday to invite me to join a hike to a country park in Fanling today. My first reaction was shock as I didn't expect someone that I have barely spoken two words to in the whole year is asking me out hiking... Those who know me know that exercise is not my thing. The second reaction, I am very sorry to admit was wariness. Cantoland is rife with individuals whose main source of entertainment is to muddle waters. I was quite reluctant to join was my department is not exactly BFF with their department. However, since I was invited to 'bring a friend' I decided to drag the american along to be my buffer against a Cantonese speaking crowd.

The hike was pleasant with brilliant views of mainland China in the distance. We had three gorgeous golden retreivers along with us and everyone was in dog-speak mode and failed to interact with each other. Some school kids who were (obviously arm twisted into hiking on a Saturday) walking the opposing way commented on why we were coming from China in the wrong direction. -_-

The american and I were tempted to call their bluff and warn them to beware of the smugglers! :)

The local crowd had prepared a barbecue and we had a nice time toasting butter bread with honey ( It was the only thing I could BBQ well anyways). I had a pleasant time with my own company and with 'nature' haha.. I only got minor allergic reactions on my forearms as the whole walk was paved and there was hardly any undergrowth. I did not see any tigers, lions or pandas either and was quite disappointed. Due to the economic recession, many factories in ShenZhen have closed. This has inversely allowed us to have better air quality in Cantoland and will hopefully improve skin conditions. I ended the day with a very pleasant massage and facial. Life is good!

On a lighter note, my dermatologist is wonderful! I called him to tell him I was not going to be able to attend his clinic on Wednesday, and he came to my clinic to give me a consultation! My assistant then went to pay the fee, err sit in my 'consultation', pick up my prescription and my medication. All I had to do was sit on my little bum at work. It is very touching to see people go out of their way to help you... I strive to do the same.

Home for Christmas...

My mother was trying to contact me over the weekend but was unsuccessful due to a) I was sleeping; b) the connection was fuzzy; c) I didn't pick up the phone; d) I was ogling cute dermatologists. Finally she texted me to tell me that our friends from long ago are all coming back to KL for Christmas. If you can read between the lines as well as I can, it translates into:'' All my friends' kids are coming back, so you have to come back too." And so yours truly being the filial daughter, is going home for Christmas! It feels good to be able to go home and annoy the little sister. The last time I saw my family was some five months ago. My siblings have supposedly grown taller (and fatter). I need to go home to assert my authority and squash the siblings a little. I bemoan the fact that my mother did not feed me enough as a child, thus my stunted growth. I shall dread the day my sister is taller than me and gleefully rubs it in *growl*.

I made a gingerbread house today. While everyone else manged to assemble their houses with minimal mess, mine was covered in chocolate and icing to keep it together. It is still really pretty though! No matter, the heavy icing will ensure the house stays in one piece on the flight home on Thursday! :) I have realised I am not cut out to be an engineer or an architect. I guess I shall stick to feet huh? :)

I can't wait! It's four days till Christmas! And the clouds seem to have broken over. The world looks rosy from where I'm curled up under my duvet. It's hope it stays this way! :)

And My Kidneys Go To....

I waltzed into my clinic today to find the boss and my two assistants in a 'stand-off'. They all turned to me when I came in and I had a sense that something was about to happen. I did a quick search of my conscience, and figured I didn't do anything wrong, at least that I know of.

"Do you want to donate your organs?" asked the boss.

"Come again. What did you say?" This didn't sound like I did anything wrong. Or maybe what I did was not salvageable and I had to donate a kidney to my patient?

"We are recruiting organ donors. You want to give yours away? Did you check your email by the way?" explained the boss.

"Sure I did but the link to register wouldn't open." I did remember to check it.

And so, yours truly has decided to sell donate all usable organs upon my death. I was looking for a clause in the registration to see if I could specify who I didn't want to donate them to; like the annoying old woman who bugs me for an earlier appointment every three weeks or say a terrorist or the guy who decided Krispy Kreme was not worth keeping open in Hong Kong. It is a skewed Chinese belief that you should die with all body parts intact. I have people who refuse an amputation in life threatening situations and thereby loose their lives. One told me that she needs both her legs when she is a ghost so she can walk. I told her she could use her Zimmer frame and that ghosts float about anyway. She was not convinced.

There are certain things I think I have planned out in my life such as the colour of the carpet I want in my dining room (green) and that I want to be cremated to save space. And since I am going to be dust I don't think I need to be such a big bottle of dust. For, even in death, the amount of dust you generate can be an indication of how skinny you were.

And We're Back In Business!

I finally got my contract sorted today. There is no change to the original one but I figured I kicked up enough of a fuss to make my stand. I feel better for having given my two cents worth on the situation in this country for my profession. I now have to figure out if it is illegal to work while waiting for my new visa as there is a lapse of eight days between the two visas. I am assuming its okay as they didn't specifically say I couldn't, just that I can't leave the country. I do love living life on the edge... And if I do get caught and dragged to jail, please send all correspondence to this jail in Stanley. It's by the beach and absolutely lovely!

The day before I signed my contract, Krispy Kreme filed for bankruptcy. The banker called me up to make sure I was okay so did the lawyer. My boss called me up to check on me... I was not okay as my local store had no one picking up the phone when I called five times to verify. Apparently I don't buy enough donuts to sustain them. They have the airport branch still open and I am banking on my compassionate friends buying donuts for me on their way back from trips. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy, and if you give me pretty, shiny pieces of jewellery I would be even happier. =) I really should consider moving to a Krispy Kreme secure country or find a surrogate donut.

I wonder what other cruel joke fate would throw at me? Since things come in threes, I don't want to think about it as it is too depressing. I can't go out of Hong Kong for eight days. It takes little things like this to make you realise how much freedom you have. It is a sobering thought as this is nothing compared to the oppression some people have to live with on a daily basis.

One silver lining in the clouds is the letter I received from the Custom and Excise Office today. As I have already flaunted widely, this year the government has given everyone a tax rebate of 75%. Which means yours truly is paying peanuts for tax. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets when I read the sum which included a forecast sum for 2008/2009, I am paying a grand total of....*drum roll* Three hundred and ninety Hong Kong Dollars only... And of that, HKD110 is for next year. It is a farce! Why bother collecting tax if that's all they are going to get?? It works out to less than HKD50 a month or three pounds. The paperwork costs more than the actual tax!!! However, this was only for six months of the year. I doubt I would be so smug this time next year. Still, three quid a month for tax is pretty amazing huh? I think I like this country after all...

Mooncake MIA

I was told by a little bird that the Koreans have claimed the Dumpling Festival for their own, saying that the dude who jumped into the sea was a Korean dude. So I wondered who was going to claim the Mooncake Festival also more correctly known as Mid-Autumn Festival?

If the Mooncake Festival was Japanese:
Lanterns will be made of impossibly difficult to replicate origami.

If the Dutch claimed it to be their festival:

Everything would be orange, not just the egg yolk inside the mooncake.

If the Malaysians decided that heck, we wanted a piece of the fun:

There would be sambal ikan bilis and coconut rice filling complete with the banana leaf skin.

If Singapore decided to be kiasu:

We would have the Hainanese Chicken Rice filling and the mooncake will be bigger and better than Malaysian mooncakes.

Thank goodness no one has decided to go to UNESCO to claim this festival for their own yet *I think*. I am an advocate of cultural exchange and sincerely believe that those little things we do in our home countries are also done similarly in our neighbouring countries for the same reason. People move to new places and bring along their beliefs and practices and are later incorporated into the local practice. Likewise, Malaysian podiatrists who are currently living in Cantoland will bring along the stomach to try different mooncakes especially the Sambal Ikan Bilis one and play with Hello Kitty lanterns. I am all prepared for my first Mid-Autumn festival in Hong Kong! I have two mooncakes ready and a cute inflatable Hello Kitty lantern in a pink dress holding a yellow flower and purple wings that has flashing lights and annoying music. I will out-kitty even the most hardcore little girl with pink bows ahahaha...

My one peeve is that someone has stolen my mooncake from the fridge. I was looking forward to having the yogurt flavoured snowy mooncake for breakfast! Grrr... I will hunt the person down and pluck out their eyebrows then paint over with Silver Nitrate! Grrrr...

Typhoon Nuri

I found out on Wednesday that a typhoon was heading towards Hong Kong. I was just a little skeptical , I mean, it was calm though hot. No winds, no currents. However, my patients on Thursday told me that this was the "calm before the storm" (this saying exist in Chinese too! Chicken and egg?). The air was heavier, the winds non-existent, the birds and the crickets fleeing, and the old women with arthritic joints complaining of pain and 'wind' in their bones. That was how they predicted a typhoon in the old days. Nowadays, they have fancy smancy devices at the Hong Kong Observatory that would give you detailed weather reports.

The signal was One until Thursday evening. As I have described previously, you get signal one, three, then eight is when you don't go to work and it works up to nine with a maximum of ten. The finals for the equeastrian events were on Thursday night and thus I suspected they were reluctant to reschedule the event for another day therefore the late raise in signal until later in the evening.

This morning I woke up to calm skies and sunshine. I was thinking how ironic if the typhoon didn't happen and Cantoland would be in an uproar to discover they had to go to work today. =)

It was typhoon signal Eight. I called them bluff and figured they just wanted to keep people happy or face a backlash of unhappy skivers. So I went back to sleep until later in the morning. By the time I decided to wake up it had started raining. So being the ever curious trill-seeker that I am, I brought my student podiatrist out to Causeway Bay for Dim Sum and shopping. The shops were all shut but there were still loads of people wandering about. Your average tourist was looking all lost and wondering what all the fuss was about. It was, afterall, no worse than the average Scottish day or so my student podiatrist put it. They upped the Signal to Nine which was exciting though looked like an overkill. The overhead speakers were going into overdrive telling people not to go outside as Typhoon Nuri was going directly for Hong Kong. The winds started howling a little louder and we started looking up to check if things were going to fall on our heads. So after wandering about aimlessly at Causeway Bay, Shatin and City One we decided to rent DVDs and head back to hide out. By this time it was getting pretty dangerous to stay outside. The non-essential services had been closed and airports, the stock exchange, shops, buses and ferries were all shut down. The MTR was running at 15 minute intervals instead of their usual 2 minute intervals.

As I looked out my bedroom window, it is kinda unnerving to see the cranes swaying in the gale force winds. The fire truck and ambulances lights flashing intermittently and the trees bent in all directions with howling winds billowing. I just hope that it will subside tomorrow as I have a ballet to go to and a pretty dress to wear. One can always live in hope. Typhoons are only fun when it's a weekday.

Olympic Season

The Olympic opening ceremony was amazing. Ra and I had dinner and watched it from the comfort of the local cha chan teng. China put up an amazing show and has truly arrived. We went for our daily dose of Hui Lau Shan dessert and had a massage to ease the kinks in the shoulders.

Nits is arriving tomorrow! :) We have a fantastic weekend planned up and are going for the Olympic dressage on sunday. It shall be fabulous to have the girls around with us. The only one missing is sweet Lai Ye * hint hint* but we will eat an extra mango pudding for her.

Go Purple!

Typhoon 8 Amber Rain

Typhoon Warnings.

I woke up this morning to heavy rain and waving trees. It was so tempting to just snuggle back into the duvet and sleep some more but no, today is Wednesday. And on Wednesday I have to go to work. *Think positive thoughts*

Anyways, I ambled to the window to check on the construction site and realised there were no workers about listening to reinforcing communist music. The trip to the pantry also saw no cars in the car park outside. I mean, the banker told me that it would be Typhoon Signal 8 today but I didn't believe him.

So being the chirpy little podiatrist that I was, I skip-hopped to work.. Okay, I tentatively skipped around the puddles to get to work. Just to find the whole hospital deserted. My department door was locked and in darkness. There were no patients in A&E, even the enquiry counter was closed. Then I saw the typhoon evacuation notices and the buses lined up to take people home. I called the boss to find out what was happening and was told to stay indoors glued to a TV until they lift the alert to level 3.

Stay indoors? Hahahaha.. It is my first proper typhoon so obviously I went out to check it out. The shops were closed, the glass doors were all taped up. It was all very prehistoric like in those old HK movies where they tape up the windows. There were no people on the streets. I was hungry and persuaded the Oxford kids to come for dimsum with me. The subway was empty! The streets deserted and only bewildered looking tourists huddling away from the rain were present. The canvas posters on the walls were all ripped and bins had flown away and there was debris everywhere. The restaurant was open because I had called in advance to check, but there were very few customers. So service was exceptional. We got a brilliant view of the harbour front and could see the weather at it's glory.

Happiness was short-lived when they lowered the signal to Typhoon 3 and we had to get back to work. The locals must have been glued to their TVs as we were on our way back home, they were pouring out of the subways to head to work. Crazy workaholics! I went back to work in the afternoon and spent a pleasant afternoon as half the patients decided that it was too much of a hassle to come out and see the podiatrist.

My first typhoon is pretty cool. They have different levels from level 1 where they warn you there may be a typhoon to level 11 where it is dangerous and we have to stay indoors for fear of our lives. The rains have codes as well, with black rain being the most severe rainstorms and we have to stay indoors. I think the local population can be overcautious, as Glasgow has gale force winds and I still wander out in my naivety. However, this country has a history of loss of life from weather conditions and they may be wise to steer on the side of caution. We don't want any cute little Hong Kee girls blown away into the sea do we now?