Sai Kung

I went hiking yesterday with the Yip sisters. I couldn't remember the last time I had been out of a city setting, so the fresh air was welcomed. After a 90 minute trip out into the New Territories, we found what we thought was our trail and set off. I am just now realizing that we were on a completely different part of the trail than we thought.

Our hike was expected to be along a nice beach for a few hours, but instead we climed up and down four mountians over 11km and ascended up 400m to a peak. There were stairs along the steep parts, but they almost made it worse on my ageing knees.


Our trail ended in a great fishing village, Sai Kung. Its quite touristy, but for a reason. Along the docks there are plenty of restaurants that put their fresh catches into large tanks. When you're ready to eat, you walk over and point out what your craving. Then, the chef prepares your 'catch' however you like. The three of us easily put away a 6lb. fish, two crabs and a pound of shrimp.

All in all, the views were terrific and the setting serene. Our dinner was fantastic too. It felt great to get out of the city and hopefully I'll find some time to do some more treks.

Sick Games

I left work early on Thursday with a fever and I've been in bed for 48 hours since. I'm feeling much better now, but I'm fresh out of '24' episodes. My sinuses are also clearing and everything is coming up. I've taken a few steps to cure the boredom. I'm on my bed, window open to the cool breeze and 21 floors below is; not sure and don't want to check because...Whenever I cough something up, I spit it out the window and wonder where that gooey glob landed. Then, I write about it on the internet.

Gross? Not until you've tried it.

Mr. Jack Hammer

I remember walking down the streets of New York multiple times and feel the sidewalk begin to shake, or at my desk 21 floors up and hear the building rumble and think to myself, “It would not sadden me if I never hear the pneumatic sound of a jackhammer ever again.”

Alas, not fifty yards from my desk in Hong Kong, two 40 story apartment buildings are being constructed. Outside the school, the air is constantly filled with sound waves of whining cement trucks, swirling cranes, and of course the abhorrent jackhammer.

I am sitting in the garden on the roof of my school, trying to escape the chaos of the classroom, but even my iPod cannot rescue me from the machine gun battle that rages in the construction zone across the way. Neither can the book I’m reading which is ironically describing a scientist’s efforts to control the sound of the universe and turn all of its annoyances off. Until this fiction becomes a reality though, I won’t be able to concentrate enough to even finish the chapter.

Whoever invented this beastly tool should be imprisoned for disturbing global peace. I think his sentence should be lying on a bed with a jackhammer constantly drilling next to his head, 24/7. I doubt he would survive a week before he lost his mind and was crippled with internal tremors for the rest of his quaking days.

The rattling of the jack hammer outside or the Chinese chatter in the classroom; which one should I choose?