December 15, 2003

Monday nostalgia

Friday night was the work Christmas party. The lads headed to Dublin Jacks for a couple of warmers before making our way to the venue. A nightclub called Fly. Now being completelt out of the loop in terms of hip and happening places, I quickly realised this was a "hot" spot. At the door a burly security guard was checking passes and business cards to gain entry. We negotiated a tight spiral stairwell to be greeted by a door that swished open like on the Starship Enterprise. It was one of those long and thin bars with concrete floors, bagunga-bagunga music and lots of drunken co-workers downing shots and toasting one another. The usual flirting induced by alcohol and an out-of-work environment was impaired by a dangerously lop-sided male-to-female ratio. A few of us headed for the exit and hoofed it over to Blowfish, a trendy Japanese place, for some sake and sushi. Ironic how I did not eat Japanese food once in Japan, yet eat it regularly in HK.

Saturday I got to sleep in as Mrs M was under the mistaken impression I got home at a ridiculous hour of the morning. My task of the day was to accompany my sister-in-law on her quest to single handedly drag Hong Kong's economy out of recession. In this task she was successful. We started at Causeway Bay, wondering the streets and finally ending at Times Square, a 12 level shopping mall/food nirvana. Being in HK we did some mobile phone shopping before being joined by Mrs M. Next stop was a trip to Mongkok where we had lunch at a great local place. Always an enjoyable experience where my extremely limited Cantonese meets the universal food sign language. Lots of pointing and gesturing resulted in a very satisfying meal. We wondered the Ladies' Market for a while with about a million other people. I don't know if it's the approach of Christmas or increased tourism but either way there were a lot of people. Interestingly a truck decided to make its way down the middle of the market while we were there. For those who've not had the pleasure, imagine a street of stalls with a 2.5 feet in roadway between them. Then cram everyone browsing into that 2.5 feet. Then put a truck coming down that roadway. You get the picture. Every stallholder had to move their stall tables in to allow the truck to pass. Never have so many fakes moved so quickly. Luckily for most of the stallholders they didn't have time to put much of their goods back on display before the police launched a raid. The HK police make a big show of clamping down on the trade in fakes. Fake handbags, fake watches, fake DVDs, fake everything. What I don't understand is when I watch these police make their way from stall to stall, and seemingly at random choose some stalls to "clamp down" on, while others selling exactly the same are passed by. I'm sure bribes/traids don't come into it.

On our return to Causeway Bay we stopping in at Sogo, a department store, in search of Christmas decorations to give as gifts. It was a lamentable place with poor merchandise and shoddy displays. And yet it was also packed. We quickly gathered our essentials and departed for home, tired and laden with shopping bags. That evening we had a Christmas champagne party in Tai Tam. The night passed pleasantly enough with the usual chit-chat and slow inebriation. My sister-in-law decided spending a night with married couples was not her "thing" and she braved the wilds of Lan Kwai Fong instead. A great part of HK is that a single woman can safely negotiate places such as this without any fear. She returned at the same time we did, vowing to return to HK to shop and party again.

Sunday was a lazy day. Mrs M and her sister went shopping, again. That left me with PB and JC. We headed to the playground, returned home, returned to the playground and headed home again. JC didn't get out of her pyjamas all day. She had a great time in the playground with her friends. She introduced me to her mates as Daddy, and thenceforth I was Jaimee's Daddy for the rest of the afternoon. PB merrily played in the sandpit for an hour or so, desperately digging her way to freedom, only to find concrete. PB is quickly learning to talk. Amongst her first words are Buzz, Nemo and Barbie. As a soon-to-be shareholder in Disney and Mattel I am so proud. Then last night sister-in-law treated Mrs M and myself to dinner at the Madarin Grill. Snooty and posh, the meal itself was 2/3rds great and 1/3rd disappointing. Mrs M and her sister both had a steak diane, prepared at the table and mouth-wateringly delicious. I opted for sirloin, which came over-cooked and with a lame bernaisse sauce. Food envy was a big problem. A desert of chocolate cake and creme brulee somewhat eased the pain. We walked passed a wedding reception on our way out and the ladies decided to poke their head in. The entrance lobby had assorted portraits and photographs of the happy couple in various poses, combined with such soppy sentimental poems that I feared my steak would return. The ladies commented how crazy it was to have wedding shots before the big day, as then the groom would see the wedding dress before the wedding! They really pick up on the little things. We headed up to Vong for a quick gander at the view before heading home for the warm comfort of bed. It has been getting steadily cooler in HK of late so we are very much looking forward to our return to the Australian summer next week. Sun, swimming, surf and sand beat shivering, sweatshirts and sleepiness. And with that lame attempt at alliteration I'll end this post.

Posted by Simon at December 15, 2003 10:00 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Heh. Indeed.

Posted by: Glenn at December 15, 2003 10:38 PM
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