Transamerica Building

I chanced to see this building from a photo dated back to the year 1997. It was the shape of this extraordinary tall pyramid in United States that attracted me. Immediately I wrote an e-mail to Felix to find out its name. I did not take long to get the answer, “Transamerica!”

Felix once invited me to go to San Francisco to celebrate the wedding anniversary of my couple (Silver Jubilee) on Golden Gate Bridge. The idea was good, but I did not have that desire to do so.

It was not until 2006 that my wife and I could step on US soil to take a look at the Golden Gate Bridge from both ends and car-riding on it as well as looking at this mysterious Transamerica Building from Telegraph Hill and from a street called Greenwich. Although I never came close to this building, I was quite satisfied for being near to it. At least it was my landmark in San Francisco long before I went there!

"Where have all the grapes gone? Long time passing......."

When Felix drove us to a winery called V. Sattui Winery (ever since 1885) at St. Helena on Napa Valley, I expected to see green, red and purple grapes growing everywhere.

To my disappointment, I could not see the scene of fully-riped grapes growing. Instead I could only find columns of branches of grape plants from which small leaves were beginning to grow. How amazing that fresh leaves and juicy grapes could later grow out of these brown dry-like branches! That is nature.

I like eating grapes, whether dry or fresh, but not drinking wine. This winery showed many different kinds of wine, but I had no interest at any of its bottles, so it was purely a visit to me.

"Where have all the grapes gone? Long time passing......." The answer is: “Gone to the wine refinery!” I hope I can see lovely bunches of grapes growing when I visit this winery next time!

Petrol and Petrol Station

I seldom go to Petrol Station these days after my retirement. For three and a half years, I had to cross two tunnels and travel 42 km a day (for double journeys). The tank of my car was to be refilled twice a month. In all my years at CCSC, a large sum of money went into the pockets of the oil and tunnel companies. You may say I have been working for these profit-making companies.

It was the first time I saw Felix insert his 50 US dollars into the slot of a oil pumping machine in a petrol station nearby his home. It was interesting indeed to see that the machine could recognize that dollar-note and Felix began to fill his oil tank with the oil “gun”. Everything here was self-served!

In Australia, the prices of petrol are different at different petrol stations. The prices are like those of seafood. Moreover, the prices may fluctuate on different days of the week. The cheapest price may appear on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. Drivers in this case will look at the prices on the boards outside the stations when they pass by. The pumping of petrol is self-served, but payment should be made at the counter.

In Hong Kong, drivers can sit back by giving instructions on what kind and amount or value of petrol to be refilled. The purchase can be made in cash, or by credit cards or oil cards. In the past, gifts in the form of tissue paper or bottles of distilled water were given to the customers, but nowadays nothing but the receipts go into their hands. There are two types of unleaded petrol. I was always asked, “Platinum unleaded or “Golden unleaded?”. My answer is always “The cheaper kind”. The reason was very simple. My car was just a 1500 c.c. one. I do not need the more powerful petrol (as advertised). Saving that $1 each litre may save a lot. Yesterday, I filled my oil tank again and noticed that the dearer kind of petrol rose to HK$13.81 per litre while the cheaper kind HK$12.99 per litre. The prices of petrol have gone up to a very high level. Nowadays, driving has become one kind of luxurious sports in Hong Kong.

Up and Down Balloon

I noticed a big yellow balloon high in the air in a distance the other day when we were at the Promenade near Fullerton Hotel, Singapore. I could not locate its exact location because I knew nothing about the area around me.

However on the day I went out alone to take photos, I finally arrived at the spot where I could see it, face to face, on the ground. The balloon was of the usual colours of yellow and red of the “DHL”. I believed “DHL” should be one of the sponsors!

Here, I quoted the advertisement from a tourist guide:

“The DHL Balloon@Bugis

New attraction now opened. Ride the World’s Biggest Helium Balloon. Fly up into the air at 150m with nothing under your feet and only a big balloon above your head to enjoy the best panoramic city view. It is a unique and extraordinary experience which will leave you full of excitement. U can fly!!!”

The admission fee is S$23 (HK$115) per adult and the duration of the flight is about 7 – 10 minutes.

Unlike balloons in other parts of the world, this one can only go up or down. It cannot really fly across Singapore island. I understand quite well that if it flies freely, it will endanger the flights of planes to the airport.

If this balloon only reaches a height of 150m, it is no more than our standing at the top of a 50 - storey building in the city and looking down. Maybe the feeling up there is a different matter. I guess that some lovers may make engagement or even marry right at that carriage below the balloon or parents may give flying experience to their children!

Bauhinia

One morning when we walked in a narrow street of Telok Karau in Singapore, I found a beautiful flower growing out of a hole made by a truncated branch of a Bauhinia tree. It attracted my attention because it suddenly appeared at my eye-level. I could not help holding up my camera and brought its image home.

I always like the colour of the flowers of a Bauhinia, being a colour between red and purple. The petals stretch out widely and elegantly to attract the attention of bees. The insect guides are distinct. Even if I am not a bee, I like their rich red colour. The anthers stand upright so that the bees could get its pollens easily.

Today, I see these flowers again in Hong Kong. I never notice their existence nearby my home for years. Anyway from now on, I will look at them whenever I have time!

Please study the Bauhinia flowers in the photos above closely. You will find them lovely!

Happy Birthday!

Birthday is always a +1 machine to a person. To us, it is just a reminder that we should add one year to our age.

My birthdays often fall on weekdays, so on those days of school the only people who knew my birthday were my family members and close relatives. I do not look upon celebrations from my parents, but in the past, usually they gave me “Lai See”s.

To our daughter and son, it was different. When they were still young as children, we bought them beautiful birthday cakes and birthday cards, with lighted candles at their tops. Photos were taken at the celebration moments with relatives crowded round them. The lights of these candles were blown off with our big mouthfuls. Hands were clapped and the usual birthday song sung. Of course, they would get “Lai See”s from us as well.

As they grow up, celebrations of their birthdays become simple as eating outside and of course they are given “Lai See”s. Birthday cakes become uncommon.

If nowadays we put candles on a birthday cake for our birthdays, there ought to be more than fifty candles on it, like the burning of a small forest on a white snowy ground.

Happy birthday to Yuen Siu!

Panting like Mimi

Mimi was Ho Keung and Yin Ping’s dog in Australia. On one evening, we took her out for a walk in the neighbourhood, just for about 300 metres. On her return journey she began to pant, breathing heavily, sitting down several times and looking up at us. We understood quite well that she was tired owing to old age and lack of exercises. When she arrived home, she kept on panting. Instead of eating her dinner, she lay down to rest. She took totally an hour to recover.

This reminded me of a similar case with me! It was on a school sports day at Hong Kong Government Stadium some 30 years ago. At that time, some of our teachers were invited to join a relay race between teachers and students. Towards noon, the 4x100 metres relay race began. I was the one to run the last 100 metres. When the baton came into my hands, the teacher’s team was still in the lead. Close to the finishing point I was passed by two students and so our teacher’s team came third. We LOST and felt a little disappointed because we did not get any consolation prize such as a bronze medal for each runner. I was sweating, panting, feeling very exhausted with a rapid-beating heart.

Soon it was time to have lunch. All our staff went to the canteen of the SCAA(South China Athletics Association). At our dining table my heart still beat very hard for I had not recovered my breath. I drank a lot of water and that destroyed my appetite for the lunch. It took me half an hour to calm down and turn better. I thought the teacher’s team had found the wrong person to run the last 100 metres. I could be fast at walking, but not at running!

Sausalito

It is a small fishing port to the north-east of Golden Gate in San Francisco with wooden piers at the edge of its shore and houses compactly built in rows up the hill on the other side. The lampposts, houses and shops bordering the road are old, but those houses higher up the hill are modern.

We arrived there at about half past ten on the morning of April 21, 2006. I was astonished to find several parking meters at the roadside. Luckily, Felix could find a parking space for his Honda. I left Felix to feed the meter because I did not have coins nor any card.

Felix took photos of me and wife in a small park at the roadside. It was strange to find a fountain and a statue of an elephant inside. Felix told me a story about it, but I had forgotten it already.

Soon we stood before some cafés and restaurants. Felix suggested to have a little food inside one of its cafés.

We sat down at a small table and made our choices of cakes and drinks. When the cakes arrived, Audrey was so quick-witted that she found some mould on one of the cakes. She took back the cake to the counter for change. I wondered why the waiter did not examine the cake before he handed it over to us! I believed that the cake should be stale for a day or two. My cup of milk tea was just ordinary to taste. Our milk tea in Hong Kong (大牌檔奶茶) could certainly beat it. During our stay in the café, I went alone into a gift shop to buy some souvenirs.

After such an impressive brunch, we went to the nearby piers to take a few pictures.

Next we left this small village and found our way to our next stop, the Muir Woods.

UA planes

The plane we boarded to San Francisco was a Boeing 747. It was the first time for us to take such a big plane to a foreign country. It must be an old plane because a screen had to be pulled down so that films could be projected onto it. I was only interested in the information where the plane was, its altitude, its flying speed and the wind speed outside. The three films on show were old and dull. I did not even know any actor or actress in the casts. Maybe it was the purpose of the airline company to put everybody to sleep.

Flying in such long hours (11 hours) was like punishment. We were stiff from head to feet. We were told that we could stretch our legs and body by standing up or walk about, but I did not do this because I would block people’s viewing those “rubbish” films. It was nice to go to the toilet because it was an act of "double" relief.

Meals and drinks were served to us at different times of the day. The food was not as good as expected, but enough to fill the stomach of a stiff body. The air-hostesses were matured enough to be mothers. None of them looked like a beauty queen. The flight was not enjoyable to me at all because our seats were not at the windows.

The domestic flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles was better because the plane was a newer “Airbus” and it took only one hour. Of course no meal was served, but drinks. This time, I could sit at a window, but unfortunately what I could see outside were white clouds and rain. Another disappointment sank my heart to the bottom.

Husband and wife as marathon runners

When couples of husband and wife both run the Marathon in Hong Kong, they may face the following problems:

1. Most probably they cannot keep each other’s paces.

2. It is difficult for them to communicate when they are a certain distance apart. One may think that they can talk by mobile phones, but they are running on freeways, through tunnels and on bridges. There are no landmarks such as Jardines House (formerly called Connaught Centre) and IFC. What they do is to tell each other which lamppost he or she has reached. For example, the husband will say, ”I am at lamppost 816. Where are you?” The wife will say, ”I have just passed 709.”

3. They cannot run hand in hand because it will certainly hinder other people who are going to pass them.

4. They cannot drink water with the same cup, with one sip from the husband and the other from the wife.

5. In normal cases, man should chase woman, but in marathon run, a woman normally chase after a man.

6. There are thousands of runners on the runway. In the long run, the wife will lose sight of the husband and the best solution is to tell each other beforehand, “Let’s meet at Café de Coral”.

“Are you a Japanese?”

A dark-skinned American cashier asked me this question inside this big glass of Coca Cola when I brought a number of key-chains and ball-pens to the counter.

I answered, “No, I am not! I am a Chinese from Hong Kong!”

Do I look a Japanese?

Even If I were a Japanese, the answer would be the same. If I said yes, I might receive a blow on my face when she thought of Pearl Harbour in Hawaii during WWII.

When I was at Sausalito, a small fishing port to the north-east of the Golden Gate, I went into a gift shop. This time, I met a Chinese cashier. I spoke in English, “How much is this?” She asked me if I came from Hong Kong. “Oh! Yes, I am!” I felt at home at that time because there was someone who could see that I was a Hongkongnese!

“Where is MID?”

This was where I was asked by a young girl the way to MID? I know where AIA is in Hong Kong, but I didn’t know where MID was in Singapore.

I said politely to her,“ Sorry, I don’t know!” I could not ask her back, “What is MID?”

I would be embarrassed if I told her that I was a tourist from Hong Kong and that I, myself, was using a map to find out where I was. At that time, I asked myself, “Do I look like a Malay or Singaporean or a person who knows the way?” I watched her walk away.

I stayed at the crossroads there for some while because I wanted to take a photo of as many taxis that I could. There were many colours for taxis, yellow, red, blue, silvery and multi-colours. The big difference between Hong Kong taxis and Singapore ones is when the latter have passengers on board in the night-time, the light at their tops would be on!

In this photo, there are different modern private cars, a double-deckered bus, cargo vans, lorries and a motor-bike. There were “red light” cameras there similar to those in Hong Kong.

Queen Mary 2

I am extremely happy to learn that this enormous passenger ship arrived at Hong Kong recently. It travelled exactly the same route I took a couple of months ago, from Australia to Hong Kong , then to Singapore.

I heard from Ho Keung and Yin Ping that it visited Sydney, Australia in Mid-February. Yin Ping suggested me to ring the bell when it entered the Victoria Harbour, but I did not because the ringing of such a small bell could not be heard by the passengers on board.

I learned from newspapers that it could not park at Ocean Terminal because of its huge size and its length of 1132 feet. It could only park at Kwai Chung Container Pier. The passengers from Hong Kong and Inland China would have to board the ship at the pier surrounded by containers and cranes.

Obviously Hong Kong needs a better and well-equipped sea-terminal for these luxurious passenger ships to anchor at. It is believed that in 5 years' time, a new passenger pier will be completed at Kai Tak (at the side of the runway of the old airport).

The photo on the right shows the historic moment of the modern Queen Mary 2 saying farewell to the beautiful Victoria harbour on its way to Singapore.

Did I drop a ten-cent coin?

As I was walking on a road with my family in Mid-levels on February 20 (年初三), I found a circular brass plate on the ground. At first sight, it looked like a ten-cent coin! A closer look gave me some Chinese words “荷李活道”. I had never seen a coin as big as that nor our government issued a coin in the name of Hollywood Road. That was interesting – a road sign on the ground. It was a good idea to place such road sign on the ground because every time when we walked along the pavement, we had to watch out for holes, “mines” and up-and-down steps (often appeared in Mid-levels).

I wish the idea of these road signs can be extended to all corners of Hong Kong. In the past, road signs were rare to see and it took quite a long time for people to find out what street they were walking on.

A tall building and its image

Beautiful people like to look at themselves in mirrors. Now, even beautiful buildings can see themselves in mirrors!

Where are these buildings?

It was not a miracle

On the freeway to New Town (which was old enough to be an Old Town) in Australia, very heavy rain fell. All cars moved at very slow speed. With care and patience, I drove Ho Keung’s Mitsubishi through the curtains of rain. The closer to New Town, the less rain fell. Rain almost stopped when we reached the narrow street where Loretta, Kenny and Alison lived. Kenny told us beforehand by phone that his area had little rain and that there was a parking space in front of his house.

It was really a narrow street with the width of two cars side by side. When I first saw the space, I thought it would take me some time to park the car into it. I was not confident in doing so, but I tried my best. With care and slow motion, I could manage to bring the car into this little space. The satisfaction came from the fact that this Mitsubishi could perform well under my control. Luckily I did not bump the car into the cars in front and behind, otherwise I could not leave Australia without paying compensation.

What do the registration numbers of these two cars together mean to you?

When I was driving my car GY2570 through Shing Mun Tunnel on the first day of this Lunar New Year, my wife discovered that the registration number of the "BMW" before us was FF6665. She had sensed something to herself and to me! I received her signal and asked my wife to take a photo of the car out of the tunnel because my hands were on the steering wheel at that time. It was amazing to find such a car with its registration number matching with mine!

To be fair, I should tell everybody that these numbers had already made up a telephone number which thousands of people were, are and will be familiar with.

It was a perfect match again before my eyes. The chance of meeting this car in the same place and at the same time was really low!

What is this telephone number 25706665 to do with? I think clever people can get the answer easily!

Sweetness keeps coming

The golden bars of Club chocolate biscuits have entered Fortune Villa for many years. I like them most of the days in the past. Now that Chinese New Year has come and my daughter and son-in-law have bought me my favourite chocolate biscuits, I believe I will never feel hungry during Chinese New Year! Thank you, Connie and Philip! You know me well enough!

The gift from Hong Lit and Vivianne can possibly make me feel that I am eating sea-food at the table because there are shark fins (魚翅), (瑤柱) and Chinese mushrooms (冬菇). One thing is that I do not know how to cook. I have to wait for the most favourable time to eat them. The waiting time may be long or may be short! Thank you Lit and Vivianne!

This is not an advertisement

Here I should thank Hong Dik and Daisy in giving me such a wonderful gift at Chinese New Year. It is not only sweet to taste, but it also brings sweetness to our hearts.

At the very first sight, the hexagonal shape reminded me of the jumping marbles on a platform with holes(波子棋棋盤) in my old school days. Would the chocolates be arranged in 6 triangles? The answer was “no”.

When I took away the cover, I was amazed to find that it resembled a traditional Chinese New Year container (新年全盒) for holding sweets, white, red, black roasted watermelon seeds(瓜子) or sugared lotus seeds(糖蓮子), roots (糖蓮藕) and water-chestnuts (糖馬蹄). This time, the partitions inside were filled with round chocolates wrapped in colourful paper.

I would like to praise the designer of this container for its beautifully red colour and partitions inside. The chocolates inside are delicious, and as it says on the cover, “irresistibly smooth”. The last but not least merit went to the material in making this container - Cardboard - which can be recycled!

名不符實

Peak Café (山頂餐廳)– The photo shows Peak Café, but it is at Mid-levels.

Aberdeen Street (鴨巴甸街)– It is a street in Central linking Caine Road and Wellington Street.
I enjoyed driving on this road because once I was on this road, I had the feeling that I was sitting on a roller-coaster. It dropped a few hundred feet before it reached the foothill at its bottom. It is a good site of filming chasing cars like those scenes in western films.

Central Plaza (中瓖廣場)– It is a tall building in Wanchai. One can walk along the footbridge above Wanchai MTR Station, through it to reach Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The Waterfront (漾日居) – It was a group of buildings above the Kowloon Station (MTR). The name was welcoming to the owners because it possessed a panoramic view of the Victoria Harbour at time of purchase, but soon they found that the view disappeared as high rises of new buildings surrounding them. The north view was blocked by Sorrento (擎天半島), west by Union Square and the worst to come, south(harbour view) by The Harbour Side (君臨天下).
The name “The Waterfront” should be now changed to “The Inland”.

海心廟 – a temple which was in the past on a small island south of To Kwa Wan (土瓜灣). Now it is no longer out to the sea. It is a temple at the corner of a park called (海心公園) which is accessible by walking.

Sai Kung Street (西貢街)– It is a street in Yaumati linking Nathan Road (彌敦道) and Ferry Street (渡船街)

Sausalito - It ought to be a quiet fishing port to the north-east of Golden Gate, San Francisco! Now the name is brought to Hong Kong as the name of a set of buildings (嵐岸) at Ma On Shan.

A beautiful long-sleeved T-shirt

One day, we stopped at a shop selling clothes because in its shop-window, we discovered a T-shirt which bore a picturesque Golden Gate at San Francisco with beautiful yachts sailing idly on the sea. We marvelled at it, but its price was HK$78. It seemed a little expensive to us.

Weeks passed, its price remained the same. The week before Chinese New Year, we found it golden time to buy one because its price had dropped to HK$49. We did buy one. However, today it dropped to HK$39, which was half the price at the beginning.

There were 3 colours as its background, milky white, rosy pink and blue. The model in the photo is wearing the rosy pink. The model actually liked the white one as background, but there were no more “size 2”s at time of buying. We believed they had been sold out.

Actually there are 4 sizes, namely 1, 2, 3 and 4. Broadly-built ladies will choose 3 and 4. Medium-sized ones, 2 and slim ones, 1.

Well, the reason of buying this T-shirt is very simple. It brings back memories of our travelling in San Francisco with Felix Ching and Mrs. Sinn. What a happy 3-day visit in my dreamland, San Francisco with my dear old friends!

Apples with Chinese characters

Have you seen this kind of apples before? I found one last July.

At a supermarket, I snatched it at once because I had never seen such an apple with a Chinese character on its skin before. Unfortunately, I could not find any other apples of this kind, otherwise I would buy the whole box. I treasured this extraordinary apple in my refrigerator! In my heart, I could add other words to make sense, such as “恭喜發財”!

Days passed. To me, it was as precious as gold, but I could not keep it for long. Eventually it would become rotten. Before we ate it, I took photos of my wife and daughter holding it and the one above with its brothers and sisters.

My family love Fuji apples (富士蘋果) because they look beautiful and sweet. At first they came from Japan and were usually very expensive. Soon China produced Fuji apples as well. The prices were much lower, but their quality remained good.

The best Fuji apples should appear to be redder, preferably rich in textures with small orange-yellow coloured spots in between the red colour and a small yellowish area at its base (the right-hand bottom one in the above photo is a nice apple).

Avoid choosing those which appear to be pale yellow and without textures. They are less sweet. Never buy those with bruises, otherwise you are eating 90% of an apple. They are actually beginning to decay, decompose…..! I am quoting those terms which Felix often used in his old days at CCSC.

Age Discrimination exists in Hong Kong

On the first day of school several years ago, I stepped into the classroom of my class. As usual, there was a slight stir in the class. My students finally knew who their class-teacher was. There were no more guesses. A girl sitting two seats further away looked up at me and commented, “噤老嘅”. Of course I was very unhappy about it! Should I scold her for impoliteness?

A second thought came to my mind that I should not do so! I swallowed her words and pretended that I did not hear them. The reason was: If I was angry with her, that meant I admitted I was old. I was calm and carried out my work. I totally ignored her words of discrimination. I said to myself: If I was ugly, she would certainly remarked, “噤醜嘅”! If I was bald, she would say, “光頭嘅”! She had the freedom of speech, but she had already hurt me.

I think an ugly person needs not be sorry because it is not his/her fault. The fault lies on his/her parents who bore him/her . Even if I were that old, I would not feel sorry. It is not my fault. It is ageing!

I noticed that this girl loved worshipping young singers and often sang their songs. I was sure that this girl always expected teenagers and young teachers around her.

She was so unlucky that I was still her Mathematics teacher in the following two years. No doubt she did not listen in my lessons and in one lesson, she took out a mirror to see if her hair was nicely combed. She definitely put much time on her appearance and did not work hard at all. I really believed she would be scared to death when one day she found white hairs growing out and wrinkles building up on her forehead.

It was two years ago. One day at school, I heard some students calling one of my colleagues in her absence as “黃老太”. At that time, the name was often heard in TV from an advertisement of a big supermarket in Hong Kong. This is another example of age discrimination!

What will you feel when one day someone calls you “老伯” “婆婆” although you think you are not that old?

The sounds of footsteps

The sound of footsteps may be good to someone like Ho Keung in Australia. It is a training to the sensitivity of his ears.

In the past when his house was not carpeted, he could know where his children and wife were! “Now, Yin Ping must be in the kitchen! Next she is walking to the washing machine and turning on the water tap.” Ho Keung could detect these sounds easily.

If Ho Keung and Yin Ping had mutual agreement, with one knock of Yin Ping’s shoes on the floor, Ho Keung would know that breakfast was ready. With two knocks, lunch. With three knocks, dinner. With four knocks, ……!

In San Francisco, it is a different picture. Felix will receive a phone call from his wife whenever a meal is ready. It is good and fast, but costly! What happens when the battery is low? Felix will have no food for the day!

Ho Keung and Yin Ping gave us a small bell as gift. At first, I did not know its use. Later I learned that when someone rang it, it would mean dinner was ready. Sorry! We never used it because our flat was small as compared with Ho Keung’s and Felix’s houses. With a shout of “Open rice”, everybody would know that dinner was ready. Now the bell is still with us, for our eyes only!

Twin Towers

Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are worldwide famous. World Trade Centre Twin Towers were even more famous, but now they were gone.

Well, when I was in Singapore, I found twin towers too. They were the Gateway and Suntek City Towers. These two pairs of twin towers appeared to be in perfect harmony.

The Gateway is a pair of prisms with cross-sections of congruent parallelograms. The Suntek City Towers are like two identical “Lego” blocks placed closed together.

Both pairs of Twin Towers (I called them) have reflectional symmetry.

A building as thin as a sheet

Do you think that a building can be as thin as a sheet? From the photo, the building looks as if it is a sheet of paper standing on the ground. Is it interesting?

When I walked off from Bugis Junction to explore places by myself in Singapore, I took a few shots of a grand hotel called Park View Square.

Next, I walked across the grass lawn by its side and noticed a strange building as thin as a sheet before me. It seemed an illusion to me! I could not stop raising my camera to record this wonderful sight.

Next I walked closer to have a closer look at the building. Soon I discovered that it had thickness. That building was in fact a prism with a cross-section of a parallelogram. I am not teaching Mathematics here, but my students would be able to visualize it.

I admired the designer of this building because he/she had raised a building structured in Geometry in spite of its practical use in such a shape.

Here I hope my relatives, friends, colleagues and students will take photos of this kind which can create illusions and share these photos with me.

X8 X6 X5

In Sydney, Singapore as well as United States of America, a lot of calculations went through my head when I went into shops and markets. I roughly estimated the prices of articles and took quick comparisons between similar ones in Hong Kong and those before my eyes. If the answer was “Yes”, there were still these things to consider.

(1) Are they too heavy or bulky to carry?

(2) Are they forbidden to take on the plane?

(3) Are they breakable or liable to change shape before they reach home?

(4) Are they liable to dirty all our clothes when broken?

X8

The tourist guide in our US tour to Los Angeles and Las Vegas told us that it was good to go to United States because there were not many things for us to buy since everything was so dear. His words were true!

At Los Angeles, I bought a Pictorial Map of San Francisco for US$7.5 and at Las Vegas, two T-shirts, US$9.9 each, from an outlet which supposed to sell cheap goods, some light souvenirs from Coca-cola and M & M shops.

I hated paying GST in America. Take for example, when the price of an article was marked at US$9.9, I had to pay more than that and the bill often came out to be an awkward figure. I did not know how much to pay until I was told at the counter.

X6

At Circular Quay in Sydney, I bought a black cap bearing a white kangaroo at the front, an Australian flag and five white stars on its sides and “Sydney, Australia” at the back. This cap contained everything I wanted, so I bought it. It cost A$9.9. Further on, small dolls of a kangaroo and a koala and 6 key-chains went into my shopping bag. Actually many of the souvenirs I bought home were made in China.

X5

In Singapore, my wife bought several T-shirts, but not fur coats otherwise my wallet would be emptied. Thanks to the hot climate of this country! Our chief target in this trip was to buy home some dried beef and pork as gifts to our beloved relatives. The task was done on a wet afternoon and the meat was quite expensive, about S$100. That was an exchange of Half a Golden Cow (金牛) for some dried beef and pork.(牛肉乾.豬肉乾). In this trip, I only bought a plastic magnet, some key-chains and a map of Sydney. It was strange that standing in a bookstore in Singapore, I could not find maps of this country. Maybe they were hidden somewhere that I could not see!

Click-Clock Click-Clock

“Click-Clock, Click-Clock” as the sounds go, I will either walk crazily faster to leave the sounds behind or deadly slower to let them go past me. I often come across these sounds in the streets or inside shopping centres in Hong Kong when people walk with their high-heeled shoes or well-polished leather-based shoes. I hate these sharp sounds because my ears cannot tolerate them. I think the people wearing such shoes believe that they will become more elegant or upper-class. Thanks to the inventor of rubber-based shoes. People can walk or run softly on the ground with these shoes. Notice that even our luxurious cars run on wheels made of rubber!

Some may think that the "click-clock" sounds are those which warn other people that he or she (the boss) is around or those of an attractive man or lady who is coming near.

The beating of shoes on the stage by dancers in a performance will certainly make me sick too. So I believe sounds can kill!

Map newly arrived from America!

An hour ago this morning, when I returned home after breakfast at Fairwood, I received a better map of Foster City. It was from Felix. Thanks to the Internet because I could get it in almost a few seconds' time. If it was sent by post, it would take about five days. The photo actually travelled almost ten thousand miles. I could feel the heat from the photo because it arrived freshly from United States of America!

It is really a good detailed map of Foster City. May be Felix got it from his friends who work on realty. May I know the cost of buying such houses there at this moment?

It is indeed a wonderful response from Felix because he gives me the greatest fun in my matching game and makes it to perfection.

Map showing Foster City, San Francisco

This is a map showing Foster City in San Francisco Bay Region issued by California State Automobile Association.

It shows the general layout of the roads. It is not attractive to me because it is neither colourful nor detailed enough. Anyway it is still useful to me when I go to San Francisco next time.

Felix knows San Francisco well!

I want to reflect that Felix not only knows San Francisco well on the ground, but also knows it well from the air. He points out to me that he has seen Foster City in one of my aerial photos.

Bingo! He is definitely correct.

The arrangement of the houses are in a circular manner and the shapes of the waterways look exactly like those in the map he sent me long before I started my flight to San Francisco.

Thanks to Felix for giving such a map to me so that I can play the game of matching my photos with it.

What a Perfect Match!

In one of blogs about my Singapore visit, I mentioned that I had bought a map of Sydney from a Singapore bookstore at Parkway Parade. What a big surprise and joy that I discovered the Silver Beach (words in red) towards the south-east of Kingsford Smith Airport (Sydney Airport) on my map matches with the landscape I showed in my previous blog. It was amazing! Another proof to this was from the round white oil tanks in the photo that match with the site of the Caltex Oil Refineries on the map. The outstanding breakwater (a structure that breaks the force of waves to shelter a harbour) in the photo also matches with the stick-like black line on the map.

Earlier the photo of the Parramatta River taken on the Cathay plane which was going to land on Sydney Airport again well-matched with a part of my map. I can tell anyone which portion of the river it is.

Landscapes

I love to take photos of landscapes from the air (plane actually). Thanks to on-line check-ins that I could book a window seat each time on the flights to and from Singapore, as well as on those of Sydney. It was wonderful to take photos ever since the Cathay Plane flew past the Gulf of Carpentaria in early morning and inland towards south-east to Sydney as well as during the return journey that the plane flew out to the Pacific and took a 180-degree turn to fly back by the same route back to Hong Kong.

The above photo was one of those I took when the plane took off from Sydney International Airport. It showed part of the coastline to the south-east of the airport after its big turn. It seemed nothing unusual. To me, it is a great fun because I may one day visit this long beach next time when I go to Sydney!

Nougats from Australia

I bought home some nougats produced by GOLDEN BORONIA (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD from the Paddy’s Market near Darling Harbour, Sydney. It was a two-kilogram giant packet containing six different flavoured nougats packed individually in small distinguishable coloured plastic packets.

1. Golden Boronia Original Crunchy nougats are in deep-red packets, chewable and
sweet.

2. Golden Boronia Apricot soft nougats are in orange-rimmed packets, really soft and sweet, not crunchy at all.

3. Golden Boronia Original Soft nougats are in blue rimmed packets, soft but not
sweet.

4. Green Tea Soft nougats are in green rimmed packets, chewable with nuts, soft with a little taste of green tea.

5. Cappuccino Soft nougats are in skin-coloured rimmed packets, soft and in cappuccino taste, like eating cappuccino, but not drinking it.

6. Golden Borona Cappuccino Crunchy nougats are in a darker skin-coloured packets, quite hard and crunchy and sweet.

New Names overwrite Old Names

My family – son, daughter and wife often laugh at me when I talk of the name “Dairy Lane” because they think that the name is too old to be spoken of!

Here I bring out some old names which have been replaced by new ones in Hong Kong:

Old name - New name

Shops Dairy Lane - Wellcome Supermarket

Hong Kong Telephone Co. - PCCW

Banks The Chartered Bank - Standard Chartered Bank

廖創興銀行 - 創興銀行

Places Junk Bay - Tseung Kwan O

老虎岩 - 樂富

Departments Waterworks - Water Authority

Education Department - Education and Manpower Bureau

Organization The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club - The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Cartoon Ding Dong - Doraemon

School function School Picnic Day - Life-wide Learning Day

School subjects Art & Crafts - Design Fundamental

Domestic Science - Home Economics

Handicapped mentally-retarded - dyslexia

I hope this list can be further lengthened ……. ……by you.

Arrow Heads and Tails

I used to live in Kowloon Tong for many years. Sometimes I took buses number 7 and travelled on Dorset Crescent and Kent Road either by car or on foot.

Two weeks ago when I was in Singapore, I saw buses number 7 again not only in the city proper, but also near Telok Karau. These double-deckers gave me a warm feeling which brought back many funny memories of the past. On that Saturday, January 20, we boarded one to Clementi (same name of our Government school in North Point). On the day I went to taste Pork Ribs Soup at Farrer Park, I was startled to see the names of the two roads, Dorset Road and Kent Road nearby. They are so familiar to me!

My daughter, Connie, studied two years in Kentville Kindergarten. There were two campuses, one on Kent Road and the other on Dorset Crescent. We sent her to this kindergarten because of three reasons. Firstly, all her cousins had their pre-schooling there. Secondly, it was near home and thirdly, she could take a school bus with her classmates to school. She began to widen her social circle at school and in the bus.

This kindergarten was famous for its teaching children to write, draw, paint or make handicrafts. Each day my daughter brings home her homework books, or pictures or crafts, sometimes even test papers. We enjoyed looking at her study progress. One day, as usual we opened one of her homework books. We were puzzled to see a strange thing. My daughter’s teacher asked her to practise drawing arrow heads "<-- "that day, but instead she drew them like this "--<". My hearts sank to the bottom because she was unable to draw an arrow in the usual way. Instead she drew the tail of an arrow with feathers. “Was she mentally-retarded ?” came to our mind. We did not go to meet the teacher nor we took her to see a doctor. We decided to take observation. Okay later on she was able to draw arrow heads after practices and observations. She was a normal child after all! Well, looking back, I believed that my daughter either had creative power in turning an arrow head into its tail or she was rebellious enough to draw the arrows her teacher demonstrated the other way. Maybe she was at that time fond of psychology, testing her parents for their reaction on such an impact of her daughter's wrong perception of a symbol. The example below is often used to test people’s perception of length like these " <--> " and “>--<”. People are often asked if the straight lines have equal length.

Now my daughter is in psychology and social service field. Thanks to Kentville Kindergarten for its teachers , big campus and school bus.