East VS West - Cultural Differences

I've been raving about how much I like Hong Kong in recent posts but I thought it would be good to document some of my observations on the cultural differences between East and West.

In western culture it seems the norm for old folks to be banded together in bingo halls or homes for the aged where they are left to their own devices and seem for the most part bored shitless. I think the elderly here are given more respect and are definitely more active in society. Every morning they gather in throngs in the parks where they practice Tai Chi which is a form of 'blue rinse' martial arts (slow but graceful). I've seen 80+ year olds that put me to shame with the level of flexibility, dexterity and coordination they possess.

Middle aged/old ladies are extremely aggressive at barging and elbowing their way past you while queuing at bus stops, trams and trains. I've been knocked aside on several occasions.

Americans have a stereotype for being loud, but sit in a locals restaurant with a bunch of old Chinese men at the next table and you better bring ear plugs. They practically scream at each other in ordinary conversation.

Clearing the throat / spitting is more common on mainland China but also prevalent here especially the 'flem tonsil tango' - not too pleasant on the ears.

I've already blogged about how great the food is here but they do eat some strange stuff like boiled or deep fried chickens head (an acquired taste!)

Public Toilets can be a bit daunting at times with the squat toilet apparatus but you do get more thrust using this position.

We had our first cinema experience last night where the crescendo of burps and belches was 'almost' comical. It seems quite acceptable here to let rip, at least from one orifice.

Gambling is absolutely huge here but I've seen many people trying to 'pick a winner' of a different sort.

So if you want to blend here you should ignore western social etiquette and eat whatever you want, spit, burp and pick your nose in public. Maybe Homer Simpson was born here?

Tags: .Cultural differences Hong Kong China Asia spit burp flem pick nose. spitting.

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Four Floors of Whores

I found a cheap flight to Singapore (for u$d150 return) out of Maccau which is an old Portugese colony and about an hour ferry ride from Hong Kong. Considering it's Easter weekend that's a great deal. Singapore has a bit of a reputation for being sterile and strict but I haven't really noticed that too much on this or my last visit. It is not as scenic as Hong Kong but then again few places are.

The food in Singapore is fantastic and I sampled the renowned Tian Tian Chicken Rice supposedly the best in the country. It was good but I preferred the Malaysian version in KL. Alcohol is expensive especially wine and liquor. It's hot and humid here year round so the dress code is more relaxed with sorts and tee-shirt the norm and rarely jackets for business.

There is a big expat community and fairly young (late twenties early thirties) so quite an energetic youthful buzz to the place. They like to party here and there's no shortage of establishments to satisfy all tastes and desires including the 'four floors of whores' which is an entertainment complex (Orchard Towers, 400 Orchard Road) where apparently there are four floors with different bars and clubs but all offering one thing - Yup, it's a meat market where prostitutes offer their wares. Strangely enough prostitution is legal here but you can be arrested for spitting on the street or jaywalking and chewing gum is a big NO-NO!

Tags: ..4 Four Floors of Whores Singapore 400 Orchard road rd..

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Shit or Burst!

Things have been a bit mad strange recently.  I'm in a strange land (nought new for me) but without the missus (new for me) and there's been no routine and little structure to everyday life. Much as I've tried, I have little or no job prospects as an ex-banker but that doesn't bother me too much although some say it should.  Should it? 

I tend not to eat super healthy (wonton noodles x 7 days a week) and stay up till the wee hours but alternately I hike like a demon literally drinking up the fantastic scenery that is only a footstep away from the centre of the city.  There's no shortage of social activities and the expat and local people are super friendly.

Her indoors arrives in two weeks time and I've moved from a friends large 2 bedroom apartment to a small studio apartment in preparation.  I love Hong Kong and I really hope we can make things work here but if not I'll chalk it down to a great experience and maybe head back here for a second try someday but that's unlikely in the big scheme of the logic world I live in, so it's "Shit or Burst!" as they say back home.   I hope it's not the latter as you don't want to see what wonton noodles do to my insides!

Tags: .shit or burst..

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Hong Kong Sevens

Hong Kong Sevens

Today (in fact in 30 minutes) sees the start of one, if not THE, biggest sporting events in Asia. I only heard about the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament a few years ago and it is generally associated with the words "party" and "mayhem".

The tournament lasts 2 and a half days, commencing on Friday afternoon, and concluding on Sunday evening. Sevens is a stripped-down version of rugby union with seven players each side on a normal-sized field, rather than the normal fifteen and the game lasts just seven minutes each half.

I managed to score tickets so am pretty excited about the whole thing although Ireland didn't make it this year :-((

It is bucketing down rain here right now but it will take more than that to dampen the party spirit of the throngs of people who fly in from all over the world to watch this infamous spectacle. Check the YouTube video for a taster!

Tags: ..Hong Kong Sevens Rugby tournament 2009..

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Hiking in Honkers

It seems like I have sort of lost the plot or at least lost the 'gift of the gab' and don't quite know what to be rambling on about on this bit of the webisphere, so for now I'll just regale you with my hiking adventures.

Even though a thick fog of humidity has literally hung over the city for 5 weeks now and hidden the blue sky and prevented the sun from shining thru it is still pretty spectacular to hike in these parts. You can easily escape the concrete jungle and find yourself in the splendour of deep forest hills in minutes. I am in hiking heaven and am more impressed by this city on a daily basis.

The first set of pics is from a hike to Repulse Bay yesterday which was about a 3 hour hike and the second set is from Tai Tam reservoir which was about 4 hours. Oh - and check out the YouTube video of my view from the top of todays mountain - NOT to be missed!

Tags: ..Hiking in Honkers Hong Kong..

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NO SHIT!

A picture says a thousand words!

Tags: .NO SHIT, NO EXCRETING..

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Saint Paddy

The culture here is very different to anywhere else I've lived before but still in a positive and fascinating way. They eat strange stuff like birds nest soup and sharks fin soup. They drink strange stuff.

The photo below is a very popular energy drink here but with a rather unappealing name.

Here's another fav of the locals - Chickens feet.

Then there's pigs liver and pigs intestine. Turtle jelly where a turtle is boiled for about 12 hours. Chicken testicles either boiled or fried and owl soup including the head of the owl.

I can't say I've tried them all and can't say I ever will but it's a far cry from corn beef and cabbage! I've just realised I've spent the last 3 St Patricks Days on 3 different continents but the common denominator seems to be BEER!


Since legend has it that St Paddy cast the snakes out of Ireland, I must have another specialty around these parts in his honour i.e. some ssssssssssssnake soup (yep they eat that too!) or I might just settle for a pint o' Guinnessssssssssssssss!

HAPPY SAINT PADDYS DAY!

Tags: .St Saint Patricks Paddys Day Hong Kong..

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Paddy in Kuala Lumpur

I'm on route to Singapore on that quest for a....damn what is it again? - rhymes with 'mob' or 'sob' or 'gob' or 'rob'? .... well I forget now but I'm making a stopover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to give me time to remember. This is a vastly different part of Asia from what I've seen before. It's primarily a Muslim population in KL complete with women covered in traditional dress (body covered completely including a veil except for that slit to let them peep thru. There are huge multi storey shopping malls in the center with all the big designer gear (Gucci, Armani etc) and an equal amount of great restaurants (far removed from your foodcourts of USA or Europe)

We visited the impressive Batu Caves which has a Hindu temple built into a cave and is overrun with monkeys. One of the highlights todate was fish head soup which comes in a red curry style broth and is a local specialty. They say travel makes you grow but the only growing I've done so far is around the waist. My exercise regime has been shot to pieces. I've even managed to avoid Delhi belly (aka squirt alert) which although uncomfortable usually allows you to lose a few kgs.


We had two interesting encounters on Friday night. First a lady-boy (she-male) approached and then chased my friend up the street. We had a similar encounter in Vietnam where the only decipherible English was "Hey you - Special price - You - Me - 1 hour - Boom Boom - yes?" Second incident was witnessing a drunk driver plough into and completely wreck a taxi on a busy central street corner and drive off despite the fact there was a police kiosk on the same corner. Never a dull moment in this part of the world.

Tags: .Batu Caves Kuala Lumpur..

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Paddy in Vietnam

Two weeks of networking events and meeting headhunters in Hong Kong has been interesting but the outlook is still pretty bleak. I think the tone of the last post ended up being more morbid than I intended so rest assured I am anything but depressed. I may have to reinvent myself in order to succeed in re-entry into the employment rat race and so I'm looking on that as a bit of an adventure in itself. Fellow Irish blogger Thriftcriminal has the right attitude. People should try and be a bit more constructive in the midst of this economic crisis.

It's very easy and very Irish to bitch and moan and complain but in the end do nothing about it. We're a pretty resilient bunch if history is anything to go by but how the frik we just shrug off decades of political and corporate corruption is beyond me. The politicians and big businessmen made out like bandits in the bad times. They made out like super frikkin' bandits during the good times and they ran the country with one of the strongest economies in Europe into the ground as they flew around on their private jets and lined their pockets with taxpayers money with scam after scam. Somebody should be held to account but more chance of me going to Lourdes on a pilgrimage than that happening. End of rant - I promised you positivity after all.

Since I'm out this direction and the job market is what it is, I figured I'd take a little diversionary side trip. A friend is visiting from New York so we've got a few weekend trips planned starting with Ho Chi Min City (formerly Saigon) Vietnam.
The visa process was somewhat chaotic on arrival and the taxi ride from the airport was the stuff made of legend. I think the driver had rally car aspirations or wanted to get back to the airport rank as quickly as possible so he was honking the horn and flashing the high beams and veering into on coming traffic while weaving and dodging between the hundreds of scooters and motorbike drivers that swarm around the streets here. Crossing the road as a pedestrian is not for the faint hearted.

One of the big attractions is the Mekong Delta boat trips and the floating markets shown below.
Another attraction is visiting the old Viet Cong tunnels and shooting an AK47 for a few dollars

It's not recommended to brush your teeth with regular tap water out here but out of habit and sleepiness we both did it so let the good times roll ...... outta the bottom of our world - or not ....time will tell!!!

Tags: ..Irish Vietnam..

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Hong Kong - 1 week in

Typical Chinese food - Click above to see 'Peppery Stomach of Pig'

I've been here a week now and the job market is lean and mean to say the least. I met with a headhunter who I had been dealing with over the phone before I arrived and she painted a gloomy picture compared to our initial chat a few months back. The news continues to be filled with job cuts and paper billionaires being exposed. I've met up with several people working in banking and they are not happy campers. Some have been given notice and many are just waiting for the tap on the shoulder. Good Jaezuz, it's like the End of the world is Nigh! - I'm starting to wonder if things will ever bounce back.

On a more positive note, I've had a chance to do some exploring and continue to be well impressed by the beautiful setting of the city. I LOVE the food out here and wander into the back alleys to eat with locals for a fraction of what other expat hang outs charge albeit with a few funny looks as if to say "what you doing eating in our hood?"

Communication has been a bit of a problem. I went to pay for my groceries at the supermarket the other day and the girl said "Yu ha ca" - huh? and thus began a comic sketch of her saying "Yu ha ca" and me saying "huh?" She eventually produced a frequent shoppers card and I realised she was saying "You have card?"

I headed to the races in Happy Valley on Wednesday night but unfortunately backed no winners :-( I spent the day exploring the markets of Kowloon yesterday and met up with some friends for a wee tipple which turned into a big tipple and almost a topple. I hiked the thousand steps trail to Stanley Market today to expunge some toxins from my system and tonight I'm off to a BBQ to top up on some more toxins so I guess things could be worse ;-)

Tags: .Paddy in Hong Kong, Happy Valley horserace racing, Stanley Market..

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Click the map above to expand

The map above tracks my journey out here from Buenos Aires. I arrived last Thursday evening and have been fighting the jet lag ever since. I am pleased to report I am well impressed by Hong Kong so far. It's a vibrant energetic beautiful city. Despite being compact and built up there is a surprising amount of open green space. The nightlife has not disappointed either. I got a chance to go out sailing on Sunday which was great fun.

I have a reputation for finding travel bargains or being a 'cheap bastage' as far as travel is concerned so I thought I'd share with you what it's cost me to get here so far. fyi - The car trips were freebies as I sponged a lift.

I have snagged some bargains in my time but #11 above was my cheapest ever i.e. 1 euro for a Dublin to London airfare on Ryanair incl tax/fees. I remember paying 180 irish punts back in the 80's. I know everybody complains about Ryanair but you just can't argue with a 1 euro fare. If you book in advance there are some real bargains to be had on trains and planes.

Interestingly, it cost the same per kilometer to get from London to Birmingham (#6) and London to Lockerbie (#3) by train as it did to fly from London to Hong Kong (#12).

Here's a few photos I snapped over the last few days - Enjoy!

Tags: ..Paddy in Hong Kong..

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Paddy in HK

.......continued from here

As this post goes live I will be sitting on a plane for eleven hours on route to Hong Kong. I've been there before for work with a previous employer (a bank). On that trip, I spent five 12 hour work days going from the hotel to the office and back to the hotel and I saw nothing but I managed to wangle staying on for the weekend and loved it. The harbour view is magnificent and there's a great vibe to the city with a interesting cosmopolitan mix of expats and obviously the Asian food is great.

I'm going out on spec and have absolutely nothing lined up right now but I'm going to do my damnedest to find work and have been in contact with a few recruitment agencies. I booked the trip a few months ago and the outlook was relatively positive. There is a bit of a surplus of people with my skill set on the job market right now so I was advised to be available, on the ground so to speak, for face to face interviews. Asia hasn't been hit as hard by the financial meltdown as the US and Europe. Things have taken a turn for the worse in the last few months however so I'm keeping my expectations in check.

I going to stay for a minimum of four weeks and if I'm lucky enough to get either a perm or contract position this will be the new home base. Jaezuz - what am going to call the blog now? - Paddy in HK? The missus is waiting back in Buenos Aires for the nod to pack her bags and follow me over. It's not easy being apart for so long but the trip wouldn't have been financially viable if we had travelled together as I've been couch surfing with friends and family this last three weeks. Thankfully Skype with web cam means we can stay in touch practically daily.

Since travel is a passion for us both we decided that making a base in Asia would give us ample opportunity to hop, skip and jump to the far flung corners of this continent and quench our nomadic thirst for exploration. We looked at a few options in Asia but decided on Hong Kong based on feedback of quality of life and reports on availability of work opportunities.

I've done a lot of soul searching recently on what I want to do (when I grow up!) and have to be honest that I'm not very highly motivated to get back into banking. The carrot on the stick was always the year end bonus but even that now seems likely to be drastically reduced or eliminated altogether. Apart from my recent full time job as a beer swilling, steak eating gaucho bum, I haven't been able to come up with an alternative career options however so I'm going to give it one more shot ('shit or burst!' - as say back home).

If it works out, all well and good and if it doesn't, I'll be heading back to Argentina in a months time with my tail between my legs. Life is like a box of chocolates but the selection seems to be mostly dark n' bitter flavour at the moment.

Tags: .Paddy in hong kong..

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Paddy in Ireland

.......continued from here

So I'm back home to the ol' sod for the first time in seventeen months. I'll be spending some time visiting family. I've lived away so long that I don't know many people from school or college anymore but a few high school Facebook people have surfaced recently so that's a possibility. I might even bump into a blogger or two so if yer up for it let me know.

I left Ireland in the eighties when it was at rock bottom economically. To be honest I have felt detached and removed from the Ireland of the Celtic Tiger while re-visiting here over the years. For me it seemed as if many of the people changed, the attitude changed and I felt like a bit of an outsider.

Humility was replaced with arrogance and a new super upper middle class was born overnight. Weekend beers were now supplemented or replaced with mid week wine and champagne bars and designer labels were almost mandatory. Yesterdays average next door neighbour became tomorrows millionaire property tycoon.

I may provoke some negative feedback here but I can say without any doubt I have no interest in living here in the foreseeable future. I'm very proud to be Irish, I love the landscapes and the craic, wit and the humour but I'm very hesitant to adapt and change to 'fit in' to the new Irish lifestyle. I think a lot of people got drunk on the success and forgot where they had come from.

I'm not happy at the recent and rapid nosedive in the Irish economy (currently among the most drastic in Europe) and I certainly don't want things to return to the god awful days of the eighties but a little slap on the wrist may help rid us as a nation of the annoying pretentious extravagance that until recently seemed the 'norm'.

Unfortunately it looks like much more than a slap on the wrist is coming to Ireland and it's a tad bit depressing listening to the news about job losses here. I will enjoy my time with family and friends and then bid them farewell before I head off on the last leg of this quest for a new job and new life.

Update: Very topical article from the Irish Times here

Tags: .Paddy in Dublin Ireland Wicklow..

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Paddy in UK

.......continued from here

If I haven't visited your blog recently don't take offence - I'm on the road and just haven't got the man hours

I just about escaped from New York before a massive snow storm set in and closed all the airports. I got a typical cold London welcome with dark cloudy skies and rain drizzling down (some things never change).

I had a couple of good nights out catching up with old friends and had the mandatory hot n' spicy Indian curry. My system hasn't been exposed to a curry for quite some time and I was feeling the 'burning ring of fire' effects for literally 24 hours. I'm still a wee bit raw and tender down the nether regions right now.

On Friday night I headed up to Scotland on the train for a friends wedding which would happen the following day in Auchen castle near Lockerbie. A lot of the guests were coming by boat from Belfast but this little ferry hiccup occured so there was a last minute scramble for other means of travel. I had the honour of being the best man and it was an absolute blast. The jack hammer continued to 'blast' at my head the morning after.

The bride and groom

It seems the snow followed me to London as tonight the snow is falling fast right now and it looks like we'll have a few inches by the morning. Tomorrow I'm due to head to Coventry (weather permitting) as the adventure continues and the final destination will soon be revealed.

Update: Heaviest snowfall for 18 years hit London - I guess I'll be staying put for a while


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Paddy in NY

New York

.......continued from here

It feels good to be back in New York, the city I called home for ten years. The energy, the vibe, the fast pace. Buenos Aires was 35 Celsius (95F) and humid when I left but New York is 2C (35F) with snow on the ground so it's taking a bit of getting used to.

We had a fantastic time when we lived here. We lived in a tiny apartment on 78th Street and York Avenue the upper east side. There's plenty to explore in this huge country so I signed up for all the airline weekend specials emails and about every 3 weeks we'd be jetting off for a weekend break to different cities in the US for a fraction of the normal fare. We visited 46 of the 50 states and also spent time in the neighbours to the north and south, Canada and Mexico.

Q. So if it was so good then why leave?

There were a couple of factors involved but here's the main reason. New York has a large transient expat population. A lot of people come to advance their careers and then move on. It's a stepping stone to somewhere else. Neither of us thought NYC was a place we'd see ourselves settling down and growing old. Both of us had achieved a moderate degree of success so it was time to step off in another direction.

Q. Are you coming back to live in New York?

I'd certainly consider it especially given the current job market world wide, but not right now. I was in touch with some old work colleagues while I've been here and things are pretty bleak right now. To give you an extreme example, an old boss of mine who had a senior position (she was a Managing Director) but has been out of work for a while is now driving a yellow cab.

So my quest continues. I didn't have time to meet up with as many people as I would have liked but maybe next time. I'm heading to the airport tonight for the next leg of the adventure. Catch you on the flip side.

Tags: ..Paddy in New York..

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Where the HELL is Paddy?

Interview with Paddy in BA:

Q. So why did you pick Buenos Aires as a destination for some time out?

Well the wife is from here for one thing. Although to be honest the driving force for the new unemployed me was cost of living but since she has family here it was an easy idea to sell. Latinos are famous for being family centric and the regular 3 hour lunch with relatives is commonplace.

Years back we'd talked about how great it would be to do a few months backpacking so that dream became a reality (link). Quality of life here for an expat is higher than I've experienced anywhere else.

Q. Will you settle down and stay in BA?

I'd highly recommend it as a retirement option but unfortunately, unless you are lucky enough to earn pounds, euros or dollars the local salaries are not that good and your A$peso doesn't go far when you leave Argentina. A ten day trip to Europe would cost several months salary.

Q. So what's the plan and what was the big 'change' you've been waffling on about in recent posts?

Well as the post title suggests I'm not in BA right now and I may not be back.

*Pauses for dramatic effect*

If I'm successful in my quest to find a job I'll be relocating and the missus will follow once I've paved the way so to speak.

Q. So where in the name of jaezuz are you going now?

Right now I'm actually in Houston, Texas waiting for a connecting flight. I'm going to be zipping around a bit for the next few weeks so you'll just have to revisit the blog to see where I am. I'll also be doing a bit of soul searching and reflection so it might even be interesting! ;-)

Q. Do you honestly expect us to keep coming back to read this drivel about your nomadic poncin' around the globe?

Well you've obviously got nothing better to do if you're reading this right now!

Q. Are you going to make a video of yerself doing a silly dance in famous places like yer man Matt Harding and post it on YouTube?

Nope - no silly dance - I have two left feet and about as much rhythm as a goldfish in a bowl of cornflakes.

Have to end the interview here as I have to board a plane (be bored on a plane!) - wish me luck and tune in real soon for next port o' call!

Tags: ..Where the hell is Paddy?, Irish Rover..

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