Gimme Some Salt

So 2009 started off with a blog from Paul. He's full of surprises.

I have no idea if we have more than two faithful readers left after almost a year, but I suppose I'm still dedicated to writing... like those bands who play in bars where there are only seven or eight people sitting and drinking, and those people are either the band members' friends or they're people who might have preferred to be someplace else but randomly ended up on those bar stools or they were lazy and didn't want to drive too far or they're disappointed to find that this bar they once tried a year ago is not as happening as it was that one night but it would feel awkward to turn right around and walk out, and those people courtesy clap once in awhile, until they fear they look too eager and hope one of the other seven people claps for a change and bravely, or obliviously, risk that silence between songs that's broken occasionally if the bartender gets a phone call, and the band plays on, and I picture them dutifully practicing earlier in the week and I hope they're not getting paid based on admissions, no matter how good or bad they may be. I always feel for those musicians because that's the true nature of art: self-delusion that there is always an audience and indifference or defiance in the face of oblivion. Well, I guess I'll go with self-delusion. I'm not getting paid either way. And I'm not much of a singer.

Annnnnyway...

Our first visitor just left. He got here in mid-November and he's on his way back to the U.S. now. His name is Stanley. Flat Stanley. Our nephew Joseph had a school project involving sending a paper cut-out character to someone far away in order to learn about letter-writing and geography. The teacher had in mind places like Florida. Well, there's going to be one really cool (though jetlagged) Stanley in the class. I carried him with me almost everywhere for weeks and I tried to take photos that represent Hong Kong's unique characteristics. We thought we might do something adventurous for good photo opps in the time he was here, like visit the "Big Buddha" but with a lot of other activities going on, we didn't have time to take him beyond the local scenes. Hopefully he had some good times. Too bad he had to return just before Chinese New Year. Here's a sneak peak of Stanley in Hong Kong...



The Saturday after Paul's birthday we tried a restaurant that is literally a couple of doors away from us. We've been wanting to try it for awhile and it gets all sorts of praise and write-ups in major outlets like the New York Times and South China Morning Post, etc., as well as recently being awarded two Michelin stars. As I explained regarding my preliminary lack of enthusiasm for the restaurant choice for my birthday, not many places here seem to live up to the hype, which is why my birthday dinner was a pleasant surprise since we really enjoyed it. Alas, Paul's birthday dinner at Bo Innovation did not impress.

Sure, it was our doing in choosing the many-course chef's menu from which we knew there were some things we didn't like the sound of, but I figured, if we're giving "extreme Chinese cuisine" a try we should get the full experience. When the first small course arrived and I stated that I would be downing it "like a shot" Paul found it amusing (or something) that we were paying what we were to eat a meal as if we were contestants on Fear Factor.

Let me tell you about the thousand-year-old egg. It's an egg that has been preserved for several weeks or months, and yes, it looks like an old egg. I don't even eat solid egg yolks when they're yellow. I never have. They're near the top of my most dreaded foods list right under celery and mayonnaise (yeah, egg salad, deviled eggs - my worst nightmare). And there I was eating a black and brown egg in a candied ginger cone. Fortunately we started off with the egg and knew it couldn't get more intense than that. There were at least a dozen courses that followed, some pretty good, some just bizarre. It was mostly about presentation; they solidified some liquid ginger with a show of smoking liquid nitrogen at our table and that sort of thing. The only thing I had to leave was the thick blob of fois gras. I tried. At the conclusion, we both decided that it was an interesting meal. We also decided that interesting is not the word you most want to describe a meal. At least we tried. Below is a disturbingly accurate photo of the customary egg. We didn't make Stanley try it.

Your Racist Friend

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

I’m not over excited about the holidays that have recently past, it’s just strange that we had to move to a communist country for it to be socially acceptable to acknowledge the actual holiday we’re celebrating. So I’m just getting it out of my system while it doesn’t offend anybody and before we move back to the land of the free.

And though belated, you are getting the very special gift of back to back blogs. I believe Lisa did a good job summarizing our holiday Christmas and New Years activities (It takes some getting used to and please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m more than happy to join in any Chanukah, Kwanzaa or even Festivus celebrations, I just don’t believe we need to merge them. Interestingly enough Christmas marketing must play as strong a role in the East as well as in the West because for a country of primarily Buddhist and Taoist, Christmas was quite evident but I did not see one Menorah or Festivus pole - though I may have been considered a festive Pole).

One thing for sure between starting a new job and our suddenly very active social life I have met a lot of new people. One quick way of trying to remember everyone you meet, especially when it is person after person, is by the things we are never allowed to say out loud but make note of in our head. For example, sex – Nancy’s the pretty blond, race – David’s the black guy, nationality – Jeff’s the Korean guy, lazy eye Marie, bald Alex, etc.

Well these little politically incorrect tricks go out the window when 9 out of every 10 people you meet are Chinese. Hair and eye color become almost virtually useless as well. To make matters worse when you're a 6” 1”, 200lbs. white guy, with blue eyes and great hair in China everyone knows you by name before you even meet.

Of course in a line up I could pick out the girl in the ridiculously tight, extremely short dress that she was constantly pulling down from about her midriff all night New Years Eve that Lisa and her friends did not seem to like for some reason. But once again I bumped into a girl in our lobby the next morning that we were apparently hanging out with at the party and club and walked right by her. In my defense Lisa was with me and was just as clueless when she said hello.

After living here for a while you quickly learn to not assume that all Chinese people are local. I’d say at least half of the Chinese people I meet are from England, Australia or Canada (even though most that consider themselves Canadian end up having been born and raised in Hong Kong and then moved to Canada for their education and end up returning. Why Canada? No idea. And I’ve blatantly asked this question many times).

For those of you planning a visit (yes we’re still waiting) there are few tricks to picking out locals. First and foremost is that they will walk into you. That’s right, if you’re walking down a street and someone just seems to walk right into you for no apparent reason at all you’re most likely dealing with a local.

Why you may ask? Again, I have no idea. It is truly a phenomenon that needs to be experienced to be believed but it is very, very real. Ask any ex-pat about it and they will immediately go into a story. Just about every time you are out for a walk someone will bump into you. There are the ex-pats on their blackberries and cells that are hazardous on their own but the complete randomness of the local “dawdling,” as one person in our building referred to it, is quite an experience. Every trip out of the building involves an ever changing obstacle course.

If you see an elderly person there is a 94.6% chance they are looking at their shoes or staring at the sun and an 89.2% chance they are going to make a sudden stop or dart in another direction for no reason. You begin to develop a feel for this and passing these people is like passing a car on the highway in a snow storm that is doing 7mph and all over the road. You wait until they go far one way and make your move quickly.

Another sign that someone may be a local is something that might be considered rude or lazy back home but you grow accustomed to it once you are here awhile. Locals will not say thank you, or even acknowledge you for small acts of generosity. Most notably (and it seems to offend many ex-pats a great deal) is if you hold a door open for someone, they will just walk through. Personally I’m fine with this – in truth I think I prefer it.

However locals will also slide through a slightly ajar door so as not to have to push it themselves. Grown men will slow down so you will walk ahead and push the door open and then squeeze through like Indiana Jones sliding under a closing wall. This does annoy me at times and I’ve actually walked up to doors stopped and just started reading my blackberry refusing to open the door. This will get looks ranging form extreme confusion to outrage and people actually muttering what I am sure are Chinese curses as they tug the door open for themselves.

A final trait of the locals which can not be so easily picked out is a strong sense of superstition. Feng shui is basically a religion here and people spend a fortune on following its rules. There is an office building a few blocks from us that is supposed to look like two pandas climbing trees when seen from the peak of the island. The large claw like structures on top of the IFC building in Lisa's photos are suppose to be panda claws. There is an apartment building down by Repulse Bay that has been structured with a giant square cut out of the middle, so if a dragon flys out of the water it will go through the hole and not crash into their building. The buildings around the Bank of China are all boringly square because the bank's multi-angle structure is apparently throwing off such bad vibes it is the only way to deflect them.

I have a client that opened a new office here and they paid big money to have an "expert" come in and gauge the feng shui because they were hiring quite a few locals that insisted. They explained this when I questioned why they had two enormous vacant desks in the corners of the room and their head traders were in the middle of a row of analysts. The "expert" stated that those middle desks were the money seats.

I also work with people that have been refused rental of an apartment because they told the landlord to fit their furniture they would have to put the bed under three windows facing the door. If you have trouble picturing that, it basically sounded like the exact set up of our bedroom back in Fords. Another worker had a local over and when they showed them their daughter's bedroom they immediately started moving the bed and would not leave until they promised not to put it back the way it was (they did leave it this way because of course they figured why take a chance when it came to their child).

I know what you're thinking; trust me I've had the same exact thoughts. How can I get my hands on some of these nut's money? I've asked Lisa with all her free time, creative energy and writing skills to come up with some new thing-ama-jig, but so far nothing. It seems simple enough, just throw together a list of rules that combine:

• Marketability of a Happy Meal
• Eastern mysteries of Feng Shui
• Celebrity appeal of Scientology and Kabahla
• At least two annual occasions that involve eating and drinking
• Grave but not clearly defined consequences if you don't follow the rules

On a completely unrelated topic - how about those Giants! There have been exactly 3 Sundays and one Monday I have not worn my Giant's tee shirt this past season. For those of you that have gone to games over the past few years it's the same old grey tee that I always wear.

This season I did not wear it on the Monday night game for Cleavland because I was working. I brought it to the Philippines and Australia and all was good. However when we returned the laundry was backed up and I did not have it for the next two Sunday's (Philly and Dallas). It made a triumphant return against Carolina and was in the wash again last Sunday. I think I'm going to make sure it's clean the next three weeks even if I have to hand wash it.

But I guess I got off the topic of all the crazy local superstitions.

I just want to close out by thanking everyone for all they have done for us over the past year. I know at times it is asking for a lot and we really do appreciate it. And I hope everyone has a great 2009 with plans of visiting the Far East!

Blog ya' later.

New Year's Day

"It happened so quickly... my last post of 2008," was how this post started yesterday. Then I got a little busy and now it's become my first post of 2009. At least the title came easily. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year's. And of course, I must say happy birthday to my hubby. I've known him for 18 birthdays, officially half my life. I know! It doesn't add up to half his life yet because he's older. What? I did not point that out just to say that he's older.

We spent our Christmas Eve at my friend Peggy's. She lives in Sai Kung, in the New Territories, which is about an hour from here by train and taxi. I've visited her there once before. It's very unlike the city. They occasionally have cattle wandering the streets. She has two young children so they enjoy the space of a large house, though she and her husband probably make the trip and go out in our neighborhood more often than we do.

We ate Greek food prepared by a Filipino woman at the home of our Dutch friends from New Zealand. One of my English friends was also there with her husband and his visiting parents, as well as an Australian and a Chinese woman who lives in Japan. The craziest thing to me was that we spent the evening comfortably sitting outdoors in their yard - barbecuing!- without shivering. It was a lovely night and Peggy and her husband were wonderful hosts, the kind who make you feel at home and who prepare more food than you could ever eat. I even helped wrap a few presents for the kids after they went to sleep.

Wrapping a tricycle

I did think about everyone at home but I think it struck me most, strangely, earlier in the day when I passed through one of those international supermarkets and the place was jammed with people picking up their orders. I don't know; I guess it reminded of me of waiting on line for fresh mozzarella and things at Pastosa or for canollis in a bakery on Staten Island in preparation for the big family meal.

On Christmas Day, after sleeping in, we had dinner, just the two of us, at an Italian restaurant called Isola in the IFC (International Financial Center, currently the tallest building in HK, as seen in The Dark Knight). Paul got four days in a row off from work since the day after Christmas is also a public holiday here, and we couldn't have been lazier throughout those four days. Eating and drinking continuously takes a lot out of you.

I sneaked a quick photo of the tree in our lobby

Good thing we rested up. Then came New Year's Eve. We started out at a party at the home of a friend of my friend Maggie's. This friend Jeff actually lives in one of those shiny new luxury high rises on the corner of the street we lived on when we first moved here. It was just scaffolding and building materials and noise at the time. I guess it opened at the wrong time because I think he said he has about seven neighbors in the whole building. He had rented an outdoor area but it got a little chilly this week, so he thought it might be too cold for everyone out there. We ended up in his small apartment, but without any neighbors, moving the couch into the hall for more space was not a bother to anyone. Everyone brought food (and drinks) and the musical entertainment came mostly from the video game people were playing. I don't know the name but it was something similar to Wii's Guitar Hero. I contributed vocals to "Jesse's Girl."

Maggie and Chris, rock stars


Pre-2009 revelry


The Center (Paul's office) and IFC in the background

The view from his apartment was spectacular. If we stayed we probably would have had optimum viewing of the midnight fireworks, but before midnight we proceeded to the club we went to on my birthday. A countdown by the DJ, lots of bubbly, some friends and some others we just met, and that's how we spent the transition from 2008 to 2009 in Hong Kong.

The birthday boy


2009!

Needless to say, we spent a good part of the next morning in bed. We were awake for the countdown in New York so we had to watch it, but what happened to that coverage? I just wanted to see the ball drop and instead of showing it in those final ten seconds, they mostly showed Ryan Seacrest yammering about how exciting it was. Disappointing. The ball reportedly cost $5 million. At that price, shouldn't it stay lit when it hits the bottom? C'mon New York!

Near the end of 2007, I couldn't have predicted what 2008 would bring us. I suppose I pictured another quiet year in Fords, working on the house. Then we were given this extraordinary chance to experience so many new things and meet wonderful people from all over the world, and sometimes it feels like a dream. I hope 2009 brings good things to everyone. I also hope you continue reading the details of our vibrant dream. I write them so that we're never that far from home.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Wrapping

So many favorite Christmas songs, so little time.

You see, I saw your weather forecast in NY and NJ and my last title fit better than it seemed.

I just finished my Christmas shopping and shipping a couple of hours ago. It's typical of me to wrap things up somewhere around the 23rd. The problem is that it doesn't matter to international postal systems that I am finished; they still have to do their thing. So if you're a family member and you're reading this, the estimated date of arrival of your Christmas gifts is December 29. If it's accurate, it's still impressively quick. I wish they were there by Christmas, but it wasn't an easy task shopping here, as you might imagine from my previous descriptions of shopping experiences. I didn't expect to, but I still found myself running around for the last couple of weeks in that familiar frenzy. The additional challenge here is that things seem to cost either $1 or $1000, without a lot in between. Now let's hope that as I was in a rush to pack and seal the boxes as the post office was closing that I put the correct labels on the corresponding boxes. Oh, wouldn't that be a laugh. Just make sure you check the gift tags.

We purchased a lovely artificial Christmas tree the other day. I'm lying. It's entirely made of silver tinsel with fake tree leaves (cause it's a tree?) stuck uniformly all around it. It took Paul about one minute to assemble, so it won his vote there, and it folds into one flat piece so we can store it here in Tinyland. Though if we can't fit it somewhere, we'll get over the approximate $6 we spent on it... half the price from the day before! I say, it has just the right amount of weird tackiness - or tacky weirdness - to make it very enjoyable to look at. I added red bows and the angel on top was a gift. I know it looks a little sad without gifts underneath. That's what happens when you give yourselves the gift of travel. I'd like boxes under the tree, but I'd rather to go to Vietnam in a couple of months.


I didn't put any Christmas music on the computer - and I am a fan of a particular few - in the hours of marathon downloading back in March before we left, but we're not without it. Through the wonders of playlist.com, I found all my favorites. We listened to many on Sunday night and I started to feel a little sad that we won't be home for Christmas now that it's practically here. We'll have to watch A Christmas Story seven or eight times when it's on TBS, on the Slingbox.

Can I share my exciting news that I'm aware is only exciting to me? There are a couple of gourmet, international, i.e. expensive, supermarkets around and on a day of Christmas shopping in Kowloon (alright I'm lying again - I went over to check out the new Sephora), I stopped in one on my way home through Central. They appear to stock up on certain items around the holidays for ex-pats preparing their native holiday meals, so I believe because it was near Thanksgiving... lo and behold... Cool Whip! I bought two. I may never see it again. Also, in my regular supermarket, Louis Rich Turkey Bacon is now making an appearance. I don't think it's holiday-related, so maybe it will remain a regular item; you never know around here. But I know we had a good breakfast last Sunday morning.

Now for actual good news: Paul received a promotion last week. He is now a Vice President, referred to in the HK office as Executive Director. I just call him Sir. Aren't we proud of him? He certainly deserves it and it's another reason to be thankful for all that's happened for us this year.

I'm thankful that I didn't have to shovel any snow, but I can't wait to finally visit home soon. Hey, it got chilly here the last couple of days. It's only 55 now.

Maybe I'll write something quick in the next day or two but if not, we hope you all have a very merry Christmas and enjoy being with family and eating wonderful food and counting blessings. We miss everyone and we'll be thinking of home.

White Christmas

I know it's been forever and I apologize but we really have been busy. Spending the first two weeks of November in Australia felt like a long time to be away, but it seemed even more so once we came back to Hong Kong mid-November. The weather had changed; the Halloween decorations had disappeared and the Christmas decorations started appearing. Here are some highlights of our last month.

Just before we left for Oz (picked up the Australian lingo), my friend Liz, probably my closest friend here, told me that she was returning to London due to her boyfriend's job. Yes, I'm aware of the transiency of ex-pats here so I should have expected this sort of situation, and I should still expect it in the future, but this news was more sudden than we both anticipated. Just days after returning from Oz, I said my farewell to my friend Liz on Queen's Road, Central. She's back shivering in London now, hopefully settling in and happy to see family and friends again - and driving a car.

In the days leading to her departure we had two lunches at one of our favorite places, Wagyu. We also spent her last night in HK with a couple of other friends at the races in Happy Valley. They take place every Wednesday night most of the year and this was my first time there. Everyone else won at least something; I won nothing. But it was a fun night and a good atmosphere.

Liz and I after our final Wagyu lunch

In wine news, I passed my Intermediate Certificate exam which I had taken just hours before we left for Oz. It was certainly not easy. I already started the Advanced Certificate course. In fact, I missed the first class while we were away. It covers the same type of information but in more depth. It will be quite a challenge. I've already learned some agriculture, the difference between grafting, hybrids and crossings; I know the Latin terms for different grapevines. And France... those people need a talking to about all their rules. The exam is at the end of March. Paul has called me a geek once so far. I think it was when I broke out the Latin.

For Thanksgiving, we ate at a Thai place with some friends and friends of friends. It was a private kitchen, places that don't usually have menus and serve only through reservations. It was low on atmosphere, but the food was good and for once, cheap, especially since it was BYOB. Somebody was kind enough to bring some pumpkin pies, so that helped, but I have to admit that I've been craving real turkey ever since.

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving curry, anyone?

Maggie and Chris

Kathleen and Derek

Showing off the fine table linens


Random guy who asked for beer and received

It also doesn't feel like Thanksgiving when you're able to wear flip-flops without your toes freezing. Though we never believed it could happen through the hellish steam of summer, the weather has indeed turned cooler over November and December, but it is by no means cold. It's quite lovely, really. I guess the temperatures range between 58 to 72, usually falling somewhere in the mid 60's. On occasion I have under-dressed and felt chilly, but the other extreme is the locals who walk around in their coats and scarves looking at me in plain long-sleeve shirts like I must be mad. I confess that we had the air conditioning on no less than four days ago. I did have my first cold here a couple of weeks ago. I blame the air travel along with the change in weather and that everyone around seemed to also be sick.

Now we're just a week away from Christmas and it feels like it, and it doesn't. There are decorations around; our building's lobby has a big, real tree. It made me happy when I walked in and smelled it the day it went up. I'd try to take a picture, but I'm guessing lobby photos are off limits if rooftop photos are. There's Christmas music playing in stores, mostly choir type stuff, but I have heard some favorites here and there. On the other hand, Paul said that a coworker who was here last Christmas said that it felt odd because on Christmas day everything is open as if not a holiday. Makes sense... you can always go to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas, can't you? Think A Christmas Story... Fa ra ra ra ra.

The thing is, many ex-pats flee the city for home around Christmas. This is why we were booked most nights over the past couple of weeks and why we don't currently have anything going on. A couple of my friends are still in town, but most are leaving or have left for home. As a matter of fact, I'm foster caring for two cats upstairs for my friend Maggie while she's in the U.S. I'm a little envious of those folks, but we'll try to make the most of it here.

On the day of my birthday, I attended a lunch for the American Women's Association (AWA) of which I'm a member. It was kind of a boring event, but there was something interesting about it. I would estimate about 70 attendees. Out of those, I spoke to the one who happened to sit next to me. Her name was Elise. She heard me speak one sentence and asked if I was from NY. As I was about to plead guilty, she said she recognizes it instantly because she's from NY. A few questions later and we established that she grew up in Oakwood Heights, about five minutes from where I grew up on Staten Island. She also bought and lived in a house in Woodbridge, NJ before she and her husband moved to HK. She's been here for nine years and goes back to S.I. twice a year. She said she's only met one other person from there since she's lived here. I didn't ask where her family gets their cars fixed...

On the night of my birthday, Thursday, we went to a comedy club right in Wan Chai with a group of friends. The place has a monthly show with comedians imported mostly from the U.K. This round, there was a Scottish fellow, an Irishman, and a Canadian. They were all actually quite good, so I got to laugh more than I probably ever have on any one birthday, especially once I started to understand Scottish.

The next night, we had a nice dinner with a couple of other friends and Maggie arranged a little shindig at a club afterward. It was fun, but the next day I felt my age - and my head. The important thing is that I don't look my age.

Maggie, Birthday Girl, Kathleen, Chandni

And to finish off the birthday festivities (which typically include a trip to Denino's, sigh) Paul and I finally had a nice dinner by ourselves that Saturday night. I had read about this place, M at the Fringe, and wanted to try it for months so I chose it as a birthday dinner, but I wasn't that enthused because most places I read about that are supposedly fantastic are just not that fantastic. Happily, this place was actually good. Then we ended at one of our favorite old man bars (seriously, there are old men there and I don't just mean Paul) The Captain's Bar.

Last Tuesday I experienced a bit of club life, not of the nightlife variety but of the cricket and squash and tennis variety. There are a number of clubs here, The American Club, The Cricket Club, etc. One of my Brit friends belongs to the Cricket Club and we had lunch there. I had sweet and sour chicken. This may be surprising, but there isn't a lot of sweet and sour chicken available here. It's not exactly a Cantonese specialty. But the Cricket Club restaurant had a large menu with all kinds of cuisines and it was delicious. Refreshingly, no bones or necks or beaks were attached.

Last Wednesday night we went out to dinner with two of Paul's coworkers from the "Business" unit. Two nights later, Paul had another dinner with the "Operations" unit, but I was not invited, so Maggie and I had our own "Work" dinner since her husband also had a company thing that night. In between those two dinners, I went to a dinner at Wagyu (recurring theme) with the girls from my Y group. We did the secret Santa thing and all. Alright, Paul wasn't invited to that, but I did bring home half my dinner for him. And finally, Saturday night we took a junk trip around the harbor (through the AWA) to view the festive lights of the buildings along the water.

Me, Peggy, Victoria - Christmas Dinner at Wagyu

A little blurry but an idea of the holiday lights

So you see, we have been busy! And now... nothing. Though my New Zealand friend Peggy did invite us to her home on Christmas Eve to celebrate with her husband and two kids and a few others, so at least we'll spend the eve with a family, even if it's not our family. We booked a dinner for just the two of us on Christmas day.

Since I have been absent for so long, I missed a bunch of greetings and wishes. We're ages past Happy Thanksgiving, but there are still a few that I should mention like happy birthday to Dad C. and Scott and congratulations to Mark and Dora.

At least I rewarded you all with lots of photos after the long wait. And I'll try my best to write a few more in December just so I can use my favorite Christmas songs. Consider the Drifters a gift.

Lisa, It's Your Birthday

Sound hint: Click the tiny Stop button on the Tunes box on the right to turn off "Down Under." Then click Play on the video above.

Sorry about the flashing things in the video. It was the only clip where the video accompanied the song. Some people can be so fussy about copyright. Otherwise, it says it all.

Down Under

*Click the 'play' arrow to play the slide show. With mouse over the photo, you can use arrows to move back or forward or stop.
*Click on any photo and it will take you to the web album if you want to see the photos larger.

It's about Australia. What else would I title it? I am a purist and I realize that the last blog title is not an exact song title, but Paul had his mind made up and said that he didn't come up with the rule so he doesn't have to follow it. I just reread his post and he did a very good job of summarizing our trip to the land down under, so I'll try to just add a few other things.

It's true that we felt more at home before we even landed because people were Western sized. At first it seemed like Aussies were huge until I realized we've just spent a long time in a place where they they generally come in two sizes: small and smaller.

Sydney was surprisingly cold when we arrived. We were advised to go in spring because summer, which begins in December, can be uncomfortably hot. It was still pretty hot when we left HK so temperatures in the low 60's felt noticeably chilly. The daytime temperatures ranged but were mostly rather pleasant. We were told that it was unusually cool for the time of year.

Our first night there, Sunday, we ended up eating dinner in a random cafe because almost everything was closed. It's surprising that such a major city shuts down on a Sunday. Even during the week, businesses close by 5:30. It made me appreciate that we live in one of the few world cities that more-or-less never sleeps. At least we spent the first day strolling around aimlessly because we didn't seem to have much time in the next few days to do that. How do vacations always end up that way?

So, yeah, this Melbourne Cup thing. I know some Aussies here so I knew it was happening. It might be about as big as the Superbowl, but it's a horse race so it lasts about a minute. And it's held on a Tuesday. Can you imagine if the Superbowl were held on a Tuesday? Who would go to work, you say? Well, nobody who serves wine in the Hunter Valley, I can tell you. We rented a car for the day and drove over 90 minutes essentially to have a quaint lunch, try one winery, give up after seeing the 10th sign that said "Closed for Melbourne Cup" and drove back. The streets of Sydney were so packed with traffic by the time we returned that we almost didn't make it to return the car at all. Unfortunately, it was another day sort of wasted because of timing.

Our stroll around Manly was pleasant and the ferry ride to and from was a good way to see the harbor. It looked like a very nice beach there. As Paul wrote, we did a small group tour of the nearby Blue Mountains on our last day and it was scenic but maybe a couple of hours too long.

One note: while we were in the car being driven around the mountains, the election was wrapping up in the U.S. There was one other older American couple with us and they asked the guide to leave the radio on. The coverage was substantial and it was of great interest, to a surprising degree, even on the other side of the world. People around the world seem to be relieved and hopeful that there is a possible change coming. If only they're right. But I won't forget where I was during this historic event - almost as far away from the U.S. as I could geographically be.

The best part of that tour was the stop at the wildlife center where we got to see the koalas and kangaroos and lots of other creatures. I decided that kangaroos are pretty cool and koalas are adorable in a somewhat surreal way. They almost look artificial, and they are the most mellow creatures alive, barely. There were also some very interesting birds, not just in the park but in Australia in general. You could see colorful ones like parrots or cockatoos just flying around.

Some examples: On our drive back from Hunter Valley, we were stopped at a traffic light approaching the city and we saw a cockatoo land on the wire of a telephone pole. Apparently they have good grips, but they must also be top-heavy. This thing just kept spinning around the wire like it was doing a trick. It was really funny to see. And one day when we got into the car at a winery in the Barossa Valley, a hummingbird became intrigued with the side view mirror and hovered near it for awhile. Of course it flew off just before I could press the shutter on my camera, but it was a pretty little thing. And sadly, in Cairns, just outside our hotel, some baby birds must have been stuck below some grate in the hotel driveway. Hotel workers were trying to rescue them, but the mama bird wouldn't let anyone near them. It was an unusual looking bird - and had a fierce squawk. I think they eventually had to call animal services.

Before we left here for Sydney, I was worried about the Sydney Funnel Web Spiders. There should have only been more spiders in this country! Seriously, the flies. They did seem to have a particular interest in Paul's head. But how come nobody ever mentions all the flies there? Shrimp on the barbie? - there's probably a fly in it too. As a matter of a fact, I did have a lunch with a fly fried right into a potato. Unintentionally, I'm pretty sure. And a salad with a ladybug in it. Coincidentally, these were our two least favorite meals. Otherwise, we ate pretty well. Who knows what else I could have found because there are some crazy insects down under and plenty to go around.

Paul mentioned our cushy hotel in our second stop farther north, Cairns. He didn't mention that our room was at the end of the longest hallway I think I have ever seen, and I am not exaggerating here. There are photos, but I'm not sure you can get the perspective. We were shocked each and every time that we walked to the room by how long it really was, and there was plenty of time for "are we there yet?" and "this is supposed to be vacation!" jokes along the way. They were vacuuming at some point of the day all day, not surprisingly.

We liked Cairns. It's basically a beach town, even though there was no actual beach you could access directly. It's more of a port to other islands and diving and snorkeling sites, but it had a beach town feel nonetheless. The food wasn't extraordinary but there was a good variety, and it was relaxing to walk along the main promenade. We considered taking a boat to a nearby island beach one day, but we couldn't really find any that didn't include some kind of snorkeling tour package for some exorbitant amount, so we spent the day relaxing at the hotel pool instead. Not so bad.

Diving the Great Barrier Reef was indeed spectacular, not that we have much to compare it to, but I think it's safe to say. These were our first trips outside of instruction, so we didn't know what to expect. There were about 60 people on each of the boats, which can be overwhelming, but most of them snorkel. Only about 17 people were certified divers on each of our two dive trips. (Yeah, we're cool. We're divers. Get out of our way.) There were 4-6 people to one guide. We did three dives on each trip, so the log is expanding. By the way, they're pretty serious about post-dive head counts after that stranded divers incident a few years back.

I still get stage fright and I was nervous on the boat, but once I get in the water I strangely feel calmer. Oh sure, from time to time I question what possesses me to think this is a normal activity and my heart beats a little faster and I inhale a good dose of oxygen, and then I let it pass and I try to spot some cool fish. There was a photographer who takes some pictures of people under water and you can buy the pictures if you want, but we didn't bother because I couldn't have posted then online without a scanner anyway. We'll have to live with only memories of possibly the most colorful dive we'll ever experience. Maybe we'll try for photos on our next dive. At least I enjoyed it enough that I'm fairly sure there will be a next dive. And it's a little thrill to say you've seen a shark.

The other interesting thing about Cairns is this giant salt water artificial lagoon. It's situated along the actual water on one side of the island, a few steps away from the main street, and it's free and open to everyone, and it's massive. It's a little crazy. We had to try a dip one night. I took some pictures.

The tour we took in the mountains and forests around Cairns was almost canceled because we signed up for a Monday, which I knew would be a quiet day in a resort town. As I guessed, we were the only people signed up and the tour company could accommodate six people and of course they aim to do that, so they tried to contact us, but as I do all the booking, the room was under my name and the credit card we used to book the tour was Paul's, so they couldn't find a Czapalski listed in the hotel, so they had to take us because they couldn't inform us otherwise. Personal tour for the Pirainos! Again, it was scenic but not extraordinarily so.

I do think that one of the reasons I like wine is that the locations where grapevines thrive are beautiful. Our third stop in the Barossa Valley was a good way to end a two-week trip. It did have some similarities to Napa and Sonoma and it had its own feel as well. The food was good, but in that respect it was much smaller in scale than the California wine countries. An Aussie I know recommended three restaurants and we tried all three. Each was very good, one exceptionally good. But we were there for five nights and we asked around at several wineries and they all came up with the same three suggestions because there just aren't many other places to eat at night. Some wineries do lunch and we had a few enjoyable winery lunches. On a Friday, we stopped in Rolf Binder winery for a tasting and they were firing up a big stone oven outside. They said they make pizzas on Friday nights and that we could come back for dinner. We did and it was a fun and different alternative, mostly locals who work in wine plus their families all sitting together at long picnic tables. We spoke to a couple next to us, and we ended up seeing the woman the next morning at the Farmers' Market, as she said we would. Her brother was serving breakfast there.

It definitely completed our trip to spot some well-hidden kangaroos on our early morning drive back to the Adelaide airport.

I always wanted to go to Australia, but I don't know if I believed I really would make it there. I'm very happy that we did. I have to say that one of the best aspects of the country is its inhabitants. No, not just koalas. The people were genuinely friendly and that really adds to a visit. One of our tour guides told us that tourism has been declining for the last several years. I didn't realize until we got back how true it was. I read an article speaking about the film Australia and how the tourism board hopes it serves as an advertisement for the country and brings people there the way Crocodile Dundee did (I swear). Apparently their 2006 ad campaign didn't go over too well. It was, "So where the bloody hell are you?"

The last thing I have to say is that I did enjoy Australia, though it was somehow different than I expected. I'm not sure what I expected, maybe for its vastness to be more obvious, for its nature and wilderness to visually stun me. It is vast and scenic and many other things, but not exactly how I envisioned. I don't mean to under-appreciate the landscapes of Australia. I simply mean that I have taken in landscapes that had more of a visual impact on me personally, blew my hair back, so to speak. North America is a beautiful continent. The American West and Pacific Northwest contain one breathtaking view after another. I have been overwhelmed by ancient redwoods, sparkling coasts, lush forests, all in my home country, and this is only what I've seen so far. Even New York state has some good stuff. And I haven't even been to the Grand Canyon yet!

Cue "America, the Beautiful."

Enjoy the pictures.