Moving slowly, ever so slowly, eventually I got myself dressed, out of the room, and over to Serendra and Bonifacio High Street. BHS is a two block long outdoor shopping mall, with a large green promenade in the center.

The main draw there for me was unquestionably the four floor Fully Booked book store. While not as comprehensively stocked as, say Kinokuniya in Singapore, it is easily the best book store I have been to here. I didn’t expect them to have the more obscure titles on my want list, but I did find Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss and Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson – maybe these books are available in HK, I confess I never really looked for them there. But beyond those two, I spent my time doing what one does in a bookstore, browsing through books I’d never heard of and picking half a dozen to try.

After that, I just wanted something simple like a non-fast-food burger, and ended up going into a restaurant with a name like Texas Barbecue Grill or something like that. The waitress, the very definition of cute, made a point of telling me her name and then leaving a comment card with me (and a pen). When the food came, before I could even take a bit, the manager was at my table asking me if everything was okay. And as I ate, two separate times other people came over to ask if my burger was okay. I know that Filipinos often bend over backwards to be helpful, but this to me falls under the heading of Trying Too Hard. On the other hand, they did refill my “bottomless” glass of soda before I even thought of asking for a refill.

(One thing I’ve noticed – if you eat in a highly rated restaurant, the staff will never come over and interrupt you in the middle of the meal to ask if you’re happy with your food. They know what they’re serving, they have confidence in it, they leave you alone to enjoy it. And in a cha chan teng, no one’s gonna come over and ask either. Just these mid level franchise chain places seem to think that it shows some degree of caring but it never comes off that way to me.)

I think tonight I’ll go for Filipino food – either the local chain Gerry’s Grill which does nice Filipino style barbecue or a new place over at Greenbelt 5 recommended by a friend. And then over to Handlebar, which will have a band tonight and hopefully be jumping.

Oh, best t-shirt noticed on this trip: “Whip me, Beat me, Fuck me, Just don’t mess up my hair!”

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Unbelievable to read about the bus tragedy in Sai Kung today. At least 15 people dead in a tour bus (“elderly passengers being carried to a religious event”) that reports say was “dangerously overloaded” when, according to the driver, the brakes failed at the bottom of a steep hill. Drivers who are experienced in this area know that there is often a speed trap around a curve near the bottom of the hill. They proceed slowly until they reach that point, but many then put the pedal to the metal after that and often barely brake for the hard left into the traffic circle at the bottom. I note that the driver has been arrested but I wonder if the number of passengers or the lack of proper inspection to the vehicle was his fault.

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Any news about the torch procession in HK today? Haven’t seen anything online, so I assume all is quiet, as expected since HK Immigration has been turning away people whom they think will incite protests, no regard for the part of the Basic Law that’s supposed to guarantee freedom of speech. Mia Farrow did get in but I suppose she’s too famous to reject; that would result in some uncomfortable global headlines.

I have a t-shirt with the poster for the Hitchcock movie Vertigo on it. The shirt is orange. Thinking about wearing it when traveling home tomorrow.

Hongkie Town
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