Working life
I have to admit that life has slowed down a little in recent weeks so I've not a great deal of my usual exciting news to share, however I'm not doing to let a detail like that stop me waffling on for a while!
My big news is that I've eventually become legal, my visa from the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China's immigration department has eventually come through. All I need to do now is pay a small fortune, get a sticker in my passports, pay another small fortune to leave the country, come back in, get everything stamped in triplicate and I'll officially be allowed to be in work into the early hours every night. Once again, you've got to love Chinese bureaucracy? On the down side it means I'll now have to start paying tax, d'oh!
And that's about it other than drinking (surprise surprise), visiting a comedy club, doing a bit of water sports over the Mid Autumn Festive public holiday and being poisoned by eating the traditional Chinese delicacy of moon cake - honestly, not all that! think rotten egg yoke with raw cake mix in a pork pie's pastry shell, I mean...
However, I promised waffle so, in the absence of news from HK here are my observations of the place so far...
1) Manners, now I don't claim to be the most softly spoken gentile bloke in any town, however, the Chinese don't appear have that thing called tacked in their psychology, "you've got fat" isn't the comic name of a local but what they will readily say to you whenever the should the thought occur.. Similarly queuing really isn't done and as an Englishman I have to say that's just wrong!
2) Sorry about this one but... Chinese women are not attractive, I know this is a bit generic and you can all give examples of film stars and the like but its true... local Hong Kongers just aren't.Compared to the Brits, Vietnamese, Aussies, South Africans.....you name the nation, you'll fine they're far more attractive than the girls I'm meeting..
3) Scaffolding - now you probably know I'm a bit keen on DIY but even I draw the line at HK's answer to scaffolding. Steel, that's what the stuff should be made of right, not here. The locals go in for bamboo shoots! I'll admit they are big shoots, and the stuff is strong but when 88 stories up (HK's tallest building) and held together with plastic ties (yes.. you did read that) I'm really not sure I'd want to rely so heavily on the beautiful but occasionally flawed mother nature!
4) Some of you may think this point is the same as point two but….. all bras out here are padded, now it's not as if I'm going round staring or anything and it actually took Bev (our resident clothing expert) to mention it but once said I had to check (I know I know) and its true, every single lady you see... I worry for my health when back in the motherland, the sudden abundance of, well.. you get the picture!
5) You can drink all night, every night!
And that's all I've noticed!
If you fancy a laugh my official work photo is posted on my photo blog and I don't think I can follow that so...
Until the next exciting installment.
Bye bye!
Jonathan
OgilvyOne Offices
The Center
HK Island
Ps. yes I am still staying with Sean and Bev and yes, the flat hunt has started in earnest!
My big news is that I've eventually become legal, my visa from the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China's immigration department has eventually come through. All I need to do now is pay a small fortune, get a sticker in my passports, pay another small fortune to leave the country, come back in, get everything stamped in triplicate and I'll officially be allowed to be in work into the early hours every night. Once again, you've got to love Chinese bureaucracy? On the down side it means I'll now have to start paying tax, d'oh!
And that's about it other than drinking (surprise surprise), visiting a comedy club, doing a bit of water sports over the Mid Autumn Festive public holiday and being poisoned by eating the traditional Chinese delicacy of moon cake - honestly, not all that! think rotten egg yoke with raw cake mix in a pork pie's pastry shell, I mean...
However, I promised waffle so, in the absence of news from HK here are my observations of the place so far...
1) Manners, now I don't claim to be the most softly spoken gentile bloke in any town, however, the Chinese don't appear have that thing called tacked in their psychology, "you've got fat" isn't the comic name of a local but what they will readily say to you whenever the should the thought occur.. Similarly queuing really isn't done and as an Englishman I have to say that's just wrong!
2) Sorry about this one but... Chinese women are not attractive, I know this is a bit generic and you can all give examples of film stars and the like but its true... local Hong Kongers just aren't.Compared to the Brits, Vietnamese, Aussies, South Africans.....you name the nation, you'll fine they're far more attractive than the girls I'm meeting..
3) Scaffolding - now you probably know I'm a bit keen on DIY but even I draw the line at HK's answer to scaffolding. Steel, that's what the stuff should be made of right, not here. The locals go in for bamboo shoots! I'll admit they are big shoots, and the stuff is strong but when 88 stories up (HK's tallest building) and held together with plastic ties (yes.. you did read that) I'm really not sure I'd want to rely so heavily on the beautiful but occasionally flawed mother nature!
4) Some of you may think this point is the same as point two but….. all bras out here are padded, now it's not as if I'm going round staring or anything and it actually took Bev (our resident clothing expert) to mention it but once said I had to check (I know I know) and its true, every single lady you see... I worry for my health when back in the motherland, the sudden abundance of, well.. you get the picture!
5) You can drink all night, every night!
And that's all I've noticed!
If you fancy a laugh my official work photo is posted on my photo blog and I don't think I can follow that so...
Until the next exciting installment.
Bye bye!
Jonathan
OgilvyOne Offices
The Center
HK Island
Ps. yes I am still staying with Sean and Bev and yes, the flat hunt has started in earnest!
posted by JP at 6:05 am
