For the Term of His Natural Life – sentenced by the low Aussie dollar!

“For the Term of His Natural Life” is the title of a classic Australian book.  I have not read it, but I do have it in my book collection.  It looks really fab on my new bookshelf.  I’ve been advised by friends that it is about a bloke who gets convicted for stealing a pencil in London back in the olden days, and they get sent to the warm sunny climes of Australia as a punishment.   A modern liberalist interpretation is that they are stuck in Sydney due to socio-economic conditions at the time.   This is very ironic, as this is also the fate of Australians nowadays.

A new pattern is emerging in Australia again, where hard working Australians (like myself) are having our wings clipped, much in the same manner as the battlers who got stuck here in the first place.  The bloody Aussie dollar has fallen again, which basically means that I may have to think twice about popping off to Finland for Christmas Day, enjoying a brief ski in the French Alps, before heading off for a sail around the Greek Islands and finally visiting the ice sculptures in Japan over this Christmas New Year break.  Even places like Thailand look expensive as the Aussie dollar tumbles further and further every day.  What a person to do when the Aussie dollar is heading south of the Russian Rouble??

Its a bloody travesty.  It’s obvious that we are about to become a nation of people who are stuck at the arse end of the world again.   We will need to cut down on overseas travel going forward.  Holiday choices will now be based primarily within the state, with the lucky few getting the chance to jet off exotic locations like Proserpine or Mildura.  Overseas now means doing a trip to Tasmania.

As this is supposed to be a grateful diary, I am grateful I did the Trans Siberian trip back in June to August, - this was the best time to spend those Aussie dollars, as shown by the graph above.  Even Hong Kong was cheap, but if I ever return there, I will never be able to afford anything, except a dish of oily fish noodles out in the suburbs of the New Territories.  It would not be worth the bloody suffering on economy class flights!

So now we probably have to stay at home in Australia for holidays.  Future holidays to get some tropical weather will involve intolerable experiences in Queensland, where lots of old old people with reptilian skin pile their plates full of reheated prawns at the “All you can eat” buffet on the Gold Coast (especially on a Monday or Tuesday night).  I don’t think I can play the game of pretending that Melbourne is like “Europe”, especially when the sun is beating down with 44 degree heat and the only way to escape is to drive into a clogged underground freeway – at least by the time you get back to the surface, the weather would have changed to the point where Melbourne could pass as a provincial corner of Siberia in the middle of winter.   Instead of going to Asia for exotic culture and good food, we will have to settle for the Kingsgrove RSL Chinese Restaurant, or perhaps a trip to Temasek in Parramatta if you want to get your fill of Malaysian.  I’ll just try to ignore the sound of poker machines in the outdoor garden terrace, as I contemplate higher buddist thoughts.

Indeed, we have been sentenced.  Bugger the interest rate issue…. let’s raise interest rates to boost the Aussie dollar!!

Beautiful people in beautiful places – Bowen Rd, Hong Kong

My stay in Hong Kong has been excellent over the weekend, although I am completely over the crowds.  Our accommodation in Happy Valley is quiet and convenient, but we have been venturing down to Causeway Bay for the Hong Kong shopping experience every day.  I think I have been staying in Australia too long, and Hong Kong is just a bit too much for me at the moment.  I can only handle an hour of Causeway Bay at a time as it has to be the most densely populated place on the planet on weekends.  The footpaths are so crowded with people, and somehow they always manage to avoid being run over by a bus or tram.  This is the ultimate place where you could get run over by a bus tomorrow.   I still need to purchase the new Ipod, although I am gravitating towards a new mobile phone that includes wireless internet capability and GPS.  Not that this is much use in Australia at the moment…

My mate in Hong Kong made an excellent recommendation on avoiding the HK crowds and getting some welcome exercise.  Bowen Road is an excellent walking/running track that runs along the mountainside on Hong Kong Island from Happy Valley to Central.  It’s like a high altitude version of the Bay Run in Sydney, except that the weather is warmer so more of the men are running without their shirts on.   Lots of hot spunks and amazing scenery to increase motivation to exercise in the high humidity.   The views over Hong Kong harbour are fantastic, and I am amazed that there are not many people taking advantage of these excellent facilities and views.  That’s the Hong Kong mentality I guess – shopping, shopping and more shopping, so the majority of people get very little exercise and they develop love handles of baby fat from all the oily Cantonese food.

Wai-Lun also has cable TV at his place, so their are plenty of opportunities for study diversion.  My final final exam is tomorrow, but I have been intrigued by many of the amazing American programs that are available in Hong Kong.  Hopefully the exam will go OK tomorrow, although it would be good if they have a few questions about America’s fattest people who cannot get out bed – I am an expert on this topic after watching a few hours of the Discovery Home and Lifestyle Channel.  Just when you thought TV could not get any worse, they devote entire programs to people who are so fat that they cannot roll over in bed, although they do manage the procure supplies of potato crisps and chocolate.  What is the world coming to??

Well the remainder of my “holiday” in HK will be devoted to studying for the exam tomorrow afternoon before heading off to Macau on Tuesday, en-route to Malaysia.  In Malaysia we have booked a series of 5-star hotels, so I’m really looking forward to chilling out and making the most of the strong Aussie dollar.

Hong Kong – Computer Says No…

I made it to Hong Kong in one piece, and I did not lose anything in the process.  It was kind of weird to get back to Hong Kong – after being in Korea, it’s amazing to see so many foregners.

My prior visits to Hong Kong have been hampered by the poor strength of the Aussie dollar, but times have changed.  Now that the Aussie dollar is well over 90 US cents, everything is quite affordable in Hong Kong – especially eating in nice restaurants and drinking.

We went to a fab place called Ye Shanghai last night over in Kowloon – we lavishly stuffed ourselves full of really yummy Chinese food in nice surroundings.  We ordered an amazing minced chicken and vegetable dish that was wrapped in pastry – quite unlike any Chinese food I have had before.

The shopping has also been good.  So far, I’ve brought some T-shirts and socks and a new camera lens – this should be a fun new toy.

I’m not sure whether I should get a new Ipod.  I am still seething over the fact that this was stolen on my flight on Cathay Pacific Airlines – after thinking about this for a long time, it was clearly stolen by some of the cleaning staff when the plane arrived in Hong Kong, as they rushed me off the flight because they  were running so bloody late for my connecting flight.  Cathay have the most unhelpful and unprofessional staff dealing with these problems.  They have still not answered an email from a week ago.  When I went into their offices in Hong Kong airport, I had a flashback to Little Britain.  The lady at the counter seemed quite distant and uninterested in the amazing compilations that were on my ipod.  She tapped away with three keystrokes on her computer and just said “Computer Says No!!”.  Useless.  I was waiting for her to cough in my face.  I think I will look into Ebay to see if any nasty little plane cleaners are selling ipods on ebay – my playlists will be a clear giveaway.

Although it’s great to visit Hong Kong on holidays, I am always amazed by the high density of people living here.  I just don’t know how people handle it.  No matter where you go, there are heaps of people in the streets, and high rise buildings in every direction.  Some of the apartments look incredibly small, and the whole place must be a complete steam house in the middle of summer when the temperatures frequently rise over 34 degrees and the humidity is almost unbearable.

Hong Kong people also seem to be big suckers for the latest fads.  I am not sure why, but sushi train restaurants seem to be really big here at the moment.  People like up in the streets to go into the places, even though there are perfectly good noodle places next door.