Lotus in Hong Kong

Do you know that lotus is edible?

From petals to leaves, from rhizome to seeds; almost every single part of lotus can be turned into food.

In Hong Kong, lotus-related dishes are actually pretty common.

The petals can be used to brew tea; the leaves can be used to warped food; the rhizome can be cooked into either savory dishes or sweetened snacks; while lotus seeds are usually used for desserts: lotus seed paste buns, moon cakes, lotus seed soup…

Sometimes, Hong Kong people simply forget that all these things they put into their mouth comes only from a flower.

How about you? You can also give them a try.

All you have to do, is to visit a “Dim Sum House” (茶樓, basically a Cantonese restaurant where you can eat “dim sum”, or snack) and you can order all you want.

I recommend lotus seed paste buns.

Hong Kong Railway Museum

Do you know that the Hong Kong Railway Museum was originally the Old Tai Po Market Railway Station?

The (old) Tai Po Market stop used to be one of the stops for the Kowloon-Canton Railway (British Section), which was opened in 1910, connecting Kowloon and Guangzhou. Later, since the trains started to be electrified, the station was out of service in 1983. It was then declared a monument in 1984. The railway company gave the abandoned station to the government and the museum was finally finished and opened in 1986.

What can you do inside?

Well, you can read about the detailed history of the museum and how Hong Kong’s railways were developed; you can admire the old train station’s unique and classic architectural style; you can walk along the rail tracks and be amazed by the display of locomotives, old station sign, old ticket samples…; you can also get on the old train compartments and experience what a train journey in the past feel like; there are also the exhibitions of Japanese Shinkansen and Eurostar. In simple words, you can do everything that makes a train lover’s blood boil!

The museum is in Tai Po Market, just a 10-minute walk away from the (new) Tai Po Market train station. And did I mention that it’s free to enter? Just don’t be like me and visit on Tuesday because it’s when it will be closed (on Christmas and Lunar New Year as well).

Oh man…I got so excited just from the talk. I was so crazy for trains when I was a kid, and the museum was more appealing than any theme park to me.

Right, let me go there and be reminiscent…

Dang it! It’s Tuesday again!

Electricity Usage in Hong Kong

Do you know that Hong Kong‘s electricity consumption per capita is higher than that of China?

Not just a bit higher, but almost double the usage!

That is pretty shocking (no pun intended) when you consider the difference in their land sizes and population sizes.

Even though Hong Kong is a modern metropolitan city, such a high consumption rate still seems a bit off the chart. The government explains that is because Hong Kong has many trade and industrial activities. Lots of buildings in Hong Kong require lightings and conditioning 24/7. Not to mention infrastructures like water supply, drainage and railway also need to consume a really high amount of energy… Alright, that figure makes sense now.

But how do we deal with the energy usage? Over 50% of Hong Kong electricity comes from burning coal, and this, while cheap, is obviously not a good thing because of the pollution it causes and it not being renewable. That is why we try to seek other energy sources, especially renewable energy like solar, wind and even energy from waste.

The question is: are these alternatives plausible?

Utilizing solar energy requires building lots of solar panels, while wind energy requires turbines, and both of these require land, which is what Hong Kong severely lacks. And some critics also argue that it is difficult to cut the reliance on coal seeing how our economic trend goes.

If only we had some kind of perpetual motion machines…

…Yeah, yeah, it won’t work. Laws of thermodynamics, right? *sigh*

Recycle in Hong Kong

Do you know that the daily waste generation per capital in Hong Kong is high when compared to other similar Asian cities? It is obviously not something to brag about, though.

 

According to the HK government survey, the daily domestic waste generation per capita is around 1.36kg, which is higher than that in Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul. A pretty astonishing amount, if you ask me.

And not to mention that because of the lack of land in Hong Kong, combined with all those environmental regulations, it is really difficult to look for a suitable site for landfill or incinerator. That is why the HK government has been promoting the recycling of waste.

If you have some understanding about Hong Kong’s waste recycling policy, you should have heard of “Blue for used paper; yellow for aluminium can; brown for plastic bottles” (the colors refer to the colors of the recycling bins) and the “3R”: reduce, reuse and recycle. However, the result seems to be somewhat disappointing since, unsurprisingly, not much waste can truly be recycled and, sadly, Hongkongers don’t know much about the importance and practice of recycling.

Can we change? Obama said “yes, we can”, but what will Hongkonger say to this matter?

Working hour in Hong Kong

Do you know Hong Kong has no legislation on maximum and normal working hours?

…Damn it!! I got all irritated just from mentioning that!! Grrrrrrrrr……

According to the “Price and Earning” Study by UBS, Hong Kong ranked 71 out of 71 global cities on the length of average working hour per week, which is around 49-50.11 hours. For comparison, Paris people have it best, with only 30 hours or so.

While office hours in Hong Kong tend to be 9:00 – 18:00 (excluding 1 hour lunch break), that’s not true in most case, especially when you work in retail industry or work on shift. Not to mention lots of offices also open on Saturday (some half-day, some full-day)…

And did I mention anything about overtime work? While some decent companies will at least try to pay the employees for working overtime, some (or maybe even lots of, from what I’ve heard) companies won’t, claiming that “you have to work overtime because you are slow, and that is not the company’s responsibility to pay you”.

Yeah… some people really are shameless as long as they can save money. And of course you can look for another job; it’s just that no one can guarantee the next one would be better, especially when you consider that this is the problem of the whole society, not just one or two individual firms…

And this is how the “high competitiveness of Hongkongers” comes from.

Yeah, I am so proud of it…

Foul Language in Hong Kong

Do you know that swearing words in Cantonese are referred to as 粗口 (literally “coarse mouth”)?

And, man, Cantonese really is good for cussing because of its flexible sentence structure, how easily the swearing could be learnt and how the swearing can be used in different situation. As long as the speaker is creative enough, he or she can always come up with unpredictable combinations of profanity to insult their enemies in an impressive way!

Be warned though…the content below contains offensive words.

Those who are allergic to foul language, PLEASE LEAVE.

Those who are still reading…I take it that you are ready?

Well then, let me introduce you to our…

“The 5 Great Swearing Words in Cantonese” (廣東粗口五大字)!!!

屌 [diu2] – It can be used as noun, verb and interjection. It means “male’s sexual organ” (like “dick” or “cock”) when used as noun, and means “to penetrate with penis” (which is the equivalence of “fuck”) when used as verb. It is probably the most commonly used swearing word because of how flexible it is and its unique pronunciation. Seriously, nothing beats shouting out a huge “屌!” when frustrated.

Example:

屌! (Fuck!)

屌你! [diu2 nei5] (Fuck you!)

屌你老母! [diu2 nei5 lou5 mou5] (Fuck your mum!)

㞗 [gau1] – It is more commonly written as鳩 (pigeon), and mainly used as a noun, adjective, adverb  and sometimes particle. Another noun that refers to male’s sexual organ. When used as adjective, it can be used to describe others being stupid, useless, or ridiculous. Usually the word is combined with 戇 [ngong6] to form 戇鳩, conveying the meaning of “fucking dumbass”.

Example:

乜㞗呀? [mat1 gau1 aa3] (What the fuck?)

屌㞗你! [diu2 gau1 nei5] (Fucking fuck you!)

你戇㞗架? [nei5 ngong6 gau1 gaa4] (Are you fucking stupid / crazy?)

𡳞 [lan2] – Usually written as 撚 [nan2] (toy with, tease). Another word for male’s sexual organ (yeah, that’s the third one). This can be used as noun, particle or indicator of sarcasm. Just put this word after a confirmation and it will flip the meaning, like we turn “it’s good” into “it’s good…my ass!” in English.

Example:

你做乜𡳞嘢? [nei5 zou6 mat1 lan2 je5] (What the fuck are you doing?)

你識𡳞呀? [nei5 sik1 lan2 aa4] (You know everything my ass!)

𡴶 [cat6] – Yes, it means male’s sexual organ again (I wonder if Cantonese speaking people have some kind of phallic fetish…)! Usually written as 柒 (seven). Its usage is similar to that of 㞗, though with the extra meaning of “penis-like” or “embarrassed”. It can be combined with 頭 [tau4] (head) to form 𡴶頭 and becomes a really literal way to call others “dickhead” or “penis-face”.

Example:

你今次好𡴶。[nei5 gam1 ci3 hou2 cat6] (You are fucking embarrassed this time.)

望乜𡴶? [mong6 mat1 cat6] (What the fuck are you looking at?)

屄 [hai1] – Originally pronounced as [bei1], it refers to female’s sexual organ (finally something new…). When used as noun, it is like “cunt” and “pussy” in English, and a derogating way to address female. Its adjective form is used to describe others being cunning, cheap or simply unlucky. It can also be used as particle or sarcasm.

Example:

正臭屄! [zing3 cau3 hai1] (You stinking / fucking bitch!)

佢份人好屄。 [keoi5 fan6 jan4 hou2 hai1] (He has a shitty personality.)

Tired of cussing with only “fuck”? Now you can do it in Cantonese!

Or better, you can even come up with your English-Cantonese crossover swearing, like “fuck 𡴶 you” or “you fucking屄”.

Remember; don’t let the language barrier stop you from performing your art of insult!

Smartphone in Hong Kong

Do you know that Hongkongers have found a new way to use smartphones?

What is this “new” way? Well, what else but speculation?

While speculation of smartphones isn’t exclusive to Hong Kong, Hongkongers really are famous (or infamous, depend on how you see this action) for it. You can actually look up for related news or posts on the internet, and you will probably be surprised by how Hong Kong people are crazy about this kind of “buy low, sell high” activity. If you know where to purchase and where to sell, you can sell it for double the original price.

Yes, double. You read that right. And that is more than what a normal salary man can earn in a week.

“It’s legal, so they are free to do what they want,” you said?

Yes, you are right. And the problem is that you are right.

This, coming from an insignificant guy who barely earns more than the minimum wage, may sound hypocritical and ironic, but sometimes, we hongkongers are just too superficial and can’t look past the monetary value of something. That, in my opinion, really is unhealthy for both the individual and the society.

What gives me the right to preach though? And it’s not like no one knows that.

Hong Kong - Name of Origin

Do you know that there are different theories on how Hong Kong got her name?

First, we need to know what “Hong Kong” stands for.

It’s 香港 in Chinese. “香” can refer to “fragrance”, “sweet smell” or “incense”, where “港” means “harbor”. So, basically Hong Kong is a “harbor of fragrance / incense”.

Some people suggest that Hong Kong is a harbor city which used to sell / produce incenses, hence the name. The explanation is…too convenient, if you ask me.

One theory suggests that the Guangdong Province is abundant with trees that can produce fragrant wood. And Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀, southern part of Kowloon) was the trading port of the wood. Since Tsim Sha Tsui used to be called 香埠頭 in the past and was a place that processed fragrant wood …Yeah, you can guess the rest.

Some say that there was a river that flew into the sea. It’s rumored that the water in that river tasted so fresh and sweet, thus being called “香江” (Sweet River). Guess where the river located?

There is also a funny story. When the westerners first visited Hong Kong, they went to Aberdeen (香港仔, literally “Little Hong Kong”, see how the name is similar to “Hong Kong”?) and asked a local villager where they were. Out of laziness, the villager simply responded with the abbreviation “香港”, instead of the full name “香港仔”. So the westerners ended up thinking that the whole city was called香港.

And there are still many theories out there, though no one can tell the real reason why Hong Kong is called “Hong Kong”…

Wait, why does it sound like the ending of some horror stories?