I Love China

View from my aunt’s apartment in Hong Kong’s very exclusive mid-levels district.

So I’m back from my 5 day trip to Hong Kong for a family friend’s wedding. The trip itself was smooth and uneventful, except for the slightly mad lesbian tomboy that was sat next to me on the flight back (why, despite flying frequently, do I NEVER get a hot young thing sitting next to me on the flight?). When the flight attendant came round giving out the immigration landing cards, she wasn’t paying attention so she didn’t get one. Then in a mild state of panic, she raised her hand and asked for one. As soon as she got the landing card, she looked at it, then hit herself on the head 3 times before screwing up the card and throwing it away. I guess she suddenly realised she didn’t need one after all.

Every time I go to HK, I’m reminded of some of the very big differences between HK and mainland China. In the elevator at Times Square in HK, as I was walking in, the girl inside had her hand on one of the buttons. I was shocked to see it was the “door open” button which she kept pressed until everyone was safely inside the elevator. By contrast, EVERYDAY in my office building, there’ll be someone in the elevator with his or her finger pressing the DOOR CLOSE button while people are still trying to get in, because they’re in so much of a hurry. I’ve said it before, but people should not be allowed a door close button if they can’t be trusted to use it properly. In England, lifts do not have a door close button at all.

WoAi and Kelvin, the groom. He lived opposite our house when I was growing up in London.

The wedding was a very pleasant affair, mostly attended by Chinese Brits like myself. It was a little odd being at a wedding in HK and listening to grooms, brides, best men and matrons of honour all doing speeches sounding like they’d all come from Croydon (probably because most of them did!).

First dance – Emily, the beautiful bride with her new husband.

The groom with a rare appearance by WoAi’s mum all the way from London.

There was a very touching speech from the groom, including a touching and deserved tribute to his proud mother. The bride also said a few words before emotion got the better of her. Even WoAi, ever the cynic, was holding back the tears at the sight of these two people so very much in love.

Congratulations Emily and Kelvin, you lucky bastard!

I’m in Hong Kong for the wedding of a family friend and perhaps a bit of shopping. Not sure if I’ll have internet access so if you’re reading this pre-written post, it means I haven’t succeeded in getting online, or that I’m too busy to bother!

Have a nice week. I’ll be back Sunday when normal service will resume.

I was in Hong Kong last week and the contrast between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland always amazes me.

It was evening rush hour and there was a line of people waiting at an empty taxi stand. An empty taxi was slowing down to pick up the first in line. Someone who was obviously a mainlander saw the taxi slowing down and started running along side it trying to grab it before it reached the taxi stand. One of the women in the queue held out her arm and blocked the mainlander while the man at the front of the queue got in and the taxi drove off. The stunned mainlander then stood there at the front of the queue as people in the queue started shouting at him to line up at the back of the queue. He just stood there without acknowledging them. An Indian man in a turban then joined in making gestures for the mainlander to move to the back of the queue and he eventually, albeit reluctantly walked to the back of the line, still looking rather confused by the whole incident.

The reason obviously is that the Hong Kong culture is somewhat different to the mainland where it’s a common sight to see 8 people all running frantically towards a vacant taxi on Huai Hai Road on a Friday night. Basically, the first one to get there gets it.

All I can say is, I am so glad this kind of behaviour is NOT acceptable in Hong Kong and it just makes it a real pleasure to visit from time to time and escape from the chaos, just for a while. I love China, but everyone needs a little time away from time to time.

Photography is probably my biggest passion. Well, okay, my 5th biggest passion, after drinking, casual meaningless sex with strangers, playing pool and watching classic movies, but it’s right up there in the top five. So I make no apologies for posting about photography from time to time.

Without getting too technical, in order to take pictures in low light, you need a tripod to hold the camera steady, because the exposure has to be longer than it would be in bright light. I bought a very steady tripod about 15 years ago, and on the rare occasions I’ve used it, the images have been more than satisfactory:

Taken by me in Hong Kong in August 1998 using a Zenza Bronica ETRS mounted on my old Manfrotto 055 tripod.

But the problem is, it’s extremely heavy and not convenient for wandering around Shanghai in 40 degree heat, together with a camera bag full of lenses and accessories.

I’m sure you’ve heard the adage that the best camera is the one you have with you at the time. Well I guess it’s the same for tripods. There’s no point having one if it stays at home all the time. So on Saturday, I bought myself a lighter tripod and a handy strap that allows me to carry it over my shoulder without a bag, and on Sunday, I decided to try it out and set off with the tripod over my shoulder together with my camera bag.

Of course, it soon started to rain and I was cursing the awful Shanghai weather as I sought shelter in a shopping mall as the heavens opened up. What a waste of an afternoon, carrying all that equipment and no chance of even one decent shot.

But then, as the light was fading, the rain finally stopped, and I managed to end up at Shanghai’s famous Yu Gardens just as the last bit of daylight was disappearing to get this shot:

The shot itself was easy, but I did have to fight through crowds of out of town tourists who would often walk straight into the shot and I had to shoo them away with my hands, like pesky flies. But it was all worth it, the day wasn’t a complete write off and I went home happy.