Fireworks

October 1 was a holiday though unlike in the West if a Holiday falls on the weekend they don't give you the following Monday off. Still, we don't get a day off due to rain so I won't complain.

A nice Fireworks show from my balcony in Kowloon. So this post is a conclusion to my time in the serviced apartment. The place was just too small to stay much longer than that. I am amazed that I saw a family of three staying in this size flat. Maybe there is a stow-away cabin that I never saw.

I will miss the local Indian Restaurant - terrific food and a low price. Unlike the Indian place in Wenzhou, Bombay Restaurant doesn't sell "H"omeless Chicken (my Wenzhou teacher friends will remember this), and I believe they change the oil here once in a whhh - well ever.

It's too bad it is located one block from Temple Street Market - the tourists pay the rather expensive prices for the mediocre Chinese food while Bombay is less money and a lot better. And they make it themselves - I see the owner buying the food at the grocery. The grandad is out handing out pamphlets to attract business and the sons are either cooking or waiting tables, while the owner's wife is out front trying to persuade people to give them a try.

The interior looks a bit like the back of an old taxi-cab with red linen (which is a nice way to say carpet) covers the seats and the booths which are a bit too low for the high tables. The ambiance inside consists of cramped dining for about 20 if packed and an LCD monitor showing the latest and greatest Bollywood music video. Strangely it is all very appealing and an escape from the fast paced non-stop flow of people and neon lights just beyond the doors. I usually make it a point to linger longer.

Yes, it's not exactly the most inviting of signs but the food is really good. I recommend the meal for one person, which two people can eat. For $11 Canadian you get Papadum, 3 large pieces of Naan, 2 Chicken Tika, 2 Samosas, some other deep fried vegetables (but not heavy), then one person would be full. The main course arrives which is rice with a bowl of curry (Lamb or Chicken - but if you ask for prawns or Beef instead they'll give it to you no extra charge). Then the bill comes and you wonder how they made any money.

Outside the restaurant and one block over is Temple Street Night Market. 5 watches for $10, Gucci purse for $5 (but only if you have someone like my friend Lawrence who will talk them down from $50. Every gizmo you could imagine and gizmos you thought were long gone like the dancing Coca-Cola cans and clocks that play Mozart or some other classical piece when the clock strikes the hour. If they had an A&W Rootbeer one and Vivaldi I would have probably been suckered. I did buy the 5 watches - it's been about 3 weeks and 4 of them are still working so all in all not too bad.

Temple Street also sells the food direct - so if you wish to cook a nice meal you can buy the hanging lettuce? Umm? Or the long mystery sausage or the - oh I just can't look anymore.

I have seen a number of these donation bins throughout Hong Kong and this one is close to my building. To the right, is a blue bin for paper recycling and two other recycle bins for plastics and metals. These are all over the place, in malls, on the streets, at school, and in my new apartment building. They also charge .50 per bag in the grocery stores. They're doing a good job here keeping it clean and recycling. I still don't understand why anyone here would want to own a car. I went from Central (the core of Hong Kong) to Tsing Yi where I currently live and considered a bit out of the way - it took 12 minutes by Subway. I can't see anyone driving that in less than 30 minutes and the pay parking is about $10 Cad after you spend 15 minutes trying to find a spot.