The Emperor Qin, who is credited with unifying China into the one massive country it is today, was so obsessed with his own afterlife that he created the now-famous Terracotta Army, in Xi’an, with an army of over 8,000 life-sized soldiers, plus horses, servants, and offerings, and then buried it all underground until it was discovered by accident just a few decades ago, skyrocketing Xi’an into a world-famous tourist attraction. It’s one of the most incredible and bizarre things I’ve ever seen.

But being buried with important goods for the afterlife is nothing new, which is why tombs in Egypt (not that I’ve been yet) are full of gold, riches, servants, children, concubines, horses, bottles of wine, and everything else a royal king would need or desire. From South America to the Middle East, everyone wants to know that they, and their loved ones, will be okay after their death.

Most people today, of course, don’t have the tools or resources to build themselves a terracotta army or bury their riches in a pyramid. But the Chinese today have a very interesting, and quirky, way of honoring their dead — they burn paper effigies of the things that their loved ones either enjoyed in life, or never got to achieve.

There are a number of shops just down the road from me which sell paper offerings that people can burn in the belief that the smoke will rise up to the heavens and be delivered to your loved ones. I find it incredibly fascinating to see what these shops sell, paper offerings of any and everything you can imagine that people enjoy in life, and may want or need after death in the spirit world.

For example, say your husband just died, and he was a big fan of horse racing. Then you can buy him this:

Or maybe your dream was to one day have a big house with lots of space and lots of help? But in Hong Kong of course that kind of lifestyle IS a dream, so perhaps for their loved ones they offer up a big mansion, complete with a maid, an armed security guard (to keep you safe), a patio set, and even a Hummer! Your lives dreams finally realized after death.

Smokers can barely survive a 5-hour flight without a smoke — can you imagine going through an entire afterlife without cigarettes? Never fear! Your loved ones will never be without a nicotine fix. Or an iPad, for that matter. Or an electric shaver. Yes, you have to look good, even when you’ve carried over.

Of course, one must put their best foot forward, so for the fashion conscious or shopaholics, you can get a genuine imitation Louis Vuitton bag, and a pair of shoes…

This one is my favorite — BEER!!! Yup, I definitely would hope my family would burn an effigy of beer for me because I sure do enjoy it now.

I thought this one was particularly cool — a big paper massage chair!

Regardless of what your loved one needs or wants, or enjoyed in this life and will surely want in the next life, or perhaps had dreams of achieving but never quite got there, you can find it all in these effigy shops. You burn your offerings in these metal bins, and the smoke travels up to the heavens, and hopefully to your loved ones. I think it’s quite nice, actually. A very personal touch to the sad but real business of death.

This morning was the first attempt at smoking some really yummy things on a wood chip smoker that we bought ages ago but never had the chance — or to be more specific, the SPACE — to use. But now that we have a fabulous roof top with all the breeze and fresh air we need, it’s time to smoke.

On the menu today was smoked bratwurst, eggs, and cheese. Yes, very experimental!

Before….

The smoker we have is technically a stovetop smoker, which means you place it on an open flame. In this case, since we are on the roof, we have a portable gas grill where you pop in the gas canister and you’re good to go. You put the smoker on top of the flame, cover it down, and wait. After about 20 minutes or so, it was already starting to get that nice golden brown color.

Looks good, right? But I am sad to say, this smoking of the sausage and egg was a bust. I don’t know why, but everything just tasted burnt and bitter. Perhaps the fire was too high and the chips got a bit burnt, or maybe the type of wood was not a good match for the sausage and egg, but it really was a failure! The eggs had to be thrown away, they were so incredibly bitter and sour. The sausages possibly can be salvaged in a fried rice or something.

So the last part of the smoking was to smoke cheese. You turn off the fire, and just let the cheese sit tight in the smoker, soaking up the residual smoke and flavor, because of course with direct flame it would just melt.

So guess what? This too tasted like failure! I really don’t know what went wrong but it just did not taste good, and the camembert got a bit too melted. Slightly disappointing! But we still ate it with a baguette and it wasn’t half bad. It was barely half good, though.

Oh well. You can’t get two gold stars all the time!

At least the roof top is still a winner!

I am so stoked to be included in this year’s Outlish Magazine Top Trini Blogs to Follow especially since this year it is directly related to travel. I am beyond thrilled because I’ve been blogging for YEARRRS, I mean donkey’s years since I first left Trinidad to go to Turkey all the way back in 2005, and it has taken quite some time to build up a small fan base and get my name out. I know some famous bloggers get well over 100,000 hits a day or more, but I am quite happy to get my 100 daily visitors or so, and I think for someone who, for the most part, does not promote her blog, that isn’t half bad.

Actually this year has been great for my blog, and now not only do I have a Newsday Column every other Sunday (for which I actually get PAID!), but I also am on Outlish’s list. I am one happy blogger!

Be sure to check out the other traveling Trinis who are doing the same thing, whether it be aiming to hit every country in the world, or living a hell of a long time in Japan, or doing a Hajj. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again — for one tiny little speck on the map, we Trinis sure do get around, and for that we should be proud.

THANKS OUTLISH!!!!

This might sound stupid, but one of the big draws for living in this apartment is that we are a stone’s throw from one of the ding ding terminals, which means I have the pleasure of taking the ding ding to work every day. It’s not a long ride, but I truly enjoy getting on the ding ding early in the morning, taking a seat on the second floor, and just watching the world go by. I feel like a tourist every day, and it’s a great way to mako.

Tourists love it too!

My ride winds its way through the historic ‘Dried Seafood District’, where the traditional Chinese products still dominate. There are no air-conditioned superstores here, just small family-run seafood stores selling everything from dried shark fins, abalones, scallops, oysters, mussels, seahorses, fish stomach, sea cucumbers, seaweed, salted fish, sun-dried fish, fish sausage, pickles, and so on. Early in the mornings, before it gets too hot, the shops are already open and people are shopping.  And you don’t just see it, you smell it too, even from the ding ding!

When the rain shines the fish go out in the sun — even if it means putting them at the side of the road

The hustle and bustle never stops

People rarely ride the ding ding for long distances and it would just take too long, so people generally use it to get around the downtown area, hopping on and hopping off short distances. There tend to be a lot of old people on the tram because it is extremely cheap — HK $2.30 for adults and just HK $1 for seniors. As you can imagine, a LOT of seniors take advantage of this practically free ride.

Passing the old Western Market, built in 1884, one of the few preserved colonial-day buildings (i.e. not knocked down to make way for 100-storey towers)

Liming on the corner

When in Hong Kong, riding the tram is considered a must-do. Lucky for me, I get to do it every day!

It’s been an intense few weeks, moving house, waiting for shipping to arrive, figuring out where to put everything you own into a 550 sq foot apartment, unpacking and repacking, putting together IKEA cupboards, learning the bus routes, finding the best supermarkets, all while going to work 9-6, and trying to squeeze a few hours in for gym. Again, phew. I didn’t think it appropriate to update the blog while at work, so I was forced to take a hiatus. Feels good to be back online again.

So far living downtown on Hong Kong island has been great. The first three years that we lived in Hong Kong, we lived pretty far away in areas — new towns — that had not much to do but offered bigger apartments with lower rent. But all I did was commute to work, and commute back home. Living downtown for the first time is a whole new ball game. We have essentially traded in the space for the experience of living in the city — our last apartment was, literally, twice the size of the place we are in now. But it is comfortable, the roof top rocks, and we have everything we need and live in a happening area.

Wanna know what 550 sq ft gets you in a place like Hong Kong? Well, here’s the grand tour:

(Keep in mind that since our place is renovated, it does NOT represent what the typical old style Hong Kong apartment is like! You do not want to see what a really, really old place is like…) 

First, we have a nice but small open kitchen, attached to the living room.

Simple but functional

Since we don’t have room for a dining table, we instead got a sofa, a little coffee table, and two low seats which we can pull out and use whenever we need to sit to eat. It is surprisingly easy and convenient, actually. Plus, the getting up and down from the floor is good for the hips and flexibility!

Teeny tiny table

We have two little rooms, one is a bedroom with just enough room for beds and a wardrobe and that’s about it.

In the midst of unpacking…

And that’s about it, really! The first few days here were an adjustment, but now that everything has been packed away in its rightful place, it is actually very comfy. Plus, it only takes 15 minutes to clean!

The building is old… like, really old… and there seem to be a lot of old people living here too. I am without a doubt the only gwailo in this building (gwailo = white ghost in Cantonese = word for foreigner) so once in a while I get in the elevator and some old Chinese granny walks in and is momentarily startled by the sudden presence of a foreigner in the building she has probably lived in for forty years. But if they seem to ask me which flat I am living in — by pointing to the panel of floor numbers — I smile and say in my best Cantonese, “sup chut lau” which means 17th floor — to which they usually laugh at what I have to assume is my crappy pronunciation of a language that has eight tones. Oh well. Adventures in cultural exchange.

Old on the outside… new on the inside (at least some flats!)

Coming up next — The Best Commute in the World

This was my brain for the last 18 months:

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And this was my brain after working 9-6 for the past five days:

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Thank god for the weekend!

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So would you like a sneak peek in to my new home? It’s a 2 bedroom, fully newly renovated, with an open kitchen, and the absolute BEST PART is the private roof top. A little piece of space and fresh air up in the sky! I have always longed for a roof top in Hong Kong as they come at a premium and are in low supply. I think we were extremely lucky to stumble upon this place.

Already liming on the roof, enjoying the spring weather. Not sure why he is flashing some gang signs. Maybe there is some yakuza in the area that we don't know about.

Even have a little peek of Victoria Harbour!

New kitchen -- you would not want to see an old style horrible kitchen!

I have to say, this house hunting experience on Hong Kong island has been incredibly eye opening. I don’t think I ever really understood what a struggle life can be in Hong Kong for the majority of the population. For example, we saw one place that was 800 square feet with three bedrooms. However, they had converted the place into a flat that could potentially rent out to three different people, with each paying TT $5000 per bedroom! My dear Uncle Geoffrey always used to shake his head and say, “Boy, I doh know how poor people does do it.”  The same applies to Hong Kong. In comparison, myself and my husband are very fortunate to have 600 square feet, and two bedrooms, all to ourselves. We have the ‘luxury’ of turning one room into an office. Many families in Hong Kong all live together with extended family members, grannies and grandpas and uncles and aunties and babies, all in a 2 or 3 bedroom flat. Could you imagine?

Anyway, I am very grateful to have a nice, clean, renovated new place, and the roof top is just the cherry on top. I think living downtown is going to be a hell of a lot of fun….

Chinese people of course do not consider this day to be an unlucky one, but there are many, many, MANY unlucky or ill-fortuned dates in Chinese culture. Many people don’t make major decisions about birth, death, getting married, moving, or buying a home until they have consulted a Chinese fortune teller who will check the calendar and determine which day is most auspicious.

Funnily enough, a Welsh friend of mine here in Hong Kong proposed to his Chinese girlfriend, and they chose a wedding day a few months in advance that they thought would be a good time. But when they told her parents, they were horrified that they had not consulted the fortune teller about the date. The plan was scrapped and the fortune teller was consulted. And which day did the fortune teller choose as the most auspicious day for the couple to get married? FRIDAY THE 13TH. My Welsh friend found this quite ironic.

Because in the Chinese language the pronunciation of some numbers also corresponds to the pronunciation of certain words, there are numbers which are lucky and numbers which are bad luck. Without a doubt the worst number of all is 4, because the word for ‘four’ sounds too close to the word for ‘death’. As a result, many high rises skip out the number 4. Some buildings for example do not have a 4th floor. Our last building skipped out the 4th, 14th, 24th, 34th, 44th (most definitely the 44th — double death!), and 54th floors. This is why sometimes it is a lie when a building developed claims the building is 88 stories high!

The number 8 is the most lucky number because it sounds like the word for wealth/prosperity. People try to jam as many 8s into their numbers as possible. For example when you buy a SIM card and get a new number, the numbers that have one or more 8s in them sell for a little bit more, and you can choose which one you want. Starting something on the 8th of the month is good. Having 8s in your license plate is good — the more the merrier. Being born on the 8th of August is particularly good. The Beijing Olympics were launched on 08-08-08. Triple luck!

Anyway, in short, just try to remember that   4 = bad, 8 = good.

Makes me wonder though whether April 8th is a good or bad day?

Granny sitting

Because Hong Kong is a very competitive society, due to the high cost of living, most people simply do not have the option to stay home and mind children or take care of old folks. So in Hong Kong there are thousands and thousands of maids and domestic workers, primarily from the Philippines and Indonesia, who come here to do all the household duties that people no longer have time to do. This includes the grocery shopping, the laundry, walking the dog, dropping the kids to school, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of old folks. Imagine the maids actually LIVE with the family — in a tiny room in those tiny apartments! — full time, all day, six days a week. And get this — the really rich folks have a maid for EACH CHILD! Some people even have a full time live-in maid just to take care of their PETS!!!!

Anyway, I don’t blame the maids for sitting around and liming instead of actually walking the stupid dog or pushing around the old people for fresh air. Imagine having to live with a family and do their bidding 24 hours a day and pretty much always having to do what you are told. If I were them, I’d seek out my friends for a stress-relief liming session too!

Sometimes in Hong Kong the only place to build is UP!

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