hkob: hong kong or bust!

the a team

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:09:00 +0000

Alligators and anhingas - that is.

Mrs H and I have just returned from a day of kayaking and exploring the Everglades. Bravely brushing aside warnings about the heat and mosquitos (we arrived from Hong Kong, after all), we spent three hours in peaceful waterways - and about 3 minutes in a choppy uninviting lake ("it's like Scotland!") when the weather changed.

We are spending a few nights in Key Largo. Strong winds mean that sailing and snorkeling are likely to be off the menu at present. The good news is you don't have to go far to see sea life - sitting at a pier (pictured below) last night we saw a huge ginglymostoma cirratum (aka nurse shark), swim under our dangling feet. Yikes.

Key Lime pie, however, is firmly on the menu - and a new favourite desert.

cruising miami beach

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:52:00 +0000

Mrs H's favourite part of Miami was undoubtedly "cruising" Ocean Drive, where our entourage consisted of our Nicaraguan and Mexican friends, along with Enzo, a crowd-pulling bulldog.

With the roof of the convertible down and some carefully chosen tunes (Mandarin pop), we cruised at about 3 mph past hip art deco hotels, "GLB" bars, Cuban hangouts, and a group of five supermodels in a pink Mercedes Benz.

Or perhaps it was all a strange dream?

Leaving our canine babe magnet behind, our Mexican host also gave us a very memorable bike tour past Miami's best thongs, silicon implants, and bronzed pecs. Weaving in and out of the traffic with unbridled Latin bravado, we somehow survived and spent the rest of the day soaking up some rays on South Beach.

Another highlight was a fun dinner - at Boris Becker's favourite Italian restaurant.

Yes, perhaps it was all a strange dream...

the astronomical... and the astronomically rich

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:05:00 +0000

Blogging today comes from sunny West Palm Beach, FL, and a comfortable "converted motel". Lots of French here - must be dans le guidebook.

Probably the highlight of the past few days has been a trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The highlight of the highlight was a 30 minute presentation by astronaut Jon McBride, who spoke about his distinguished career with the administration. We also saw parts of the International Space Station being assembled - by the Italian Space Agency. Perhaps it was a new kitchen?

Further south, Palm Beach seems to be populated mostly by gardeners and builders at this time of year. In winter, America's uber-rich arrive - movie stars, business folk, and even the occasional ponzi schemer. But as explained to us - "they must be afraid of the heat".

We cycled around the island, past unimaginably large and ornate mansions, manicured gardens and hedges, as well as luxury yachts that would make Mssrs Dunross and Gornt - or any Hong Kong Taipan - salivate. Perhaps this is freedom?

notes from the A1A

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:33:00 +0000

Blogging today comes from the Fawlty Towers Motel - seriously - in Cape Canaveral, FL. Our room is located slap bang between Ron Jon's famous surf shop ("only 184 miles to Ron Jon's!") and a less celebrated adult emporium.

Driving south from Georgia, we stopped at St. Simon's Island (where a G8 had once been held), and also Jekyll Island where the men that made America once holidayed. We ate lunch at the Island Club, where I ordered a "JP Morgan" sandwich in honour of one of its former residents.

Soon after we entered "the Sunshine State" - and it started to rain almost immediately after crossing the state line. The night was spent camping in incredible heat at St. Augustine. We visited the never-conquered Spanish fort the next morning.

Today, for a fee of five dollars, we drove on Daytona Beach and swum in the pristine Atlantic. We also visited a wildlife reserve at Cape Canaveral. With NASA's space shuttle launch site as a backdrop, we saw one manatee, one 6-ft alligator, one extremely large crab, and multiple pelicans, egrets and herons.

savannah, georgia

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:36:00 +0000

Blogging today comes from the somewhat upmarket Savannah Bed and Breakfast Inn, Georgia, where we have spent three comfortable nights recuperating from long drives, catching up on washing, and "hanging cool" - as Mrs H puts it.

Hanging cool has been made easier by virtue of some new wheels - a jet black Chrysler Sebring convertible, which should be fun for Florida's A1A. We had to exchange cars as between Atlanta (Marietta) and Savannah our trusted Ford Escape required a change of engine oil. We swung by Savannah's airport to make it happen.

Alabama - like Texas - was crossed in a day, and got nothing of the time that it may deserve. We did drop by Birmingham for a stroll in Vulcan Park, where we came across our second snake of the journey - this one well over 1m long. Thinking it was dead we tentatively passed by, only to find that it had slithered off on our way back.

Savannah itself is green, well-kept, filled with parks, fountains, and inviting avenues. Everyone is friendly - "how y'all doing?" being the greeting of choice. A 30 minute drive to Tybee Island also marked our safe arrival on America's east coast.

One strange coincidence - I ran into someone from my old Hong Kong kindergarten and primary school in our hotel here. Even in five years in HK, I had not met someone who had been there, so it was quite a surprise to find this connection in GA.

We set off for Florida tomorrow - amidst 100 degree heat, and evening thunderstorms. Really hoping the east coast heatwave will be over soon.

strangely familiar - memphis

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:30:00 +0000

Blogging today comes from the Ramada Motel in Marietta, in the outskirts of Atlanta Georgia. We have some 4,000 miles on the clock now.
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Hot, steamy weather; occasional heavy downfalls; BBQ pork a local favourite; a grand old hotel; rickety old trams; a rowdy bar and entertainment district; neon signs. Memphis should be twinned with Hong Kong.

We caught three blues bands - one at Morgan Freeman's joint, one in the park, and one superb band in the Rum Boogie bar, which has hundred of signed guitars suspended from the ceiling.

Mrs H and I invested significant time in learning about the struggle for civil rights in the US and were deeply touched by a museum on the site of Martin Luther King's assassination.

On a lighter note - this might make our parents jealous - we also visited the birthplace of rock n'roll, Sun Studios, where we learned about the discovery of Mssrs. E. Presley, J.Lee Lewis, B.B. King, J. Cash, and many others. Listening to Elvis' first ever recording, along with "Great Balls of Fire", in the original studio were notable highlights.

And we swung by Graceland to pay our respects to the King. We took some tips for our future home - in particular green shag carpet, for the floors, wall and ceiling. "Uh huh!"

One unusual Memphis event is the procession of the ducks at the Peabody Hotel. At 9am each day, five mallards arrive in an elevator and waddle across a red carpet into the fountain in the lobby where they spend the day splashing about. At 5pm - in front of throngs of tourists - they waddle back to the elevator and up to their "palace" on the roof.

newcastle, ok - and lots more

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:04:00 +0000

New Mexico marked the start of long, long drives, which have taken us to familiar sounding places - Oxford, Leeds, and Birmingham.

The temptation to drop by Newcastle, Oklahoma, was also too much. We stopped for breakfast at a place called "Big Dave's" (or similar). The menu featured "all you can eat catfish". Newcastle (Tyne and Wear) would be proud. I managed to pick up a copy of the "Newcastle Pacer" for 50c- the equivalent of "the Chronicle"? - which featured a nice pullout map.

Then, on the drive out of Oklahoma, through West Texas, we came across an unusual series of Cadillacs planted nose down into a large corn field. Graffiti was the order of the day - and the opportunity was used for some shameless blog promotion.

Next up was Arkansas (where the mispronunciation of "Arkansas" is illegal). It was rather a "hit and run" on this state unfortunately, but we did camp in a lovely spot in Hot Springs on Lake Ouachita, and also visited the Clinton Presidential library in Little Rock.

Arkansas local radio was a treat, and confirmed the state's position on the bible belt. A programme called "Politics and Religion" decreed that a new world order had been established when George W. Bush met the Pope, and that the United Nations will spawn the anti-Christ. Concerned listeners called in to discuss whether they were bad Christians because they could not speak in tongues. Interesting stuff.

little boy, fat man, trinity et al. - los alamos

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:29:00 +0000

Blogging today comes from the luxurious Best Western Motel in Santa Rosa, NM, which marks our first night alongside Historic Route 66 - the Mother Road. We are in the company of a group of topless, hairy Norwegian Harley Davidson/brandy enthusiasts.

Earlier in the day we passed through Los Alamos ("the Hill"), a town formerly closed to the outside world, and the birthplace of Trinity, Little Boy, and Fat Man - and who knows what other nuclear weapons. It is now in charge of maintaining the USA's nuclear deterrent - "stockpile stewardship". Its history and contributions are noted at the Bradbury Science Museum.

Even more interesting is The Black Hole, a seemingly endless warehouse of old scientific/nuclear equipment. Quite how this previously "Top Secret" material found its way from the maximum security facility to this thrift shop is rather perplexing.

If you're interested in Geiger counters, centrifuges, cables, techtronic oscillators, scientific calculators from the '60s-80s, this is your place. If you are trying to construct a Tardis or sonic screwdriver, The Black Hole is your best bet.

Amongst the more curious items we came across were coffee machines used by the USA's top nuclear scientists, rubber stamps (with strange codes like "PROPIN") and even used floppy discs ("Mike's documents" - one said). Occasionally the FBI pop in to confiscate sensitive material - who knows what you might find.

One of the staff - a former security staff member of Los Alamos walked us through some of the more interesting items, before we embarked on a lengthy discussion on China and Asia's banking systems. Quirky indeed.

taoist retreat

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 02:48:00 +0000

Two relaxing nights were stylishly spent with a family friend of Mrs H in Taos, New Mexico. The adobe house was in itself spectacular, and afforded 360 degree views over the town and the Sangre de Christo mountains.

Taos represents a fascinating confluence of Spanish, Anglo and Indian cultures - all set against the backdrop of a desert, a ski resort, hippy hangouts, nuclear testing facilities, and possibly UFOs.

Taos Pueblo iteslf was an educational morning trip. Mrs H engaged in significant shopping amongst the local craft stores, and we gorged ourselves on "fry bread" and raw honey in the midday sun. Our evening meals consisted of barbecued organic T-bone steaks from the local ranch on the first night, and spicy New Mexican fare on the second.

A special mention for frontiersman Kit Carson, who we had first heard of in connection with an Indian massacre at Canyon de Chelley. In Taos, we were surprised to see his name celebrated- in road names, place names (Carson National Forrest), and at his own home museum. He is a more complex character than we first thought, marrying an Indian wife and adopting Navajo children to rescue them from a life of slavery.

colourado

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:50:00 +0000

A few pics from Colorado... Visibility high. API minimal. "Sea fog" absent. Bears present.

so bears do sh!t in the woods...

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:16:00 +0000

Blogging comes to you today from the laundry room of Morefield campsite, located in Mesa Verde National Park, Colarado. Is there anywhere without a wifi connection in this country?

We arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and were promptly handed leaflets by the rangers regarding "bear safety". Inauspicious indeed. Bravely we continued and established camp amongst very large deer (bear fodder?).

"Not for a few weeks," was the park ranger's assessment of the last bear sighting. We instantly ran through a few scenarios - does this mean they are not in the area, or that they might be getting hungry again soon? A bit of a mixed outlook really...

Sunset was truly unbelievable - with views not dissimilar to the top of le Saleve, only with the Rockies as a distant backdrop. Enormous portions were served at dinner, and we attended a free talk by a park ranger under the stars. The topic was a remarkable woman named Virginia McClurg who helped establish the park.

Wednesday morning started (after little sleep - and strange, lucid dreams about bears) with "all you can eat pancakes" and "free refills" of Starbucks coffee. We participated in ranger-led talks at the vertical and impenetrable Pueblan sites of Cliff Palace and Balcony House.

A 5km walk was undertaken to some petroglyphs. On the way we ran into a 1m long as yet unidentified snake - fortunately not of the rattle variety. On the way back we almost stepped in "bear scat" on the trail. It seemed alarmingly fresh - enough to worry some fellow hikers from Wisconsin. Mrs H loudly sang "Singing Kettle" songs to help ward off any predators.

And now for another sleepless night in Colorado.

nice spot for a coffee -

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:29:00 +0000

North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We arrived at sunset, and I cried - big softy!

"alright english, ride 'em on out!"

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:21:00 +0000

Ten days into the trip, and we have clocked up 1,800 miles. We are currently located in Chinle, Arizona, and we are not really sure what time it is - thanks to constant trips to/from Utah.

Directly after Vegas, we stayed a night in the wonderfully named Hurricane. This town was a sort of joint venture between the Church of Latter Day Saints and John Wayne. Our first taste of the Wild West. Dinner was of note - an eccentric family restaurant frequented by everyone from mormons to movie stars. Willem Dafoe had graffitied the wall with some comment about their fish tacos. Another comment - among the hundreds - said: "Your pizza saved my life, literally!"

Hurricane was the jumping off point for Zion National Park - which on a Saturday was rather busy. We purchased $80 Annual Passes for all US National Parks at the gate, to which the Park Ranger said: "America lies at your feet." Exciting stuff indeed! As the guidebook says - Zion's proportions are indeed "Old Testament" in nature.

Next up was Panguitch where by coincidence a special festival was underway - the Panguitch Valley Balloon Rally. Panguitch is small town America at its best. During the festival, entire families sat on benches outside their houses; couples danced to live country and western on street corners; youths practiced knife throwing.

Dinner - at Panguitch's Smokehouse - was a real treat. Not many places where you can enjoy a "Polygamy Porter" ("Why Have Just One?) under the shadow of life size John Wayne cut out. Huge chunks of bison/beefalo and home smoked river trout were on the menu. Not for vegetarians.

Canyons - Arizona and Utah have many of them. At Bryce Canyon, we enjoyed the "hoodoos" from atop lazy mules (Rachel and Shamrock) - and I came out with injuries that would make a cowboy blush. It was worth it - not many times in life you can hear a Texan cowboy shout "Alright English, ride 'em on out!"...

macau - long way to go

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:17:00 +0000

LV - and we're not talking Louis Vuitton. Two nights in Nevada's sin city have confirm that Macau has quite some distance to go. Although its maffia and gangster origins will stand it in good stead if Vegas is anything to go by.

This was our first long drive - around 7 hours in total. We stopped for petrol in California, and the service station claimed to be James Dean's last stop. The trip took us over the Sierra Nevada and through the Mojave desert. At one point the car thermometer read 105 degrees.

The entertainment in Las Vegas was first-class - notably Cirque du Soleil's production "Ka". It was billed by US media as being "the most lavish production in Western theatre history", and did not disappoint. Had it been produced in Hong Kong, it would have been called "Waa". The food too was excellent - we opted for Russian, but literally anything is available.

We stayed in the Luxor - the one in the shape of an ancient pyramid with a huge beam of light projected several miles into the sky. We figured it would be easy to find - and it was!

hearst castle - hk's latest development?

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:58:00 +0000

Hearst Castle - the spiritual home of neoclassicism - was the inspiration behind Orson Well's Citizen Kane, and could well be the inspiration for pretty much every Hong Kong property developer. If this name has not been used in HK yet, it will be in the future.

Jumping horse statues, gaudy fountains, Roman and Greek pillars, tapestries, heated swimming pools (indoor and outdoor) - fit perfectly with the aspirations of any would-be tycoon. The only difference is that at Hearst Castle all the art and statues are real, purchased at unimaginable cost. And no HK development is yet to offer a private landing strip with a DC-3.

From here we passed up to Paso Robles - California wine country - where we enjoyed some wonderful Zinfandels. If only they also had 0% tax. Strangely, I noticed that the football team of the local adult shop played in Newcastle United colours...

california's big sur - and the lamma of the east

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:42:00 +0000

California Route 1 took us to Monterey and its famous aquarium. In essence this is not dissimilar to Ocean Park, but it has a strong focus on sustainability and education. There were also no mainland tourists, and no "waa, ho sik!" from the crowd. Adorable sea otters were the highlight.

Taking Route 1 further down, we passed through Big Sur - along with a myriad of other vehicles including RVs and Harleys. The coasts seems to be shrouded in perpetual fog, but it was highly memorable nontheless.

From high up on the cliffs we spotted sea otters through our binoculars, and came across feisty sea lions a little further on. Sightings of blue whales had been reported, but no luck for us on that front.

Camping was undertaken at Morro Bay State Park. This was billed as the "Gibraltor of the West" - but with its seafood restaurants and coal-fired power station, it was perhaps more like the "Lamma of the East".

Not long after settling into our sleeping bag and tired from a long day, the park ranger arrived and said we had set up in the wrong spot - grumpily we relocated our tent a few places down.

notes from route one

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:23:00 +0000

The final day of a minor golf event - the US Open - did not prevent an impressive drive down California's Route 1 today.We steered clear of Tiger, just in case.

Tea with friends near Palo Alto was also an interesting excursion. Dropping in at Stanford University we had an impressive tour of various mansions belonging to Google and Facebook millionaires. The other half appear to be living rather well indeed!

land of the free and the home of the spork

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:08:00 +0000

Last night's lemon drop martinis seem to have cured my jet lag. A good prescription indeed from Dr Ross! A wicked hangover, however, seems to be a noticeable side-effect. I must talk to him about that!

A couple of pics from yesterday...

(1) Sign spotted inside the University of California campus in Berkeley - just outside the Li Ka-Shing Builidng (thought I was done with him!) This nicely underscores the difference in mentality between HK and California ("bicycles allowed"). In addition, the sidewalks here are covered in chalk artwork, and we saw a group of students picnicking on the grass between the traffic contraflow - both surely imprisonable offences in Asia's city states!

(2) A spork. It may have been camping in Borneo when I first thought of this. Sadly California has beaten me to it - the spork seems to have found its spiritual home.

Although I didn't take any pics, yesterday was also memorable for watching the footy with a group of eight astrophysicists. Despite its trivialities, it is heartwarming indeed to think that such brainiacs also enjoy the relative trivialities of the beautiful game. Actually - Lampard did send one shot into outer space.

Today we are off to San Fran to look for the city's best locally produced decaffeineated skinny huckleberry moccacino with organic flax seed shavings. "Wild American friend Odell" would be delighted.

berkelely

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:59:00 +0000

Mrs H and I arrived late last night at SFO - indeed before we took-off, thanks to the international date line.

We were very pleased to see a familiar face at the airport (Nic) - who kindly offered to drive us in our hired Ford Escape to Berkeley, where he is an astrophysicist with a Nobel prize in the making.

In true Californian style, his home has three iPhones, one iIpad (upon which I am now typing) and one Mac. The revolution seems well and truly to be underway.

I am suffering from the curse of the business class traveller. Too much sleep on CX's flat beds resulted in too little sleep on the first night at home - while Mrs H (who travelled economy) arrived tired and ready to snooze.

A day of logistics awaits - US phones, a tent, sleeping bags, maps etc. all to be arranged... Oh yes - and the England match!

Leaving HK was Very tough. Our friends celebrated a wonderful leaving party with us, and a good group saw us off on the Airport Express.

live pictures - moving out

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:32:00 +0000

The packers have arrived...

17 days and counting

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 09:03:00 +0000

Whereas it’s pretty easy to enter Hong Kong (you just pitch up) – leaving formalities are actually more onerous than I imagined. There are a number of things to do, it turns out.

These include: selling your property; ending tenancy agreements; “encashing” your MPF (not advisable at present valuations); changing your address; paying your final tax bill; ending utilities and telecoms contacts; and obtaining a “leaving HK” form. When combined with the entry requirements of a country like Switzerland – this all becomes a little bewildering.

With a tight schedule – Mrs H and I are leaving on 17th June – we have also had to do manage chores in conjunction with our notice periods. Unfortunately, for three weeks of my official notice my employer seemed to overlook my resignation, and a flood of work ensued. Now in the final week, the tap has thankfully been turned off for good.

News on the job front in Switzerland is encouraging. Work experience gained in Hong Kong was perhaps once belittled (FILTH - “Failed in London, Try in Hong Kong”); now, given China’s continued meteoric ascent, Hong Kong work experience goes a long way in the Old World. Thankfully.

invisible hand strikes again

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Mon, 17 May 2010 02:48:00 +0000

Is it possible that the impressive array of technological paraphernalia installed on the roof of the Chief Executive’s residence might in some way be connected the invisible campaign against yesterday’s de facto referendum on democratic reform?

The CE refused to vote, making no public appearance over the weekend; his top aides took a similar line; other civil servants were (conveniently) “away on business”; the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission did not appeal for voters to cast their ballots; and government-friendly parties also chose to boycott.

If that seems remarkably coordinated (and somewhat worrying), consider the situation in some of HK’s more remote areas. In the New Territories, scare tactics (“you will be in trouble if you vote”) were reportedly in play – while those who did vote were forced to travel to far flung polling stations, for instance Hong Lok Yuen International School.

The FT’s Tom Mitchell spells it out in his article headline: “Beijing pressure leads to low HK voter turnout” (similar coverage nowhere to be found in English language HK press). Mitchell explains that the dismal 17% turnout suggests that “voters in China’s freest and most prosperous city… do not have the stomach to fight for the right to elect their own readers.”

Corporate pressure is also likely at play – especially where the future of functional constituencies is concerned. Better distribution of Hong Kong’s wealth is not on their agenda – and thanks to Hong Kong’s political apathy, they will continue to get away with it. Shockingly, Hong Kong’s GDP per capita is on par with Switzerland – but its Gini coefficient is in the same bracket as Nigera, Cameroon, or Cote d’Ivoire.

the great american road trip of 2010

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:37:00 +0000

The following road trip - which takes advantage of Cathay's current cheap deals to San Francisco (and Swiss Airlines Miami-Zurich connection) - is how Mrs H and i plan to spend 35 work-free days this summer.

The only bad news - looks like we'll be in Alabama for the World Cup final (assuming it's even on TV).

distressed asset for sale

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Thu, 06 May 2010 09:37:00 +0000

Our significant five-year investment in Hong Kong has run its course. Mr and Mrs H’s new position is “short” Hong Kong, “long” Geneva - an exit strategy is underway.

Returns have been strong: friends were made; good times were shared; much has been achieved. But, the market has been “frothy” of late, with professional and personal uncertainties raising questions of both our conviction and thesis.

Call it a reverse takeover. Previously part of our lives, Switzerland once again joins the portfolio. Nothing will happen, however, until a significant stimulus plan is undertaken. Indeed an investor roadshow in the United States is currently awaiting compliance approval.

With regret, one particular asset looks set to fall by the wayside. This blog - despite its heritage and operating history - will be ownerless and managerless. Short of a high net worth individual unexpectedly coming to the rescue http://hkorbust.blogspot.com/ will no longer be a going concern. Chapter 9 looms.

Interested investors should email blind offers to hkorbust-at-gmail.com. And remember - a distressed asset always holds an attractive valuation!

view from the top

noreply@blogger.com (hkorbust) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 10:09:00 +0000

If - for whatever reason - I were to leave HK, I would certainly miss the view from my office on a clear day. If only it were like this all the time!