Carefree in Stanley

Posted on August 18, 2013 by geofoodie

Belgian Beer and a view of Murray House

One of the things I like best to do on a sunny day in Hong Kong is go to Stanley. This small and rather upscale village on the far side of Hong Kong Island takes some energy and effort to get to, but here you can sit behind a Belgian beer and watch the ships on the horizon go by on their way to distant ports. The combination of journey, beer, and view provide a sense of holiday for the few hours one spends in this place. But Stanley was not always such a carefree place, and indeed for some it is a place where although cared for, the circumstance is not free.

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Hong Kong Coffee Culture

Posted on August 3, 2013 by geofoodie

I like coffee. In fact, I like coffee much more than tea. This preference was easy to indulge when I lived in Seattle, where getting a cup of coffee is not a difficult task. It became much more difficult in England, where quite often what is passed off as coffee is actually some sort of instant coffee drink with lots of milk and sugar (to my mind instant coffee is not really coffee). I didn’t know what to expect when I moved to Hong Kong. I worried that the cultural residue of being a British colony, combined with the modern relationship with China would mean that in Hong Kong a good cup of coffee would be hard to find. Tea? Easy. Coffee, well what to expect? Continue reading →

A modern Chinese masterpiece?

Posted on July 27, 2013 by geofoodie

The High Speed Rail network in China is a modern masterpiece of engineering and implementation and had a budget of about US$262 billion (£170 billion). Trains travel at speeds in excess of 300 km and hour and in doing so shrink the vastness of China. What can take 12 or more hours on a regular train service, now just takes a few hours and has the potential to move millions of people around the country, thereby reducing the difficulties of travel during golden weeks experienced by so many. Yet, this rail service, paid for and pushed through by the Chinese government does not ease the travel problems of many migrant workers. Continue reading →