Billie Jean!

This day will be remembered for the death of Michael Jackson.
His songs however will always bee remembered, even that others did them better, like the Bates:

Bad, Dangerous and...Dead!

I really do not want to hurt anybodies feelings, but hasn't he in fact been out for some years?
Here is the song I will remember him for;

And here he still looks kind of human.

Go China!

Today I'll take you 44 years back in time. Why? Because I think that is the first time I heard about China and the Chinese people.
We lived in a little house on the danish prairie -no just kidding- but it was a little house on the country side in Jutland. my father worked on a big farm just next to our house. We had a lot of space to play and fool around my brother, sister and me. Also a big garden with a lot of vegetables and berries and places to dig; and that is what I did. I loved to dig big holes down in the corner where we had the rhubarb plant, coz it's huge leafs would cover the big hole. So there I was with 4 or 5 years digging a huge hole in the ground, hoping that no one would find out.
Maybe it was because I'd been so silent for so long time that my mother suddenly stood behind me, asking what I was doing, and if I continued digging I would come out on the other side, in China and that the Chinese people would be able to come through.
"In China?"
I wanted to know what China was, and why the people might come out through there.
She explained that China was the big country just on the other side of the planet, and it was full of Chinese people, and if I didn't cover the hole again over night, they might walk through it and be in our garden the next day!
What a story to tell a 4 year old, and it just made me just more curious and I wanted to know more.
What she then told me can for some people seem to be of a kind of racist nature, but it wasn't, it was just her way to explain this 4 year old digger what a Chinese was like, so she said;
"They are small yellow people with a coned hat!"
I really cannot remember the image I got when she said that, but I must have thought that they were a size like a rat or a mouse, coz my answer to her was;
"Well, if they should come up through that hole in the night, the cat's would eat them!"
This conversation for sure made me interested in China, so I started to find out of more by asking and by looking in books, and later when I could read, I read comic's and offcorse I also read "Tin Tin and the blue Lotus" where he is in China.And this could have been my first real visual experience of how it looked like in China; from a Tin Tin comic. But anyway, I was interested and over the years when I got more mature, my picture of this huge country also did, but still I didn't know how it was there. I've seen many films from China, read books and seen pictures and stuff, but until now never been there. Well at the moment I've only been to Shenzhen, and that isn't the real China, just like Hong Kong and Macau isn't, but after this summer this should change, and I am really excited about that.

Music as Comic # 2.

He isn't the most lovely boy, but I like his music and his Video work.; MM

Music as Comic # 1 -Itunes post!

I realized that if I had to listen to all the music in my Itunes, I had to listen to music for 84 days, that is even more than my summer holiday, so I won't do that. Instead we will go to China and do some backpacking for a couple of weeks or 5, I guess that is more interesting than listen to music -even I like music, so here some more to entertain you; comic music:

Schools out for summer!

Well another year is over and this blog is approaching its 3rd season here from Hongkers.
Like mentioned before, the school year was in danger to end before time because of the dreaded H1N1 virus. Now it is a fact that the year has ended before time, as also the secondary school got closed yesterday, so we're now supposed to go to work for one week without any students.
Anyway, this wasn't what I wanted to focus on this time, I wanted to reflect about the summer break.
Many, many years ago when I got a summer holiday myself from primary school, I remember riding at home on my bike, thinking about the coming 7 weeks of freedom and endless possibilities without the demanding teachers and useless lessons in math, danish or whatever it was that we were taught. When we reached home me, my brother and sister always shuffled through the cassette tape collection to find one particular song, smash it into the mono cassette recorder and turn it up on full volume and scream along just to demonstrate how much we loved this situation.
Here is the song in the original version from 1972:

Yesterday when I got the news that our school was out, I must amid I thought of this song once again, found it and played it loudly and kind of found that same feeling like back then. No, not that Idon't like my job, the students, colleagues and the school or anything, but it's just a nice feeling anyway to know that the next weeks belongs to yourself completely.
I'm sure our secondary students took the message of the closure with great pleasure as well, as they have been there a week longer than the primary school, which closed last week.
But back to this song again; back then in the 70ties, we were pleased not to see our teachers and the books for 7 long weeks, but now where I'm kind of on the other side, I can understand the students being happy to be without us, but I mean, we are nice people and nice teachers, so they must miss us as well, don't you think?

Casino culture

Once more I'll tell about Macau and this time more about the Casino Culture to find there.
Not that I know so very much about it, so this is only going to be from my own observations.
I've in fact only been in one or two of the many you'll find in Macau, one of them is the Grand Lisboa. For the first I like the architecture and dislike it at the same time, as it is one of the most hilarious building's I've ever seen, and with it's golden curved body it kind of dominate the "skyline over the old town. I know I've shown photos of this building loads of times, but here just once again to keep it in mind.
When I think of Casinos elsewhere I often think of huge security checks and a formal and smart dress code.
Here it is none of that kind. Well there is a security check and you can't bring weapons, at least there is a sign telling you, as well as you can't take any photos in there, which I think is a shame because I wanted to show this amazing establishment from the inside, in stead I have to try to paint it out for you with words.
The entrance is free and coming through the security is quite easy as no one stops you or want to see your bag. Inside you get overwhelmed by the size of the rooms, the number of gambling tables and gamblers who is spread out at each table. And then this is only the beginning. Big escalators takes the visitors up to the next level and a much bigger hall with much more tables and guests and a huge bar in front of a big stage. From 4 PM to 11.30 PM there is some different dance shows here to entertain the guest and get them to relax and think of other things than the money they might have lost. In the ceiling there is a big egg shaped hole, which offers a view to the next level and at the back other escalators lifts you up to another hall at the same size and same or more numbers of tables. The size of these halls are just incredible, so are the number of guests and of the amount of money I've seen being thrown down at the tables to be changed to gambling chips.
The atmosphere is friendly and you meet people of every sort in there, shorts, flip flops, smoking or track suit, doesn't matter, everybody gets the same treatment. Water, Coffee and some warm snacks are given out for free, and because we're in China; smoking is allowed everywhere, which can be a bit annoying, otherwise it can be an entertaining place to be, and normally we go there and use it as a bar and then just observe. Drinks is at the same prize as else where, if you manage to find a bar in Macau city I mean.

Piano Cat!

One hauls like the wolves!

There is a whole series of this performing cat on the tube, so if you want more...

Post from Macau

Not really because we're back again, but it is going to be about Macau.
Macau is a weird place. Like Hong Kong, Macau is also a SAR (Special Administrative Region) of the peoples republic of China, and as a former Portuguese Colony, it has quite some remains of the culture brought from there. Now it is a big -maybe the biggest- gambling metropole, and every big Hotel and Casino Enterprise has their own Branch -or are building it- in the City, and I've never seen a city this size -about 500.000 inhabitants- with so many and so huge Hotels and Casinos, some even say that the gambling enterprise in Macau now, is bigger than that of Las Vegas.
From Hong Kong it takes 45 minutes by jetfoil boat to Macau, and the traffic is huge. From two terminals these boats leaves 24 hours a day in 15 or 30 minutes intervals, but also from Shekou, Shenzen and Zuhai in China, boats are as regular, not to speak about the Helicopter traffic and the regular traffic by airplane to the international Airport, built on an artificial Island in the south china sea just outside the city.
The majority of these people comes to Macau because of the Casinos, and because the chinese people likes to gamble -and there is many of them- all these seems to do quite well.
Most of them are built in the recent years, after Portugal handed over the colony to China in 1999, and now it is just booming, and for people who likes modern and -or- odd architecture, this place could be heaven -or hell.
Every enterprise seems to want to be more prestigious or innovative than the other, and so the city has completely changed from a sleepy little Portuguese trade colony with Mediterranean influenced architecture and lifestyle, to a mega futuristic playground for architects, building "THE" gambling and entertainment resort for 1 billion Chinese and some curious tourists from overseas -like Catriona and I.
To be interesting and able to get people to come to this tiny place, which in itself isn't that interesting as it has absolute no beautiful nature or landscape around it, every possible measure has been taken, from the fake venetian canals and Marcus Square in the Hotel called "the Venetian", to the "Fisherman's Wharf" on the sea front, where they've rebuild Lhasa and Mount Everest, parts of Amsterdam, Lisbon, New Orleans and what do you know. All fake, but as bait for the Chinese tourist with money in their pocket, it seems to fit, coz why bother travel to Europe or the states, when you can see it all here in Macau.

Once before I've posted pictures from "Venice" in the Venetian, so I'll spare you for that again and will concentrate on the other Macau, the "old" Macau, if it is that old, because when you've seen all the fake buildings, you can somehow get the idea, that this "old" Macau, also is fake and just built to make it more interesting for the Casino guest, to take a walk around to relax and calm down after loosing a big part of their money.

What is a good breakfast?

A traditional English breakfast is considered as heavy and filling, but look at this!

Good news!

There is still some good news from the big world, not everything is catastrophe and war. Look at this cute little story from somewhere.

By the way; don't you think the cat looks a bit like the one on the right?
Could it be?

Dear diary - preparing for a Week end out!

I'm having a holiday tomorrow (Friday 12th). It has been some busy weeks recently because the school year is coming close to an end and everything has to be finished. For my point of view this mean's that all the footage I've collected has to be edited into films and documentaries and for Catriona it mean's to say good bye to her students from this year.
Well this came sooner than everyone had wanted, as today the message came that the primary school should close down because of the danger of the swine flu spreading. So this afternoon all students got send home with the message that there will be no more school before after the summer break. Quite rapid it all went, and a lot of the small ones didn't get a chance to say goodbye to their friends and teachers.
This don't mean that we also can call it a day though, as we are expected to come to work until the official end of the year on the 25th, and the secondary students; they still have to do a normal schedule, but who has to understand that?
Weeks ago we decided to use this week end as a kind of goodbye event with our two friends Sophie and Craig, who is now leaving us here in Hongekers and are heading for Munich in Germany, to start working at the international school there.
So at this moment Catriona is packing her little week end bag, while I'm doing this; dear diary.
We are going to Macau for two nights; no not for the casinos and the gambling, but just for the atmosphere. Macau is a weird but kind of romantic place with it's obvious Portuguese influence and overwhelming Casino Hotel resorts.
I know I've done lots of post about Macau, but another one wont bother anyone I think, depends if I'm repeating myself or what.
I started to tell about me having a holiday tomorrow; yes I do, because I have to use my holiday before July, and I've still got 5 days, so I feel quite relaxed right now, like you do when knowing not to have to get out the next morning and all that I can do with my day alone at home, which is mostly nothing because the hours just fades away between ones fingers, but I have an appointment at the hairdresser at 1.30PM and have to pick Catriona up at 3 PM to get to the ferry for 4.30 - 5ish. I hope I can make it.

Visit Århus!

I don't know why I found this and wanted to post it. I guess I was a bit bored and then tried to search "Århus" on youtube. Way back in time when I was living in Denmark I regarded Århus as my town, maybe it still is a bit -in Denmark- as Dresden is my town in Germany and Grenada could be it in Spain.
But back to this video, it is -I gues- typical for the danish people of today, a bit camp and kitsch.

Outdoor week end.

Before the rain started this Monday, we were blessed with an amazing week end. It was hot but not as humid as normal, so we took the opportunity to go to Lantau Island on Saturday to visit the biggest stilt fishing villang in Hong Kong once again; Tai O.
Is is plased on the south west coast of the island, and is an amazing ans exciting place to visit. We've been there before but it is always worth a visit. Here some photo impressions.After walking around in the village, eat the obligatory seafood lunch and what ever you can do there, we let us in to a boat trip out to the open sea to have a look at the famous Pink Dolphines of Lantau. As the boat came out there there was no dolphines in sight, so I have to offer you some pictures I took of a big ship out there some where.
That wasn't that easy to do anyway, as the sea was in motion and we were on a small boat jumping up and down. But after some efforts I think I managed to get it like I intended to. Maybe later I will post some of the other efforts I did that day in the little motor boat, on the open waters just outside the Pearl River delta.
On the bus on the way back from Tai O, we were involved in a minor traffic accident. The road on south Lantau is very narrow with a lot of curves. Twice our bus had to stop and reverse a bit when we met another bus coming in the other direction from Mui Wo. Both times it went well, but a third time as we met an approaching Taxi, fortune wasn't with our friver and the driver of the Taxi. A loud chrash, and the bus stopped. Looking back through the rear window of the bus, we -all passengers- wittnessed the Taxi with a completely crushed front wheel and a missing part of the right side. As we could step out, we could see the missing part coming out from the left rear wheel of the bus, and the two drivers in a tense discussion in the middle of the road. Soon another bus came to pick us all up, and we left the two poor men -still discussing- alone on the remote south Lantau road, and we could heads towards our next destination that day; C heung Sha beach and the incredible "Stoeep" Restaurant, but that is another story.

"the young ones" genious television show.

This was one of my absolute favorite series in the late 80ties, and these guys still makes me laugh.

Two IFC & the ICC tower

Morning again, here is a supplement for yesterdays post about the IFC tower and the new one coming soon, which will be 64 meters taller. I wrote about these two towers forming a kind of gateway to the Victoria Harbour. I found this picture taken from Victoria Peak, and the new one -ICC tower- is the one shining very brightly into the water on the "Kowloon side" and the Two IFC on the Hong Kong side.

Hong Kongs tallest building

The Two International Finance Centre, called the IFC, is at this moment the tallest building in Hong Kong. Shaped like a big obelisk, it stands on the Hong Kong side of Victoria Harbour and is a part of the beautiful view of the skyline seen from Tsim Sha Tsui, also called Kowloon side.
But not for long will this building be the tallest, as just on the oppersite side, in Kowloon, another mega tall tower is slowly but for certain becomming its shape and growing towards the sky.
How much taller this building is going to be? Well about 64 meter, the IFC tower is 420 meters and the new one will grow to be 484 meters
Placed just opposite each other at the western entrance of Victoria Harbour, the two towers wil form a sort of "gateway" to the harbour, like the legs of the Colossus of Rhodes apperently did it in ancient times.
And what is the new tower going to be called? Well it is amazing how much imagination the planners and investors has put into this one, as this tower is going to be called; International Commerce Centre.
Either of us has been to the top of this building yet, but it is open for public viewing and the view from up there should be stunning, and will take you nearly up to the same hight as the famous Victoria Peak.

1st of June!

Jolly good, it is the first of June, and that means that there is now nearly only 6 months to Christmas.
And only three weeks to our Summerbreak! But how can that be, I don't feel that it is about one year ago that we went for our summer holiday in Europe, but it is and that is just an amazing thing, one year more just gone like it was a couple of months.
This year we're not going to Europe, we are going to explore the big neighbour just north, east and west of us; China. Atleast we plan to, but let us ee how things are in three weeks, here I mean the situation with the swine flu. It is not that it is more scary here than else where, but now there is ten confirmed cases here, and maybe the school has to close down because of that, so we follow the developement very carefully, and so does the goverment and if there is one confirmed case of an human to human caused infection, the schools will shut down.
But there is absolute no panic and we will plan our break and adventure as usually.
We're planning to spend 4 to 5 weeks with our backpacks and then travel through China by train and buses , just like back in times when doing interrail throughout Europe, China is just far bigger. I am especially excited by that, as I think this will be somehow one of the most facinating travel experiences I could ever dream of. And offcorse, I'll try to keep on posting from around where the trip might bring us.
But before that there is still 3 weeks of ordinary everyday life to do, so you have to deal with various kinds of inspiration from this side, and as you maybe can tell, it isn't that good every time, and because it is turning into being everyday life for us here to go on a hike, I will spare you for more details of the mountain trip I did yesterday, and just post a picture of my and my friend Bob, on one of the mountains around here where we live.
By the way Bob and his wife Yvonne -lucky duck's- are flying back to Dresden on Thursday the 4th of June, and will stay there for 5 days, as they are going to the graduation of the first IB Diploma Students from Dresden International School, where they both worked before comming here.
So if some of you readers from Dresden, meets this man somewhere in Dresden next weekend, then please approach him and and tell him to say hi to me, when he returns back home.
Another by the way, this time according to duck; I read in a newspaper -or in fact it was Catriona- that an old Vietnamese prowerb says that; "if you have two women and a duck, you have a market".