Xmas Comes Early in HK

The red Starbucks holiday cups have already come out to play in Hong Kong, it must be Christmas time. There is no Thanksgiving here to contend with, so they get started early here. Xmas is just another excuse to go shopping as the majority of the population is non-Christian. In the States its the Chinese food restaurant that is always open on Xmas, here everything is open on Christmas but the western food restaurants.

HK Cricket Sixes

The Kowloon Cricket Club played host to the annual Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament over the weekend and we made it out for the championship match. Seeing the game live brought my understanding of cricket to a higher level, though I still can’t say I understand its many facets.

One thing I do know about sports having been on both sides of winning and losing – when at the end of the game one team is jumping up and down in celebration and the other team’s members are laying face down on the ground in supreme defeat, then you’ve just witnessed a fantastic ending to a game. That was how the England cricketers left the Australian team after a thrilling ending to the match that had those in the know calling it the closest and most exciting final in the tourney’s long history.
Cricket Sixes is a bit like Arena Football or the “Blitz Chess” that is played in New York’s Washington Square Park. It’s a highly energized and shortened format of a very tactical sport. Conventional test cricket matches can last up to 5 days, and they even break for tea each afternoon! In Sixes, the field dimensions are smaller, the number of players on each side is limited to “Six” instead of normal 11 and swinging for the fences is encouraged so the scoring is heavy. Cricket purists look down their nose at it, but the 6's format fits Hong Kong's action oriented attention span just perfectly.


We decided to root for England and even bought a little jersey for Ingrid. She was quite a hit with those in attendance and also got some face time on the bigscreen jumbotron as well as the live televised broadcast of the event. I don't imagine any of you were awake to watch it, but cricket crazy fans throughout Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan got to see our little Ingrid on their tv screens cheering on the Brits.

Cricket is huge on the Indian subcontinent so the ethnic make up of the crowd was all over the board. And nowhere is their rivalry more fervent than on the cricket pitch, but it is cool to see these countries come together and battle each other thru sport. And with these countries involved, there was an even mixture of Hindu, Muslim and Christian fans in the house and to accommodate their faiths there was even a prayer room on the grounds! I think all sporting venues should have this, so when things are really not looking so hot for your favorite team you can hop into the prayer room and a quick prayer!

Best of all, when the championship match was over they let the fans onto the field of play to watch the awards ceremony. I've mentioned many times on this blog how Hong Kong is a grass deprived city.....so to be able to wander the pristinely manicured grounds of the Kowloon Cricket Club was well worth the price of admission. Ingrid had a blast wandering around and feeling the grass between her little toes.

2060! 2060! 2060!

We're 'cool' again

Obama's victory is already paying dividends because according to this article being an overseas American is now 'cool' again. Thank goodness, I now no longer have to wear my Toronto Maple Leafs hockey jersey on weekends or end all my sentences in 'eh?' to throw people off the scent.

Obama!

They love him here in Hong Kong! I don't speak Chinese, but there is one word that is very easy to understand and its "Obama." I spend a lot of time sitting in HK taxicabs listening to local Cantonese talk radio. I understand nothing but often the commentary is interspersed with the word 'Obama!' It translates perfectly!

Get Out and Vote

Happy Halloween

We hope you all have a great Halloween with your family, friends and wee ones.

The Ballet Is In Town

Today I tried to snap a few photos of Ingrid in her costume at Hong Kong Park.

Ingrid's 1st Pumpkin

Trick or treat...we may be 40 floors high but we have a jack-o-lantern and candy. Any kid who actually makes it to our door deserves more than one piece of candy.

Ready For Halloween

Well, it's no Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Patch but the Halloween display down at the local supermarket will have to do for this one year old. I (Lizzie) have been searching for some Halloween magic here in Hong Kong but the locals haven't really caught the enthusiasm of the holiday. Our apartment building on the other hand is doing its best to cater to its many western occupants by decorating the lobby with scarecrows, jack o'lanterns, huge spiderwebs and scary what not. The building is holding a Halloween bash and Ingrid is getting in the spirit by readying her costume. The party is to be held on the ground floor roundabout where taxi's are usually busily shuttling people to and fro.