Morose in phuket but pleased to be alive

I'm laying in bed @ the moment writing this.

The bed's in a hotel room right on the beach in Phuket where we are on holiday for a few days.

I can hear the waves crashing outside. The kids are asleep in the adjoining room next door. And Joss is asleep in bed next to me.

An hour ago, stupidly and inevitably I suppose, I googled 'laguna beach phuket tsunami' and started reading the first link in the list http://phukettsunami.blogspot.com

More poignant being here, in a darkened ground floor room with my family all around me and hearing the waves outside of course.

But please read it - puts things into perspective - and how. Heart breaking stories of suffering and survival. Can't imagine what went on in this room all those years ago.

M

Napa, California: A tale of Sun Dogs; Hummingbirds and Exotic Intestinal Parasites!

Have been concocting that headline for a couple of days now. Sounds like a great book title.

I recently went to Northern California on an extended (nearly two weeks) business trip - must say, I loved the place.

I especially love Napa valley where I spent most of last week.

I stayed in the middle of the vineyards -- at The Carneros Inn. Wonderfully relaxed place -- small cabins fabulously furnished (log fires; Eames chairs etc). Tiny red-breasted Disneyesque hummingbirds everywhere - not seen them in California before. All very chilled.

Stunning views across the Napa countryside - and we were even treated to some 'Sun Dogs' on one of the days (ice crystals high in the atmosphere cause the sun's light to refract - causing it to have a halo).

All of this was ruined by the fact I came down with a tummy lurgy on the (13 hour!) flight over. I thought it was a one-day thing. And maybe caused by my recent move over to vegetarianism. But oh no. Not me.

A quick trip to the emergency Napa Valley quack revealed I'd caught an 'exotic intestinal parasite'. Doc asked me if I'd been anywhere foreign of late ... after I'd reeled off a dozen or so Asian countries/cities, he sat back dumbstruck. "Yes, that's probably it then". (His next patient was a victim of a black widow spider bite -- she would not stop talking about it in the waiting room -- that and her many prison sentences). Hope his reaction was more solid with her.

I was eventually diagnosed with cyclosporiasis ... from the cyclospora parasite. It lives in contaminated water often found on salads and raspberries (in particular). (I do remember eating ---STUPIDLY!--- a load of raspberries in Mumbai ... I'm usually sooooooo careful about what I eat in India).

Appetite was described as 'anorexic' -- I lost just over 18lbs in 3-4 weeks. A great way to diet (well, an unpleasant way to diet actually) - someone suggested I bottle my parasite (he also suggested I give it a name) and sell it as a fancy new diet. A hefty double dose of industrial strength antibiotics later (cyclosporiasis often relapses) and I was clear of my parasite (and my athletes foot which has been lingering for months - as it does with a lot of folks in HK). Enough with the detail already.

I'm still just over a stone lighter than I was @ the beginning of all this -- but even @ 18lbs lighter, I was still 5 or 6 lbs 'overweight' according to the Body Mass Index.

Anyhooo ... much better now, thanks for asking!

M

Billy's birthday

Billy had a great birthday a few weeks back.

Millions of presents, including a new bike sans stabilisers (he's still trying to manage riding it).

And Joss arranged a great birthday party for Billy and his mates @ a lego workshop. Kids made loads of working models etc. And Joss and Sofia made lego brick birthday cakes out of sponges and marshmallows!

Reminded me a bit of the Hansel & Gretel house cake my mother made me for my 7th. Roof was made of an old corn flakes packet cut in two and bent in half then slathered in icing!

M

We're moving!!

Two years (this weekend) since we moved into our current apartment (well, two years since Joss moved in - we followed a month later) ... and the landlords have decided to put the (already hyperinflated) rent up by 30%.

To get a rent reduction, I pleaded good tenants; the fact one of the swimming pools is closed for refurbishment; the fact they've closed a restaurant; the fact the building is covered in bamboo scaffolding and looks like a bloody building site.

They offered us a reduction of $1000HK ... about £70 per month off.

The rent is so high here anyway, I can barely write the amount down.

So we're moving up the road in to Stanley Village.

A less glam apartment, but it's only a few mins away from Stanley main street; the market and the promenade and the PUBS! We've just returned from measuring it all up - looks fun and has a roof terrace.

We move in a month's time - will send the new address out to all (my birthday soon!!!!).

M

Long weekend in Cebu

Had lovely weekend in Cebu (Philippines) a few weeks back.

Despite the weather (incredibly stormy a couple of days - including a lightning bolt which fell (it felt like) only a few hundred meters away ... we were warned to get out of the pool as soon as possible ... have never seen Billy swim so fast!), we had a very relaxing holiday. Exceptionally chilled.

Billy and I went out for a sailing lesson on a hoby cat -- Bill loved it and we'll probably have some joint lessons after the summer.

M

Mangosteen bliss

Have you ever eaten, (or even heard of!) a mangosteen?

No?

Well we had not either until tonight!

One of the pleasures of living in Asia - and the sub tropics - is that we get to eat a whole range of fruits which are uncommon in the UK. Dragon fruit is one of my favourites in terms of looks -- stunning scarlet outside skin contrasted with green leaves cascading off it. The fleshy inside is a brilliant white in colour liberally dalmationed with a pack of small black seeds. Sadly the taste is a let-down --- tastes of nothing but water to my palate. Great to look at mind you.

What else? Fresh green coconuts are fun. Custard apples and fresh lychees of course. I had some obscure fruit in Thailand a few weeks back (can't remember the name) ... looked and tasted fine, but made my tongue go numb. I commented on this to my colleagues -- a general practitioner doctor in the room said he was watching me as I ate as they're known to cause an allergic reaction with anaphylactic shock in the worst cases ("don't eat any more Mark"). One mouthful was enough for me. I've blogged before about the durian. POOOOey.

And mangoes .... so so so so cheap and delicious. We have home made mango smoothies mostly every weekend - demolishing 6 or 7 of the beasts @ a time ... I recall mangoes are something like 80p or £1 each in the UK (I might be exaggerating). In HK they're less than £1 for 8.

Back to the mangosteen. What a weird fruit! Thick red/purple rind ... stains the skin. But the juiciest, sweetest, most delicately fragranced fruit I've ever tasted. Billy could not get enough of them and demanded them for breakfast tomorrow. Lots of references to it being a 'superfruit' ... anti-oxidant etc. Notoriously slow and difficult to grow (takes 7-8 years to come to fruit ... seeds die in < 5 days ...).

You MUST try one if you see them for sale.

M

Hong Kong: Red Rainstorm warning

I'm writing this @ 06:00 AM sitting on our balcony overlooking the bay down below.

Only I can't see it! There is an almighty electrical storm currently going on - an amazing spectacle. The rain is so heavy, I can barely see landmarks 50ft away.

Breathtaking purple tinged forked lighting is repeatedly hitting the islands in the bay - just about 3/4 mile away. The thunder is immediate and makes the teeth rattle every time. No stage horror show sound effect can match this for its intensity. Adrenaline is pumping through me as the thunder starts on my right and peels to the left, echoing on the mountains behind me. I know it's not wise to be sitting on a metal chair placed on an outside balcony a couple of hundred feet in the air surrounded by metal railings and with a metal notebook on my lap plugged into the mains.

But can't resist it.

I've blogged before, but the weather here is sometimes truly biblical.

In the past hour, there have been 650+ lightning stikes in HK and you can see where they've struck in real time on this site.

AWESOME.



From the HK Met office site:

RED RAINSTORM WARNING SIGNAL

Red Rainstorm Warning Signal Special Announcement issued by
the Hong Kong Observatory at 5:55 a.m.

The Rainstorm Warning Signal is now Red. This means that
heavy rain has fallen or is expected to fall generally over
Hong Kong, exceeding 50 millimetres in an hour, and is
likely to continue.

Further heavy rain could cause, if not already caused,
serious road flooding and traffic congestion and could
disrupt normal school hours. Parents, students, school
authorities and school-bus drivers should listen to radio
or television announcements on schools. People who have to
travel should carefully consider the weather and road
conditions and take necessary precautions.

Meanwhile, those with duties to perform during rainstorms
should now go to their duty stations.

Please listen to radio or watch television for traffic
conditions and further announcements on the rainstorm.

DISPATCHED BY HONG KONG OBSERVATORY AT 05:56 HKT ON 07.06.2008


THUNDERSTORM WARNING

THUNDERSTORM WARNING

THUNDERSTORM WARNING ISSUED AT 3:55 A.M. ON 7 JUN 2008 HAS
BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 8:00 A.M. TODAY. SCATTERED SQUALLY
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR OVER HONG KONG.

GUSTS REACHING 70 KILOMETRES PER HOUR OR ABOVE MAY AFFECT
HONG KONG.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE ADVISED TO TAKE THE FOLLOWING
PRECAUTIONS WHEN THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR:

1. STAY INDOORS. SEEK SHELTER IN BUILDINGS IF YOU ARE
ENGAGING IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.

2. DO NOT STAND ON HIGH GROUNDS. KEEP AWAY FROM HIGHLY
CONDUCTIVE OBJECTS, TREES OR MASTS.

3. TAKE PRECAUTIONS AGAINST VIOLENT GUSTS. BEWARE OF FLYING
DEBRIS AND FALLING OBJECTS.

4. DRIVERS USING HIGHWAYS AND FLYOVERS SHOULD REDUCE SPEED
TO BE ALERT TO VIOLENT GUSTS.

DISPATCHED BY HONG KONG OBSERVATORY AT 05:30 HKT ON 07.06.2008

M