上一篇文章《請勿超越黃線》的標題，當然是源自月台邊的黃線。
前陣子在香港海洋公園的時候，我還很煞有介事的拍了這麼一張照片：
但當我看年前在台北拍的照片，卻發現台北捷運站是寫「請勿跨越黃線」：
的確，一個人要「超越」在地上的一條線，聽來有點怪怪的。但為甚麼在香港到處也是這樣講和這樣寫呢？
因為故事發生於台北，所以理論上標題是寫錯了。但既然貼都貼了，也就由它吧！ XD
From 18C to -8C
After 25 days, and lots of money spent (for my richer readers, I may not have spent a lot of money, but it’s enough for me to have Starbucks coffee every afternoon for a year), I have finally returned from my “holidays” in Hong Kong. Nothing much to write home about (that’s why you didn’t see any new blog entries from me during those days). I will just briefly list off some of the things that I did and I will write about them later (if I have not forget the details).
– went to the Asian Game Show (coincidentally, I arrived just in time for that) with Frank. The photos from there are already up at my album. Some people complained that there were too few pictures of girls. Well, I am just not professional enough, I guess :p
– BBQed with friends from Killarney in Aberdeen. Haven’t been to a Hong Kong-style BBQ for ages, and haven’t BBQed in the dark before (you see, I’m not a very experienced BBQer)
– wandered around Tsim Sha Tsui alone on the night of the December 24th. I really should’ve cramped into Canton Road to see Wynners instead of doing that
– went around Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Chinese University of Hong Kong, but forgot to bring my camera when I go to HKUST, so no pictures from there
– counted down for the New Year at Veronica’s place. Waiting for a mini-bus at 00:30 in Stanley is certainly a new experience for me
– went to Taipei for 3 days and 4 nights. Highlights included: Taipei 101 Observation Deck (twice, thanks to Tina), Keelung (certainly not a place for people who hate seafood, thankfully I do like them), National Taiwan University (yes, I like visiting university campuses), Yangmingshan National Park (but not the coffee shops and etc. at the waist of the hill), lots of book buying, not as much eating as last time, though
– attended the dinner following Frank and Veronica’s marriage registration. I was mistaken as Mr. Chu (the one who got married) a couple times by the waiter and waitress. I bought a Hello Kitty wedding photo album as my present to them. Hopefully I will be rich enough to get them something more serious when they have their wedding banquet
– went to the Peak, but did not bring the camera (orz)
– a lot of my lunch were eaten at the Maxim’s below Leo’s place
– visiting book stores is still my favourite way to kill time
– things that I did not do: sing karaoke (actually, I did sing at Veronica’s place, but it’s different than going to a karaoke box), ride on Ngon Ping “saam luk ling” (too far + the news of its break downs put me off), go to Disneyland (never a fan of Disney stuff, and what’s the point of going alone/without a girl?) nor the Ocean Park (have been there before)
– friends that I did not get to meet: Chris, Leo, and others from my undergraduate years (with the exception of Ar Hang and Kelvin), Gilbert (add me to your MSN, dude) and…
I will just leave it at this for now. Will write more later (hopefully).
Calling from Mars
I just tried to make a long distance call to a travel agency (don’t ask me why I did that) and it went like this:
A = agent, D = me
A: XX (<- travel agency’s name)
D: 唔該我想問下關於年底去台北機票同酒店
A: 喂？
D: 喂？
A: 喂？
*click* from the other side.
The above was preceded by an “automated” answering system and a mandatory advertisement of their $6xxx New Zealand deal good until January 31st and they’ll give you a limited quantity New Zealand travel map as a gift.
I know Vancouver may not be the most modern of places, but I thought long distance telephony is not something new? I really do not know who to blame for this, frankly.
Leaving, Going Back
When Andy and I went out for dinner the other night, I asked Andy if we should go have dinner with Harold sometime, since he’s leaving for Hong Kong soon. Just now I asked Harold when he’ll be back, and it turns out he’s going to take a flight later today. -_________-”
Regardless of which group of friends, everyone that I know are flocking out of Vancouver for a variety of reasons, while I’ll stay put for the foreseeable future.
My life is always like this. Everyone around me would do the same thing, but for some reason I would do the opposite. Not sure if it’s a good or bad thing, but it sure does make me a different person than everyone else…
I’m now more determined than ever to try to go back to HK next year! So I guess I should work harder to actually get the $$$ to fund the trip…
Cost of Living
From Mingpao:
香港生活費 全球排20[15:58]
2005/08/09
英國經濟學人集團今天公布調查結果，全球131個城市中，東京的生活費高居第1，香港則大幅下跌至20。
經濟學人屬下研究單位每年進行兩次同類型調查，最新一次於春季進行，它以紐約的一百指數為準，並以美元為計算單位，比較了各城市的貨品及勞務價格。
在前50名生活費最昂貴的城市中，亞洲除了日本東京外，只有南韓首爾、澳洲悉尼和墨爾本、香港、台北上榜。其中首爾從去年春季的33位升至16位，悉尼從14位降至16位，香港從12位降至20位、台北從44位略升至43位。
中國各城市的排名依次是上海（54）、北京（63）、大連（78）、廣州（78）、深圳（84）及廈門（110）。調查指出，由於人民幣與美元掛鉤（北京 已於七月底取消了這種制度），美元又下跌，使得上述中國城市的生活費全部下跌，譬如上海從去年春季的49位下跌至54位。
美元下跌，也導致亞洲大部分城市的生活費下跌，並以中國城市的跌幅最大。
在131個城市中，生活費最低的城市是伊朗的德黑蘭，生活指數只有33，相比東京的146，相差113。其餘排名較後的亞洲城市包括泰國曼谷、印度新德里、緬甸仰光、菲律賓馬尼拉等。
經濟學人公布調查的目的，是作為跨國企業及銀行等計算行政人員補貼費用的參考。
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Hmm… Interesting. I wonder how Vancouver rank on the list? Is it even listed?