FEB 20, 15 .. CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR IN HONG KONG ..

Have any of you seen or heard of a long ago movie circa 1967 titled .. 'Bedazzled'? The plot concerns a so called hapless loser who sells his soul to the devil for seven wishes. Dudley Moore was the star that I most recall.

No matter how Dudley Moore worded his wishes .. The Devil won because The Devil was too smart for poor Dudley.

He actually got what he wanted BUT what he got was NOT what he wanted!

One wish was for a perfect woman with great virtue and morals and looks etc. He got her all right. She was a nun in a religious order called the Leaping Berillians who spent all of their time jumping up and down on trampolines and she had no time for poor Dudley.

Do I? Don't I? 

Do I go out this Friday evening to see the world famous Hong Kong Chinese New Year's Fireworks display on Victoria Harbor?

Or Don't I? After all .. I have seen them once in 1997 AND YES they were all and even more than they were advertised to be.

After all the Chinese invented fireworks.

This morning I was up and I was out of my apartment at 6:40am and did not return until after 4pm. The last time Patti and I spoke by phone I told Patti that I had NO IDEA whether or not I was going to see the fireworks BECAUSE I had to take a nap. 

Nap?? I took a two hour deep-sleep and awoke at 7:11pm. The fireworks were set to begin at 8pm sharp.

An odd thought came to me as follows:

I LIVE here! The fireworks are a mere 20-minute walk away (give or take depending upon the crowds) from my apartment. I do NOT have to rely on public transportation. I can simply WALK to the venue.

So I think that YES I WILL walk to the shores of Victoria Harbor in the Central District of Hong Kong and see what I can see!

And so I did!

Below is but one of the many silliest signs just like it that I have ever seen!

"Ah Captain? What is so silly about the above sign?"

There was NO WAY you could NOT go to the Viewing Area once the CROWD CAUGHT YOU in its tidal wave of movement to the Viewing Area! You simply lost the power of choice to not be swept up along with it!

CROWD CAPTAIN? 

DID YOU SAY A CROWD FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR'S FIREWORKS! IN DOWNTOWN HONG KONG!

Sorry that some of the photographs are a tad blurry .. It was dark and night time and so I had to use a slow shutter speed. The flash photos failed to have any depth of field.

Because it was so cold .. Oh My Goodness! It must have been as cold as 55 Degrees F .. Many of the crowd were dressed accordingly.

A lot of 'Down' Jackets and Vests .. 

Shiver Shiver Shiver! .. Teeth going Chatter Chatter Chatter!

I was wearing a light weight dress shirt and a very light weight jacket and I was SWEATING from the warmth of the crowd.

It absolutely MUST BE GENETIC! This young lady was seriously practicing being INSCRUTABLE!

Try as I could .. I could NOT get her to smile.

CROWD?

Why watch when you can text or whatever it is that they do?

You could NOT have this event without the famous Chinese Dragons being present!

Culturally these folks just absolutely LOVE THEIR DRAGONS!

Now let me get back to the movie .. 'Bedazzled'!

It was almost as if I had made a deal with The Devil.

Devil? Get me a good!.. Devil get me a great place to view the fireworks!

And THAT happened. I got an absolutely great place to stand and to see the fireworks and watch the crowds.

So?

So this! 

The Devil outsmarted me!  

I was in a great place to view the fireworks ..

But a low hanging FOG BANK over Victoria Harbor successfully shrouded them from a clear viewing!

I 'sold my soul' for THIS Devil?

"Captain My Captain! I got you a great viewing place. You did NOT ask me for clear skies Captain!" 

/s/ Laughing Out Loud .. The Devil ..

The first photo that I snapped I shot immediately when the fireworks began. The smoke from this display was captured by the fog making all following photographs murky and basically invisible in their entirety!

Having a brain .. When I saw what was happening .. I made a bee-line for the exit to beat the crowd.

For Hong Kong .. The streets were absolutely deserted! The crowd estimate was 200,000 to 300,000 people!

I went to McDonald's for a Large and Juicy burger and then I went directly to Burger King for a Whopper.

Then home to bed kind of sort of giggling to myself about the evening.

HAPPY? You bet I am happy! I would not have missed it for the world.

Good Viewing or Bad Viewing ..

IT WAS A MAJOR EVENT ..

Much! MUCH JOY ! .. Cap .. 

FEB 14. 15 .. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL ..

HAPPY JOYOUS VALENTINE'S DAY TO EACH AND TO ALL!!

BUT ESPECIALLY TO MY VALENTINE .. PATTI ..

Patti Poo from Obladoo .. Roses are red and I love you!



The above photos were taken in my studio apartment here in the Sheung Wan District of Hong Kong by my visitor Jason ..

While Jason was shooting photos of me .. Eryn was sitting on the foot of the bed chit-chatting with her beloved Aunt Patti!

This is what I look like writing to YOU when I originate a letter or a post card from my apartment .. propped up against pillows on my bed.

NOW FOR THE REST OF THE  STORY!!

I am at the Hong Kong Library Central Branch uploading photographs!

I am amazed and I am almost speechless that this is possible. All I did was to say to the library computer monitor ..

"I cannot upload photographs can I?"

"Sure you can!" he replied.

And (thank you so much for you life Mister Paul Harvey!) there you have ..

THE REST OF THE STORY ..

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Love from Cap ..

I have written this before and I will now repeat myself .. I feel like the luckiest man in the world. To YOU I give all the Thanks and all the Praise Oh God Of Abraham!

FEB 6, 15 .. THE HKG to MAC to HKG VISA RUN ..

I debated even bothering to post this post but have decided to do so because it shows one of the requirements that non-permanent residents of Hong Kong MUST do each and every 90 days during their stay in Hong Kong.

This post is NOT going to be pretty. So if you want beauty .. skip it! It was all 100% business! There was NO love today! Get to Macau! .. Get back to Hong Kong! .. Get a new Visa!

If you have not been born in Hong Kong .. It is quite a process to become a permanent legal full-time resident of Hong Kong! To do so is not easy.

I have formally spoken with several immigration legal advisors about attaining a formal resident I.D. card and I have decided NOT to pursue it further since I do NOT want to get into PAYING taxes and (this is the hitch) filing the necessary tax returns (up to quarterly).

I have friends here who have lived in Hong Kong for over thirty years (30 years) who do what I did today each and every 90 days (90 days is the maximum stay you are allowed in Hong Kong before you MUST leave and re-enter).

It is not pretty .. but it is a real fact of LIFE in Hong Kong for many people.

Here we go. 

There are many methods that people use to do the 90-day-visa run. All you have to do is to physically leave Hong Kong and then return. Many if not MOST do what I did and am going to show you.

We go to Macau (like Hong Kong Macau is an SAR .. Special Administrative Region .. of China) and come right back to Hong Kong.

There are several ways to do this. I chose to take the Macau Ferry. Another way (we are talking about BIG bucks here) is to charter a helicopter and fly to and back from Macau.

I just happen to live by .. to reside by .. the best way to do this .. MY very own beloved MTR Station is the connecting link for the Macau Ferry! 

So down to MY MTR Station I went ..

And down I trotted!

And through MY Sheung Wan (Shen Wan) MTR station I trotted to Exit D ..

Are you all ready for some ESCALATOR photographs! I can't clearly recall the last time (IF ever) that I have ridden so many escalators!

The Ferry Hall (on the right of the below sign) is where I am headed.

Yep .. I am still on the right track.

After the last escalator ride it is time for you to purchase your ticket. Trust me .. I paid far less than those who rent a helicopter to make the trip!

The top ticket is from Hong Kong (HKG) to Macau (MAC) and it cost me HK$ 149 or US$ 19.35.

The bottom ticket is from Macau (MAC) to Hong Kong (HKG) and it cost me HK$ 138 or US$ 17.92.  IF you purchase a return trip at the time you purchase your ticket(s) you get a slight discount.

So I paid a total of HK$ 287 or US$ 37.27.

I believe that there are less expensive ferrys.  I wanted speed!

Why me Oh God Of Abraham? .. What did I do to deserve a window (the A seat) going and returning. The man who assigned the seats looked at me and dialed me up window seats.

THAT WAS THE GOOD NEWS .. the bad news will come shortly!

Here we go to Macau!

The trip on the Turbo Jet super fast ferry is just at one full hour.

Off we go to board the ferry having gone through the process of leaving the city of Hong Kong and .. although Macau is an SAR of China .. it is like you are leaving the country of China. You show your passport and appear to be legally exiting the nation of China. I do not quite 100% understand this process of going from one Chinese SAR (Hong Kong) to another Chinese SAR (Macau).  But trust me we are talking about very formal business here.

 I GOT HIM!  

In the below photograph do all of you see the helicopter taking some very wealthy and very rich people back and forth from Hong Kong to Macau!

I believe that Macau is the world's largest and most wealthy gambling location that makes our Las Vegas look small by comparison! GOOGLE Macau and you will be amazed.

The ferry was pleasant. Soft drinks were only HK$ 25 (US$ 3.25) so I smiled and said .. "I will pass!"

"Well?" .. 

"Well what Gullible?" .. 

"What is the bad news Captain?" ..

"I had a prime window seat. I snapped some photographs. Will you look at the weather?

Then the weather REALLY GOT SERIOUS!

And?

I stayed physically IN Macau IN the ferry terminal about seventeen (17) minutes which was all the time it took for me to find my way back to the Hong Kong return gate. Next trip I believe that I will be able to 'shave off' at least five (5) minutes. I was able to catch the 12:15PM ferry so I did not have to wait until my ticketed time of 1PM!

Oh Captain .. Our Captain .. That is it Captain?

Right straight back to Hong Kong I went!  Like all of my friends suggested that I do. Get off the incoming ferry. Get back on the next outgoing ferry (they run every 15 minutes I think) A.S.A.P. and return to Hong Kong and begin the process to get your new visa.

Upon your return to Hong Kong you have the full immigration procedure to pass through! It is like you have never been to Hong Kong or to China before. Odd because both Hong Kong and Macau are each Chinese SARs.

Your temperature is taken just like at the airport.You wait in line just as you do at the airport. You have to pass through customs and declare any items you may have purchased in Macau. It is the full scene just like an airport entry into the country of China. 

We are talking NO NONSENSE here!

I am NOW GOOD to stay IN Hong Kong until 7 May 2015!

Captain? 

I told you all that this was not going to be pretty!

Listen Up! Miss Hong Kong is my date. NOT Miss Macau!

I am good until 7 May 2015.

HOT DIGGETY DOG!  .. Smiles .. Cap ..