For this trip i’ve decided to stay very central..literally, on Hollywood Road in Soho, Central. I was told the other day that Soho actually was an anagram for South of Hollywood Road. It begs the question whether the Soho areas of either London or New York are South of Hollywood Road, or whether indeed there’s a Hollywood Road in London or New York? Answers on a postcard..
Another airport..Dubai international- a huge mother..
I hate fashion. It gets me that people wear very similar clothes these days- all wanting to be accepted- all designered up. I’d rather dress in rags, or perhaps if I could have the clothes I wore as a child, but made bigger..not a label in sight- just good old woolen numbers.
Been in Dubai all week. It’s a funny old place. I may be wrong, but there always seems to be more females than males; like 2 to 1..and the majority look really fit. On the flip side, the men are generally dark and hairy and smoke continuously in a jabbering kinda way..sticking their cigarettes at the side of their mouths and jabber jabber to one another. Cars everywhere, heat, headaches, no pubs. Foreign workers, dust, air conditioning, sterile life..
Tomorrow i’ll be back in Jersey and ensconsed in the Lamp to watch England’s 1/4 final game. They need to come good, but I feel somehow Portugal have speed, presence of mind and a killer instinct. Crouch has been found wanting- Sven’s fault to be honest..what the fuck was he thinking in his selection? We’ll see..
I’m in Jersey all summer, barring a 2 week break in Corsica in August. Henry the Cat has moved out there and bought a run down property. I believe he’s making walls. perhaps that should that be building walls? Prefer the former. Anyhow, he’s into it apparently… rather like making love.
I’ve got 4 Chloe bags in my case from Shenzhen. Chinese knock offs. Just doing a friend a favour, although it occurs to me that that favour will also involve spending a rather large sum in postage to get them up to Tyneside. Shite. Might keep one back for my sister.
I’ve also purchased cigarillos- some vague maxican sounding word that distinguishes the cigar with a cigarette filter. need to give up the cigarettes, so I will try with these. 50 of em to get through..
Best get off..
It’s been a really quick visit of only 2 weeks, and consequently it’s been difficult to fit everything in. I think i’ve been out every night since getting here and now look and feel fairly old and ropey as I write this quick ditty at HK airport to kill time.
I spotted my first chinese woman sporting a hair lip yesterday and i’m further impressed that I have managed to remember to document the chance sighting. I strolled past her and my eyes darted onto her lip, a split second later our eyes met. The resigned look on her face sugested that she was quite used to people looking at her lip rather than into her eyes. Such a strange thing really..te way it transforms a persons face.
I’m in Dubai this week and just checking out the weather ont tinternet, it’s currently 45 degrees c. Call me old fashioned, but that’s proper bubbling!
It’s now 11pm and England are due to kick off their last 16 match against Ecuador. Might just wander and see if I can pick up a viewing in the Emirates lounge. In HK, they use the China Aviation business lounge, which is adequate- the new lounge they have in London is the DB’s. Leather everything- food, booze, a crash out area, a smoking room that smells actually quite nice and internet. Sprawling facilities. Great stuff. With an 8 hour flight in prospect, i’m not looking forward to it.
Spent the day on Lantau with Steve eating then gambling the Sha Tin race card. I did a few place bets but mainly quinella places- bet 3 horses and if any 2 in any order come in it pays whatever’s in the pot. I lost ever bet.I’d maybe get 1 in and a fourth. 4th doesn’t pay- it’s a shame. If you could make money picking the fourth horse, i’d be well off. Then we shot some pool and I i pipped him in a nailbiter 7-6.. I was down 1-5 at one stage. I’ll finish this later..
Another week, another country. Well, technically I went to Sarawak, part of Malaysia, but known mainly to many as Borneo. It’s so good I couldn’t extol its many virtues in less than 500 words. Let’s have a go.. Perhaps not. Maybe i’ll just tell you that I didn’t get to see Urang Utans because it was raining. However, I did see a number of Proboscis monkeys, Macaques, Pit vipers, snakes in general, squirrels (?),frogs, bearded pigs, flying lemurs etc. the list is, on the surface , endless..
The jungle was wonderful. It’s just so savage. Everythig is on the breadline. If it can grow a spike, or some form of hurtful thorn, plants generally do it. Pitcher plants are there in abundance- they trap. Everything living bites. If ony they didn’t have mosquitoes, the place would be heaven. Without a care in the world, I believe I was the only person in the history of primary rainforest trekking not to cosider the attributes of insect repellent. It didn’t even occur to me. the only vague protection I carried was a plaster, which incidentally went unused. Anyway, bloody mosquitoes buzz around in swarms. To balance up the place, because let’s face it, life’s about balancing things up, Borneo does have very nice people. Not a head hunter in sight…
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Cambodia has been more than I had hoped for. For the traveller, it is a place that even doing semi- nice accommodation only runs into a few dollars. Incredibly cheap. The country is very poor and perhaps the level of corruption through government cliques is the most obvious of alln countries, but having said that, any travel here will become immensely rewarding. Seriously, the poverty here is beyond ones imagination. I remarked last week that there’s more amputees than you can shake a stick at- which isn’t far from the truth. Beggars everywhere. It’s only when you start delving into the underbelly of local knowledge that you here that half of the beggars are in fact road traffic victims, or the woman holding a leg bound waif of a child is in fact the owner of a brand new motorbike. I stopped giving after hearing this. You can give until you think you’ve given to virtually everyone in Siem Reap, and then you’d have anpther 300 street urchins smothering you with their pitiful circumstances. I paint a very dour picture, although in truth it’s not that bad once you become adjusted. What is true however is that the Khmer race appears to weant to methodically and consistently fuck you in the ass. No matter how friendly they appear, with the greatest respect they show you, a friend for life, behind the facial charade, they ARE or WILL BE scheming to extract as much cash from you as humanly possible, from the time they actually meet you to the time and beyond you leave their presence. It appears quite systematic. I think their recent past has taught them not to trust.
Anyway, let’s skip this and move onto more enjoyable subject matter.
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It’s been a particularly fascinating few weeks. Rich in controversy, deep in action and harmoniously latherable in company.
Jonny B, I believe, had a pretty good time in HK. We were out mostly every evening, but didn’t really hit it heavy until the weekend. As it happened, most of my big meetings were towards the end of my visit, and thus there was no way that I could jeopardise business sign up. If I was in bed for 1ish, I was fine in the morning.
I was acutely aware upon JB’s arrival of the deteriation of body weight- he looked a damn sight lighter than his previous 21 stone jersey frame. He had actually plummeted to 16- my weight. However, the Silvermine buffet was a good medium to begin rebuilding his bulk after dietting on noodles and rice for the previous 6 weeks in China. His plate on that first night reminded me of Richard Dreyfus in his front room during Close Encounters of the Third Kind…but food rather than mud and branches.. Jonnys arms had wilted in China and I believe he took emotional umbrage when I remarked that his arms were chicken-like. Not even turkey-like. They were perculiarly small, wilted and out of proportion. Sorry Jon- don’t mean to harp on, but when one hits a raw nerve, isn’t it very English to continue mentioning it?
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I awoke with a deep meaningful drool and focused through dry contacts, staring out, eyes shut, with 3 orange dots running in a straight line down my central vision, with a couple of satellites to the left and down, not disimilar to the plough. Mental note to learn my constellations. I was by the pool. I’d been there for several hours in a beautiful heat, i-podded poolside with my books ditched at the bottom of the recliner. A sucker for heat, a battery recharge, slumberland..after 5 minutes or so in the same position a diminutive lasting flick of the finger listening to Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ “Clever Trevor”, and from nowhere Esther was next to me; “Yes, Mr Paul?”
“Nothing Esther, I was just finger dancing…oh err; a coke with ice, and an ashtray please”
“Have you finished with your lunch?”
“Yes thanks, it was great”
“2208?”
“2208″
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Been a bit slack at updating with happenings from this side of the world. It’s all good, as they say. Been up to loads of mischief in a manner only I could achieve. Working really hard and hopefully some of the leads will pay dividends sometime soon. Lots to do mind, and relatively little time to do it. Next year I might suggest we extend my stay to at least a few months. This time i’ve only got 5 weeks in HK, which, to be honest, isn’t enough time. Having settled in, it’s almost time to go. The next 3 weeks will be packed solid.
The Silvermine Bay Hotel is really cool. Mui Wo is like a holiday resort- well it is in fact. The hotel is recommended by Lonely Planet as The place to stay in HK, so the clientele tend to be fairly young and normally limit their stay to say 5 nights, being in the main, backpackers. This makes for a nice mix and there’s been some very nice friends i’ve got to know from sitting outside the front of the hotel, staring out at the wonderful aqautic vista of the island of Cheung Chau perched on the horizon, as the gentle tidal glassy waters lap up the white golden beach to the doorstep. Quite a setting.Of course, no study has been achieved thus far. Talking of which, managed an A in Managerial Economics and a c+ in Financial Management. Chuffed. Last semester and the hardest challenge awaits.
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I have had a long week. I went to a conference on offshore stuff- don’t need to go into too much but suffice to say there were a lot of false smiles. The conference was however quite enjoyable (in terms of content and speakers), although it was ratifyingly evident they didn’t hang around post sermon..i have an eye for petty, sinister detail. Indeed, I should have absorbed the atmosphere and awkward networking perhaps a bit more than I did. However, sometimes I feel that i’m not made to enter into such a false repartee. I struggled a tad after say 8 o’clock and tended to exit early. Perhaps in the end I spent a bit too long talking to the employees of the New World Rennaissance Hotel (who incidentally were well turned out- classic menial labour, although their footwear presented, I thought, a heritage of their lifestye away from the hotel- cheap, scuffed shoes- I can talk!). Additionally, I had memorised most of their first name towards the end of the two days..slaps on the back..both ways..the works, get you a deal on rates..hey talk to me; i’m the man. Drags on a rolly, nods etc.
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Had a great day yesterday at Jersey Live with Mark, Leanna, Dave and Barbara. Kasabian were good, as were The Bravery. Thanks Mark and Leanna, it was nice to go back and chill (til 4). Your “au pair” is beautiful.
Mark was clearly the worst of the bunch- mind, having beaten the system by smuggling the vodka through a tight security blanket, via a convoluted body back pack and overcoming air-pockets, I would have celebrated in a similar manner. It’s a dangerous game.
Sang Bohemian Rhapsody for another time in my life. Could you eer count them all? Arm in arm. Homo et homo. Little beats those moments, well, at the time perhaps..
Off to lunch…Hoo ha