Tag Archives: driving

Intimacy

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So, I eventually got an iPhone 7 after much struggle. Holding one in hand [iPhone 7 Plus in jet black :) ] eliminates all previous doubts. When Phil Schiller first announced it, I thought it’s either the new finish or the dual camera system that would appeal to me. But at the end it’s the waterproofing and the solid state home button that’s the most satisfactory. The solid state home button with a natural tactile feedback make me feel that this is the way the home button should be at the very beginning. And all modern electronics should be made waterproof, because they are made so intimate, so integrated to all parts of our lives, that they shouldn’t be excluded from wet conditions.

Yes, the iPhone is in no doubt the most intimate object in our lives. I bet for most people the first and last object they touch in a day is the iPhone. It’s part of our living, not merely an assistant for it. I became more certain about this theory every time I go on a trip. How many of you can travel without your phone?

What else are intimate?

A camera must be one when travelling. Some says “the best camera is the one you have with you” and they may be satisfied with their phone’s camera. But when you also have a proper camera with you then it becomes the best camera with you, a better camera than your phone.

My car is actually equally important. A few weeks ago the windshield broke and I couldn’t drive for two weeks. It was the most annoying period for the past few years. I just hated the feeling of wasting time on commuting. Life’s too short for traffic jam, slow computers, waiting for a table, you name it.

So, this is it. This basically sums up what I’ve experienced in September. I wish I could talk a bit more about my trip in September. Let’s see.

On killing time

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It’s day off again. I’m confident by this time most of you know I hate day off on weekends. A day off is meant to be for relaxation, a completely alien concept in this city, especially on weekends. I mean, the malls are packed with people, the countryside and the beach are packed with people, the trains and buses and even the highways are packed with cars. No, I don’t think one can relax on weekends.

But it’s different on weekdays.

I went to Yuen Long today to visit some hidden nice places in this city. I’m never a nature lover. On the contrary, the concept of being an “urban explorer” fascinates me. There are as many interesting places in the city as in the countryside: cafe, sushi bars, ramen places, nicely crafted parks, you name it. And I had a chance to visit a nice sushi bar followed by a cafe today.

The 30-minute drive from Tai Po to Yuen Long itself was a thrill. Driving at 100 kph for 20+ km doesn’t require a Ferrari. My humble old Audi provided sufficient comfort and a small hint of ferocity on demand. Parking (on the street side) in YL sucked however, just as expected in other parts of HK.

The Jap restaurant rested in a small street in Yuen Long, remote from the usual hustle and bustle of the city. If you are lucky enough to be the first 12 guests, you can sit at the sushi bar, served directly by the master chefs. Sitting at the side tables like I did was equally enjoyable, especially when you preferred not to social, or didn’t want the chef to know you feed your camera before you feed your stomach.

Lunch at these pretentious Japanese sushi places are much more affordable than dinner. During lunch time there are lunch sets at around $200-300, while for dinner it’s common to spend more than $1000 per guest. I ordered a $250 “omakase” sushi and sashimi set. Omakase means the chef would choose what’s in the meal for you. This is a bit risky in many restaurants for a carnivore like me, who doesn’t eat lots of veggies. But in a sushi bar, I didn’t think this would be a problem. I mean, I’m a sushi whore.

The omakase set proved fulfilling. In addition to the sushi and sashimi, the appetiser and dessert were equally enjoyable. In short, “the chicken had chicken taste, the fish had fish taste, and the rice had rice taste”. Good chicken, fish and rice tastes, that is.

In order not to end my special day so soon, I continued to explore YL. How can a day be called relaxing without spending a few hours doing nothing in a pretentious cafe? I know a number of good cafes serving specialty coffee in Sheung Wan/Central. And there’s even one among Tsuen Wan’s industrial buildings. But hey, I’m not playing “Hong Kong O”. Going from Tai Po to Yuen Long to Sheung Wan isn’t fun, not even if I drive a brand new Tesla Model S. I decided to look for this imagined pretentious cafe in YL, making it a reality.

And I did it. It was just a 10-minute drive away from the sushi bar. The coffee was nice. They serve single-origin coffee only, and you can choose from hand drip and siphon. So, I read some novel, and wrote this piece. Considering I haven’t written an article for months, this cafe, and on the whole this afternoon’s experience is quite a stimulation to me. It stimulated my creative mind, which is a good thing.

Today’s experience also reminded me of what’s truly important. It’s not shopping for fancy fashion items; it’s my life experience. The insistence on eating quality food, drinking quality coffee, travelling decently (independent of the boundaries of the subway line), and living a quality life on the whole. Money: food, travelling, photography, no more.

Sushi in Yuen Long

Second-hand craze (2)

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Well, for the nth time recently, I bought another second-hand stuff. This time, it’s a big stuff — I bought a CAR, and here it is:

2012-Lamborghini-Aventador-Project-Verus-by-SR-1920x1080-HD

No, no, I made a mistake. I bought an old Audi actually, but I’m quite pleased with it. I had only one criterion when I searched for a car — it must be in black. And my Audi A4 1.8T 2004 is in black. Hopefully it will perform well.

At the beginning of my research I set my budget between $15,000-25,000, and I tended to choose a Japanese car like Honda Jazz. But soon I realized the low budget wouldn’t lead to a good car, so I raised my budget again and again (in the typical K.Chan style). And as I raised my budget, I thought it’d be a bit pricey to get a Japanese car at above $30,000, so I resorted to European cars. BMW? Audi? Mercedes? The range of choice was vast but I soon focused on Audi A4. And here we are, getting an Audi.

As soon as I paid the deposit I found the whole thing was a bit prompt — I passed my driving test on 31/3, got my probationary license on 9/4, and bought this car on 13/4. But on second thought it wasn’t prompt at all. I’ve waited to get my driver’s license for 25 years. No, it wasn’t prompt at all.

So, I’ll get my car in late April. If you see a black Audi on the street with a P-license, don’t get too close, or I may accidentally run you over.

Driving exam

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I’ve just found out I haven’t talked about driving practices in this site at all. Well, I started my classes in January. There wasn’t much special actually. Like any skills, driving takes time to improve. If you don’t improve over time, you aren’t talented at best, or you’re retarded. This is pretty much like dentistry.

One hidden benefit of my driving practice sessions was that I was once again back to Festival Walk. I usually meet my See Fu on Wednesday afternoons. Sometimes when I arrived late, I’d go and walk around in FW. Alternatively, after a tiring session, I also got some coffee in FW. The more I go to TW, the more I found I’m so deeply connected to this mall.

It was my last session that was quite eventful however. Well, on 30/3, one night before my exam day, I had another session with my See Fu. There was heavy rain at first, and then there was amber signal, then red, and finally black. I was in Kowloon Tong. That rings a bell right? Yes, it was the very time there were very heavy rain and hailstone-fall. Having dealt with the worst weather, I became more confident and passed next day’s exam under the amber signal with ease.

The thing is, the rain I talked about devastated FW a lot. The rain overloaded the pipes at the ceiling and water started pouring into the mall. What’s interesting is that FW still looked magnificent despite the indoor waterfalls. When Thomas showed me his photos of the chaos inside FW, I couldn’t help but remember how we used to take pictures of FW out of no reasons. Yes, FW means a lot to each and every one of us. So it makes me kinda sad when I passed my driving exam, meaning I won’t be visiting FW so often then.