A couple of things I enjoy Since beginning a new job, I've spent a bit more time traveling through Hong Kong, which has reminded me of a couple of things that I really like about this city.

The past couple of weeks, every time I went for a walk or a bus ride, I invariably encountered people crouched by the side of the street burning hell money and arranging offerings for the Hungry Ghost Festival. This fascinates me - why that particular piece of the street? And how do they know it's their job to set up the offerings in that spot? Watching someone intently setting up delicate china cups of rice wine in the gutter, oblivious to the double-decker buses racing past their heads is one of the simple things that make this city come alive for me. I'd post a photo, but despite the public nature of the activity, there is something about it that seems quite private as well, and so I've never taken a photo of it.

The second thing I've been reminded of is the semi-illicit thrill engendered by the imminent arrival of a Typhoon. At the moment Typhoon Nuri is heading directly towards the city. All around my office people have the Hong Kong Observatory website open on their computers, hitting refresh every once in a while to see if the typhoon has gotten any closer, and whether the Observatory is going to Signal No.8. A Signal No. 8 of course means that we'll all have to go home, and work for the day will be over. We all want a Signal 8, as long as no-one gets hurt of course.  ¶ 1:30 PM