I
found this photo taken in 2005 during one of the 3 trips I made to
Hong Kong within a period of 11 months, after years of absence. The
location was a beautiful park in Shatin, where the largest horse race
course is. A couple dozen painted horses dotted here & there in the
park, each & every one different in colour & art design &
all showed the varied stance of a horse in action. Brilliant!
The
first trip I stayed there for nearly 6 weeks. Making up for lost
opportunities after so many years away, I ate out every single day, 2
or 3 times, mainly the Chinese food I am so crazy about. A few times I
sampled also the international cuisine which, amazingly, the chefs
there always seem to make better than where the food was originated.
The French food better than that in France, the Italian better than
that in Italy, etc. I guess it's because of the fierce competition in
HK. With more restaurants than any other country in the world, square
mile for square mile, resulting in hardly any streets without at least a
few restaurants; they all need to be very good, many exceptionally so,
to survive. Even the worst ones by HK standards are above average
compared with the same category in other countries. The only way to
compete & to keep clients returning. The choices are enormous. For
me, pure Heaven!
Based
in HK, I made several side trips to Shanghai, Suzhou, Guangzhou &
Macao, the world known casino state, a bit like a mini sized Las Vegas,
where there are nearly as many casinos as shops. I never gamble, there
or anywhere else, but I like observing all the human emotions
displayed there. Winners & losers, the timid & the impulsive,
the cautious & the hard necks, the hopeful & the desesperados,
leaving with nothing but the shirts on their backs, some even minus
their car keys, Rolex watches even wedding rings!!
I
have been to Las Vegas several times too staying in casino hotels,
incredibly reasonable prices for the ultimate luxury they offered, in
their restaurants also, to attract customers with the conviction that
most of them would end up at least for a couple of hours at the casino
tables.
I did too, only for 5 minutes though, and won! But that's another story.
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