The War on Sales

I mentioned a while ago how I used English to win in the meaningless war on sales. Well, I'm still winning, but I found that once in a while there's a brave soul who tries to fight the power by attempting to sell me something in English. Usually when these sales people discover I "don't speak Chinese", they pretend to have called the wrong number (kind of funny actually. Why would someone bother to ask if I spoke Chinese if they called the wrong number?).

One time, upon discovering I was a "foreigner", this guy responded by reading his sales pitch from a written statement. I decided to listen on and see how bad he butchers it. Normally, if you say you're not interested, these guys might make an attempt to convince you otherwise. This time, the guy read his pitch, and just politely hung up when I said no. It was like pressing the easy button.

Unfortunately, there is also collateral damage in the War on Sales. Sometimes I'll get a call from my bank, or my mobile provider, or a restaurant I made a reservation at. Though these calls are legitimate, they don't immediately identify themselves, so I naturally give them the "no Chinese" treatment. When I find out who they really are, its too late to turn back. I can't say "oh ha ha just kidding I actually do speak Chinese". So we both have to suck it up. The service rep has to use often broken English to try and convey the message to me, while I have to focus really hard to understand what he/she's trying to say. Collateral damage.

The Year in Review Meme

Includes invisible commentary. Highlight the commentary after the sentence to read it. This entry is John's idea.

January
January First Two Thousand and Seven marks the day Hong Kong banned smoking in most indoor public places. (Finally!)

February
My first time on the slopes was a blast. (This was to be the first of many vacations I took this year.)
March
Oscars 2007 came and went. (...and all I cared about was Al Gore's film about the environment.)
April
Doesn't it seem like so many of China's internationally recognized people are in prison? (The Chinese are punished for exposing their nation's flaws.)
May
Sports journalist Gary Thorne alleges that Curt Schilling's bloody socks in 2004 during game 6 of the ALCS and game 2 of the World Series were fake, meaning the blood was painted on. (...and Thorne does this for a living, how?)
June
6.4 不忘

July
Back from a relaxing weekend in Bangkok, followed by a hectic yet enjoyable week in Singapore. (Another vacation... unbelievable.)

August
First it was Randy Moss, then Kevin Garnett, and now Eric Gagne. (Yeah, Gagne turned out to be a really good acquisition, not.)
September
Just got back from a relaxing trip to Hokkaido. (I'm a bum... a bum that goes on vacation.)
October
I think its really dumb how Chinese people are superstitious. (How has superstition contributed to society? Ugly buildings? Unnecessary spending?)
November
It seems strange calling the Patriots underdogs in the match-up against the Colts just a couple hours ago. (Pats still going strong. I won't jinx them by announcing the record.)
December
I was shocked to discover last weekend that the "Ramen Street" in Causeway Bay has turned into an electronic shopping mall. (Even more shocking as to how this sentence has become the centerpiece for December.)

Alex Roy: Hero or Menace

Alex Roy just last month announced that he broke the record for travelling across the United States. He achieved this by using every bit of modern technology available to man (see video). This includes having a friend fly a plane above him to scout ahead for speed traps. Ambitious? Perhaps insane is a better word to describe this young, racing enthusiast. Enthusiast is perhaps the perfect word to describe Roy, as he is well known for participating in semi-illegal rallies such as the Gumball 3000. Roy is also known for his hilarious antics during the rallies. He is easily recognizable from his car (mostly the BMW M5), which he dresses with labels and paints and sirens identical to the elite traffic police cruiser of a certain country (different every time). He even dresses in full uniforms of the corresponding country's law enforcement to complete the look. Enthusiast indeed.

HSBC: Armchair Quarterback

The World's Bank? Maybe. The People's Bank? Certainly not. By attempting to raise the minimum ATM withdrawal limit in Hong Kong to HKD300 (almost USD40) last week, HSBC demonstrated that it is utterly oblivious to the lives of Hong Kong people. What they didn't understand is how much $300 is actually worth to the lower class of society. Furthermore, they didn't understand the value of $300 to the middle class.

For Hong Kong's low income workers, $300 could be 10% of their pay. Just think about it in that sense. If you made USD50,000 per year, would it be reasonable to ask you to withdraw USD400 each time at the ATM? You'd have to crumple those twenty $20s into a gangster roll and hope that you don't get mugged. As for the middle class folk, its not that withdrawing 300 dollars would inconvenience them, but they still value that amount as too much.

Despite all the information HSBC had (ATM records, bank account statements, credit card statements), they were unable to foresee the public strongly vetoing this move almost immediately. Why? Because it was a business decision to cut cost via shortening ATM lines (a higher minimum withdrawal = less withdrawing = shorter lines). HSBC probably never for one minute considered the thoughts, feelings, and habits of their most important asset: their customers.

Childish China

(Because of fools like Tsang, no one can take China seriously)

Indeed, the world has been forced to recognize and respect China as a superpower. Yet, despite all of China's success, why is she still looked down upon? Why can't the world take China seriously?

When China gets mad, it reverts to the behavior of a 13 year old. No kidding. Look what's happened in just the last two months. China turns away USS Kitty Hawk at the last minute for no apparent reason. Wu Yi storms off after Peter Mandelson criticized shoddy Chinese products. Tsang Tak-sing spouts rude nonsense during a legislative meeting because he's pissed off at anything non-China.

Why can't China hold her temper?

With the Kitty Hawk, it was rumored to be in retaliation for Bush meeting with and honoring the Dalai Lama. Why this pisses off China is a whole other story (I personally think China has bigger fish to fry than the friendliest, most famous Buddhist monk in the world, but oh well). However, punishing the US by not allowing the Kitty Hawk to dock at the last minute was an extremely childish behavior. This was not like a quarrelling teenage couple skipping out on a movie at the last minute. This was a nation rejecting the aircraft carrier of another nation after meticulous arrangements had been previously made. China decided to derail months of planning ahead because they were pissed at the US. The actions of a high schooler at best.

Wu had a spat with Mandelson because he criticized China's food safety issues. At the time, this seemed like quite a valid comment. Yet, whether it made sense or not, Wu shouldn't have pouted like a child. Being a top Chinese state official, she should have kept her cool. Instead, she acted like a whiny teenager.

After Anson Chan was elected to the Legislative Council, Secretary for Home Affairs (and extreme left winger) Tsang, decided to insult her during a Legislative meeting by calling her "suddenly democratic" and "suddenly caring about the people" in a snide and sarcastic tone. I don't know whether Tsang was bitter about Chan getting elected, or whether he was bitter about his imprisonment in 1967. Either way, his name calling during a Legislative meeting from someone of his stature was completely inappropriate. It caused an uproar among the Hong Kong people to such a degree that the media is still talking about it one week later.

I guess my questions are, what happened to China's composure? What's with all this immaturity? How does China expected the world to take them seriously when they treat international level issues with a child's demeanor? Someone needs to send out a memo telling the Chinese government to please grow up.

All Good Things...

I was shocked to discover last weekend that the "Ramen Street" in Causeway Bay has turned into an electronic shopping mall. The "street" is actually an indoor food court of some sorts. It had five or six restaurants. Most served ramen, and they all served Japanese food. Each shop had its own style of ramen. The most popular being the "pork toro ramen" shop.

Its disappointing how many restaurants that I feel comfortable going to are closing one by one. It is my own undoing, as I'm not very adventurous when dining alone. I'll find places I like, and simply won't go anywhere else... most of the time. Which is also why I don't look forward to people asking me where to eat. The answer for me is simple: I'll always suggest the places I like and always go to. However, that answer is unlikely to satisfy the person asking. "***** again?", is usually the response.

So all I'm left with are memories of some above average ramen and a now useless 20% off discount card, which I often forgot to use.

A Sad Day for Hong Kong

It is sad how pro-China politicians skewed Martin Lee's comments in hope of defaming him and the Democratic Party. What's even sadder is that they did it by purposely mistranslating his Wall Street Journal article. I won't bother listing the details at this moment. The "wrong" and real translations are all over the net.

Everyone thinks that Hong Kong's Democratic Party is a group full of radicals and activists, who just argue and don't reason. The reason for this misconception is all due to Liberal Party (don't let the word "Liberal" fool you) and DAB (don't let the word "Democratic" fool you either) propaganda. These pro-China lapdogs will try to smear the Democrats and democracy any chance they get.

The worst atrocity is them claiming Lee committed an act of treason. They also mistranslated his words to make it sound like he was saying "everyone should boycott the Olympics". By reading his original WSJ article, you'll discover that is far from the truth.

New Gym Character: Smelly Guy (you knew this was coming)

(On a lighter note...)

Yup, that's right folks. Every gym has to have its "smelly guy". There's always a guy in the gym whom you have to wipe down the machine after he uses it. My gym is no different. The smelly guy here is a pretty tall Asian dude who wears glasses. He looks kind of dopey. I don't know much about him. I don't even know what machines he uses. The reason is that when he heads toward my general direction, I sprint for the basketball court to shoot some hoops instead. I put my whole workout on hold because of this guy. That's some awesome power. With great power comes great responsibility... this guy needs some deodorant (or does he?).

What could be the cause for his stench? Let's take a look:

• Shower? I don't think this is the issue. I've seen him in the locker room, and I know he takes a shower. Unfortunately, he smells just as bad after the shower.


• Deodorant? Don't think this is the reason either. The guy uses a pretty strong smelling chrysanthemum deodorant (don't ask), but it doesn't work. It just doesn't.


• Laundry? I think this is a possibility. If you don't wash your clothes, or you let bacteria set in, its hard to get them to smell so fresh and so clean again.

I guess some people just naturally smell bad. But wouldn't he want to fix this?

Where are the Mythbusters when you need them.

In the Name of Progress...

We would all like to imagine that in this day and age, people would progress the proper way. Through science, technology, and experience, we'd like to say that we're doing the best we can for our people and our world. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

In the name of progress (or shall I say in the name of the RMB), companies are transforming villages in order to build factories. Clearing out the vegetation is bad enough, but these factories kick it up a notch and carelessly dump their untreated waste. This has created these "cancer villages" that are spreading across China. The villagers have no choice but to breathe unclean air and drink toxic water. They complain to authorities, but they are given no response.

A woman at the village decided to write her own diary about the conditions in the village. This diary has slowly evolved into a "deathnote". It records all the people who have died in the village of various cancers. Their illnesses and deaths are a direct result from the surrounding pollution. Despite this obvious correlation, the corrupt government is doing nothing.

People are suffering right before our eyes, and there is nothing being done. In the name of progress, they say.

Thoughts on why "Chinese People Suck Again"

I was browsing through the blogger tools and came across one of my posts from April 2006 that had a whopping 11 comments. Turns out some people commented a month after I posted it, and another person commented just last month. Quite a surprise. I need to read those notification emails more carefully!

Here is the entry.

The reason it received these late comments is the touchy and direct title, "Chinese People Suck Again". I found it interesting because it seemed like the readers thought that I was not Chinese (despite me saying "my people" in the last line of the original post). Some boneheaded reader proclaimed that I was racist. That's quite intriguing to me because for the first time I'm pondering whether its possible for me to be racist against my own people. It was interesting to see people dismiss this as being a racist post, and assume that I was not Chinese. They then felt compelled to "educate" me as if I were an ignorant foreigner, butchering the Chinese way of life. Anyways, I'm going to respond to those comments here:



LOL, this guy's a winner. However, I must thank him/her for introducing the notion that I may be prejudice towards my own people.



I don't understand. Show some respect for whom? The family that bought a ton of souvenirs and attempted to take over my storage space? The two girls who violated airline rules to be the first to exit the plane? The people dumb enough to not be able to form a line? "These people live like that". Well, I was born and raised in Hong Kong, and let's just say that I have a little higher expectations for my fellow HKers. I certainly don't believe that this type of behavior is our "way of live". I was "bragging"? How so? Also, I fail to understand the analogy of people laughing at someone who walked barefoot. If you want my respect, please earn it.

I'm glad this guy agrees with me "portionally"(sic), but pulling out the "atrocities" card is a bit much. It has absolutely (and I don't use this word often) nothing to do with my post, except for the fact that there were both Japanese people and Chinese people involved (like WWII did). If this guy's excuse for Chinese impoliteness is WWII, then I have nothing else to say. There is no relation, and it makes no sense. We all know that Japanese people aren't perfect, but for the most part, they respect people, they respect cleanliness, and they respect their land. A majority of Chinese people have trouble doing that.

Finally, someone with a more civilized comment. He or she is Chinese, and that's fine and dandy and so am I. I'm going to assume this person was trying to say that because Hong Kong is overcrowded, so we should excuse them for pushing and shoving and not respecting the space of one another. As a Chinese person, I cannot accept that, nor can I respect people for acting this way. I also think that our friend, modo, has the wrong idea. I'm not asking people to say please or thank you or make small talk. I'm asking them to simply show some respect. If you want that job, you run instead of walk, but you don't break the rules. If you don't want to "lose a meal", wake up earlier, but don't cut in line.

I don't buy the idea that China is an "impolite country'. China is perhaps the oldest civilization in the world. I don't accept that they are so behind other developed nations in terms of politeness. China has such a rich cultural history, it is inconceivable that they missed the session on "how to be polite".

Here's the thing: being truly polite and respectful comes from the heart. Right now, most Chinese people are polite only when money is involved. If Chinese people want the world (or even their own people) to respect them, they have to adopt a positive mentality, not just play the role.

Spineless or Clueless?

All I can say is that I'm truly disappointed in US tech firms, for not knowing when to take a stand. What do these people believe in? Is it really all about the dollar sign? If they somehow have some hidden agenda of taking over China's internet, then becoming ethical when their roots are established, that would be great. Perhaps that is just a distant dream... my hope of an alternate reality.

A bit at a loss. Will there ever be free speech in the Mainland? Will Hong Kong have free speech in the future? I have no answer for that. I don't even dare speculate. The answer is too frightening. When you have some of the biggest American corporations bending over backwards for the Chinese government, the future certainly looks grim.

Censorship, yes, at this moment it is somewhat expected in China. I'm uncomfortable with the tech firms promoting censorship, but it is a price they pay for breaking into the market. When it comes to protecting the identity of users and the preventing innocent (perhaps not so innocent in a totalitarian government) people from going to jail, I expected more from the Googles and the Yahoos and the Ciscos. I expected them to grow a spine and put their foot down. I expected Jerry Yang to apologize to the Chinese government (for being unable to reveal private user information), rather than apologize to the mother of Shi Tao (for basically putting her son in jail).

Go Team Go!

After a season of ups and downs, some disappointing acquisitions, awesome rookies, and a combination of clutch performances, the Sox have plowed through the Colorado Rockies to win another World Series title. The truth is, the Sox were dominant since April. Despite the roller coaster season, they never relented the lead of their division. Despite all the talk of failure, and the "see you in 2090" idiot talk, the Sox dominated and dominated and dominated and dominated. They won their division, won the ALDS, the ALCS, then the World Series.

After years of disappointment, this team charged through the season and never took their foot off the pedal. People ask how it feels to have your beloved baseball team win their second series in 4 years. Here's the difference:

2004
This win was surreal. You almost didn't believe it was happening. It was a dream come true. It was a life changing experience. I get the chills, goosebumps, and start tearing up every time I see the Dave Roberts steal, or one of Big Papi's walk-offs, or Foulke tossing the ball to Mientkiewicz (I can't believe I spelled his name right) for the final out. There were so many magical moments.

Sox fans had to go to hell and come back for this championship (and that's after coming back from 86 years of purgatory). People outside of New England simply didn't understand what its like for your team to come so close to the holy grail so many times, only to lose it at the final moment. They didn't know what it was like to have a rich arch rival with one foot on your shoulder as you tried to climb that arduous mountain. For the 2004 team to break through, not only beating the Yankees in the ALCS, but coming back from being down 0-3, then steamrolling through eight games straight to win it all. Hell and back, my friend, hell and back.

After 86 years of heartbreak, the 2004 team finally found all the pieces and glued them back together. The final piece being the final out that sealed the deal. Sounds great, yes. Was it all peachy? Definitely not. Every pitch was a nail biter. Every out (in some instances every strike) was a minor victory. Sox fans really had to grind through the Series and ALCS. I was nervous until the last out, and though overjoyed, the journey to victory took a toll on my mental energy. I'm sure the rest of Red Sox Nation went through the same if not more.

2007
Of course it was different this time around. We started the season a brand new team. We had a whole bunch of expensive starters, and some promising new young stars. Soon enough, we found out who was good and who wasn't, but we were still dominant. Schilling was still good, Beckett had a new game plan and had reached Ace status, Paps resumed his solid closer role, a bunch of guys (Pedroia, Okajia, Lowell) ended up being big surprises despite some initial mishaps. We were winners. We were winners who had won before.

Though he said it at the end of the season, Manny put it best when he said that losing isn't the end of the world. I think that was the feeling of Red Sox fans. Though losses were still disappointing, not winning the Series wasn't the end of the world. Losing to the Yanks sucked, but it really didn't mean much in the whole scheme of things. I know I cringed as our lead over the Yanks diminished in August, but I was still very relaxed and upbeat. I had no doubt that we would make the playoffs.

Would we win the WS? I've seen a lot of good teams crumble before. There are no guarantees, but this time it wasn't do or die as Bill Simmons put it. I admit that I cried over our ALCS loss in 03, but this time it wouldn't matter. Not winning it all this year would just be a speed bump instead of a brick wall. Why? The main reason was that we had 04. Other than that, 08 looks great! In 2008 we will still have plenty of young talent and seasoned veterans. Pitching, hitting, bullpen, coaching, speed, you name it.

This year's series was just as exciting as 04, but there's less of an aftereffect. I'm still happily clicking MLB.com for WS Champion gear, still checking Boston.com for new articles about the series, but as said, the win wasn't (and no win ever will be) as huge as 2004.

Right now I feel content. Seeing that 2007 World Series banner next to the 2004 one makes me feel prouder and more giddy than ever. The Red Sox are on a roll, and I can't wait for next season to start.

Imbecilic Revolution

Wynn calls Mao's rule 'imbecilic'

By DANIEL
SORID

LAS VEGAS

Billionaire casino developer Steve Wynn criticized former Chinese leader Mao Zedong on Monday, telling more than a thousand investment advisers at a conference that the communist revolutionary's "imbecilic" Cultural Revolution "almost ruined" the country.

The chief executive of Wynn Resorts Ltd., which operates a casino-resort in the Chinese special administrative region of Macau, spoke during a question-and-answer session at the Charles Schwab IMPACT 2007 conference. Most questions were about the political and business climate in China.

"That imbecile Mao Zedong almost ruined that country," Wynn said.

Later, Wynn clarified his remarks, saying: "I said the Cultural Revolution almost ruined the country. It was imbecilic. I didn't call him an imbecile, I said it was imbecilic."

"I said that Deng Xiaoping was the father of modern China, and then I went into a long dissertation about how well I thought they managed their affairs."

In most of his speech, Wynn praised the Chinese government for the country's economic growth and its efficient bureaucracy. He spoke some Mandarin, a language he began learning after attempting to do business in the country several years ago.

While Wynn's view of the violent 1966-76 Cultural Revolution is widely held, he acknowledged his comments could ruffle some Communist Party members in China.

Wynn said he wasn't aware reporters were in the audience, but that wouldn't have altered his presentation.

"The hard line Communists might not like it, but the facts are pretty clear the Cultural Revolution was pretty damaging to the country," he said afterward. "They haven't turned their backs on communism, but the more repressive measures of the Cultural Revolution have been abandoned, and I think everybody in China thinks that was the right thing to do."

In 2002, Wynn won one of the coveted licenses to develop casinos in the former monopoly gambling enclave, and he opened the $1.1 billion Wynn Macau in September 2006. The company later sold a sub-license for $900 million.

The company plans to add an upscale 400-room Wynn Diamond Suites, costing as much as $600 million, in 2010. It also said in August it was awaiting approval from the government of Macau to develop a separate 52-acre site.

During his talk, Wynn also waded into other controversial topics, saying that if the Dalai Lama were to visit China it might cause some unintended disorder, and he named terrorism as the biggest threat to global business.

"The biggest threat to commerce and every other institution in this world is the insanity of terrorism and fundamental jihadist Muslim lunacy," he said.

Wynn also addressed China's relations with Taiwan, which broke away from the mainland after a civil war in 1949.

"Taiwan is like Maine, or Washington. It was theirs (China's). And it got taken away. It's like Hawaii. And they want it back. And most of the people in Taiwan want to go back."

Taiwan's elected president, Chen Shui-bian, has said he is against reunification with the mainland and has claimed China aims to take the island by force by 2015. China
considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory.

Wynn said his comments about Taiwan were prompted by his conversations with businesspeople who operate in both jurisdictions.

"Taiwan will join China ... on some terms yet to be defined," he told the conference. "There's an amateur opinion from a casino operator."

When he's not running casinos, Steve Wynn isn't afraid to speak his mind. Agree with him or not, its a good thing. Rich, powerful people are often too afraid to speak their minds, fearing they might step on the wrong toes. Its good to see Wynn isn't afraid of doing that.

They're Back!

It seems strange calling the Patriots underdogs in the match-up against the Colts just a couple hours ago. The Pats, who in years past had dominated the Colts, had lost three straight games to them, including most recently, the AFC title game. A tough loss. With both teams undefeated, the Pats came out winners: scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Defense also stepped up and stopped Peyton Manning in his tracks in the Fourth.

I didn't stay up to watch the game, but maybe I should have. Last night I didn't sleep well at all. I had dreamt about the Pats winning four times. I dreamt about discovering the Pats' win in four different scenarios: 1) opening up ESPN.com, 2) friends excitedly SMSing me, 3) hearing the result on the radio on the way to work, and 4) having a colleague reveal the result in person. The last two scenarios are pretty unrealistic as the Hong Kong media would not pick up the results that quickly, and none of my colleagues have any idea what American football is. Facts aside, it just goes to show how much my mind was on this game.

I had a strong feeling the Pats would win, but football is the type of sport where you just never know. All the pieces have to come together. Every player has to do their job in order for the team to succeed. Football is the ultimate individual team sport. You must do your job as an individual in order for the team to succeed. Your job may seem insignificant or that it doesn't affect your teammates directly, but it does. In fact, the effect is immense. Football is also a team sport where every player on the field is always doing something. If you're not throwing, you're moving, blocking, trying to break free, get through, or cover your defender. If you're able to do exceptionally well, and if you can elude or overpower your opponent, you may be able to help the team gain some yardage.

A lot of people don't like football. That's fine. I understand how it may not appeal to everyone. However, from my experience, the people who say its boring usually don't understand the game. If you don't know what's going on, it just looks like a whole bunch of guys running towards each other. Its the same with baseball. There's so much more going on than just the pitch and the hit. You have to know the game and pay attention in order for it to be interesting.

Wealth

Is it a surprise that Chinese people don't look up to their wealthy peers? Corruption is so rampant, that even slightly educated people know what's up. They either A) try to get a piece of that corruption pie, or B) learn to despise the wealthy, and instead look up to wealthy athletes like Yao Ming.

More Foo for You

For most people, the Foo Fighters have been this band that is always around. They're pretty good, but not great. You've got ex Nirvana member, band leader, and showman, Dave Grohl. You've got some slow melodies and mean fast tracks. Oh, and you've got a lot of great live performances. So in general, critics and casual fans always enjoy some Foo, but probably won't list them as on their top ten all-time list.

For me, the Foo have always been great. They've always been pumping out songs that I like. I've loved their slow ballads and also their super heavy stuff as well. Funny thing is, contrary to the norm, every time I hear a new Foo song, the more I like this band. Every time I see a Foo performance or Dave Grohl monologue, the more I love this band. THIS is the new punk rock. Its a band with guys who have real punk roots churning out tunes that have a message, and they're not afraid to try new things. Just look at their Skin and Bones Tour, a completely acoustic performance. Grohl is funny, entertaining, and has always stayed true to his roots. Their music videos are some of the best around.

Check out "The Pretender" video from their latest album: Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace. Pretender is a monster of a song, and this video compliments it very well. (Beautifully done at -1:12.)

Greatest band ever? Well, they're my greatest band ever.

Toya

Toya is a small little town in Hokkaido. It doesn't have much, which is kind of nice. What it does have is a huge lake, an active volcano, and a bear farm (meaning a zoo).

The lake.

Active volcano.

View from the mountain top.

The bears know how to ask for snacks.

Tetsuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

I'm not a big (or even small) fan of Kanye West. I've barely heard of his name let alone his music. However, anyone who makes an Akira themed music video for his latest hit song is pretty cool.

Hakodate

A neat city in Hokkaido that was really more than meets the eye. A lot of old, well preserved buildings leftover from other nations that came to the Hokkaido island back in the day. It also has one of Japan's best views.
(Click to enlarge photos)

View from Hakodate Tower. Not many tall buildings in Hakodate.

Personal outdoor onsen.

View from the room.

The Japanese style hotel we stayed at.

Night view of the city from Hakodate mountain. The two shores form an hourglass shape.

Superstition

I think its really dumb how Chinese people are superstitious. Normally, I'd ignore this stuff. I mean, if a few water grown plants and well placed coins put your mind at ease, then by all means do it! What bothers me is when it causes people to make irrational decisions and when superstition gets in the way of everyday life.

Because in Chinese the number four's pronounciation closely resembles "死" (death), China's Hainan province is taking that number out of their car license plates. All that work in the name of superstition. The obsession with the number eight is also baffling. Mainland Chinese will mindlessly purchase stocks that IPO with a number "8" in the price.

Its madness I tell you (but mostly just stupid).